Exstream Designer, XML, sections, tables - and page breaks

rorso

I'm currently running circles with Exstream Designer, printing a list of small tables covering several pages.

Unfortunately my input data is "given" and fixed, so I can't just request better structure. The general form of the relevant part looks as this:

<xml>
<table>
<row>
<text>Blah</text>
<type>1</type>
<stuff>...</stuff>
</row>
<row>
<text>MoreBlah</text>
<type>2</type>
<stuff>...</stuff>
</row>
<row>...</row>
<row>...</row>
<row>...</row>
<row>
<text>Blah</text>
<type>1</type>
<stuff>...</stuff>
</row>
<row>
<text>MoreBlah</text>
<type>2</type>
<stuff>...</stuff>
</row>
</table>
<table>
<row>
<text>Blah</text>
<type>1</type>
<stuff>...</stuff>
</row>
<row>
<text>MoreBlah</text>
<type>2</type>
<stuff>...</stuff>
</row>
<row>
<text>Blah</text>
<type>1</type>
<stuff>...</stuff>
</row>
<row>
<text>MoreBlah</text>
<type>2</type>
<stuff>...</stuff>
</row>
</table>
</xml>

You will note that there are several <table> sections, each containing a couple of <row> sections. I need to print a new table, each time there is a <row> containing a <type> of "1".

Since these rows may not be "the first in each table" as usual, I essentially cannot use the <table> tag for defining a useful section start for a new (design) table and can only ignore it completely.

On the other hand, I cannot just define a section start with XPATH as "//table/row[type = '1']". At least I don't find any sophisticated XPATH selection in the mapping. I can just map plain tags or maybe "plain tag with parameter", which does not help either, as I have no "parameter" I could match.

That seems to limit me to just a list of <row> elements to work with.

On the design part I struggle with "only allow page break between blocks, but keep the block together". A block is starting with a row of "type=1" until the next block start or end of data.

I would utilize "sections" if I can define them that way. In my current implementation I can just create one loooong table that only looks properly segmented due to the heading and footing rows along with spacers. But I have to allow for table-breaks or I get no content at all, as "the table" is more than one page.

If I allow for table break, it however will happily split my (rowset) too. I just want to have it split before a "type=1" (or at a spacer row).

What I have tried so far:

Define the (rowset) part as "keep with previous" and set the table for "keep sections together". This gets me a couple of colored arrows indication a non-breakable block. But the first row (that has a rule of "type=1") must be defined as "start of section" and I just have <row> for that —> does not work out, rowset is still split.

Do a "table in table" design, allowing the outer table to split but not the inner one, so the outer-row may only break at a complete inner table —> does not work out. The inner table inherits the "allow split" from the outer table, the option is not selectable on the inner table. I found no solution to not-split a cell for the outer table either, which would confine my inner table.

Did I miss an option to "start a new table" at a certain record?

Did I miss an option to repeat tables (or content elements containing tables) instead of rows?

I confess I have much more experience in XMLIN and StoryTeller and could do this easily there, but that's not the tool I have available here…

Vyv

Hi there, have you thought of writing an XLST processor to rewrite the XML in Orchestrator?

AiTakingOverMyJob suggests:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0"
    xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">

    <xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes"/>

    <!-- Root: merge all tables and process rows globally -->
    <xsl:template match="/xml">
        <xml>
            <xsl:apply-templates select="table/row[type='1']"/>
        </xml>
    </xsl:template>

    <!-- For every row with type = 1, start a new table -->
    <xsl:template match="row[type='1']">
        <table>
            <!-- Current row position in the global list -->
            <xsl:variable name="curPos" select="count(/xml/table/row[. << current()]) + 1"/>

            <!-- Position of the next row where type=1 -->
            <xsl:variable name="nextPos"
                select="count(/xml/table/row[type='1'][. << following::row[type='1'][1]]) + 1"/>

            <!-- If there is no next type=1, set nextPos to very large number -->
            <xsl:choose>
                <xsl:when test="following::row[type='1']">
                    <!-- already set above -->
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:otherwise>
                    <xsl:variable name="nextPos" select="9999999"/>
                </xsl:otherwise>
            </xsl:choose>

            <!-- Output rows from this type=1 up to just before next type=1 -->
            <xsl:for-each select="/xml/table/row[
                position() >= $curPos and position() < $nextPos
            ]">
                <xsl:copy-of select="."/>
            </xsl:for-each>
        </table>
    </xsl:template>

</xsl:stylesheet>