SVG images don't print from XMetaL

[montclair238]

I am using XMetaL 5.5 through a SaaS CMS. When I try to print (to a local printer) a topic with a referenced SVG graphic, I get a blank space the size of the image. There are no problems with the PDF output.

[Derek Read]

[So others are clear what is being discussed here: we're talking about printing the XML source document as seen during editing from either Tags On view or Normal view using the File > Print option, vs generating output through the DITA Open Toolkit]

The DITA customization files are not set up to support this but can be modified to do so.

A file needs to be modified for each DTD (as these settings are tied to specific DTDs) and so in the case of DITA that might be possibly 5 different files (more if you are using specialized DITA DTDs as well).

For a standard installation that does not use a CMS system, or that uses the CMS system that does not manage the XMetaL customizations files, the file(s) that need modification have the file extension *.ctm and live in these folders (one for each DITA document type):

C:\Program Files\XMetaL 5.5\Author\DITA\XACs\concept\
C:\Program Files\XMetaL 5.5\Author\DITA\XACs\ditabase\
C:\Program Files\XMetaL 5.5\Author\DITA\XACs\reference\
C:\Program Files\XMetaL 5.5\Author\DITA\XACs\task\
C:\Program Files\XMetaL 5.5\Author\DITA\XACs\topic\

The section that needs to be extended to include an additional setting is this one:

      <OCXReplacement>
         <SelectorName ns="">image</SelectorName>
         <MacroPrefix>ImageAsSVG</MacroPrefix>
         <ClassID>{EAB22AC3-30C1-11CF-A7EB-0000C05BAE0B}</ClassID>
         <ProgID>Shell.Explorer.1</ProgID>
      </OCXReplacement>

The setting that needs to be added is the one below in blue:

      <OCXReplacement>
         <SelectorName ns="">image</SelectorName>
         <MacroPrefix>ImageAsSVG</MacroPrefix>
         <ClassID>{EAB22AC3-30C1-11CF-A7EB-0000C05BAE0B}</ClassID>
         <ProgID>Shell.Explorer.1</ProgID>
         <UseBmpPrinting/>
      </OCXReplacement>

If the CMS you are using pushes the XMetaL Author Enterprise customization files down to your machine (as is the case with Documentum for example) then you will need to make the changes to the copy of the CTM file that is stored in the CMS system (and then trigger the mechanism in the CMS that gets it to push the customization files down which would usually be the act of checking out a file).