Arbortext Styler 7.0 includes Stylesheet IDE

APP became available to anyone who wanted to do high-quality print output about midway through the 5.4 release stream. Since 6.0 we've been encouraging people creating new stylesheets to use APP as their main rendering engine over FOSI. It's new technology for many of us, but it's so powerful that the benefits curve has always surpassed the learning curve.

In 6.0, APP source edits were new and a bit tough to learn. Documentation was there, but there was a lot of it and it was unfamiliar. It changed as APP Desktop features got more exposed in Styler throughout the 6.0 and 6.1 releases.

From time to time, we still find customers using FOSI when they're creating new stylesheets. (We even find it in new stylesheets created by some of the other PTC partners.) Doing this now carries a serious risk: With 7.0 PTC has moved FOSI and XSL-FO engines to Sustained Support. You should be using APP as the base rendering engine for Arbortext PDF output.

There are a few APP coding courses around out there—all in the hands of Qualified Arbortext Channel Partners. Until now, your only option was to take in-person or in-center training from one of them.

For the first time, with 7.0, it's easier to make the move to APP. You can use JavaScript as your primary stylesheet coding language (this part isn't new) and you can use the brand-new IDE that comes with both Styler and APP Desktop (this is!). The IDE can really help you learn APP source coding.

The IDE has code completion. It has syntax validation. It has a debugger. It's never been easier to find out if what you think is happening in your stylesheet is what actually is happening. And that's invaluable to stylesheet developers.

If you're ready to move your Stylersheets to APP, we're one of the partners ready to train you. If you're ready to step into the future, we can help you understand how to train your brain to think APP and move on from FOSI.