Other Output Types

Following are overviews of additional output types that are somewhat unique.

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Clean XHTML

Clean XHTML produces basic HTML files that are free of MadCap-specific tags and not dependent upon other MadCap-generated files. The output does not include any skins, search, navigation, or other extra features; it is simply your single-sourced content. This lets you re-purpose your output in many flexible ways (e.g., you can embed the output files into other applications, such as project management tools, wikis, or eLearning systems). A common use for this output format is for publishing to Salesforce®, ServiceNow®, and Zendesk. You might also perform other types of post-processing tasks with the output.

Following are some important points to keep in mind with this output type:

  • Single-Sourcing Flare’s unique features are applied during compilation so that you still end up with single-sourced output.

  • MC Tags All mc tags and data-mc tags are removed, including keywords, concepts, conditions, etc.

    Note The MC tags that are removed for Clean XHTML output are related to MadCap-specific features, such as drop-downs and cross-references. Although these tags are removed from the output, the generated style classes that start with “MC” are preserved, because they are needed to support these MadCap-specific features. Therefore, these style classes are converted during the build, and they are defined in the generated MadCap.css file.

  • Namespace The MadCap namespace is removed.
  • MadCap JavaScript For Clean XHTML output, MadCap-injected JavaScript is removed. In other words, features such as drop-downs, Help controls, text popups, and footnotes rely on JavaScript to work. Therefore, with Clean XHTML output, these elements are converted to text. However, custom scripts that you might have added to topics (see Scripts) will not automatically be removed when you generate Clean XHTML; if you want to exclude these custom scripts, you must do so manually (i.e., by deleting them or using conditions).
  • Images/Multimedia Images and other multimedia remain as separate files in the output and are included in the topics by reference.
  • MadCap Styles All MadCap-specific styles are removed from the user stylesheet.

  • Convert to Inline Styles In the Target Editor (General tab), there is an option to convert stylesheet styles to inline styles.

    If you choose this option, the output folder will not include stylesheet files. That’s because the styles have been integrated into the topic files.

    If Option Is Not Selected

    If Option Is Selected

    Output Content/Resources Folder:

    Output Content/Resources Folder:

    Topic Markup:

    Topic Markup:

Eclipse Help

The Eclipse Help output lets you generate Eclipse Help plug-ins using your Flare content as its source material. It displays your output content in the Eclipse Help Viewer.

The Eclipse Help Viewer uses an embedded Jetty server to provide your users with navigation features similar to other online viewers. Jetty is a Java-based web server implementation that tightly integrates with Eclipse and other open source projects.

The viewer's features and user interface must be customized in Eclipse. To learn about your customization options, visit help.eclipse.org.

Components

The Eclipse Help output type (called a "plug-in" in Eclipse) consists of the following components:

  • Plug-In XML File This is an XML-based main file that defines the name and ID of the Eclipse help plug-in that you generate with Flare.

    Example The output generates a plugin.xml file for Eclipse:

    The plugin.xml file contains the extension point definitions that the Eclipse runtime environment needs to activate your help plug-in:

  • HTML Content Files As with other output types, Flare publishes a separate HTML file for each documentation topic. These are contained in the Content folder.

    Example As with other output types, the Content folder contains your Flare target's topics:

  • Other XML Files Flare publishes separate XML files for the table of contents, keyword index, and context-sensitive Help . These correspond to the org.eclipse.help.toc, org.eclipse.help.index, and org.eclipse.help.contexts extension points.

  • Manifest.MF File The manifest file is used only when you package your Eclipse help plug-in as a Java archive (JAR) file. This file is required by Java when creating a JAR file.

    Example If you package your Eclipse help plug-in as a JAR file, the META-INF folder contains the required Manifest.MF file.

Key Features

Following are some of the key features of the Eclipse Help format:

  • Eclipse Help Plug-In and Extension Points This output type is particularly useful when you want to create dynamic, searchable content that integrates into the Eclipse workbench as a platform plug-in. Flare generates an XML-based plug-in file (plugin.xml) that specifies the context Help (csh.xml), index (index.xml), and table of contents (toc.xml) files that Eclipse needs to load your Flare content in the Eclipse Help system.
  • Eclipse Help Viewer and Dynamic Help Window You can generate the Eclipse Help output for viewing with the Eclipse Help Viewer and the Eclipse Dynamic Help window, which displays context-sensitive Help and search results.
  • Distribute Server-Based or Local Content Your Eclipse content can be distributed over the web via an Eclipse InfoCenter server or on local systems with a pared down version of Eclipse, which provides the search capabilities and skin for the Eclipse Help Viewer.
  • Publish Content as a Collection of Files or Single JAR File This format lets you publish the output for the Eclipse Help plug-in as a series of files in a folder or bundled in a single Java archive (JAR) file.

Additional Installations

To take advantage of this output type, you must perform these additional installations:

java runtime environment (jre)

As the individual compiling the output, you need to install the required Java Runtime Environment (JRE), which is part of the "Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers" download. See Creating an Eclipse Help Plug-In.

Java

As the individual compiling the output, you must download and install the Java Version 7 (Update 45) or later on your Windows operating system. See Creating an Eclipse Help Plug-In.

Recommended Reading

If you are new to the Eclipse platform, be sure to visit the links below to learn more about it:

Note Eclipse provides its own breadcrumb and topic toolbar support. See the Platform Plug-in Developer Guide from Eclipse at help.eclipse.org.

Note If your Eclipse Help target contains non-web safe images (e.g., WMF, EMF, BMP, TIF, TIFF), be sure to select Generate "web-safe"images in the Advanced tab of the Target Editor. See Generating Web-Safe Images.

Note The Eclipse Viewer cannot display PDFs opened from links such as those in TOCs.

Note When you create a TOC intended for Eclipse output, you should make sure all items are linked. Unlinked items may not display in the output.

Note Eclipse does not use the Flare skin, so there will be no glossary pane in the output. However, you can insert a Glossary proxy (which is normally used for print-based outputs) as an alternative. See Creating a Glossary Manually Using a Proxy.

Note Java bits and Eclipse bits must match in order to view Eclipse output in Flare. For example, Java 64-bit and Eclipse 64-bit must both be used/installed.

EPUB

Developed and maintained by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), EPUB is an online format for creating reflowable digital books (ebooks). For additional information about this group and the EPUB format, see http://idpf.org/.

EPUB is sort of a hybrid format. The output is designed to be viewed electronically; in that way, it is like an online format. On the other hand, its structure is like a book or manual; in that way, it is like a print-based format. In fact, you can follow many of the same steps for creating PDF output to produce EPUB output. See Print-Based Output.

Features

Following are some of the features of the EPUB format in Flare:

  • Reflowable EPUB output allows for reflowable content, such as word wrap and resizeable text. Therefore, the content can be displayed optimally on different devices.

  • Single File You only need to distribute a single EPUB file, rather than a collection of files and folders.

    Note If you extract the EPUB file using another tool, you will find that it contains one or more XHTML files. If you have used chapter breaks in the outline TOC (see Specifying Chapter and Page Layout Breaks), a new XHTML file is created at each point where a chapter break occurs. If you do not use chapter breaks, the EPUB contains just one XHTML file.

  • Embedded Metadata In the EPUB target you can provide information such as a title, author, publisher, rights, ISBN, identifier, which become embedded in the final output. The document title you provide will usually be displayed at the top of the EPUB reader. If you do not provide a title, the target name will automatically be used instead. See Specifying EPUB Options.

    For more information about EPUB metadata and the fields supported in Flare (except "Tag"), see:

    Copy 
    http://idpf.org/epub/20/spec/OPF_2.0.1_draft.htm#Section2.2
  • Embedded Fonts Flare includes all of your used fonts in the final EPUB output file. Therefore, if someone has a reader that does not have your fonts installed, that person will still be able to see your content as you designed it.
  • Cover Page You can use the Target Editor to quickly and easily select an image file to be used as the cover for your ebook. See Specifying EPUB Options.
  • Validate EPUB Output You can validate EPUB output so that it will be acceptable to most online stores, such as amazon.com. See Specifying EPUB Options.
  • MOBI Output MOBI is the standard format used for the Amazon Kindle. You can use settings in the Target Editor in Flare to generate EPUB output that uses MOBI content. See Specifying EPUB Options.
  • MathML to PNG Conversion If you use the Equation Editor to insert equations, you are in essence creating MathML markup (see Equations). This type of content is supported for EPUB output. If you need to produce output that can be displayed on older readers, you can select an option in the Target Editor to convert all of your MathML content to PNG image files. See Specifying EPUB Options.
  • Enable or Disable Dynamic Content Per Target If you use dynamic content—togglers, popups, drop-downs, expanding text, slideshows, or help controls—in your output, you may want to enable dynamic content for your EPUB target so your users can take advantage of these features. Likewise, you may want to disable dynamic content if your users are using an e-reader that does not fully support dynamic content. See Specifying EPUB Options.

  • Select Reader to View Output From the Builds window pane, you can select a specific EPUB reader (if you have more than one installed) to view the output. See Viewing Output.

Reading Systems

EPUB output can be viewed on many kinds of software and hardware, across many platforms. Following are just a few examples of reading systems for EPUB output:

  • Amazon Kindle (MOBI)
  • Barnes & Noble Nook
  • Bluefire Reader (Android, iOS)
  • EPUBReader (Firefox)
  • Duokan (Kindle)
  • iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
  • Lexcycle Stanza (iOS, Windows, Mac OS X)
  • Mobipocket (Windows, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Mobile)
  • Sony Reader

Important Some readers handle EPUB output and respect your formatting better than others.

Microsoft PowerPoint

Flare supports Microsoft PowerPoint output for slideshow presentations. This format is ideal for single-sourcing content (e.g., text, images, lists, tables) in your project and creating PowerPoint (PPTX) output. The content packaged for PowerPoint is your deliverable for printed distribution or online presentations. You do not need to edit slides in PowerPoint, but you can if necessary.

The PowerPoint output type is a hybrid format. Although it has elements of a print-based output, it is commonly shared and viewed digitally (e.g., you intend to create an online presentation).

When you create PowerPoint output from a new or an existing project, the main thing you need is a PowerPoint target. The output will display with basic styles already in place, but the format might be insufficient. With a little more effort, you can make your PowerPoint presentation shine by adding and styling content, arranging a TOC, adding a PowerPoint page layout, and specifying target options.

Note You must have the PowerPoint application to view the output, but you do not need it installed to build the output.

Note The PPTX file is the same as the older PPT, but the appended X stands for XML support. The Open XML format manages multimedia, text, images, etc., that can be included in a presentation, and it stores data in folders that are zipped together rather than in one binary file.