RenderX XEP Setup in oXygen

Recently, a client asked for assistance in setting up the RenderX XEP processor for use with the oXygen XML editor on Mac OS X. XEP is an XSL FO processor that can be integrated with oXygen to transform DITA maps to PDF via the PDF2 transformation scenario.

The steps below describe the basic setup, and while the output location is project-specific, the rest should be essentially the same in any environment.

1. Install XEP (for example, to /Applications/RenderX-XEP)

2. Point oXygen to XEP executable in oXygen prefs: XML > XSLT-FO-XQuery > FO Processors (Use the Browse button)

3. Create/verify configuration of PDF2 transformation scenario in oXygen:

   • Open a DITA map file & select Configure Transformation Scenario from the DITA Maps menu.

   • Create new scenario, select PDF2 - Idiom FO Plugin as transformation type

   • In the Edit DITA Scenario dialog:

     • On the FO Processor tab, select XEP from the Processor list.
     • On the Parameters tab, set:
       • args.input to ${cf}
       • dita.dir to ${frameworksDir}/dita/DITA-OT
       • (other parameters optional)
     • Leave the default settings on the Filters tab.
     • On the Advanced tab, set:
       • Custom build file to ${frameworksDir}/dita/DITA-OT/build.xml
       • Java Home to Default, such as /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.5.0/Home
     • On the Output tab, set:
       • Base directory to the current file directory: ${cfd}
       • Temp directory to a subfolder of the output location, such as …/documentation/output/temp
       • Output folder to a subfolder of the output location, such as …documentation/output/pdf2
     • Click OK to save settings.

   • Click Transform now to create a PDF of the current DITA map.