Launcher application consumes an additional license for remote document generation
The Launcher application always requires a license to generate documents. For local document generation, a single license is consumed. When you configure the Launcher application to generate documents on a remote server instead of on your local computer, an additional license is consumed while the Launcher is open.
IBM Installation Manager 1.5.2 required
Java™ 6
Rational Publishing Engine now supports only Java 6. If you are using WebSphere® Application Server or the stand-alone clients on your computer, you do not have to make any changes. If you are using Apache Tomcat and have the JRE_HOME environment variable configured to a Java 5 installation, update the path to the Java Runtime Environment that is installed with the Rational Publishing Engine clients or to another supported version. For more information, see Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
Version number removed from the Rational Publishing Engine installation directory
The path to the root directory of the Rational Publishing Engine installation no longer contains a version number. If you choose to upgrade to Rational Publishing Engine 1.2 by using the Installation Manager upgrade wizard, note that the version number from your previous Rational Publishing Engine installation is not removed or updated in the installation path.
WebSphere Application Server 8 support
You can deploy the web applications to WebSphere Application Server version 8.
Automatic deployment of the web applications to WebSphere Application Server
If you have a supported version of WebSphere Application Server installed, you can select it during the installation of the Rational Publishing Engine and automatically deploy the web applications to that server. A RPE profile is created for you and you can manage your Web Services application configurations from the WebSphere Application Server administrative console. For more information about supported versions of Rational Publishing Engine, see the System Requirements for Rational Publishing Engine.
Central Management component
You can collect paths to data source schema, JavaScript, templates, document specifications, and more into a list of assets that can be used by the Rational Publishing Engine users in your organization. Manage these assets from an administrative user interface, similar to the Monitor & Control component administrative user interface. You can also configure run time settings for the users who connect to the Web Services application. For more information, see Central Management component.
The Monitor & Control component is now contained within the Web Services application, so there is no need to deploy it as a separate application.
Redesigned Web Services application
In addition to the Monitor & Control component now being contained in the Web Services application, each remote document generation is run as a separate process on the server. With this enhancement, you can more easily identify issues related to your specific document generation jobs. The Web Services application also allows a larger memory pool for 32-bit Java Runtime Environments (JREs) for better document generation efficiency.
Web Services application support for 64-bit JREs
You can now use 64-bit versions of the Java Runtime Environment with Rational Publishing Engine.
Selectable template versions
To use the same template version for every new template, select Use a specific template version in the Document design preferences.
For more information, see Version compatibility.
New elements in the Palette view
Properties view
The location of the Properties view is now in the bottom center of the Document Studio application. Each property includes an easily editable field, such as a drop-down list or a check box for you to adjust your property values quickly. The tree view from previous releases is still available in the Advanced tab. For more information about specific properties in the Properties view, see Properties reference.
Drag and drop template elements
From the Palette view in the Document Studio application, you can select an element and drag it into the template content editor.
Multi-template editing
You can open multiple templates in a single instance of the Document Studio application.
Copy and paste
Copy and paste elements from a different template without losing the data applied to them.
Search within an element
Search for specific phrases in the elements you have added to your template. See Searching within a template for more information.
Remote results history
From the Document Studio application, you can view a history of all of the document generation jobs that have been run on the current computer. For more information, see Viewing results.
JavaScript
In Rational Publishing Engine 1.2, there is no silent transformation of scripts into strings. In previous releases, Rational Publishing Engine silently converted script results to strings. This conversion meant that users were required to use workarounds, such as serializing and unserializing the code, to transfer complex data structures between two script expressions. In Rational Publishing Engine 1.2, you are not required to apply any workarounds to your scripts. Variables that are assigned results of script expressions continue to be converted to plain strings when used in Data Expressions, such as the content of a text element with variables applied, so that all of your existing templates continue to function as they did until now.
When used in script expressions, these variables are not flattened. For example, if you start a collection in one variable assignment then continue to add to that collection in other script expressions, you are not required to serialize and deserialize the collection every time.
Rational Publishing Engine offers a JavaScript editor you can use instead of a plain text window. In the editor, you can view your script with color coding and line numbers.
When you add conditions to elements in a template, you can select operators like contains, starts with, ends with, and index of. For more information, see Creating conditions for template elements.
Previewing data from the Document Studio application
If you specify a data source in a template, you can see a preview of the data that is included when the document is generated. By previewing the data from a template, you can determine if issues with the output are coming from the data provider or from the template structure. For more information, see Previewing data from the Data Source Schemas view.
Custom attributes
You can create variables in queries by creating custom or special attributes. For detailed instructions for the process of using custom attributes in your templates, see the Creating custom attributes to configure at run time tutorial.
Relative paths to related resources in templates
You can specify relative paths where paths to related references are entered into templates. By using relative paths, you can move the files in your directory structure, but as long as the related reference is placed in the same position relative to the template as it was before, the links do not break.
Width property in the View Column query for the Rational DOORS® schema
The Rational Publishing Engine schema for Rational DOORS contains a new attribute for the View Column query named width. If you already created a template with a Rational DOORS schema, click and complete the steps to identify the same schema again. When the schema loads in the Data Source Schemas view, expand to see the Width attribute. For more information about using the Rational DOORS schema discovery, see Adding a Rational DOORS data source schema with the schema discovery wizard.
Attribute name property in the View Column query for the Rational DOORS schema
The Rational Publishing Engine schema for Rational DOORS contains a new attribute for the View Column query named attribute name. If you already created a template with a Rational DOORS schema, click and complete the steps to identify the same schema again. When the schema loads in the Data Source Schemas view, expand to see the attribute name attribute. For more information about using the Rational DOORS schema discovery, see Adding a Rational DOORS data source schema with the schema discovery wizard.
Remote results history
From the Launcher application, you can view a history of all of the document generation jobs that have been run on the current computer. For more information, see Viewing results.
Previewing data from the Launcher application
If you specify a data source in a document specification, you can see a preview of the data that is included when the document is generated. By previewing the data from a document specification, you can determine if issues with the output are coming from the data provider or from the template structure. For more information, see Previewing the data from the Document Specification view.
Variables in macros
The process of running macros is now included in the Console logs. You are notified when a Microsoft Word instance is created, the instance is loaded, the macro runs, and the instance is closed. You can use these console messages to help you troubleshoot when a macro is not successful. For more information about using macros, see Running macros.
REST v2 drivers
Requests are made to a REST v2 data source only when required. For example, you can use conditions to have an element display in the output only when it contains data. The condition might be variable == "true". If this condition is not met, meaning that no data meets the variable condition, no requests are made to the data source.
You can calculate native filters before making the request. With Rational Publishing Engine 1.1.2.2 and earlier, REST v2 native filters were calculated at the start of the document generation by using the variable values as defined at that point. In Rational Publishing Engine 1.2, the native filter is calculated at the point where the query is encountered and uses the variable values at that point. This change means that you can perform calculations in the template, which impacts the native filters. For more information, see Extracting data by using native filters.
Saving documents without credentials
You can save a document specification without saving the authentication credentials in it. You can save without credentials when you are designing document specifications for the Central Management component where other users can reuse them. For more information, see Saving a document specification.
Relative paths to related resources in document specifications
You can specify relative paths where paths to related references are entered into document specifications. For example, when you are adding templates to a document specification, enter the paths as relative paths. By using relative paths, you can move the files in your directory structure, but as long as the document specification is placed in the same relative location to the template as it was before, the links do not break.
Consolidated OAuth authentication types
For more information, see Data source authentication.