Overview of generating documents and Publisher HTML (Publisher)

This section of the Help is for users that want to generate documents or Publisher HTML using provided Document Definitions or Document Templates.

Publisher generates Word documents and Publisher HTML from information held in models. Thereafter, Publisher can regenerate documents and Publisher HTML using the latest information from the models:

• For the Word output format, Publisher generates a structured document using the Word 2003 (.doc) format.

• For the Publisher HTML output format, Publisher generates HTML files that allow the extracted data to be viewed in an internet browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. Publisher HTML output includes a navigation pane on the left, a diagram and carousel view pane in the middle, and a properties pane on the right.

If this is the first time you have used Publisher to generate documents or Publisher HTML, we recommend that you look at the following worked examples that are included in this section of the Help:

◦ Worked example: generating a document through a document template (Publisher)

◦ Worked example: generating Publisher HTML through a document definition (Publisher)

When you generate a document or Publisher HTML, you use a Document Template or Document Definition that defines which items and diagrams are extracted from the model, which properties are extracted, and how that information is presented in the generated document or Publisher HTML.

Important: You can generate a document using a Document Template or a Document Definition. PTC Document Templates are provided with Publisher (available in the New Document pane), but no Document Definitions are installed with Publisher. You can create your own Document Templates and Document Definitions.

Publisher is installed with PTC Document Templates that you can use to generate documents and Publisher HTML. In Publisher, these PTC Document Templates appear in the New Document pane.

To generate a document or Publisher HTML from a Document Template: right-click the Document Template, point to Generate, and then click Word or Publisher HTML.

In addition to the provided PTC Document Templates, your company may create and provide you with Document Definitions (.ds files) or Document Templates (.dtx files) to use to generate documents or Publisher HTML:

• If you have been provided with a Document Definition file (.ds file), you can open that file in Publisher and generate the document or Publisher HTML through the Generate button on the Generate pane.

To know more refer to Generating a document or Publisher HTML through document definition; and Worked example: generating publisher HTML through a document definition.

• If you have been provided with a Document Template file (.dtx file), you must import the file into your Publisher environment so that it is listed in the New Document pane. You can then right-click the Document Template in the New Document pane, point to Generate To, and then click Word or Publisher HTML.

To know more, refer to Generating a document Publisher HTML through a document template; and Worked example: generating a document through a document template.

Publisher also includes a command line interface to allow the generation of documents and Publisher HTML files through batch files. For more information about the command line interface, refer to Using the command line interface to generate documents and Publisher HTML (Publisher)

• Publisher generates Word document using Word 2003 (.doc) format. If you want to save the document using Word format (.docx), do not select the Maintain Compatibility with Word 97-2003 check box.

• Publisher can also generate Publisher XML output and DocBook output:

◦ Publisher XML output generates a set of XML files that represent the structure and content of the extracted data so that other tools and applications can make use of that data.

◦ DocBook output generates a DocBook file that represents the structure and content of the extracted data. DocBook is a semantic markup language for technical documentation, the details of which are not covered in this Help.