Element-based Tag Selection

When it is using element-based tag selection, PTC Arbortext Layout Developer processes any markup it encounters in content depending on the type:

• If the mark-up is an element, given as an angle bracket delimited name with or without attributes, for example <element>

PTC Arbortext Layout Developer looks for a tag with the same name as the element. If PTC Arbortext Layout Developer namespaces are in use, it refers to the namespace search list order (if set) to determine which namespaces to search, and in what order. See Namespaces in PTC Arbortext Layout Developer for information.

When PTC Arbortext Layout Developer finds a tag with the same name, it processes that tag. If the tag is not JavaScript, it is processed as a text stream. If the tag is JavaScript it is run as JavaScript.

PTC Arbortext Layout Developer treats a closing tag, an angle bracket followed by a slash, for example </element>, in the same way as the start tag. It looks for a tag of the same name with the slash prefix. Using closing tags is an important concept when working with PTC Arbortext Layout Developer. It does not by default deactivate the formatting set by the open tag when exiting an XML context. The template designer must configure this action.

If an empty element is found, for example <element/>, PTC Arbortext Layout Developer processes both the element tag and the /element tag in order.

• If the markup is an entity reference, given as a & and ; delimited name with or without attributes, for example &reference;

PTC Arbortext Layout Developer processes an entity reference in the same way as an element.

PTC Arbortext Layout Developer provides the standard predefined entities for XML, for example < and &. It is possible to change PTC Arbortext Layout Developer’s behavior when it encounters these references.

• If the mark-up is a processing instruction, given as an angle bracket followed by a question mark, for example <?th 12pt>

PTC Arbortext Layout Developer examines the name of the processing instruction. If the name matches one of PTC Arbortext Layout Developer’s own processing instructions it uses the content of its own processing instruction as parameters for the encountered processing instruction. The parameters could affect the formatting properties, perform a specific task, or output content.

• If the mark-up is a comment, given as an angle bracket followed by an exclamation mark, for example <!- - comment - ->