Extras

The menu item View XSLT output opens a window with the XSLT file which was generated after you processed the layout. This is a shortcut to the same window, which opens if you click the button "View" for XSLT output in the Layout settings window on the Input/Output settings tab.

The command Check Layout offers you an overview over all general information on your layout.

This is just an overview over all your elements and document information.

At the bottom of the window, XSLfast shows warnings if it detects invalid XSLcode in elements:

It also indicates clearly which elements should be reviewed and corrected.

You can combine entire independent layouts in one document with the command Multilayout Manager.

The handling is described in the chapter Multilayout manager.

The XPATH monitor allows you to apply XPATH code on your document if you have the necessary knowledge (see chapter XPath monitor).

When you first install XSLfast, you will be asked to register the fonts that are supposed to be supported; otherwise the output files may not be legible or cannot be generated. Use the menu Generate Font metrics that opens when you first start XSLfast:

Select the fonts that you want to be supported in XSLfast from the list of available fonts. If you are not sure, select all fonts. You can always add more fonts later. If you register fonts, select the Renderer that you are presently working with so that all selected fonts are registered with it. XSLfast works with the Renderer FOP by default. You can also select all three Renderers simultaneously and generate the corresponding font information for all of them all at once if you have all three installed. After you registered the fonts, you will only need to do it again if you install new fonts or use another Renderer.

The generation starts on clicking "Generate". The progress can be seen in the Generation log window. When the generation is finished, close the window with the button "Close" or use this button to abort the operation.

Some fonts may not be compatible with the XSLfast conditions. They will be listed in a window, which opens after the registration is completed:

The fact that they are listed here does not necessarily mean that they cannot be used in XSLfast but that they may not be displayed correctly. To exclude these fonts from the selection box and make them unavailable for XSLfast, add the font name to the document bad_fonts.txt in the XSLfast/bin directory. On the next start of XSLfast the fonts contained there will not be available in the font selection any more.

The menu Transformation offers you the option to convert HTML tags placed in CDATA blocks into XSL-FO. XSL-FO Renderers cannot interpret HTML tags. Therefore almost any settings made with HTML inside the XML file will not be evaluated.

XSLfast offers the possibility to use certain HTML tags in XML files without the need to transform them. These are:

Please note: XSLfast only evaluates these defined HTML tags if the attribute for the concerned frame was set to 'Use apply'. This makes sense when you are aware which nodes of the XML file contain HTML tags.

If you do not know the exact nodes where HTML or CDATA blocks (e.g. <![CDATA[<b>100</b>]]> are in the XML file, it makes sense to convert them all (plain HTML tags or CDATA blocks) into formatting information which the Renderer can interpret. Use the command Extras-> Transformation:

Select the source XML file you need to convert. Convert HTML tags inside CDATA blocks to XSL-FO will start the transformation.

A simple example: In your XML file there is a CDATA block:

<ProductGroup>

  <ProductGroupID><![CDATA[<b>100</b>]]></ProductGroupID>

  <Name>Chairs</Name>

The Renderer cannot read and interpret this information.

After the transformation it looks like this:

<ProductGroup>

  <ProductGroupID>&lt;fo:inline font-weight="bold"&gt;100&lt;/fo:inline&gt;</ProductGroupID>

  <Name>Chairs</Name>

This way, the Renderer is able to interpret this information correctly.

Leave CDATA content unchanged has the effect that HTML tags, which are outside CDATA blocks, are transformed, but the CDATA blocks remain untouched.

If you do not specify a destination file name and a directory, XSLfast will add the string "HTML" to the end of the original file name and save it in the directory ..\input. Now click "Transform" to start the transformation or "Cancel" to abort.

For your convenience, the transformed file is automatically set as data source if you check the check box Use this XML file as XML source for the layout.

If you want to register your XSLfast license after the trial period is over, you do this in the menu Registration:

The registration information is provided by jCatalog.

Enter the Name and Company information into the corresponding fields. Enter the license key into the field Serial. Click "OK" to proceed or "Cancel" to abort the registration. Please make sure that all entries are spelled correctly including upper and lower case because otherwise the licence key will not work. If you experience problems with your license key, please contact jCatalog at support@jcatalog.com.