Appendix F
Data Variables
In OmniGraffle, a data variable is a string that you can use to insert object and line labels based on other information in your document. These variables look for like-named elements in an OmniGraffle document’s XML source, and displays its corresponding data related to the string provided. For example, you can use the <%Layer%> data variable as a text object on the canvas to display the name of that layer.
Use of the <%UserData%> variable gives OmniGraffle Pro users access to document-level details and metadata entered into the Canvas Metadata inspector.
Universal Data Variables
OmniGraffle Standard and Pro both have access to a core set of data variables, listed in the following table.
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| Canvas and Layer Variables | |
<%Canvas%> |
Displays the canvas name. |
<%CanvasNumber%> |
Displays a number related to the canvas’s position in the Sidebar. |
<%TotalCanvases%> |
Displays the total number of canvases in the document. |
<%Layer%> |
Displays the name of the layer. |
| Document-specific Variables | |
<%Document%> |
Displays the filename of the OmniGraffle document. |
<%Creator%> |
Displays the user name of the person who created the document. |
<%Modifier%> |
Displays the user name of the person who last modified the document. |
<%#%> |
Displays the current page number, based on the object’s position on the canvas as it relates to how the page is printed. |
<%TotalPages%> |
Displays the total number of pages to be printed from the document. |
| Date Variables | |
<%Date%> |
Displays today’s date. |
<%CreationDate%> |
Displays the date the document was created. |
<%ModificationDate%> |
Displays the date that the document was last modified. |
| Date Strings for use with Date Variables | |
y |
Two-digit year, based on the decade; for example, 16 for “2016”. |
Y |
Four-digit year; for example, 2016. |
m |
Month, represented as two digits ranging from 01-12; for example, 10 for October. |
d |
Day, represented as two digits ranging from 01-31 (as appropriate); for example, 05 is the fifth day of the month. |
c |
Current date and time; for example, Tue Jul 11 10:00:00 PDT 2017. |
H |
Hours, represented as two-digits ranging from 00-23; for example, 11 is 11 a.m., whereas 23 is 11 p.m.. |
M |
Minutes, represented as two digits ranging from 00-59. |
S |
Seconds, represented as two digits ranging from 00-59. |
z |
Zulu time difference; for example, an output of -0700 represents that the current time is seven hours behind Zulu time. |
| Object-specific Variables | |
<%X%> |
Displays the object’s horizontal distance from the origin. |
<%Y%> |
Displays the objects vertical distance from the origin. |
<%Width%> |
Displays the object’s width. |
<%Height%> |
Displays the object’s height. |
<%Length%> |
Displays a line object’s length. |
<%GraphicName%> |
Displays the name of the object. |
| Document Data Inspector Variables | |
<%Subject%> |
Displays the Subject of the field of the Document Data inspector. |
<%Copyright%> |
Displays information entered in the Copyright field of the Document Data inspector. |
<%Version%> |
Displays information entered in the Version field of the Document Data inspector. |
<%Description%> |
Displays information entered in the Description field of the Document Data inspector. |
<%Comments%> |
Displays information entered in the Comments field of the Document Data inspector. |
<%Authors%> |
Displays the author, or authors, listed in the Authors field of the Document Data inspector. |
<%Organizations%> |
Displays information entered in the Organizations field of the Document Data inspector. |
<%Languages%> |
Displays the language, or languages, entered in the Languages field of the Document Data inspector. |
<%Keywords%> |
Displays the keyword, or keywords, entered in the Keywords field of the Document Data inspector. |
<%Projects%> |
Displays the document, or documents, entered in the Projects field of the Document Data inspector. |
Date Strings Used by the Date Variables
As noted in the previous table, OmniGraffle has three date-specific variables that make it easy for you to track the status of work on your documents.
-
Current Date (
<%Date%>) — inserts the current date. This particularly handy when you want to “stamp” a document you’re exporting or printing with today’s date. -
Document Creation Date (
<%CreationDate%>) — inserts the date that the document was originally created, according to the document XML. -
Document Modification Date (
<%ModificationDate%>) — inserts the date that the document was last saved, according to the document XML.
The date variables are particularly useful when combined with the <%Creator%> and <%Modifier%> variables, when you need to see who last updated a document file.
If you are using one of the date variables, you can customize the format of the date using the variables. For example, to get a date such as 2017-10-05 08:37:30 -0700Z, you could use the following variable string:
<%date %Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %zZ %>
The logic we have used in creating the date variables is based on Cocoa’s date formatting tokens.