XML Editor

how to open the editor

Open one of the window panes that allows you to take action on existing content (e.g., Broken Links window pane, Snippet Suggestions window pane, Variable Suggestions window pane).
Double-click a row in the window pane.

Editing the XHTML Code

You don't need to know XHTML or HTML to work in Analyzer. The XML Editor displays content just as you might expect to see it in an editor such as Microsoft Word. However, you can get behind the display to work in the actual code if you want. This is done in the Text Editor (or in another editor that supports XML).

The XML Editor and the Text Editor are closely synchronized with each other. They can be shown in a single window with options for viewing both at the same time and configuring their appearance.

features of split view

Not only does split view allow you to see the XML Editor and Text Editor jointly in different ways, but there are also special features with split view.

Synchronization of Text
- Highlighting text in one editor automatically highlights the related text in the other editor.
- Clicking in one editor causes the other editor to jump to the same position.
Note: If you highlight areas in the XML Editor that matches non-consecutive sections of XML, no highlight is shown in the Text Editor. For example, in the XML Editor, you can highlight different parts of a table, but because of the order in which table markup is written in XHTML, it cannot be similarly highlighted in the Text Editor.
Code Validation If you type characters that result in invalid XML, the Text Editor displays an error with information as to why the error exists.

In addition, the following rules are in effect, depending on whether the editors are docked or undocked.
- If the editors are not docked (i.e., you can see the XML Editor), updates (i.e., highlights, edits) stop going from the code to the XML Editor. If you make an edit in the XML Editor while erroneous XML is in the Text Editor, the changes in the XML Editor take precedence over any edits in the Text Editor.
- If the editors are docked (i.e., you cannot see the XML Editor), you will be unable to start a split view or click the XML Editor tab until the error is resolved.
Invalid Edits Outside of Analyzer If the document being viewed is edited outside of Analyzer with invalid XML and saved, Analyzer will prompt you to open the file as text. If you select "Yes", the editors remain open in split view, but the Text Editor becomes the main editor and the XML Editor cannot be shown until the invalid code is fixed.

what you can do in this editor

In addition to typing content, there are dozens of things you can do in the XML Editor. Following are some of the primary tasks that you can perform when you open the XML Editor in the Analyzer interface. Many additional tasks can be performed in this editor if you open it in Flare. For specific steps on any of the following tasks, refer to the Flare online Help.

Characters and Symbols (Insert) Read more… You can insert special characters or symbols into content. This can be done by using the Character dialog, by inserting a quick character that you have specified, by selecting a favorite character, or by selecting a recent character.
Condition Tags (Apply) Read more… A condition is something that you can apply to different areas of your content so that some sections show up in some of your outputs but not in others.
Cross-References (Insert/Edit) Read more… A cross-reference is a dynamic navigation link that lets you connect one topic to another (or a bookmark within a topic). This is somewhat similar to a text hyperlink. However, cross-references differ from hyperlinks in a few ways. (1) They are based on format commands that help you keep the look of links consistent. (2) They are especially useful for print output because they let you automatically refer to specific areas and/or page numbers in the output. (3) Both the source and destination files must be part of the same target output within the same project. See Inserting Cross-References.
Snippets (Create/Insert/Edit) Read more… A snippet is an important file used for single-sourcing that acts sort of like a miniature topic. In a snippet, you can insert and format text, tables, pictures, and whatever else can be included in a normal topic. We’re not usually talking about single words or phrases; that’s what variables are for. A snippet can be inserted into one or more topics throughout your project. You can even insert them into other snippets, creating nested snippets. In Analyzer, you can replace text in the XML Editor with snippets indirectly through the Snippet Suggestions window pane.
Styles (Apply) Read more… If you are using styles in your project, you can change the look of content simply by applying styles to it. In Analyzer, you can create a new style and apply it to content in the XML Editor indirectly through the New Style Suggestions window pane.
Variables (Insert) Read more… Variables are brief, non-formatted pieces of content (such as the name of your company’s product or phone number) that can be edited in one place but used in many places throughout your project. They're especially good for text that might change frequently, such as version numbers and dates. Variables are stored in variable sets, which can hold multiple variables. There are different kinds of variables: (1) basic ones, (2) custom date/time variables, (3) system variables (e.g., date and time; titles; page count; Chapter, Section, and Volume numbers), (4) Heading variables, and (5) Running Head variables. Some of these are especially useful for page headers and footers. In Analyzer, you can replace text in the XML Editor with variables indirectly through the Variable Suggestions window pane.

buttons and sections—top of xml editor

Button/Section	Description
	Opens the Insert Hyperlink dialog, which lets you insert a text hyperlink on the selected text in the topic.
	Opens the Insert Cross-Reference dialog, which lets you insert a cross-reference into the topic at the location of the cursor.
	Opens a dialog that lets you insert an image at the location of the cursor.
	Opens the Character dialog, if you click the face of the button. You can use this dialog to choose a character to insert or perform many other tasks. If you click the down arrow on the button, you can select other options, such as inserting a quick character or choosing one of your favorite or recent characters. See Inserting Characters and Symbols.
	Activates Index Entry Mode. Use this method to accomplish the same thing as the Index window pane method. The difference is that, with this method, you do not need to move your cursor from the topic or snippet to the Index window pane. You simply click at the spot in the text where you want to insert the keyword and start typing. The words you type are added directly into the Index window pane. This is a good method to use if you plan to do a lot of indexing all at once, without performing any other tasks in the topic or snippet.
	Activates Concept Entry Mode. Use this method to accomplish the same thing as the Concept window pane method. The difference is that, with this method, you do not need to move your cursor from the topic to the Concept window pane. You simply click at the spot in the text where you want to insert the keyword and start typing. The words you type are added directly into the Concept window pane. This is a good method to use if you plan to create concepts in a lot of topics all at once, without performing any other tasks in the topic.
	Turns paragraph and space markers on and off. When you turn this feature on, you can see markers that show where paragraphs end and where space exists before and after content.
	If you click the face of this button, all of the content changes, showing the XML tags surrounding the content. If you click the down arrow, you can select the following options. Show Caret Tag Neighborhood Read more… Turns this feature on and off (it is off by default). If you click on a line that contains inline tags (e.g., bold font, cross-reference), floating tag bars display above it (this is called the "caret tag neighborhood"). You can click on a bar to open the context menu and take action on the content. example example Show Markers Read more… Turns markers on or off in the active topic or other content file. If inserted elements such as variables, bookmarks, index keywords, or concepts into topics, markers indicate where they have been added. If the "Markers" option is turned off, you cannot determine whether such elements have been added. Turning the "Markers" on, lets you see exactly what has been inserted into the file. Markers appear in different ways, depending on the type of element inserted. For example, variable markers display as brackets around the variable information, whereas bookmark markers display as shaded flags where the bookmark has been inserted. common marker types example example Show Inline Markers Read more… You can show or hide markers for all inline elements in the active topic. By enabling the inline markers feature, it is easy to tell when particular content is using a tag. example example Here is an example where a paragraph contains two pieces of content that use inline tags—one that changes the presentation, and the other that does not. note Note: In order to use this feature, you must also make sure that Show Markers is turned on. Show invisible tags Read more… Turns invisible tags (e.g., <title>) on or off in the active topic. This option is enabled only if you have selected "Show tags." Show Comments Read more… Turns comment tags on or off in the active topic. Comment tags are those that you have added to a topic in order include notes behind the scenes (without the comments being seen in the output). Show All Images As Thumbnails Read more… Toggles between showing images in the XML Editor as thumbnails or at full size. This is simply a feature for you as the author, allowing you to scale all images down to 48 pixels high (if the original size is larger than that). This lets you see more content and less of your images as you edit topics. The images are only scaled for your editing purposes; they are not necessarily shown as thumbnails in the output. Show tags in mono-color Read more… Lets you choose whether to display tags in a color or in black. This option is enabled only if you have selected "Show tags." Show tags in mono-font Read more… Lets you choose whether to display all tags in the same font or in the font actually applied to each area. This option is enabled only if you have selected "Show tags." Enable Object Positioning Read more… Turns object positioning on and off. Object positioning can be used with text boxes, images, and other objects that you have inserted into topics. If this option is on, you can easily position the object in different places in the topic (e.g., to the right or left of the frame on a page). Enable Orphan/Widow Control Read more… Turns widow and orphan control on or off. If this is turned on, you can see the effects in the Print Layout mode in the XML Editor. Widow control determines the minimum number of lines in a paragraph to be left at the top of a page or column. Orphan control determines the minimum number of lines in a paragraph to be left at the bottom of a page or column. The default number of lines for both is 2, but you can adjust this setting. Show Hidden Elements Read more… Shows content that has been designated as "hidden." In other words, you can have a style where the "display" property value is set to "none." Normally, content to which this style is applied will not be seen. But you can display that content by selecting this option. Conditional Indicators Read more… If you have created and applied condition tags, clicking this button toggles between showing and hiding them. Snippet Conditional Indicators Read more… If you have created and applied snippet condition tags, this command enables or disables a marker that overlays snippets that have snippet conditions applied to them. example example Note Note: If you enable this indicator, you will see it on snippets if you have snippet conditions enabled at either the topic level or the snippet level. Show Variable Names Read more… Lets you choose whether to see the names of variables in your markers (if you have inserted variables) in the active topic. example example Highlight Variables Read more… Lets you choose whether to see a gray background behind variable definitions in a topic. example example Show Bookmark Names Read more… Lets you choose whether to see the names of bookmarks in your markers (if you have inserted bookmarks) in the active topic. Enable/Disable Locks Read more… Locks or unlocks the content designated with the gray background. After content has been locked, it cannot be edited, and annotations cannot be added to it. Show Locked Elements Read more… Allows you to show or hide the gray background associated with elements that have been locked or selected to be locked. Show Changes Read more… Displays any tracked changes or annotations (notes) that have been attached to any content in the topic. Marker Width Read more… Lets you adjust the width of markers in the active topic to see more or less of the markers when they are visible.
	Opens the file in the Internal Text Editor (for review packages only).

buttons and sections—bottom of xml editor when using web layout mode

Button/Section	Description
Words	Displays the number of words in the open file. If you highlight words in the file, this area shows you how many words are selected out of the total count. If a file contains snippets, the words from those snippets are not included in this word count, because those are separate files.
	Reduces the scale of the font by 10% each time you click the button.
	Resets the scale of the font to 100%.
	Increases the scale of the font by 10% each time you click the button.
	Lets you select a specific percentage to scale the font.
	Lets you show or hide the colored shading of content to which condition tags have been applied. example example Let's say your condition tag has blue associated with it and you have applied this tag to a block of content. When you click this button to show the indicator, the block of content becomes shaded with a lighter version of blue. If more than one condition tag is applied to the block of content, the shading appears in a pattern that shows all of the applied condition tag colors.
	Lets you show or hide the tag block bars. These bars are displayed to the left of the content area. They show the different tags for your chunks of content, as well as the overall tag structure.
	Lets you show or hide the span bars. These bars are displayed at the top of the content area. They show formatting tags in your content. example example If you have a block of text that is bold and you click it, you will see a "b" in a bar above.
	Lets you show or hide a measurement ruler horizontally at the top of the editor or window pane. If you click the ruler after it is opened, you can select to convert the ruler to pixels, points, centimeters, or inches.
	Lets you show or hide a measurement ruler vertically at the left of the editor or window pane. If you click the ruler after it is opened, you can select to convert the ruler to pixels, points, centimeters, or inches.

elements in editing area

Button/Section	Description
Structure Bars	These are just what the name implies—bars around the topic content that show the structure. There are two kinds of structure bars—tag and span. Not only do structure bars let you see the tags for content, but you can also perform numerous tasks by using them. Select Options If you right-click on a structure bar, a context menu opens. From the menu, you can select from several options to take action on the content associated with that structure bar. examples examples If you want to delete an entire numbered list from a topic, you could right-click the ol structure bar to the left of the content and select Delete from the menu. If you have a table with a table stylesheet applied to it, you can right-click on one of the tr structure bars and select Row Style. From the submenu you can then choose a pattern to overwrite the existing look for that row. Select Content If you left-click on a structure bar, the corresponding content is selected in the editor. You can SHIFT-click on structure bars to extend the current selection to that content block. Example Example Let's say you have several paragraphs in a row, and you click halfway into the first paragraph. While holding down the SHIFT key, you click on the paragraph structure bar for the third paragraph. As a result, the content from the point of the cursor to the end of the third paragraph is selected. If you select multiple blocks of content, all of the structure bars involved in that selection are highlighted in blue. If an entire block is included in the selection, the structure bar is shaded in darker blue. If blocks are partially selected, those structure bars are shaded in lighter blue. Example Example Move Tag Bars If you left-click on tag bars, you can drag them up or down. If you left-click on table column bars (in the span bar area), you can drag them left or right. In this way, the chunks of topic content can easily be repositioned. In addition, you can click on the borders between column and row bars and drag the mouse to resize individual columns and rows.
Markers	A marker is a highlighted "flag" that shows the insertion of certain features. For example, if you insert a variable, bookmark, or index keyword, a marker indicates where that feature has been inserted. You can adjust marker widths or turn them off or on by using the "Show tags" button in the local toolbar. (Despite the name of this button, it does not display the "true code" in the topic. It shows the high-level tags and the tag markers.)
Cursors	When you edit text, the cursor changes size and shape. Sometimes it contains brackets to the right or left. Sometimes it is larger, and sometimes it is smaller. Each of these appearances serves a different purpose. Following are explanations of these cursors. Tag Start Cursor signifies the start of an xhtml tag. Tag Middle Cursor signifies you are within an xhtml tag and can edit the contents. Tag End Cursor signifies the end of an xhtml tag. Tag Between Cursor signifies you are between tags. Type to enter text into the parent tag. Tag Before - Level 1 Cursor size signifies you are in the first of a series of nested tags. Tag Before - level 2 Cursor size signifies you are in the second of a series of nested tags. Tag Before - Level 3 Cursor size signifies you are in the third of a series of nested tags. Some content Courtesy of TechWriteTips.
Caret Tag Neighborhood	The interface includes a "caret tag neighborhood." If you click on a line that contains inline tags (e.g., bold font, cross-reference), floating tag bars display above it. You can click on a bar to open the context menu and take action on the content. example example This feature is disabled by default. If you want to turn it on, simply click the down arrow in the editor's Show Tags button and select Show Caret Tag Neighborhood.
Empty Tags	If you are working in a document in the XML Editor and have empty tags at the text level, this will be shown. example example Let's say you have a line of text with some bold formatting, like this: If you then decided you did not want that text and pressed your Backspace key three times to get rid of it, you would see this: Although you removed the text, the actual bold tags are still there. In this example, all you need to do is press the Backspace key one more time to remove the bold tags altogether: note Note: The display of empty tags is simply designed to help you as you edit content. Even if these tags are shown in the XML Editor when you are working, they will not be shown in your output.
Auto Suggestion	When you first start typing content, a popup may display below your text as you type. This is the Auto Suggestion feature, which analyzes text as you type and compares it to other content (e.g., phrases, variables, snippets) that already exists in the project, like this: This means you can quickly select existing content from the popup so that you do not have to finish typing it. By default, Auto Suggestion is enabled when you first launch Analyzer. However, you can disable and enable this feature whenever you want. There are three kinds of content that you can select when using Auto Suggestion: phrases from custom lists, variables, snippets. Phrases From Custom List Rather than automatically basing auto suggestions on all of the text throughout your entire project, you have control over the phrases that you see in the popup when you type. You can add your own words and phrases to an auto suggestions list in the Flare project. That way, instead of being overwhelmed with too many suggestions every time you begin typing text, you only see suggestions that you are likely to use. Variables Analyzer recognizes when you are typing content that matches existing variables in your project. This includes system variables, such as the date and time, and custom variables that you create. Snippets Analyzer recognizes when you are typing content that matches existing snippets in your project. This makes it a very fast and convenient way to single-source your content. example example Let's say you work on a team of 15 writers and there are a series of snippets in all of your projects that begin with the same three words—For more information… Perhaps each person knows to start typing those words in certain places. But what if a snippet already exists with the full content that the writer needs? Without knowing that, a person might spend time typing all of the content, and maybe even create a new snippet for future use. But if Auto Suggestion is enabled, as soon as a person types a certain number of characters, all matching snippets are shown in the Auto Suggestion popup. Therefore, the writer can quickly find and select the appropriate snippet.