[xep-support] XEP 3.2.0 - New features

From: Nikolai Grigoriev (grig@renderx.com)
Date: Fri Jan 31 2003 - 11:55:23 PST

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    Dear all,

    we have just released XEP 3.2.0 - a feature-adding release of XEP 3.
    I would like to present new things in some detail, as I feel appropriate
    for a technically-oriented list like this.

    So what we have in 3.2:

    New features
    ============

    1. 'text-shadow' attribute supported, except for blurring -
    blur radius is ignored in shadow specifiers. Shadows
    do not influence formatting - text placement is not affected,
    so a shadow may protrude beyond the border if the text
    comes too close. Please bear that in mind, and adjust
    padding/spacing appropriately.

    2. absolute-position="absolute" supported. XEP 3.2
    discerns properly between 'fixed' and 'absolute' position
    of block containers.

    3. Finally, PDF generator can embed PDF images.
    The first page of an arbitrary PDF document is inserted
    as a vector graphic, by copying page content streams
    and all associated resources. Its intrinsic dimensions
    are specified by /ArtBox entry in the page dictionary;
    if missing, /MediaBox is taken.

    Limitations on PDF types that can be inserted are really
    small, namely:

     - PDF images that use encryption/security cannot be used;

     - for PDF images with LZW compression, there is a subtle limitation:
       all content subflows that constitute /Content entry in the page
    dictionary
       must use the same compression method. (Yes, it's because of the Unisys
       patent). Frankly, the probability that an application mixes different
       compression types for the same page is close to zero. Yet there
       would be nothing wrong in such a structure; so please be warned :-).

    4. Options for PDF and PostScript can be specified via processing
    instructions. Instead of setting Java properties or calling API functions
    from producers, you can now add a line or two to the top of the source
    file. For instance:

    <?xep-postscript-language-level 2?>

    sets PostScript generator to Level 2;

    <?xep-pdf-ownerpassword SECRET?>
    <?xep-pdf-userprivileges copy, annotate?>

    creates a secured read-only, non-printable PDF (and sets master
    password to SECRET). We strongly recommend using PIs instead
    of other mechanisms - they're far more elegant and easy to handle.
    For details, see doc/userguide.pdf.

     5. There is a new option, XEP2_COMPATIBLE_MODE, to disable
    RenderX proprietary interpretation of inheritance. As you probably
    know, XEP deviates from XSL FO inheritance schema for out-of-line
    elements, and for indents inside reference-areas. We still believe that
    it is a more natural behaviour; however, it is not standard compliant,
    and so must be left as a free choice to the user. In XEP 3.12, setting
    XEP2_COMPATIBLE_MODE=false turns our proprietary additions
    off. (Note that the default value for this property is 'true': XEP 3.2
    behaves like XEP 3.1 unless specifically configured to follow the
    recommendation strictly).

    Improvements
    ============

    1. A new switch, -version, is added to com.renderx.xep.Driver
    and com.renderx.xep.XSLDriver command-line interfaces; as
    its name suggests, it shows the current version.

    2.All dependence on AWT has been removed: no more limitations
    in functionality under MS JVM or console-only Unix/Linux.
    As a side effect, we extended TIFF coverage: tiled CMYK
    TIFFs are now supported.

    3. The algorithm to calculate text-alititude/text-height has changed -
    it uses ascender/descender values (instead of bounding box size
    in 3.1) It will manifest in slightly narrower inline areas, slightly
    different line placement, and (hopefully) better interoperability
    with other formatters.

    Bug fixes
    =========

      - margin value of 'auto' recognized;
      - 'number-columns-spanned' is not inherited from fo:table-column
        to cells in that column (it was inherited in 3.1);
      - very small GIFs (less than 200 bytes with 64 colors or less)
        are processed correctly (there were intermittent errors there).

    I hope you enjoy the new version and provide your feedback,
    helping us to improve it further. Your opinions and bug reports
    are most welcome.

    Best regards,
    Nikolai Grigoriev
    RenderX

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