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How to Debug XSLT and XQuery

July 31, 2018/in Development, Software, XML back-mapping, back-mapping enabled, debugging, debugging xslt, debugging xslt and xquery, document, documents, output, output document, result document, simply click, source, transformation, xml and xslt, xmlspy, xquery, xquery transformation, xslt and xquery, xslt or xquery, xslt or xquery transformation /by Erin Cavanaugh

Nothing’s more frustrating than getting unintended results from an XSLT or XQuery transformation and having to spend hours tracking down the issue – especially if you’ve inherited the project from another developer or haven’t looked at the code in a few months. Of course, XMLSpy has long included an XSLT debugger and XQuery debugger for setting break points and stepping through transformations to identify problems.

For a more interactive debugging process, XMLSpy also includes XSLT/XQuery back-mapping.

With back-mapping enabled, you can simply click on or hover over the portion of your output document you want to zero in on, and XMLSpy will immediately highlight the source XML and XSLT or XQuery instruction that is responsible. Let’s see how it works.

Debug XSLT with back-mapping

Converting a StyleVision Design to MobileTogether

April 27, 2017/in Applications, Mobile android device, app, app design, app for ios, app for ios android, authentic browser edition, browser, browser client, browser edition, browser plug-in, date picker, end users, enterprise form, free mobiletogether, mobiletogether, mobiletogether designer, mobiletogether server, stylevision design, web browser, windows 8/10 /by Erin Cavanaugh

StyleVision, Altova’s visual XSLT stylesheet designer and report designer, is also a powerful enterprise form designer popular with customers who need to get their XML or database data into e-forms for use with Altova Authentic.

Authentic is a WYSIWYG editor for non-technical users and is available in desktop and browser plug-in versions. However, due to increasing security issues, support for native plug-ins is being phased out in most modern web browsers. If you are an Authentic Browser Edition customer, fear not – you can now convert any existing StyleVision design to a MobileTogether design to deploy it via MobileTogether Server as a simple URL that can be accessed by web browsers, or even as a native app on a mobile device.

Let’s take a look at the advantages of that approach.

Enterprise Form to Mobile App
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Tags: Android, enterprise forms, iOS, mobile development, MobileTogether, StyleVision

New XSLT Back-mapping Headlines Altova Release

April 5, 2017/in Development, JSON, XML, XSL accelerator edition, charting engine, data mapping, data mappings, join, join component, mapforce, mapforce server, mapforce server accelerator, mapforce server accelerator edition, mapping projects, mobiletogether design, mobiletogether designer, new join component, product line, server, server accelerator, server accelerator edition, sql join, xslt and xquery /by Erin Cavanaugh

It’s time for the latest release of Altova desktop developer tools and server software products, and this one introduces numerous innovative features across the product line, including a brand-new version of MapForce Server called MapForce Server Accelerator Edition for even faster processing of data integration jobs.

Let’s take a look at the highlights of Version 2017 Release 3.

Generate PDF, Word, or RTF Documents from a Mobile App

December 13, 2016/in Mobile, Software, Tools /by David McGahey

Need to empower mobile users to capture information and generate a document or report from any remote location? MobileTogether lets you build a cross-platform mobile app to do that. You can tailor the app with all the device-specific mobile controls users expect, like check boxes, date pickers, switches and buttons, yet generate output files identical to an existing document, form, or report already familiar throughout the enterprise.

The Actions Dialog in the MobileTogether Designer lets developers define a Print To action to generate PDF, Word, or RTF documents from a mobile app. Once a document is rendered, it is saved on the mobile client for further processing. For instance, a PDF file could be emailed as a file attachment.

Generate PDF, Word, or RTF Documents from a Mobile App

How to Create Fillable PDF Forms

October 20, 2016/in Development, Software /by Erin Cavanaugh

Compared to traditional paper forms, fillable PDF forms offer numerous benefits – aside from saving trees – including removing issues with legibility, allowing data validation, reducing re-keying errors, and streamlining information storage and re-use.

I, for one, really wish my kids’ school would switch to PDF forms for the myriad back-to-school information pages that we fill out in triplicate every fall. Perhaps I can give the administrators a demo of StyleVision, which just added support for PDF form creation.

Unlike other PDF form design tools, however, StyleVision also provides form workflow functionality via integration with StyleVision Server for extracting and processing the data that end users enter. Let’s take a look at how it works.

PDF Forms

Big Data, Database, and XBRL Tools Get a Huge Boost

October 4, 2016/2 Comments/in Development, Software, XBRL, XML /by Erin Cavanaugh

It’s time for the latest release of Altova’s MissionKit and server software products, and this one delivers a huge boost in functionality for working with big data, databases, XBRL, and much more.

With support for Apache Avro in multiple products, additional databases and drivers across the product line, and two new XBRL specifications in developer and server products, plus a new way to build and process PDF forms, Version 2017 connects all the data dots.

What will be your favorite new feature? Let’s take a look.

Big Data Support

Starting Business Reports from Word

March 14, 2016/in Applications, Tools, XSL /by Erin Cavanaugh

So much content these days is in the form of Microsoft Word documents. Word is where content or report creators often begin, and it has great tools for designing layouts and including images, tables and hyperlinks, and so on. What Word lacks though, is the ability to publish dynamic content or publish multiple versions of that content using the same template in an automated way, and that’s where Altova StyleVision comes in.

StyleVision is a unique product that is often difficult to describe because it does so much. Whether you want to auto-generate an XSLT stylesheet based on a visual design, create multi-channel business reports from dynamic XML or database data, or build user-friendly enterprise forms, StyleVision has you covered.

Starting with StyleVision 2016 Release 2, you can begin your StyleVision design based on an existing Word doc. Let’s take a look at why this saves an incredible amount of time, giving report and form designers the best of both worlds.

Designing a business report