• 2025

    26.1
    Version 26.1 - March 25, 2024
  • 2024

    26.0
    Version 26.0 - October 11, 2023
  • 25.1
    Version 25.1 - March 16, 2023
  • 2023

    25.0
    Version 25.0 - October 13, 2022
  • 24.1
    Version 24.1 - March 7, 2022
  • 2022

    24.0
    Version 24.1 - March 7, 2022
    Version 24.0 - October 18, 2021
  • 23.1
    Version 23.1 - March 4, 2021
  • 2021

    23.0
    Version 23.1 - March 4, 2021
    Version 23.0 - November 19, 2020
  • 22.1
    Version 22.1 - May 19, 2020
  • 22.0
    Version 22.1 - May 19, 2020
    Version 22.0 - February 12, 2020
  • 2020

    21.1
    Version 21.1 - May 23, 2019
  • 21.0
    Version 21.1 - May 23, 2019
    Version 21.0 - February 22, 2019
  • 2019

    20.1
    Version 20.1 - June 15, 2018
  • 20.0
    Version 20.1 - June 15, 2018
    Version 20.0 - March 16, 2018

What's New in Oxygen PDF Chemistry 21.0

February 22, 2019

Related version: 21.1    

The release of version 21 of Oxygen PDF Chemistry adds numerous new features, updates, and improvements to the CSS-based processor used for obtaining PDF output from HTML or XML. The primary focus for this major release was to evaluate user requests for improvements and additions, and implement as many of them as possible.

Oxygen PDF Chemistry comes bundled with Oxygen XML Author, Oxygen XML Editor, and Oxygen XML Developer distributions.

Chemistry

Support for oxy_xpath Function

The oxy_xpath CSS function can be used in the content property of the page margin boxes. This provides the ability to extract/compute text and values from the document and show it in the headers or footers. You can also use it in any of the page rule properties. For example, you could set the page size as an attribute on the root element of the document, then you could retrieve it with an oxy_xpath function and use it in the "size" property.

Support for min-height CSS Property

The min-height CSS property is now supported for inline blocks and code blocks, so that you can now define the minimum height for elements that are used for code snippets.

Support for oxy_label Constructor to Style Fragments

You can style fragments of your static text from the content or the page headers and footers using the oxy_label CSS extension. This allows you to combine different colors and fonts in the same page margin box.

Control the Column Breaking Algorithm

You can now control the column breaking algorithm by using the following extension properties: -oxy-coumn-break-inside, -oxy-coumn-break-before, and -oxy-coumn-break-after. For example, you can use these properties to force or prevent column breaks at certain locations.

Support for Named Destinations Using a URL Anchor

The generated PDF uses the id attributes set on DITA elements for named destinations (anchors). In web browsers, you can open the PDF at a specific location by using an anchor in the URL (the '#' character following by the id value).

Support for 'alignment-baseline' Property

The middle value for the alignment-baseline property is now supported. It is helpful for aligning images in the middle of the line.

Comments and Tracked Changes can be Displayed as Sticky Notes

Comments and tracked changes can be made visible in the PDF output by setting the show.changes.and.comments transformation parameter to yes. By default, they are shown as PDF text annotations (Sticky Notes). Comments marked as 'Done' also appear with a check mark to indicate a completed status.

Environment Variable for Reading an XML Catalog List

An XML Catalog list can be passed to Chemistry by using the XML_CATALOG_FILES environment variable.

Synthetically Style Fonts

Chemistry can simulate different variants of a regular font and use them in other fonts. For example, you can generate italic or bold styles for Chinese fonts. For more information, see Using Simulated (Synthetic) Styles.

Use Dynamic Images in Headers or Footers

You can use the url() CSS function in string-set definitions to generate dynamic graphics in the headers or footers for each particular chapter or section. The graphics are always centered vertically. For more information, see How to Use Dynamic Images in Headers and Footers.