TopLeaf FAQ

What is TopLeaf?

Does my XML have to have a DTD to run TopLeaf?

Aren't publishing systems like this expensive?

Can TopLeaf read my FOSI (Formatted Output Specification Instance)?

Does TopLeaf use XSLT or XSL:FO (XML Style Language Templates or XSL Formatting Objects)?

Why doesn't it use XSL:FO?

How does it work?

Doesn't FrameMaker 7 provide all this functionality?

Does it have an API (Application Programming Interface)?

What is the Workstation license?

What is the Server license?

How are documents managed?

How does TopLeaf handle looseleaf?

Can TopLeaf create PDF automatically?

Can TopLeaf create other output formats?

Can TopLeaf be used over the web?

What is MetaForms 2.0 Integrated XML-publishing Intranet Suite?

What database does TopLeaf use?

What platforms does TopLeaf run on?

Aren't publishing systems like this expensive?

What is TopLeaf?

TopLeaf is a professional document composition system from Turn-Key Systems (Australia). It combines a powerful composition engine with a revolutionary GUI interface which allows complex document styles to be set up quickly and easily.

TopLeaf can handle both XML and SGML input, and can produce print, PDF, HTML and RTF (MS-Word) output.

Does my XML have to have a DTD to run TopLeaf?

No. TopLeaf can process XML without a DTD, however we do recommend one.

Can TopLeaf read my FOSI (Formatted Output Specification Instance)?

No. TopLeaf's composition engine is not FOSI-based. FOSIs usually are not sufficiently rich to describe the formatting rules for complex document layouts.

Does TopLeaf use XSLT or XSL:FO (XML Style Language Templates or XSL Formatting Objects)?

No. TopLeaf uses a simple but powerful set of dialogs to map XML tags directly to typesetting commands.

Why doesn't it use XSL:FO?

XSL:FO stylesheets are difficult and time consuming to set up. They require a detailed knowledge both of the FO input requirements and XSLT techniques for converting your document.

TopLeaf styles require no knowledge of XSLT or FO, and can be created up to twenty times faster with non-technical personnel. TopLeaf works directly on your source document — no transformation stage is required. This allows very high throughput. For example a 3GHz Pentium 4 can typeset up to 1000 pages per minute

Unlike XSL:FO based formatters, TopLeaf can also output directly to HTML (Web) and RTF (MS-Word). A single stylesheet deals with all output formats.

While TopLeaf has not yet implemented certain advanced FO features (eg non-European language support), there is no technical reason why this could not be done in the future. Over the years, TopLeaf's developers have proved themselves to be responsive to extending TopLeaf's features to meet customer demand.

How does it work?

TopLeaf lets you define the kind of style effects your XML document tags are to produce, based on the tag, its attributes, and its context within a document. You use a point-and-click interface to select the typesetting effects you wish your markup to produce. As you become familiar with TopLeaf, you can also enter additional mappings to further refine the behaviour of your XML composition.

Doesn't FrameMaker 7 provide all this functionality?

No. FrameMaker is an interactive desktop publishing system designed for relatively straightforward document layout.

TopLeaf is much more sophisticated. It does not require pre-defined Electronic Document Definitions (EDDs), and it does not insert processing instructions (PIs) or other kinds of data into the XML document. It does not rely on access to the DOM (Document Object Model) to determine context; rather, it reads the document as a continuous data stream and "remembers" its context as it goes. This gives very fast, single-pass processing of the document.

TopLeaf is perfect in automated environments, including server-based integrated applications, such as you might find in publishing solutions based around content managers.

Does it have an API (Application Programming Interface)?

Yes. The TopLeaf API is licensed for use when you purchase a TopLeaf Server license. The API provides access to most TopLeaf functions via three interfaces: a Command Line Interface; an ActiveX object; or a Windows DLL which can be integrated into other applications through Visual Basic or other Windows programming language.

What is the Workstation license?

The TopLeaf workstation license is intended for small workgroup environments where a server application is not required. It provides the TopLeaf GUI interface which allows the user to set up stylesheets and run the composition engine as required.

The TopLeaf GUI can be run on Windows 98, ME, XP and 200x PCs.

What is the Server license?

The TopLeaf Server license provides the TopLeaf API, which allows the composition to be controlled by external applications such as Content Managers or Databases. It also includes a workstation license, which is used in designing the publication and testing the document layout.

In addition to the standard Windows platforms, the server API can also be run on Linux/Unix based servers.

How are documents managed?

TopLeaf provides a document repository which allows the user to set up arbitrary document groups. For server based systems which have their own content management facilities, the TopLeaf repository is normally used simply as a holding area for the document currently being processed.

How does TopLeaf handle looseleaf?

Looseleaf is a document management methodology built around large, long-life paper and electronic document sets. When a document is updated, looseleaf systems let you print just those pages which have changed. Also, because page numbers are static in a published looseleaf document, looseleaf systems manage the addition of new pages through stroke pages (also called A-pages, dot-pages, and point-pages). So for example if a page is inserted between pages 42 and 43, it might be numbered 42/1.

TopLeaf completely automates the looseleaf process. When a new version of an XML document is deposited into TopLeaf, it is compared to the previous version submitted using a built-in differencing engine. This is then used to determine which pages have changes on them, and which pages need to be created or deleted. In addition, TopLeaf can automatically generate list of Live Pages and Filing Instructions.

And since TopLeaf does not need to place any markers or processing instructions back into the document, even looseleaf pages built from stored document fragments can be handled without difficulty.

Can TopLeaf create PDF automatically?

TopLeaf 7 includes automatic output to PDF, and additional productivity features such as internal and external hyperlinks and automatic generation of Table of Contents bookmarks.

Can TopLeaf create other output formats?

TopLeaf 7 allows you to use a single stylesheet to produce other output formats. HTML and RTF are supported “out of the box”; an extensible architecture allows other formats to be added as required.

Can TopLeaf be used over the web?

Metaformix provides MetaForms 2.0 Integrated XML-publishing Intranet Suite separately, for use with a licensed TopLeaf Server, to make TopLeaf web-enabled.

What is MetaForms 2.0 Integrated XML-publishing Intranet Suite?

MetaForms is a CGI (Common Gateway Interface) program that leverages the document repository features of TopLeaf to provide a web-accessible, integrated document management and publishing system. It exposes most of the general use features of TopLeaf to the web browser, and also provides basic document management functions such as check-in/check-out, and version management. It also implements a feature called WebBooks, which lets you associate TopLeaf partitions into larger works, and also lets you integrate Word and Excel documents with your XML documents.

What database does TopLeaf use?

TopLeaf does not require any database product. Neither does MetaForms. This gives small enterprises and small workgroups increased simplicity of installation and maintenance, and also reduces overall cost. However, for content manager applications, TopLeaf is easily integrated. The content manager needs to be able to deliver an XML document to TopLeaf, and that is all. Metaformix's XMLComposer product offers an extremely simple, and inexpensive, integration method through "watched folders".

What platforms does TopLeaf run on?

The TopLeaf workstation is a Windows desktop application (Win 98, ME, XP, 200x). The TopLeaf Server license is available on Linux and Windows (and other UNIX platforms through special arrangement). MetaForms is currently available only on Windows platforms, but is intended to be made available on Linux as well.

Aren't publishing systems like this expensive?

Yes, they certainly can be. But TopLeaf is a reasonably priced XML publishing alternative, making high-end publishing functionality available to the small- to medium-sized enterprise at a fraction of the cost.

Similar systems, such as DataLogics and XyEnterprise's XPP run well over $100,000 to implement. And if you want web access to document management features, large enterprise systems come with large price tags.

TopLeaf and MetaForms are a fraction of this cost, with TopLeaf Workstation licenses priced around $1,500 US, TopLeaf Server licenses priced around $15,000 US, and MetaForms priced at just $3,000 US. There are no additional per-user fees, either.

Add to that the fact you can create document layouts with minimum training, no programming, and little or no additional consulting, and you begin to see just how inexpensive TopLeaf XML Composition Software really is.