Fitting WebWorks Publisher Fitting WebWorks Publisher into a Publications Workflowinto a Publications Workflow

Presentation to SF Bay Area STC Chapters

October 2004

Steve Homer Consultingwww.homertechpubs.com

Copyright ©2004 Steve Homer

About This Presentation About This Presentation

Very brief tool description Emphasis on process issues:

– What’s efficient?– What’s not?– What can you automate? – How can you apply these ideas to other tool sets?

Q&A at end

About the SpeakerAbout the Speaker

Consultant specializing in setting up

FrameMaker + WebWorks Processes

… but I also develop documentation

Clients in the Electronic Design

Automation & semiconductor industries

Based in Santa Cruz, CA

AgendaAgenda

Overview of WebWorks Publisher Choosing Tools Workflows for single-sourcing

– Single-sourcing defined– Optimizing the publishing process – Organization size– Bumps in the road

Customizing the WWP templates

What Does WebWorks Do?What Does WebWorks Do?

WebWorks Publisher (Standard & Pro)– Converts FrameMaker or Word files to HTML, MS

HTML Help, WinHelp, WebWorks Help, and more– Templates + source formatting control the output– You can have multiple templates and outputs– Source files are formatted for paper/PDF, if needed

(view demonstration)

Choosing ToolsChoosing Tools

What platforms must you support? Do you need to produce hardcopy or

printable PDFs? Help? HTML? Do you have time to tweak formatting? Do you use style catalogs or

“overrides” to format text? How much source material do you

have?

Single-Sourcing and WWPSingle-Sourcing and WWP

Multiple outputs from one source WWP does not change the source files You can format the source files for

print/PDF Output formatting is defined in the

WWP template Lends itself to structured authoring

(with or without XML)

Making the Process EasierMaking the Process Easier

Update your Frame/Word templates Use named paragraph and character

styles to encourage structured authoring

Get buy-in for your style standards Deliver “clean” source files to ensure

smooth conversions

Organization SizeOrganization Size

Lone writers who don’t enjoy setting up tools should:– Perhaps use RoboHelp for Word instead– Or avoid trying to customize the output– Or use a consultant

Larger groups can identify or hire:– Tool Specialists– Production Editors (desktop publishers)

Single-Sourcing is Very Single-Sourcing is Very Annoying Because…Annoying Because… Sometimes the first bullet really needs

to be purple! Making the page look perfect for print

is all I care about. I don’t know when to use all these new

paragraph and character styles.

Create a Style Guide. Use it.

Bumps in the RoadBumps in the Road

Authors who can’t be required to follow a style guide (e.g., developers)

Updates to deliverables Undocumented processes Unrepeatable processes Undocumented templates

Customizing WWP TemplatesCustomizing WWP Templates

Options depend on the output format You can customize:

– Page templates and their Navigation controls– Paragraph, Character, Table, and other styles

You can add functionality, such as:– “View PDF” or “View Code Examples” buttons– “Bread Crumbs” navigation cues

(view demonstration)

Adding AutomationAdding Automation

Pre-processing: clear change bars, update crossrefs, and generate PDFs

File Copying: splash screens, PDFs, README files, and quick reference cards

Post-processing: extract code examples from HTML files, check for missing files, and prepare release “kits”

Where to get more informationWhere to get more information

Download slides or email questions:– www.homertechpubs.com– steve@homertechpubs.com

WebWorks info:– Quadralay Corp: www.webworks.com– WWP Users Yahoo! Group:

groups.yahoo.com/group/wwp-users– www.knopf.com

More information (continued)More information (continued)

Tool comparisons:– www.helpstuff.com/helpstuff.html– Excellent article by Char James-Tanney:

www.stc-boston.org/broadside/01_2003– Help Authoring Tools & Techniques Yahoo! group:

groups.yahoo.com/group/HATT