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Applying Stylesheets

In order to apply a stylesheet to an XML document, the stylesheet must be associated with a scenario. See

Creating a Scenario

Cloning Scenarios

Saving Scenario Meta-Information

If your stylesheet is associated with a scenario, there are two ways to apply it:

Click Preview Result

, which appears in the top tool bar of the XSLT Source tab of your stylesheet. This ignores any breakpoints that are set.

Press F5. Stylus Studio suspends processing if it reaches a breakpoint.

The following topics provide more information about how to apply stylesheets:

About Applying Stylesheets

Results of Applying a Stylesheet

Applying Stylesheets to Large Data Sets


Tip		Stylus Studio provides a number of tools that help you debug stylesheets. See Chapter 6Debugging Stylesheets.

About Applying Stylesheets

When you apply a stylesheet, Stylus Studio checks both the XML source document and the XSLT stylesheet for correct syntax. If it detects any errors, it displays a message that indicates what the error is. This message appears at the bottom of the XSLT editor. Stylus Studio also displays and flags the line that contains the error.

Often, a stylesheet refers to other files, such as CSS stylesheets or images. For Stylus Studio to display the complete result file in the Preview window, you must enter the path for resolving any links. Do this in the Base URL for HTML links resolution field of the Scenario Properties dialog box.

Ensure that the correct output type is set. To do this, click the Params/Other tab at the bottom of the stylesheet and check the value of the Output Method field.

Multiple scenarios

If your stylesheet is associated with more than one scenario, select the scenario you want to use and then apply the stylesheet. To do this, click the down arrow to the right of the scenario name field to display a list of scenarios. Click the scenario you want to use, and then click Preview Result . After you apply a stylesheet in a particular scenario, the Preview window displays a tab for that scenario. To reapply the stylesheet in that scenario, click Preview Result in the left tool bar.

You might want to apply the same stylesheet to two different XML documents and compare the results. To do this, create a scenario for each XML source document. Apply the stylesheet in the context of each scenario. Stylus Studio displays a tab for each scenario at the bottom of the Preview window. Click the tab to display the result document for that scenario.

Stylus Studio does not support scenarios that consecutively apply multiple stylesheets to one source document. However, you can use the StylusXslt command-line utility within a batch file perform this type of operation. See Applying a Stylesheet from the Command Line.

Results of Applying a Stylesheet

Stylus Studio applies the stylesheet to the XML source document specified in the current scenario and refreshes the Preview window with the latest result document. If the Preview window is not visible, select View > Preview from the Stylus Studio menu bar.

To toggle between viewing the text of the result and viewing what the result would look like in a browser, click Preview in Browser or Preview Text .


Tip		You can select and copy text in the Preview Text view.

Backmap stack window

If you click in the result document, Stylus Studio displays the Backmap Stack window, which lists the XSLT instructions that generated the text you clicked.

Figure 213. XSLT Backmap Window

Stylus Studio also flags the line in the stylesheet that contains the first instruction in the Backmap Stack window.

XML Tree view

If the result document is XML, in the Preview window, you can click Preview in Tree to display the result of XSLT processing as an XML tree.

Figure 214. XML Tree View

The tree view provides

Scalability - you can more easily view large result sets

Backmapping - click on a result tree node and Stylus Studio displays the stylesheet line that generated that node

Savig results

To save the result of applying a stylesheet, click Save Preview in the Preview window. Stylus Studio displays the Save As dialog box.

The result document reflects any changes you made to either the XML source document or the XSLT stylesheet. You do not need to explicitly save either the XML or XSLT file to have changes to those documents appear in the result document. However, when you apply a stylesheet, Stylus Studio does not also save the stylesheet. To save a stylesheet, click Save .

Applying Stylesheets to Large Data Sets

When you open a stylesheet or assign a source XML document to a scenario, Stylus Studio loads the entire XML source document in memory. Stylus Studio requires the source XML document in order to display

A preview of the result of applying the stylesheet

The source tree for the document the stylesheet will be applied to

If the source XML document is particularly large, loading it can take several minutes.

Each time you leave and return to Stylus Studio, Stylus Studio checks whether any open documents have been modified. If the documents reside on remote servers, this can take some time. If you want, you can turn off the check for modified documents.

To turn off the check for modified documents:

1. In the Stylus Studio menu bar, select Tools > Options.

Stylus Studio displays the Options dialog box.

2. Click Application Settings.

3. Click the check box for Automatically check for externally modified files.

Creating a Scenario

A scenario allows you to preview the results of applying a stylesheet. Each scenario is for a particular group of settings. These settings include the name of an XML source document, the values of any parameters in the stylesheet, and the values of any encoding settings. A scenario can include any setting that you can specify when you apply the stylesheet.

A scenario can be associated with only one stylesheet and only one XML source document. However, you can associate any number of scenarios with a stylesheet, and you can associate any number of scenarios with an XML source document.


Tip		If you start to create a scenario and then change your mind, click Delete and then OK.

To create a scenario:

1. In the XSLT editor tool bar, click Browse

Stylus Studio displays the Scenario Properties dialog box.

2. In the Scenario Name: field, type the name of the new scenario.

3. In the Source XML URL: field, type the name of the XML file you want to apply the stylesheet to, or click Browse

to navigate to an XML file and select it.

4. In the Output URL field, optionally type or select the name of the result document you want the stylesheet to generate. If you specify the name of a file that does not exist, Stylus Studio creates it when you apply the stylesheet.

5. In the Base URL For HTML Links Resolution field, optionally type the path for resolving any links. For example, your stylesheet might have links to CSS stylesheets or images.

6. If you want Stylus Studio to Store paths relative to XSLT document path, ensure that this option is checked.

7. If you want to Preview result in an external application, ensure that this option is checked. When this option is checked, Stylus Studio displays the result in the default application for the output method specified for the scenario. For example, if the output method for the scenario is HTML and if Internet Explorer is the default application for displaying HTML files, Stylus Studio displays the resulting HTML in Internet Explorer, as well as in the XSLT Preview window.

8. If you want to specify values for stylesheet parameters, click the Parameter Values tab. Double-click the Value field for the parameter you want to specify a value for.

9. If you want to use an XSLT processor other than the Stylus Studio processor, click the Processor tab and type the required information. See Using Third-Party XSLT Processors.

10. If you want to specify any post-processing, click the Post-process tab. See Post-processing Result Documents.

11. To define another scenario, click Add and enter the information for that scenario. You can also copy scenarios. See Cloning Scenarios.

12. Click OK.

For more information, see Scenario Properties General Tab (XSLT).

Cloning Scenarios

When you clone a scenario, Stylus Studio creates a copy of the scenario except for the scenario name. This allows you to make changes to one scenario and then run both to compare the results.


Tip		If you start to clone a scenario and then change your mind, click Delete and then OK.

To clone a scenario:

1. Display the stylesheet in the scenario you want to clone.

2. In the XSLT editor tool bar, click Browse

to display the Scenario Properties dialog box.

3. In the Scenario Properties dialog box, in the Existing preview scenarios field, click the name of the scenario you want to clone.

4. Click Clone.

5. In the Scenario name field, type the name of the new scenario.

6. Change any other scenario properties you want to change. See Creating a Scenario.

7. Click OK.

Saving Scenario Meta-Information

Stylus Studio can store scenario meta-information in two places:

In the stylesheet associated with the scenario, unless you turned off the Save scenario meta-information in the stylesheet option. See Options - Module Settings - XSLT Editor - XSLT Settings.

In the project that the stylesheet belongs to, if the stylesheet belongs to a project.

When you save a stylesheet, Stylus Studio saves the scenario meta-information in the stylesheet, but not in the project. When you select File > Save All or when you save the project, Stylus Studio saves the scenario meta-information in the stylesheet and in the project. To ensure that scenario meta-information in the project and in the stylesheet is consistent

The project must be open when you save the stylesheet.

Ensure that you save the project after you modify scenario information. (If you close a project without saving it, Stylus Studio prompts you to save it.)

Suppose you modify a scenario and save and close the associated stylesheet. If the stylesheet belongs to the open project, when you save the project, Stylus Studio saves the closed stylesheet's scenario meta-information in the project.

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