TransXChange Publisher GUI 2.2a_6 - Help

Introduction

The TransXChange Publisher allows users to render a TransXChange XML document into a human readable form suitable  for printing. The Publisher Desktop GUI allows you to invoke the publisher easily from a Windows desktop environment.

You can use it to...

  • Publish registration particulars from Registration TransXChange XML documents.
  • Publish timetable matrices from TransXChange XML documents.
  • Publish route track maps from TransXChange XML documents.
  • Diagnose validation and business rule errors in TransXChange XML documents.

For an summary  of  the steps involved in using the publisher see here.

Overview

The Publisher Desktop GUI is a windows application with the following main areas:

  • Menu bar. Application menus for accessing the help system.
  • File choosers. Two file chooser boxes and browsers for choosing the input file and output directory.
  • Input Options tabs:
  • Publish button. Press this to publish the document.
  • Output console. Messages appear here after publication.

Illustration of main tab

Menu bar

The Menu bar has a Help menu with two menu items:

  • About. This shows the version number of the publisher. (You should quote this if you ever need support.)
  • Online Help... This opens these help pages in a browser window for the version of the publisher that you are running.

File choosers

There are two boxes below the menu bar.

  • TransXChange document. The name of input file to be published. An error will occur if this box is left blank, or if the file doesn't exist.
  • Output directory. Where the output file (or files) will be published. Leave this blank to have output file(s) published in the same directory as the input file.

Main tab

The Main tab (illustrated above) provides options to control which document sections and content are included in the published output.

The Main Tab is made up of the following screen elements:

Document Sections

  • Particulars. The particulars section includes a summary of the contents of the TransXChange file, (for example how many stops and journeys) ) followed by a textual listing of the entities described in the file (such as operators, services, routes, and stops).
    • Full : publishes all details from the TransXChange file. This is the default.
    • Basic : publishes all required details from the TransXChange file for an EBSR registration. Omits certain additional informative values, such as alternative address,  other operator code.
    • None : omits the particulars section entirely.
  • Timetable. The timetable section contains matrix timetables for the services in the TransXChange file. Separate timetables are generated for different services, directions (e.g. outbound and inbound), and day types (e.g. a Monday to Friday timetable, and a Saturday timetable).
    • Full : publishes timetable matrices with footnotes. This is the default.
    • Basic : publishes timetable matrices, but suppresses footnotes.
    • Extra : is as for Full, but publishes an additional separate Full timetable in a file named <inputfile>-timetable.pdf.
    • None : omits the timetable section entirely.
  • Diagnostic Report. The diagnostics section contains a report detailing violations of consistency checks for the TransXChange document (over and above those expressed in the TransXChange XML Schemas alone). These are business-level rules that help enforce high quality data for TransXChange documents. See TransXChange Publisher Validation & Diagnostic Rules for more on which rules are used.
    • Full : publishes a complete report. This is the default.
    • None : omits the diagnostics section entirely.

Content

  • Stop points. This option controls which stops appear in the particulars and timetable sections of the output.
    • All : includes all stop points in the particulars and timetable sections.
    • Principal points only : excludes non-principal timing points (and "other" points) from the particulars and timetable sections.

     

  • Merge similar frequency journeys. If checked, then groups of consecutive vehicle journeys that are frequency-based (i.e. have Frequency elements specified ) and have the same EndTime  value will be published as a single three-column frequency group in the timetable matrix. If unchecked, such vehicle journeys will be shown in the usual manner, as one journey per column.

This option allows you to include separate detailed operational  running times and operation data (e.g. run numbers) for the many individual  journeys making up a frequent service in a document, but still publish and register the service concisely as a  frequent service (i.e. as   just three columns: one for the start times;  one for the frequency  -.e.g. 'and then at least every 10  minutes'; and one for the end times).

  • Include embedded image content in particulars. If checked, then any image resources specified in the TransXChange document (e.g. schematic maps) will be included rendered in the particulars section.  If unchecked these secondary resources will be omitted from the published document.

Route Track Map tab

The Route Track Map tab (illustrated immediately below) provides options to control the appearance of a route track map (if any) in the output. The map is to support registration and is not for general commercial use.

To publish route map you need a broadband internet connection and the Publisher web services need to be available. 

Illustration of Route Track Map Tab

The Route Track Map Tab is made up of the following screen elements:

Document Sections

  • Route Track. The route track section is a separate document published in a file named <inputfile>-map.pdf. It consists of route plots for the services in the TransXChange along with an accompanying table of stops.
    • Full : publishes a full route track.
    • Basic : publishes a basic route track.
    • None : omits the route track section entirely.

Content

  • Scale. This option controls the scale of the map tiles.
    • Auto : chooses a scale of 1:10,000 or 1:50,000 by looking at the extent of the route and using some simple rules to determine an appropriate level of detail.
    • 1:10,000 : uses a scale of 1:10,000.
    • 1:50,000 : uses a scale of 1:50,000.
  • Tiling. This option controls how the map is split across pages.
    • A4 tiles splits the map into A4 size pages suitable for printing.
    • Single image scales the map to fit on a single page. This is appropriate for viewing on a screen using pan and zoom controls.
  • Combine route directions on single map. If checked, then all directions for a route will be plotted on the same map. If unchecked, then a separate map is plotted for each direction.

Data Sources

  • Stop Data. This option controls where stop point data is obtained from.
    • Web service : uses the official NaPTAN Web Service as the stop point data source. If you use this option then you must have internet connectivity in order to access the data.
    • TransXChange document uses the TransXChange document being published as the data source. The Web service will not be used. If you use this option then the document must contain the required stop data locally.
  • Map Data. This option controls where map tiles are obtained from.
    • Web service : uses the official Map Web Service as the map tile data source. If you use this option then you must have internet connectivity in order to access the data.
    • None : turns off map tile retrieval. The route maps will be plotted with a blank background.

Advanced tab

The Advanced options tab (illustrated immediately below) provides advanced options to control the output of the publisher.

Illustration of Advanced Options Tab

The Advanced Tab is made up of the following screen elements:

Processing Options

  • Validate XML. If checked (the default), then the TransXChange document is validated against the XML Schema. The validating step for a large document takes some time. In order to save processing time you can uncheck this option if you have previously validated your document. Note that invalid documents may fail to publish in hard to diagnose ways, so it is not recommended that you disable validation.
  • Output format. This option controls the format of the output documents.
    • PDF : publishes as Adobe's Portable Document Format (the default). This format is fully supported and is suitable for printing.
    • HTML : publishes as HTML web pages. This format is for testing, and currently only supports publishing of timetable matrices. It is not suitable for printing.

Publish button

Press the Publish button when you have selected you options and are ready to publish your TransXChange document. The progress bar below the button will be animated while the publishing is underway. When the publishing has finished a message will appear in the Output console.

Output console

When a document has been successfully published a message will appear in the console including a link to the output document.. Click on the link to see the published PDF. (It may take a few seconds to open Acrobat Reader if it is not already running.)

If there was a problem publishing a document then the console will display an error message. Have a look at the Publisher  troubleshooting reference for further help.

 

Initial Defaults

The following are the initial defaults for the Publisher. these may be changed using the GUI.

The EBSR version of teh publisher uses the default values.

Tab

Option

Defaults

Main

Particulars

Basic

Timetable

Full

Diagnostic Report

Full

Stop Points

PTP

 

Merge Similar Frequency Journeys Journeys

Yes

Include embedded image

Yes

Route Track Map

Route Track

Full

Scale

Auto

 

Tiling

A4

 

Combine Route Directions

No
 

Stop Data Source

Web
 

Stop Data Source

Web

Advanced

Validate XML

Yes

Stop Data Source

PDF

 
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