Date: Thursday, March 17, 2011 Time: 11:00 am PT | 2:00 pm ET XMetaL Author Enterprise makes it easy to customize documents using the powerful conditional text features of DITA. Out-of-the-box, you can use the "product", "platform", "audience", and "otherprops" attributes to indicate which parts of your documents apply to your particular products, platforms, audiences, and perhaps one other type of condition. But what if you need more than these four condition types? In this webinar, we'll show you how to add new conditional attributes to XMetaL Author Enterprise and use them with familiar features such as color-coding conditional text in authoring views and generating customized output. This webinar is suitable for both technical and non-technical users of XMetaL. If you are not familiar with how conditional text works in DITA, you may wish to view the recording of Part 1 here: https://JustSystems.webex.com/JustSystems/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=43143747&rKey=8e21588799156c20 or read the slide deck at http://www.slideshare.net/XMetaL/customizing-content-with-dita-conditional-text-and-XMetaL. Register Now at https://justsystems.webex.com/justsystems/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=492845072

1. in 37 minutes
Episode 18
Customize Content with DITA
Conditional Text Part 2: How to Add
Custom Conditional Attributes
Su-Laine Yeo, Solutions Consultant
March 2011
© 2011 JustSystems

2. Agenda
• Today‟s slides are on
http://www.slideshare.net/XMetaL
• What‟s new at JustSystems
• Custom conditional text attributes:
– Quick review of conditional text functionality
– Who needs custom attributes?
– How do they work?
– How do I get them set up?
© 2011 JustSystems

3. What’s new
• JustSystems employees and offices in Japan are OK
• XMetaL Author Enterprise – SP Edition 6.0 is available
– https support, Sharepoint 2010 support, and more
• Service pack for XMetaL Author and XMAX 6.0 will be
ready late this month
• Upcoming conferences:
– Content Management Strategies/DITA North America: Baltimore,
April 4-6
– Mark Logic: San Francisco, April 26-29
© 2011 JustSystems

4. Review: Conditional text in DITA
“Conditional text” refers to:
• The practice of marking up the content in a single
source file, so you can create deliverables with different
subsets of the file.
• The content that is marked up so you can filter it out of
some deliverables. In DITA, conditional "text" can be
words, images, tables, index markers, links, etc.
© 2011 JustSystems

5. Conditional text
• Marking up the content in a single source file, so you can
create deliverables with different subsets of the file.
• E.g. Windows-only content (Ctrl+S) and Macintosh-only
content (Command+S)
© 2011 JustSystems

6. Under the covers: XML
• A paragraph that is not conditional:
<p>Press Ctrl+S.</p>
• A paragraph that applies to the Windows platform only:
<p platform = "windows">Press Ctrl+S.</p>
attribute attribute value
© 2011 JustSystems

7. Five predefined attributes
• Only four conditional text attributes work
in DITA Open Toolkit version 1.4:
– product
– platform
– audience
– otherprops
• One additional attribute works after a bug fix in
DITA Open Toolkit 1.5.2 M2:
– props
© 2011 JustSystems

8. Adding attribute values is easy
<p platform = "windows">Press Ctrl+S.</p>
attribute attribute value
• You can have as many values as you want for
any of the 5 predefined attributes
• But.... adding attributes is a lot harder
© 2011 JustSystems

9. What if you have…
• Products: Model100, Model200, Model300
• Platforms: Windows, Macintosh, Linux
• Editions: Standard, professional
• States: Hawaii, California, New York
• Roles: Teacher, Student
• Measuring systems: Metric, Imperial
…oops, 6 attributes already
© 2011 JustSystems

10. Possible approach 1:
Overload attributes
• audience = “Hawaii student”
• audience = “New York”
• audience = “Metric”
Problem: It won‟t work.
© 2011 JustSystems

11. Possible approach 2:
Use other attributes
• Some tools allow you to filter output using any
attribute, e.g. “rev” and “base”
• Caution: Are you sure you don‟t want to use
these attributes for something else?
• Caution: Do you want to commit to doing all your
publishing through these tools?
© 2011 JustSystems

12. Recommended approach:
• Add new attributes to the DITA DTDs
– Requires writing and modifying DTD files
– Each new attribute must be declared as a
specialization of the “props” attribute
• Good news: New extension pack makes it easier
– Unzip package and drop files into place
– Get 5 attributes named “otherprops2” “otherprops3”
etc.
© 2011 JustSystems

13. Demo: DITA 1.1
Conditional Text Extension Pack
Free download from the XMetaL Community
Forums:
– http://forums.xmetal.com/index.php/topic,1225.0.html
Drop DTD files in the right places
© 2011 JustSystems

14. Caution: Commitment ahead!
• Once you use the new “otherprops#” attributes,
your content will no longer validate against the
base DITA 1.1 DTDs
• All writers and translators will need to install the
Extension Pack
• Make sure you can configure all your tools to
use the DTDs in the Extension Pack
• Consider setting up “local shell” DTDs
© 2011 JustSystems

15. Want to modify DTDs yourself?
• Needed if you want the attributes to have meaningful
names, or need more than 5 new attributes
• Follow the tutorial here:
– http://www.xiruss.org/tutorials/dita-specialization/body/part-config-and-
extend/tutorials/attribute-domain/domain-att-spec-process.html
• Read the section on “Attribute domain specialization
pattern” here:
– http://docs.oasis-open.org/dita/v1.1/OS/archspec/dtdmod.html
© 2011 JustSystems

16. DITA 1.2 Conditional Text
Extension Pack
For DITA 1.2, everything is the same except:
• Download and install the XMetaL DITA 1.2 Configuration
Kit first
– Free for XMetaL customers on maintenance (contact your
account manager, or me at syeo at justsystems dot com)
• Drop files into the “DITA_OT1.5” folder instead of the
“DITA_OT” folder
© 2011 JustSystems

17. Support for the Extension Packs
• Usage in XMetaL Author Enterprise is supported
by JustSystems
• Licensing terms allow use in other tools
– With the standard disclaimer that these files may not
be perfect. Use at your own risk.
• There is a proposal to have the 5 new
“otherprops#” attributes be part of the DITA 1.3
standard
© 2011 JustSystems

18. Summary
• Conditional text = excellent way to produce customized
documents which reflect audience variations and product
variations
• Know the difference between adding attribute values
and adding attributes
• To add attributes, either modify DTD files, or install the
DITA 1.x Conditional Text Extension Pack
• Use the ct_config.xml file in XMetaL Author Enterprise to
display meaningful names
© 2011 JustSystems

19. About JustSystems
• Global Presence 2,500 Customers,
Marquee Brands
– 1,000 employees, „07 revenues of $110M
– HQ in Japan; Corporate Offices in Vancouver
and London; Sales Offices Worldwide
• Our Experience
– Established in 1979
– Market leader with over 2,500 customers
• Our Expertise
– Global provider of office productivity, information
management, consumer & enterprise software
– Framework for XML-based content creation,
integration, visualization and delivery
• Our Credibility
– eContent 100 member in 2009
– KMWorld Trend-Setting Product Award 2009
– KM World “100 Companies that Matter” 2010
© 2011 JustSystems

20. Global Customers
High-Tech Automotive Aerospace
Publishing Financial Other
© 2011 JustSystems