Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Altova Authentic Enterprise EditionAltova Authentic Enterprise Edition is a powerful WYSIWYG XML and electronic form editor designed for business users and technical authors who need to create, edit, and validate XML content without learning XML syntax. Whether you’re deploying Authentic in a single department or across an enterprise, these practical tips and tricks will help you increase productivity, ensure consistency, and get the most value from the platform.
1. Understand the role of schemas and DTDs
Schemas (XSD) and DTDs define the structure, allowed elements, and data types for your XML documents. Authentic reads these definitions to present a constrained, user-friendly editing environment.
- Always start by validating your schemas against XML standards and real sample documents.
- For complex projects, modularize schemas into reusable components (imports/includes) to reduce duplication and simplify maintenance.
- Use schema annotations (xsd:annotation/xsd:documentation) to provide user-facing help directly inside Authentic.
2. Create clear, user-focused form views
Authentic can render XML documents as forms that business users can edit visually.
- Design views with end-users in mind: hide advanced technical fields, group related fields, and use descriptive labels.
- Use Authentic View and Page Layout features to control which elements appear and how they’re arranged.
- Implement validation messages and inline help for required fields to reduce data-entry errors.
3. Leverage CSS and XSLT for consistent styling and publishing
Authentic supports CSS for presentation and XSLT for transforming XML into publishable formats (HTML, PDF, etc.).
- Create a central stylesheet library to enforce corporate branding across all documents.
- Use XSLT templates to automate common transformations and reduce manual publishing steps.
- Test transformations with a broad set of sample documents to catch edge cases early.
4. Use reusable templates and snippets
Templates speed up document creation and ensure consistency.
- Build standard document templates for recurring document types (reports, contracts, product sheets).
- Create content snippets (pre-filled sections or frequently used XML fragments) and make them available to users.
- Combine templates with metadata fields to automate indexing, search, and downstream processing.
5. Configure role-based access and permissions
In enterprise deployments, not all users should have the same capabilities.
- Integrate Authentic with your directory services (LDAP/Active Directory) where possible to centralize user management.
- Define roles (author, reviewer, approver, publisher) and set permissions for editing, publishing, and schema modification.
- Use version control and check-in/check-out workflows to prevent conflicting edits and maintain an audit trail.
6. Automate validation and QA checks
Automated validation prevents incorrect XML from entering your systems.
- Enable real-time validation in Authentic so users get immediate feedback during editing.
- Implement additional QA scripts (XQuery, Schematron) to enforce business rules that go beyond structural validation.
- Schedule batch validation tasks for large document repositories to find and fix issues en masse.
7. Integrate with content management and publishing systems
Authentic works best as part of a broader content lifecycle.
- Connect Authentic to your CMS or document repository via APIs or file-system integration for seamless storage and retrieval.
- Automate publishing pipelines: on save or approval, trigger XSLT transformations, PDF generation, or delivery to external systems.
- Preserve metadata and version history during integration to support search and compliance.
8. Train users with role-specific materials
User adoption hinges on good training and documentation.
- Create short, role-specific quick-start guides: one for authors, one for reviewers, another for admins.
- Record screencasts showing common tasks (creating a document from a template, running validation, publishing).
- Maintain an internal FAQ and trouble-shooting guide based on actual user support requests.
9. Optimize performance for large documents and repositories
Large XML files and big repositories can slow editing and validation.
- Break very large documents into manageable components and assemble them through XInclude or reference mechanisms.
- Use indexing and caching in your CMS to speed up retrieval and searches.
- Monitor Authentic’s resource usage and adjust client and server memory settings where possible.
10. Maintain governance and a change management process
A formal process keeps document quality high and reduces risk.
- Establish a governance committee responsible for schema changes, template updates, and publishing rules.
- Use a change control process with staging, review, and rollback capabilities for schema and template updates.
- Track metrics (validation error rates, publishing turnaround, user satisfaction) to measure improvements and justify investments.
Altova Authentic Enterprise Edition is most effective when technical best practices are combined with strong user-centered design, automation, and governance. Implement these tips incrementally — start with templates and validation, then add integrations, training, and governance — and you’ll see faster adoption, fewer errors, and more consistent, brand-aligned content across your organization.
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