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Associating a CSS with an XML Document

Associating a Stylesheet with an XML Document

The rendering of an XML document in the Author mode is driven by a CSS stylesheet that conforms to the version 2.1 of the CSS specification from the W3C consortium. Some CSS 3 features, such as namespaces and custom extensions, of the CSS specification are also supported.

There are several methods for associating a stylesheet (CSS) with an XML document:

  • Insert the xml-stylesheet processing instruction with the @type attribute at the beginning of the XML document. The easiest way to do this is by using the Associate XSLT/CSS Stylesheet action that is available on the toolbar or in the XML menu.

    CSS example:
    <?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="test.css"?>
  • Add a new CSS file to a framework (document type). To do so, open the Preferences dialog box and go to Document Type Association. Edit the appropriate framework, open the Author tab, then the CSS subtab. Click the New button to add a new CSS file.
    Note: The built-in frameworks are read-only, so you need to Extend or Duplicate them to configure them as custom frameworks.

If a document has no CSS association or the referenced stylesheet files cannot be loaded, a default one is used. A warning message is also displayed at the beginning of the document, presenting the reason why the CSS cannot be loaded.

Figure 1. Document with no CSS association default rendering

For information about associating a CSS to a framework (document type), see Configuring and Managing Multiple CSS Styles for a Framework.