OpenTBS is a plug-in for the TinyButStrong Template Engine.
TinyButStrong is a PHP Template Engine which has special template syntax and allows you to design templates in their natural editing tools. But it normally works only for Text files, including XML and HTML.
With TinyButStrong and its plug-in OpenTBS, you can use the template engine to merge OpenOffice documents and Ms Office documents with lot of facilities. All OpenDocument Format (ODF) and Office Open XML (OOXML) can be merged with OpenTBS, and also XPS files (XPS is a PDF competitor provided by Microsoft). In fact, all zip archives containing Xml/Html/Text files can be merged with OpenTBS.
You should know Template Engines and more specifically TinyButStrong to use OpenTBS.
Just put the file "tbs_plugin_opentbs.php" with your PHP scripts.
It is important to figure out that OpenOffice and Ms Office (since version 2007) documents are technically zip archives containing XML files, even if the extension of the document is not ".zip". Those zip archives can contain other file types like pictures or sounds, but the document structure and the text contents are saved as XML files. The XML Synopsis summarizes the key entities of XML sub-files contained in OpenOffice and Ms Office documents.
TinyButStrong can merge XML files, but cannot read zip archives by itself. The plug-in OpenTBS extends the TinyButStrong methods LoadTemplate() and Show() to make them working with zip archives. But you do not have to bother with it because OpenTBS is managing archives in a way that is invisible for you.
When the OpenTBS plugin is installed, the LoadTemplate() method becomes able to first load a zip archive (an OpenOffice or Ms Office document), and then to load the contents of any XML or Text files stored in the archive. You can then merge the contents of XML or Text files with all features of the TinyButStrong template engine. At the end, the Show() method does render the entire zip archive including modified stored files. The render can be done as an HTTP download, a news file on the server's disk, or in a PHP string.
Since OpenTBS version 1.3, you can also add and delete files in the archive. Before this version you could only modify existing files in the archive.
OpenTBS has automatic extension recognition. When you load a document which has one of the following extensions { odt, odg, ods, odf, odp, odm, docx, xlsx, pptx }, then the main XML file of the archive are automatically loaded, and some special character conversion are preset. For example, for all OpenDocument files, the stored file "content.xml" is automatically loaded.
Since version 1.6.0,
if the extension is not recognized then OpenTBS also try to find the document by the sub-file presence. And if all fails, then you can force the document type using a special command.
See command OPENTBS_SELECT_FILE.
OpenTBS manages XML files that are UTF8 encoded. But by default, it assumes that all the data to merge (which can come from PHP or SQL) is Ascii encoded, and thus it performs conversions. If you want to define the data conversion, then you can use one of the following constants:
Please note that if you need to change the data conversion for one or few fields only in your template, then you can use parameter "htmlconv" (see the TBS documentation for more details).
Render options for OpenTBS:
When you use OPENTBS_STRING then there is no output for the client. But instead, the binary source of the archive is placed into property $TBS->Source. This feature can be useful, for example, when you want to place the merged document into an email as an attached file.
Block Alias are supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.0, they can work only with TBS 3.8.0 or higher.
The Block Alias are wrappers for defining TBS blocks on usual Libre Office and Ms Office entities.
This helps to not referring directly to XML entities and to harmonize block definitions between types of documents.
For example: you can use block=tbs:row instead of block=table:table-row.
Some Block Alias, such as tbs:page and tbs:section, are also defining an entity that you cannot have with normal XML entities.
| Alias | Desciption | LibreOffice | Ms Office | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writer (odt) |
Calc (ods) |
Impress (odp) |
Word (docx) |
Excel (xlsx) |
PowerPoint (pptx) |
||
| tbs:p | A paragraph. | yes | no | yes | yes | no | yes |
| tbs:title | A title. | yes | no | yes | yes | no | yes |
| tbs:section | A section of text. | yes | no | no | yes | no | no |
| tbs:table | A table inserted in the document. | yes | a sheet | yes | yes | no | yes |
| tbs:row | A row of a table. | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| tbs:cell | A cell of a table. | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes |
| tbs:comment | A comment. | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| tbs:page | A page defined by an explicit page break before a paragraph. | yes | no | no | yes | no | no |
| tbs:slide | A slide. | no | no | yes | no | no | no |
| tbs:sheet | A worksheet. | a table | yes | no | no | no | no |
| tbs:draw | A single draw, or set of draws (Ms Word) | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| tbs:drawgroup | A group of draws. | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| tbs:drawitem | A single draw item among a set of items. | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| tbs:listitem | An item of a bullet list. | yes | no | yes | yes | no | yes |
This command changes the values of a series in a Chart of the document. The chart will be automatically actualized when the merged document is opened because OpenTBS also breaks the link between the chart and its cached view. It can also delete or rename the series in the chart.
The result is true if the series is modified with success, otherwise the result is false.
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
$ChartRef |
This value can be either:
You can use the command OPENTBS_DEBUG_INFO in order to view all charts in the document that OpenTBS can manage. Deprecated since version 1.8.0: in previous version, $ChartRef could be the internal name of the XML file that contains the chart definition, with or without the extension. Such as 'chart1'. |
$SeriesNumOrName |
Exact caption of the series in the chart, or its number (first is number 1). Typically 'Series 1' or 1. |
$NewValues |
The new data of the series. Must be an array, or value false if you want to delete the series. The array can store data with 3 possibilities:
#1: $NewValues = array( array('cat1', 'cat2', 'cat3', ...), array(val1, val2, val3, ...) ); Notes :
|
$NewLegend |
Optional. The new caption of the series. |
In the example above, $x is a PHP global variable containing the name of an external picture file (relative or absolute path). Of course you can use this feature on TBS fields merged with MergeBlock().
When a TBS field having "ope=changepic" is merged in the template, then OpenTBS will search the first picture located before the field (see parameter tagpos below for another position), and then it will change the picture assuming that the value of the field is the path for a picture file on the server. You don't have to care about loading the picture file in the document, OpenTBS will manage this for you.
Note that parameter "ope=changepic" is a feature provided by the OpenTBS plug-in, which extends the "ope" parameter natively present with TBS.
Instead of change a picture with a TBS tag, you can also do it manually at the PHP side using the command OPENTBS_CHANGE_PICTURE.
Note that since OpenTBS version 1.8.0, you can change picture in Ms Excel worksheet. You must put the TBS field inside the picture description and use parameter "tagpos=inside". Before this version it was not possible to change pictures in an Ms Excel worksheet.
In order to simplify your coding, they are other complementary optional parameters:
| Parameter | Description | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tagpos | Supported values are "after", "before" and "inside". This option indicates the position of the TBS tag relativelly to the target picture. You can use "tagpos=inside" when you put the TBS field in the Description or Title of the image (LibreOffice/OpenOffice or Ms Office).
Parameter tagpos is supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.0. Previsouly the TBS tag had to be placed after the picture. |
||||||||
| from | This option reformulates the path of the new picture to insert. The parameter's value can contain the [val] keyword or any [var] fields, they work the same way as with parameter "file".
Example: [onshow.x;ope=changepic;from='../pic/[val].gif'] |
||||||||
| as | This option reformulates the name of the picture that it will take inside the document. It is rare to need it, but it can help in some cases. Note that the external picture file is not renamed. The new name must be defined without path.
The parameter's value can contain the [val] keyword or any [var] fields, they work the same way as with parameter "file".
Example: [onshow.x;ope=changepic;as='[val].gif'] |
||||||||
| default | This option defines the picture that should be used when the expected one is not found. The parameter's value must be the path of a file on the server, or the keyword "current". If the value is "current" then OpenTBS will let the current picture of the template if the new picture is not found. Since OpenTBS version 1.8.0 the default value is "current". In prior versions, there was no default value and an OpenTBS error message was prompted if the new image was not found. |
||||||||
| adjust | Adjust the size of the picture in the document. This parameter requires that PHP is configured with the GD extension, which is usually the case. Values can be on of the followings:
|
In speaksheets (Ms Excel or LibreOffice Calc), cells values may be formated but also typed. For example, a cell value may be typed as String, Numerical, Boolean or Date.
Unfortunately, as soon as you enter a TBS tag in a cell, the cell it is typed as String by the software. This may not be corresponding to the final value you wanted after the merging.
For those situations, TBS offers a parameter like "ope=cellType". The cell type will be changed during the merging and the merged value will be implicitly converted by TBS to fit to the expected type.
| Expected Cell Type | Parameter | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Number | ope=tbs:num | |
| Boolean | ope=tbs:bool | |
| Date/time | ope=tbs:date | |
| Time only | ope=tbs:time | For XLSX, it's an alias of ope=tbs:date |
| Currency | ope=tbs:curr | For XLSX, it's an alias of ope=tbs:num |
| Percentage | ope=tbs:percent | For XLSX, it's an alias of ope=tbs:num |
The keywoks in the table above are supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.1.
In previous version you should use keywords: odsNum, odsBool, odsDate, odsTime, odsCurr, odsPercent, xlsxNum, xlsxBool and xlsxDate.
This feature is supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.0.
Parameter "ope=delcol" enables you to delete the columns you want in any table of an Ms Word Document. It doesn't work for LibreOffice for now.
You have to put a TBS field anywhere inside the table with the following parameters:
Both parameters "colnum" and "colshift" can contain [val] and [var] fields. When the TBS field is merged, the specified columns will be deleted and the TBS field is erased.
Parameter "ope=mergecell" enables you to merge cells vertically in a table of an Ms Word Document. It doesn't work for LibreOffice for now.
This can work only for a block merged on the rows of the table. Note that the TBS field with "ope=mergecell" does not display any value, it only produces the merge.
The following commands are supported since OpenTBS version 1.7.0 :
| Command | Desciption |
|---|---|
| For all types of documents | |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_SELECT_MAIN) | Select and load the main sub-file in the opened template. For example in a Writer document, or an Ms Word document, this command can bring you back from the merging of a header to the main body. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_SELECT_FILE, $SubFile) | Select a sub-file in the opened template. Return false if the sub-file is not found. If the sub- file is stored in a subfolder, then indicate the full path. For example: 'word/document.xml'. Before OpenTBS 1.9.0, selecting a sub-file had to be done using $TBS->LoadTemplate('#' . $SubFile);. Command OPENTBS_SELECT_FILE is supported since OpenTBS version 1.9.0. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_CHANGE_PICTURE, $PicRef, $File [, $Default] [, $Adjust] ) |
Change one or several pictures in the current sub-file. This command does the same as the changepic feature. The difference is that the command needs no TBS tags in the template.
Example: Does not work with XLSX yet. Command OPENTBS_CHANGE_PICTURE is supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.0. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DELETE_COMMENTS) | Delete all usual user comments in the opened template. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DELETE_ELEMENTS, $Elements) | Delete XML elements in the current sub-file. $Elements must be an array of strings. For example: $Elements = array('w:bookmarkStart', 'w:bookmarkEnd') This will delete all bookmarks in an Ms Word document. |
| For documents (ODT and DOCX) | |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_SELECT_HEADER, [$Type[, $Offset]) $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_SELECT_FOOTER, [$Type[, $Offset]) |
Select the sub-file corresponding to the header of the footer. Return true if succeed, false if it fails. This command is useless for LibreOffice/OpenOffice because all headers and footers are saved in the main sub-file. Nevertheless using it will select the main sub-file without raising an error. Those commands do not work for XLSX or PPTX since headers and footers are saved in each sheet or slide. The command will return false. $Type must be one of the following values (default is OPENTBS_DEFAULT):
$Offset can help when they are different headers and footers of the same type defined in the document. A document can have several sections and each section can have its own header and footer. But they can also have headers and footers linked to another section. Such that a document can have several headers and footers of the same type in a single document. Use the argument $Offset in order to select other one. Default value is 0. Command OPENTBS_SELECT_HEADER and OPENTBS_SELECT_FOOTER are supported since OpenTBS version 1.9.0. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_GET_HEADERS_FOOTERS) | Return an array of all sub-file corresponding to any header and footer in the document. Command OPENTBS_GET_HEADERS_FOOTERS is supported since OpenTBS version 1.9.0. |
| For workbooks (ODS and XLSX) | ()|
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_SELECT_SHEET, $NumOrName) | Select the sub-file corresponding to $NumOrName. This command will raise an error if the opened template is not an expected document. This command is useless for LibreOffice/OpenOffice because all sheets/slides are all saved in the main sub-file. Nevertheless using it will select the main sub-file without raising an error. $NumOrName is an identifier that can be either an integer corresponding to the index of the sheet/slide, or a string corresponding to the name of the sheet/slide. Use command $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DEBUG_INFO) to list all id and name of sheets/slides in the current document. Command OPENTBS_SELECT_SLIDE is supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.0. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DISPLAY_SHEETS, $NumOrNames[, $Visible]) | Make one or several sheets/slides visible or hidden. This command will raise an error if the opened template is not an expected document.
Command OPENTBS_DISPLAY_SLIDES is supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.0. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DELETE_SHEETS, $NumOrNames[, $Delete]) | Make one or several sheets te be deleted or not. This command will raise an error if the opened template is not a Workbook.
Please note that for now, you must not delete a sheet that contains a Pivot Table in a XLSX workbook because this will produce an error when the workbook is opened. Command OPENTBS_DELETE_SLIDES is supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.0. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_MERGE_SPECIAL_ITEMS) | Merge special items relatively to the current sub-file. For now, it only works with Ms Excel workbooks. This command makes automatic fields ([onload] and [onshow]) merged in pictures embedded in the current selected sheet. This can be useful for changing pictures in Ms Excel. Command OPENTBS_MERGE_SPECIAL_ITEMS is supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.0. |
| For presentations (ODP and PPTX) | |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_SELECT_SLIDE, $NumOrName[, $Master]) | Same as command OPENTBS_SELECT_SHEET but for slides. $Master is a boolean to indicate if you want to select a master slide in the document. Default value is false. Command OPENTBS_SELECT_SLIDE is supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.0. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DISPLAY_SLIDES, $NumOrNames[, $Visible]) | Same as command OPENTBS_DISPLAY_SHEET but for slides. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DELETE_SLIDES, $NumOrNames[, $Delete]) | Same as command OPENTBS_DELETE_SHEETS but for slides. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_COUNT_SLIDES[, $Master]) | Return the number of slides in the presentation. Always return 0 if the document is neither a PPTX nor an ODP. $Master is a boolean to indicate if you want to count master slides in the document. Default value is false. Command OPENTBS_COUNT_SLIDES is supported since OpenTBS version 1.8.0. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_SEARCH_IN_SLIDES, $Str[, $Options]) | Search for the string $Str trough the slides of the current document. Return the id of the first slide where the string is found. Return false if the string is not found. $Options must be a combination of the following constants. Default value is OPENTBS_FIRST.
This command is useless for LibreOffice/OpenOffice because all slides are all saved in the main sub-file. Nevertheless using will not raise an error. Command OPENTBS_SEARCH_IN_SLIDES is supported since OpenTBS version 1.9.0. |
Return true or false. $Name must include the inner path.
For example : $Name = 'META-INF/manifest.xml';
If $Data is false then the previously add file with the given name is canceled if any.
$DataType must be OPENTBS_STRING if $Data is the content to add ; it must be OPENTBS_FILE if $Data is the path of the external file to insert.
$Compress can be true, false or an array with keys ('meth','len_u','crc32') which means that the data is already previously compressed.
The arguments are the same as command OPENTBS_ADDFILE.
Please note that any TBS
merge on a file in the archive will cancel previous or future replacements.
Delete the existing file in the archive, or a file previously added using the OPENTBS_ADDFILE command.
The automatic extension recognition is also applied as it was applied for the first load of the archive.
Both OpenOffice and Ms Office may automatically convert single quotes (') into typographic apostrophes (’), depending to the auto-correction options. This may be annoying when you need to code a TBS fields that have a single quote. That's why OpenTBS automatically convert by default all (’) back to single quotes (') in documents.
If you want to stop this conversion, you can set $TBS->OtbsConvertApostrophes = false; and no apostrophes will be converted. Note that you can avoid the auto-correction of single quotes (') in Ms Word using keys[ctrl]+[z], and in OpenOffice using the cancel button.
You can force the document type recognition using command OPENTBS_FORCE_DOCTYPE. Example:
This command is supported since OpenTBS version 1.6.0.
Property $TBS->tbsCurrFile indicates the name of the current file loaded from the archive. The value is false if no file is loaded yet from the archive.
Other TinyButStrong methods and properties stay unchanged and are available for merging your template.
The OpenTBS package includes a full set of runnable templates. Some templates can contain useful complementary information for designing.
Run the following demo under PHP: OpenTBS demo
Since OpenTBS version 1.6.0, there are several commands for debugging. Please note that those commands do not exit the process.
| Command | Desciption |
|---|---|
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DEBUG_INFO [, $Exit]) | Display technical information about the current loaded template, including sheet information if the template is a workbook, and chart information if the template have some. $Exit must be a boolean, default value is true. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DEBUG_XML_CURRENT [, $Exit]) | Display XML contents of sub-files already opened and modified for merging. XML is indented in order to improve reading. $Exit must be a boolean, default value is true. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DEBUG_XML_SHOW) | Ends the merge process as if the final document was created. But instead of creating the document, displays the XML contents of sub-files modified for merging. XML is indented in order to improve reading. |
There is also deprecated debug options:
| Command | Desciption |
|---|---|
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DEBUG_XML) | Does the same as $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DEBUG_XML_SHOW); Supported since OpenTBS version 1.3.2. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DEBUG_XML+OPENTBS_DEBUG_AVOIDAUTOFIELDS) | Avoid merging of [onload], [onshow] and [var].Supported since OpenTBS version 1.3.2. |
| $TBS->Render = OPENTBS_DEBUG_AVOIDAUTOFIELDS; | Work also in property Render.Supported since OpenTBS version 1.3.2. |
| $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DEBUG_CHART_LIST) | Does the same as $TBS->PlugIn(OPENTBS_DEBUG_INFO);Supported since OpenTBS version 1.6.0. |
Otherwise, here are some indications that may help for the issues you can met with merging:
The most likely causes are:
• You've chosen the OPENTBS_DOWNLOAD render option but a php error message or any other unexpected content has been output before by PHP.
Activate the debug mode using the command OPENTBS_DEBUG_XML_SHOW, it helps to check PHP error message and other unexpected content.
• The merging has produced an invalid document or an invalid XML content in an XML file of the document.
Activate the debug mode using it helps to check the XML contents of merged files.
See section (b) below for more information in the XML structure of the files.
First, you can have a look the demo templates, they contain examples and advices for each type of document.
And to go further: even if you can edit your template using directly OpenOffice or Ms Office, you will probably need to understand the XML tags and attributes to complete your merge. The file xml_synopsis.txt is a small synopsis of the XML structure you can found in the inner source of those documents. Have a look to it if you feel lost.
You can view the inner source of a document using a zip software like 7-Zip. It allows you to open an archive even if the extension is not ".zip".
OpenTBS uses Zlib functions in order to automatically uncompress and recompress files stored in the zip archive. If Zlib is not enabled, then you have to use your own uncompress/compress tool, or to prepare the template to have files uncompressed in the zip archive.
Example to uncompress the "content.xml" file in an ODT document using 7-Zip:
1) open the ODT file with 7-Zip
2) extract the "content.xml" file from the ODT file in the same folder than the ODT file
3)
close 7-Zip
4)
open 7-Zip, and change current directory to be the same as the ODT file
5) select the
"content.xml" file and click on button [Add], or menu [File][7-Zip][Add to archive...]
6) A new window named "Add to archive" is opened,
- replace the archive name with the ODT file name,
- set the Compression level to "None".
7) Click on [Ok]
If you re-open the ODT file with 7-Zip, you can notice that the size and the uncompressed size are the same.
If the file should be placed in a sub-folder of the archive, then open the archive and rename the file in order to move it in a folder. For example rename "manifest.xml" to "META-INF\manifest.xml" will move it into META-INF. But moving the file will no delete the one which has the same name in the target folder. You have to go and delete the old one.
OpenTBS is under LGPL (Lesser General Public License)