The M190 release of Arbortext 5.3 is now available for download from the support site. If you want to know all the details about this release, please check out the release notes.

The release notes have this to say:

• 1967627 — Floats scoped to a table no longer appear beyond scope when the table breaks within a row.
• 1976865 — Arbortext Editor no longer fails to set table column names when the table contains a completely spanned row.
• 1980156 — The Arbortext Adapter to Documentum/WDK is now compatible with Internet Explorer 8. (Arbortext Editor support for Internet Explorer 8 does not extend beyond the Arbortext Adapter to Documentum/WDK.)
• 1982017 — Addressed an issue causing a specific italic font to not appear italic in PDF output.
• 1988168 — Publishing processes involving the composition pipeline are now responsive to the settings of the allowcharactersubstitution .dcf file option and the composedcharactersubstitution set option and Advanced Preference.
• 1983265 — Rotated content is now handled correctly in PDF documents composed with the usedistiller set option set to off and crop marks turned on.
• 1991771 — Saving an SGML document as XML now adds the needed namespace declaration for change tracking if the document contains any markup used by change tracking.

The M170 release of Arbortext Advanced Print Publisher Version 9.1 is now available for download from the support site. If you want to know all the details about this release, please check out the release notes.

The release notes have this to say:

• Fixed issue with keep-with-previous where it wouldn’t work within a section itself was being balanced (SPR 1971370)
• Fixed rotated footnotes surround frame size issue. (SPR 1919326)
• Fixed issue that prevented frame shift (tfshift) from working when using copyfit with ‘update real values’ enabled. (SPR 1936426)
• Fixed problem with space at end of line containing leaders. (SPR 1970802)
• Fixed problem with OpenType font containing an empty index table. (SPR 1972664)
• Fixed pointer error in Line Style menu. (SPR 1993501)

Available for immediate downloading from PTC’s support site is the Arbortext 5.4 M050 release.  In addition to bug fixes, this release adds full support for the Arbortext Advanced Print Publisher (APP) feature.  For earlier releases, APP was classified as a Technology Preview, and recommended for use only in test environments.  If you want to know all the details about this release, please check out the release notes.

Highlights

• Arbortext Advanced Print Publisher (APP) fully supported as an alternate composition engine in Publishing Engine and Styler.
• DITA application updated to support the DITA 1.2 Specification

SPR Fixes in this Release

Arbortext Editor Fixes

• 1858029: Toolbars are now properly displayed according to the toolbar configuration last saved in the Arbortext Editor preferences file.
• 1947085: When comparing documents with Arbortext Editor, certain small differences are now properly identified as changes.
• 1965847: Edit->Paste Excel now succeeds when copying from a COM-embedded instance of Microsoft Excel except when running under a CJK Windows environment, when using a CJK installation of the main application (such as Microsoft Word), and in cases where the Excel instance refers to a CJK file name or sheet name.
• 1966090: Context checking no longer is incorrectly turned off when accepting or rejecting a change-tracked selection.
• 1967306: Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly when a destroy hook for the Modify Attributes dialog box raises a window.
• 1968576: Tables are no longer rendered incorrectly in the Edit pane when spanning in certain cases where an AOM attribute modified handler is active.
• 1970352: Arbortext Editor no longer displays a negative left indent.
• 1973641: Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly in certain situations when opening and resizing while loading a document containing tables.
• 1976595: Changes made to table element attribute values using the Modify Attributes dialog box are no longer tracked when using change tracking.
• 1976865: Arbortext Editor no longer fails to set table column names when the table contains a completely spanned row.

Composition and Publishing Fixes

• 1787253: When using Arbortext Advanced Print Publisher (APP) to publish a document, the footnote separator rule now honors the layout direction.
• 1787334: When using APP to publish a document, breaking across block or slim table columns when those columns progress from right to left now happens properly.
• 1865266: When publishing documents containing shaded areas in boxed regions to print or PDF using the FOSI engine, the shaded areas now properly break across pages.
• 1937484: A tag immediately following a cellfont processing instruction (PI) within a table entry now properly reflects the attributes of the cellfont PI when publishing to print or PDF using the FOSI engine.
• 1946985: When using the Arbortext Publishing Engine to publish documents to HTML using a stylesheet specifyingthat cascading style sheets are not to be written to external files, an empty CSS file folder is no longer created.
• 1949245: Line numbers are no longer off by one number in certain rare line breaking situations when publishing to print or PDF using the FOSI engine.
• 1952044: When using templates created for use with Arbortext Editor 5.3 and earlier, composing a document containing profile information to the web no longer generates error messages.
• 1958240: Color is now consistently continued from one page to the next when publishing to PDF with Adobe Distiller on Solaris.
• 1959829: Composing documents to XSL or web no longer terminates unexpectedly when the stylesheet OutputProperties disables the generated text in the BaseProperties.
• 1959832: Composing documents to XSL or web no longer terminates unexpectedly when the stylesheet specifies conditions on the context of an element styled as a footnote.
• 1969179: Certain EPS files created by CorelDraw which previously did not appear in published output are now properly published using the Arbortext Publishing Engine.
• 1975974: When using APP to publish a document, tables smaller than full width will now align appropriately based on the layout direction.
• 1976267: When publishing documents using APP, footnotes are removed when the footnote reference is carried forward to the next page.
• 1976983: When using APP to publish a document, indents applied to table cells will now honor the layout direction.
• 1977206: Corrected an issue creating broken links in PDFs published using APP.
• 1978112: When publishing documents using APP, content no longer renders off the page when pages have different frame sizes and right-to-left layout direction is used in the stylesheet.
• 1979285: When publishing documents using APP, the appropriate column separators are now drawn in tables using a right-to-left layout direction.
• 1979619: When publishing documents using APP, using size definitions in the indent following lines property of numbered or bulleted items no longer causes rendering issues in lists.
• 1980684: Improved line breaking when publishing Thai documents using APP.
• 1981064: Rotating flexible width blocks is now supported when publishing documents using APP.
• 1981086: When using Arbortext Styler to configure right-aligned numbers, padding the Align at value with an extra .25em to produce the proper alignment is no longer necessary.

PTC Server connection and Repository Adapter Fixes

• 1964950: When using the PTC Server connection to check out DITA map files, checkout performance is greatly improved.
• 1971800: Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly when using the PTC Server connection to view, edit, or get the properties of certain objects.

Arbortext Command Language (ACL) Fixes

• 1957125: The ACL function create_copypaste_map() no longer fails when the destination path does not exist. If the destination path can be created, the function succeeds. If it cannot be created, an error is reported.

We’ve posted the recording of the interactive web session held on February 24, 2010. In that session, Liz Fraley from Single-Sourcing Solutions and Dan Dial from Sequoia Etc showed how using Arbortext Content Manager helps resolve business needs. It all starts with managing content. Synchronizing your product information with your product development enables you to:

• Minimize risks by reducing errors and implementing fail safe controls
• Maintain control of valuable IP
• Create a fully audit-able records trail that meets the tightest of compliance requirements
• Reduce customer service costs
• Quickly adapt to market changes or enter new markets quickly
• Take advantage of global development centers through a single-source
• Drive revenue

Learn how to establish the best in class business practice of managing, controlling, and distributing the information used every day by your company and clients. Understand the difference between content management and document management. By the end of the video, you will have the information you need to take the next step to:

• minimize the risks that could impact your company’s profitability, and
• recognize potential new revenue opportunities for your company.

Please fill out the following form to see the video:

The M050 release of APP Version 10 is now available for download from the support site .

The release notes say this:

• Implemented support for wordsonly on tunderline, tstrikethrough and toverbar. (SPR 1664816)
• Added a secondary row number counter for use with cell rules and backgrounds using ‘Y’. Use <?lineno ‘Y’,x> modify and <?tbovrowz 2> to reset.
• Fixed an issue when a cell spans multiple rows and breaks mid row over a page, with a clean break between rows in the middle. (SPR 1865311)
• Fixed an issue when an overflow occurs within a table and the item that overflows is spanning. (SPR 1938744)
• Fixed fidelity of show string and fish counters when overflowing certain combinations of nested tables and blocks (SPR 1963504)
• Fixed issue with keep-with-previous where it wouldn’t work within a section that itself was being balanced (SPR 1971370)
• Fixed issue with special-top-drop for a cell that wasn’t being applied when within a block within a table of overflow mode 2 (SPR 1949029)
• Fixed crash seen after copy show string counters to a local temporary set. (SPR 1958149)
• Fixed some XML index creation issues that caused generation of broken XML. (SPR 1874111)
• Fixed generated index hierarchy when using sort_as^display_as entrties on multiple levels. (SPR 1874106)
• Fixed problem that prevented UI actions being overridden in siconusr.3ic. (SPR 1938208)
• Fixed several tag debugger issues. Also improved effectiveness of double-shift to trigger immediate breakpoint. Also improved double-shift when not using tag debugger. (SPRs 1775010, 1814975, 1814993, 1817258, 1772995)
• Implemented widow and orphan rows for tables.
• Fixed crash when using fBlockTab objects. (SPR 1974473)
• Fixed keeping between a row at the end of a table and a parent block and a following table.
• Fixed rotated footnotes surround frame size issue. (SPR 1919326)
• Fixed problem with OpenType font containing an empty index table. (SPR 1972664)
• Fixed problem with space at end of line containing leaders. (SPR 1970802)
• Fixed issue that prevented frame shift (tfshift) from working when using copyfit with ‘update real values’ enabled. (SPR 1936426)
• Added new mode to tlink to allow script files to be linked to tags but still be editable.
• Fixed issue where creating a new style sometimes copied the content stream into it. (SPR 1928649)
• Fixed issues with FOM fContent.insertPage() failing when inserting multiple pages or when there are no other pages in the document. (SPR 1976594)
• Implemented <?tbfmthdir> to flip <?tbfmth> when <?tbdir> is specified. (SPR 1975974)
• Implemented <?tbcindent>, <?tbcindentabs>, <?tbcindenttab>, <?tbcindenttab2>, <?tbcindentstart>, <?tbcabsstart>, <?tbcindentend> and <?tbcabsend> to work with <?tbdir>. (SPR 1976983)
• Fixed issue with column footers where the whole of a double nested block was being stripped off to make room for the footer. (SPR 1664778)
• Fixed breaking across block or slim table columns when those columns progress from right to left. (SPR 1787334)
• Fixed alignment of display maths in arabic paragraph. (SPR 1787253)
• Fixed resizing of block columns when flowing to a new frame or page of a different width and progression direction is set right to left. (SPR 1978112)
• Fixed an issue where a block or slim table could end prematurely if it had a repeating title and overflowed during a child table of overflow mode 2. (SPR 1980599)
• Fixed issue with sprint where combined footnotes did not trim back when their references got displaced. (SPR 1976267)
• Fixed bad line breaking issue with Thai text in brackets. (SPR 1980684)
• Implemented support for flexible width blocks being rotated. (SPR 1981064)

IsoDraw 7.1 M30 is fully supported on Windows 7. There are no issues revising IsoDraw illustrations created in any of the earlier versions using IsoDraw 7.1. You can also save backward if required; however, we always recommend saving in the current version.

If you’ve got active maintenance, you can always find system requirements and support information at PTC.com > Support > Product Support Centers > Arbortext > Related Resources – Help Centers > Arbortext IsoDraw.

Expand Arbortext IsoDraw and you will find current release notes in PDF. Near the top of the IsoDraw 7.1 M30 Release Notes you will find the system requirements. For those on older versions of IsoDraw you can learn about new capabilities here as well.

One last thing for people on active maintenance: we recommend you review your account settings. You can be notified whenever there are product updates.

Available for immediate download from PTC’s support site is the Arbortext 5.3 M180 release.

This maintenance release includes bug fixes only.  If you want to know all the details about this release, please check out the release notes.  If you have any questions about the release schedule, please reference the PTC Product Calendar at: http://www.ptc.com/cs/product_calendar/PTC_Product_Calendar.htm

Fixed SPRs in the M180 release:

• 1937484 — A tag immediately following a cellfont processing instruction (PI) within a table entry now properly reflects the attributes of the cellfont PI.
• 1944087 — The pending_delete callback is now properly called in response to a replace done using the Find/Replace dialog box. The callback now properly handles delete operations depending on the object types in the buffer.
• 1949245 — Line numbers are no longer off by one number in certain rare line breaking situations.
• 1954645 — Certain error conditions no longer cause line numbering processes to end early.
• 1955029 — Publishing DITA documents containing properly-named Astoria namespaced attributes no longer causes errors during composition.
• 1958240 — Color is now consistently continued from one page to the next when publishing to PDF with Adobe Distiller on Solaris.
• 1959336 — Publishing documents to print or PDF using a FOSI generated or exported from Arbortext Styler no longer results in buffer overflow messages when the ACL function fosivar_value() is called from an ACL system-func to get the value of a FOSI variable that has no value.
• 1960250 — Unknown attributes on Arbortext-specific tags are no longer treated as invalid attributes. Doing so prevents older versions of Arbortext Editor from reporting errors in documents saved by more recent versions of Arbortext Editor that contain new attributes on the Arbortext-specific tags.
• 1967306 — Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly when a destroy hook for the Modify Attributes dialog box raises a window.
• 1968576 — Tables are no longer rendered incorrectly in the Edit pane when spanning in certain cases where an AOM attribute modified handler is active.

Also included in this release are updates, new features, and bug fixes, addressing all previous maintenance updates of 5.3.  The release notes document is 202 pages, so I suggest you consult it for more information on specific SPR fixes and new features included for any release from 5.3 F000 through 5.3 M180.

Mathcad 15.0 is scheduled for release in Summer 2010[1]. You’ll get the same easy-to-use white board interface with natural math notation and units management found in Mathcad 14.0, plus new performance enhancements and features.

Here’s a sneak peek atMathcad 15.0:

• Design of Experiments – Use new functions and plot enhancements for constructing experimental design matrices, analyzing and screening factors, and developing statistical models.
• Knovel Math Content – Quickly access Knovel’s fully documented Mathcad worksheets and reduce the time it takes to solve your complex math problems.
• Truenumbers – Easily produce and reference engineering numbers within Mathcad that are traceable to a web-based Numberspace, ensuring viability of its units, tolerance, properties, subject, and context.
• Excel 2007 Support – Leverage the following Excel functions and features: READEXCEL(), WRITEEXCEL(), READFILE, the data import wizard, and the Excel Add-in.
• Windows 7 Support

Start making plans to upgrade now!

*Please Note: The timing of any product release, including any features or functionality, is subject to change at PTC’s discretion.

Mathcad Engage Virtual User Conference Available On Demand

If you missed the highly-successful and interactive Mathcad Engage Virtual User Conference, it’s now available in its entirety on demand until June 16. You can also visit the event website to learn about the strategy and future of Mathcad.

The next major release of Arbortext platform is scheduled for release in calendar Q1 2011.

Platform Support Plans for Arbortext Publishing Engine 6.0

The next major release of Arbortext Publishing Engine 6.0, scheduled for release in calendar Q1 2011, will provide support for Windows only. For more information about PTC’s end-of-product support for Arbortext Publishing Engine on Solaris® and Linux® Operating Systems, please review the formal communication . Rest assured, Arbortext Publishing Engine 5.4, including all of its maintenance releases, will continue to support Windows, Solaris and Linux platforms.

Arbortext 5.4 Help Center Best Practices

Improvements in Arbortext 5.4 have changed the way the Help Center is launched. For best practices on finding help topics please read TPI 149091 .

Join the Arbortext Technical Committee and Influence Arbortext Products

Become a member of the Arbortext Technical Committee and work closely with PTC Product Managers to direct future software development for Arbortext products and gain visibility into future releases. This has been a very successful program with approximately 80% of member suggestions appearing as product enhancements. To learn more, visit the PTC/User website, log in as a member and click the “TC” tab.

Windchill and ProductView 9.1 M050  are now available for download.  This release includes ProductView Standard & Collective Document Support 9.0 M100.

Please note that this release includes both a Service Pack and many replacement CDs/DVDs.  For details on the maintenance release, see the Customer Service web page. Here are the links to the latest Read This First (RTF) documents for this release:

• Windchill Read This First
• ProductView Read This First

The Windchill 9.1 Software Matrix (and all related matrices) and the ProductView 9.1 Software Matrix have been updated to reflect this release.

Windchill and ProductView 9.1 M050 include the following platform support and compatibility updates:

• General platform support updates:
  • Windchill support on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL 5.0) servers
  • Windchill support on HP-UX 11iV3 servers
  • Support for Arbortext Editor 5.3 and 5.4
  • Support for InterComm Expert 5.3 M050
  • Support for InterComm Conduit 2.1 M040
  • Support for Windchill Desktop Integration on 64bit Windows OS
  • Support for SQL Server database for Windchill on Red Hat Linux 5.x and AIX 6.1
  • Oracle Software Assistant Update – includes support for Oracle 11g October 2009 Oracle Critical Patch Update
• Windchill and ProductView CAD platform support updates:
  • Support for SolidWorks 2010
  • Support for NX7
  • Support for CoCreate Drafting 17
• ProductView MCAD Client updates:
  • Export to STEP and VRML formats supported in ProductView Professional
  • Export Drawing as DXF files supported in ProductView Professional
  • Product Structure supported in ProductView Lite and ProductView Express
  • Measurements supported in ProductView Express
  • Print Multiple Items command supports PDF files in ProductView Professional
  • Support for AutoCAD 2010
• ProductView Adapters updates:
  • Generation of PDF files supported as viewables for SolidWorks and UG NX
• Workgroup Manager for ECAD, InterComm Expert, and InterComm Conduit support for:
  • Cadence Allegro SPB 16.3
  • Mentor EE2007.7
  • DxDesigner 2007.7
  • Altium Designer – Summer 2009 and Winter 2009
  • PADS 9.0
  • OrCAD 15.5 and 16.2
• Workgroup Manager for CATIA V5 improvements:
  • Enhanced logging capabilities.
  • Ability to update CGR files without checkout of the parent assembly.
  • Automatic update of links after a save as or rename action is performed on Catia V5 data in Windchill.
  • Ability to perform save as and rename actions on family tables in workspace.
  • Support for CATProcess and CATAnalysis file types.
  • Ability to automatically download CATALOG updates and members to a Windchill workspace.
• New Windchill Gateway for Cadence Allegro Design Workbench (ADW).
• New functionality for encrypting passwords in Windchill.
• Ability to register multiple versions of the same CAD application within the Workgroup Manager client.
• Introduced a new preference allowing a customer to configure whether to exclusively use the 9.1 calculated approach for ‘linking’ 3D model’s drawings to its WTPart, or revert back to the pre-9.1 approach where an explicit Content link between drawing and WTPart is created during auto-associate.
• Windchill Vizualization Support for InSight logical attributes.