[xep-support] Feasibility of using block-containers to simulate change bars?

[Alexander Peshkov]

Hello Jacques,

You are right: there are no special means to implement change bars in
XSL-FO nor XEP yet. In the current state of affairs use of XEP
intermediate format to imitate such functionality is a feasible way in
my opinion. There is one feature that can make your life a bit easier
- rx:pinpoint. This XEP extension is a very low-level facility to put
user-defined marks into the XML representation of the output. It
produces a zero-size inline object that works as a labeled pin,
marking a specific location on the page so you can use rx:pinpoint as
'change marks'.

Actually this subject was discussed on this list some time ago, try to
search our mailing list archive for 'revision bars' (there is a Google
search form at the top of the page at http://xep.xattic.com)

Best regards,
Alexander Peshkov                             mailto:peshkov at renderx.com
RenderX


DJ> All,
 
DJ> My internal customers have started to pronounce the term 'change bars'. Unless I have missed things (it has happened before :-), XEP
DJ> offers no support for this. I have experimented a little with absolutely-positioned block-containers (with a left c.q. right border
DJ> and containing nothing but an empty block) for each change (getting these is already a story of its own). I modify the intermediate
DJ> 'at' xep format to get these polygons to the right placement and dimensions (relying on x-till etc. attributes of the 'change'
DJ> elements).
DJ> In my rather limited test cases, this approach gives reasonable visual results. Changes apply to both block-level components as to
DJ> in-line text portions.
 
DJ> Q: Is this worth investigating further? Can I rely on the sequence and syntax of elements in the xep intermediate format or am I
DJ> bound to get trapped by many issues I'm not (yet) thinking of? 
 
DJ> Any advice appreciated,
 
DJ> --
DJ> Jacques Deseyne
DJ> S.W.I.F.T. User Documentation Dept.
DJ> B-1310 La Hulpe


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