Setting up output jobs for repeat exports in Layout by Zaweba
File > Output jobs in Layout by Zaweba saves named sets of exports with naming patterns, and stops them if pictures or fonts are missing.
Finishing a job usually means exporting it several times over. A press PDF for the printer, a smaller PDF for email, pictures for social media, maybe an EPUB. Doing each one by hand, choosing the right preset and typing a sensible file name every time, is slow and error prone. Output jobs in Layout by Zaweba turn that routine into one step.
You find them under File > Output jobs.
What an output job holds
An output job is a named set of exports. You decide what goes into it and save it under a name. "Magazine finals" might hold a press PDF with marks and bleed, a screen PDF for the website and page pictures for the newsletter. "Client proof" might be a single lightweight PDF. Run the job and every export in it happens together.
Naming patterns for the files
Each export in a job can use a naming pattern, so the files come out with consistent names without you typing them. A pattern can build names in the same form each time, so the press PDF and the web PDF of an issue are clearly told apart and sort sensibly in a folder.
Consistent names matter more than they seem. Printers receive dozens of files a day, and a clear name avoids the wrong version being printed. Web teams know which file is which without asking.
Stopped by missing pictures or fonts
An output job stops if pictures or fonts are missing. That is a deliberate safety net. A press PDF made with a missing font would use a substitute, and one made with a missing picture would have a low quality preview or a gap. Rather than quietly producing files that look fine at a glance and fail later, the job halts so you can fix the problem first.
When it stops, check the Links panel for missing pictures and the fonts listed in Document information for missing ones, put things right and run the job again.
Good uses for output jobs
Regular publications gain most. A monthly magazine, a weekly newsletter or a quarterly report goes through the same exports every issue, and an output job makes the routine identical each time.
Jobs with many deliverables, such as a brochure that needs print, web and social versions, become one action instead of five.
Teams benefit too. When several people export the same kinds of files, a shared set of output jobs means the files come out the same whoever runs them.
Setting up jobs sensibly
Build each job from the presets you already trust. Output jobs repeat whatever settings they're given, good or bad, so get the PDF and picture presets right first.
Name jobs by purpose, not by format. "Send to printer" is clearer than a list of formats.
Keep jobs short. A job that exports everything in every format takes longer and produces files nobody needs.
Mistakes people make with output jobs
Running a job without clearing preflight is the main one. The job checks for missing pictures and fonts, but not everything that preflight looks at, such as overset text or low resolution. Clear live preflight first.
Forgetting that a job is out of date after the print shop changes its requirements leads to old settings being reused. Review jobs when a supplier's specification changes.
Overwriting earlier exports without meaning to is easy with fixed names. Use naming patterns that make each version distinct where that matters.
Output jobs sit at the very end of the work, after preflight is clear and proofs are signed off. They don't replace the PDF presets or the export dialogs; they gather them, so the last step of every job is quick, repeatable and safe.
