XSL-FO or Extensible Stylesheet Language for Formatting Objects is part of the XML family of standards. It can be used to transform or reorder an XML instance and to specify formatting and pagination characteristics such as font, point size, page layouts, and much more. XSL-FO allows publishers to leverage cost effective, standards based technology for content rendering and publishing. Since the XSL-FO files are themselves XML, they can also be stored and managed in SDL Contenta and SDL Trisoft, providing style management, versioning and even reuse in the same way SDL Contenta and SDL Trisoft brings those benefits to XML content.
With XSL-FO:
PDF documents are often the format of choice for Web content when it is desirable to have the Web content in the same paginated form as traditional print publications. PDF is also widely used to present complex information on the Web that is not readily renderable using HTML, such as mathematical or chemical formulas. Easily downloadable, readily navigable, and familiar to users, PDF is an efficient, reliable, and flexible way to deliver content. SDL XPP, XML Professional Publisher formats your content, links and indexes it, creates pages – including automated tables of contents and illustrations, and allows you to deliver PDF in an automated workflow.
HTML for Web delivery is an important format for enterprise portals and all types of Web-based information. SDL Contenta and SDL Trisoft can produce HTML versions of your content when and as you need it. When content is approved and ready for public consumption, SDL Contenta’ and SDL Trisoft publishing tools transform the source XML content into HTML that you can deliver via their Web interfaces or use to feed a corporate portal or web site.
For most software and hardware applications, end users require and expect information to be readily available as an embedded part of the application. SDL Contenta and SDL Trisoft provide publishing tools that compile XML content into a linked deliverable that can become part of your overall product collateral. Versions of online help can be generated during development and review as well as automatically generated on completion and approval of the technical content; thus ensuring that your product shipments are not delayed.
Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs) are the online delivery mechanism for aerospace and defense technical documentation. Increasingly intelligent, IETMS are being transformed from electronic page turning devices to highly interactive, diagnostic enabled technical databases. SDL LiveContent allows you to deliver SGML and XML content which conforms to a number of government and military standards (e.g. S1000D) in a powerful IETM package – all as an automated part of your multi-channel output environment. LiveContent enables your end users to find critical information while in the midst of demanding maintenance or repair tasks. SDL LiveContent's IETM building and viewing technology integrates seamlessly with SDL Contenta’s automated content lifecycle management functionality. Together they guarantee the completeness and accuracy of the technical information delivered to users responsible for the safety and reliability of complex systems. Lives can depend on such content, and SDL Structured Content Technologies gives you the means to author and deliver it.