It has been just over a year since Inera announced it would sunset eXtyles in August 2026. Typefi has been busy in that time—our drop-in replacement for eXtyles, called Typefi Orion, is now just a few months away from launch!
In this interview with Caleb Clauset, Typefi VP Product, you’ll learn all about what Typefi Orion is, how it compares to eXtyles, and what to expect from Orion version 1.0 when it launches at the end of 2025.
Thanks for joining us Caleb. How are you?
I’m doing well, thanks. I’m very excited that Typefi Orion will launch soon!
We’re excited too! For those that aren’t familiar, can you explain what Typefi Orion is?
Sure thing, but the answer really depends on where you’re coming from.
If you’re familiar with Inera eXtyles, then I would say Typefi Orion is a drop-in replacement for eXtyles. You could be working in eXtyles on a Friday, then continue working in Orion when you return on Monday. It’s really that simple.
If you’re not familiar with eXtyles, Orion is an editorial content cleanup, validation and exporting tool for scholarly publishing. It’s a Microsoft Word add-in that can help you correct and clean up your content.
Orion also provides you with tools to further enhance your content, especially around managing citations and correcting references. When you’re done with all that, Orion makes it easy to export well-formed XML from Word in common scholarly schemas like JATS, BITS, and NISO STS.
So, what are the similarities between Typefi Orion and Inera eXtyles?
Typefi Orion is intentionally designed to be familiar to eXtyles users. We want you to have a very similar user experience because we recognise that there’s muscle memory when you’ve been using a tool like eXtyles for, in some cases, 20 years.
There are a lot of similarities between Orion and eXtyles. The dialogues will look quite familiar, and we’re prioritising backwards compatibility. Meaning, you’ll be able to import your settings from eXtyles into Orion for things like paragraph styles, auto redact rules, and more.
We’re doing this to make the transition from eXtyles as easy as possible. That way, you can just continue to work without needing to learn a completely new tool.
And how is Typefi Orion different from Inera eXtyles?
The biggest difference between Orion and eXtyles is that Orion is built on today’s most cutting-edge technologies. eXtyles is over 20 years old, and its core technology is built around Omnimark. In contrast, Orion is brand new and built on XSLT and Java. It’s a modern, multi-threaded software.
This architecture allows us to be faster, more flexible, and more extensible for the future, which means that integrating other technologies into your Orion workflow will be much easier. We’re not held back by the ways that eXtyles did things.
Orion also natively supports the Microsoft Word file format. That means Orion supports tracked changes, annotations, and comments throughout your editorial workflow. There’s no need to flatten Word files or convert from Word to intermediary formats when using Orion. You can work directly within the Word file from start to finish with Orion, which makes processing significantly faster.
That sounds promising! So, how will Typefi Orion handle customisation of rules and settings?
We realised early on that to make the transition from eXtyles to Orion as smooth as possible, we had to offer a way to import preferences and configuration files from eXtyles into Orion. We can ingest those files and convert them into a more readable format, which makes it easier for you to manage them.
We’ve also created a web-based interface for you to manage these rules in a centralised way. Administrators can define a set of rules and automatically push them out to everyone in their workgroup simultaneously.
The goal driving this is to maximise ease of use, so that users can extend and modify Orion as they see fit, at their own pace. You’re not locked into the rules we decided that you should have—you can control your own destiny with Orion.
That’s great to hear. So, where is this coming from? Does Typefi have experience with the requirements of scholarly editorial workflows?
In short, very much yes. Typefi has been working with Inera as a partner for over 18 years, and a large number of Typefi clients use eXtyles. That gives Typefi unique insight into scholarly editorial workflows and the requirements of eXtyles users. We’ve seen a lot of use cases over the years, and we really understand why organisations use tools like eXtyles.
Typefi also has over 20 years of experience developing Microsoft Word plug-ins and implementing Word-to-XML workflows. We’ve been implementing JATS/BITS/STS workflows since the birth of these standards, and some of our team members were even involved in their initial development.
You already mentioned backwards compatibility. What else is Typefi doing to help make the transition to Orion as easy as possible?
As you say, we have a relentless focus on backwards compatibility with eXtyles. You’ll be able to import your settings from eXtyles into Orion for things like paragraph styles, auto redact rules, and more for an easy transition.
Additionally, Typefi recently hired Robin Dunford, a 13-year veteran of Inera who has personally implemented countless eXtyles projects. Robin also used eXtyles as a customer before working at Inera, so he understands the software inside and out on a level that most others do not.
We’re really looking at this from the editor’s perspective, and that’s our guide for every decision we make. Robin’s experience and insights have been invaluable in helping our product team preserve the intuitive editorial processes of eXtyles while enhancing the overall user experience.
That’s why we say that Typefi Orion is a drop-in replacement for eXtyles. Orion will feel very similar to eXtyles users, and many things will work the same way in terms of user experience. Experienced eXtyles users should be able to use Orion right away without any training.
That sounds like the best case scenario. So, when can we expect Typefi Orion to be released?
Our goal is to launch Orion 1.0 by the end of 2025, and we’re on track to achieve that goal. Version 1.0 won’t have every conceivable feature, but we want to get something into your hands well in advance of the eXtyles sunset date. That way, you can kick the tires and test Orion with plenty of time before eXtyles goes away.
The Orion roadmap covers continued development through 2026 and beyond, so the features we’re delaying right now in order to launch version 1.0 are planned for upcoming versions. For example, version 1.0 will only support JATS XML export, but BITS export will be available in Q1 2026, and NISO STS export will follow in Q2 2026.
Speaking of versions and features, what will Orion version 1.0 be able to do?
The initial release of Orion will support a true end-to-end scholarly editorial workflow. You’ll be able to structure your manuscript using tagging and styles, and perform all the cleanup and correction tasks you could in eXtyles.
Orion 1.0 will also include an integration with Inera Edifix for correcting and linking references. Citation management features are also built into Orion 1.0, which will ensure that your citations and footnotes are properly numbered and in sequence.
Smart Replace is another major feature of Orion 1.0. This is our version of the Auto Redact function in eXtyles. Your Auto Redact settings from eXtyles can be easily ported over to Orion, so the rules you’ve crafted over many years can be transferred, and you won’t have to rebuild anything.
In terms of XML, Orion 1.0 will support JATS export. Support for BITS will follow in Q1 2026, and support for STS will come soon after in Q2 2026.
Check out the Typefi Orion feature list to see which features will be available in Orion version 1.0.
Thanks to Caleb for taking the time to sit down and talk about Typefi Orion.
We’re now very close to the Orion 1.0 launch date. If you’d like to stay informed about the latest release details, make sure you join the Typefi Orion community. This will add you to a unique email list—we only send exclusive updates, early access info, and discussion session invites to this list, so it’s the best way to stay informed.
Contact our team today if you have any questions about Typefi Orion.
Caleb Clauset
VP Product & New Markets | United States
Caleb drives the vision and strategy for Typefi’s products, and cultivates strategic partnerships with developers to extend Typefi’s core capabilities.
He is an award-winning designer and Adobe Certified Expert in InDesign with over a decade’s experience designing, developing and implementing publishing technology. He holds a Master of Graphic Design from North Carolina State University and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Lukas Kaefer
Marketing Manager | United States
Lukas has more than 10 years of experience as a copywriter and marketer, with a deep background in SEO and eCommerce. He has produced content for a vast range of clients and has managed email marketing and social media strategy for multiple online brands. He’s also an experienced graphic designer and video editor, working with a variety of Adobe tools since the Creative Suite era.
He brings all this experience to Typefi, where he continues to expand his knowledge in areas including accessibility, XML, desktop publishing, and the wonders of Adobe InDesign. In his spare time, Lukas loves to surf, snowboard, fish, and play guitar.