Setting up blueprints for the AI Layout Automation feature in Studio

The AI Layout Automation feature in Studio makes the process of placing articles on a layout more efficient by analyzing the available space on the pages of a layout and providing suggestions on how and where the available articles and their images can best be placed to fill the pages.

Changes to these suggestions can subsequently be made, and when satisfied with the result, the command can be given to have the articles automatically placed.

The area to fill on the page is based on a blueprint which needs to be set up as part of the Layout Automation configuration.

This article describes how to set up blueprints.

Before you start

It is assumed here that you are familiar with the concepts and the full configuration process of the Layout Automation feature.

Configuration basics

Configuration is done on the Blueprints page in the AI Layout Automation Management Console in Studio Server.

Access it via Integrations > AI Layout Automation > Blueprints.

The process of configuring blueprints can be split into the following steps:

1. Adding, moving, copying, or deleting blueprints.
2. Configuring basic settings such as the name and the grid dimensions.
3. Setting up the blueprint definition: how the grid should be filled.
4. (Optional) Configuring rules for automatically adding dividers in partitioned blueprints.

Each is explained in detail in the sections below.

1. Adding, moving, copying, or deleting blueprints

These actions are self explanatory, but note the following:

• The 'Copy to' option can be used to copy the blueprint definition to a different Brand. Use it for example as a starting point and modify it accordingly.
• When selecting a blueprint and clicking 'Add new', the new blueprint is added after the selected one.
• To select multiple blueprints, Ctrl+click the left border of each blueprint.
• Ctrl+click the left border of a selected blueprint to deselect it.
• To organize the page, drag a blueprint to a different location by holding and dragging its drag handle.

2. Configuring basic settings

The following basic settings can be configured:

3. Setting up the blueprint definition

The definition of the blueprint defines how the area that the blueprint takes up should be filled: which part of the area should be filled with a lead story, which part should be filled with a secondary or third story, and so on.

For fillers, specials, and advertisements, it can further be defined if the Layout Automation service is free to fill it in a certain way: 

• By using one placement that takes up the full space.
• By using two placements where one takes up 3/4 of the space, and the other one the remaining 1/4.
• By using two placements that take up the space equally.

These placements could be only fillers, only specials, or only advertisements, or any combination of these three, depending on the selection made in the Blueprint editor for the partitioned area.

Setting up partitions this way greatly reduces the number of blueprints that are needed.

Configuring the partitions is done in a dedicated editor.

Specials

Info: This functionality requires Studio 11.215 or higher.

Articles such as weekly columns and weather reports are treated as 'specials'. To make an article a special, it is already placed on the layout before the Layout Automation is used to fill the page. To make sure that it is not replaced by the Layout Automation with another article, the area is defined as a special in a blueprint.

In that sense, an area defined as a special in a blueprint is different from other areas in that it is not automatically filled, but ignored (because it is already filled). It is important though that the area that is marked as a special in the blueprint closely matches the shape of the article that is placed.

The Blueprint editor

A special syntax is used to describe the distribution within the blueprint area.

Because this syntax is quite technical and not user friendly to read, a special tool is available to generate and visualize the syntax: the Blueprint editor.

It can be accessed by hovering the mouse pointer over the preview area of a blueprint and clicking the Edit icon that appears.

In the following example, a blueprint has been set up for a single page, with a lead story (§1) at the top, a secondary story (§2) at the bottom left, and a filler (§4) at the bottom right of the page. The filler has been further configured to give the Layout Automation service the freedom to fill it in one of three different ways: by using 3 stories spanning 1, 2, and 1 row, by using 2 stories each spanning 2 rows, or by using one story spanning all 4 rows.

This results in the following syntax for this blueprint: (5x4[§1]-(3x4[§2]|2x4[§4-{1:2:1,2:2,4}]))

Note: There is no need to be able to understand or read the syntax; the Blueprint editor is used for visualizing it.

Blueprint editor components

The following table describes the components of the Blueprint editor.

Component	Description
	Preview. Shows a preview of the page grid to configure. A blueprint configuration consists of boxes that together entirely cover the page grid. To configure the blueprint box, click a tile and drag over the area until the desired surface is covered, then release the mouse button. Repeat this step until the page area is entirely filled with boxes. For each blueprint box, the configured compatible story types are shown (§1, §2, and so on, see below), and a sequential identifier (ⓐ, ⓑ, and so on), mainly used for referencing that story in the preview. This is especially handy for the exceptional case of two boxes having the exact same type (see Story types below).
	Story types. Defines the story types that may be placed in the defined area: §1 - Header §2 - Secondary §3 - Third §4 - Filler # - Special $ - Advert Types - The selected story type Multiple selections are possible. The sequential identifiers (ⓐ, ⓑ, and so on) in front of each line are used for referencing that story in the preview (see above). This is especially handy for stories that are of the same type.
	Edit button. Opens the Edit dialog for editing the partitioning of an area. See 'Setting up partitions' below.
	Add partitioning button. Opens a dialog for pasting in an existing partitioning definition.
	Delete button. Deletes the defined component.
	Partitions field. Shows the partitions that are defined for a story.
	Definition field. Shows the blueprint definition (not editable).

Quick steps

When familiar with the working and components of the Blueprint editor, setting up a blueprint can be done quickly:

1. Create a new blueprint and as a minimum, set its name, width, and height.
2. Click the Edit button to access the Blueprint editor.
3. Click a tile and drag an area in the preview.
4. Select the check box to indicate the story types it is compatible with.
5. (For fillers, specials, and advertisements only) Click the Edit button to set up a partitioning.
6. Repeat this for all stories until the whole area is covered.
7. When done, close all open dialogs to return to the Blueprints page.
8. To save any changes made on the Blueprints page or in the Blueprint editor, click the Save button.

Setting up partitionings

For fillers, specials, and advertisements, the defined area can be partitioned to give the Layout Automation service the freedom to fill it in different ways. For example:

• By using one placement that takes up the full space.
• By using two placements where one takes up 3/4 of the space, and the other one the remaining 1/4.
• By using two placements that take up the space equally.

These placements could be only fillers, only specials, or only advertisements, or any combination of these three, depending on the selection made in the Blueprint editor for the partitioned area.

These partitionings can be set up by using different methods:

1. Manually from scratch
2. Based on an existing partitioning
3. Generated automatically

4. (Optional) Configuring rules for automatically adding dividers in partitioned blueprints

Info: This feature requires the AI Layout Automation Studio Server plug-in 2.3.x or higher in combination with Studio 11.225 or higher.

For fillers, specials, and advertisements, the defined area can be partitioned to give the Layout Automation service the freedom to fill it in different ways. For example:

• By using one placement that takes up the full space.
• By using two placements where one takes up 3/4 of the space, and the other one the remaining 1/4.
• By using two placements that take up the space equally.

These placements could be only fillers, only specials, or only advertisements, or any combination of these three, depending on the selection made in the Blueprint editor for the partitioned area.

To visually separate these placements within the partition, a horizontal or vertical divider can be automatically added between them.

Which divider to add is controlled through rules that are set up on the 'Divider' page of the AI Layout Automation Management Console in Studio Server. In it, a layout and article in which the divider to use is defined.

Many combinations of different story types that can sit next to each other exist, and for each possible combination, a rule can be set up.

Each rule also defines which divider to use and where it should be placed (if at all).

Example: A rule could be set up that defines that when an advert has a filler placed to the right of it, a vertical black line should be added between the advert and the filler in a space that is 6 millimeters wide. The divider can be found in article 1 that is placed on layout A. The divider should be placed on the side of the filler.

Step 1. Create one or more dedicated structure base layouts on which base articles with a divider are placed, as described in Creating base layouts and base articles for the AI Layout Automation feature in Studio. These will be referenced in the rules that are set up in the next steps.

Step 2. In Studio Server, access the Dividers page via Integrations > AI Layout Automation > Dividers.

Step 3. Choose the Brand for which you want to set up Divider rules.

Step 4. In the Vertical dividers section or the Horizontal section, click Add a rule or Add new, depending on whether or not Divider rules exist.

Tip: See also Additional options below for other ways of adding rules.

Step 5. Fill in the fields as follows:

Note: Any changes are automatically saved.

Step 6. Create as many rules as needed and drag them in the desired order.

Note: Rules are chosen top-down: the first matching rule is applied; all others are then ignored.

Tip: Use the Create mirrored option to create an identical rule in which the positions of the story types are mirrored. It is automatically placed below the rule that was used as the source.

Additional options

The following options can also be used for creating Divider rules:

• When a set of Divider rules already exists in a Brand that can be used as a start, use the Copy to... option in that Brand. This copies rules from a source Brand to the Brand in which you want to use them.

• Use the Import / Export option of the AILA Management Console to export existing Divider rules from one Brand and import them into another Brand. Separate worksheets are created for the rules in the Vertical dividers section and the Horizontal dividers section.

Additional notes

• A box spanning the spread can have an inner boundary that falls exactly on the fold. In this scenario, no divider is placed.

• Dividers are added to the 'PLA-structure' layer in the layout. This layer sits above the 'PLA' layer on which the articles are placed. This makes sure that dividers become visible.

Revisions

• 1 September 2026: Updated section 3 'Setting up the blueprint definition' by better explaining the combinations of placements in partitions.
• 1 September 2026: Added section 4 '(Optional) Configuring rules for automatically adding dividers in partitioned blueprints'.