Working with EAD 2002 in XMLBlueprint XML Editor
Creating a new EAD Document
To create a new EAD Document:
- Choose File > New > XML Document with DTD, Relax NG Schema, or XML Schema and copy/paste the EAD 2002 DTD (http://www.loc.gov/ead/ead.dtd) into the dialog.
- Press the Next > button, choose "ead" as root element and press Finish.
That's it, you now have a minimal EAD 2002 Document.
Instead of the DTD, you can also use the Relax NG Schema (http://www.loc.gov/ead/ead.rng), or XML Schema (http://www.loc.gov/ead/ead.xsd). XMLBlueprint supports all three.
TIP -- If you work with EAD regularly, you may wish to create a template. To do this, create a new Document, choose File > Add to Templates..., name the template "EAD 2002 Document.xml" and press the Save button. Close "EAD 2002 Document.xml". To start with the template, choose File > New from Templates and select "EAD 2002 Document".
Editing an EAD Document
When you open an EAD Document, XMLBlueprint will scan the associated schema to initialize the XML Completion assistant. By pressing <, the assistant displays a list containing all the elements that can be inserted at that point in the document. Press the first few characters of the element you wish to insert and then press ENTER, SPACE, or TAB to insert the selected element in the document. The closing bracket is automatically set, as well as any required attributes or child elements.
Validating an EAD Document
At any time during the editing process, you can click the validate icon or hit F8 to validate your EAD Document. XMLBlueprint reports any errors in the output window below the editor. Clicking the red error message jumps to the error, even if the error is in another file.