Inspiring

Question

Which template file is used for DITA 1.2 publishing?

Forum|Forum|12 years ago
April 12, 2013
2 replies
2560 views

Hi all,

when I save a ditamap as composite document, which template file must I edit to change the layout?

So far I have modified the topic templates (task.template.fm etc.) but I have not found the template relevant for the output yet.

Update

-----------

The ditafm_output.ini file contains the line CompositeDocTemplate_1.2=ditabase.template.fm but exchanging all ditabase.template.fm files in the FM directory did not do the job.

This seems like is a very basic question so I wonder why it is not documented - or am I missing something? The only workaround I found was to manually import the EDD and formatting from my template into the FM document each time after publishing.

-----------

Robert

Structured

This topic has been closed for replies.

C

cudspan

Inspiring

Either I'm confused about dates, or there's a harmonic convergence going on. I am just now grappling with this problem myself and lo, here is a discussion that started yesterday!

So far I have tried altering the Struct Apps file to specify which template to use in the DITA_1.2_ditabase applicaton, and I have tried editing the template file stored in ...\AdobeFrameMaker11\Structure\xml\DITA_1.2\app\technicalContent\template\ditabase.template.fm... Neither of these activities makes a difference. So when Maker saves a DITA map as a composite document, does it use any of the applications in the App Definitions file? Or is it using hard-coded magic for some unexplicable reason? If the latter, that should be logged as a bug.

I'm getting convinced that Maker doesn't use the Struct Apps file at all when saving as a composite doc because I have deleted all app definitions from the file except DITA_1.2_ditabase. I still get the same results no matter how I define the template. Then when I use Scott's trick to check which app created the document, it shows DITA_1.2_ditabase -- BUT, the Set Application list shows the full set of apps that I could choose from the default struct apps file. (Yes, I have loaded my changed struct apps file -- and verified that it has only one app in it by restarting Maker and choosing EDIT struct apps file... It has a single app as expected.) So I don't believe I have reduced the set of defined struct apps at all, even though I have only one app in the loaded struct apps file! Where is this information coming from, and why can't I control it? In short, this area of the product is unpredictable for my feeble brain, and I can't afford to spend any more time on it. I have deadlines to meet.

Bottom line, I can't seem to do ANYTHING that will change Maker's behavior when saving a dita map as a composite document. This is a real problem, BTW. It means that my daily work flow always includes the stupid, manual steps of importing formats and EDD from another template after I create the file! Can this possibly be acceptable behavior? Note to Adobe... This is the sort of thing that drives a customer to use a different product.

ScottPrentice

Inspiring

@Robert .. all I can suggest is that you go back through your modifications, and test each one to see where the problem lies. Even the most basic change, can break things

@cudspan .. you may know this, but there are two structure app definition files. It sounds like you've cleaned out your local file (accessed via StructureTools > Edit Application Definitions), but there's also the global file (StructureTools > Edit Global Application Definitions). The global file is where the "default" apps are defined. If you want to get rid of those, empty out that file as well (after making a backup of course). Don't just delete the file .. that has other strange results. Beyond that, I do think that FM does some "magic" on the back end that makes it very difficult to control this publishing process. I haven't taken the time to figure it out (since I use DITA-FMx which doesn't have these limitations), but it is rather disturbing. Some people (@Marsha for one) seem to have figured it out, so perhaps she can offer more advice. I do know that it can be very difficult to get FM to use templates/apps that aren't the default ones.

All the best!

...scott

C

cudspan

Inspiring

Well, thanks, Scott... Still no joy, however. I have narrowed the app definitions to:

* Global

* DITA_1.2_map

* LOCAL

* DITA_1.2_ditabase

* DITA_1.2_topic

The ditabase application specifies a custom template in a custom location... I'm using the same template as I use for the topic, except it has DITA as the highest-level element. When I open a topic, it displays the file using the correct template. When I generate a composite doc it uses some default template. But as far as I can tell, that generic template is not specified anywhere in the application definition files that I have. I restarted Maker, and got the same results.

When I check which application was used to generate the document, it shows DITA_1.2_ditabase. The list of available applications agrees with my global and lcal app def files.

So I believe this is a bug. It clearly isn't using the app definition to get the template file. Furthermore, I have no idea where it's getting the default file. In the DITA 1.2 app directory, I have saved a copy of my custom composite template as ditabase.template.fm. So even if it picks that file up from the application directory, it should have the custom look, and not the default look.

Baffled and confused as ever... cud

An added problem. I couldn't figure out why my tables were always getting their column widths reset. Well, it's because they're getting stuffed into the wrong template. So I have to do all sorts of manual stuff with each PDF release I make:

* Open the correct template

* Import formats

* Import EDD

* Resize tables (maybe 50 or so)

Who knows what else I'll discover. I find this very disappointing.

RsflAuthor

Inspiring

Update: Now I am also working on DITA 1.1 and DITA 1.2 documents in parallel. The ini file mentioned above contains separate lines for the publishing templates, e.g.

CompositeDocTemplate_1.1=ditabase.template.fm

CompositeDocTemplate_1.2=ditabase.template.fm

What folders do these refer to? It seems possible to use separate output templates for both DITA versions but I have not been able to adjust the output by replacing the adequate template file.

This seems really basic, if this is documented anywhere then I would be happy to receive a link.

Robert

ScottPrentice

Inspiring

Hi Robert...

I'm not 100% sure (hopefully someone who has done this will chime in), but I'd assume that the 1.2 composite template is here ..

FRAMEMAKER\Structure\xml\DITA_1.2\app\technicalContent\template\ditabase.template.fm

and would expect the 1.1 composite template to be here ..

FRAMEMAKER\Structure\xml\DITA\app\DITA-Composite-FM\composite.template.fm

(But the 1.1 template name is different than you're seeing in the INI, so something isn't right there.)

Hopefully you'll get more definitive info from someone else. I use DITA-FMx, which makes it very clear as to which apps do what, and doesn't (by default) force you to use separate apps for each topic type. Since you have to maintain the composite model for publishing, you might as well use that same model for authoring .. no?

However .. why would you maintain both 1.1 and 1.2 templates? You can easily work with 1.1 files in 1.2, and if you don't use the 1.2 features or elements in a 1.1 file, it should still be valid under a 1.1 model. It's enough effort to maintain one model, but why do both?

Cheers,

...scott

Scott Prentice

Leximation, Inc.

www.leximation.com

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded