XXMMLL BBaassiiccss aanndd AAuutthhoorriinngg

XML Basics and Authoring 3

CCoonntteennttss
eXtensible Markup Language.......................................................................................5
eXtensible Markup Language ................................................................................6
Well-formed Documents........................................................................................9
Character and Entity References ...........................................................................9
XInclude ............................................................................................................ 10
XML Namespace................................................................................................ 11
Document Type Definitions.................................................................................. 12
XML Schema ..................................................................................................... 14
XPath....................................................................................................................... 17
What is XPath?................................................................................................... 18
Nodes................................................................................................................ 18
Navigating the XPath Node Tree.......................................................................... 20
Reading XPath Expressions ................................................................................ 22
TechSuite ................................................................................................................. 25
TechSuite Oveview............................................................................................. 26
TechSuite System Structure ................................................................................ 26
TechSuite System Components ........................................................................... 28
Manual Lifecycle................................................................................................. 30
Using TechAuthor...................................................................................................... 35
TechAuthor Overview.......................................................................................... 36
Authoring Basics ................................................................................................ 36
Creating a New Document................................................................................... 41
Inserting Markup................................................................................................. 45
Working with Attributes........................................................................................ 53
Managing Content .............................................................................................. 55
Managing Airline Data......................................................................................... 72
Managing Changes............................................................................................. 78
Revision Management ........................................................................................ 90
11
eeXXtteennssiibbllee MMaarrkkuupp LLaanngguuaaggee
eXtensible Markup Language.........................................................................................................6
Well-formed Documents.................................................................................................................9
Character and Entity References ....................................................................................................9
XInclude ..................................................................................................................................... 10
XML Namespace......................................................................................................................... 11
Document Type Definitions .......................................................................................................... 12
XML Schema .............................................................................................................................. 14
XML Basics and Authoring 5
6 XML Basics and Authoring
eeXXtteennssiibbllee MMaarrkkuupp LLaanngguuaaggee
The eeXXtteennssiibbllee MMaarrkkuupp LLaanngguuaaggee (XML) draws on the specification of SGML. Using
SGML as the starting point allowed the design team to concentrate on making a proven
markup language simpler.
XML 1.0 became a World Wide Web Consortium (or W3C http://www.w3.org)
recommendation in February, 1998.
UUnniiccooddee CChhaarraacctteerr
By definition, an XML document is a string of characters. Almost every legal Unicode
character may appear in an XML document.
PPrroocceessssoorr aanndd AApppplliiccaattiioonn
A pprroocceessssoorr is expected to work in the service of an aapppplliiccaattiioonn. There are certain very
specific requirements about what an XML processor must do and not do but none as to the
behavior of the application. The processor (as the specification calls it) is often referred to
colloquially as an XXMMLL ppaarrsseerr.
XXMMLL DDeeccllaarraattiioonn
All XML documents may (and should) begin with a single XXMMLL ddeeccllaarraattiioonn. The XML
declaration provides, at a minimum, the version number of XML in use and can also specify
the character encoding used in the document.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
All XML parsers are required to support the Unicode UTF-8 and UTF-16 encodings; many
XML parsers support other encodings, such as ISO-8859-1, as well.
NNoottee
Unlike most XML attributes, the encoding attribute values are not case-sensitive.
MMaarrkkuupp aanndd CCoonntteenntt
The characters that make up an XML document are divided into mmaarrkkuupp and ccoonntteenntt.
Markup and content may be distinguished by the application of simple syntactic rules. All
strings that constitute markup begin either with the less-than sign angle bracket character (<<)
and end with the next greater-than sign angle bracket character (>>) or begin with the
ampersand character (&&) and end with the semicolon character (;;). Strings of characters that
are not markup are content.
<para>This is the&nbsp;content.</para>
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eXtensible Markup Language 7
In the example, the two para tags form one element, and the nbsp is another. The phrase
outside of those elementsThis is the content.is the content contained within the markup.
TTaaggss
A ttaagg is markup construct that begins with a less-than sign angle bracket (<) and ends with a
greater-than sign angle bracket (>).
Tags come in three varieties:
start-tags, for example <section>
end-tags, for example </section>
empty-element tags, for example <image/>
EElleemmeennttss
An eelleemmeenntt is a logical component of a document that either begins with a start-tag and ends
with an end-tag or consists only of an empty-element tag. The characters between the start-
and end-tags, if any, are the element's content and may contain markup, including other
elements, which are called child elements.
An example of an element is:
<Greeting>HHeelllloo,, wwoorrlldd..</Greeting>
Elements may not overlap; an end tag must always have the same name as the most recent
unmatched start tag.
<!-- WRONG! -->
<<ffuunnccttiioonn>><<ppeerrssoonn>>President<<//ffuunnccttiioonn>> Habibe<//ppeerrssoonn>>
<!-- CORRECT! -->
<<ffuunnccttiioonn>><<ppeerrssoonn>>President Habibe<//ppeerrssoonn>><<//ffuunnccttiioonn>>
An XML document has exactly one root element.
<!-- WRONG! -->
<a>...</a>
<b>...</b>
<!-- CORRECT! -->
<a>...</a>
XML element names are case-sensitive, so location and Location refer to different
elements. For people used to working with HTML or other SGML document types, this tends
to be difficult because it can cause surprising bugs in processing software or can even lead to
malformed XML documents.
<!-- WRONG! -->
<a href="pbear.html">polar bear</A>
<!-- CORRECT! -->
<a href="pbear.html">polar bear</a>
8 XML Basics and Authoring
AAttttrriibbuutteess
If elements are the nouns of XML, the aattttrriibbuutteess are its adjectives.
Every attribute assignment consists of two parts: the attribute name and the attribute value. In
the following example, the name of the attribute is number and the value is 3:
<step number="3">Connect A to B.</step>
Attribute names should never appear in quotation marks, but attribute values must always
appear in quotation marks in XML (unlike HTML), using the " or ' characters. Attribute
values must always be delimited strings that may contain entity references, character
references, and/or text characters. Attribute names in XML (unlike HTML) are case-
sensitive; HREF and href refer to two different XML attributes.
NNoottee
An element may not have two attributes with the same name.
XXMMLL WWhhiitteessppaaccee
XML considers four characters to be whitespace:
Carriage return (\r or ch[13])
Linefeed (\n or ch[10])
Tab (\t)
Spacebar (' ')
In XML documents, there are two types of whitespace:
SSiiggnniiffiiccaanntt wwhhiitteessppaaccee is part of the document content and should be preserved.
IInnssiiggnniiffiiccaanntt wwhhiitteessppaaccee is used when editing XML documents for readability. These
whitespaces are typically not intended for inclusion in the delivery of the document.
All whitespace characters within the content are preserved by the parser and passed
unmodified to the application, while whitespace within element tags and attribute values may
be removed.
CCoommmmeennttss
CCoommmmeennttss allow you to insert notes into a document that are meaningful to the documents
creator and editors but are not truly part of the documents context. Comments may appear
anywhere in a document outside of other markup.
The basic syntax of an XML comment is:
<!--...comment text...-->
NNoottee
Comments are not part of a documents character data. Within a comments section, entities
are not expanded, nor is any markup interpreted.
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eXtensible Markup Language 9
PPrroocceessssiinngg IInnssttrruuccttiioonnss
XML, like SGML, is a descriptive markup language; it does not presume to try to explain
how to handle an element or its contents. This provides for presentation flexibility and
independence. However, there are times when it is advantageous to pass hints to an
application along with the document. The pprroocceessssiinngg iinnssttrruuccttiioonn (PI) is the mechanism that
XML provides for this purpose.
PIs use a variation of XML element syntax:
<?target ...instruction... ?>
An example of an Arbortext Processing Instruction:
<?Pub _font Posture="italic"?>some word<?Pub /_font?>
WWeellll--ffoorrmmeedd DDooccuummeennttss
A wweellll--ffoorrmmeedd XML document is defined as an XML document that has correct XML
syntax. According to W3C, this means:
XML documents must have a root element.
XML elements must have a closing tag.
XML tags are case-sensitive.
XML elements must be properly nested.
XML attribute values must always be quoted.
NNoottee
Well-formedness should not be confused with a valid XML document, which is defined as a
"well-formed" XML document that also conforms to the rules of a document type definition
(DTD) or an XML schema (XSD).
CChhaarraacctteerr aanndd EEnnttiittyy RReeffeerreenncceess
XML provides two simple methods of representing characters.
CChhaarraacctteerr RReeffeerreenncceess
In SGML, HTML, and XML documents, the logical constructs known as character data and
attribute values consist of sequences of characters in which each character can manifest
directly (representing itself) or can be represented by a series of characters called a cchhaarraacctteerr
rreeffeerreennccee.
There are two types:
numeric character reference
character entity reference
10 XML Basics and Authoring
A numeric character reference refers to a character by its Universal Character Set/Unicode
code point and uses the format:
&#nnnn
or
&#xhhhh
where nnnn is the code point in decimal form and hhhh is the code point in hexadecimal
form.
NNoottee
The x must be lowercase in XML documents. The nnnn or hhhh may be any number of
digits and may include leading zeros. The hhhh may mix uppercase and lowercase, though
uppercase is the usual style.
EEnnttiittyy RReeffeerreenncceess
Entity references allow the insert of any string literal into element content or attribute values.
Character entity reference refers to a character by the name of an entity that has the desired
character as its replacement text. The entity must either be predefined (built in to the markup
language) or explicitly declared in a document type definition (DTD). The format is the same
for any entity reference:
&name;
where name is the name of the entity. The semicolon is required.
The XML specification defines five "predefined entities" representing special characters and
requires that all XML processors honor them.
SSppeecciiaall CChhaarraacctteerrss
NNaammee CChhaarraacctteerr
UUnniiccooddee ccooddee ppooiinntt
((ddeecciimmaall)) DDeessccrriippttiioonn
quot
" U+0022 (34) (double) quotation mark
amp
& U+0026 (38) ampersand
apos
' U+0027 (39) apostrophe (= apostrophe-quote)
lt
<
U+003C (60) less-than sign
gt >
U+003E (62) greater-than sign
XXIInncclluuddee
XXIInncclluuddee is a generic mechanism for merging XML documents by writing inclusion tags in
the "main" document to automatically include other documents or parts thereof. The resulting
document becomes a single composite XML information set.
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eXtensible Markup Language 11
For example, including the text file license.txt:
This document is published under GNU Free Documentation License
in an XHTML document:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
...
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude">
<head>...</head>
<body>
...
<p><xi:include href="license.txt" parse="text"/></p>
</body>
</html>
gives:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
...
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude">
<head>...</head>
<body>
...
<p>This document is published under GNU Free Documentation License</p>
</body>
</html>
XXMMLL NNaammeessppaaccee
XXMMLL nnaammeessppaacceess are used to provide uniquely named elements and attributes in an XML
document. They are defined in Namespaces in XML, a W3C recommendation.
An XML instance may contain element or attribute names from more than one XML
vocabulary. If each vocabulary is given a namespace, the ambiguity between identically
named elements or attributes can be resolved.
A simple example would be to consider an XML instance that contained references to a
customer and an ordered product. Both the customer element and the product element could
have a child element named id. References to the id element would therefore be ambiguous;
placing them in different namespaces would remove the ambiguity.
NNaammeessppaaccee DDeeccllaarraattiioonn
A namespace is declared using the reserved XML attribute xmlns, the value of which must be
an Internationalized Resource Identifier (IRI), usually a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)
reference.
For example:
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
12 XML Basics and Authoring
The namespace specification does not require or suggest that the namespace URI be used to
retrieve information; an XML parser simply treats it as a string. For example, the document at
http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml itself does not contain any code. It simply describes the
XHTML namespace to human readers. Using a URI (such as "http://www.w3.org/1999/
xhtml") to identify a namespace, rather than a simple string (such as "xhtml"), reduces the
possibility of different namespaces using duplicate identifiers.
Namespaces can also be mapped to prefixes in namespace declarations. For example:
xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
In this case, any element or attribute names that start with the prefix "xhtml:" are
considered to be in the XHTML namespace.
DDooccuummeenntt TTyyppee DDeeffiinniittiioonnss
A ddooccuummeenntt ttyyppee ddeeffiinniittiioonn (DTD) file uses formal grammar to specify the structure and
permissible values of XML documents.
In a DTD, the structure of a class of documents is described via element and attribute list
declarations:
Element declarations name the allowable set of elements within the document and specify
whether and how declared elements and runs of character data may be contained within
each element.
Attribute list declarations name the allowable set of attributes for each declared element,
including the type of each attribute value, if not an explicit set of valid value(s).
EElleemmeenntt DDeeccllaarraattiioonnss
An eelleemmeenntt ddeeccllaarraattiioonn defines an element and its possible content. Avalid XML document
only contains elements that are defined in the DTD.
An elements content is specified by some key words and characters:
EMPTY for no content
ANY for any content
, for orders
| for alternatives ("either...or")
( ) for groups
* for any number (zero or more)
+ for at least once (one or more)
? for optional (zero or one)
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eXtensible Markup Language 13
NNoottee
If there is no *, +, or ?, the element must occur exactly one time.
EExxaammpplleess::
<!ELEMENT html (head, body)>
<!ELEMENT p (#PCDATA | p | ul | dl | table | h1|h2|h3)*>
AAttttrriibbuuttee LLiisstt DDeeccllaarraattiioonnss
An aattttrriibbuuttee lliisstt ddeeccllaarraattiioonn specifies the name, data type, and default value of each
attribute associated with a given element type.
EExxaammppllee::
<!ATTLIST img
id ID #IMPLIED
src CDATA #REQUIRED
>
The following attribute types are available:
AAttttrriibbuuttee TTyyppeess
AAttttrriibbuuttee TTyyppee MMeeaanniinngg
CDATA
Character data (string)
ID
Unique name within a given document
IDREF
Reference to some element bearing an ID attribute
possessing the same value as the IDREF attribute
IDREFS
Series of IDREFs delimited by white space
ENTITY
Name of a predefined external entity
ENTITIES
Series of ENTITY names delimited by white space
NMTOKEN
A name
NMTOKES
A series of NMTOKENs delimited by white space
NOTATION
One of a set of names indicating notation types de-
clared in the DTD
[Enumerated Value]
One of a series of explicitly user-defined values that
the attribute can take on
A default value can be used to define whether an attribute must occur (#REQUIRED) or not
(#IMPLIED), whether it has a fixed value (#FIXED), and which value should be used as a
default value ("") in case the given attribute is left out in an XML tag.
14 XML Basics and Authoring
AAssssoocciiaattiinngg DDTTDDss wwiitthh DDooccuummeennttss
A DTD is associated with an XML document via a ddooccuummeenntt ttyyppee ddeeccllaarraattiioonn that appears
near the start of the XML document. The declaration establishes that the document is an
instance of the type defined by the referenced DTD.
The declarations in a DTD are divided into an internal subset and an external subset. The
declarations in the internal subset are embedded in the document type declaration in the
document itself. The declarations in the external subset are located in a separate text file. The
external subset may be referenced via a public identifier and/or a system identifier.
Example of a document type declaration containing both public and system identifiers:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0//EN" "xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
NNoottee
Public identifiers are mapped to system identifiers in catalogs that are optionally made
available to the document parsing software.
XXMMLL SScchheemmaa
XXMMLL SScchheemmaa was published as a W3C recommendation in May, 2001. Due to the confusion
between XML Schema as a specific W3C specification and the use of the same term to
describe schema languages in general, some parts of the user community refer to this
language as XML schema document (XSD).
Like all XML schema languages, XSD can be used to express a set of rules to which an XML
document must conform in order to be considered valid according to that schema.
However, unlike most other schema languages, XSD was also designed with the intent that
determination of a document's validity would produce a collection of information adhering to
specific data types.
Unlike DTDs, an XML schema allows the content of an element or attribute to be validated
against a data type. For example, an attribute might be constrained to be a valid date or a
decimal number.
XSD provides a set of 19 primitive data types (boolean, string, decimal, double,
float, anyURI, QName, hexBinary, base64Binary, duration, date, time,
dateTime, gYear, gYearMonth, gMonth, gMonthDay, gDay, and NOTATION).
XSD allows new data types to be constructed from these primitives by three mechanisms:
RReessttrriiccttiioonn: Reducing the set of permitted values
LLiisstt: Allowing a sequence of values
UUnniioonn: Allowing a choice of values from several types
EExxaammppllee
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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eXtensible Markup Language 15
<xs:schema elementFormDefault="qualified" xmlns:xs=
"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<xs:element name="Address">
<xs:complexType>
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="Recipient" type="xs:string" />
<xs:element name="House" type="xs:string" />
<xs:element name="Street" type="xs:string" />
<xs:element name="Town" type="xs:string" />
<xs:element name="County" type="xs:string" minOccurs="0" />
<xs:element name="PostCode" type="xs:string" />
<xs:element name="Country">
<xs:simpleType>
<xs:restriction base="xs:string">
<xs:enumeration value="FR" />
<xs:enumeration value="DE" />
<xs:enumeration value="UK" />
<xs:enumeration value="US" />
</xs:restriction>
</xs:simpleType>
</xs:element>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:element>
</xs:schema>
SScchheemmaa SSuuppppoorrtt
The Schema Support feature extends Arbortext support of the W3C Schema specification.
Initial schema support was added to the Arbortext 4.3 release and was limited to batch mode
validation. Real-time schema validation against one or more XML schema definitions was
added in Arbortext 5.0.
SScchheemmaa SSuuppppoorrtt FFeeaattuurreess
The following features are available with Schema Support:
RReeppllaaccee MMaarrkkIItt bbyy AAppaacchhee XXeerrcceess--CC++++ 22..66..00 ppaarrsseerr ffoorr XXMMLL vvaalliiddaattiioonn: The
MarkIt parser is still used for SGML validation. The most noticeable change for a user is
that it is no longer necessary to compile doctype for XML document. DTD or schema
declared in a document are parsed on the fly when a document is opened.
SSuuppppoorrtt sscchheemmaa--oonnllyy ddooccuummeennttss: Documents may have a !DOCTYPE declaration, a
schema declaration, a namespace declaration, or some combination of these items. The
doctype directory for documents that do not have a !DOCTYPE declaration, just a schema
declaration, are resolved.
16 XML Basics and Authoring
PPeerrffoorrmm rruunnttiimmee vvaalliiddaattiioonn ooff ddaattaa ttyyppeess iinn aattttrriibbuutteess: Arbortext supports real-time
validation of data types as defined in the schema.
PPeerrffoorrmm rruunnttiimmee vvaalliiddaattiioonn ooff ccoonntteenntt mmooddeell ffrroomm tthhee sscchheemmaa: A schema has the
ability to define the allowed content for an element.
GGeenneerraattee rreeqquuiirreedd mmaarrkkuupp: Similar to DTD support, when inserting an element that
includes required children elements into a schema-only document, the children elements
are generated automatically.
DDeetteerrmmiinniinngg tthhee DDooccttyyppee DDiirreeccttoorryy
There are two methods to determine the appropriate doctype directory from a schema:
CCaattaalloogg EEnnttrryy
Documents can specify their schema using a default namespace declaration on the root
element instead of a !DOCTYPE declaration. Arbortext Editor uses the namespace URI to
locate the schema (.xsd or .dtd) and the associated document type directory. The
namespace URI must be declared in a catalog using the URI catalog entry to map the
namespace URI into a DTD or schema file.
DDooccuummeenntt EExxaammppllee
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<article xmlns="http://www.arbortext.com/namespace/doctypes/avsdocbook">
CCaattaalloogg EEnnttrryy
URI "http://www.arbortext.com/namespace/doctypes/avsdocbook"
"avsdocbook.xsd"
NNoottee
Each namespace can have only one schema associated with it.
SScchheemmaa LLooccaattiioonn HHiinnttss
The document type can also be located by specifying schema location hints on the root
element. Arbortext Editor supports both of the following attributes:
xsi:schemaLocation
xsi:noNameSpaceSchemaLocation
If the namespace is not resolved by a URI catalog entry, the location is used as the URI to
search the catalog. If that location is not resolved, it is used as a system identifier.
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22
XXPPaatthh
What is XPath? ........................................................................................................................... 18
Nodes ........................................................................................................................................ 18
Navigating the XPath Node Tree................................................................................................... 20
Reading XPath Expressions......................................................................................................... 22
XML Basics and Authoring 17
18 XML Basics and Authoring
WWhhaatt iiss XXPPaatthh??
XXPPaatthh is a language for addressing parts of an XML document. Understanding XPath will
help you in XSLT, Styler, XSL-FO, DOM, AOM, and ACL development.
XPath deals with information not markup. Markup serves as a way to access information.
An XML developer deals with nodes not characters of markup. The content of a source file is
derived according to a data model for the markup.
A processor performs all operations on the source node tree not on the input file directly.
NNooddeess
There are seven types of nodes:
Root node /
Element node
Text node text()
Attribute node @
Comment node comment()
Processing instruction processing-instruction()
Namespace node
RRoooott NNooddee
The root node has the following qualities:
Only node in a tree without a parent
Appears as the parent of the document element
NNoottee
The root is the parent of the outermost element.
Has the value of the document element
EElleemmeenntt NNooddee
The element node has the following qualities:
Single named node created in document order for each element
Child of its parent node
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XPath 19
May have child content nodes that could be either text, elements, comments, or
processing instruction nodes
May have attached non-content nodes, such as attribute nodes or namespace declaration
nodes. Note that these types of nodes are not considered child nodes of the element node.
TTeexxtt NNooddee
The text node has the following qualities:
Single unnamed node created for a string of adjacent characters data that is not document
markup
Child of its parent node
Never has any children nodes of any type
NNoottee
Text within comments and processing instructions is not captured within text nodes.
AAttttrriibbuuttee NNooddee
The attribute node has the following qualities:
Single attribute node attached to an element node for each attribute specified in the start
tag of that element
Always attached to element nodes
Has a name that is the name of the attribute
Has a value that is the value of the attribute
CCoommmmeenntt NNooddee
The comment node has the following qualities:
Single unnamed node created from a single comment
Child of its parent node
Never has any children nodes
Has a value that is the content of the comment not including the opening and closing
markup
PPrroocceessssiinngg IInnssttrruuccttiioonn NNooddee
The processing instruction node has the following qualities:
Single named node created from a single processing instruction
Child of its parent node
20 XML Basics and Authoring
Never has any children nodes
Has a value that is the content of the processing instruction following the whitespace after
the name but not including the opening and closing markup
NNaammeessppaaccee NNooddee
The namespace node has the following qualities:
Provides the definition of the URI to use in place of the namespace prefix
Always attached to element nodes
Never has any child nodes
NNaavviiggaattiinngg tthhee XXPPaatthh NNooddee TTrreeee
The following 13 axis specifiers allow you to move with in the XPath tree:
NNoottee
The double colon "::" immediately follows the use of an axis name.
1. ancestor:: The parent and its ancestors (the chain of parents up to and including the
root) in reverse document order
2. ancestor-or-self:: The current node and its ancestors in reverse document order
3. attribute:: or (@) Attached attribute nodes in implementation-defined order
4. child:: or (nothing) Immediate child nodes in document order
5. descendant:: All descendent nodes (children and their children) in document order
6. descendant-or-self:: The current node and its descendent nodes in document
order
7. following:: All nodes after the end of the current node in document order
8. following-sibling:: All following siblings of the current node in document order
9. namespace:: Attached namespace nodes in implementation-defined order
10. parent:: or (..) The parent node (or the attaching node for attached attribute and
namespace nodes)
11. preceding:: All nodes wholly contained before the start of the current node in reverse
document order
NNoottee
parent is excluded since it has its own axis specifier.
12. preceding-sibling:: All preceding nodes that are siblings of the current node in
reverse document order
13. self:: The current node
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XPath 21
AAbbbbrreevviiaatteeddAAbbssoolluutteeLLooccaattiioonnPPaatthh
AAbbbbrreevviiaatteeddAAbbssoolluutteeLLooccaattiioonnPPaatthh is an expression used to select all nodes in the
document that satisfy some condition.
SSyynnttaaxx
//
UUssaaggee
The initial // indicates that the selection path starts at the document root. The path after the
// indicates how the relative location then proceeds.
EExxaammpplleess
////ffiigguurree
selects all figure elements in the document
////cchhaapptteerr//ttiittllee
selects all the title elements that have a chapter element as their parent
AAbbbbrreevviiaatteeddRReellaattiivveeLLooccaattiioonnPPaatthh
AAbbbbrreevviiaatteeddRReellaattiivveeLLooccaattiioonnPPaatthh is a shorthand way of requesting all the descendants of
a node rather than just the immediate children.
EExxaammpplleess
cchhaapptteerr////ffoooottnnoottee
selects all footnote elements that are descendants of a chapter element that itself is a child of
the context node
UUssiinngg PPrreeddiiccaatteess
PPrreeddiiccaatteess are used to qualify an expression (for example, filter nodes). They are specifiable
on any node set and appear in square brackets after the node test.
version[3]
or
version[last()];
Predicates may be:
A numeric value
22 XML Basics and Authoring
version[3]
Node set expression value
spec[@released]
Other expression value
answer[count(guess)=5]
XXPPaatthh FFuunnccttiioonnss
The following standard functions are included in XPath and XSLT for use in expressions:
llaasstt(())
Returns the value of the context size. When processing a list of nodes, if the nodes are
numbered from one, last returns the last number.
ppoossiittiioonn(())
Returns the value of the context position
nnaammee(())
Returns the name of a node. In most cases, this is the name of the node as written in the
original XML source document.
ccoonnccaatt(())
Takes two or more arguments. Each of the arguments is converted to a string, and the
resulting strings are joined together end-to-end and returned as the result.
concat(month,' ',day,' ',year)
ccoouunntt(())
Takes a node set as its parameter and returns the number of nodes present in the node set
nnoott(())
Returns the negation of its argument. If the argument is true, it returns false; if the argument
is false, it returns true.
RReeaaddiinngg XXPPaatthh EExxpprreessssiioonnss
The following examples show how you would interpret XPath expressions:
ppaarraa
matches all para children in the current context
ppaarraa//eemmpphhaassiiss
matches all emphasis elements that have a parent of para
TechPubs Global, Inc.
XPath 23
ppaarraa////eemmpphhaassiiss
matches all emphasis elements that have an ancestor of para
////ttiittllee
matches all title elements anywhere in the document
..////ttiittllee
matches all title elements that are descendants of the current context
iitteemm[[11]]
matches the first item
iitteemm[[ppoossiittiioonn(())==llaasstt(())]]
matches the last item (in a given list)
ffiigguurree[[ttiittllee]]
matches figure elements that have title children
ttooppiicc[[@@lleevveell==''bbaassiicc'']]
matches topic elements with level attributes whose value is basic
aauutthhoorr[[ffiirrssttnnaammee==""PPaauull""]]
matches author elements that have firstname children with the content Paul
aauutthhoorr//ffiirrssttnnaammee[[..==""PPaauull""]]
matches firstname elements (1) that are children of author elements and (2) whose content is
Paul
lliisstt//iitteemm[[ppaarraa]]
matches list items that contain at least one para element
wwaarrnniinngg[[@@ttyyppee==''sseerriioouuss'']]
matches warning elements with a type attribute whose value is serious
33
TTeecchhSSuuiittee
TechSuite Oveview...................................................................................................................... 26
TechSuite System Structure ......................................................................................................... 26
TechSuite System Components.................................................................................................... 28
Manual Lifecycle ......................................................................................................................... 30
XML Basics and Authoring 25
26 XML Basics and Authoring
TTeecchhSSuuiittee OOvveevviieeww
TechPubs TechSuite is a system to create, edit, manage, publish and view manuals for the
Airlines industry. These products use XML-oriented technology and supports industry
standards.
TechSuite augments Arbortexts line of XML authoring products. For the sake of clarity,
products are referred to by TechSuite nomenclature. The following table explains the
mapping between TechSuite and Arbortext products.
TTeecchhSSuuiittee aanndd AArrbboorrtteexxtt AApppplliiccaattiioonnss
TTeecchhSSuuiittee AArrbboorrtteexxtt
TechAuthor Arbortext Editor
TechRevManager Windchill
TechPublisher
none
TechView
none
TechView Offline
none
TTeecchhSSuuiittee SSyysstteemm SSttrruuccttuurree
TechSuite is composed of multiple components. Documents and manuals flow through the
products.
TechPubs Global, Inc.
TechSuite 27
TTeecchhPPuubbss GGlloobbaall TTeecchhSSuuiittee
TTeecchhAAuutthhoorr is the editor used to write and edit the manuals and individual XML files.
TechAuthor interacts with TechRevManager to check the files into and out of the repository
as they are drafted and updated. See Using TechAuthor on page 35.
TTeecchhRReevv MMaannaaggeerr is the central content storage repository for all versions of manuals and
graphics. See Using TechRevManager on page .
The manual is burst into chunks and saved into the content repository. Each of the chunks
is an independent document (object) within the content repository. When a document is
checked out from TechAuthor and checked back in, the version of the document is
incremented. The content respository stores all of the checked-in versions generated during
the authoring process.
TTeecchhPPuubblliisshheerr is the engine that publishes your manuals and pushes them to the libraries
and servers on which you want them hosted. See Using TechPublisher on page .
28 XML Basics and Authoring
The iinntteerrnnaall tteecchhnniiccaall lliibbrraarryy stores and organizes all draft revisions of a manual during
development. When a technical writer finishes changes to the manual for a specific revision,
the manual is released from content repository into the internal technical library. All of the
revision history of the manuals appear in the internal library.
The internal technical library is used by technical writers, reviewers, approvers, and
administrators. They use the internal technical library content to preview, review, and approve
manuals from TechView or TechEFB.
An eexxtteerrnnaall tteecchhnniiccaall lliibbrraarryy is used to store the current effective revision of a manual.
This is often used as a release library where only the current released information is
provided to content consumers.
The external technical library is used by pilots, flight operations, and maintenance personnel.
The manuals in the external technical library are uploaded from the internal technical library
by a library administrator.
TTeecchhVViieeww is the viewing engine that renders the contents of either the internal or external
technical library. See Using TechView on page .
TTeecchhSSuuiittee SSyysstteemm CCoommppoonneennttss
TechSuite includes the following applications:
TTeecchhSSuuiittee AApppplliiccaattiioonnss
AApppplliiccaattiioonnss//FFuunnccttiioonn DDeessccrriippttiioonn UUsseerrss
TTeecchhAAuutthhoorr (requires
Arbortext Editor)
Authoring environment for
all technical writers to make
changes to manuals;
installed on each technical
writers computer
Technical writer
TTeecchhRReevvMMaannaaggeerr (requires
Arbortext Content Manager)
Central storage repository
for all document content and
graphics; installed on a
server and accessed from a
web browser
Technical writer,
administrator, manual owner,
subject matter expert,
approver
TTeecchhPPuubblliisshheerr (requires
Arbortext Publish Engine)
Application to publish
manuals to various output
types; installed on a server
and accessed from a web
browser
Technical writer,
administrator
TTeecchhVViieeww Application for viewing Technical writer, end user
TechPubs Global, Inc.
TechSuite 29
TTeecchhSSuuiittee AApppplliiccaattiioonnss ((ccoonnttiinnuueedd))
AApppplliiccaattiioonnss//FFuunnccttiioonn DDeessccrriippttiioonn UUsseerrss
published manuals on laptop
or desktop; installed on a
server and accessed from a
web browser
NNoottee
You can run multiple
instances of TechView.
Often an internal and
external TechView are
installed.
TTeecchhEEFFBB Application for viewing
published manuals on a
mobile device; installed on a
server and accessed from a
mobile device such as an
iPad
Technical writer, end user
TTeecchhCCoommppllyy Application for verifying
that the manual content is in
compliance with regulatory
requirements; optional
module in TechAuthor,
TechPublisher, and
TechView
Technical writer,
administrator
TechSuite requires the following environment:
TTeecchhSSuuiittee 44..44 EEnnvviirroonnmmeenntt
PPrrooggrraamm VVeerrssiioonn//CCoommmmeennttss
Windows XP and 7; client OS
2008 R2; server OS
Arbortext Editor 6.0 M080
32-bit version for Windows XP
64-bit version for Windows 7
Arbortext Publishing Engine (PE) 6.0 M080
64-bit version
30 XML Basics and Authoring
TTeecchhSSuuiittee 44..44 EEnnvviirroonnmmeenntt ((ccoonnttiinnuueedd))
PPrrooggrraamm VVeerrssiioonn//CCoommmmeennttss
Arbortext Content Manager
(ACM)
10.0 M040
Supports Oracle 11g and SQL Server 2008 database
JDK 6
32-bit version for Windows XP
64-bit version for Windows 7
Tomcat 6.0.33
Included in the PE package and can be run on a 64-bit
OS
Used by TechPublisher, TechView, and TechEFB
MMaannuuaall LLiiffeeccyyccllee
The following sections walkthrough the revision lifecycles for a manual.
RReevviissiioonn 00 oorr IInniittiiaall
To run the lifecycle for the initial (0) revision:
1. Create or convert manual to XML. Content can be converted from Microsoft Word, Fra-
meMaker, or another existing source.
2. Using TechAuthor, import the manual into TechRevManager. See Importing a Manual in-
to TechRevManager on page .
3. Prepare the manual for release by doing the following:
a. Check the full manual out from TechRevManager to TechAuthor.
b. In TechAuthor, from the menu bar, select RRuunn NNeeww RReevviissiioonn RReeccoorrdd.
c. In cases where you want to update all revision dates on elements which have
revdate and revno attributes, from the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn CClleeaarr CChhaannggee
IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn. See Clearing Change Information on page 100.
d. When managing page-based manuals, see Generating a List of Effective Pages on
TechPubs Global, Inc.
TechSuite 31
page 104. When managing section-based manuals, see Generating a List of Effective
Sections on page 105 and Generating Section Revision Highlights on page 106.
NNoottee
If you do not want to store the LEP, LoES, and Revision Highlights in TechRevManager,
skip the previous steps and run generate LEP, LoES, and Generate Revision Highlights
against the released manual locally in TechAuthor after the document release.
4. From TechAuthor, check the manual into TechRevManager.
5. Release and publish the document by doing the following:
a. Release the document from TechRevManager to TechPublisher.
NNoottee
If you want to generate the LEP, LoES, or Revision Highlights during this step, run
document release in TechAuthor to the local disk. Then run generate LEP, Revision
Highlights, or LoES. Once completed, upload the manual to TechPublisher for
publishing.
b. In TechPublisher, publish the manual. See Publishing from TechPublisher on page .
NNoottee
If there is a content problem, in TechRevManager, make changes to the copy of the
manual not released. Then rerelease and publish the manual. Any changes made to the
released copy of the manual do not appear in subsequent releases.
6. In TechRevManager, create a baseline. See Creating a Baseline on page .
RReevviissiioonn 11 ttoo NN
To run the lifecycle from revision 1 to N:
1. Prepare the manual by doing the following:
a. In TechRevManager, in the current folder, revise the manual.
A new version of all document objects are created, and the lifecycle state is set to In
Work.
b. In TechAuthor, clean your workspace
1
, or create a new one.
1. This function cleans out any previous revision of the document (object)s from the workspace.
32 XML Basics and Authoring
c. Check the full manual out from TechRevManager to TechAuthor.
NNoottee
If you want to clear out all change information from the manual and add a new
revision date and number, clear the change information in TechAuthor. See Clearing
Change Information on page 100.
2. Make changes to the manual by doing the following:
a. In TechAuthor, with Change Tracking enabled, make changes to the content.
b. Go through the accept/reject change process. See Managing Changes on page 78.
Change information is generated.
c. Update the section attribute. See Updating Section Attributes on page 98.
NNoottee
At this stage, in TechAuthor, run Check Completeness to ensure the document object
is still compliant to the DTD or schema.
3. From TechAuthor, check the manual into TechRevManager.
NNoottee
The change, review, and approve process is typically triggered by the change request
workflow process.
4. Prepare the manual for release by doing the following:
a. Check the full manual out from TechRevManager to TechAuthor.
b. In TechAuthor, from the menu bar, select RRuunn NNeeww RReevviissiioonn RReeccoorrdd.
c. In cases where you want to update all revision dates on elements which have
revdate and revno attributes, from the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn CClleeaarr CChhaannggee
IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn. See Clearing Change Information on page 100.
d. When managing page-based manuals, see Generating a List of Effective Pages on
page 104. When managing section-based manuals, see Generating a List of Effective
Sections on page 105 and Generating Section Revision Highlights on page 106.
NNoottee
If you do not want to store the LEP, LoES, and Revision Highlights in TechRevManager,
skip the previous steps and run generate LEP, LoES, and Generate Revision Highlights
against the released manual locally in TechAuthor after the document release.
TechPubs Global, Inc.
TechSuite 33
5. Release and publish the document by doing the following:
a. Release the document from TechRevManager to TechPublisher.
NNoottee
If you want to generate the LEP, LoES, or Revision Highlights during this step, run
document release in TechAuthor to the local disk. Then run generate LEP, Revision
Highlights, or LoES. Once completed, upload the manual to TechPublisher for
publishing.
b. In TechPublisher, publish the manual. See Publishing from TechPublisher on page .
NNoottee
If there is a content problem, in TechRevManager, make changes to the copy of the
manual not released. Then rerelease and publish the manual. Any changes made to the
released copy of the manual do not appear in subsequent releases.
6. In TechRevManager, create a baseline. See Creating a Baseline on page .
44
UUssiinngg TTeecchhAAuutthhoorr
TechAuthor Overview................................................................................................................... 36
Authoring Basics ......................................................................................................................... 36
Creating a New Document ........................................................................................................... 41
Inserting Markup ......................................................................................................................... 45
Working with Attributes ................................................................................................................ 53
Managing Content ....................................................................................................................... 55
Managing Airline Data.................................................................................................................. 72
Managing Changes ..................................................................................................................... 78
Revision Management ................................................................................................................. 90
XML Basics and Authoring 35
36 XML Basics and Authoring
TTeecchhAAuutthhoorr OOvveerrvviieeww
TechAuthor, the editing and authoring component of TechSuite, is the primary tool used for
editing and authoring structured content and manipulating the associated metadata, such as
change revisions, compliance, and effectivity.
TechAuthor connects with content repositories to access versioned XML, images, and
documents. TechAuthor is used to manage and insert compliance elements, revision elements,
effectivity, and phase of flight elements into content.
In addition to composing the manual itself, TechAuthor can also prepare front matter
summaries, such as:
Revision Record
List of Effective Sections
List of Effective Pages
Section Revision Highlights
Page Revision Highlights
AAuutthhoorriinngg BBaassiiccss
The following sections summarize some basic authoring topics for TechAuthor.
EEnnaabblliinngg FFuullll MMeennuuss
To reveal all menus in TechAuthor:
1. From the menu bar, select TToooollss PPrreeffeerreenncceess.
The Preferences dialog box opens.
2. Under Category, select WWiinnddooww.
The window options appear.
WWiinnddooww OOppttiioonnss
TechPubs Global, Inc.
Using TechAuthor 37
3. Under Show, select FFuullll MMeennuuss.
NNoottee
When not selected, the short menus list only displays the most frequently-used menu
commands.
4. Click OOKK.
The settings are applied, and all menus and menu items appear.
SShhoowwiinngg tthhee CCoommmmaanndd LLiinnee
To use command shortcuts in TechAuthor, you must enable the command line in the
interface.
1. From the menu bar, select TToooollss PPrreeffeerreenncceess.
The Preferences dialog box appears.
2. Under Category, select WWiinnddooww.
The window options appear on the right.
3. Under Show, select the CCoommmmaanndd LLiinnee check box.
4. Click OOKK.
The Command Line appears at the bottom of the TechAuthor window.
KKeeyybbooaarrdd SShhoorrttccuuttss
The following tables list keyboard shortcuts for common tasks:
EEddiittiinngg FFuunnccttiioonnss
KKeeyyssttrrookkee
FFuunnccttiioonn
CTRL+D
Modifies attributes
ALT+SHIFT+A
Retrieves information about the current
character
CTRL+SHIFT+X
Deletes markup
NNoottee
This function deletes backwards and contin-
ues to do so until deletion would make the
markup out of context.
ALT+SHIFT+Up or Down Arrow
Scrolls five lines up or down
SHIFT+RIGHT-CLICK
Collapses expand current tag
CTRL+0 Expands all
38 XML Basics and Authoring
EEddiittiinngg FFuunnccttiioonnss ((ccoonnttiinnuueedd))
KKeeyyssttrrookkee
FFuunnccttiioonn
HYPHEN
Cycles through hyphens, en-dashes, and em-
dashes
CTRL+A
Selects entire document
CTRL+C
Copies highlighted region to buffer (replac-
ing buffer contents)
CTRL+X
Cuts highlighted region to buffer (replacing
buffer contents)
CTRL+E
Selects element content
CTRL+V
Pastes buffer contents
CTRL+Y
Performs the reversed action again or re-
peats the last command
CTRL+Z
Undoes the last operation
SHIFT+F3 Cycles through cases for the selected con-
tent. For example, lowercase, Title Case,
UPPERCASE, and so on.
CTRL+DELETE
Deletes the next word
CTRL+BACKSPACE
Deletes the previous word
ALT+DELETE
Deletes to end of line
CTRL+CLICK
Selects the sentence under the pointer
ALT+CLICK
Collapses or expands element content
TTaabbllee EEddiittiinngg
KKeeyyssttrrookkee
FFuunnccttiioonn
F9 Inserts a row above
SHIFT+F9 Inserts a row below
CTRL+F9 Inserts a column to the left
CTRL+SHIFT+F9 Insert a column to the right
F11 Deletes the row with the cursor or the se-
lected row(s)
CTRL+F11 Deletes the column with the cursor or the se-
lected column(s)
TechPubs Global, Inc.
Using TechAuthor 39
TTaabbllee EEddiittiinngg ((ccoonnttiinnuueedd))
KKeeyyssttrrookkee
FFuunnccttiioonn
ALT+F9 Selects the cell with the cursor
ALT+SHIFT+F9 Selects the row with the cursor
ALT+CTRL+F9 Selects the column with the cursor
ALT+5 Selects the whole table
F11 Spans the selected cells
ALT+SHIFT+F11 Unspans the cells if previously merged
FFiinnddiinngg TTeexxtt aanndd TTaaggss
KKeeyyssttrrookkee
FFuunnccttiioonn
CTRL+F
Opens the Find/Replace dialog box
CTRL+SHIFT+F
Finds the next instance
ALT+SHIFT+F
Finds the selection forward
ALT+Left Arrow Finds element start tag
ALT+Right Arrow Finds element end tag
CTRL+Shift+(level #) In the Document Map view, collapses to the
specified level.
NNoottee
This change is undone when a file is
checked in or out of the repository.
MMaarrkkuupp
KKeeyyssttrrookkee
FFuunnccttiioonn
CTRL+M
Opens the Insert Markup toolbar list
CTRL+SHIFT+M
Opens the Insert Markup dialog box
CTRL+SHIFT+X
Deletes the selected markup or markup with
the cursor
CTRL+D
Opens the Modify Attributes dialog box
ENTER
Opens the Quick Tags menu
NNoottee
For markup shortcuts, the cursor must be in between or to the right of the tag.
40 XML Basics and Authoring
AAcccceenntt MMaarrkkss aanndd SSyymmbboollss
KKeeyyssttrrookkee SSyymmbbooll oorr AAcccceenntt EExxaammppllee
ALT+' acute

ALT+
bar under

ALT+[
breve
ALT+<
caron

ALT+
cedilla

ALT+^ circumflex
ALT+.
dot over
ALT+,
dot under

ALT+`
grave

ALT+# double acute
ALT+-
macron

ALT+@ ring
ALT+~
tilde
ALT+ umlaut
CCoommmmaanndd SShhoorrttccuuttss
The following table lists command shortcuts for common tasks:
CCoommmmaanndd AAccttiioonn
edit current untagged Switches the view to edit in XML code
edit current xml Switches the view to edit in Arbortext
tagging
doc_flatten Flattens all objects in the document
TechPubs Global, Inc.
Using TechAuthor 41
CCrreeaattiinngg aa NNeeww DDooccuummeenntt
The New Document dialog box allows you to launch a new document in any of the doctypes
defined in your environment.
NNeeww DDooccuummeenntt DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
The Category pane on the left displays the document type categories; the Type pane on the
right displays the associated template or samples available for that document type. The
options on the bottom of the dialog box determine whether you launch a template or sample
version of that type.
CCoonnffiigguurriinngg NNeeww OOppttiioonnss
To manage the template and sample files available for selection on the New Document dialog
box:
1. From the menu bar, select TToooollss PPrreeffeerreenncceess.
2. Click AAddvvaanncceedd.
3. Select the nneewwlliisstt preference.
42 XML Basics and Authoring
4. Click EEddiitt.
The New List Configuration dialog box opens.
NNeeww LLiisstt CCoonnffiigguurraattiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
5. Click AAdddd.
The Select DTD/Schema dialog box opens.
6. Navigate to and select the DTD or schema file.
7. Click OOppeenn.
The DTD or schema is added to the New dialog box.
8. From the Category or Type list, select an existing entry.
9. Click EEddiitt.
The Edit Preference dialog box opens.
10. Click BBrroowwssee, and navigate to and select a new file.
11. Click OOKK.
The preference is updated.
12. Click OOKK.
The Edit Preferences dialog box closes.
13. Click CClloossee.
The Advanced Preferences dialog box closes.
14. Click OOKK.
The Preferences dialog box closes.
TechPubs Global, Inc.
Using TechAuthor 43
CCrreeaattiinngg aa NNeeww TTeemmppllaattee
To draft a new template:
NNoottee
Currently, this function is special for only airbusflightops manuals.
1. From the menu bar, select FFiillee NNeeww.
The New Document dialog box opens.
2. From the Category list, select tteecchhuusseerr.
The Type list populates with applicable document types.
TTyyppee LLiisstt
3. From the Types list, select AAiirrbbuuss FFlliigghhtt OOppss.
4. At the bottom of the dialog box, select TTeemmppllaattee.
5. Click OOKK.
The document template launches in Arbortext.
CCrreeaattiinngg aa NNeeww SSaammppllee
To draft a new sample:
44 XML Basics and Authoring
NNoottee
Currently, this function is only available for airbusflightops manuals.
1. From the menu bar, select FFiillee NNeeww.
The New Document dialog box opens.
2. From the Category list, select tteecchhuusseerr.
The Type list populates with applicable document types.
TTyyppee LLiisstt
3. From the Types list, select AAiirrbbuuss FFlliigghhtt OOppss.
TechPubs Global, Inc.
Using TechAuthor 45
4. At the bottom of the dialog box, select SSaammppllee.
5. Click OOKK.
The document sample launches in Arbortext.
SSaammppllee DDooccuummeenntt
IInnsseerrttiinngg MMaarrkkuupp
There are several ways to insert markup in your document:
Inserting Markup Using the Toolbar on page 46
Inserting Markup Using the Dialog Box on page 47
Inserting Markup Using Quick Tags on page 49
46 XML Basics and Authoring
IInnsseerrttiinngg MMaarrkkuupp UUssiinngg tthhee TToooollbbaarr
To add markup to your document with the toolbar button:
1. In the document, place your cursor at the target location.
2. On the toolbar, click IInnsseerrtt MMaarrkkuupp.
The Insert Element list appears, showing all elements valid for your cursor location. If no
choices appear in the list, markup tags are not valid for insertion in the current context.
IInnsseerrtt EElleemmeenntt LLiisstt
NNoottee
You can also open this list by pressing CTRL+M.
3. From the list, select an element.
The element appears at your cursor location.
TechPubs Global, Inc.
Using TechAuthor 47
IInnsseerrttiinngg MMaarrkkuupp UUssiinngg tthhee DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
To add markup to your document with the dialog box:
1. In the document, place your cursor at the target location.
2. From the menu bar, select IInnsseerrtt EElleemmeenntt.
The Insert Element dialog box appears, showing all elements valid for your cursor
location. If no choices appear in the list, markup tags are not valid for insertion in the
current context.
IInnsseerrtt EElleemmeenntt DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
3. From the list, select an element.
4. Click IInnsseerrtt.
The element appears at your cursor location.
NNoottee
The dialog box can remain open while you continue to insert markup in more than one
place.
5. When completed, click CClloossee.
UUssiinngg QQuuiicckk TTaaggss
QQuuiicckk TTaaggss allow you to insert elements into your document without having to access using
the toolbar or dialog box.
48 XML Basics and Authoring
Quick Tags appear in a popup list of elements at the location of your cursor when you press
ENTER. The contents of the Quick Tags is context-sensitive, based on the position of your
cursor in your document.
QQuuiicckk TTaaggss LLiissttss
When there is no horizontal dividing line in the Quick Tags list, the list contains only child
elements of the tag for the cursor location. For example, your cursor location is not at an end
tag when you press ENTER. The list of elements is the same list you would get when using
the toolbar button or dialog box to insert markup.
UUnnddiivviiddeedd QQuuiicckk TTaaggss LLiisstt
When the Quick Tags popup is divided by a horizontal line, the section below the line
contains a list of the child elements that are valid to insert within the element in which your
cursor is located.
The section above the line are other valid elements that you might want to insert after the
current element. This list contains parent elements that correspond to the series of
uninterrupted end tags in the document map at this location.
For example, the following figure shows a portion of the document map with the cursor at the
end of content in a para element. The <para> element is inside a listitem element,
which is inside an itemizedlist element.
EExxaammppllee CCoonntteexxtt
The corresponding Quick Tags list incorporates all these parent elements above the horizontal
line.
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DDiivviiddeedd QQuuiicckk TTaaggss LLiisstt
Notice there are four choices above the horizontal line.
para split inserts another para element right after the para where the cursor is
located. For example, if you are creating a bulleted list, this choice adds a second
paragraph in the list item with which you are currently working.
listitem after para, listitem inserts another listitem element inside the
itemizedlist element. This choice adds another bullet item to your bulleted list.
itemizedlist after para, listitem, itemizedlist inserts another
itemizedlist element after the existing one. This choice adds a second bulleted list
to follow the list you already made.
para after para, listitem, itemizedlist, para inserts another para
element after the one at the bottom of the hierarchy shown. This means you have
completed the bulleted list(s), and you want to add a paragraph after the paragraph that
contains those lists to continue on with your document.
Below the horizontal line is a list of all the elements that are valid within the para element
where the cursor is located. If this list is long, you are able to scroll through it to make your
selection.
IInnsseerrttiinngg MMaarrkkuupp UUssiinngg QQuuiicckk TTaaggss
To add markup to your document with Quick Tags:
1. In the document, place your cursor at the target location.
2. Press ENTER.
The Quick Tags list appears.
3. Select an element from the list.
NNoottee
You can use the keyboard keys to navigate and select in the list.
50 XML Basics and Authoring
If tag display is on, the tag appears in your document. If tag display is off, the tag prompt
appears (a gray box with the name of the element inside it).
4. Press ENTER again, and make another selection from the Quick Tags list.
MMaannaaggiinngg TTaaggss
TechAuthor provides several features for managing the tags (elements) within your
document.
CChhaannggiinngg aann EElleemmeenntt
Changing an element (tag) is a subset of changing markup. This feature allows you to
changes the type of markup located to the left of the cursor to another tag that is permitted at
that location.
To change the current element:
1. Place your cursor within the element, or select the element.
2. Do one of the following:
From the menu bar, select EEddiitt CChhaannggee MMaarrkkuupp.
On the toolbar, click CChhaannggee MMaarrkkuupp.
The Change Markup dialog box appears with the element name in the title bar.
CChhaannggee MMaarrkkuupp DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
3. (Optional) Use the MMooddee drop-down menu to set the appropriate markup type.
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4. From the list, select the new element type.
5. Click OOKK.
The element is changed in the document.
SSpplliittttiinngg aa TTaagg
As you create your document, you might need to separate the contents of a tag. To do so, you
need to split the tags.
To split a tag into two tags:
1. In your document, place the cursor where you want to separate the contents.
2. Do one of the following:
From the menu bar, select EEddiitt SSpplliitt [[ttaagg]] eelleemmeenntt, where [tag] is the name of the tag
containing the cursor that will be affected by the split operation.
Press ENTER, and from the Quick Tags list, select [[ttaagg]] sspplliitt.
Press CTRL+J.
The tag separates into two tags of the same type at the cursor point.
JJooiinniinngg TTaaggss
As you create your document, you might need to unite the contents of two adjacent tags with
the same structure, such as two paragraphs or two sections. To do so, you need to join the
tags.
To join two adjacent tags of the same type:
1. In your document, place the cursor between the two tags of the same type to join.
NNoottee
You can also select the two or more adjacent tags. Your selection should completely
contain the tags you want to join, and the tags must be of the same type.
2. Do one of the following:
From the menu bar, select EEddiitt JJooiinn [[ttaagg]] elements, where [tag] is the name of the
selected tags that will be affected by the join operation.
Press CTRL+SHIFT+J.
The indicated tags merge into one.
CCrreeaattiinngg aa TTaagg TTeemmppllaattee
The tag template features allows you to create a shortcut to consistent and frequently used
sets of tags or text. Tag templates can be used to create sets of instructions or a partially
completed list that you want to use repeatedly.
52 XML Basics and Authoring
The environment variable APTTAGTPLDIR specifies the path for the tag template directory.
To create a tag template:
1. In your document, create the tags you want to template.
2. Select the tags.
3. From the menu bar, select TToooollss TTaagg TTeemmppllaatteess.
The Tag Templates dialog box opens.
TTaagg TTeemmppllaatteess DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
NNoottee
If you wanted to select an existing tag template, under Templates, select the template, and
click Insert.
4. Click NNeeww.
The New Tag Template dialog box opens with your tag selection displayed.
5. In the NNaammee field, type a name for the template.
6. In the SSttoorree tteemmppllaattee iinn field, type or select the folder in which to save the template.
NNoottee
You can save these templates to a shared location to allow multiple users to access them.
7. Click OOKK.
The template is created and appears in the Templates list on the Tag Templates dialog
box.
8. To insert the tag template, under Templates, select the new template.
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9. Click IInnsseerrtt.
The tag template appears in your document. The Tag Templates dialog box remains open
for you to insert multiple templates.
10. When completed, click CClloossee.
WWoorrkkiinngg wwiitthh AAttttrriibbuutteess
The following sections describe managing attributes.
MMooddiiffyyiinngg AAttttrriibbuutteess
The Modify Attributes dialog box lists the attributes associated with the current tag, as
defined in the DTD or schema.
To change the attributes of an element:
1. In the document, place your cursor within the target element.
2. Do one of the following:
54 XML Basics and Authoring
On the toolbar, click MMooddiiffyy AAttttrriibbuutteess.
Press CTRL+D.
The Modify Attributes dialog box appears with a cursor in the first required attribute.
MMooddiiffyy AAttttrriibbuutteess DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
3. Define or update the attributes as needed.
4. Click OOKK.
The attributes are applied to the element. If you have not defined all required attributes, a
warning message appears.
RReeppllaacciinngg AAttttrriibbuutteess
The Replace Attributes dialog box allows you to search contextually for elements and their
attributes. You can then replace specific attribute values or any attribute value with a new
value or no value.
NNoottee
The Replace Attribute dialog box also works with profile attributes.
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To change an attribute:
1. From the menu bar, select FFiinndd RReeppllaaccee AAttttrriibbuuttee.
The Replace Attribute dialog box appears.
RReeppllaaccee AAttttrriibbuuttee DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
2. Under Find, complete the following fields;
a. From the AAttttrriibbuutteess drop-down menu, select or type the attribute value to update.
b. In the VVaalluuee field, type the existing entry.
c. (Optional) From the OOnn TTaaggss drop-down menu, select the tags on which the attribute
appears.
d. (Optional) From the WWiitthhiinn TTaaggss drop-down menu, select the tag which appears as a
parent to the element within which the attribute appears.
3. Under Replace With, in the VVaalluuee field, type the replacement entry.
4. Under Value Search Options, select the search parameters
5. Under Direction, select the way in which to search the document for the attribute.
6. Click FFiinndd NNeexxtt.
The search highlights the next appearance of the attribute in the document.
7. To switch attribute values to the newly defined value, click RReeppllaaccee or RReeppllaaccee AAllll.
8. When completed, click CClloossee or CCaanncceell.
MMaannaaggiinngg CCoonntteenntt
In XML, content is formatted when the stylesheet is applied during output. However, you
define how your content appears in the output by the tags (elements) you use. For example,
you can format your content into a table output by using the appropriate tags. TechAuthor has
several features to streamline this part of authoring.
56 XML Basics and Authoring
WWoorrkkiinngg wwiitthh TTaabblleess
TechAuthor provides a set of tools for inserting, displaying, and editing tables.
CCrreeaattiinngg aa TTaabbllee
To include a table in your document:
1. In the document, place your cursor at a valid location for a table. For example, just inside
a paragraph end tag.
2. From the menu bar, select IInnsseerrtt TTaabbllee.
The Insert Table dialog box appears.
IInnsseerrtt TTaabbllee
3. Specify the number of rows and columns.
4. Click OOKK.
The table appears in your document.
NNoottee
Many DTDs also include a table element. You can create a table using an element by
inserting markup (see Inserting Markup on page 45) or using Quick Tags (see Inserting
Markup Using Quick Tags on page 49).
TTaabbllee TToooollbbaarr
The table toolbar contains buttons that access table editing options and functions.
TTaabbllee TToooollbbaarr BBuuttttoonnss
BBuuttttoonn FFuunnccttiioonn
Inserts a new row below the cell containing the cursor
F9
Inserts a new row above the cell containing the cursor
SHIFT+F9
Inserts a new column to the right of the cell containing the cursor. Not appli-
cable to custom tables.
CTRL+F9
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TTaabbllee TToooollbbaarr BBuuttttoonnss ((ccoonnttiinnuueedd))
BBuuttttoonn FFuunnccttiioonn
Inserts a new column to the left of the cell containing the cursor. Not applica-
ble to custom tables.
CTRL+SHIFT+F9
Deletes the row containing the cursor
F11
Deletes the column containing the cursor. Not applicable to custom tables.
CTRL+F11
Combines two or more selected cells. The contents of the cells are preserved
and distributed across the newly spanned cell. Not applicable to custom
tables.
ATL+F11
Splits cells which have been spanned. Any content is placed in the upper left
most cell. Not applicable to custom tables.
ATL+SHIFT+F11
Aligns cell content with the top border of the cell. Not applicable to custom
tables.
Aligns cell content vertically to the center of the cell. Not applicable to cus-
tom tables.
Aligns cell content with the bottom border of the cell. Not applicable to cus-
tom tables.
Aligns cell content to the left margin of the cell. Not applicable to custom
tables.
Aligns cell content horizontally to the center of the cell. Not applicable to
custom tables.
Aligns cell content to the right margin of the cell. Not applicable to custom
tables.
Distributes cell content horizontally to align with both the left and right mar-
gins of the cell. Not applicable to custom tables.
Cycles through the tag display options for table markup
Changes the way selected borders are displayed in the document. Not appli-
cable to custom tables.
58 XML Basics and Authoring
TTaabbllee TToooollbbaarr BBuuttttoonnss ((ccoonnttiinnuueedd))
BBuuttttoonn FFuunnccttiioonn
Changes the font characteristics for text in selected cells
Inserts shading (a background color) at the cursor's location. Clicking the
down arrow displays a shading palette from which you can select a color.
Not applicable to custom tables.
To set the table toolbar to disappear when a table is not active, from the menu bar, select
TToooollss PPrreeffeerreenncceess. Under Category, select Window; then select the Table Toolbar Only
When Table is Active check box.
SSppeecciiffyyiinngg FFiixxeedd RRooww HHeeiigghhtt
To limit the row(s) in your table to a set height:
1. In your document, place your cursor within the table in a cell of the applicable row.
2. Do one of the following:
From the menu bar, select TTaabbllee TTaabbllee PPrrooppeerrttiieess.
Right-click, and select TTaabbllee PPrrooppeerrttiieess.
The Table Properties dialog box opens.
3. Click the RRooww tab.
The Row tab appears.
4. Under Height, select FFiixxeedd.
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5. In the field, type the value and unit of measurement for the height. For example, 2.5in.
6. Click OOKK.
The row height is fixed at the defined value. The height measurements appear in the ruler
along the left.
RRooww HHeeiigghhtt
NNoottee
The row height value appears in red if the content of the cell exceeds the designated
height.
MMooddiiffyyiinngg CCeellll BBoorrddeerrss
To adjust the cell borders that appear on your table:
1. In your document, do one of the following:
To affect the borders on the entire table, place your cursor within the table.
To affect the borders of just a portion of the table, select the applicable rows and/or
cells.
2. Do one of the following:
60 XML Basics and Authoring
From the menu bar, select TTaabbllee MMooddiiffyy BBoorrddeerrss.
On the toolbar, click MMooddiiffyy BBoorrddeerrss.
Right-click, and select MMooddiiffyy BBoorrddeerrss.
The Modify Borders dialog box opens.
MMooddiiffyy BBoorrddeerrss
3. Under Presets, select the applicable button.
4. If you did not make a selection in the table, from the AAppppllyy TToo drop-down menu, select TTaa--
bbllee or CCeellll.
5. Click OOKK.
The specified borders are applied to the table.
SSppaannnniinngg TTaabbllee CCeellllss
To combine one or more cells in a table:
1. In the table, select the cells to combine. You may select several cells vertically, horizon-
tally, or a combination of both.
2. Do one of the following:
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From the menu bar, select TTaabbllee SSppaann CCeellllss.
On the toolbar, click SSppaann CCeellllss.
Press ALT+F11.
The cells merge, and the contents of the spanned cells are preserved and distributed across
the newly combined cell.
3. To separate spanned cells, selected the spanned cell.
4. Do one of the following:
From the menu bar, select TTaabbllee UUnnssppaann CCeellllss.
On the toolbar, click UUnnssppaann CCeellllss.
Press ALT+SHIFT+F11.
The cells separate, and the combined contents appears in the upper left cell.
CCoonnvveerrttiinngg RRoowwss
For tables that span page boundaries, header rows print at the top of each page, and footer
rows print at the bottom of each page. Text in header rows is automatically converted to bold.
To convert a body row to a header or footer row:
1. In the table, select the row(s) to convert.
2. From the menu bar, select TTaabbllee CCoonnvveerrtt ttoo HHeeaaddeerr RRooww or CCoonnvveerrtt ttoo FFooootteerr RRooww.
If not already at the top of the table, the selected rows appear in the header/footer region
at the top of the table.
NNoottee
According to the OASIS Exchange and HTML table models, header rows must be at the
top of the table, and footer rows must occur directly after them. When you convert body
rows to header or footer rows, they are moved to the top of the table and placed with the
other header and footer rows.
DDiissttrriibbuuttiinngg TTaabbllee CCoolluummnnss EEvveennllyy
The TTaabbllee DDiissttrriibbuuttee CCoolluummnnss EEvveennllyy option adds up the total width of the selected columns
(or all columns in the table if there is no selection) and redistributes the width evenly to each
column in the selection. You only need to select one (or more) cells from a column to include
it in the selection. The whole column does not have to be selected, and the rule for the
selection is the same even if the selection is discontinuous.
62 XML Basics and Authoring
All affected columns end up with the exact same width, including units. If all affected
columns have the same unit, that unit is used, and the resulting dimension is the average of all
the initial widths. If the columns widths use different units, the unit used by the column with
the cursor is the resulting unit. The other units widths are first converted to the resulting unit;
then the average is computed.
NNoottee
If all columns in a table are being redistributed and all use proportional widths. In that case,
all widths are just reset to 1.00*.
WWoorrkkiinngg wwiitthh LLiissttss
Similar to tables, TechAuthor provides a set of tools for inserting and editing lists.
LLiisstt TToooollbbaarr
List authoring in TechAuthor attempts to mimic Microsoft Word behavior for lists where
possible within the constraints of an XML document type.
NNoottee
These buttons are enabled only if the current document type supports a numeric or bulleted
list block element.
In the DCF file, the configuration of list and list items in the document type determines the
buttons on the list toolbar in TechAuthor.
LLiisstt TToooollbbaarr BBuuttttoonnss
TToooollbbaarr BBuuttttoonn
TToooollttiipp DDeessccrriippttiioonn
Numeric List Invokes the NumericList alias, which is
mapped to the _list::numeric_list
function
Bulleted List Invokes the BulletedList alias, which is
mapped to the _list::bulleted_list
function
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LLiisstt TToooollbbaarr BBuuttttoonnss ((ccoonnttiinnuueedd))
TToooollbbaarr BBuuttttoonn
TToooollttiipp DDeessccrriippttiioonn
Promote Item Invokes the PromoteListItem alias,
which attempts to promote one or more list
items.
Enabled only if all of the following condi-
tions are true:
Caret is positioned within a list item in a
nested list block or a selection that con-
sists of one or more items within a
nested list block.
If no selection exists, the caret must be
positioned within the first block element
of a list item.
If a selection exists, it must contain the
first block element of a list item or exist
within the first block element of an item.
Demote Item Invokes the DemoteListItem alias,
which attempts to demote one or more list
items.
Enabled only if all of the following condi-
tions are true:
Caret is positioned within a list item that
succeeds another item or a selection ex-
ists that consists of one or more items
that succeed another item.
If no selection exists, the caret must be
positioned within the first block element
of a list item.
If a selection exists, it must contain the
first block element of a list item or exist
within the first block element of an item.
LLiisstt AArrbboorrtteexxtt CCoommmmaanndd LLaanngguuaaggee FFuunnccttiioonnss
The following Arbortext Command Language (ACL) functions affect list functionality.
64 XML Basics and Authoring
NNeeww AACCLL FFuunnccttiioonnss
FFuunnccttiioonn
DDeessccrriippttiioonn
__lliisstt::::ccaarreett__wwiitthhiinn__lliisstt
(doc = current_doc())
If the caret is currently positioned within a list block, this
function returns 1. Otherwise, it returns 0.
__lliisstt::::sspplliitt__lliisstt(doc = cur-
rent_doc())
If the current caret position is not within a list block, this
function returns 0. Otherwise, this function attempts to split
the list block into two blocks and returns -1. If the attempt
should fail for some reason, a message appears.
__lliisstt::::sspplliitt__lliisstt__iitteemm(doc =
current_doc())
If the current caret position is not within a list block, this
function returns 0. Otherwise, this function attempts to split
the current list block child within the list block into two
blocks and returns -1. If the attempt should fail for some
reason, a message appears.
__lliisstt::::jjooiinn__bbaacckkwwaarrdd(doc =
current_doc())
If the current caret position is not within a list block, this
function returns 0. Otherwise, if the caret is positioned with-
in a list block child and a preceding list block child exists,
this function attempts to join the two list block children. If
no preceding list block child exists but another list block
precedes this block, this function attempts to join the two list
blocks. For either attempt, this function returns -1. If either
attempt should fail for some reason, a message appears.
__lliisstt::::jjooiinn__ffoorrwwaarrdd(doc =
current_doc())
If the current caret position is not within a list block, this
function returns 0. Otherwise, if the caret is positioned with-
in a list block child and a succeeding list block child exists,
this function attempts to join the two blocks. If no succeed-
ing list block child exists but another list block succeeds this
list block, this function attempts to join the two blocks. For
either attempt, this function returns -1. If either attempt
should fail for some reason, a message appears.
__lliisstt::::ddeemmoottee(doc = cur-
rent_doc())
If the current caret position is not within a list block, this
function returns 0. Otherwise, this function attempts to de-
mote the current list item and returns -1. If the attempt
should fail, a message appears.
__lliisstt::::pprroommoottee(doc = cur-
rent_doc())
If the current caret position is not within a list block, this
function returns 0. Otherwise, this function attempts to pro-
mote the current list item and returns -1. If the attempt
should fail, a message appears.
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MMooddiiffiieedd AACCLL FFuunnccttiioonnss
FFuunnccttiioonn
DDeessccrriippttiioonn
__lliisstt::::nnuummeerriicc__lliisstt(doc =
current_doc())
The result of this ACL function is the same, either create a
new numeric list or convert an existing list to numeric list
within the current document. If this function is invoked,
based on the current document caret position or selection,
one of the following numeric list operations can be at-
tempted. See the associated sections for more information.
Apply List Block Style
Remove List Block Style
Convert List Block Style
Remove List Block Child Style
Convert List Block Child style
__lliisstt::::bbuulllleetteedd__lliisstt(doc =
current_doc())
The result of this ACL function is the same, either create a
new bulleted list or convert an existing list to bulleted list
within the current document. If this function is invoked,
based on the current document caret position or selection,
one of the following bulleted list operations can be at-
tempted. See the associated sections for more information.
Apply List Block Style
Remove List Block Style
Convert List Block Style
Remove List Block Child Style
Convert List Block Child style
lliisstt__ttaagg(tagname[,doc = cur-
rent_doc()])
This function returns 1 (true) if the tag named tagname is
declared as a list block in the DCF file for the document
type associated with doc. If doc is omitted or 0, the current
document is used. In the DCF file, a tag may be declared as
a list block in the ElementOptions section or in the
Lists section. This function returns 1 (true) if the tag is
declared in either section.
66 XML Basics and Authoring
MMooddiiffiieedd AACCLL FFuunnccttiioonnss ((ccoonnttiinnuueedd))
FFuunnccttiioonn
DDeessccrriippttiioonn
iitteemm__ttaagg(tagname[,doc =
current_doc()])
This function returns 1 (true) if the tag named tagname is
declared as a list item in the DCF file for the document type
associated with doc. If doc is omitted or 0, the current docu-
ment is used. In the DCF file, a tag may be declared as a list
item in the ElementOptions section or in the Lists
section. This function returns 1 (true) if the tag is declared
in either section.
__rreettuurrnn::::nneexxtt__llooggiiccaall__rree--
ttuurrnn(()
__rreettuurrnn::::ddiissppllaayy__mmeennuu
((mmeennuuiitteemm[[]], mmeennuummoovvee
[[]], mmeennuuggrraayy[[]], nnaabboovvee)
__rreettuurrnn::::mmoovvee__aanndd__iinnsseerrtt
((ttaaggiinnsseerrtt, nnmmoovvee)
These functions are called upon execution of the Quick-
Tags alias.
CCooppyyiinngg aanndd PPaassttiinngg
Formerly, word processing or browser information copied to the Windows clipboard could
only be pasted into TechAuthor as plain text. All implied structuresuch as titles, tables,
graphics, footnotes, and index termswere lost in a stream of non-delineated PCDATA.
TechAuthors standard copy/paste behavior has been enhanced when the source information
comes from:
Microsoft Word
Adobe FrameMaker
HTML browsers
Plain text
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Now, TechAuthor attempts to interpret the formatting and translate it into the proper tags. If
unsuccessful or considered invalid at the insertion, the Invalid Paste Structure dialog box
appears.
IInnvvaalliidd PPaassttee SSttrruuccttuurree DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
The XML markup created out of the box, for both installed doctypes and custom doctypes, is
completely dependent on the robustness of the DCF file and, for additional enhancements,
Styler stylesheets because the target markup depends on these doctype definitions to
determine desirable markup for paragraphs, titles, lists, tables, graphics, and other basic
element options. If you wish to customize copy/paste markup, use the Arbortext Import Map
Template Editor included in Arbortext Architect to create more specific markup from
clipboard data.
CClliippbbooaarrdd FFoorrmmaatt PPrreecceeddeennccee
Since many applications, especially Microsoft applications, use more than one of the formats
supported by CopyPaste, there is a particular order controlling how data is converted to XML
markup.
68 XML Basics and Authoring
CClliippbbooaarrdd PPrreecceeddeennccee
FFoorrmmaatt DDeessccrriippttiioonn
MIF Since MIF is the most unique format and is only created by Frame-
Maker, if MIF data is found first in the clipboard list it is processed
using an Import MIF driver. Adobe always puts MIF data before
RTF, so this ensures precedence barring a change of behavior in
FrameMaker.
RTF RTF takes second in the order of precedence. Microsoft Word and
Excel and Outlook plain text email messages place RTF data ahead
of HTML in the clipboard list, so this ensures we default to RTF.
HTML HTML is third in the order of precedence. Web browsers use HTML
as the primary clipboard format. Internet Explorer and HTML-for-
matted email windows in Outlook place the HTML format ahead of
RTF on the clipboard.
Unicode text If none of the previous formats are found, Unicode text is used. By
default, the paste operation does not use Smart CopyPaste. To paste
multiple paragraphs, you can use the Paste Special dialog box to
paste as paragraphs (or most other paste as types).
ANSI text (8bit) Plain ANSI text takes the last priority. If none of the previous for-
mats are found, 8-bit text is used. By default, the paste operation
does not use Smart CopyPaste. To paste multiple paragraphs, you-
can use the paste special dialog box to paste as paragraphs (or most
other paste as types).
PPaasstteeaabbllee EElleemmeennttss
The types of elements supported in a smart paste operation are defined by two things:
1. On the source side, there are the constructs (or objects) that have clear definitions in
Microsoft Word. Word can be considered the full set, while the other formats are
generally subsets of the Word superset
2. On the destination side, there are the elements that can be defined in a DCF file or Styler
stylesheet and related to the source objects.
Some types of data are explicitly defined in terms of their structure; in other words, there is
usually no ambiguity. Other types of data imply structure that may or may not reflect the
desired target in XML.
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EExxpplliicciitt oorr IImmpplliieedd OObbjjeeccttss//TTyyppeess
TTyyppee RRTTFF MMIIFF HHTTMMLL TTeexxtt
Paragraphs X X X X
Titles X
Divisions X
Tables X X
Graphic
(Graphic information is not provided
for MIF. Inline versus block can be
ambiguous.)
X X
Links and cross references X X X
Index terms X X
Inline emphasis
(bold, italic, underline)
X X X
Link targets
(IDs or bookmarks)
X X X
Division titles
(H1, H2, H3, and so on)
X
Divisions and their titles
(Titles can only be inferred from so-
called built-in style names, such as
Heading 1 or by explicitly defining
the style names used for titles in Word
and FrameMaker.)
X X
IInnsseerrttiinngg CCoommmmeennttss
CCoommmmeennttss allow you to include notes in the document for yourself or others. These
comments appear in the TechAuthor window; however, they do not render in formatted
outputs.
Comments can also be used during the authoring process to temporarily exclude content
(comment out). This can be useful to temporarily remove content that is not quite ready
from being included in a publish or preview of the work in progress.
70 XML Basics and Authoring
NNoottee
Required tags cannot be commented out.
To use comments:
1. In the document, do one of the following:
Place your cursor where you want the comment inserted.
Select the content you want to comment out.
2. From the menu bar, select IInnsseerrtt CCoommmmeenntt.
NNoottee
If the Comment menu option does not appear, ensure full menus are enabled. See
Enabling Full Menus on page 36.
The comment appears in the document, either as an empty begin and end tag or
surrounding the selected content.
NNeeww CCoommmmeenntt
CCoommmmeenntteedd CCoonntteenntt
3. To include content that has been commented out:
a. Select the comment.
b. From the menu bar, select EEddiitt UUnnccoommmmeenntt.
You can also manually create a comment by selecting the content to be commented out and,
from the menu bar, selecting EEddiitt EEddiitt SSeelleeccttiioonn aass XXMMLL SSoouurrccee. In the dialog box, add
<!- at the beginning and -> at the end. When you save and close the dialog box, the
content is commented out.
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Using TechAuthor 71
IInnsseerrttiinngg SSyymmbboollss
To include a symbol within your document:
1. In your document, place your cursor where you want the symbol.
2. Do one of the following:
From the menu bar, select IInnsseerrtt SSyymmbbooll.
On the toolbar, click IInnsseerrtt SSyymmbbooll.
The Insert Symbol dialog box opens.
IInnsseerrtt SSyymmbbooll DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
3. From the FFoonntt drop-down menu, select the font for the selected character.
4. From the pane, select the symbol.
NNoottee
The symbol list is long. You may have to scroll.
5. Click IInnsseerrtt.
The symbol appears at the place of your cursor. The Insert Symbol dialog box remains
open to continue inserting symbols until you close it.
6. When completed, click CClloossee.
SSyymmbbooll DDiiaalloogg BBooxx PPrreeffeerreenncceess
The following preferences affect the Insert Symbol dialog box:
iinnsseerrttssyymmbboollddllggnnoossyymmbboollss
turns off new symbol tab and uses Character Entities only
iinnsseerrttssyymmbboollffoonnttppii
Set to on (the default), the _font PI is inserted when necessary.
72 XML Basics and Authoring
Set to off, the _font PI is not inserted; only the Unicode character value is inserted.
eennttiittyyiinnppuuttccoonnvveerrtt
Set to on (the default), the Unicode character code is inserted into the document.
Set to off, the character code is converted to a character entity reference if possible, and the
character entity reference is inserted.
To get information about the current character, type ALT+SHIFT+A, or in the command line,
type aatttt.
EEppiicc EEddiittoorr AAttttrriibbuuttee
AAuuttoo CCoorrrreecctt
TechAuthor supports automatic correction of spelling errors as you enter text in a document.
When you enter or change a word in a document, the Auto Correct feature checks that word
against a list in the /custom/lib/autocorrect.xlf auto correct map file. If a
misspelled word is included in the map file, TechAuthor automatically replaces that word
with the replacement word specified in the file.
NNoottee
The Auto Correct feature only corrects spelling errors in a single word; it cannot correct
words containing spaces, colons, semicolons, double quotes, or parentheses.
MMaannaaggiinngg AAiirrlliinnee DDaattaa
TechAuthor supports editing multiple types of airline data.
EEddiittiinngg AAiirrccrraafftt MMooddeellss
To edit aircraft models in an XML file:
1. Connect to TechRevManager. See Connecting to TechRevManager on page .
2. Check out a section of the manual.
The file opens in TechAuthor.
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3. Place your cursor before the para tag where you want to edit aircraft models.
CCuurrssoorr PPllaacceemmeenntt
4. From the menu bar, select EEddiitt EEddiitt AAiirrccrraafftt MMooddeellss.
The Edit Aircraft Models dialog box opens.
EEddiitt AAiirrccrraafftt MMooddeellss DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
5. From the list, select the aircraft models to apply to the revlist element.
6. Click OOKK.
The model tag appears before the para tag.
MMooddeell TTaagg
7. Save the document.
Aircraft models settings can be applied in TechView and TechPublisher. Please refer to the
TechView Users Guide and TechPublisher Users Guide.
74 XML Basics and Authoring
EEddiittiinngg EEffffeeccttiivviittyy
NNoottee
Presently, this function is available only for the airbusflightops and Boeing manuals.
To edit effectivity in an XML file:
1. Connect to TechRevManager. See Connecting to TechRevManager on page .
2. Check out a section of the manual.
The file opens in TechAuthor.
3. Place your cursor within the para to affect.
CCuurrssoorr PPllaacceemmeenntt
4. Do one of the following:
From the menu bar, select EEddiitt EEddiitt EEffffeeccttiivviittyy.
Right-click, and select EEddiitt EEffffeeccttiivviittyy.
The Select Effectivity File dialog box opens.
SSeelleecctt EEffffeeccttiivviittyy FFiillee DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
5. Click BBrroowwssee.
6. Select the effectivity file. For example, product-mdata-ref.
7. Click OOppeenn.
The file path populates the Please select the effectivity file field.
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8. Click OOKK.
The Edit Effectivity dialog box opens.
EEddiitt EEffffeeccttiivviittyy DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
9. From the list, make the applicable selections.
10. Click OOKK.
11. Save and publish the XML file. See Publishing from TechPublisher on page .
Effectivity settings can be applied in TechView and TechPublisher. Please refer to the
TechView Users Guide and TechPublisher Users Guide.
EEddiittiinngg PPhhaassee ooff FFlliigghhtt
NNoottee
This function is only available for the xfcom and omel books.
76 XML Basics and Authoring
To edit phase of flight in an XML file:
1. In the PCF file for the manual, configure the phase of flight profile.
PPCCFF FFiillee
2. In the DCF file for the manual, configure the phase of flight profile.
DDCCFF FFiillee
3. Connect to TechRevManager. See Connecting to TechRevManager on page .
4. Check out a section of the manual.
The file opens in TechAuthor.
5. Place your cursor after the para tag where you want to edit phase of flight.
CCuurrssoorr PPllaacceemmeenntt
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Using TechAuthor 77
6. From the menu bar, select EEddiitt EEddiitt PPhhaassee ooff FFlliigghhtt.
The Edit Phase of Flight dialog box opens.
EEddiitt PPhhaassee ooff FFlliigghhtt DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
7. Select the phase of flight.
8. Click OOKK.
9. Save and publish the XML file. See Publishing from TechPublisher on page .
Phase of flight settings can be applied in TechView and TechPublisher. Refer to the TechView
Users Guide and TechPublisher Users Guide.
78 XML Basics and Authoring
MMaannaaggiinngg CChhaannggeess
The Change Tracking dialog box allows you to accept or reject the changes logged in a
document.
CChhaannggee TTrraacckkiinngg DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
The procedure for change management varies between doctypes.
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MMaannaaggiinngg CChhaannggeess iinn aaiirrbbuussfflliigghhttooppss
To work with changes in the airbusflightops doctype:
1. With change tracking enabled, make a change within the document.
The change is highlighted in the document.
TTrraacckkeedd DDeelleettiioonn
2. Add new content within the document.
The change is highlighted in the document. In the Change Tracking dialog box, under
Change Record, the time, change, and author appear.
TTrraacckkeedd AAddddiittiioonn
80 XML Basics and Authoring
3. To accept this change, under Change Record, click AAcccceepptt.
The Change Information dialog box opens.
CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
4. From the CChhaannggee TTyyppee drop-down menu, select AAiirrlliinnee.
5. Complete additional fields as necessary.
6. Click OOKK.
tech:airline-add tags appear in the document.
tteecchh::aaiirrlliinnee--aadddd TTaaggss
NNoottee
These tags only appear for the Airline change type.
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MMaannaaggiinngg CChhaannggeess iinn ffbbccoommbb
To work with changes in the fbcomb doctype:
1. On the Change Tracking dialog box, use the PPrreevviioouuss and NNeexxtt buttons to navigate
through the documents changes.
2. Under Change Record, click AAcccceepptt.
The Change Information dialog box opens.
CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
3. From the CChhaannggee TTyyppee drop-down menu, select AAiirrlliinnee.
4. Complete additional fields as necessary.
82 XML Basics and Authoring
5. Click OOKK.
tech:airline-add tags appear in the document.
tteecchh::aaiirrlliinnee--aadddd TTaaggss
NNoottee
These tags only appear for the Airline change type.
6. To view the changes made but not highlighted, on the Change Tracking dialog box, under
Options, select CChhaannggeess AApppplliieedd.
7. To view the original document, under Options, select OOrriiggiinnaall.
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8. To accept a change, click AAcccceepptt.
The Change Information dialog box appears.
CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
9. Complete the applicable fields.
84 XML Basics and Authoring
10. Click OOKK.
The change appears in the document with the defined attributes.
AAcccceepptteedd CChhaannggee
11. To reject a change, click RReejjeecctt.
The change is removed from the document.
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Using TechAuthor 85
MMaannaaggiinngg CChhaannggeess iinn FFlliigghhttBBooookk
To work with changes in the FlightBook doctype:
1. On the Change Tracking dialog box, use the PPrreevviioouuss and NNeexxtt buttons to navigate
through the documents changes.
2. Under Change Record, click AAcccceepptt.
The Change Information dialog box opens.
CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
3. Complete the applicable fields.
4. Click OOKK.
The change appears in the document with the defined attributes.
AAcccceepptteedd CChhaannggee
5. To reject a change, click RReejjeecctt.
The change is removed from the document.
86 XML Basics and Authoring
UUssiinngg AAuuttoo RReevviissiioonn
NNoottee
Currently, the auto revision feature is only available for airbusflightops manuals.
RReevviissiinngg CCoonntteenntt
To auto revise content:
1. Open an airbusflightops manual.
2. From the menu bar, select TToooollss CChhaannggee TTrraacckkiinngg TTrraacckk CChhaannggeess.
The Change Tracking dialog box opens.
3. With change tracking enabled, in the document, edit the content under <du-sol>.
For example, delete some words from the title.
EEddiittiinngg EExxaammppllee
4. On the Change Tracking dialog box, click NNeexxtt.
The recent change appears in the dialog box.
5. Click AAcccceepptt.
The Change Information dialog box opens.
CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
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6. Select the HHiigghhlliigghhtt, AAnncchhoorr, and HHiigghhlliigghhtt rreeffeerreennccee check boxes.
7. In the CChhaannggee DDeessccrriippttiioonn field, type a brief description.
8. Click OOKK.
The content revision tags are automatically generated.
CCoonntteenntt AAuuttoo RReevviissiioonn
RReevviissiinngg EEffffeeccttss
To auto revise effects:
1. Open an airbusflightops manual.
2. From the menu bar, select TToooollss CChhaannggee TTrraacckkiinngg TTrraacckk CChhaannggeess.
The Change Tracking dialog box opens.
3. With change tracking enabled, in the document, edit the effect under <du-sol>.
For example, delete an MSN value from an effect.
EEddiittiinngg EExxaammppllee
4. On the Change Tracking dialog box, click NNeexxtt.
The recent change appears in the dialog box.
88 XML Basics and Authoring
5. Click AAcccceepptt.
The Change Information dialog box opens.
CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
6. Select the HHiigghhlliigghhtt, AAnncchhoorr, and HHiigghhlliigghhtt rreeffeerreennccee check boxes.
7. In the CChhaannggee DDeessccrriippttiioonn field, type a brief description.
8. Click OOKK.
The effect revision tags are automatically generated.
EEffffeecctt AAuuttoo RReevviissiioonn
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Using TechAuthor 89
RReevviissiinngg mmddaattaa
To auto revise mdata:
1. Open an airbusflightops manual.
2. From the menu bar, select TToooollss CChhaannggee TTrraacckkiinngg TTrraacckk CChhaannggeess.
The Change Tracking dialog box opens.
3. With change tracking enabled, in the document, edit the mdata under <du-sol>.
For example, delete some words from the para.
4. On the Change Tracking dialog box, click NNeexxtt.
The recent change appears in the dialog box.
5. Click AAcccceepptt.
The Change Information dialog box opens.
CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
6. Select the HHiigghhlliigghhtt, AAnncchhoorr, and HHiigghhlliigghhtt rreeffeerreennccee check boxes.
90 XML Basics and Authoring
7. In the CChhaannggee DDeessccrriippttiioonn field, type a brief description.
8. Click OOKK.
The mdata revision tags are automatically generated.
mmddaattaa AAuuttoo RReevviissiioonn
RReevviissiioonn MMaannaaggeemmeenntt
The following sections describe working with revisions in TechAuthor.
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Using TechAuthor 91
EEddiittiinngg aa RReevviissiioonn RReeccoorrdd
To add or modify revisions:
1. Open the root file.
2. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn EEddiitt RReevviissiioonn RReeccoorrdd.
The Edit Revision Record dialog box opens.
EEddiitt RReevviissiioonn RReeccoorrdd DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
92 XML Basics and Authoring
3. To create a new revision:
a. Click the NNeeww RReevviissiioonn.
The New Revision dialog box opens.
NNeeww RReevviissiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
b. Complete the fields.
c. Click OOKK.
The new revision is created and appears in the table.
4. To modify an existing revision:
a. From the table, select a revision.
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Using TechAuthor 93
b. Click EEddiitt RReevviissiioonn.
The Edit Revision dialog box opens.
EEddiitt RReevviissiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
c. Update the fields as needed.
d. Click OOKK.
Awarning appears, indicating the changes will remove all change markups for the
new revision.
e. Click YYeess.
The revision is updated.
5. When completed, click OOKK or CClloossee.
EEddiittiinngg aa CChhaannggee DDeessccrriippttiioonn
To add change descriptions without using Change Tracking:
1. Open the XML file.
2. Place your cursor within the tag in which you want to add change descriptions.
94 XML Basics and Authoring
3. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn EEddiitt CChhaannggee DDeessccrriippttiioonn.
The Change Information dialog box opens.
CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
4. Complete the fields as necessary.
5. Click OOKK.
The tag is updated to include attributes for the change description.
TechPubs Global, Inc.
Using TechAuthor 95
CCoommppaarriinngg aanndd RReessoollvviinngg FFiilleess
To compare the differences between two files with the same name in different revisions and
generate the compared file:
1. Open the XML file in a book.
2. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn CCoommppaarree aanndd RReessoollvvee.
The Select File to Compare dialog box opens.
SSeelleecctt FFiillee ttoo CCoommppaarree DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
3. Navigate to and select the file with the same name in another revision to compare.
4. Click OOKK.
The Accept or Reject Changes dialog box opens.
AAcccceepptt oorr RReejjeecctt CChhaannggeess DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
5. Under View, select one of the following options:
96 XML Basics and Authoring
CChhaannggeess wwiitthh hhiigghhlliigghhttiinngg: Renders the document with changes highlighted
CChhaannggeess AApppplliieess: Renders the document with pending changes integrated
OOrriiggiinnaall: Renders the original document without viewing changes
6. Use the buttons to navigate the changes as described in the following table:
AAcccceepptt oorr RReejjeecctt CChhaannggeess BBuuttttoonnss
BBuuttttoonn FFuunnccttiioonn
Next Moves your cursor to the next pending change
Previous Moves your cursor to the previous pending change
Accept Incorporates the selected pending change into the baseline
document
Reject Removes the selected pending change from the document
Accept All Incorporates all pending changes into the baseline
document
Reject All Removes all pending changes from the document
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AAcccceepptt oorr RReejjeecctt CChhaannggeess BBuuttttoonnss ((ccoonnttiinnuueedd))
BBuuttttoonn FFuunnccttiioonn
Cancel Closes the dialog box
Help Launches the program help documentation
The selected XML file opens with the changes marked, and a compare file is generated.
FFiillee wwiitthh CChhaannggeess MMaarrkkeedd
98 XML Basics and Authoring
CCoommppaarree FFiillee
UUppddaattiinngg SSeeccttiioonn AAttttrriibbuutteess
To update section attributes:
1. Open the XML file with the section element.
2. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn UUppddaattee SSeeccttiioonn AAttttrriibbuutteess.
NNoottee
If you open an XML file without a section element, an error message appears, indicating
to place your cursor within a section element.
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The Update Section Attribute dialog box opens.
UUppddaattee SSeeccttiioonn AAttttrriibbuuttee DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
3. To update with the latest revision information:
a. Ensure UUppddaattee wwiitthh LLaatteesstt RReevviissiioonn IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn is selected by default.
b. Click OOKK.
The revdate and revnbr attributes are updated to the latest revision information.
The status attribute is updated to R.
LLaatteesstt UUppddaatteedd AAttttrriibbuutteess
4. To manually set the revision information:
a. Select MMaannuuaallllyy eenntteerr rreevviissiioonn iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn.
The manual fields enable.
b. Complete the fields as necessary.
c. Click OOKK.
The revdate, revnbr, and status attributes are updated as defined.
NNoottee
If you neglect to complete all fields, a warning appears.
MMaannuuaallllyy UUppddaatteedd AAttttrriibbuutteess
100 XML Basics and Authoring
CClleeaarriinngg CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn
To rebaseline a document:
1. Open the XML file.
2. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn CClleeaarr CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn.
The Clear Change Information dialog box opens.
CClleeaarr CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
3. Select the following check boxes as needed:
RReemmoovvee CChhaannggee IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn: Removes all revst and revend elements and all
tech:chg, tech:changetype, and tech:chgdesc attributes from the opened
document
RReemmoovvee PPaaggee EElleemmeennttss: Removes all tech:pagest and tech:ILBpage
elements from the opened document
UUppddaattee SSeeccttiioonn AAttttrriibbuutteess: Updates all section attributes revdate and revnbr to
the latest revision and sets the status attribute to N; removes all section and page
change descriptions
4. Click OOKK.
The change information is cleared from the document.
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Using TechAuthor 101
RRuunnnniinngg PPaaggiinnaattee BBaasseelliinnee
To generate page tags:
1. Open the full XML manual.
NNoottee
If you do not open the full manual, a warning appears indicating to open the full manual.
2. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn PPaaggiinnaattee BBaasseelliinnee.
Page tags are automatically generated.
All the page chg attributes are set to N. The revdate and revnbr attributes are set in the
following situations:
fflliigghhttbbooookk mmaannuuaall: The latest revdate is populated from the two pages and father
elements revdate attribute; revnbr is populated the same.
xxffccoomm mmaannuuaall: The latest revision information is populated from the revision table.
IInnsseerrttiinngg aa PPaaggee EElleemmeenntt
To insert a page element:
1. Open the XML file.
2. Place your cursor within a para element.
3. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn IInnsseerrtt PPaaggee EElleemmeenntt.
The page element and book header appear in the para.
IInnsseerrtt PPaaggee EElleemmeenntt
102 XML Basics and Authoring
IInnsseerrttiinngg aann IInntteennttiioonnaallllyy LLeefftt BBllaannkk PPaaggee
To place an intentionally left blank (ILB) page:
1. Open the XML file.
2. Place your cursor in a para element.
3. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn IInnsseerrtt IILLBB PPaaggee.
The Intentionally Left Blank page appears in the para element.
IILLBB PPaaggee
IInnsseerrttiinngg aa PPaaggee BBrreeaakk
To insert a forced page break:
1. Open the XML file.
2. Place your cursor in a para element.
3. From the menu bar, select RReevvssiioonn IInnsseerrtt PPaaggee BBrreeaakk.
The forced page break appears in the para element.
IInnsseerrtt PPaaggee BBrreeaakk
RReemmoovviinngg PPaaggee TTaaggss
To remove tech:pagest and tech:ILBpage elements:
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Using TechAuthor 103
NNoottee
tech:pagebreak is not removed with this function.
1. Open the XML file.
2. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn RReemmoovvee PPaaggee TTaaggss.
The tech:pagest and tech:ILBpage are removed from the file. Upon completion,
a message appears, listing the number of tags removed.
RReemmoovvee PPaaggee TTaaggss
104 XML Basics and Authoring
GGeenneerraattiinngg aa LLiisstt ooff EEffffeeccttiivvee PPaaggeess
To create a summary list of effective pages (LEP):
1. Select one of the following modes:
a. To create a LEP in default mode, ensure the item value in the techsuite.tcf file
is default.
NNoottee
This function is only available for the flightbook manual.
LLEEPP DDeeffaauulltt
b. To create a LEP in nopageelement mode, ensure the item value in the
techsuite.tcf file is nopageelement.
NNoottee
This function is only available for the flightbook and xfcom manuals.
2. Run paginate baseline on the full manual. See Running Paginate Baseline on page 101.
3. Open the full XML manual.
NNoottee
If you do not open a full manual, a warning appears, indicating to open a full manual.
4. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn GGeenneerraattee SSuummmmaarryy LLEEPP.
The List of Effective Pages table is inserted in lep tags, recording page number and
revision date.
LLEEPP TTaabbllee
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GGeenneerraattiinngg aa LLiisstt ooff EEffffeeccttiivvee SSeeccttiioonnss
To generate a summary list of effective sections (LOES):
1. Open the full XML manual.
NNoottee
If you do not open a full manual, a warning appears, indicating to open a full manual.
2. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn GGeenneerraattee SSuummmmaarryy LLooEESS.
The LOES table is inserted, and all effective sections with the latest revision number and
revision date are listed.
SSuummmmaarryy LLOOEESS
106 XML Basics and Authoring
GGeenneerraattiinngg SSeeccttiioonn RReevviissiioonn HHiigghhlliigghhttss
To generate section revision highlights:
1. Open the full XML manual.
2. From the menu bar, select RReevviissiioonn GGeenneerraattee RReevviissiioonn HHiigghhlliigghhttss.
The Generate Revision Highlights dialog box opens.
GGeenneerraattee RReevviissiioonn HHiigghhlliigghhttss DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
3. Select SSeeccttiioonn RReevviissiioonn HHiigghhlliigghhttss.
4. Click OOKK.
A Section Revision Highlights table is inserted, listing section number, change
description, and revision date.
SSeeccttiioonn RReevviissiioonn HHiigghhlliigghhttss TTaabbllee
The Section Number column lists the section that includes a change description. The Change
Description column includes the comments input into the Change Description field and also
has a link to the change position.
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Using TechAuthor 107
RReelleeaassiinngg aa DDooccuummeenntt
To release a document:
1. In TechAuthor, connect to TechRevManager. See Connecting to TechRevManager on
page .
2. From the menu bar, select OObbjjeecctt BBrroowwssee.
The Browser window opens.
BBrroowwsseerr WWiinnddooww
3. From the tree, select the manual.
4. Click RReevviissee.
108 XML Basics and Authoring
5. Select DDooccuummeenntt RReelleeaassee.
The Document Release dialog box opens.
DDooccuummeenntt RReelleeaassee DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
6. Enter your username and password.
7. If necessary, in the TTaarrggeett field, modify the file path. Ensure the directory listed exists.
8. (Optional) Select OOppeenn BBooookk AAfftteerr RReelleeaassee to launch the book after the release has been
completed.
9. Click OOKK.
The Document Doctype dialog box opens.
DDooccuummeenntt DDooccttyyppee DDiiaalloogg BBooxx
10. From the DDooccttyyppee drop-down menu, select the doctype of the book being released.
11. Click OOKK.
After the release is successful, if you indicated to open the manual, TechAuthor launches
the book. You can also view the document in the defined target directory.
TechPubs Global, Inc.