adoc Studio Version 3 is out now

Marvin Blome – 23.04.2025.

With version 3 of adoc Studio you get a wealth of new functions and improvements that make your work with AsciiDoc even easier and more efficient.

Welcome to adoc Studio 3: Your next step in documentation!

In this blog article, we present the most important innovations and show how they can make your workday easier.

Bibliography

The bibliography is a special section that should not be missing in any scientific project. The list of references is its own area that includes a variety of books, papers, and articles. As a reference, you use the classic syntax for citations <<...>> in the text.

// The reference in the text is indicated by <<...>>.

Here is a quoted statement <<pp>>

// The reference appears in the output as "[pp]".
// Optionally, you can specify your own text after a comma:

Here is a quoted statement <<pp, new text>>

// For the bibliography, create a new section in which you list your sources

[bibliography]
== Bibliography
* [[[pp]]] Information about the source

Sf Symbols for Icon Macros

Since version 2, adoc Studio has been able to use the icon macro to place small symbols from the Font Awesome library in the text. Starting now, not only macOS and iOS software developers can enjoy SF Symbols. This is the collection of all symbols used in the various Apple operating systems. In adoc Studio 3, you have access to more than 6,000 images to describe your app interfaces.

1️⃣ Activate the Apple symbols by setting the following attributes:

:icons: font
:icon-set: apple

2️⃣ Add icons using the macro icon:Name[Parameter]. While you type, the adoc Coach will automatically suggest suitable icons.

3️⃣ Personalize the icon using various parameters:

flip=horizontal or flip=vertical
link=... for hyperlinks
palette with variants (Monochrome, Hierarchical, Multicolor)
role=blue for color adjustment of the icon
rotate=90|180|270
set=apple|far|fab|fas for the Apple and Font Awesome icon sets
size=1x|...|7x or simply [2x]
title=... for a title
weight=ultralight|...|black for different stroke thicknesses
window=blank|parent|_top for link targets

Here are a few examples to show what's possible with the icons macro:

icon:rainbow[palette=multicolor]

icon:arrow.right.circle.fill[palette=hierarchical, role=green]

icon:cloud.drizzle.fill[flip=vertical]

icon:view.2d[rotate=90, role=red]

icon:01.circle[weight=ultralight] 

icon:01.circle[weight=black]

Control Resolution, reduce File sizes

An important topic for exporting documents is images. The challenge is often the size. The product team usually provides images in maximum resolution. And that's a good thing. But a reader of documentation, for example on the iPhone, does not need images of hundreds of megabytes.

In adoc Studio version 3, there are new attributes to adjust the resolution of your images in the output. This way, you can reduce the file size of your documents with the following attributes:

ads-max-image-resolution → Sets the maximum output resolution of images (in dpi, dpcm, or dppx) if height or width are defined in the source code.
ads-max-image-width → Limits the image width in the HTML output if no fixed height or width is specified.
ads-rasterizing-resolution → PDF, SVG images, and STEM formulas are converted to PNG and set to a specified resolution (in dpi, dpcm, dppx).
ads-static-stem → Normally, STEM formulas are exported with JavaScript. With this option, they are included in the document as SVG (no more JavaScript required).

Project Dictionaries for your Team

Until now, adoc Studio used the system dictionary. Any corrections went into it. For professional authors working on many different projects, this was not ideal. That's why adoc Studio 3 now has project-specific dictionaries.

When spell check is enabled (Edit → Spelling & Grammar → check “Check Spelling & Grammar”), you can add unknown words directly to a new dictionary. The video shows how it works.

This is how you add a new dictionary

The new dictionary (.adict file) appears in the sidebar. Of course, it can be versioned, transferred to other projects, and used collaboratively by the team.

Automation with adoc Studio

Documentation products are often automatically created – especially when they are ongoing projects. Starting with this version, you can integrate adoc Studio into your processes. The adocstudio command line tool is installed once on the system and can then be used in all shell scripts.

Document export:

adocstudio export documents --project Projektname.adocproject --document Dokumentname.adoc (Speicherort)

Product export:

adocstudio export products --project Projektname.adocproject --product Produktname (Speicherort)

Simply enter adocstudio help export products or adocstudio help export documents in the terminal to view all available commands.

ℹ️ The same functions are also available in the Shortcuts app: Just look for “adoc Studio” there and select “Export Documents” or “Export Products.”

New Drag & Drop Functions

1. Drag text from the source code editor

Now you can work with text snippets. You can drag text out of the editor. For example, drag it to your desktop to automatically create a new text snippet. Of course, a text snippet can also be dragged back into the editor.

2. Drag & drop into the source code

Drag a file like file.adoc from the project navigator into the editor, and its content will be copied into the target document. There are 2 variants:

If you drag an external file directly into the editor, an include statement is inserted.
If you hold down the Option key while dragging, its content will always be inserted.

Improved User-Friendliness

Context menu for images: “Show in Project Navigator”: By right-clicking on an image in the preview, you can now select “Show in Project Navigator.” This highlights the respective file directly in the media folder, significantly speeding up finding and editing.
Sorting project files: In the project navigator, you can now sort files by name, modification date, creation date, or size – either ascending or descending. If you prefer manual sorting, you can freeze automatic sorting and then move your files via drag & drop.
Set default style: In Settings (Command + Comma), go to the “Product Styles” tab. Right-click on a style to choose “Make Default.” This style is automatically used for all new projects and is displayed in bold.
Embedding in existing HTML pages: Via the new :embedded: attribute, HTML outputs are generated without <head> or <body> tags and can be embedded in HTML pages.

Try It Now for 14 Days for Free!

All these new features are now available on Mac, iPad, and iPhone. If you want to try adoc Studio 3, you can start today with a free 14-day trial. Get the latest version now and see how easy professional documentation can be!

We wish you much success and enjoyment with adoc Studio version 3!