Reflowable document
Encyclopedia
A reflowable document is a type of electronic document
that can adapt its presentation
to the output device
. Typical desktop publishing
(DTP) output formats like PostScript
or PDF are page-oriented, so are not generally reflowable (but see discussion below for PDF), whereas the world wide web
standard, HTML
is a reflowable format.
The notion of reflow is sometimes used to discuss only more advanced typographic features than HTML
offers, which are typically present in typesetting
or DTP publications, for example automatically balancing the amount of text in a number of columns.
Xerox PARC
has developed an experimental systems that allows the reflow of any document using OCR
layout analysis at word-level.
Electronic document
An electronic document is any electronic media content that are intended to be used in either an electronic form or as printed output....
that can adapt its presentation
Presentation
Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience or learner. Presentations come in nearly as many forms as there are life situations...
to the output device
Output device
An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to communicate the results of data processing carried out by an information processing system to the outside world....
. Typical desktop publishing
Desktop publishing
Desktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer.The term has been used for publishing at all levels, from small-circulation documents such as local newsletters to books, magazines and newspapers...
(DTP) output formats like PostScript
PostScript
PostScript is a dynamically typed concatenative programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Geschke in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging...
or PDF are page-oriented, so are not generally reflowable (but see discussion below for PDF), whereas the world wide web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
standard, HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
is a reflowable format.
The notion of reflow is sometimes used to discuss only more advanced typographic features than HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
offers, which are typically present in typesetting
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
or DTP publications, for example automatically balancing the amount of text in a number of columns.
Examples
Besides HTML, commercially available systems include:- ePUBEPUBEPUB is a free and open e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum...
is a simple reflowable format that allows a single column with inline images, in many ways similar to a stripped-down HTML. - Windows Presentation FoundationWindows Presentation FoundationDeveloped by Microsoft, the Windows Presentation Foundation is a computer-software graphical subsystem for rendering user interfaces in Windows-based applications. WPF, previously known as "Avalon", was initially released as part of .NET Framework 3.0. Rather than relying on the older GDI...
(WPF) introduced XAMLXAMLExtensible Application Markup Language is a declarative XML-based language created by Microsoft used for initializing structured values and objects. It is available under Microsoft's Open Specification Promise...
-based documents together with a viewer call "SinglePageViewer" that can reflow any WPF objects. However the XPS document standard also introduced by Microsoft with WPF does not support reflow. - tagged PDF documents can contain an additional data layer which (among other things) allows for the content to be reflowed within the boundaries of one original page
- FictionBookFictionBookFictionBook is an open XML-based e-book format, which originated and gained popularity in Russia. The FictionBook files have the .fb2 filename extension....
is a free reflowable format by design. It does not specify the appearance of a document; instead, it describes its structure. For example, there are special tags for epigraphs, verses and quotations.
Xerox PARC
Xerox PARC
PARC , formerly Xerox PARC, is a research and co-development company in Palo Alto, California, with a distinguished reputation for its contributions to information technology and hardware systems....
has developed an experimental systems that allows the reflow of any document using OCR
Optical character recognition
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
layout analysis at word-level.