SDL announced that Adobe Systems is providing all its Adobe FrameMaker 9 users with SDL AuthorAssistant, the client component of SDL Global Authoring Management System. Adobe FrameMaker 9 software is an authoring and publishing solution that allows technical communicators to author, structure, review and publish complex and lengthy content. Starting with FrameMaker 9 and Adobe Technical Communications Suite 2, every user of FrameMaker can install SDL AuthorAssistant as part of the Adobe FrameMaker 9 environment, empowering them to create content for global markets and improve the quality of their content. SDL AuthorAssistant ensures adherence to style guide rules and consistent use of terminology. The software is also able to check against previously translated content, so that companies with global audiences can improve content reuse and reduce the downstream costs of localizing content. http://www.adobe.com, http://www.sdl.com
Category: Content creation and design (Page 57 of 69)
Technologies and strategies for authoring and editing, including word processors, structured editors, web and page layout and formatting, content conversion and migration, multichannel content, structured and unstructured data integration, and metadata creation.
JustSystems announced XMetaL Reviewer 5.5, the latest version of the company’s collaborative XML document reviewing software. Reinforcing the central role of document review and collaboration in the overall authoring process, XMetaL Reviewer lets subject matter experts and others contribute content directly to the documents under review. The latest version of XMetaL Reviewer also gains usability, connectivity, integration, and administration enhancements. XMetaL Reviewer moves the document review process beyond a read-only exercise that prevents reviewers from suggesting detailed edits to the documents being reviewed. Now, reviewers can actively contribute new content and rewrite entire sections of a document. Using the addendum editor, XMetaL Reviewer users with no knowledge of XML can contribute structured content, insert images, and create lists, tables, and whole sections for consideration as document modifications. In addition to harnessing the expertise of document reviewers, XMetaL Reviewer offers users a consolidated view of all their suggested changes which are displayed to all reviewers in real time, as the changes are being made. An audit trail tracks all document changes, and an inline chat feature lets reviewers discuss content changes in real time. XMetaL Reviewer 5.5 is available today with prices starting at $15,000 for the server and five concurrent user licenses. Additional concurrent licenses are $2,500 for five users. http://www.justsystems.com
If you didn’t follow the link below to Bob DuCharme’s response to my January 13 posting on Why it is Difficult to Include Semantics in Web Content, you should read it. Bob does a great job describing tools in use to include semantics in Web content. Bob is a very smart guy. I like to think the complexity of his answer is a good illustration of my point that adding semantics is not easy. Anyway, his response is clearly worth reading and can be found at http://www.snee.com/bobdc.blog/2009/01/publishers-and-semantic-web-te.html.
Also, I have known Bob for some time. I am reminded that a while back he wrote an interesting article about XML data produced by his TiVo device (see http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2006/02/15/hacking-the-xml-in-your-tivo.html). I was intrigued how XML had begun to pop up in everyday things.
Ever since that TiVo article, I think of Bob every time XML pops up in unexpected everyday places (it’s better than associating him with a trauma). Once in a while I get a glimpse of XML data in a printer control file, in Web page source code, or as an export format for some software, but that sort of thing is to be expected. We all have seen examples at work or in commercial settings, but to find XML data at home in everyday devices and applications has always warmed my biased heart.
Recently I was playing a game of Sid Meier’s Civilization IV (all work and no play and so on….) and I noticed while it was booting up a game that one of the messages said “Reading XML FIles”. My first thought was “Bob would like to see this!” Then I was curious to see how XML was being used in game software. A quick Google search and the first entry, from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_IV#cite_note-10), says “More game attributes are stored in XML files, which must be edited with an external text editor or application.” Apparently you can “tweak simple game rules and change or add content. For instance, they can add new unit or building types, change the cost of wonders, or add new civilizations. Players can also change the sounds played at certain times or edit the play list for your soundtrack.”
I poked around in the directories and found schemas describing game units, events, etc. and configuration data instances describing artifacts and activities used in the game. A user could, if they wanted to, make buying a specific building very cheap for instance, or have the game play their favorite music instead of what comes with the game. That is if they know how to edit XML data. I think I just found a way to add many hours of enjoyment to an already great game.
I wonder how much everyday XML is out there just waiting for someone to tweak it and optimize it to make something work better. A thermostat, a refrigerator, or a television perhaps.
Ephox announced the release of a new integration of its rich text editor into IBM’s Lotus Quickr. Lotus Quickr is team collaboration software that helps enterprises share content, collaborate and work faster online. It goes beyond traditional document sharing by adding web-based collaboration with wikis, blogs and team web pages. EditLive! addresses this need with a Word-like authoring experience. It also offers capabilities for image editing, track changes, table editing and accessibility checking. EditLive! integrations for the WebSphere Portal and the Lotus Domino versions of Quickr are available now. The integration for the Quickr Domino platform was co-developed by the PSC Group, a Lotus consulting firm. http://www.ephox.com
Mark Logic Corporation announced the MarkLogic Toolkit for Word. Distributed under the open-source Apache 2.0 license, the MarkLogic Toolkit for Word delivers a free, simple way for developers to combine native XML-based functionality in both MarkLogic Server and the most common content authoring environment, Microsoft Office Word 2007. Developers can build applications for finding and reusing enterprise content, enriching documents for search and analytics, and enhancing documents with custom metadata. The MarkLogic Toolkit for Word includes a pre-built plug-in framework for Microsoft Office Word 2007, a sample application, and an extensive library for managing and manipulating Microsoft Office Word 2007 documents. Intelligent Authoring – the MarkLogic Toolkit for Word provides the ability to build a role- and task-aware application within Microsoft Office Word 2007 to improve the content authoring process. This functionality allows users to easily locate and preview content at any level of granularity and insert it into an active document, as well as manage custom document metadata. The MarkLogic Toolkit for Word allows developers to build content applications that leverage Office Open XML, the native XML-based format of Microsoft Office Word 2007. The MarkLogic Toolkit for Word includes an add-in application for deploying web-based content applications into Microsoft Office Word 2007. This enables developers to use web development techniques, such as HTML, JavaScript, and .NET to build applications that work in concert with the Microsoft Office Word 2007 authoring environment. The MarkLogic Toolkit for Word also provides XQuery libraries that simplify working with Office Open XML for granular search, dynamic assembly, transformation, and delivery with MarkLogic Server. By leveraging the underlying XML markup, content applications built with MarkLogic and Microsoft Office Word 2007 can “round-trip” documents between various formats. The MarkLogic Toolkit for Word allows developers to inspect, modify, and even redistribute the source code to meet specific needs. You can download the latest release of MarkLogic Toolkit for Word at the Mark Logic Developer Workshop. http://www.marklogic.com
Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced the Adobe Technical Communication Suite 2 software, an upgrade of its solution for authoring, reviewing, managing, and publishing rich technical information and training content across multiple channels. Using the suite, technical communicators can create documentation, training materials and Web-enabled user assistance containing both traditional text and 3D designs along with rich media, including Adobe Flash Player compatible video, AVI, MP3 and SWF file support. The enhanced suite includes Adobe FrameMaker 9, the latest version of Adobe’s technical authoring and DITA publishing solution, Adobe RoboHelp 8, a major upgrade to Adobe’s help system and knowledge base authoring tool, Adobe Captivate 4, an upgrade to Adobe’s eLearning authoring tool, and Photoshop CS4, a new addition to the suite. The suite also includes Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended and Adobe Presenter 7. Adobe Technical Communication Suite 2 is a complete solution that offers improved productivity along with support for standards-based authoring including support for Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA), an XML-based standard for authoring, producing and delivering technical information. It enables the creation of rich content and publishing through multiple channels, including XML/HTML, print, PDF, WSF, WebHelp, Adobe FlashHelp, Microsoft HTML Help, OracleHelp, JavaHelp and Adobe AIR. FrameMaker 9 offers a new user interface. It supports hierarchical books and DITA 1.1, and makes it easier to author topic-based content. In addition, FrameMaker 9 provides a capability to aggregate unstructured, structured and DITA content in a seamless workflow. Using a PDF based review workflow, authors can import and incorporate feedback. Adobe RoboHelp 8 allows technical communicators to author XHTML-compliant professional help content. The software also supports Lists and Tables, a new CSS editor, Pages and Templates, and a new search functionality. The Adobe Technical Communication Suite 2 is immediately available in North America. Estimated street price for the suite is US$1899. FrameMaker 9, RoboHelp 8 and Captivate 4 are available as standalone products as well. Estimated street price for FrameMaker 9 and RoboHelp 8 is US$999 for each, US$799 for Captivate 4. http://www.adobe.com
Today I will address a question I have grappled with for years, can non-structured authoring tools, e.g., word processors, can be used effectively to create structured content? I have been involved for some time in projects for various state legislatures and publishers trying to use familiar word processing tools to create XML content. So far, based on my experiences, I think the answer is a definite “maybe”. Let me explain and offer some rules for your consideration.
First understand that there is a range of validation and control possible in structured editing, from supporting a very loose data model to very strict data models. A loose data model might enforce a vocabulary of element type names but very little in the way of sequence and occurrence rules or data typing that would be required in a strict data model. Also remember that the rules expressed in your data model should be based on your business drivers such as regulatory compliance and internal policy. Therefore:
Rule number 1: The stricter your data model and business requirements are, the more you need a real structured editor. IMHO only very loose data models can effectively be supported in unstructured authoring tools.
Also, unstructured tools use a combination of formatting oriented structured elements and styles to emulate a structured editing experience. Styles tend to be very flat and have limited processing controls that can be applied to them. For instance, a heading style in an unstructured environment usually is applied only to the bold headline which is followed by a new style for the paragraphs that follow. In a structured environment, the heading and paragraphs would have a container element, perhaps chapter, that clearly indicates the boundaries of the chapter. Therefore structured data is less ambiguous than unstructured data. Ambiguity is easier for humans to deal with than computers which like everything explicitly marked up. It is important to know who is going to consume, process, manage, or manipulate the data. If these processes are mostly manual ones, then unstructured tools may be suitable. If you hope to automate a lot of the processing, such as page formatting, transforms to HTML and other formats, or reorganizing the data, then you will quickly find the limitations of unstructured tools. Therefore:
Rule Number 2: Highly automated and streamline processes usually required content to be created in a true structured editor. And very flexible content that is consumed or processed mostly by humans may support the use of unstructured tools.
Finally, the audience for the tools may influence how structured the content creation tools can be. If your user audience includes professional experts, such as legislative attorneys, you may not be able to convince them to use a tool that behaves differently than the word processor they are used to. They need to focus on the intellectual act or writing and how that law might affect other laws. They don’t want to have to think about the editing tool and markup it uses the way some production editors might. It is also good to remember that working under tight deadlines also impacts how much structure can be “managed” by the authors. Therefore:
Rule Number 3: Structured tools may be unsuitable for some users due to the type of writing they perform or the pressures of the environment in which they work.
By the way, a structured editing tool may be an XML structured editor, but it could also be a Web form, application dialog, Wiki, or some other interface that can enforce the rules expressed in the data model. But this is a topic for another day. </>
JustSystems announced XMetaL Author Enterprise for Documentum Webtop now supports Documentum ECM 6.5 and Windows Vista, and has new usability features and quality enhancements. XMetaL Author Enterprise for Documentum Webtop is designed for full-time content creators who require a desktop authoring application supported by the Documentum content repository features including seamless search, link management and navigation capabilities. The latest enhancements include: Documentum ECM 6.5 support – Now supports Documentum ECM 6.5 SP1 and continues to support Documentum ECM 6 SP1; Windows Vista compatibility – Now compatible with Windows Vista in addition to continued compatibility with Windows XP.; New operations – From the docbase tree-view in XMetaL Author Enterprise for Documentum Webtop, users can now create new folders or documents-from-a-template, or initiate import operations by simply right-clicking on the item in the docbase tree-view; Quality enhancements – Now offers improved DITA authoring, with quality enhancements to file check-in operations, reusable component creation, and DITA operations. The latest version of XMetaL Author Enterprise for Documentum Webtop is available today. http://www.justsystems.com
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