Altova StyleVision 2023 Enterprise Edition

User-Defined Elements and User-Defined XML Text Blocks enable, respectively, (i) any element, and (ii) any XML text block to be inserted into the design. The advantage of these features is that designers are not restricted to adding XML elements and design elements from source schemas and the palette of StyleVision design elements. They can create (i) templates for elements they define (User-Defined Elements), and (ii) independent and self-contained XML code (User-Defined Blocks) that creates objects independently (for example ActiveX objects).

There is one important difference between User-Defined Elements and User-Defined XML Text Blocks. A User-Defined Element is created in the design as a template node for a single XML element (with attributes). All content of this template must be explicitly created. This content consists of the various design elements available to the SPS. A User-Defined XML Text Block may not contain any design element; it is an independent, self-contained block. Since a User-Defined Element is created empty, it does not lend itself for the creation of an object requiring a number of lines of code. For the latter purpose, User-Defined XML Text Blocks should be used.