Create a Build Manifest template

IXIA CCMS includes a default Build Manifest template, but you can create a new one for your deployment.

You can predefine information that is common to all Build Manifest objects created from your template.

Important: Make configuration changes in a test environment and confirm they work before copying them to a production environment.

Some use cases include:

  • Setting default user parameters in your template to avoid manual entry every time by your users. For example, the PDF transformation scenario at MadCap Software requires three user parameters, so a template that presets these user parameters makes sense.
  • Setting default output types per product. For example, Product A documentation could be generated in three formats: PDF, xHTML, and online help, but Product B documentation only requires two formats: PDF and xHTML output. In such a case, you could create one template per product that defines appropriate output types.

The following code shows the structure of a sample Build Manifest template:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE build-manifest PUBLIC "-//IXIA//DTD CMS Build Manifest//EN" "build-manifest.dtd">
<build-manifest xml:lang="en-US" id="id">
<title>Build Manifest Template for Product A</title>
    <globals>
        <shortdesc>Build Manifest Template for Product A</shortdesc>
        <mode otherprops="DEBUG"/>
        <mapref></mapref>
        <languages>
            <language xml:lang="en-US"/>
        </languages>
        <rootcontext></rootcontext>
        <ditaval/>
        <properties id="id"></properties>
        <notify/>
    </globals>
    <outputtypes>
        <outputtype id="id" type="" status="ENABLED">
            <description></description>
        </outputtype>
    </outputtypes>
</build-manifest>
Note: When you create a Build Manifest, the xml:lang attribute of the Build Manifest object will be set to the xml:lang attribute of the template. Note that the language of the Build Manifest object is not related to the languages for the Build Manifest output. The output languages are specified in the <languages> element.

To create a Build Manifest template:

  1. Using the CCMS Desktop, create a Build Manifest with the content that will be common to all Build Manifest objects based on this template.
  2. Open the Build Manifest.
  3. From within the TEXTML Administration perspective, select File > Export from the menu.
    The Select window appears:
    Figure: Exporting a Build Manifest


  4. Select General > File System and click Next.
  5. In the File system dialog box, browse to your desktop and click Finish.
    The file is saved and given a system name and the suffix .bmanifest.
  6. Rename the file as appropriate, such as ProductATemplate.bmanifest.
  7. Open the TEXTML Administration perspective by clicking the TEXTML Administration shortcut on the tool bar. If the shortcut is not displayed, follow these steps:
    1. Select Window > Perspective > Open Perspective > Other
    2. Click TEXTML Administration.
    3. Click Open.
  8. In the TEXTML Administration view, double-click the server.
  9. If your server is not displayed in the view, add it by doing the following:
    1. To find the server name, click Window > Preferences and select IXIA CCMS.
      In the TEXTML Server Connection section, the server name is the Hostname.
    2. Copy the Hostname and close the Preferences window.
    3. In the TEXTML Administration view, right-click and select Add Server.
    4. In the Server field, enter the server name.
      The Port field should fill automatically. If you need the port number, you can find it in the same place as the server name in the Preferences window.
    5. Click OK.
  10. When the Connect as dialog opens, type your username and password and click OK.
  11. Double-click the name of your Content Store to open a connection to it.
  12. Go to /system/templates/bmanifests.
  13. Right-click the bmanifests collection and select Insert Documents.
    The Insert Documents Dialog appears.
  14. Click Add File and browse to your desktop.
    1. Select the file.
    2. Click Open.
    The file path and name appear under Import As.
  15. Click OK.
    The file is imported into the /templates/bmanifests collection.
  16. Inform users of the changes.
    The changes will be applied automatically once users close and then reopen their IXIA CCMS Desktop. Users can also apply the changes without restarting their CCMS Desktop by clicking IXIA CCMS > Synchronize Configuration.
A new Build Manifest template is created.