A configuration file, also called a specification file, can be used
to list all the customizations and options to apply. Such a file is passed
by using the
option -S . Several
configuration files can be specified if needed; it can be usefull to have a
default setup and additional setup for specific needs that override or
complete the default configuration.
config_file
You should use the XML format to configure dblatex. It contains more features than the text format used up to the 0.3.7 release that is now deprecated. The principle remains the same, that is, most of the configuration parameters correspond to a command line option.
Here is a full example of a configuration file. In the next sections the meaning and use of the configuration tags are detailed.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- ======================================================= -->
<!-- Dblatex Configuration example for building a book -->
<!-- ======================================================= -->
<config xmlns="http://dblatex.sourceforge.net/config" version="1.0">
<latex>
<backend use="xetex"/>
<texstyle use="dbsimple"/>
<texpost fileref="dblatex-postprocess"/>
<indexstyle fileref="../myindexstyle.ist"/>
<texinputs>../mystyledir:/etc/texmf/userfont</texinputs>
</latex>
<xslt>
<stylesheet fileref="user_param.xsl"/>
<stylesheet fileref="xetex_param.xsl"/>
<stylesheet fileref="pdf.xsl"/>
</xslt>
<imagedata>
<converter src="svg" dst="*" docformat="pdf">
<command>
inkscape -z -D --export-dpi=600 --export-%(dst)s=%(output)s %(input)s
</command>
</converter>
</imagedata>
<options>-X -V</options>
</config>
Another example, much simpler, is the configuration file used for this manual.
Example 4.5. User Manual Configuration File
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<!--
====================================================================
Configuration file for dblatex documentation (manual, release notes)
====================================================================
-->
<config xmlns="http://dblatex.sourceforge.net/config">
<latex>
<texinputs>../latex//</texinputs>
<texstyle use="docbook"/>
<backend use="pdftex"/>
</latex>
<xslt>
<stylesheet fileref="manual.xsl"/>
</xslt>
</config>
The following sections detail the meaning of each tag. Note that dblatex provides some schema that you can use to validate your configuration file.
It is the root element of a configuration file. A valid configuration
file must have a config root element.
Attributes:
The namespace to use for a dblatex configuration file is:
http://dblatex.sourceforge.net/config.
The following elements occur in config:
latex, xslt,
imagedata, options.
The latex element contains the configuration data related to the latex processing.
Attributes: none
The following elements occur in latex:
backendIt defines the latex engine to use, like the option
--backend does. The backend name is specified through the
use attribute.
texstyleIt defines the docbook latex style to use, like the option
--texstyle does. The latex package is specified through the
use attribute.
texpostIt defines the latex post-processing script to use, like the
option --texpost does. The script name is specified through the
use attribute or the fileref
attribute.
indexstyleIt defines index style file (.ist) to use, like the
option --indexstyle does. The filename is
specified through the fileref
attribute.
texinputsThe element text defines the extra paths to add to TEXINPUTS,
like the option --texinputs does.
bibinputsThe element text defines the lookup paths of BIBINPUTS,
like you would do by successive use of the option --bib-path.
bstinputsThe element text defines the lookup paths of BSTINPUTS,
like you would do by successive use of the option --bst-path.
The xslt element contains the configuration data related to the XSL processing.
Attributes: none
The following elements occur in xslt:
stylesheetIt defines a user stylesheet to use, like the option
--xsl-user does. The stylesheet name is specified through the
fileref attribute. If several
stylesheet elements are set, the precedence is the same
like using the option --xsl-user several times.
engineSee engine.
It defines the XSLT processor to use; it can be either a predefined engine, or a user-defined command to run.
When the attribute
use is used, it works like the option
--xslt. The engine name is specified through the
use attribute.
When the element contains the command or
commandchain child element it defines the command(s)
to run to perform the XSLT processing. The core keywords defined in
command apply. The additional keywords of an XSLT
engine command are the following:
%(xmlfile)sReplaced by the XML source file to process.
%(stylesheet)sReplaced by the stylesheet to use to process the
XML file xmlfile.
%(param_list)sReplaced by the list of the XSL parameters to set.
The parameter pair formatting (the parameter name and its value) is
specified through the param-format attribute
given to the engine element.
Attributes:
This attribute is mandatory when the engine is specified
through a command. It tells how a parameter name and
value pair shall be formatted when added to the XSLT engine command.
The formatting is given by a string containing the keywords replaced by
the name or value of the parameter to set:
%(param_name)sReplaced by the name of the parameter to set.
%(param_value)sReplaced by the value to set to the parameter.
The following example re-writes with a user-defined command the Saxon engine
with an additional -T option:
<xslt>
<engine param-format="%(param_name)s=%(param_value)s">
<command>
saxon-xslt -T -o %(output)s %(xmlfile)s
%(stylesheet)s %(param_list)s</command>
</engine>
</xslt>
The imagedata element contains the rules and commands to convert on the fly the images included in the docbook document.
Attributes: none
The following elements occur in imagedata:
figpathIt defines a path where to find the images, like the
option --fig-path does.
figformatIt defines the default image format when no suffix is
available to deduce the actual format, like
--fig-format does.
formatruleIt specifies in which format an image must be converted, depending on the context, given by some attributes:
docformatThe output document for which the rule applies. When not set the rule applies for any format
backendThe rule applies only when this backend is used
dstWhen the conditions are met the image shall be converted to this format.
The following example:
<formatrule docformat="pdf" backend="xetex" dst="pdf"/>
tells that when a PDF document is built with the xetex backend, the graphics not natively supported shall be converted to PDF.
converterIt defines an image transformation rule. See converter for more details.
The converter element defines a rule about how to convert on the fly an image in a docbook document to the corresponding image used in the built latex file. The goal is to have an image format compatible with the latex engine, whatever the original format is. Dblatex has a default set of rules, but one can overwrite or add some rules.
Attributes:
Format of the original image referenced in the XML document. The converter only applies to the images matching this format.
Target format once converted. The converter only applies
to the original images having the format src and that
need to be converted to the format dst.
dst can take the special value "*"
meaning that the rule applies for all
the possible target formats (e.g. eps, pdf, png).
Specify for which document output format the converter
applies. For example, if docformat is set to "pdf",
it means that
the converter applies only if the document output format is PDF. The
converter will not apply if you want to build a PostScript or DVI
document.
The converter applies only if it is this latex engine that is used. For example, it is usefull if you want to convert an image in a specific way only when xetex is used.
The following elements occur in converter:
commandchainList of the commands to run. A
commandchain contains one or more
command elements.
commandcommand to execute to perform the conversion, or a part of the conversion if several commands are chained. See command.
The command element contains the arguments of the command to run. The arguments can contain some predefined keywords that are replaced by the actual values when the command is executed. The known core keywords are:
%(src)sReplaced by the src value (original
image format).
%(dst)sReplaced by the dst value (target
image format).
%(input)sReplaced by the input file required by the command. In the case of an image conversion, it is the filename of the original image to convert.
%(output)sReplaced by the name of the ouput file required by the command. In the case of an image conversion, it is the filename of the output image once converted.
Attributes:
Standard input of the command to run. It can specify a file or it can specify to use the output of the preceding command if the keyword "PIPE" is used.
Standard output of the command to run. It can specify a file or it can specify that the output shall be redirected to the next command if the keyword "PIPE" is used.
When set to "1" or "true", the command is run in a shell environment.
The format of the file is the following:
Every comment starts with a “#”, and is ignored.
The file must contain one parameter by line.
The format of a parameter is the following:
<keyword>: <value>
Every parameter is mapped to an option that can be passed to dblatex.
An unknown parameter is silently ignored (the whole line is dropped).
The parameters defining a path (a file or a directory) can take absolute or relative paths. A relative path must be defined from the specification file itself. For instance, a specification file under /the/spec/directory/ with a parameter describing the file ../where/this/file/is/myfile points to /the/spec/where/this/file/is/myfile.
The following table lists the supported parameters and the corresponding command line option.
| Keyword | Value | Corresponding option | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| TexInputs | Directories | --texinputs | Defines extra path to add to TEXINPUTS |
| TexStyle | Latex package name | --texstyle | Defines the LaTeX style package to use. |
| TexPost | Script file name | --texpost | Defines the LaTeX post process script to use. |
| XslParam | Parameter file name | -p | Defines the parameter file to use. |
| FigInputs | Directories | -I | Defines the extra figures path. |
| Options | Command line options | None | Lists command options to use by default when using the tool. The options specified by the parameter are directly passed to dblatex |
By default dblatex tries to find the configuration
files related to a style (specified with option -T) in the
following paths, in respect of the order:
The current directory
$HOME/.dblatex
/etc/dblatex
The dblatex package configuration directories.
You can add some extra paths where to look for by setting the
DBLATEX_CONFIG_FILES environment variable. The paths are
separated by ":" in Unix like systems, and by ";" on Windows. These paths
are used only when nothing is found in the default paths.