can’t get "Generate Output" item on File menu

[nlpharrison]

Hi,

I'm using XMetaL 5.5 working with DITA (though I don't think DITA has anything to do with the problem).  When I'm working with either a map or a topic, if I right click on it, I don't get the 'Generate Output' choice on my list of options, nor do I get it if I click on the File menu.  I have a feeling there's a really simple fix for this, but I don't know what it is, and there's nothing in the online help, even in Troubleshooting, that mentions this problem.  btw, the user_setting_mode is set to 'default'.

Regards,
Nancy Harrison

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[Derek Read]

I'm not sure where you are right clicking so I don't know how to help with that. The standard context menu that appears when you click inside a document that is opened Tags On view or Normal view should not have any options to generate output, so I guess I am misunderstanding what you are saying.

If the File menu does not have the Generate Output options then either the product is missing some part of the installation or the file you are working with is not being recognized as a DITA file (either topic or map). In either case repairing or reinstalling the product may correct the issue.

But perhaps the file you are editing is using a specialized DITA DTD and that DTD is not integrated properly with the product. If you can cut and paste the first few lines from the XML source of the file you are having problems with we can check the type of document it is. Like so (the part in blue is really what I'm after):

 
...etc...

If you know it is using a specialized DITA DTD and you have followed the instructions for integrating it in the topic “DITA specializations” (specifically the “Configure XMetaL” section) then we'll need to see the DTD in order to try to help. It is possible there is something in the DTD that needs adjustment or another issue.

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[nlpharrison]

Well,

I decided that I'd be better off simply uninstalling XMetal Author Enterprise (XMAE) 5.5 and installing XMAE 6.0 instead, so I've done that.  I installed the eval copy of 6.0, specified the 5 specialized DTDs I needed, created a set of templates for the new DTDs, and configured a couple of PDF output options to try and get the publishing to use the customized XSL files required.  I'd added the customized XSL files to all the places I thought they'd need to be.

Then I created a new map from the specialized map DTD that I'd installed, and inserted a bunch of topicrefs for some topics (task, concept, and reference) that I'd previously created against the new topic DTDs.  

In this installation of XMAE 6.0, I do get the 'Generate Output' option from the File menu when I have the map open.  At first, I couldn't get the build script to find the DTD location, but then I realized I needed to update the XMetal 6.0 catalog-dita.* files with the locations of the DTDs. Now the build is progressing, though I'm still working through the build issues.

I'm noticing that if I delete the local (i.e. Docum,ents and Settings//Application Data/SoftQuad/) folder in order to get it to be updated when I update the main (Program Files/Common files/XMetaL Shared/DITA-OT) stylesheet locations, it doesn't always get populated with my updates.  For example, in the DITA-OT/xsl folder, we have 2 customized xtylssheets; micron_topicmerge.xsl and dita2fo-shell_axf.xsl.  When I updated the local version of the DITA-OT, the dita2fo-shell_axf.xsl file was recopied, but the micron_topicmerge.xsl file was not.  Same thing with the catalog-dita.xml file. Until I actually modified the catalog-dita_template.xml file as well as the 'live' version, updates to the SoftQuad folder kept ignoring my updates to the live version.

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