The catalog path is the key by which Arbortext Editor finds all installed document types. By default, Arbortext Editor searches the catalog path first for an XML catalog file named catalog.xml. If no valid XML catalog file is located, Arbortext Editor next searches for a Technical Resolution 9401 catalog file named catalog.

By default, the catalog file is placed in the doctypes subdirectory of Arbortext-path. If you create custom document types, they should be put in subdirectories of the Arbortext-path\custom\doctypes directory. See Description of the custom directory structure in the Programmer's Guide to Arbortext Publishing Engine PDF for more information on implementing custom document types.

If there is a catalog file in the Arbortext-path\custom\doctypes subdirectory at startup, the custom\doctypes path is automatically prepended to the catalog path. If there are any subdirectories of the custom\doctypes directory that contain a catalog file, those subdirectories are also prepended to the catalog path. Putting a catalog file in custom\doctypes or in subdirectories of it makes them automatically available, avoiding additional steps to add them to the path.

The path list is also automatically prepended to include any document types added to the Arbortext-path\custom\doctypes directory or one level of subdirectories if you include %D in the path.

Additional catalog paths may be added to the default path setting of doctypes. You can add catalog paths in the Tools > Preferences dialog box by supplying a path in the Catalogs field of the File Locations category. You can also use the append_catalog_path function to update the catalog path. For more information, see the Arbortext Command Language Reference PDF.