Layout Functions

The Publisher’s layout functions are defined in the namespace urn:speedata:2009/publisher/functions/en (denoted by sd: below). In addition, there are XPath standard functions and user-defined functions.

Optional parameters are marked with square brackets. The ellipsis ... means the last value can be repeated.

Page and Grid

sd:current-page()

Return the current page number.

sd:current-column([<area>])

Return the current column. If area is given, return the column of the given positioning area.

sd:current-row([<area>])

Return the current row. If area is given, return the row of the given positioning area.

sd:current-framenumber(<area>)

Return the current frame number of the given positioning area.

sd:number-of-columns([<area>])

Number of columns in the current grid or given area.

sd:number-of-rows([<area>])

Number of rows in the current grid or given area.

sd:allocated(x,y,[<areaname>],[<framenumber>])

Return true if the grid cell is allocated.

sd:first-free-row(<area>)

Return the first free row of this area (experimental).

sd:pagewidth(<unit>)

Get the width of the page in the given unit (as a number without unit). Example: sd:pagewidth("mm") returns 210 for an A4 page. This function initializes a page.

sd:pageheight(<unit>)

Similar to sd:pagewidth(), for the height.

sd:length(<what>[,<unit>])

Get the length of what in the given unit (without unit). Example: sd:length('_bleed','mm') returns 3 if bleed is set to 3mm. what can be _bleed, _pagewidth or _pageheight. Unit defaults to mm.

Images

sd:imagewidth(<filename>,[pagenumber],[pdfbox],[<unit>])

Natural width of the image in grid cells. With an optional unit, returns width as a multiple of that unit. Note: if the image is not found, the placeholder width is returned. Arguments can contain a page number and PDF box, see images.

sd:imageheight(<filename>,[pagenumber],[pdfbox],[<unit>])

Natural height of the image in grid cells. See sd:imagewidth() for details.

sd:aspectratio(<filename>,[pagenumber],[pdfbox])

Return width/height ratio (< 1 for portrait, > 1 for landscape).

sd:number-of-pages(<filename>)

Return the number of pages of the given (PDF) file.

sd:file-exists(<filename>)

Return true() if the file exists in the search path.

Groups

sd:group-width(<name>[,<unit>])

Return the group’s width in grid cells. With an optional unit, returns width as a multiple of that unit. Example: sd:group-width('My group','mm').

sd:group-height(<name>[,<unit>])

Return the group’s height. See sd:group-width() for details.

Text and Formatting

sd:format-number(<number>, <thousands separator>, <decimal separator>)

Format the number with separators. Example: sd:format-number(12345.67, ',','.') returns 12,345.67.

sd:format-string(<object>,...,<format>)

Format objects using printf()-style instructions.

sd:dummytext([<count>])

Return “Lorem ipsum…” dummy text. The count controls repetition.

sd:loremipsum()

Alias for sd:dummytext().

sd:markdown(<text>)

Render text as markdown. See Markdown.

sd:decode-html(<node>)

Convert text like <i>italic</i> into HTML markup.

sd:symbol(<value>[,<value>,...])

Return characters from the current font by glyph ID. Example: sd:symbol(123, 444).

sd:romannumeral(<number>)

Convert the number to a lowercase Roman numeral.

Variables and State

sd:variable(<name>[, ...])

Same as $name, but allows dynamic name construction. If $i is 3, sd:variable('foo',$i) reads $foo3.

sd:variable-exists(<name>)

True if the variable is defined.

sd:attr(<name>[, ...])

Same as @name, but allows dynamic attribute name construction.

sd:alternating(<type>, <text>[,<text>,...])

Return the next argument on each call. Example: sd:alternating("tbl", "White","Gray") for alternating table colors.

sd:keep-alternating(<type>)

Use the current value of sd:alternating() without advancing.

sd:reset-alternating(<type>)

Reset the state for sd:alternating().

sd:even(<number>)

True if the number is even.

sd:odd(<number>)

True if the number is odd.

sd:mode(<string>[,<string>,...])

Return true() if one of the given modes is set. See controlling the layout.

sd:randomitem(<value>[,<value>,...])

Return one of the values randomly.

Page Markers and Directories

sd:pagenumber(<mark>)

Return the page number where the given mark was placed. See Mark.

sd:visible-pagenumber([<number>])

Return the user-visible page number for the given real page number. Without argument, uses the current page.

sd:firstmark(<pagenumber>)

The first marker of the given page. Useful for dictionary headings.

sd:lastmark(<pagenumber>)

The last marker of the given page.

sd:merge-pagenumbers(<pagenumbers>,[<range separator>],[<space separator>],[hyperlinks])

Merge page numbers. "1, 3, 4, 5" becomes 1, 3–5. Sorts and removes duplicates. With hyperlinks = true(), page numbers become clickable.

sd:count-saved-pages(<name>)

Return the number of pages saved with <SavePages>.

Units and Calculation

sd:tounit(<target unit>,<value>[,<decimals>])

Convert a value to another unit. Example: sd:tounit('pt','1pc') returns 12.

sd:dimexpr(<unit>,<expression>)

Evaluate a calculation with units. Example: sd:dimexpr('cm',' (40mm + 2cm) / 2 ') returns 3.0.

Files and Binary Data

sd:decode-base64(<string>)

Convert a base64-encoded string to binary content.

sd:filecontents(<binarycontent>)

Save the content to a temporary file and return the filename.

Hash Functions

sd:md5(<value>[,<value>,...])

Return the MD5 hash as a hex string. Example: sd:md5('hello ', 'world') returns 5eb63bbbe01eeed093cb22bb8f5acdc3.

sd:sha1(<value>[,<value>,...])

Return the SHA-1 hash as a hex string.

sd:sha256(<value>[,<value>,...])

Return the SHA-256 hash as a hex string.

sd:sha512(<value>[,<value>,...])

Return the SHA-512 hash as a hex string.