---
title: "render-vdp-preview | Customer's Canvas Hub"
canonical: "https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/printer-guide/pipelines/tasks/render-vdp-preview/"
---

# render-vdp-preview

> Learn how the render-vdp-preview task generates previews for variable data designs.

This task is used to generate preview images of a design, taking into account Variable Data Printing (VDP) data.

## Parameters

- **previewOutputWidth** (integer) - The width of the preview image in pixels.
- **previewOutputHeight** (integer) - The height of the preview image in pixels.
- **previewOutputInterpolationMode** (string) - The interpolation mode. Possible values: `High`, `Medium`, `Low`, `NearestNeighbour`, `Linear`, `Cubic`, `Supersampling`, `Lanczos`, `Anisotropic4`, `Anisotropic9`, and `Lanczos3`.
- **previewOutputFileFormat** (string) - The format of the output preview image file. Possible values: `Jpeg`, `Png`.
- **previewOutputShowStubContent** (boolean) - Determines whether to display StubContent for image placeholders.
- **previewOutputShowMockup** (boolean) - Determines whether to display the mockup in the preview.
- **previewOutputPrintAreaFilter** (string) - Filter for print areas that need to be rendered. Supports both single pages (e.g., `1, 3, 7`) and page ranges (e.g., `2-9, 11-22`). To define a maximum value, you can use a deliberately large number (e.g., `2-1000`) or the marker `"N"` (e.g., `2-N`).
- **previewOutputArchiveType** (string) - If specified, the rendering result will be packed into an archive. Possible values: `Zip` and `SevenZip`. By default, it is not specified.
- **previewOutputArchiveCompressionType** (string) - Supported types: `None`, `Copy`, `Default`, `Deflate`, `Deflate64`, `Lzma`, and `Lzma2`. The default value is `Default`.
- **previewOutputExplicitContainerVisibility** (object) - Optional parameter that specifies whether certain containers should be forcibly hidden or shown during rendering. In the example, the "Background" container is hidden, and the "Main" container is shown.

  ```json
  {
    "previewOutputExplicitContainerVisibility": {
      "Background": false,
      "Main": true
    }
  }
  ```

- **previewOutputVisualizePrintAreas** (boolean) - _(optional)_ If `true`, indicates that design print area bounds should be visualized. The default value is `true`.

All parameter values support argument interpolation following the common rules.

## Input Artifacts

* A design file containing a set of VDP data.

Only one artifact can be provided as input; collections are not supported (though the file itself can be single-page or multi-page).

## Output Artifacts

* Multiple graphic files in the specified format.

Output artifacts can be defined as:
  - A list of single artifacts `["result1", "result2"]`; any extra results are discarded.
  - A collection of artifacts `["result*"]`. Only one collection can be specified in this task.

:::note
- If a single artifact (`result`) is expected as archived output, all generated files will be packed into one archive.
- If a collection of artifacts (`result*`) is expected as archived output, each generated file will be packed into a separate archive.
:::

## Example

```json
{
  "description": "Prepare preview file",
  "name": "render-vdp-preview",
  "type": "render-vdp-preview",
  "inputArtifacts": [
    "design"
  ],
  "parameters": {
    "previewOutputWidth": 500,
    "previewOutputHeight": 500,
    "previewOutputInterpolationMode": "Anisotropic9",
    "previewOutputFileFormat": "Png",
    "previewOutputShowStubContent": true,
    "previewOutputShowMockup": false,
    "previewOutputArchiveType": "Zip",
    "previewOutputArchiveCompressionType": "LZMA"
  },
  "outputArtifacts": [
    "preview*"
  ]
}
```