Content Blocks: An introduction

What are Content Blocks?

A Content Block is any content structure that visually punctuates the progress or flow of the main galley text. The main galley text comprises the continuous flow of text which comprises the backbone of the document and generally this includes titles, headers, bodytext and lists. Content blocks either compliment, or are the target of (referred from, complement or illustrate) the primary flow.  

Some examples of Content Blocks include:

1. Noteboxes
2. Figures, plates, illustrations, maps, etc.
3. Tables
4. Code listing
5. Extract blocks
6. Sidebars. These are floated to the side of the 
7. Notes - including footnotes, margin-notes and various types of end-notes.

Content blocks server various purposes such as layout or semantic content description, but  there is always a visual distinction between a Content Block content and the primary flow. 

The IGP:FoundationXHTML Content Block grammar focuses on current use - in IGP:Digital Publisher this is primarily front list print production - and it addresses multiple eBook and Online format generation and future reuse issues. The CSS selectors and ID's are designed to allow both humans and processing software to understand what a Content Object is, and what can be done with it on any particular target technology.

Some Content Blocks have distinctive names which clearly convey their purpose - Eg. Epigraph, extract, Abstract. Some content blocks are strongly linked to other structural components.  notes - footnote, end-note, book-end-note, margin-note, poem-note

Content blocks are generally named to describe their purpose and flow. Eg. A note-margin is expected to be a note displayed in a margin. However processors and stylesheets do not have to conform to the presentation purpose in different viewing contexts. A margin note may be more effective as a roll-over in an Online book, and as an End-note in an eBook format.

The Global Content Blocks

Text Blocks

There are a number Content Blocks available to handle most generic structural tagging of content.

1. Abstract. Abstract blocks are most often used in academic articles, but there are other instances such as corporate documents where structural identification of the abstract is valuable.
2. Boxed. More frequently used in computer and instructional trade and retail documents. Same as extract but with borders.
3. Epigraph. More frequently used in classical and academic documents. Designed to be used inside a title block and be adjusted in width depending on the document template.
4.  Extract. Widely used in all document types to separate extracts from other documents quoted in this one. Default template creates indents and space around the block
5. General. Use this when you have identified a block structure, but don't know its type, or the type is not available in the standard list. Never tag a structure with the wrong identifier.
6. Notebox. Most frequently used in academic and textbook type documents. Same as Boxed text but with a coloured background. Textbooks tend to have a large number of different types of noteboxes depending on the subject matter. You will probably have to create custom Notebox Content Blocks for this type of document. Noteboxes created using the Text Block selection are not numbered. If you require numbered noteboxes use the explicit Notebox Content Block.
7. Poem. Outlines a complete poem and allows all Stanzas to align centered on the galley to the longest line in the poem. This is also a major structural identifier.
8. Stanza. Structural and visual identification of a poem stanza. When tagging poetry you should put each stanza inside this Content Block.
9. Footnotes. Specialist text block to mark text as a footnote. This is used when inserting notes in text.

Using Headers in Content Blocks

The default IGP:FoundationXHTML recommendation is to always use Heading 4 <h4> to heading <h6> in any block structure. This ensures it is generated low down in the bookmark list by PDF generation software, and allows specific exclusion of the headers in document that need to process headers for nested Tables of Content and other structures.

Numbered Media

Numbered Media is one of the most important Content Blocks. It is used to insert sized and aligned images (or other media in the case of Online pages) onto pages. It is important that you fully understand all the options in the IGP:Writer Flow Control block.

Media Class. The default media classes are figure, image and plate. This can be customized further, or differently, depending on your type of publishing production activities.

Notebox

Numbered noteboxes are important in a wide range of book genres and document types. The default global Notebox will inevitably need customization for text books but that is a simple stylesheet modification.

Notebox numbers are all generated automatically for print and other formats after ID generation.

Sidebar

Type: Layout

Class: Sidebar

This block creates a sidebar that floats outside or inside a multi-column layout with inner or outer margins provided.

IMPORTANT NOTE. This content block can only be used with print pages with outside margins, and you will have to define the behaviour explicitly in the Reader and e-book CSS rules. If you are not using a page template with outer or inner margins, the sidebar will float to the side in the galley.

Named Lists

Named lists are very important in Publisher documents and allows the structural segmentation of large lists such as indexes, bibliographies, Glossaries and similar.

Title Block

Title Block is auto inserted from page templates, but sometimes it may have to be rebuilt or inserted into a new location. 

Layout Control

Layout Control Block gives you added control over block flow and float behaviour. It is especially useful for establishing full margin width images in column designs.

 

Type: Layout

Classes: 2, 3, 4, 5, 3x4, 3x5, 3x4, 7x1

You must use margin column pages to float content into the margin.

Tables

Type: Content Block

Available Classes: Classic, Modern, Grid, Layout   

Paragraphs

Type: Layout

Available styles: Hanging, indent, double hanging, decoration, leading-line

Hanging: Converts the paragraphs to hanging. Particularly useful when creating numbered paragraphs. Each paragraph is hanging by 1.3em. Line pitch is on the standard document leading.

Double Hanging:+

Associating Content Blocks with the Galley

There are two types of content blocks; Static Content Blocks that must maintain their position within the galley flow to maintain semantic sense;and Flow Content Blocks that can move relative to the flow. In addition to this Content Blocks are also used for layout of a document, for example, multi-column text. 

Not only do content blocks have to behave correctly with the primary galley flow, they must also enhance the presentation of the content and create a compelling end-user experience. To ensure you can create the required presentation in multiple formats, the following optional Content Block flow controls are available in IGP:Digital Publisher:  

1. Vertical position. The content's relationship to the primary flow and where it appears in the galley for a specific format. There are two primary considerations with vertical flow positioning: whether the target output is for devices which show paginated formats and/or flow formats.  It is important to note that Vertical positioning in primarily a print format requirement to address pagination issues. However as this is still the dominant format it must be addressed. 
2. Horizontal position. The content appears to the left, right, above or below an explicit point in text. The vertical position is not changed. The inserted Content Block probably has an intimate positional relationship with the flow. Examples are margin-notes, illustrations and photographs which are not referenced.
3. X-Y Size. Depending on the viewing context, or for pragmatic reasons such as fitting more content on a page, it may be necessary to control  the size of a block. 

Vertical positioning affects paginated presentation formats such as print, and Online retro-digitized content where pagination is maintained. Horizontal positioning will normally be retained in all eBook formats where the support it. Size will be changed for various electronic formats depending on the capabilities of the viewing device.

Sizing media that is contained within Content Blocks is particularly important in the context of Online and eBook formats. The resolution of print is 300dpi plus, and files are relatively large. Screen resolution is generally 96dpi (it can be changed, but is generally un-necessary) and for bandwidth, storage and performance reasons generally must be resized. This means images must be prepared and optimized for the different Reader contexts.  

Associating Content Blocks with the Narrative

Content within Content Blocks is referred to from the primary text narrative using standard editorial techniques.

Numbered references. This can be with obvious mechanisms such as See, See Also, Go to Eg: See Fig 3.2, See Sidebar this page, See Notebox B.. This can also be with more formal methods such a citation structures in academic text. IGP:Digital Publisher has powerful features to renumber referenced text and link references to targets for interactive formats.

Positional references. It can also be referred to from the narrative by association such as "The picture below / above / to the left". In this case a Content Object will be placed with only horizontal position controls. 

Positional implication. The content block is in a position because it illustrates the narrative. An obvious example is a children's reading book, but many publications rely on the fact that images or information are on a page.

Decorative. There is the content that has no other purpose than to give the document a custom or special look and feel. This can include decorative motifs in the headers, full page backgrounds and similar "artistic" touches. There are a number of techniques to allow this in a templated environment, but productivity advantages will be diminished if there are a lot of custom pages. 

Positioning Flow Content Objects

IGP:Digital Publisher lets you construct most required page, content object and generated text flows and put Content Blocks anywhere you want - or need them. Print publishing convention says that referenced Content Blocks should appear on the same page or the following page as their reference in text. To achieve this in XHTML with minimum processing, flow content should be placed immediately after or before its reference in text. 

Electronic text processing convention says blocks should be at their insertion point. To ensure this is predictable and consistent it is usual to insert a block immediately after a paragraph that carries its first reference. There are a number of reasons for this:

The position will make sense in a eBook or Online format. There is a reference in text (See Figure 3.1), and immediately following that paragraph the Figure appears. 

Presentation Blocks

Layout Blocks

Many documents are 

Content Blocks, Flow and Floats

Content Blocks can be in the primary document flow, or float independently of the flow to predefined positions. 

Floating Content Blocks.

Appropriate content blocks 

Generated & Counter Content

Concentric Content Blocks

Although it is good practice to limit the block, within block, within block type of structure, IGP:Digital Publisher is quite happy to handle such constructions because block relations are relative. That means they are relative to their parent block. 

Technical Description

Information in this section assumes working familiarity with (X)HTML and CSS.

A Content Block in IGP:FoundationXHTML always uses the <div>...</div> element. In some cases the <span>...</span>. This is characterized by multiple CSS selectors describing different characteristics of the block to different processors.