Ant Properties for DITA-OT

Reference list of DITA-specific Ant properties.

DITA-OT processes your documentation project as an Ant project, which allows several Ant build properties specific to DITA-OT and your project. These properties can be divided into three categories:

Properties specific to your documentation project
Properties specific to the DITA Open Toolkit that you may override
Properties specific to the DITA Open Toolkit that you should never override

The following tables describes the first group of properties, those specific to your documentation project. The tables also indicate the Java command line option corresponding to the property, if available. Each table describes the properties for one of the following transformation types:

PDF
XHTML
HTMLHelp
WordRTF
troff
docbook
JavaHelp
eclipsehelp
ODT (Open Document format)

Parameters available to all transforms

The following common parameters are available for use by all DITA-OT builds.

Table 1. Common DITA-OT parameters
Project Ant Property	Java Option	Description
`args.debug`	`/debug`	Specifies that DITA-OT print debugging information for your project. Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default value is "no".
`args.draft`	`/draft`	Indicates whether draft-comment and required-cleanup elements are included in the generated file. Corresponds to XSLT parameter DRAFT in most XSLT modules. Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default value is "no". If `${publish.required.cleanup}` is not set, `${args.draft}` will be used. Tip: The `${publish.required.cleanup}` property is a legacy property that applies only to PDF transformations. The `args.draft` parameter should be used instead. Tip: For PDF output, setting `${args.draft}` to "yes" will also cause the contents of `<titlealts>` to appear below the title.
`args.figurelink.style`	NA	Specifies how cross references to figures are styled. Allowed values are "NUMBER" and "TITLE". NUMBER results in "Figure 5", TITLE results in the title of the figure. Corresponds to the XSLT parameter FIGURELINK. Note: This parameter is available for all except the PDF transform.
`args.grammar.cache`	`/grammarcache`	Specifies whether to use the grammar caching feature of the XML parser. Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default value is "yes". Note: For most users, this is an important option that dramatically speeds up processing time. However, there is a known problem with using this feature for documents that use XML Entities. If your build fails with parser errors about entity resolution, try setting this parameter to "no".
`args.input`	`/i`	Typically defines the location of the .ditamap file for your documentation project. However, the property can be set to a .dita file, as well. DITA-OT reads this file to find the .dita files that comprise the content for the documentation project.
`args.logdir`	`/logdir`	Defines the location where DITA-OT places log files for your project.
`args.outext`	`/outext`	Specifies the file extension for HTML files in your project's output. Corresponds to XHTML parameter OUTEXT. Default values is ".html".
`args.tablelink.style`	NA	Specifies how cross references to tables are styled. Allowed values are "NUMBER" or "TITLE". The default is "NUMBER", which produces results such as "Table 5". TITLE results in the title of the table. Corresponds to the XSLT parameter TABLELINK. Note: This parameter is available for all except the PDF transform.
`basedir`	`/basedir`	The directory where your project's ant build script resides. The DITA-OT will look for your .dita files relative to this directory. DITA-OT's default build script sets this as an attribute of the project, but you can also define it as a project property.
`dita.ext`	NA	Specifies an extension to use for DITA topics; All DITA topics will use this single extension in the temp directory. Corresponds to XSLT parameter DITAEXT. Default value is ".xml"
`dita.input.valfile`	`/filter`	Defines the location of your project's filter file. Filter files end with the `.ditaval` suffix and are used to filter, include and exclude, content in the generated document. Alternatively, you can create multiple versions of your document by creating a different `.ditamap` file for each version.
`output.dir`	`/outdir`	The location of the directory to hold output from your documentation project.
`transtype`	`/transtype`	Defines the output type for a specific Ant target. Plug-ins may add new values for this option; by default, the following values are available: PDF xhtml htmlhelp eclipsehelp eclipsecontent odt troff rtf javahelp legacypdf docbook
`validate`	`/validate`	Specifies whether DITA-OT should validate your content files. Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default value is "yes".

Parameters available for all XHTML based transforms

The following parameters are available for all output types that are based on the XHTML transform type, including:

XHTML
HTMLHelp
JavaHelp
eclipsehelp

Table 2. XHTML and related parameters
Project Ant Property	Java Option	Description
`args.artlbl`	`/artlbl`	Adds a label to each image containing the image's filename. Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default is "no".
`args.breadcrumbs`	NA	Specifies whether to generate breadcrumb links. Corresponds to the XSLT parameter BREADCRUMBS. Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default is "no".
`args.copycss`	`/copycss`	Indicates whether you want to copy your own .css file to the output directory.
`args.css`	`args.css`	The name of your custom .css file.
`args.csspath`	`/csspath`	The location of your copied .css file relative to the output directory. Corresponds to XSLT parameter CSSPATH.
`args.cssroot`	`/cssroot`	The directory that contains your custom .css file. DITA-OT will copy the file from this location.
`args.ftr`	`/ftr`	Specifies the location of a well-formed XML file containing your custom running-footer for the document body. Corresponds to XSLT parameter FTR. Note: The fragment must be valid XML, with a single root element, common practice is to place all content into <div>.
`args.gen.default.meta`	NA	Specifies whether to generate extra metadata that targets parental control scanners, meta elements with name="security" and name="Robots". Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default value is "no". Corresponds to the XSLT parameter genDefMeta.
`args.gen.task.lbl`	`/usetasklabels`	Specifies whether to generate locale-based default headings for sections within task topics. Allowed values are "YES" and "NO". Default is "NO". Corresponds to the XSLT parameter GENERATE-TASK-LABELS. This parameter is also available for the PDF transform.
`args.hdf`	`/hdf`	Specifies the location of a well-formed XML file to be placed in the document head.
`args.hdr`	`/hdr`	Specifies the location of a well-formed XML file containing your custom running-header for the document body. Corresponds to XSLT parameter HDR. Note: The fragment must be valid XML, with a single root element, common practice is to place all content into <div>.
`args.hide.parent.link`	NA	Specifies whether to hide links to parent topics in the rendered XHTML. Corresponds to the XSLT parameter NOPARENTLINK. Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default is "no".
`args.indexshow`	`/indexshow`	Indicates whether `indexterm` element should appear in the output. Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default is "no".
`args.xhtml.toc.class`	NA	String for a CSS class name attribute applied to the TOC (x)HTML output's <body> element. Found in map2htmltoc.xsl.
`args.xhtml.classattr`	`/xhtmlclass`	Specifies whether to include DITA class ancestry inside generated XHTML elements. Allowed values are "no" and "yes"; the default is "yes" in release 1.5.2 (it was "no" in 1.5 and 1.5.1). For example, the prereq element in a task (which is specialized from section) would generate "`class="section prereq`". Corresponds to the XSLT parameter PRESERVE-DITA-CLASS.
`args.xsl`	`/xsl`	Specifies an XSL file that is used rather than the default XSL transform, located in `toolkitdir\xsl\dita2xhtml.xsl`. Property must specify the full path and XSL file name.
`generate.copy.outer`	`/generateouter`	Specifies whether to generate files for content files that are not located in or beneath the directory containing your `ditmap` file.
`onlytopic.in.map`	`/onlytopicinmap`	Specifies whether files that are linked to, or referenced with a conref attribute, should generate output. If set to "yes", only files that are referenced directly from the map will generate output files.
`outer.control`	`/outercontrol`	Specifies whether content files are located in or below the directory containing your `.ditamap` file. The default value is "no." The `gen-list-without-flagging` Ant task generates a harmless warning for content outside the map directory; you can suppress these warnings by setting the `outer.control` property to "true". Warning: Microsoft HTML Help Compiler cannot produce HTMLHelp for documentation projects that use outer content. Your content files must reside in or below the directory containing the `.ditamap` file, and the map file cannot specify ".." at the start of `href` attributes for `topicref` elements.

PDF-specific Ant Properties

The following table describes Ant properties that are specific to the PDF transformation type.

Table 3. PDF parameters
Project Ant Property	Java Option	Description
`args.fo.include.rellinks`	`/foincluderellinks`	Specifies which links to include in the PDF file. Values are: "none" (the default) - no links are included. "all" - all links are included. "nofamily" - hard coded links and reltable-based links are included. Parent, child, next, and previous links are not included.
`args.fo.output.rel.links`	`/fooutputrellinks`	Note: This parameter is deprecated in favor of `${args.fo.include.rellinks}`. Specifies whether to show links in your project's output. Values are "yes" (include all links) and "no" (the default, include no links). If `${args.fo.include.rellinks}` is specified, this parameter is ignored.
`args.gen.task.lbl`	`/usetasklabels`	Specifies whether to generate locale-based default headings for sections within task topics. Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default is "no". Corresponds to the XSLT parameter GENERATE-TASK-LABELS. This parameter is also available for the XHTML based transforms.
`args.xsl.pdf`	`/xslpdf`	Specifies an XSL file that is used in place of the default XSL transform at `toolkitdir\demo\fo\xsl\fo\topic2fo_shell.xsl`. You must specify the full path and XSL file name.
`retain.topic.fo`	`/retaintopicfo`	Specifies whether to leave the generated FO file for a PDF project.

ODT-specific Ant Properties

The ODT transform, which produces a document using the Open Document Format, is available in the 1.5.2 version of the DITA-OT.

Table 4. ODT related parameters
Project Ant Property	Java Option	Description
`args.odt.img.embed`	`/odtimgembed`	Determines whether images are embedded as binary objects within the ODT file.
`args.odt.include.rellinks`	`/odtincluderellinks`	Specifies which links to include in the ODT file. Values are: "none" (the default) - no links are included. "all" - all links are included. "nofamily" - hard coded links and reltable-based links are included. Parent, child, next, and previous links are not included.

EclipseContent-specific Ant Properties

The "eclipsecontent" transform type produces normalized DITA files, along with Eclipse TOC and project files.

Table 5. EclipseContent properties
Project Ant Property	Java Option	Description
`args.eclipsecontent.toc`	`/eclipsecontenttoc`	Specifies the name of the TOC file for an Eclipse Content project.

XHTML-specific Ant Properties

Parameters in this section are used by the "xhtml" transtype, but not by other XHTML based transforms.

Table 6. Properties for the "xhtml" transform type
Project Ant Property	Java Option	Description
`args.xhtml.contenttarget`	NA	Specifies the content frame name where links from TOC are opened.
`args.xhtml.toc`	`/xhtmltoc`	Specifies the name of the entry point for an XHTML project. The default value is `index.html`

EclipseHelp-specific Ant Properties

The following table describes Ant properties that are specific to the EclipseHelp transformation type, which is an XHTML based output for use with the Eclipse Help System.

Project Ant Property	Java Option	Description
`args.eclipsehelp.toc`	`/eclipsehelptoc`	Specifies the name of the TOC file.
`args.eclipse.country`	NA	Specifies the more specific region for the language specified with `args.eclipse.language` For example, US, CA and GB would clarify a value of "en" for `args.eclipse.language`. The content will be moved into the appropriate directory structure for an Eclipse fragment.
`args.eclipse.language`	NA	Specifies the base language for translated content, such as "en" for English. This parameter is a prerequisite for `args.eclipse.country`. The content will be moved into the appropriate directory structure for an Eclipse fragment.
`args.eclipse.provider`	`/provider`	Specifies the name of the person or organization providing an Eclipse Help project. The default value is `DITA`. Tip: The toolkit ignores the value of this property when processing an Eclipse Collection Map, `eclipse.dtd`.
`args.eclipse.version`	`/version`	Specifies the version number to include in the output. Default value is `0.0.0`. Tip: The toolkit ignores the value of this property when processing an Eclipse Collection Map, `eclipse.dtd`.
`args.eclipse.symbolic.name`	NA	Specifies the symbolic name (aka plugin ID) in the output for an Eclipse Help project. The @id value from the DITA map or the Eclipse map collection (Eclipse help specialization) is the symbolic name for the plugin in Eclipse. By default, the value org.sample.help.doc. Tip: The toolkit ignores the value of this property when processing an Eclipse Collection Map, `eclipse.dtd`.

HtmlHelp-specific Ant Properties

The following table describes Ant properties that are specific to the HTML Help compiled help transformation target.

Project Ant Property	Java Option	Description
`args.htmlhelp.includefile`	`/htmlhelpincludefile`	Specifies the name of a file that you want included in an HTMLHelp project.

JavaHelp-specific Ant Properties

The following table describes Ant properties that are specific to the JavaHelp transformation target.

Project Ant Property	Java Option	Description
`args.javahelp.map`	`/javahelpmap`	Specifies the name of the ditamap file for a JavaHelp project.
`args.javahelp.toc`	`/javahelptoc`	Specifies the name of the file containing the TOC in your JavaHelp output. The default value is the name of the ditamap file for your project.

Other Toolkit Ant Properties

The following table describes additional Ant properties specific to the DITA Open Toolkit that you may override. You should not override a DITA-OT Ant property if it does not appear in this table or one of the tables above.

DITA Ant Property	Java Option	Description
`args.dita.locale`	`/ditalocale`	Specifies the language locale file to use for sorting index entries. The JavaHelp transformation type also uses this parameter.
`clean.temp`	`/cleantemp`	Specifies whether DITA-OT should delete the files in the temporary directory, `dita.temp.dir`, when it finishes a build. Allowed values are "yes" and "no". Default value is "yes".
`dita.dir`	`/ditadir`	The location of your DITA-OT installation. Also referred to as `toolkit_dir` in the sample ant scripts. Verify that your project's build script points to the correct location.
`dita.extname`	`/ditaext`	Deprecated. Defines the file extension for content files in the directory specified with the `dita.temp.dir` property. Allowed values are ".xml" and ".dita"; Default is ".xml".
`dita.preprocess.reloadstylesheet`	NA	Instructs the toolkit to reload the XSL stylesheets used for transformation. Default value is false. Tip: Set the value to true if you want to use more than one set of stylesheets to process a group of topics. The parameter is also useful for writers of toolkit build scripts who experience Java memory problems during transformation due to large Ant projects. Alternatively, you can adjust the size of your Java memory heap if setting `dita.preprocess.reloadstylesheet` for this reason.
`dita.temp.dir`	`/tempdir`	Defines the directory where DITA-OT will create a temporary directory to place temporary files generated during the transformation process.