Re: [docbook-apps] PDF Chapter/Part Pagebreaks

[Bob Stayton <bobs@sco.com>]

On Wed, Nov 26, 2003 at 01:30:43PM +1100, Janeene Webb wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Am using Saxon & FOP to generate PDF's from Docbook, with the 1.62.4 version 
> Stylesheets.
> 
> Am running into problems with some of the automatic pagebreaking for 
> parts/chapters. I need to be able to start the first chapter in a part on the 
> same page as the Part Title for Parts that don't have a Part Intro.
> 
> Likewise, I'm getting the generation of blank pages before parts where I'm not 
> really wanting them in some places.
> 
> How can I turn off the automatic page breaking, so that I can control which 
> bits need page breaks before them using the beginpage element in the xml 
> document?

Hi Janeene,
It is a common misunderstanding that the beginpage element
is used to create a page break in the output.  It doesn't.
That element is used to record where there was a page break
in a document before it was converted to DocBook.

However, you can insert a manual page break using a
processing instruction.  See:

http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/docbook-apps/200311/msg00098.html

Your need to turn off all automatic page breaking is not
easy to do in DocBook XSL.  Parts and chapters start
a page-sequence in the FO output.  A page sequence always
starts on a new page.  It isn't possible to turn that
off with a parameter.  You would have to customize the
template matching chapter in fo/component.xsl to make starting
the page-sequence conditional on the content of the part
container element.

You can turn off the extra blank pages by not using double
sided output.

-- 

Bob Stayton                                 400 Encinal Street
Publications Architect                      Santa Cruz, CA  95060
Technical Publications                      voice: (831) 427-7796
The SCO Group                               fax:   (831) 429-1887
                                            email: bobs@sco.com