Upgrading your conductor files to use the new method

IXIASOFT CCMS Output Generator 6.4 uses a new method to generate output that supports DITA-OT 3.x. The ANT build file method used prior to IXIASOFT CCMS 6.1 is deprecated.

You must upgrade your conductor files if you want to do either of the following:

  • You want to generate output in IXIASOFT CCMS Web 6.4. This applies even if you want to use a 1.x or 2.x version of the DITA-OT.
  • You want to use DITA Open Toolkit (DITA-OT) 3.x

If you do not plan on doing either of these in your deployment, you do not need to upgrade your conductor files. You can continue to use your 1.x or 2.x version of the DITA-OT.

Note: Depending upon how CCMS Output Generator is configured in your deployment, you might need to make changes to a few configuration files to continue using your 1.x or 2.x version of the DITA-OT. If you are unsure what changes you need to make, contact IXIASOFT Customer Support to consult about the required changes for your configuration.

The old method

CCMS Output Generator used to initiate a build with the DITA Open Toolkit (DITA-OT) by using an ANT build file.

The following is a quick overview of the old process:

  1. You select an output type on the Generate Output screen in IXIASOFT CCMS Desktop.
  2. CCMS Output Generator executes a target in the conductor file (for example, the dita2pdfwrapper target in the conductor-ot.xml file) to set some individual job-specific properties, such as outgen.job.build.filename, outgen.job.build.template.filename, and outgen.job.build.otlog.filename.
  3. The target creates a build.xml file on the fly through multiple antcalls to other targets, and it sets additional general properties in that build file, such as the PDF renderer and ditaval file to be used.
  4. The target updates the build.xml file with additional properties, such as the transtype, args.rellinks, and args.draft. It also includes any user parameters selected on the Generate Output screen.
  5. CCMS Output Generator launches the DITA-OT and passes the build.xml file to the DITA-OT to begin the output process.
Note: If you use a 1.x version of the DITA-OT, you must continue to use the old method. The old method is still available in CCMS Output Generator 6.4.

The new method

Instead of creating a build.xml file, CCMS Output Generator 6.4 now dynamically creates a build.bat file, which calls a build.properties file. You must upgrade your conductor files to use the new method because the targets in the conductor files have also changed.