Patent Document ID: 8381099
Application ID: 11494182

Base Claim:
1. A method of generating a variable-data printing document template in a computer readable format, the method comprising: defining a template comprising a layout of a series of separate document pages, at least one set of the respective document pages comprising a flow that contains content which is variable in response to input data, the flow including a series of linked copy holes and spanning across the at least one set of document pages; defining a plurality of versions of a printable document, wherein at least some of the respective different document versions include a different number of respective document pages of the at least one set, and indicating the desired variable content of the flow; and further defining the template to automatically maintain, in a post-template-authoring environment, a continuity of the flow when any one of the respective versions of the printable document is automatically selected in response to input selection data during a variable data merge at the time of printing, including automatically maintaining the continuity of the flow when the automatic selection of a respective one of the document versions results in an absence of a first document page in the at least one set of document pages, wherein the first document page includes the first copy hole of the linked copy holes.

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Claim 2:
2. The method of claim 1 , comprising: generating the variable-data printing document template in response to the input selection data based upon rules which define the document version.