---
title: "The VDP Client"
canonical: https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc4/vdp-client.htm
archived: true
applies_to:
  - product: "Customer's Canvas On-Premises"
  - product: "Design Editor"
    versions: ["4.4.25", "4.x (may differ)"]
---

**You’re viewing outdated documentation.** [View the latest Customer’s Canvas On-Premises documentation](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/on-premises/).

# The VDP Client

**Applies to:** Customer's Canvas On-Premises; Design Editor 4.4.25, 4.x (may differ) · **Archived documentation**
 
The VDP Client is a command line utility that should be used along with the Customer's Canvas web-to-print editor to handle the Variable Data Printing scenario. This utility allows you to implement the following workflow:
 
- When your users save their design and data at a Customer's Canvas server, you receive identifiers of the design and the user who created the design (**stateId** and **userId**, respectively).
- You save the **stateId** and **userId** in your database/orders/etc.
- Your staff who fulfill orders have this `vdp.exe` utility installed. They simply run it and pass **stateId** and **userId** through the command line interface.
- This utility downloads the design and data from the Customer's Canvas server and generates printable PDF files.

## Prerequisites
  
It is assumed that you have already installed Customer's Canvas on your server or obtained access to an instance hosted by our servers.
 
This utility requires [Microsoft Visual C++ 2017 Redistributable Package (x64)](https://aka.ms/vs/15/release/vc_redist.x64.exe).
 
To get the Variable Data Printing [demo application](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc4/vdp-tool.htm.md), please contact our [support team](https://customerscanvas.com/account/cases/add).
 
## How to set up vdp.exe
  
### Installation
 
To install this utility, unzip the package to a folder on your computer where it is convenient to run it from a command line.
 
After that, you need to add a license key (a trial or a permanent one). Copy the `Aurigma.GraphicsMill.lic` file to the `lib` folder. If the license key is not enclosed in the package, contact our support team or your contact person at Aurigma to obtain it.
 
### Configuration
 
When you open the `AppSettings.config` file in a text editor, you can see an XML file like this:
 
```
<appSettings>
  <add key="CustomersCanvasUrl" value="https://URL_TO_YOUR_CUSTOMERS_CANVAS_INSTANCE" />
  <add key="CustomersCanvasApiKey" value="YOUR_API_KEY_FOR_CUSTOMERS_CANVAS" />
  <add key="CombineFiles" value="false"/>
  <add key="OutputPath" value="./"/>
  <add key="FileNameTemplate" value="pdf/{state}/{index}_{data.Person Name}.pdf"/>
</appSettings>
```
 
Here, you need to modify the first two values:
 
- **CustomersCanvasUrl** - the URL to your Customer's Canvas instance.
- **CustomersCanvasApiKey** - the API key you specified in `AppSettings.config` of Customer's Canvas as described in the [Web API](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc4/webapi.htm.md) topic.

Also, you may want to configure output files:
 
- **CombineFiles** - if `true`, the utility will create a multipage PDF file (one page = one record); if `false`, it will create a separate PDF file for each row of data.
- **OutputPath** - a root location of output PDF files.
- **FileNameTemplate** - an output file name template.

In these settings, you can use the following placeholders:
 
- **{state}** - the current state Id.
- **{index}** - the number of the current row in a dataset (starting with `1`), ignored if **CombineFiles** is `true`.
- **{date}** - the current date (formatted as yyyy.mm.dd)
- **{data.PROPERTY\_NAME}** - the value of the **PROPERTY\_NAME** column in the current row, ignored if **CombineFiles** is `true`.

For example:
 
```
<add key="OutputPath" value="./pdf/"/>
<add key="FileNameTemplate" value="{date}/{state}/{index}_{data.Company}.pdf"/>
```
 
This will create the following file structure:

```
.
   \pdf
      \2018.11.01
         \b3c6f043-8127-4163-9dcd-34301999acc8
            \1_Acme.pdf
            \2_Northwind.pdf
            ... 
```
 
In this way, you can organize your orders in a structure that is easy to navigate and understand.
 
### Fonts
 
When you allow your customers to use fonts that are not installed on the machine where the `vdp.exe` tool is running, it is very important to specify the location of the fonts.
 
To set up fonts:
 
1. Download the fonts from your Customer's Canvas instance.
2. Save them in a subfolder, for example, the `fonts` folder in the folder containing `vdp.exe`.
3. Open the `VectorObjects.config` file.
4. Specify the absolute path to the font folder in the **FontDirectory** key: 
```
    <add key="FontDirectory" value="C:\vdp\fonts" />
    ```

Other settings in `VectorObjects.config` should be the same as in the appropriate config of Customer's Canvas.
 
### Environment variables
 
If you like, you can add the location of the `vdp.exe` file to the PATH environment variable of your system. It will allow you to run `vdp.exe` from any location (not just the folder where you install it).
 
You can perform this optional operation as follows:
 
1. Right-click **My PC** in Windows Explorer.
2. Choose **Properties**.
3. Click **Advanced system settings**.
4. Click the **Environment Variables** button.
5. Double click **Path** either in `User variables` or `System variables`. In the former case, it will work only for a current user, in the latter case - globally, for all users on this machine.
6. Click **Edit** and add the path to the folder where `vdp.exe` is located to the end of this list.
7. Restart the command line session to have changes to go into effect.
 
## How to use vdp.exe
  
Prior to using `vdp.exe`, you (or your users) need to create a design, upload some data and save a state file. As a result, you will have two pieces of data - **stateId** and **userId**.
 
After that, you can proceed in two ways:
 
1. Pass the obtained **stateId** and **userId** to this utility. It will download and process them automatically (the online mode).
2. Download the state file yourself, place it near `vdp.exe` and pass its name to the utility (the local mode).

### Online mode
 
Let's assume you have installed this tool at `C:\vdp`. You want to download the state with id **8fed5bc0-4e92-4c9e-b489-afa3a4322a2e** from a user named **john**.
 
Run this tool with following parameters:

```
C:\> cd C:\vdp
C:\vdp> vdp -s 8fed5bc0-4e92-4c9e-b489-afa3a4322a2e -u john -m online
```
 
As a result, this utility renders the personalized product.
 
![Rendered personalized product.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc4/images/VDPToolHiRes.png)
 
### Local mode
 
Let's assume you have installed this tool at `C:\vdp`, downloaded a state file as `8fed5bc0-4e92-4c9e-b489-afa3a4322a2e.st`, and placed this file in the `C:\downloads` folder.
 
Run this tool with following parameters:

```
C:\> cd C:\vdp
C:\vdp> vdp -s ..\downloads\8fed5bc0-4e92-4c9e-b489-afa3a4322a2e.st -m local
```
 
Note, you can omit the `-m local` key, as the local mode is the default.
 
### Suppress output
 
If you don't want this tool to output the results, you can turn off the verbose mode by adding the `-v false` key.
 
### Help
 
Just run the tool without any arguments or pass the `--help` key. To get a version, pass the `--version` key.
 
## See Also
  
### Manual
 
- [Variable Data Printing](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc4/vdp-tool.htm.md)
- [Web API](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc4/webapi.htm.md)