Introduction

The Dynamic HTML format is a very simple ePublisher format that can be a great starting point for creating custom output. The markup is basically just HTML with consideration for CSS. A simple and helpful way to customize Dynamic HTML is to place the TOC file in a frame set to the left of the content like in a CHM or WebWorks Help 5.0.

This sample project uses a customized version of Dynamic HTML to create a more dynamic Dynamic HTML.

Project Files

Attached is a zip file that contains a folder containing a User Format. Place the folder in your User Formats directory and create a new project. When you create a project you can select the new format.

If for some reason you cannot see the new format, verify the path to the User Formats directory (Edit -> Preferences) and restart ePublisher (close it and re-open it).

Download DynamicHTMLFramesetProject.zip

Using the Project

The project defines a FTI setting that places a selection in the Format Settings dialog for turning on/off generation of a frame set file. Here you can also name what the file is called. By default it will be "index.htm".

After you set the "frame set-generate" to "enabled", you can generate output. To see the frame set file, go to the output folder and double-click on the "index.htm" or the name you gave the frame set file to see the output in a frame set.

How It Works

To see how the frame set it is created look at the format file. The format.wwfmt is the format file. This file defines a series of operations necessary to create the output of the format. With in the format.wwfmt file there is what's called a "Stage". A "Stage" describes a section of functionality. In looking through the other stages you will see other stages such as "Splits" and "Links". The Splits stage breaks up the source document according to the page break settings, while the Links stage resolves links and what files might need to be copied to the output.

In this example, the "Frameset" stage defines writing of the frame set file. This is a good example of how to add a stage to a format and how to write a simple XSL that does something useful.

The different XML namespaces defined at the top of the XSL file (Transforms/frameset.xsl) can be a good reference in learning more about the helpful extensions provided. Search the Wiki for "Extension Objects" and you will find information regarding some of the more useful namespaces as well as how to use them.