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Panorama Pro
The advent of the World Wide Web made HTML a popular way to present documents electronically. Its limitations, however, have led many people to explore the richer feature set possible with robust SGML implementation.
Until recently, the use of full SGML capabilities on the World Wide Web was limited by the lack of an SGML-browser compatible with Web viewing. This has changed with the availability of Panorama. Developed by SoftQuad, it uses a set of software routines from Synex Information AB. It serves as an electronic browser for SGML documents.
Panorama is available in two versions: Panorama Free and Panorama Pro. Both versions enable you to view complex SGML data structures, such as tables, and special data, such as equations and graphics. Panorama Pro adds capabilities, such as functions, for developing output specifications.
Note:
A copy of Panorama Free is included on the CD-ROM that accompanies this book.
Features. Panorama Pro supports the viewing of both remote SGML documents—such as those obtained over the World Wide Web—and local SGML documents. To view an SGML over the Web, you use Panorama Pro in combination with a standard HTML browser, such as Mosaic or Netscape. Panorama temporarily downloads the document’s DTD and stylesheet. Table 26.7 describes features of Panorama Pro.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Web browser compatibility | Views World Wide Web documents through links to common Web browsers |
| Stylesheet support | Uses SGML output specifications and can create and edit stylesheets interactively |
| Table of contents | Generates a table of contents for the document from SGML dynamically |
| Document searches | Enables the user to control content searches, including context-sensitive Searches |
| Bookmarks and annotations | Enables the user to define bookmarks and annotations in documents |
| Graphics support | Supports the BMP, GIF, and WMF graphics formats |
| Document publishing | Publishes documents for use on the World Wide Web |
| Hypertext dynamic linking | Links between documents, document sections, and other objects (such as graphics and multimedia) |
| Tables and equations | Supports tables and equations, including a subset of the CALS table model |
When used with a Web browser, Panorama Pro is called automatically when SGML documents are encountered. Figure 26.14 shows Panorama Pro viewing a document on the World Wide Web. The document viewing window is configured to show the table of contents of the document.
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Fig. 26.14 You can use Panorama Pro to view documents on the World Wide Web.
Tip:
If you have trouble getting Panorama Pro to operate with the Netscape browser, make sure that you start Netscape before you start Panorama.
Using and Creating Output Specifications in Panorama Pro. Panorama Pro supports output specifications—stylesheets—that can format elements. You can create multiple stylesheets for the same DTD. Consider the document in figure 26.15. It is presented as text with only a slight amount of format instructions. With a different stylesheet, the same document is formatted as a table, as shown in figure 26.16.
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Fig. 26.15 You can use multiple stylesheets for the same document.
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Fig. 26.16 Here is the same document formatted as a table.
The flexibility of multiple stylesheets enables you to adjust the document presentation to suit different situations, environments, or circumstances. Figure 26.17, for example, shows how a large typeface document can be formatted for use by the visually impaired.
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Fig. 26.17 Here is another view of the same document. It uses large type for use by the visually impaired.
To create and modify stylesheets, you use an interactive stylesheet editor. The steps are:
- 1. Attach a stylesheet from the Styles menu.
- 2. Name the stylesheet.
- 3. Create the appropriate element properties.
- 2. Name the stylesheet.
Consider each step in detail. Start with an SGML document, such as a product advisory bulletin (see fig. 26.18).
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Fig. 26.18 Here is a view of an unformatted SGML document.
To format the individual elements, you must select them. You do this with the elements in the document or in an optional SGML element tree by clicking the right mouse button while moving the cursor over them. When you select a menu, the Style Sheet Editor is invoked.
Beginning with the major elements, you can select formatting. Formats are specified in the editor by selecting from a menu or by entering data (see fig. 26.19).
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Fig. 26.19 Formatting is added interactively with the Panorama Pro Style Sheet Editor.
You can format elements according to specific qualifications, such as their location in the SGML structure, their position in a sequence, or the value of their attributes. You can apply properties to elements that cover content, paragraph formatting, “before element” and “after element” formatting, table formatting, math formatting, and link formatting. SoftQuad, the creator of Panorama Pro, has announced that it will support the DSSSL standard for output specifications when it is completed.
Creating Navigators. Creating a table of contents—called a navigator in Panorama Pro—is similar to creating stylesheets. You first select an element. With the Navigator Editor dialog box, you can specify which elements to include, the font sizes in the table of contents, and the display parameters for captions (see fig. 26.20).
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Fig. 26.20 Creating a table of contents with the Navigator Editor dialog box is similar to creating stylesheets.
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