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

From: Alexander Peshkov (peshkov@renderx.com)
Date: Tue Aug 24 2004 - 03:15:07 PDT

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    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@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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