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SDF Quick Reference

MTR-SDF-0003.002 (Draft)
Ian Clatworthy
25 May 1999

Table of Contents

1. SDF - The Package

1.1. Programs

Name Purpose
sdf convert SDF files to other formats
sdfapi extract the Application Programming Interface from source code
sdfbatch generate FrameMaker batch files
sdfcli extract the Command Line Interface from a utility
sdfget extract documentation embedded in source code
sdftest execute SDF regression tests
sdngen build an SDF tuning module from a FrameMaker template
fm2ps convert FrameMaker files to PostScript (a wrapper for sdfbatch)
pod2sdf convert POD to SDF
poddiff compare POD files and report differences
prn2ps convert Windows PostScript to Unix PostScript

Environment variables used are:

Name Description
SDFBIN on MS-DOS/Windows systems, the directory containing SDF's scripts, (e.g. c:\sdf\bin\)
SDFOPTS options always used by sdf (e.g. -Yc:\mysdflib)

1.2. File Extension Conventions

Ext. Format Usage Ext. Format Usage
ini INI configuration file sde SDF SDF end module
sdf SDF normal SDF file sdg SDG sdfget report
sdl SDF SDF locale sdm SDF SDF module
sdn SDF SDF tuning module sdo TBL SDF object register
sdp Perl SDF plug-in sdr Perl SDF report
sds SDF SDF style module sdt HTML SDF template

2. sdf - The Program

2.1. Command-line Options

Option Long name Description
-2 --format the output format you want
-a --parameters parameters for the pre-filter
-c --config configuration library
-d --driver format driver - default is expand
-f --flag define flags (flag xxx maps to variable DOC_XXX)
-g --get_report prefilter using sdfget with the report specified
-h --help display help on options or a single option
-k --look look library
-l --log_ext log file extension (default is log)
-n --split_level heading level to autosplit into topics
-o --out_ext output file extension (default is out)
-p --prefilter pre-filter input file from each argument
-r --report report to pre-filter the input with
-s --style style of document
-t --target logical target format
-u --uses modules to use
-v --verbose verbose mode
-w --width width for text-based outputs
-y --post_filter filter to post-filter the output with
-z --post_process list of post processing actions to do
-D --variable define variables
-H --head_level initial heading level
-I --include_path search path for include files, templates, etc.
-K --head_look heading look (H, A or P)
-L --locale locale
-N --line_numbers number lines in pretty-printed source code
-O --out_dir output to input file's (or explicit) directory
-P --plang pre-filter as a programming language
-S --page_size page size for paper documents
-T --trace_levels debugging trace levels
-Y --library_path path to search for libraries and modules

2.2. Useful Command Lines

Generate format xxx for mydoc.sdf:

       sdf -2xxx mydoc

Generate PDF via a FrameMaker book (on Unix):

       sdf -2book -zpdf mydoc

Generate a man page:

       sdf -2man mydoc | nroff -man > mydoc.1

Spell check a document:

       sdf mydoc | spell

Pretty-print lang source code in format xxx:

       sdf -2xxx -Plang mysource
       sdf -2xxx -P mysource.lang
       sdf -2xxx -P -N5 mysource.lang   (with line numbering)

Generate reference documentation in format xxx for mymod.sdm:

       sdf -2xxx mymod.sdm

Generate format xxx for a table:

       sdf -2xxx mydata.tbl
       sdf -2xxx -aformat='15,75,10' mydata.tbl

Generate format xxx for a MIMS topic, chapter or specification:

       sdf -2xxx +mt mydoc
       sdf -2xxx +mc mydoc
       sdf -2xxx +ms mydoc

2.3. Target Formats

The format naming conventions are:

sdf's -2 option is used to specify the target format.

2.3.1. Logical Formats

Format Maps to Format Maps to Format Maps to
_dir html_dir book ps_fmbook doc doc_fm
dvi dvi_sgml expand sdf_expand fvo fvo_fm
hlp hlp_mif html html_ htx htx_
info info_sgml latex latex_sgml lyx lyx_sgml
man man_pod mf6 mf6_ mif mif_
pdf pdf_mif pod pod_ ps ps_fm
raw sdf_raw rtf rtf_fm sgml sgml_
topics html_topics txt txt_

2.3.2. Explicit Formats

Format Generates
doc_fm Frame binary format via FrameMaker
dvi_sgml DVI format via SGML
fvo_fm FrameViewer format via FrameMaker
hlp_mif Windows Help input files via MIF
html_ a HTML document
html_dir an SDF directory in HTML
html_fm a HTML document via FrameMaker
html_topics HTML topics
htx_ MIMS HTX format
info_sgml GNU info format via SGML
latex_ LaTeX format
latex_pod LaTeX format via POD
latex_sgml LaTeX format via SGML
lyx_sgml a LyX file via SGML
man_pod Man page format via POD
mf6_ MIMS F6 help format
mif_ Frame MIF format
pdf_html PDF via HTMLDOC
pdf_mif PostScript and PDF via FrameMaker
pod_ POD format
ps_fm PostScript via FrameMaker
ps_fmbook PostScript via a FrameMaker book
ps_html PostScript via HTMLDOC
ps_pod PostScript via POD
ps_sgml PostScript via SGML
rtf_fm RTF format via FrameMaker
rtf_mif RTF format via MIF
rtf_sgml RTF format via SGML format
sdf_expand expanded SDF
sdf_raw raw SDF
sgml_ SGML format
txt_ plain text format
txt_fm plain text format via FrameMaker
txt_pod plain text format via POD

2.4. Document Styles

Style Description Style Description
document normal document (default) fax fascimile
listing program listing manual user manual
memo memorandum minutes minutes of a meeting
newslettr newsletter paper technical paper

2.5. Looks

Style Description
fancy look useful for manuals
infomap Information Mapping™
overhead look useful for overhead transparencies
plain alias for simple
simple look useful for normal documents

2.6. Page Sizes

Name Width Height Name Width Height
global 21.0cm 11.0in A3 29.7cm 42.0cm
A4 21.0cm 29.7cm A5 14.8cm 21.0cm
B4 25.7cm 36.4cm B5 17.6cm 25.0cm
letter 8.5in 11.0in legal 8.5in 14.0in
tabloid 11.0in 17.0in

Rotated sizes are named with an appended R (e.g. A4R).

2.7. Reports

Name Description
sdf_dir generate a directory tree of nested SDF documents

2.8. Pre-filters

Files with extensions matching a pre-filter name or alias have the name filter applied.

Name Aliases Name Aliases
table tbl template sdt
module sdm pod pm,PL

3. SDF - The Language

3.1. Concepts and Conventions

Term Description
paragraph the basic building block of documents
phrase a section of text delimited by {{ and }} within a paragraph
style the type of a document, paragraph, phrase or table (e.g. H1)
attribute a property of a paragraph or phrase (e.g. jump)
macro a command embedded in a document (e.g. !define)
variable a named value (e.g. DOC_NAME)
block a section of text enclosed by block and endblock macros
filter a rule to use when processing blocks or files (e.g. table)
module a file containing reusable information
library a directory containing modules

For variables, the general conventions are:

The general conventions for other symbols are:

3.2. Paragraph Styles

Tag Description
A0 .. A6 appendix heading at level 0..6
Addr line in an address
E example
E80 example at least 80 characters per line
FA figure anchor
FOOTER page footer (in header/footer only)
FT figure title
GL glossary entry (term and definition are tab separated)
GLD definition in a glossary
GLT term in a glossary
H0 .. H6 normal heading at level 0..6
HEADER page header (in header/footer only)
KN normal paragraph - keep with next
KP normal paragraph - keep with previous
L1 .. L6 paragraph (or plain list item) at level 1..6
Line horizontal line
LF1 .. LF6 first entry in an ordered list at level 1..6
LI1 .. LI6 enumerated list item at level 1..6
LN1 .. LN6 next entry in an ordered list at level 1..6
LU1 .. LU6 unordered list at level 1..6
N normal paragraph
NB note begin
NE note end
NV name value
Note a single paragraph note
P0 .. P6 plain heading at level 0..6
PB page break
Sign signature
V verbatim (example with no embedded symbols)

Special styles (implicitly terminated) are:

Tag Description
> verbatim paragraph
. .. ...... paragraph (or plain list item) at level 1..6
* .. ****** unordered list at level 1..6
- .. ----- unordered list at level 2..6
^ .. ^^^^^^ first entry in an ordered list at level 1..6
+ .. ++++++ next entry in an ordered list at level 1..6
& .. &&&&&& labelled list item at level 1..6

3.3. Paragraph Attributes

Name Type Description
align string alignment of paragraph within text column (1, Full, Left, Right, Center)
component string start a component within a book (see Book Components)
first string indent of first line (in points)
in integer list indent level (for examples only)
keep_next boolean keep this paragraph with the next one
keep_prev boolean keep this paragraph with the previous one
label string label for this paragraph (e.g. "Tip:")
left string left indent (in points)
noevents boolean do not do event processing on this paragraph
nopb boolean do not force this paragraph onto a new page
notoc boolean do not put this in the table of contents
noid boolean do not auto-generate an id for this paragraph
obj string format as the nominated phrase
orig_style string original style (useful in event processing)
out_style string output style to use
right string right indent (in points)
sp_after string space after this paragraph (in points)
sp_before string space before this paragraph (in points)
tabs string comma-separated list of tabstops
text string display the value instead of the existing text
top string place paragraph on a new page (1, 0, Page, Column, Left, Right)
wide boolean span the side-head

3.4. Phrase Styles

Leading whitespace is not removed for styles marked with (*).

Tag Description
1 1st level emphasis
2 2nd level emphasis
3 3rd level emphasis
A as-is
B bold
C source code (*)
CHAR escape/special character
CMD command
E escape/special character
EMAIL email address
EX example text (*)
F filename
FILE filename
I italic
IMPORT figure
INLINE embedded target format
JUMP same as URL
L POD link
N normal
S text with non-breaking spaces (*)
SECT (jump to) document section
ST strong emphasis
SUB subscript
SUP superscript
U underline
URL Uniform Resource Locator
X POD index entry
Y symbol (e.g. subroutine)
Z zero width character (ala POD)

The following styles are only supported in headers/footers:

Tag Description
PAGECOUNT highest page number
PAGENUM current page number
PARALAST text of last paragraph on page with the nominated style
PARANUM paragraph number (e.g. Appendix A)
PARANUMONLY paragraph number only (e.g. A)
PARASHORT value of short attribute of paragraph
PARATEXT paragraph text (e.g. Hardware requirements)

The PARA* tags require a comma separated list of paragraph styles to be nominated as the text of the phrase, e.g. {{PARATEXT:H1,A1,P1}}.

3.5. Phrase Attributes

Name Type Description
bgcolor string background colour
bold boolean enable bold
changed boolean enable change bars
class string CSS class (for HTML documents)
color string text colour
doc string for SECT, the name of the document containing the section
expand boolean expand object from short to long name
family string font family
id string identifier for this phrase (used by jumps)
index string indexing specification string (MIF only)
index_type string index type (MIF only)
italics boolean enable italics
jump string URL to jump to
short string text to display in header/footer when PARASHORT used
shrink boolean shrink object from long to short name
size string font size
style string custom CSS style information (for HTML documents)
text string display the value instead of the existing text
underline boolean enable underline
verbatim boolean ignore embedded symbols within this paragraph
xref string cross-referencing information (future)

3.6. Escapes

Name Output Name Output Name Output
2[ [[ 2] ]] 2{ {{
2} }} Aacute Á aacute á
Acirc  acirc â AElig Æ
aelig æ Agrave À agrave à
amp & Aring Å aring å
Atilde à atilde ã Auml Ä
auml ä bullet . c ©
Ccedil Ç ccedil ç cent ¢
dagger ^ doubledagger # Eacute É
eacute é Ecirc Ê ecirc ê
Egrave È egrave è emdash --
emspace   endash - enspace  
Euml Ë euml ë gt >
Iacute Í iacute í Icirc Î
icirc î Igrave Ì igrave ì
Iuml Ï iuml ï lbrace {
lbracket [ lt < nbdash -
nbspace non-breaking space nl newline Ntilde Ñ
ntilde ñ Oacute Ó oacute ó
Ocirc Ô ocirc ô Ograve Ò
ograve ò Oslash Ø oslash ø
Otilde Õ otilde õ Ouml Ö
ouml ö pound £ quot "
r ® rbrace } rbracket ]
tab tab tm ™ Uacute Ú
uacute ú Ucirc Û ucirc û
Ugrave Ù ugrave ù Uuml Ü
uuml ü yen ¥ yuml ÿ

For convenience, variables are provided for: amp, bullet, c, cent, dagger, doubledagger, emdash, endash, emspace, enspace, nbdash, nbspace, nbsp, nl, pound, r, reg, tab, tm, yen.

3.7. Macros

Name Description
back ends a list (from POD)
begin begin target-specific output (from POD)
block begin a block of text
build_title build a title page
catalog build a catalog from objects already loaded
class define a class of objects
clear reset text wrapping around a figure
continued continue a heading from a previous page
cut ignore text until an = is found at the start of a line (from POD)
default set a variable (if not already set)
define set a variable
div begin a division
else begin alternative section
elseif same as elsif
elsif begin a conditional section
end end target-specific output (from POD)
end_topic mark the end of a topic
endblock end a block of text
enddiv end a division
endif end conditional text
endmacro end a macro definition
execute include output from a command
export export a variable to the format driver (and/or mark it for later exporting)
for insert target-specific output (from POD)
getcli extract command-line interface information
getcode extract source code (i.e. non-documentation) from a file
getdoc extract documentation embedded in source code
headn level n heading (n = 1 .. 6) (from POD)
if begin conditional text
import import an external object (e.g. figure)
include include another file
inherit inherit entities from a library
init initialise variables (before loading configuration files)
insert call a macro
item label an item in a list (from POD)
jumps generate lines of jumps to headings
line change message parameters
macro begin a macro definition
message output a message during execution
off disable processing previously specified
on specify processing for an event
output dynamically change the output file used
over begins a list (from POD)
perlapi extract API information from a Perl library
pod does nothing (from POD)
restrict declare a restricted family of variables
script execute a line of Perl
slide_down decrease heading levels (e.g. H2 -> H3)
slide_up increase heading levels (e.g. H2 -> H1)
subsections specify the subsections for a topic
undef clear a variable
use load a library module

3.8. Filters

Filter Description
about about section of a document
abstract the abstract for a paper
address an address
appendix change headings to appendix style
ascii_graphic fixed-width text, wide enough for ASCII graphics
box surround a region of text with a box
center centre a region
changed mark a block of text as changed
chapter chapter of a document (does nothing)
comment ignore text
datestrings define strings used in dates
default provide defaults for a block of variables
define define a block of variables
end process text at the end
example fixed-width text (e.g. source code)
front front section of a document
get extract embedded documentation
glossary glossary section of document (alias for plain)
hlp_header table of jumps at the top of a help topic
hlp_window contents of a help popup window
inline embed text into target format (e.g. HTML)
langdefs define vgrind-like language definitions
links define external links for a document (including stylesheets)
meta define meta information for a document
namevalues format a set of name-value pairs (e.g. as used in a title block)
nofill a set of lines
note a note
plain change headings to plain style
pod embedded POD
quote a quotation
script execute text as a Perl script
sdf apply arbitrary phrase attributes to text
sections paragraphs are sections
simple generic filter for building others
stylesheet define a stylesheet which should be inline in the HTML output
table tabular data
template alias for inline with expand set to true
title title block for a memo, fax or minutes
topics include a set of sub-topics
verbatim fixed-width text, ignoring embedded symbols

Classes and Programming Languages can also be used as filters.

3.9. Figures

Extension search rules:

When generating The search order is
PostScript epsi, eps, wmf, mif, gif
HTML jpeg, jpg, png, gif
Windows Help bmp

import macro parameters:

Name Description
alt alternate text to display (ala HTML)
align alignment (Left, Center, Right, Inner, Outer)
base the prefix to prepend to the figure pathname to get the location needed for the HTML output
border the border width in pixels
height explicit height measurement (MIF only)
jump the URL to jump to
listitem the list indent level (e.g. 1)
mif_figure the tag before the figure in the MIF source (only needed if more than one figure in the MIF file)
position vertical position (Below, Top, Bottom)
title figure caption
wide figure straddles the side head area of the page
width explicit width measurement (MIF only)
wrap_text wrap text around a figure (ignored for HTML)

Default conversion rules (from sdf.ini):

When generating Create From Using the command
html gif eps ps2gif -crop $source
html gif ps ps2gif -crop $source
html gif prn prn2ps -ops $source; ps2gif -crop $base.ps; rm $base.ps
ps eps ps ps2epsi $source $dest
ps eps prn prn2ps -ops $source; ps2epsi $base.ps $dest; rm $base.ps

3.10. Tables

table filter parameters:

Name Description
align alignment of table: one of Left, Center, Right, Inner, Outer
bgcolor background colour for a table (HTML only)
bmargin default bottom margin for table cells (MIF only)
cellpadding padding size for table cells (HTML only)
cellspacing spacing size between table cells (HTML only)
colaligns a comma-separated list of horizontal alignments values (Left, Center, Right) for columns; alternatively, a single word containing the letters L, C and R
coltags a comma-separated list of phrase styles to apply to columns
colvaligns a comma-separated list of vertical alignments values (Top, Middle, Bottom, Baseline) for columns; alternatively, a single word containing the letters T, M, B and L
delete a comma-separated list of columns to delete
footings the number of footing rows at the end of the table
format a comma-separated list of column width specifications; alternatively, a single number where each digit represents 10% of the space available to the table
groups pattern of group-style rows (default is /:$/)
headings the number of heading rows at the top of the table
keepindents keep leading whitespace in cells
landscape display the table in landscape mode (MIF only)
listitem the list indent level (e.g. 1) of this table
lmargin default left margin for table cells (MIF only)
narrow if set, the table will only be as wide as required; otherwise the table will span the available space
niceheadings set to 0 to disable _ to space conversion in headings
nocalcs set to 0 to disable calculation processing within a table
noheadings suppress headings in output
objects alias for coltags (coltags is preferred)
oncell Perl code to execute for each cell (internal use only!)
parseline column headings parsing line (if not the first row in the text)
placement vertical placement of table: one of Float, Pagetop, Columntop, Lefttop, Righttop (MIF only)
rmargin default right margin for table cells (MIF only)
select a comma-separated list of columns to display
sort a comma-separated list of columns to sort the data rows by
style overall look of the table (columns, rows, grid, plain, shade)
tags alias for coltags (coltags is preferred)
title table caption
tmargin default top margin for table cells (MIF only)
type alias for style (style is preferred)
where an expression to filter the data rows with
wide table straddles the side head area of the page
wrap the number of data rows to display in a physical row

Column width specifications:

Value Meaning
30pt an exact size (other supported units are cm, mm, " and in)
30% a percentage of the size available
30 a percentage of the size available (% is implicit)
10-20 dynamic size between 10% and 20% of the total width
-20 dynamic size between 0% and 20% of the total width
10- dynamic size between 10% and 100% of the total width
- dynamic size between 0% and 100% of the total width
3* 3 units of the remaining space
* same as 1*

= can be used in place of - to get equalised column widths.

Cell attributes:

Name Value
align horizontal alignment (Left, Center, Right)
angle angle of text (0, 90, 180, 270)
bgcolor background colour of cell
bruling ruling setting for bottom of cell
cols the number of columns this cell spans (default is 1)
fill background colour fill % (100, 90, 70, 50, 30, 10, 3)
lruling ruling setting for left of cell
nowrap disable word wrap for this cell
paratag paragraph style to apply to cell text (future)
rows the number of rows this cell spans (default is 1)
rruling ruling setting for right of cell
sdf treat the cell text as SDF (rather than as phrase text)
tag phrase tag to apply to cell text
truling ruling setting for top of cell
valign vertical alignment (Top, Middle, Bottom, Baseline)

Permitted ruling values: Vthin, Thin, Medium, Thick, Double.

3.11. Classes

Data fields for the predefined classes are:

Field Tag Description
organisations:    
Name ORG organisation name
Long ORGN long form of organisation name
Jump   URL for organisation
products:    
Name PRD product name
Jump   URL for product
references:    
Reference REF document code
Document DOC document title
Jump   URL for document
Version   version number
Status   status (e.g. Draft, Review or Final)
terms:    
Term TERM term, acronym or abbreviation
Description   explanation
Jump   URL for term

The REFNUMONLY tag can be used to mark a REF phrase where only the trailing number is output.

Calculated fields for the references class:

Name Description
XXX if a matching xxx file is found, an image which jumps to that file
Cite a string of the form [n]
Date the date of the html file
Pages the number of pages in the PostScript document
Printdoc an image which launches the /cgi-bin/printdoc/ CGI script
Printer alias for Printdoc

Parameters of class filters:

Name Type Description
cited boolean number these objects as the cited ones (for [1] style references)
colaligns string a comma-separated list of horizontal alignments values (Left, Center, Right) for columns; alternatively, a single word containing the letters L, C and R can be used for the value
columns string comma-separated list of attributes to display in table
colvaligns string a comma-separated list of vertical alignments values (Top, Middle, Bottom, Baseline) for columns; alternatively, a single word containing the letters T, M, B and L can be used for the value
compact boolean display in a compact table, (make cellpadding data boolean define objects but do not display them
delete string a comma-separated list of columns to delete
headings boolean display the column headings
root string string to prepend to Jump attribute, if any
select string a comma-separated list of columns to display
sort string comma-separated list of columns to sort by
style string table style to use (the default is plain)
    and cellspacing both equal to zero)
variables boolean define a variable for each object; the variable name is derived from the object name with underscores replacing non-alphanumeric characters
where string filter the rows using the nominated expression
wide boolean use sidehead when formatting on paper
wrap integer number of logical rows to place on a physical row

3.12. Document Variables/Macros

Controls

Name Type Description
DOC_ADMIN_LOGO string logo to use in administration document styles
DOC_ADMIN_LOGO_BASE string base directory for DOC_ADMIN_LOGO
DOC_APPROVE string person approving the document
DOC_APPROVE2 string 2nd person approving the document
DOC_APPROVE3 string 3rd person approving the document
DOC_AUTHOR string author of document
DOC_AUTHOR2 string 2nd author of document
DOC_AUTHOR3 string 3rd author of document
DOC_CODE string document code (*)
DOC_COMPONENT string current component type within a book
DOC_COMPONENT_LOGO string logo to use for components within a book
DOC_COVER string logical name of the cover page to use (e.g. original, project, manual, paper)
DOC_DISTRIBUTION string document distribution
DOC_HTML_LOGO string logo to use in HTML output
DOC_HTML_LOGO_BASE string base directory for HTML_LOGO
DOC_ID_SEP string separator used within DOC_ID
DOC_IX boolean build an index
DOC_LOF boolean build a list of figures
DOC_LOF_TITLE string list of figures title
DOC_LOGO string logo to use for document
DOC_LOGO_BASE string base directory for DOC_LOGO
DOC_LOT boolean build a list of tables
DOC_LOT_TITLE string list of tables title
DOC_MANUAL_LOGO string logo to use when generating paper manuals
DOC_NAME string document name, e.g. "SDF 2.000"
DOC_OWNER string person or company owning the copyright
DOC_PRODUCT string for man pages, the center string in the header
DOC_PROJECT string orginating project of document
DOC_SECTION integer for man pages, the section number
DOC_STATUS string status of document (*)
DOC_TITLE_LOGO string logo used in the title of a PostScript document
DOC_TOC integer table of contents level
DOC_TOC_GRAPHIC string graphic to include in TOC title
DOC_TOC_TITLE string table of contents title
DOC_TOPIC_LOGO string logo to use in HTML topics mode output
DOC_TOPIC_LOGO_BASE string base directory for DOC_TOPIC_LOGO
DOC_TWO_SIDES boolean build a two-sided document
DOC_TYPE string document type, e.g. "User Guide"
DOC_URL string URL of document
DOC_VERSION string version number of document (*)
Macros:    
DOC_COMPONENT_BEGIN macro hook to initialise things before book component processing begins
DOC_COMPONENT_END macro hook to finalise things after book component processing ends
DOC_OFFICES macro for manuals, the text to put after the inside front cover
DOC_RECIPIENTS macro table of controlled copy recipients
DOC_TRADEMARKS macro text specifying trademarks used in document

If the variables marked with (*) are not defined, build_title sets them using the references data, if possible.

Information

Name Type Description
DOC_BASE string the base (filename) of the current document
DOC_COLUMN_WIDTH integer width of a text column (in points)
DOC_DIR string the directory of the current document
DOC_EXT string the extension of the current document
DOC_FULL_WIDTH integer width of text area including the side-head (in points)
DOC_ID string combination of DOC_CODE and DOC_VERSION
DOC_MODIFIED datetime the most recent modification time of files visited so far
DOC_PAGE_HEIGHT integer height of page (in points)
DOC_PAGE_WIDTH integer width of page (in points)
DOC_PAGED boolean output is paged, not continuous
DOC_PATH string the full pathname of the current document
DOC_SHORT string the base and extension of the current document
DOC_START datetime the time document conversion started
DOC_TEXT_HEIGHT integer height of text area (in points)
DOC_TEXT_WIDTH integer width of text area available for text columns (in points)
DOC_TITLE string combination of DOC_NAME and DOC_TYPE
MODIFIED_DATE string alias for DATE:DOC_MODIFIED
File:    
FILE_BASE string base part of current filename (e.g. mydoc)
FILE_DIR string directory of current filename (e.g. /doc/sdf)
FILE_EXT string extension of current filename (e.g. sdf)
FILE_MODIFIED datetime time when this file was last modified
FILE_PATH string current pathname (e.g. /doc/sdf/mydoc.sdf)

3.13. Option Variables

These variables (except OPT_NOBARS) give the values of command-line options. Variables marked with a (*) can be set via the init macro on the top line of a document:

Name Type Description
OPT_CONFIG string configuration library (*)
OPT_DRIVER string name of driver used to convert documents
OPT_EXT string output extension
OPT_HEAD_LEVEL integer level to start headings at
OPT_HEAD_LOOK string look for headings
OPT_LOCALE string locale
OPT_LOOK string look (*)
OPT_NOBARS boolean disable change bars (*)
OPT_NUMBER integer line numbering fequency
OPT_PAGE_SIZE string page size setting (default is global) (*)
OPT_PP_xxx boolean set if xxx post-processing requested
OPT_REPORT string report to run
OPT_SPLIT_LEVEL integer level to split headings at for topics mode
OPT_STYLE string document style (*)
OPT_TARGET string target format
OPT_WIDTH integer width for txt output (default is 70) (*)

These variables can only be set within look libraries:

Name Type Description
OPT_BORDERS integer high-level header/footer border control (0=none; 1=above footer,below header; 2=above footer,above & below header)
OPT_COLUMNS integer number of columns in text area (default is 1)
OPT_COLUMN_GAP dimension gap between columns in text area
OPT_COMPONENT_COVER boolean give book components a cover page
OPT_HEADINGS integer size in lines (0..4) of headers/footers (Note: for values 2..4, header size is 2)
OPT_IX_COLUMNS integer number of columns in text area in the index (default is 1)
OPT_IX_COLUMN_GAP dimension gap between columns in text area in the index
OPT_IX_SIDEHEAD_GAP dimension width between side-head and text area in the index
OPT_IX_SIDEHEAD_WIDTH dimension width of side-head in the index
OPT_LIST_INDENT dimension size of each list indent in points
OPT_MARGIN_BOTTOM string size of margin below the footer, if any
OPT_MARGIN_INNER string size of inner margin
OPT_MARGIN_OUTER string size of outer margin
OPT_MARGIN_TOP string size of margin above the header, if any
OPT_NUMBER_PER_COMPONENT boolean number figures, etc. per component
OPT_SIDEHEAD_GAP dimension width between side-head and first text column
OPT_SIDEHEAD_WIDTH dimension width of side-head

3.14. Page Layout Variables

Page variables can only be set within look libraries.

Page tags:

Page Usage
FIRST the first page in the document
RIGHT the page used for single-sided documents and the right hand side of double-sided documents
LEFT the left hand side of double-sided documents; ignored for single-sided documents

In the table below, frl is either:

If a component does not have a component-specific macro/variable defined, then the generic macro/variable is used.

Name Type Description
PAGE_frl_BACKGROUND string background image name
PAGE_frl_FOOTER_BORDER string border specification
PAGE_frl_FOOTER_GAP dimension gap between text area and footer area
PAGE_frl_FOOTER_HEIGHT dimension height of footer area
PAGE_frl_FOOTER_INNERn string inner text of line n (0..3) of footer
PAGE_frl_FOOTER_CENTERn string centre text of line n (0..3) of footer
PAGE_frl_FOOTER_OUTERn string outer text of line n (0..3) of footer
PAGE_frl_HEADER_BORDER string border specification
PAGE_frl_HEADER_GAP dimension gap between header area and text area
PAGE_frl_HEADER_HEIGHT dimension height of header area
PAGE_frl_HEADER_INNERn string inner text of line n (1..2) of header
PAGE_frl_HEADER_CENTERn string centre text of line n (1..2) of header
PAGE_frl_HEADER_OUTERn string outer text of line n (1..2) of header

When FrameMaker is being used to generate PostScript, the background image name is mapped to a master page called backgrnd within a file called backgrnd.mif. At the moment, objects from the master page (excluding TextRects) are directly transferred to the generated MIF file. This means that objects in the lower right hand corner of an A4 master page will not will be positioned nicely if the paper size is changed to A5, say.

A border specification string is a comma-separated list of attributes which collectively describe the border. The format of each attribute is name[=value]. The supported attributes are:

For top, bottom and box, the value of the attribute is the line width in points.

3.15. Miscellaneous Variables/Macros

Controls

Name Type Description
Processing:    
DEFAULT_LOCALE string default OPT_LOCALE (set in sdf.ini)
DEFAULT_LOOK string default OPT_LOOK (set in sdf.ini)
DEFAULT_TAB_SIZE integer default tab size (initially 8)
DEFAULT_TABLE_STYLE string default style for tables (initially columns)
DEFAULT_XREF_STYLE string default style for cross-references (initially sections)
Link expansion formats:    
FORMAT_LINK_PAGE string default is: the $page manpage
FORMAT_LINK_PAGE_ENTRY string default is: the $entry entry in the $page manpage
FORMAT_LINK_PAGE_SECTION string default is: the section on "$sect" in the $page manpage
FORMAT_LINK_SECTION string default is: the section on "$sect"
HTMLDOC generation:    
HTMLDOC boolean generate HTML ready for HTMLDOC
HTMLDOC_OPTS string tuning options to pass to HTMLDOC

Information

Name Type Description
Package:    
SDF phrase PRD:SDF
SDF_BUGS phrase EMAIL:sdf-bugs@mincom.com
SDF_FTP string URL for SDF's FTP site
SDF_HOME string library/configuration directory
SDF_USERS phrase EMAIL:sdf-users@mincom.com
SDF_VERSION string product version string (e.g. 2.000 beta1)
SDF_WWW string URL for SDF's home page
Macros for default.sdg:    
SDG_DESCRIPTION_POST macro finalisation after Description
SDG_DESCRIPTION_PRE macro initialisation before Description
SDG_BEGIN macro hook for things before extracted text
SDG_END macro hook for things after extracted text
SDF_OPT_HELP macro text explaining help option
SDF_OPT_STD macro text explaining standard options
Old macro names:    
BUILD_TITLE string provided for backwards-compatibility
END_TOPIC string provided for backwards-compatibility
SLIDE_DOWN string provided for backwards-compatibility
SLIDE_UP string provided for backwards-compatibility
SDF_DESCRIPTION_POST macro provided for backwards-compatibility
SDF_DESCRIPTION_PRE macro provided for backwards-compatibility

3.16. Programming Languages

Language Names
C c
C++ c++, cpp, hpp, cc, h
COBOL cobol
CORBA IDL idl
FORTRAN fortran, f77, fc, f, for
Java java
MIMS COBOL mimscobol, pcom, precom
Object Pascal delphi, pascal, pas, int
Perl perl, pl, pm, sdp, sdr
Python python, jpython, py
Simple Document Format sdf, sdm, sds, sdn, sdl, sde
Unix shell sh
Unix c-shell csh

Language names are case insensitive.

3.17. Colours

For PS (i.e. MIF) generation, the supported colour values are Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Cyan and Magenta. If a different colour is specified, it is ignored.

For HTML generation, any of the HTML colours names (including those supported for PS generation) or the "#rrggbb" form can be used. Useful variables are:

Name Value Name Value
COLOR_WHITE 'ffffff' COLOR_BLACK '000000'
COLOR_RED 'ff0000' COLOR_GREEN '00ff00'
COLOR_BLUE '0000ff' COLOR_YELLOW 'ffff00'
COLOR_MAGENTA 'ff00ff' COLOR_CYAN '00ffff'
COLOR_GREY 'c0c0c0'

3.18. Expression Formats

Name Description
Strings:  
LOWER convert a string to lowercase
LOWER1 convert the first character to lowercase
UPPER convert a string to uppercase
UPPER1 convert the first character to uppercase
Dates:  
CONCISE alias for FORMAT_SDATE
DATE format to a date only
DATETIME format to a complete date-time format
FULL alias for FORMAT_DATETIME
SDATE format to a concise date only
TIME format to a time only
YEAR format to a 4-digit year

Expression format XXX can be changed/defined via the FORMAT_XXX variable.

3.19. Modules

Name Description
bugtrack extensions for bug tracking
defines simplified product declaration/definition
delphi extensions for delphi 1.x documentation
homepage extensions for making SDF-like home pages easier to author
misc miscellaneous goodies
objects IT-related objects
testcase extensions for test case documentation
usecases extensions for Use Case documentation

3.20. Book Components

Name Meaning
front the cover component
pretoc components before the contents
toc the table of contents
lof the list of figures
lot the list of tables
prechapter components before the chapters
chapter a normal chapter
appendix an appendix
preix components before the index
ix the index

3.21. Event Processing

Supported symbols within actions:

Type Symbols
paragraph $style, $text, %attr, &PrependText, &AppendText, $level, $prev_style, $prev_text, %prev_attr
phrase $style, $text, %attr, $append
macro $name, $args
filter $name, $params
table $style, %param

Special symbol meanings:

Symbol Meaning
paragraph:  
&PrependText a subroutine to add paragraphs before this one
&AppendText a subroutine to add paragraphs after this one
$level the current heading level (before this paragraph)
$prev_style the style of the previous paragraph
$prev_text the text of the previous paragraph
%prev_attr the attributes of the previous paragraph
phrase:  
$append text to append onto the end of the phrase

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