Getting Started provides an overview of XML Authority's interface and tools. If you need task-oriented descriptions (how to do things as opposed to what the program looks like) visit the Getting Results area.
XML Authority helps you see and build your schemas from a variety of different perspectives using a set of windows, panes, and menus. Each pane provides access to a different set of tools, and multiple windows may show information simultaneously, but all of them combine to present a consistent view of the your schemas. The Element Type and Attribute Type panes help you lay the foundations of your schemas, describing the structures of your documents. Version and documentation tools (available through the Notes pane) let you keep track of your schema's development and explain to schema and document authors how and why your schema uses its particular structures. Import and Export tools let you gather information from older resources and present your schemas using the latest tools.
When the application is first launched, the Welcome window appears. To create a new schema, click on the welcome screen's "Create a new schema" icon. A single left click on this icon will open the default schema type specified by your Preferences. A right click (Ctrl+click for a Mac one-button mouse) on the icon allows you to select a different schema type from a drop down menu (Figure A).
Figure A - The Welcome Window
If you choose to create a new schema, the Element Types pane shown in Figure B will appear in a new window. Like most of XML Authority's panes, it includes a list of items that can be edited. A selector button on the left can be used to select items for cut, copy, and paste, and also turns red when there's an error in the declarations. (To see the error message, roll the mouse cursor over the selector - a tool tip will appear describing the problem.) You can build declarations by entering information in the appropriate columns. XML Authority's Qlickers, providing quick access to material you can use in a particular context, will appear when appropriate, in the content model column, for example, and editors are available for many of the columns. (Just select Expand from the View menu or click Ctrl+E.) You can sort declarations by clicking on the column headers to find information quickly. Change logging is available to help you keep track of modifications, and assists you in finding and correcting mistakes.
Note: More time saving features are presented in XML Authority Tips.
Figure B - The Element Types Pane in an XML Authority Window
Windows and panes (essentially sub-windows which can appear at the same time as a window) for the currently active schema are opened via the View menu or by clicking on buttons in the toolbar. The application provides several main editing panes:
Overview pane provides an overall picture of a schema that displays all the declarations in one place, and manages the inclusion of extra modules and version history. |
Element Types
pane allows you to view, create, and edit element type declarations, describing the foundation structures of your documents. The Element Types pane is typically the place you'll start defining your schemas. |
Attribute
Types pane allows you to create and edit attributes for annotating your element structure. |
Errors pane displays all the errors XML Authority finds while importing or editing your schema. |
Notes pane provides a space where you can document your schema creations and preview the actual declarations. |
Source pane allows you to preview the entire schema and modify declarations directly. |
Advanced pane provides access to entities, notations, and processing instructions, the more complex power tools of XML schema creation. Within the advanced window: |
The menus for XML Authority remain the same, no matter what window you're using; right-click popup menus are available in many parts of the application. The six main menus:
File menu lets you open schemas, as well as export and import schema information to and from a variety of different formats and sources. |
Edit menu lets you cut, copy, and paste, as well as search your schemas and create and edit reusable content. |
View menu lets you open other windows to explore different aspects of your schemas. |
Tools menu
provides extra options for checking your DTD syntax and adding namespace prefixes. |
Window menu helps you navigate through all of your open windows. |
Help menu brings you to various kinds of online help. |
The XML Authority toolbar lets you navigate among the panes, check your DTDs for errors, and perform basic file and print functions.
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