Providing writers with a way to include/exclude additional book-level validation checks

[chrispitude]

Our writers regularly use Validate and Check for Completeness to perform book-level validation:

vcc.png

This is a one-step comprehensive check for lots of things - XML schema, DITA rules, key definitions, profiling conditions, and so on - very useful!

We also have additional checks that writers might want to optionally include in book-level validation, such as: style checks, structure checks, inclusivity/diversity checks, and so on. These checks can apply to maps and/or topics, and they include both Schematron and Oxygen Terminology Checker files.

As a proof of concept, let's say I have four Schematron files that check for "word1" through "word4", and I want to selectively include them in Validate and Check for Completeness:

val_map.png

I tried using Configure Validation Scenarios at the map level:

val_assoc.PNG

but the configured checks were not inherited by .dita topic files during Validate and Check for Completeness. (And Configure Validation Scenarios at the topic level is sticky to individual topics, so that doesn't work either.)

There is an Additional Schematron checks setting in the Validate and Check for Completeless dialog window, but it is not suitable for nontechnical writers, and I cannot figure out how to specify a list of files.

The only way I can find to affect .dita topic file validation in Validate and Check for Completeness is to change the default validation settings in the DITA (topic) framework extension, but it is not practical to have multiple framework copies just for this.

Is there a way in Oxygen's UI for writers to selectively control validation of both map and topic files in book-level Validate and Check for Completeness?

Thanks!

- Chris

[chrispitude]

Testcase here:

validation_experiments.zip

[Radu]

Hi Chris,
Please see some remarks below:

but the configured checks were not inherited by .dita topic files during Validate and Check for Completeness. (And Configure Validation Scenarios at the topic level is sticky to individual topics, so that doesn't work either.)

Right, the DITA Map validation scenarios are DITA Map specific.

There is an Additional Schematron checks setting in the Validate and Check for Completeless dialog window, but it is not suitable for nontechnical writers, and I cannot figure out how to specify a list of files.

Indeed right now this supports only one referenced Schematron file. Should we maybe extend it to have a list of referenced Schematrons? And the list could maybe have checkboxes to selectively enable/disble Schematron files?

The only way I can find to affect .dita topic file validation in Validate and Check for Completeness is to change the default validation settings in the DITA (topic) framework extension, but it is not practical to have multiple framework copies just for this.

Right, this would work. You can define multiple validation scenarios for the "DITA" topic framework but only the checked ones are the default scenarios which get applied when editing the topics or when doing validate and check for completeness with the "Batch validate..." checkbox checked.
You can also right click a folder in the Project and use "Validate->Configure Validation Scenarios" to configure the validation scenarios which will be applied on all those files. But again it's not something very easy to understand and use for a technical writer.

Is there a way in Oxygen's UI for writers to selectively control validation of both map and topic files in book-level Validate and Check for Completeness?

I'm afraid not, how would you envision this to work? So the "Validate and Check for Completeness" goes through both maps and topics. We could maybe improve that "Additional Schematron Checks" field to be a list of schemas and a checkbox for each entry to enable/disable it individually. Or under that "Batch validate referenced resources" checkbox have some kind of list of validation scenarios to choose from but what validation scenarios would the user choose? The ones for DITA Map or the ones for topic validaton?
Or have a list of extra validation scenarios to apply on each referenced map and topic? So after the "Additional Schematrin checks" field add an extra "Additional validation scenarios" field which would allow the end user to choose validation scenarios to apply. The validation scenarios could be very simple, just the Schematron stage and they could be defined at framework level.

Regards,
Radu