Add a new preprocessor

Once you have created the transformation target, you define a new preprocessor for this target.

New preprocessors are defined in the %OutputGenDir%/conf/client/preprocessors.xml file in a <preprocessor> element, as shown below:

<preprocessor name="PDF" 
              class="com.ixiasoft.outputgenerator.preprocessor.AntProcessor" >
   <parameters>
      <system>
         <parameter name="buildfile" value="/conductor-client.xml"/>
         <parameter name="target" value="acme.dita2pdfwrapper"/>
         <parameter name="clean" value="job_postprocess"/>
         <parameter name="keep.log.files" value="true"/>
      </system>
      <user>
          <parameter name="param1" value="value1"/>
      </user>
   </parameters>
</preprocessor>

For each preprocessor, you define the following information:

Table 1. Preprocessor definition
Field	Description
`name` attribute	Name of the preprocessor.
`class` attribute	Class to execute when calling this preprocessor. Enter `com.ixiasoft.outputgenerator.preprocessor.AntProcessor`.
`<system>` parameters	System parameters for executing the target associated with this preprocessor. Specify the following parameters:
	`buildfile`	Name of the conductor file that contains the target to execute for this preprocessor. Specify a path relative to the %OutputGenDir%/data directory (for example, `/conductor-client.xml`).
	`target`	Name of the target to execute. This target must exist in the file specified with the `buildfile` parameter.
	`clean`	Name of the target that cleans up the %OutputGenDir%/temp directory after the job is executed. Set this parameter to `job_postprocess` to use the default job_postprocess target provided with the IXIASOFT Output Generator. If you created your own clean target, specify that target name instead.
	`keep.log.files` (optional)	Specifies whether to return the transformation logs (from the IXIASOFT Output Generator and DITA Open Toolkit) to the output .zip file (`true`) or not (`false`). Default value is `true`.
	`support.ditaval` (optional)	Specifies whether to display the Ditaval selection option and browse button () in the Generate Output dialog. By default, Ditaval selection is enabled. To disable it, set this parameter to `false`.
	`<cust_sys_param>` (optional)	You can add your own system parameters to set values that will be used in your transformation scenario. For example, you could set a `watermark` parameter to indicate whether to include a watermark in your output.
`<user>` parameters	Add user parameters to the IXIASOFT Output Generator dialog box.

To define a new preprocessor:

Open the %OutputGenDir%/conf/client/preprocessors.xml file.

Note: If this is the first time that you are modifying the preprocessors.xml file, open the preprocessors.xml.orig file and save it as preprocessors.xml (remove the .orig suffix).

Important: Do not update the preprocessors.xml file that is in the conf directory; always update the file in the conf/client directory. This separation ensures that your customization does not get overwritten when you update the IXIASOFT Output Generator.

When a preprocessor is invoked, the IXIASOFT Output Generator looks first for the preprocessors defined in the conf/ directory and then adds any additional preprocessors that it finds in the conf/client directory. If you define a preprocessor with the same name as a preprocessor defined in conf/preprocessors.xml, the preprocessor in conf/client overrides that in conf.
Under the <preprocessors> element, define a new preprocessor name and class:
For example, the following code shows how to create a preprocessor for the acme.dita2xHtmlwrapper" target, which allows users to generate HTML output:
```
<preprocessors>
   <preprocessor name="acme.dita2xHTML" 
    class="com.ixiasoft.outputgenerator.preprocessor.AntProcessor">
```
Create a <parameters> and a <system> element. Then create a <parameter> element and specify the conductor file:
For example:
```
<parameter name="buildfile" value="/conductor-acme.xml" />           
```
Specify the target to execute in the conductor file:
This target contains the Ant code that will execute the HTML transformation scenario. For example:
```
<parameter name="target" value="acme.dita2xHtmlwrapper" />
```
Specify the target to execute to clean the job directory (job.dir) of the current output:
For example, to use the job_postprocess target provided by the CCMS (which deletes the job.dir directory), add the following line:
```
<parameter name="clean" value="job_postprocess" />
```
To package the log files with the output file, add the following line:
```
<parameter name="keep.log.files" value="true"/>
```
If required, enter custom system parameters.
For example:
```
<parameter name="watermark" value="yes"/>
```

If required, enter <user> parameters to display in the Generate Output dialog.

The final preprocessor definition should be similar to the following; note that no user parameters are provided for this preprocessor.

<preprocessors>
   <preprocessor name="acme.dita2xHTML" class="com.ixiasoft.outputgenerator.preprocessor.AntProcessor">
      <parameters>
         <system>
            <parameter name="buildfile" value="/conductor-acme.xml" />  
            <parameter name="target" value="acme.dita2xHtmlwrapper" />
            <parameter name="clean" value="job_postprocess" /> 
            <parameter name="keep.log.files" value="true"/>
            <parameter name="watermark" value="yes"/>
         </system>      
      </parameters>
   </preprocessor> 
</preprocessors>

Save and close preprocessors.xml.

Restart the IXIASOFT Output Generator service to apply your changes.