Arbortext

 Formatting & Output User Group - Jan 14thFormatting & Output User Group - Jan 14th-Presenters:  Christian Zimmerman/Simon Taylor/Chris Western-Topic: PTC/USER Formatting and Output TC WebinarTime: Jan 14, 2026 08:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)Link to Register for the Zoom Meeting and get the recording:https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89267095120?pwd=qWSz0AgCsv4ybbUmXqcCj9KYM4hjgk.1Agenda:“Successfully implement sophisticated layout requirements from customers with Arbortext Styler” | Presenter: Erwin Mueller – DATACOPY - 1 hour"Addressing Complex Language Requirements Using APP Engine " | Presenter: Simon Taylor - PTC - 1 hour"Update on Coming Soon: NEW Print Services(Web Services)" | Presenter: Simon Taylor - PTC - 20 minutes“Arbortext ALD developer Ai help portal and Future Plans for more integrated use” | Presenter: Chris Western - tFormat 20-30 minutes.Next Meeting: May 6, 2026, Zoom Webinar     Go to Event

I am running Arbortext 8.2.2.1 and using it in conjunction with Windchill 13.0.2.9. We are trying to publish our manuals in PDF using the Arbortext Publishing engine (PE) with content stored in Windchill.When I try to change the default stylesheet to our local company stylesheet, I do not have the option to change it. Selecting File > Publish > PDF File opens up the Publish to PDF File window.  Under Publishing, there is only the (pe) Standard DITA 2.0 Styler Stylesheet available from the dropdown menu. Where, and how, do I import our company stylesheet so I can replace the (pe) Standard stylesheet.Working in a local (non-Windchill) environment, there is usually a Browse button beside the Stylesheet selection where I can select from many available stylesheets, but not when running through the Publishing Engine Server. John  

Arbortext Editor/Styler/Publishing Engine 8.3.2.0 has Released December 3, 2025 Key Highlights DITA Map Reviewer: Streamlined review workflow with DITA Map tree for validating structure and completeness. QuickTags Enhancements: Most Recently Used (MRU) tag list at cursor location. Multi-column QuickTags menu for faster tag discovery. Docked Panels: Modify Attributes panel for quick attribute edits. Insert Markup panel for easier tag insertion and learning. WTPart Attribute Support: Include WTPart attributes in published outputs. Support for translated attribute values in output. Customer-Requested Improvements: Save inline applicability strings. “Check out Revised Objects” option after revision. Automatic local cache cleanup preference. Setup & Configuration Updates: Streamlined PTC Server connection setup. Easier transaction archive collection. Improved font recognition. Updated CreoView (v12) and IsoView (v7.4.4). Show active burst rule in Session Panel Stylesheet Obje

We have an environmental variable that is linked for custom configuration files. We want the directory to be pointing to the top level rather than a specific file, but it is not working. Is there a solution? We have the folder sitting on a server, inside the apache-tomcat webapps folder. We have configured 2 environmental variables on users local machines:1) Works -> APTWCCFGFILE - http://ipaddress/custom/userprefs/userprefs.xml 2) Does NOT work -> APTCUSTOM - http://ipaddress/custom  (Please note that our custom folder DOES work when hosted locally). We would ideally like to have a custom.zip file on the server which all users can connect to using the APTCUSTOM variable. Any help would be appreciated, we have tried many methods.

My company is changing how we do manuals.  We are currently making them in Adobe InDesign and we are looking to go to Arbortext DITA2.0 utilizing a bookmap and ditafiles/images stored in folders in Windchill.But, I can never seem to get the images to work right in Arbortext.  The best that I can get is blue text that looks like a link, but not the actual image itself.Our manuals have repeated use of safety icons, and hundreds of images.Creating the manual outside of Windchill in a local environment works fine. I assume it is something I am overlooking. Thanks,John

I am looking at creating a toolbar button to remove the outputclass entry automatically. What should the command look like? I have tried mt -local outputclass='' but it show up like this if delete the quotes then it says unrecognized command.     Thanks   Bryon    

We currently use Isodraw and Illustrator for creating our 2D images for our manuals. Just curious what other programs users are using to create their graphics? We have not dived into the 3D world yet, but I expect it is coming.   Thanks,   Bryon

Greetings, Arbortext Community. Join us on December 10, 2025 for a live presentation + Q&A with the Arbortext Product Managers.If you have any questions in advance, please share them in this thread. Register for the virtual event here: https://www.ptc.com/en/events/arbortext-webinarArbortext Release Highlights: What’s New and NoteworthyJoin the Arbortext Product Management team on December 10th, 2025 for a 90-minute webinar as they walk through new features and enhancements in:Arbortext Editor, Styler, &  Publishing Engine 8.3.1.0 and 8.3.2.0Arbortext Layout Developer & Layout Editor 12.3.1.0 and 12.3.2.0Windchill Service Information & Service Parts 13.1.1.0 and 13.1.2.0Arbortext Content Delivery 7.2.1.1Speakers will include:Gil Shroitman- Director of Arbortext Product ManagementSimon Taylor- Arbortext Principal Product ManagerBrent Kelly- Arbortext Technical Product Management Fellow We look forward to seeing you there.  

When using the View spaces option in Arbortext Editor 8.3 (set showspaces=on) non-breaking spaces now are displayed as "degree" symbols.  This is cool as it becomes possible to easily distinguish between regular spaces and non-breaks.  In Arbortext 5.4, nbsp didnt show anything when showspaces=on. However, this is a big problem when the user is writing a document filled with coordinates and directions. It is impossible to tell which degree symbols are real, and which are nbsp. Is there a secret way to change the symbol shown for nbsp when the view spaces feature is used? Eg. 4 of the following degree signs, are actually spaces.  I wish a tilda was used , I think the degree symbol was a poor choice.  

Hi Arbortext Community,I'm trying to secure PDF documents with an appcf file using the security element, but I want the user to be able to comment on the PDF. The issue is that, somehow even setting noAnnots="no", I keep having the Comment Creation as Not Allowed in the PDF protection menu.Does someone know how to solve this? Here my appcf file XML:   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!--Arbortext, Inc., 1988-2023, v.4002--><!DOCTYPE APPConfig PUBLIC "-//Arbortext//DTD APPConfig 1.0//EN" "appconfig/appconfig.dtd"><APPConfig version="1.0" xmlns="http://www.arbortext.com/namespace/APP/APPPrinterConfig"><Print><PageConfig bleedAreaBottom="4mm" bleedAreaLeft="4mm" bleedAreaRight="4mm" bleedAreaTop="4mm" bleedString="" cuttingGuideOffset="1mm" cuttingGuideSize="9mm" cuttingGuides="inherit" registrationMarks="inherit"/><PDFPrinter><OutputRange endPage="-1" startPage="1"/><PDFMode color="document" defaultLanguage="" f

Hello, I just wanted to ask regarding Arbortext layout editor. Is this a standalone software or does it work when you install Arbortext editor? Upon checking the software download tab I only see the Arbortext  editor and no Arbortext layout editor.  Thank you. 

Basically title.  I have a bunch of tables generated with a script and they are relatively small files. However, if I open them in arbortext and then save, they're all saved with attribute info and other abortext tags. This isn't ideal as it clutters the info and makes it hard to navigate line to line changes.  The attributes that get added are not weird, as in they exist in the dtd, however, I would like arbortext to not insert these. I'd also like to prevent it from adding <? ?> tags as they also interfere. Additionally, it likes to shift lines in the code based on some arbitrary number the user can set - width and that may differ between users. If i set it to a high number the code is still janky and any pretty print I apply externally gets tossed out the window. 

Hi, my company uses the block structure in certain Arbortext content. Recently, we migrated from Windchill 12 to 13 and lost this formatting/text when publishing.We are using Arbortext w/ Styler 8.2.3.0. Please let me know if you need additional information. Thanks for any help,Jeff  

After installing Arbortext on a new laptop, some things aren't working how they should and I don't know why. I have allowed the application toolbar and turned it on. The change markup dropdown isn't showing the other tags allowed at the point of insertion. I'm trying to change a table to a chart. When I put my cursor to the right of the table start tag, the change markup dropdown should show chart as an option but it's not there. The only option on the dropdown is table.  I don't remember doing anything on the old laptop to make this work, it just worked. Is there a setting that I'm missing? Thanks!Amy Hill

In many places inside my document, I have elements like "Section, Subsection, Paragraphs etc. that have a Label g.e. (a) and a Text content.  When the length of the Label differs from one element to the other, the right Text element gets misaligned.  I found out that the Side by side feature would let me produce the desired result.  But, setting those have no effect in the editor.  I don't need this feature for exporting, only inside the editor.  I have followed the steps from => https://support.ptc.com/help/arbortext/r8.3.0.0/en/index.html#page/styler/styler/help27579_3.html  and never was I able to get the result.    Here is a specific case with my settings.    A subparagraph have a Label and a Text.  Setting for my Label element (first on the left) : Element is inline (I don't want new lines.)Side by side setting of Label in that contextAnd below setting for the right element (Text) : I'll need some expert help

We have been using Arbortext 9.1.510/W Unicode version for many years. But, recently noticed that the text font is not applied for word spaces. It is showing "Minion Pro" for all the word spaces. It is applicable for all the fonts. We have tested the same font in InDesign application and there is no such differences. I have attached the PDF for review. Please look into this and let me know on how to resolve it. Note that, we are generating the ps from the .3d and then convert the ps to PDF using distiller joboptions.

Date and Time: Oct 1, 2025, 09:00 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)Note: This is part of our quarterly series. The next meeting is scheduled for January 14, 2026. Agenda: Warm Welcome from Christian Zimmerman, from DatacopySimon Taylor, from PTC Arbortext, will update us on Roadmap and Vision for ALD and new Web Services. This will include product demonstrations (90 Minutes)Datacopy will lead us on an Output and Formatting Discussion focused on Delivery with Arbortext Content Delivery with customer examples (45 minutes)Liz Fraley, from Single Sourcing, will lead a Discussion – How to Organize your Stylesheets with Techinfo (45 Minutes) Please Join Us via Zoom Registration Link May 2025 Recording Link - “Demanding XML Publishing Requirements - Solve it Easy, Fast and Automated with PTC Arbortext”

Hi Team, I came across one issue in WC 13 and APE 8.3 where non latest arbortext dynamic document content is being used while publishing of latest dynamic document. The used content while publishing latest document is the last manually checked in content by user and later document is getting iterated through automated publishing.Any suggestion where this could be due to windchill configuration issue or from APE side?

I have a text inside a definition, when this text is a large text, I am unable to shift the content to the left margin is equal to the starting line.  Inside PTC Arbortext Styler, setting indent has no effect or the undesired result.I have attached a screenshot, you'll see "filling] of the act", that is the portion I want to show flush to "file" the previous line, in fact any long content should not be shifted to the left that way.   Thanks.

Hello, SVG file displayed wrong in the PDF generated by Arbortext publishing engine 8.0.0i open the SVG file with the browser and the SVG is correct. but... when i composes the PDF file with the same SVG file, a lot of information that appears in the SVG,  <text> that is not displayed in the browser, IS DISPLAYED IN THE PDF GENERATED BY APE !!!! help!!!!!! 😞attached a screenshot where you can see on the left side the svg displayed in the PDF and in the right side the SVG opened by Chrome .... 😞any idea? thanks a lot! 

I have 200+ topics that were created before we added 3 new metadata fields. Is there a way to batch update Metadata fields in topics?  We use Windchill as our CMS. This would be done using Arbortext.

Download here: https://support.ptc.com/appserver/auth/it/esd/index.jsp Documentation can be found here: https://www.ptc.com/en/support/refdoc    Bryon  

We are currently displaying 3D images in ACD 7.2. I understand that in ACD, users can rotate the 3D image using the middle button of a mouse.However, when our users work outside, they often only bring a laptop and do not use an external mouse.In such cases, we would like to request the addition of operation patterns that allow users to rotate the 3D image even without an external mouse. If that is difficult to implement, we would appreciate it if you could add more orientation patterns as an alternative to the rotation function.Specifically, we would be grateful if you could add more isometric view patterns in addition to the existing ISO1 and ISO2 angles.

Good Morning, I am using PTC Arbortext Layout Developer 12.3.1.0.There is a strange problem in the pdf created via pdf output within ALD.The text of a paragraph, of a line and of a word too is split into pieces. Therefore it is not possible to select and to comment words or characters precisely any more, within Adobe Acrobat. Other pdf-viewers, like XChange (Tracker), are just fine. The pdf from the datecode before, 12.3.0, was shown properly in Acrobat. Any suggestions? Besides recommending non-Adobe-software to my customers? Best wishes Jean

I am authoring a maintenance manual using PTC Arbortext Editor with Styler, Release 8.1.1.0. I have my stylesheet set up to automatically populate an 'intentionally left blank' page if a section or chapter ends on an odd page number. This function is working correctly for all the section/chapter breaks in my document, but is not inserting a final blank page at the end, resulting in an odd page count. This happens regardless of which topic I put at the end of my document. Thoughts?