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LynnHales1-Visitor
1-Visitor
November 26, 2010
Question

Rotating graphics in FO and Epic

  • November 26, 2010
  • 27 replies
  • 4798 views
We're still playing (sic) with the 40051-2A (style sheets for the -1A electronic TMs are a later task) style sheets.

What we're having a problem with is getting a graphic to rotate if it is too wide to fit in portrait mode. We're not trying to rotate the page set, just the graphic.

One potential problem we've had is that the 40051 DTD dropped the 'rotation' attribute from <graphic> in late 2003. We've reinstated it for testing but it still not recognized by the FO.

Anyone who isn't still overly stuffed from Thanksgiving have any words of wisdom?

Thanks

Lynn

    27 replies

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    ClayHelberg18-Opal
    18-Opal
    November 29, 2010
    Hi Lynn--

    I haven't tried this myself, but if my read of the Arbortext XSL-FO annotated spec is correct, it should work:

    Update your stylesheet so your to-be-rotated graphic is wrapped in a <fo:block-contaner reference-orientation="90"> element, and see if that does the trick. You might need to play with the width attribute on the <fo:external-graphic> to make things come out the way you want.

    For general content, Arbortext only supports values of "90" and "-270" for the reference-orientation attribute, but hopefully that will be enough to give you what you need.

    --Clay
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    ptc-30501501-Visitor
    1-Visitor
    November 29, 2010
    Lynn,

    One thing to keep in mind on fold-outs is the print driver. The Adobe Acrobat 9 print driver will recognize the 25x11 sheets, but will not rotate the graphics.

    We had to run them through the PE - Compose to PDF method.

    I bet I spent two days easy trying to get those fold-outs to rotate! Everything was set correctly in the XSL-FO...but the print driver didn't support the wide graphics - it kept rotating them so the 11" was the width.

    Maybe that will help, maybe not, but certainly something to keep in mind.

    John T. Jarrett CDT
    Senior Tech Writer, Integrated Logistics Support,Land & Armaments/Global Tactical Systems

    T832.673.2147 | M 832.363.7234 | F 832.673.2376| x1147 | -
    BAE Systems, 5000 I-10 West, Sealy, Texas USA 77474
    www.baesystems.com

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    LynnHales1-VisitorAuthor
    1-Visitor
    November 29, 2010
    John,

    Thanks, right now, I don't even want to THINK about foldouts. We've got enough headaches without adding to them right now. 😄

    But the driver issues is definitely worth sticking in the back of the XSL memory cell.

    Thanks.

    Lynn
    E
    ebenton1-Visitor
    1-Visitor
    November 29, 2010
    Foldouts - yet another reason why FOSI is better than FO.
    L
    LynnHales1-VisitorAuthor
    1-Visitor
    November 29, 2010
    Also with FOSI, you don't need a degree in programming to get what you want.

    The major advantage I've seen with FO is its ability to work in a non-linear mode. I've wanted to be able to do that more than once in FOSI.

    FOSI was designed to propagate one of the most difficult documents in the world to produce, a MILSPEC technical manual. One of the issues often cited against FOSI was it was 'too verbose'. Has anyone looked at the succinctness of XSL-FO recently?

    I won't go any further. Let's just say that 'FO "Expletive(s) (LOTS OF THEM) deleted" and leave it at that.

    Lynn

    P.S. Being the 'pack rat' that I am, I found something in a box I was rummaging through the other day. A button from one of the CALS Expo's (anyone remember them????). Forget which company was handing them out, but it said

    "SGML OR DIE"
    E
    ebenton1-Visitor
    1-Visitor
    November 29, 2010
    I have never seen an "SGML OR DIE" button, but I have one of Dan Vint's old diamond-shaped "SGML AT WORK" pins, though. It's stuck on the wall by my desk.
    L
    LynnHales1-VisitorAuthor
    1-Visitor
    November 29, 2010
    I've got a couple of those too. But I like the "SGML or DIE".

    Lynn
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    lfraley1-Visitor
    1-Visitor
    November 29, 2010
    Have you all been watching the argument going on that James Clark
    started (or I guess Norm Walsh started it, but Jim's post has gotten
    more attention) ?


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    ptc-9533431-Visitor
    1-Visitor
    November 29, 2010
    the one I liked was the "I'm in my <element>" from SoftQuad back at one of
    the original SGML conferences in Atlanta. One small auditorium and a
    single track.

    ..dan

    > I have never seen an "SGML OR DIE" button, but I have one of Dan Vint's
    > old diamond-shaped "SGML AT WORK" pins, though. It's stuck on the wall by
    > my desk.
    >
    P
    ptc-9533431-Visitor
    1-Visitor
    November 29, 2010
    > Have you all been watching the argument going on that James Clark
    > started (or I guess Norm Walsh started it, but Jim's post has gotten
    > more attention) ?

    The JSON vs XML on the web discussion? I think it is good to do this. What
    I didn't like is how things have changed. That is, remember when and how
    SAX was actually worked out? Everyone went to XML-Dev and carried ont he
    conversation there. Now, you have to go to everyone's blog to see what is
    going on. Someone brought this particular thread back to the general
    distribution and it has stirred up a lot of interesting ideas/comments, I
    just wished some of these folks hadn't left the list for their own
    websites. Makes it much harder to see what is going on. Can't remember the
    last time I saw a direct posting from Tim Bray or John Bosac - it is a
    shame.

    ..dan
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