Key PatternStream Features
PatternStream has a number of major capabilities that makes it the best database publishing solution:
- Rapid publishing project prototyping
- One set of information sources to multiple outputs including print, web, CD
- Database independent – connects to multiple ODBC and SQL compliant databases for publishing
- Direct XML import and export capability
- Flexible formatting capability for tables, images, multi-column text, and pages
- Proven technology
- Setup and modifications are performed using a graphical user interface (GUI)
- Allows projects to be efficiently published in-house
- Integrates directly with Adobe FrameMaker and InDesign
Other features include:
- Desktop or server implementation
- Complex table structure creation that includes multiple straddles, shaded cells, embedded graphics, etc.
- Ability to create tables that format themselves dynamically based on database criteria
- Easy to generate interactive indices and table of contents
- Rapid database publishing of documents
- GUI that eliminates the need to learn a programming, meta, or tagging language
- GUI control of project setup and publishing
- Connection to multiple data sources (databases and flat files) simultaneously
- Ability to obtain data using SQL statements, stored procedures, XML and HTML files, and from flat files
- FrameMaker, PDF, RTF, Word and other digital file format importation capability
- Build SQL queries and bind the results and parameters to internal variable objects
- Ability to define nested queries
- Marker placement in data strings for automated hyperlinking, indexing, or cross referencing
- Placement of objects within the page based on conditions assigned at the database level
- Import and dynamically scale graphics to fit cells or scale cells to fit images
- Ability to define complex heading and footing behavior when tables break from within the database
- Direct interface with FrameMaker and InDesign templates for formatting control
- Template selection dynamically from database criteria
- Background page selection based on database criteria
- Output to multiple flows within a FrameMaker and InDesign document page
PatternStream also takes advantage of FrameMaker’s and InDesign’s superior capabilities which include:
- Short and long document publishing
- Multiple output filters and converters (PostScript, PDF, HTML, XML, and word processing applications)
- Multiple input filters and converters
- Information cross-referencing and hyperlinking
- Creates hyperlinks that work in PDF and HTML
- Automatic table of contents and indices
- Special character insertion
- Multiple master pages
- Book functions