Generating output using build manifests

You can use a build manifest to partially automate the generation of outputs from a map.

When you generate an output using a build manifest, IXIA CCMS Output Generator automatically generates all the outputs listed in the build manifest. It can generate as many outputs as you want in all the languages that you need. And it can apply different combinations of conditions and ditavals as well.
Note: Build manifests are not visible in IXIA CCMS Web as an object. For example, you cannot search for them or edit them. You see them only when generating an output.

A writer or information architect configures these build manifests for a map ahead of time in IXIA CCMS Desktop. These build manifest are then available for users to select when they generate outputs from the map.

Each build manifest specifies the following information:
  • Types of output to generate (PDF, HTML, xHTML, etc.)
  • Languages to generate for each output type
  • Ditaval files to use for each output type
  • User parameters that must be applied

Advantages of build manifests

A build manifest can list many outputs. This saves users from generating each output individually for different combinations of output type, language, and conditional profiling attributes.

For example, a map contains documentation that needs to be generated for three different output types:
  • PDF
  • HTML
  • xHTML
And each output needs to be available in 3 languages:
  • English
  • French
  • Japanese

This means that a total of nine outputs (three output types for three different languages) need to be generated for the map. Without a build manifest, a user would need to generate nine different outputs from the map and select the parameters each time. Using a build manifest, a user needs to select only the build manifest to generate all the different outputs for the map.