What's New in Oxygen XML Author 23.0
November 19, 2020
Related version: 23.1
Version 23.0 of Oxygen XML Author boasts the most substantial and comprehensive set of new features, productivity enhancements, and customization possibilities in the history of the most powerful XML authoring tool available on the market.
This major release introduces lots of improvements for the DITA authoring community, productivity boosts for general visual editing, speed optimization for publishing large DITA projects, the CSS-based publishing support was further enhanced with numerous new customization possibilities, enrichments for DocBook, CSS, and HTML document types, as well as an impressive list of additions and updates to Add-ons. As usual, you can also find new API entry points, various bug fixes, component updates, and much, much more.
There are changes in:
DITA Authoring
Floating Toolbar Provides Quicker Access to Common DITA Editing Actions
When editing DITA documents, you can now quickly invoke context-specific common actions. They are available in a floating toolbar that pops up when you select content. For example, if you select content inside a paragraph element, the floating toolbar includes common styling actions such as Bold, Italic, Underline, Subscript, Superscript, as well as actions for inserting code snippets or various types of links.
Edit Submaps Directly in the DITA Maps Manager View
You can now edit submaps (i.e. add topics, change properties, or move topic references) directly in a main map opened in the DITA Maps Manager view. To do this, you need to enable the Allow referenced submaps to be edited option in the DITA -> Maps preferences page.
Edit Referenced Content When Opening a DITA Map With Expanded Topics
A DITA map opened using the Open Map in Editor with Resolved Topics toolbar button from the DITA Maps Manager is displayed with all of the content from its topic references expanded and editable in-place. This is possible if you enable the Allow referenced content to be edited from Editor > Edit Modes > Author preferences page.
Support for Creating DITA 2.0 Maps and Topics
DITA 2.0 maps and topics can now be created from new document templates. You just need to select the Enable DITA 2.0 editing support from the DITA preferences page
New DITA-Related Project Templates
To help you get more familiar with how to use projects in DITA, there are two
DITA-specific sample project templates available when using the New
Project action. The DITA Project With Editing Customizations
template exemplifies how DITA editing can be customized for a team of writers using
project-level options, while the Sample DITA Project shows best practices
for how a DITA project should be organized.
Context Drop-Down in DITA Maps Manager Improved
The order of the DITA-OT contexts that are presented in the
Context drop-down menu on the DITA Maps Manager toolbar was improved.
They are now grouped by input DITA map and the most relevant group is presented first (the
group that contains the currently open input DITA map).
New Author Actions Added in Contextual Menu
More author actions are available in the contextual menu when editing a DITA topic. They include the Insert Menu Cascade action in the Insert submenu and the UI Control and Filepath actions in the Style submenu.
Resource-Only Topic References Easier to Spot
References to resource-only topics that have the preocessing-role
attribute set to "resource-only" can now be more easily recognized in
the DITA Maps Manager. They are marked with a gray dot in the
bottom-right corner of the reference's icon.
Topic Validation Reports Missing IDs in References
DITA topics often contain direct or indirect references (links or content references). If the topics are located on a local drive and the referenced IDs are missing, Oxygen will report these IDs as errors.
DITA Publishing
Run Multiple Transformations on a Single DITA Map in Parallel
To help you reduce the amount of time consumed by the publishing phase, Oxygen now offers parallel execution of DITA-OT or Ant-based transformation scenarios. You can access this new option, called Run in parallel (DITA-OT and Ant scenarios), simply by selecting multiple transformation scenarios in the Configure Transformation Scenarios dialog box.
DITA-OT Memory Usage Optimized
The memory usage and speed of the DITA-OT publishing engine were optimized for
very large projects that contain lots of folders and topics.
CSS-Based DITA to PDF Publishing
Image Maps Now Fully Supported
Image maps are now fully supported in CSS-based PDF output. The shapes that are
defined in the image map are rendered in the output as clickable areas within the image
and the list of links are presented below the image. Two new parameters
(
show.image.map.area.numbers and
show.image.map.area.shapes) are used to instruct the publishing engine
to make the numbers and shapes visible in the output. For more details, see How to
Use Image Maps.DITA <svgref> Element Now Supported
The DITA
<svgref> element is now supported. It can be used to
reference a fragment from an XML document that stores multiple SVG graphics.Sections Now Included in Deep Numbering
By default, sections are now numbered when you set the
args.css.param.numbering parameter to a deep numbering type. It is also
possible to exclude sections from the numbering.Controlling Where Navigation Titles are Displayed
A new customization parameter, called
use.navtitles.in.all.links, now allows you to specify whether a
navtitle defined in a topic or a topic reference should be used as the
display name for all links or only in the table of contents.New Parameter for Controlling the Version of the PDF
The new
pdf.version transformation parameter can be used to specify
the version of the produced PDF.CSS PDF Processor Bug Fixes and Improvements
A lot of work was done on improving the Oxygen PDF Chemistry
processor. To see a list of all the bug fixes, component updates, and improvements, see
the What's New in Oxygen PDF Chemistry
23.0 webpage.
Visual Editing
Extend a Framework Using a Special Script
You can now define a new framework through an XML descriptor file instead of
using the GUI. In this descriptor, you can choose to extend an existing framework (such as
DITA) and make changes to it, or start from scratch.
Insert Tables in JATS Documents
It is now possible to use the table-related actions on the toolbar (or in the
context menu) to insert and edit tables in JATS documents. The actions support inserting
and modifying HTML-style tables.
Copy XML Structure to the Clipboard
You can now select content from an XML document opened in
Author mode and invoke a new action called Copy as XML
from the Document > Edit menu to copy the corresponding XML structure
to the system clipboard.
New Shortcut to Select Element Content in Author Mode
The Alt + [Mouse Triple-Click] shortcut can be used to easily
select strictly the content of an element in the Author visual editing
mode.
Diff and Merge Support for Eclipse
Compare XML Content in Oxygen's Text-based Diff Mode
The Oxygen diff and merge support in the Eclipse plugin now includes a
text-based mode with all the features and options that are available in the Standalone
version of Oxygen. Thus, XML-related content can now be compared in either the text-based
mode or the visual comparison mode and it is very easy to switch back and forth between
the two modes.
Automatically Switch to the Text Comparison Mode When no CSS is Detected
If a document does not have a CSS associated (either directly in the file or
contributed by the framework), the document will be automatically compared in the
text-based comparison mode.
Compare DTD Documents
The diff and merge support in the Oxygen Eclipse plugin now includes the
possibility of comparing DTD documents.
DocBook
Floating Toolbar Provides Quicker Access to Common DocBook Editing Actions
When editing DocBook documents, you can now quickly invoke context-specific
common actions. They are available in a floating toolbar that pops up when you select
content. For example, if you select content inside a paragraph element, the floating
toolbar includes common styling actions such as Bold,
Italic, Underline, Subscript, and
Superscript.
CSS
Support for the border-radius CSS Property
Now you can round border corners using the
border-radius CSS
property in both the standalone and Eclipse distributions.Display a Floating Toolbar Configured with CSS
The new
-oxy-floating-toolbar CSS property can be used to display a
floating toolbar when content is selected in Author mode. You can
customize this toolbar to provide actions commonly used in a particular
context.HTML/XHTML
Batch Convert HTML to Well-formed XML
The HTML to XML Well-formed action is now also available in
the context menu of the Project view when you have selected multiple
project resources. It converts the selected HTML documents into well-formed XML, by
automatically closing unclosed tags, properly quoting attribute values, and more.
Validate XHTML with W3C Nu HTML Checker
A new built-in validator engine called W3C XHTML Validator,
based upon the W3C Nu HTML
Checker, can now be used to validate XHTML documents in Oxygen. More
information about this validator engine is available in the user
guide.
Add-ons
Oxygen provides access to a variety of add-ons that extend the functionality
of the application.
Terminology Checker
A new add-on is available that provides experimental support for a terminology
checking tool. Once the add-on is installed, you can create a terminology file with a set
of rules for each term (or sequence of characters) you want flagged. After referencing the
custom file, Oxygen will automatically highlight matched terms in
Author mode and offer some contextual menu actions for replacing the
highlighted content.
The terminology checker was also updated with more features such as support for regular expression matches, replacements with XML content, and various severity levels for the matches. A small set of Vale rules implemented in Yaml is also supported. For more details, go to https://github.com/oxygenxml/oxygen-terminology-checker-plugin.
Git Client Improvements
Various improvements were made to the Git Client add-on
since the last major release:
- The Git Client now contributes a new side-view, called the Git Branch Manager, which presents all the local and remote branches as a tree. Actions were added to the tree's contextual menu to make it very easy to check out branches, and to create or delete branches.
- You can now easily switch between local branches using a drop-down menu from the top-right corner of the Git Staging view or by using the Git Branch Manager.
- The JGit component included in the Git Client was updated to version 5.9.0.
- Some editor variables are now supported, including:
${git(working_copy_name)},${git(working_copy_path)},${git(short_branch_name)},${git(full_branch_name)}. - You can now undo changes by moving the HEAD of the current branch to the selected commit using the new Reset "[branch_name]" to this commit action.
- Various actions and options were added to enhance the Git Client. For example, you can amend the last commit, automatically push changes to the remote repository, compare two revisions of the same file, reset stored credentials, and more options to create a new branch.
For a complete list of updates added in version 2.2.0 of the Git Client, see https://github.com/oxygenxml/oxygen-git-plugin/releases/tag/2.2.0.
For a complete list of updates added in version 2.3.0 of the Git Client, see https://github.com/oxygenxml/oxygen-git-plugin/releases/tag/2.3.0.
Convert Sections in a Word Document to DITA Topics
A new option (Create DITA maps from Word documents containing multiple
sections) was added for the Batch Converter add-on. When
selected, all sections from your Word document marked by titles or headings will be
separated into individual DITA topics and their references will then be added in the DITA
map.
Translator Helper
The Translator
Helper add-on is now available in Oxygen to provide experimental support to
authors working in the localization industry. Once the add-on is installed, you can use
Google Translate to create a translation for your XML content into a new
language.
Vale Validation for Markdown and HTML Files
A new add-on, Vale
Validation, allows you to run the Vale Linter
validation tool over the currently edited Markdown or HTML file. It automatically verifies
specific rules against your code or documentation. This is useful for enforcing a style
guide or for catching commonly mistaken branding issues.
Scripting
The all platforms distribution of Oxygen is bundled with a
scripts sub-folder that contains scripts for automating and running
various utilities from a command line. To run any of these scripts, you are required to
purchase a special scripting commercial
license.Validate DITA-OT Project Files
The DITA Map Validation and Check for Completeness command
line script was improved to support validating DITA-OT project files. The DITA-OT project
is specified using the
-i argument, while the context is specified using
the -c argument.New Command Line Launcher for the DITA Translation Package Builder
The OxygenDITA Translation Package Builder can now be launched from a command line.
It requires a special scripting commercial
license. This DITA Translation Package Builder contributes
context menu actions that help you build a translation package for DITA files that can be
sent to translators. You can also extract the changed files back into your project once
you receive the package back from the translators.
New Command Line Launcher for the Batch Converter
The OxygenBatch Converter tool can now be launched from a command line. It requires
a special scripting commercial license.
This Batch Converter script helps you to convert files between various
formats, such as Word to DITA, HTML to DITA, XML
to JSON, Markdown to DocBook, and many more.
New Command Line Launcher for Transformation Scenarios
It is now possible to run transformation scenarios from a command line
interface. The Transform script requires a special scripting commercial license and it
allows you to run transformation scenarios.
Other
Quickly Find and Invoke Actions
Oxygen now includes a Find action feature (available in
the Help menu) that provides a very quick way to find actions that are
available throughout the application. You can also assign shortcuts for particular actions
and you can invoke actions using this feature.
Create New Projects from a Template
The New Project action now opens a wizard (similar to the
New document wizard) that allows you to create a new project from an
existing template. For more details, see Creating a New
Project.
Improved Speed When Editing Hebrew Content in Author Mode
The overall Author mode performance was improved when editing XML documents
that contain Hebrew characters.
Profiling Attributes/Condition Text Options Pages Fine-Tuned
The options pages specific to profiling attributes and conditional text were
fine-tuned to provide a better control at project level and smoother user interaction.
Also, a performance issue was fixed. It involved the project file being continuously
modified by Oxygen when the profiling options were temporarily changed.
Content Completion Feature Now Considers Sibling Elements
A new option (Consider subsequent sibling elements) was added
in the Options > Preferences > Editor > Content Completion settings
page. When this option is selected (the default behavior), subsequent siblings of the
current element are taken into account when using the Content Completion Assistant. For
example, in DITA, if you invoke the Content Completion Assistant before an already
inserted required
title element, it will not offer a proposal to insert a
title (since it already exists).Enable Spell Checking in Processing Instructions
In the Spell Check preferences page, processing
instructions was added to the list of the XML Spell Checking
In option. It is disabled by default. Enabling it means that the spell checker
will detect spelling errors in XML processing instructions.
Reuse XPath Expressions and Operations When Defining External Actions
When defining custom external actions, you can now reuse XPath expressions and
operations by referencing them using XInclude. For more information, see Creating
and Customizing Actions for a Framework.
API
Call the BatchOperationsListener API When Multiple Referenced Files are Saved
When a document that contains multiple references to other documents is saved
and the referenced content is modified and also saved, the
BatchOperationsListener API will get called for each saved
document content.Create Combo Box Form Controls
The
OxygenUIComponentsFactory.createComboBox API can be used to
create a combo box similar to those found in various places in the application's
interface.Create Custom URL Choosers
The newly added
OxygenUIComponentsFactory.createInputURLPanelProvider API can
be used to create a custom URL chooser component. For example, you can control the label,
choose whether or not to display the editor variables button, and more.Control the Names of DITA Keys
The newly added
DITAAccess.setKeyNameGenerator(DITAKeyNameGenerator) API can
be used to control the naming convention for DITA keys that are automatically generated
when the Use the file name as the value of the "keys" attribute for topic
references option is selected in the DITA > New Topics
preferences page.Edit Referenced Content
Two new methods were added to the
AuthorReferenceResolver API. The
hasEditableReference(String, AuthorNode) and
saveModifiedReference(AuthorAccess, AuthorReferenceNode) methods can be
used to provide the possibility to edit referenced content in a framework extension and
save the changes back in the original target.Add Pseudo-Classes to a Document Before Loading
The new
createAuthorPreloadProcessor() method was added to the
ExtensionsBundle API and it allows you to add pseudo-classes
to a document before it is loaded.Preserve Tracked Changes in a Document Fragment
A new
createDocumentFragment(int startOffset, int endOffset, boolean
preserveTrackChange) method was added to the AuthorDocumentController API that makes it possible to
preserve tracked change information in a document fragment, even if change tracking is
disabled in the current document.Hide Various Parts of an Author Component
Two new methods (
showRangeRuler(boolean) and
showValidationStatusBar(boolean) were added to the WSAuthorComponentEditorPage API. They can be used to hide
various parts of an Author mode component constructed via the
API.Determine if Keyboard Focus is Inside an Editing Mode
The
hasFocus() method was added to the WSEditorPage API. It can be used to determine if the current
editing mode has the keyboard focus.Get Details About a Fragment of Text
The
getNode() and inSpacePreserve() methods
were added to the TextContext API and they can be used to find out more details
about an iterated fragment of text.Obtain Styles for Pseudo-Elements
The
getPseudoElementStyles(AuthorParentNode) method was added
to the WSAuthorEditorPageBase API and it is used to retrieve the
styles for the :before, :after, and
:marker pseudo-elements that correspond to a node.Match URL Based on its Parameters
The
DocumentTypeAdvancedCustomRuleMatcher.matches(String, String, String, String, String,
Attributes, Map<String, String>, Reader) API was added and it
allows Oxygen to match a framework configuration for an XML file based on the
parameters set in the URL string.Terms of Use Changes
Saxon PE and EE Limitations
The API for creating XSLT and XQuery transformers (using the
XMLUtilAccess interface) can no longer be used to create processors for
Saxon Professional Edition (PE) or Saxon Enterprise Edition (EE).Content Fusion Connector Add-on no Longer Bundled with Oxygen
The Oxygen Content Fusion Connector add-on is no longer
bundled with Oxygen XML Editor/Author, but it can be installed as an
optional add-on.
Command Line Scripts Now Only Bundled with the All Platforms Distribution
Command line scripts (e.g. the WSDL documentation generator, the XSLT
documentation generator, etc.) are now only bundled with the Oxygen All Platforms
distribution and require a special scripting
license.
Certain Validation Processors Now Deprecated
The MSXML 4.0, MSXML .NET, .NET
1.0, .NET 2.0, XSV, and SQC
processors used for validation and publishing are now deprecated and will be removed in
the next major version.
Injecting a License Key in the Author Component Now Deprecated
The ability to register a fixed license key in the Author Component is now
deprecated and will be completely removed from the code in the next major
release.
Apache Xalan Now Deprecated
The Apache Xalan XSLT processor is now deprecated and will be completely
removed from the code in the next major release.
Component Updates
Antenna House FOChecker 0.7.8
Updated the bundled Antenna House FOChecker to version 0.7.8.
Apache Ant 1.10.9
Updated Apache Ant to version 1.10.9.
Apache Batik 1.13
Updated the Apache Batik SVG toolkit to version 1.13.
Apache FOP 2.5
Updated Apache FOP to version 2.5.
Apache Commons IO Library 2.8.0
Updated the Apache
commons-io library that is bundled inside
FOP to version 2.8.0.Apache POI 3.17
Updated the Apache POI library to version 3.17.
Apache XML Graphics 2.4
Updated the Apache XML Graphics Commons library to version 2.4.
Calabash 1.2.5-99
Updated the Calabash engine to version 1.2.5-99.
DITA Open Toolkit 3.5.4
The DITA Open Toolkit version bundled with Oxygen was updated to
3.5.4.
Eclipse 4.17
Updated the Eclipse plugin to support version 4.17.
Eclipse 4.4 is Now the Minimum Required Version
The Eclipse plugin now requires a minimum of Eclipse version 4.4.
EPUBCheck 4.2.4
Updated the EpubCheck library to version 4.2.4.
TEI Schemas 4.1.0 and TEI XSL Stylesheets 7.50
Updated the bundled TEI schemas to version 4.1.0 and the TEI XSL stylesheets to
version 7.50.
Java Native Access Libraries (JNA) 5.6.0
Updated the bundled Java Native Access (JNA) libraries to version
5.6.0.