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Flatplanner
Flatplan software for print publishers

Plan every page of an issue, drop the artwork in, and let everyone see where it stands.

Most planning tools show you a list of pages. Flatplanner shows you the issue: real spreads, real artwork thumbnails, real layout zones, from the first blank page to the final preview PDF.

MagazinesCataloguesNewspapersProgrammesYearbooksSupplements
180+
page issues exported to preview PDF
7
built-in page layouts for zoning a page
Instant
live updates across the team
Database
enforced permissions on every row
Every
release documented in the in-app release notes
THE FLAT PLAN

See the whole issue at once

An issue is an ordered grid of pages rendered as real spreads: cover, interior pages paired left and right, back cover. Not a list of rows.

  • Four view densities: small, large, extra-large and list, so the same plan works as a wall overview or a close-up working view.
  • Drag a page to move it. Pages swap position and the plan renumbers itself.
  • Link two pages as a spread so they read and behave as one sheet across the gutter. Unlink at any time.
  • Insert or delete in pairs. Inserting always adds two pages and deleting removes a spread, so odd/even pairing survives intact.
  • Clear a page without deleting it. Content, files, notes, labels and status go; the page stays, so the structure isn't disturbed.
LAYOUTS
LAYOUT ZONES

A page is rarely one thing

Split any page into the zones it is really made of. Each zone holds its own artwork, so a page that is one article and two ads is planned as one article and two ads.

Full page Top / bottom halves 1/3 + two thirds 1/3 + 2/3 Half + two quarters Two quarters + half Four quarters
  • Zones follow the page, not the screen. They are defined against a page's outer and inner edges, so a 1/3 ad column sits on the correct side depending on where the page falls in the finished publication.
  • Swap content between zones by dragging one filled zone onto another. The outer ad column only swaps with another outer column, so an ad never lands in a body-text slot.
  • Changing a layout migrates what it can. Content in slots that exist in both layouts transfers; anything else is dropped, and you are warned first.
ARTWORK AND PDFS

Drop the file on the page

Drag a PDF or image onto any page or zone. Your browser turns the PDF into a thumbnail automatically, so the plan shows the actual artwork rather than a filename.

  • Multi-page PDF? Pick the page you want. A thumbnail grid opens on drop, and you can reopen the picker later from any slot that already holds a PDF.
  • Spreads page themselves. Apply a page to the left half of a linked spread and the following PDF page is rendered onto the right half, so a double-page ad stays a double-page ad.
  • Progress you can actually see. Your browser renders the page first, then uploads it with a byte-progress bar and the filename.

“You pick the page before anything is uploaded. Cancel, and nothing was ever stored.”

No half-finished state, no accidental overwrite
EDITORIAL AND AD TRACKING

The plan knows who's selling what

Every page carries structured fields, editable in a page detail modal: editorial status, ad status, ad type and advertiser, payment status, category, tag and notes, with last editor and last modified set automatically.

EDITORIAL
  • Planning
  • In progress
  • Approved
AD
  • Ad planned
  • Ad in progress
  • Ad approved
PAYMENT
  • Open
  • Reminded
  • Paid
  • Filter mode dims every page that doesn't match, so you can see where the unsold pages are, not just how many.
  • Jump mode navigates straight to a page number.
  • Dropdown filters for category, tag, payment, editorial and ad status, combinable with free-text search across titles, advertisers and statuses, plus a live match count.
REVIEW AND SHARING

Hand the issue to anyone

Page through the issue as a flipbook, with real page turns, a page counter and a jump-to-page control, sized to the viewport and usable full screen.

  • Watermarked preview PDF of a whole issue, in one click. Built from the plan's artwork, every page stamped in its outer lower corner with the issue title and export date. Tested on issues of 180+ pages. This is what you send a client before sign-off.
  • Per-page PDF viewer for opening the source file behind any page, and a copy link for sharing a publication with a colleague.
  • Read-only users get the full plan, the flipbook and the activity log, plus a clear notice that their access is view-only, rather than buttons that fail when pressed.
ROLES, LOCATIONS AND LOCKING

Built for more than one team

Every user is assigned one or more locations, and every publication belongs to one. A user only ever sees and edits issues in their own locations, so a multi-region or multi-title publisher works in one account, not several. Admins see every location in their company.

  • Lock an edition. When an issue is signed off, locking it freezes all edits for everyone except admins and location admins. Reading, previewing and the activity log are never blocked by a lock.
  • Permission failures are specific. The system distinguishes “your role can't do this” from “that publication isn't in your locations”.
  • Permissions are enforced in the database, on every row and every action, so every app that connects goes through the same checks. The client's permission map only decides what to gray out; it never grants access.
ROLE

Admin

Full access to every location in your company

ROLE

Location admin

Creates, deletes, locks and exports publications for their own locations

ROLE

Editorial (Redaktion)

Adds, edits, reorders and uploads to pages

ROLE

Viewer

Sees the plan, the preview and the activity log; changes nothing

COLLABORATION AND AUDIT

Nothing changes quietly

An append-only activity log per publication and per page records who did what, when. It is a record, not a feed: entries are never edited or removed, and every role can see it, including viewers.

Live updates. When someone edits the issue, your plan updates in place.

Last editor and last modified shown on every page.

NATIVE APPSComing

Flatplanner for iPhone, iPad and Mac

A native app is on the way: one app built for Apple devices, and native on the Mac rather than a copy of the website. Same account, same live data and the same permissions as the web app, because the checks live in the database.

iPhone and iPad from the App Store; the Mac app as a signed download that updates itself. Managing members and locations stays on the web.

iPad and Mac

The full flatplan: page details, uploads, reordering, spreads and layouts, search, the activity log, live updates, locking, the flipbook and the preview PDF export.

iPhone

View the plan, change statuses and notes, and upload artwork, including a photo straight from the camera or a PDF to a slot.

Readable offline

Issues you've opened stay readable without a connection. Editing needs one.

PLATFORM AND POLISH

The details that decide whether people use it

Bilingual interface

English and German, switchable per user, with search that matches labels in either language.

Light and dark themes

Remembered on each device, alongside view density, sidebar state, location filter and search mode.

Works on touch

Press-and-hold to drag pages, tap-to-arm for spread insertion, native scrolling preserved on phone and tablet.

Fast where it counts

Each PDF page is rendered once, in your browser, and stored as one image per slot. Smaller sizes are generated on demand, so large issues stay quick, even on a phone.

Hosted, nothing to install

Runs in the browser and is operated for you: no server to maintain, no software to update. Each publisher gets its own separate account.

Release notes in the app

Every release is documented, one click away from the version number in the app's sidebar.

See it against one of your own issues

Tell us how your titles and teams are organised and we'll walk you through the plan, the roles model and a preview export.

  1. Tell us about your titles and teams
  2. We book a walkthrough at a time that suits you
  3. See the plan, the roles model and a preview export
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