XML Tool Considerations

Purpose of This Page

This page provides information about two DITA-friendly XML editors:

• XMetal from JustSystems
• oXygen from Syncro Soft

Note: I urge you to follow the above links (right-click to open in a new tab or window) and download a trial of each product.

Editions and Platforms

XMetal and oXygen are available in the following editions.

Product	Editions / Platforms
XMetal	Editions: Enterprise Edition only Platforms: Windows only
oXygen	Editions: Author or Enterprise. Enterprise has more full-featured publishing features. For more information about the difference between the editions, see the <oXygen> XML Feature Matrix page. Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Eclipse

Possible Outputs

XMetal and oXygen support the following output types.

Product	Outputs
XMetal	XHTML PDF w/RenderX enhancements PDF w/Anntenna House XSL formatter HTML Help (CHM) Eclipse Help Eclipse Content Docbook RTF TROFF
oXygen	XHTML PDF w/Idiom FO plug-in HTML Help (CHM) Eclipse Help Eclipse Content Docbook RTF TROFF

Note: Some outputs (e.g., RTF) require custom configuration, but both tools make customizing relatively easy to do.

Feature Sets

The following table compares features of both products.

Feature	XMetal	oXygen
Editing window	Provides three views: Normal: WYSIWYG view; similar to MS Word Tags On: Wraps elements in selectable tags; provides a clean view of document structure Plain Text: Color-coded markup view w/line numbering; not the best view for editing	Provides three views: Text: Color-coded markup view w/line numbering Grid: Shows document structure in a table view; not always intuitive Author: WYSIWYG; similar to MS Word; can be enhanced with a tags-on view
Editing of multiple topics	Has a tabbed interface with tabs on the bottom.	Has a tabbed interface with tabs on the top.
Customized work environment	Allows saving of named workspaces and workspace switching.	Saves whatever configuration you were last using before exiting.
General authoring tools	Spell checking Thesaurus Find and replace Change tracking List management: Easily converts bulleted lists to numbered lists with button click. Table management: Menu and toolbar Paragraphs: Easy to change types through dialog boxes	Spell checking Find and replace Change tracking List management: To convert bulleted list to numbered list, you have to remove tags and add new tags. Table management: Toolbar Paragraphs: A little more work to change paragraph types; you have to use the pop-up list and drill down to sub-lists.
Working with attributes and elements	Has easily accessible panels for attributes and elements to the right of the document editing area. You can double-click an attribute or element to insert it. Also includes an Insert menu. XMetal works by a process of subtraction. It assumes that you will follow a specific structure, so it sometimes adds multiple, nested elements. You can then delete the non-required elements that you don't want.	Has easily accessible panels for attributes and elements to the right of the document editing area. You can double-click an attribute or element to insert it. Also includes a DITA > Insert sub-menu. The menu is not as full-featured as the one in XMetal. You have to rely more on the panels. Unlike XMetal, oXygen works by a process of addition. You get exactly the element that you want to insert and nothing more (unless there's a dependency).
Metadata	Added using a dialog box.	Added using a pop-up list in the editing window.
Table Editing	Provides a simple dialog box for inserting table types: Normal, Properties, Simple, or Step Choice. Editing in the WYSIWYG view is as simple as table editing in MS Word. You can insert rows above and below, columns to the left and right, etc. The Table Properties dialog box enables you to fine-tune the format at the table, column, row, or cell level.	Provides a right-click menu to access table commands, as well as a toolbar. Table types are CALS or simple. Table editing is not as flexible or intuitive. For example, I could insert a row below another row but not above. I had to use the Text (raw tags) view to cut and paste a row above another row.
Images	Enables you to apply numerous properties before insertion: alt, description, dimensions, text wrapping, and alignment. A second properties tab in the dialog box provides additional choices such as revision and status (such as new or changed). When you insert a figure caption, XMetal inserts the fig tag and the necessary p tags.	Provides menu commands (main and right-click) for image insertion, but you have to add image properties afterward. The properties are available on the Attributes panel. Inserting a figure caption requires extra steps. You have to wrap the img tag with the fig tags and then add a p tag after the opening fig tag.
Links	Easy to insert. XMetal automatically assigns an ID to cross-references.	Easy to insert, though I had to manually assign IDs.
Change tracking	Simple to use. You can turn Track Changes on and off, make changes, and accept or reject them. Setup options are available in the Options dialog box. This feature is very similar to that of MS Word, though with fewer options.	Very similar to XMetal's implementation. The main difference is that you can control option settings at the global level or project level.
Reusable components	Enables you to select content and convert it to a reusable component. XMetal then creates a separate XML file known as a conref (content reference). This file can then be referenced from other files in a DITA project.	Not supported. oXygen Support tells me that at this point you have to assign IDs to elements and reference the IDs. So basically you are simply creating cross-reference links--not reusing content.
Indexing	Automatically includes index in PDF output if indexterm elements are included in a file.	Only includes index ouput when you use a bookmap.
DITA map creation and editing	Enables you to easily create and work with DITA maps (similar to tables of contents). GUI: The DITA Map Editor appears in a separate left pane and is mostly menu-driven. It is easy to use. You can also view maps in the main editor window, where you can see their tags. References: You can add references to topics, other maps, and non-XML files (e.g., a Word document). Include/Exclude: Easily done through a dialog box, similar to that used in help authoring tools. Linking relationships: Easy to modify relationships (e.g., source, target, collection-type) through a dialog box. Builds: When you build output for a map or single topic, XMetal shows a progress bar, then asks whether you want to view the output. I would prefer to see the commands, as I can in oXygen.	Enables you to perform most of the same map management tasks as XMetal. GUI: A similar editor appears in the left pane. The toolbar is a bit more cluttered and complex, though once you learn the icons, it's easy to use. References: The only button for inserting references is labeled Insert Topic Reference. This led me to believe that I couldn't insert file or map references, although the destination window (also called Insert Topic Reference) showed all file types, including .doc and .ditamap. I could reference multiple topics/files from this window, whereas in XMetal I could only reference one file at a time. Include/Exclude: Requires more work. You have to set up a new transformation scenario and set filters for exclusion. This is more in line with open source methods, however (DITA Open Toolkit). Linking relationships: Easy to modify relationships (e.g., source, target, collection-type) through right-click commands. Builds: Commands are visible in a tabbed area at the bottom of the window. I prefer this over XMetal's method, because I can see errors that occur. oXygen opens the output automatically. Note: For no obvious reason, a reference to a Word document (file reference) caused the PDF transform to fail. I need to test further to determine why.
Relationship tables	Created using an XML view of the DITA map. Using the Table menu, you insert the relationship table before the closing map tag. The dialog box enables you to provide a table title, predetermine the number of rows and columns, and assign type attributes for the header cells. You can add and manage content using the following methods: Add content by copying and pasting topicrefs from the map to the table cells. Nest topics by dragging and dropping. Modify linking and collection-type attributes using the Attributes panel.	Created using an XML view of the DITA map. Using the Table menu or Table toolbar, you insert the relationship table before the closing map tag. The dialog box enables you to provide a table title, predetermine the number of rows and columns, and include a header. You then need to modify the header cells to include type attributes. You can add and manage content using the following methods: Add content by copying and pasting topicrefs from the map to the table cells. Nest topics by dragging and dropping. Modify linking and collection-type attributes using the Attributes panel.