ePublisher divides the transform process into a series of pipelines, or groups of similar stages. Each stage defines an .xsl file to run that creates a portion of the target. ePublisher uses a combination of the format pipelines, the files.info GlobalFiles record file, XSLT parameters, and the root match template in a given XSL file to perform the action identified in a stage. These stages are defined in the format.wwfmt file located in each format folder. The format.wwfmt file defines all the pipelines and stages necessary to create a specific output format, and the relationships that each of these pipelines and stages have to one another. There is no preconceived order in which pipelines run. ePublisher calculates at run time the order in which each pipeline runs, based on pipeline dependencies.

ePublisher processes files based on type rather than by name. Each stage defines an .xsl file to run that creates a portion of the target. All ePublisher XSL style sheets define the following global parameters by default:

In addition, ePublisher passes the XSL style sheets all parameters defined for the current stage in the format.wwfmt file. Parameters passed to each XSLT file are usually used to load the various XML node sets needed for the current stage. For example, a stage may need to take information recorded in the Behaviors pipeline and merge it with information in the Links pipeline. The location of information generated in each stage is stored in the files.info file. Future stages can use the files.info file to learn the location of previously generated information needed to complete that particular stage. When that stage finishes, it notifies the files.info file that the information it created is available for future stages to use, if necessary.

Processing files based on type rather than by individual names allows you to define workflows for any number of input and output files. This flexibility allows you to define as many XSL stages as you need, and each stage can use any preceding files generated. You can create or delete pipelines, add or delete stages, or insert elements that dictate when to run a stage or pipeline.