What's New in Oxygen XML Web Author 27.0.0
November 27, 2024
Related version: 27.1.0
Oxygen XML Web Author version 27.0.0 is the latest major release of the innovative web-based XML authoring tool. This release is packed with innovative new AI features and improvements that have been implemented in recent updates to the Oxygen AI Positron Assistant Enterprise for Web Author plugin, the powerful productivity-enhancing tool that provides you with the ability to use a specific AI engine (OpenAI, Microsoft Azure OpenAI, or Anthropic Claude) and assist in leveraging AI-generated content. Additionally, this release sees the implementation of new features for the file comparison and merge tool, support to make DITA maps editable in a specialized tree editor, various general editing improvements, and security enhancements.
AI Positron Assistant
Oxygen XML Web Author 27.0.0 supports the latest version of the Oxygen AI Positron
Assistant.
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
Retrieval-Augmented Generation
The new retrieval-augmented generation process leads to more meaningful AI
responses by using
information
retrieved from the current document (or a
documentation site bound to Oxygen Feedback) to enrich the AI
context.
Function Calls
Within the definition of custom actions, you can reference existing functions
that are called by the AI engine to interact with the application. This gives actions more
context information and allows for more accurate answers to be constructed by the AI. The
current
available pre-defined function calls for
Web Author are:
get_content_for_document_url- Retrieve the content of a certain document.get_current_document_plain_text_content- Obtains all text without markup from the current document open in the editor.get_current_document_marked_up_content- Obtains all text with markup from the current document open in the editor.get_current_editor_file_location- Retrieves the location (absolute path/URL) of the current file that is open in the editor.get_related_content_from_webhelp- Returns content from the associated Oxygen Feedback WebHelp system.get_text_around_caret- Obtains size-limited content around the current cursor location within the document open in the editor.save_document(URL,content)- Saves the document at the specified path and writes content to it. If a resource already exists at the specified URL, the content of the document will be overridden with the new content.
AI-Powered Actions
Update Content of a DITA Topic Based on Referenced Images
A new Update content based on images action can be used to
update the content of a DITA XML topic. This action reads the images referenced in the
topic and analyzes their content to identify any missing information from the
documentation, and suggests an update to the topic content. Furthermore, the action uses
the new GPT-4o engine to offer better results.
Improve Structure Action
A new Improve Structure AI action can be used to instruct the
AI to improve the selected DITA XML by adding additional structure or inline
elements.
Proofread Action
When editing DITA XML documents in Oxygen XML Web Author, a new
Proofread AI action is now available to aid you in identifying
potential issues in your content. The AI will then proceed to add comments in the content
regarding logical consistency problems, grammar or spelling mistakes, or readability and
comprehension issues.
Resolve Comments Action
A new Resolve Comments AI action was implemented in Oxygen XML
Web Author as well, enabling the AI to modify selected content based on suggestions in the
review
comments.
It also automatically removes the comments, saving you time during the cleanup process.
This action is available when working with DITA XML documents.
Generate Image Alternate Text AI Action
When editing DITA XML files, you can use the new Generate Image
Alternate Text AI action to generate an alternate text for an image that is
selected in the editing area.
Expand DITA Topic Draft
The new Expand Draft AI action enhances a draft of a DITA XML
topic by refining the content, adding consistent markup, and generating documentation
based on referenced images using Vision support. The AI searches for similar content in
topics gathered from related links or through Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). This
action is available for DITA XML documents.
Split Large DITA Topics
The Split Topic AI action splits large topics with numerous
subjects into multiple topic files. The newly created topics are also conveniently
referenced in the DITA map.
Miscellaneous
Store Favorite Prompts
A Favorites drop-down button located in the header of the AI
Positron Assistant pane can be used to store favorite prompts during editing sessions and
quickly access them at any time.
Edit Messages Sent to AI
You can edit the message that
you
previously sent to the AI by clicking a
convenient edit button that appears to the right of your message in the response area.
Once you submit your edited message, the AI regenerates the response. This streamlines the
process of fine-tuning the results to suit your needs.
AI Chat Gets Context Automatically
When directly initiating a new chat with the AI (without invoking an action),
the document type and any content selected in the main editor area is automatically passed
as context for the conversation. This feature allows you to get responses more tailored
for that specific document.
Attach Image, XML, or Text File to a Chat
Users can attach multiple images, XML, or text files to a chat message by
clicking on an interface button. The selected file will be inserted into the chat,
allowing the AI to utilize it for additional context during the
conversation.
Intuitive Identification of XML Content
An AI response might contain explanations followed by the actual response
wrapped in the
```xml marker. This type of response is now detected and
the block of XML code can be inserted or previewed.Enterprise Edition
Oxygen AI Positron Assistant Plugin Enterprise for Web Author
Your Web Author server can integrate an Oxygen AI Positron Assistant
Plugin Enterprise for Web Author that provides the ability to use a specific AI
engine (OpenAI, Microsoft Azure OpenAI, or
Anthropic Claude) for chat purposes or to run useful predefined actions.
Admins who integrate this plugin also have the ability to filter the list of AI actions,
as an additional option has been included in the Preferences page that enable users to
specify which actions should no longer appear in the list of available actions. For more
details, see Integrating Web Author with AI Positron Assistant
Enterprise.
Filter List of Available AI Actions
Users who integrate the Oxygen AI Positron Assistant Plugin Enterprise
for Web Author now have the ability to filter the list of AI actions to exclude
those that are not used. An option was added in the preferences page where you can specify
which actions will no longer be presented in the list of available actions.
General Editing/Reviewing
Review with Color Highlights
You can now highlight document content using one of the predefined colors
accessible from a convenient toolbar drop-down menu. These highlights can be used to
signal to the reviewers that some content needs special attention. The color highlights
are also presented in the review panel where you can manage them.
Specialized Text Editor
For Git integrations, a new specialized editor was added to enable the editing
of text files. The editor comes with general editing features, such as actions to
find/replace, cut/copy/paste, undo/redo, and compare with another file or
version.
Outline Pane Compatible with Concurrent Editing
The Outline pane can now be used in concurrent editing
sessions. Previously, the pane was shown as read-only.
Refresh Topic Titles in a DITA Map
You can refresh the topic titles that are displayed in the DITA map tree by
using a new Refresh Titles action that is found in the contextual menu
when right-clicking within the DITA Map pane.
Compare/Merge
Diff and Merge Support for Markdown and Other Non-XML Files
You can now use the file comparison and merge tool to compare Markdown, text
files, and other types of
non-XML
files side-by-side. You can
merge
changes to the file (just like you can with
XML files) and the differences are re-computed (automatically for small
files).
Manage Comments and Tracked Changes Using Contextual Actions
When using Web Author's merge tool for documents that contain comments or
tracked changes, you now have access to various comment and change tracking actions in the
contextual menu and on hover (e.g. Add Comment,
Delete Comment, Reply, Accept Changes,
Reject Changes). This makes it possible to easily manage comments and
tracked changes within the comparison/merge tool.
Text Mode File Comparisons
A new Toggle Text Mode button is available on the File
Comparison toolbar to show the differences between the two files on the XML source (in
Text
mode).
This allows you to easily see changes that could not be seen in the visual mode (e.g.
processing instructions or XML comments).
Security
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Certification
Syncro Soft, the company that develops the Oxygen XML suite of products, has
earned the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, demonstrating a strong commitment to
implementing top-tier information security practices and ensuring that the users' data is
protected to the highest standards.
Content Security Policy
The
Administration page now includes a Content Security Policy (CSP) section where you can
disable or relax it. The Content Security
Policy provides a standard HTTP header that allows website owners to declare approved
sources of content that browsers should be allowed
to
load and execute on that page. It helps to
prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) and related attacks.
Custom Content Security Policy
A new option was added in the Content Security Policy (CSP) section of the
Administration page where you can configure your own custom security policy when you have
a custom plugin or customization that requires a CSP.
Admin Authentication via OpenID Connect (OIDC)
Authentication
to
the Administration page can be configured to use OpenID Connect (OIDC) instead of the
default user/password
authentication.
The OIDC authentication is recommended since is allows you to enable 2FA. For more
information, see Using OIDC
Authentication.
IPV6 Support
Web Author has been tested and works with IPV6.
Customization and Integration
Specialized DITA Map Tree Editor
An experimental feature is available to make DITA maps editable in a
specialized tree editor that was inspired by the DITA Maps Manager from
Oxygen XML Editor. This tree editing mode makes it easy to see and organize maps, focusing
on the structure and hierarchy of topics.
The following is a list of some of the features available for editable DITA maps:
- Manage and organize DITA maps by moving references via promote/demote/up/down actions, dragging and dropping references, or using cut/copy/paste actions.
- Add topic or map references using a toolbar or contextual menu action.
- Create a new DITA topic or map using a contextual menu action.
- Add Bookmap-specific parts (frontmatter, chapter, appendix, etc.) using contextual menu actions.
- Insert key definitions using contextual menu actions.
- Edit DITA map properties using a contextual menu action.
- Edit profiling attributes using a contextual menu action. The profiling attributes are easier to manage in the tree editor since it provides better visualization than in the visual editor.
- Hover over topic references to see information about the node, including profiling attribute information.
For information about enabling this feature, see Editable DITA Map Pane (Experimental).
Force Excluded Content to be Hidden or Grayed Out
The
show.excluded.content loading option that is used to
control whether content excluded by a DITAVAL is hidden or shown as grayed out now accepts
two additional possible values (forced.true and
forced.false). If the value of the parameter is set to
forced.true, the content excluded by the DITAVAL filter will always be
shown as being grayed out and the similar option in the UI is hidden. If set to
forced.false, the excluded content is hidden and the similar option in
the UI is also hidden.Enable Text and Markdown Editing on Your File Server
A new
supportsTextEditing URL parameter can be set to
true to enable the editing of Text and Markdown files.
This
feature is disabled by default because integrators must ensure that it works properly,
often being required to apply file server-specific customizations (e.g. a custom save
action). For Git integrations, this parameter is set to
true by default so this parameter only needs to be set for other types of
integrations.Support for Alfresco Ticket Authentication
Web Author now supports authentication to Alfresco via Alfresco Ticket. The application automatically logs the user in
if the token is specified in the
alfrescoTicket URL
parameter.Programmatically Refresh Topic Titles in DITA Map Pane
The
sync.api.dita.DitaMapView.refreshNodes API was added to
refresh the titles of topic references in the DITA map tree. It has an optional
href argument that, if specified, the method will just update the title
of the nodes with the given URL. If not specified, all nodes will be refreshed. It can be
invoked like this:
workspace.viewManager.getView("dita-map-view").refreshNodes().Display Custom Labels for Diff Editors
The new leftEditorLabel and rightEditorLabel
URL parameters can be used to display custom labels for the left and right file comparison
editors.
Component Updates
Apache HTTP Client Libraries 4.5.14
Updated the Apache HTP Client libraries to version 4.5.14.
Apache Shiro 2.0.1
Updated the Apache Shiro framework to version 2.0.1.
Apache Tomcat 9.0.97
Updated the Apache Tomcat server to version 9.0.97.
Deprecated/Removed Components
WildFly Deprecated
Support for deploying Web Author in WildFly was deprecated.
WebDAV Server Plugin
The WebDAV server plugin is no longer supported and was removed from the
installation kits.