Publishing online zoning
codes (and other long documents)
BEYOND PDFS
1. Why digital publishing?
2. What is digital publishing?
3. Digital publishing methods
4. Case study – Town of Morrisville, NC
5. Case study – Los Angeles, CA
6. Implementing your digital publishing goals
Session outline
Why Digital Publishing?
Why digital publishing?
Benchmarking report in i t ia l ly publ ished in 2015
Data updated in 2017 Assesses publ ic agency
use of : Digital publ ishing Web si tes Social media Onl ine permit t ing Web-based GIS
To access t he repor t : h t t p : / / b i t . l y / 2 lD4XBd
Why digital publishing?
What is Digital Publishing?
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES
Searchable
Links (internal and external)
Table of contents / headings
Responsive
Mobile layout
Authoring, editing, and publishing
Reasonable learning curve / intuitive to use
Robust customer support / documentation
What is digital publishing?
Scanned PDFs
Static PDFs
Interactive PDFs
Cloud-based / Software as a Service (SaaS)
E-book
Document processor
HTML site
Content management / Open source system
What is digital publishing?
Long, st ructured documents
l ike zoning codes and
comprehensive plans
Cost (labor and/or dollars) Complex i ty
Scanned PDFs
Stat ic PDFs
Interact ive PDFs
Cloud-based / SaaS
E-book
Document processor
HTML s i te
Content management / Open source system
Cost and complexity of digital publishing
Scanned PDF
Static PDF
Interactive PDF
Cloud-based / SaaS
E-book
Document processor
HTML site
Content management system
What is digital publishing?
Scanned PDF
Static PDF
Interactive PDF
Cloud-based / SaaS
E-book
Document processor
HTML site
Content management system
What is digital publishing?
URL: h t tp : / /b i t . l y /2 l0az4A
Scanned PDF
Static PDF
Interactive PDF
Cloud-based / SaaS
E-book
Document processor
HTML site
Content management system
What is digital publishing?
I n te rac t i ve PDF – Co lumbia , SC
URL: h t tp : / /b i t . l y /1PS9gMW
Scanned PDF
Static PDF
Interactive PDF
Cloud-based / SaaS
E-book
Document processor
HTML site
Content management system
What is digital publishing?
Cloud-based – V i l lage o f R ich f ie ld , WI
URL: h t tp : / /b i t . l y /2 lGkHDy
Scanned PDF
Static PDF
Interactive PDF
Cloud-based / SaaS
E-book
Document processor
HTML site
Content management system
What is digital publishing?
E-book – Town o f Mor r isv i l le NC UDO
URL: h t tp : / /b i t . l y /2kMHPkQ
Scanned PDF
Static PDF
Interactive PDF
Cloud-based / SaaS
E-book
Document processor
HTML site
Content management system
What is digital publishing?
Document p rocessor – Zon ing Ord inance
URL: h t tp : / /b i t . l y /2 lvRusM
Scanned PDF
Static PDF
Interactive PDF
Cloud-based / SaaS
E-book
Document processor
HTML site
Content management system
What is digital publishing?
Cus t om HTML s i t e – C i t y o f Dub l i n , OH Commun i t y P lan
URL: h t tp : / /b i t . l y /2 lvYW7A
Scanned PDF
Static PDF
Interactive PDF
Cloud-based / SaaS
E-book
Document processor
HTML site
Content management system
What is digital publishing?
C o n t e n t m a n a g e m e n t s y s t e m – C i t y o f L o s A n g e l e s , C A
URL: h t tp : / /b i t . l y /2mm8S2w
Digital publishing methods
Digital Publishing Methods: Software and Services
Scanned PDF & Static PDF
Adobe Acrobat
PDF Studio
Libre Office
Interactive PDF
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe InDesign
Quark Express
Affinity Publisher (in development)
Page Plus
Digital Publishing Methods: Software and Services
Cloud-based / Software as a Service (SaaS)
EnCode Plus
Zoning Hub
Open Counter
Digital publishing methods
Digital Publishing Methods: Software and Services
E-book and EPUB
FlippingBook (Page-flipping / Flash / HTML5)
Issuu
Anyflip
Pub HTML5
Flip HTML5 Pageflip
Uberflip
Calibre (EPUB)
Sigil
LaTeX
Genebook
Digital publishing methods
Digital Publishing Methods: Software and Services
Document Processor
MadCap Flare
Adobe Framemaker & Robohelp
Help & Manual
Custom HTML site
Wordpress
Wix
Squarespace
Weebly
Corel Web Site Creator
Adobe Muse & Dreamweaver
Coffee Cup
Google Web Designer
Digital publishing methods
Digital publishing methods
Digital Publishing Methods: Software and Services
Content Management / Open Source System
Urban Insight
Urban Interactive Studio
Civic Plus
Zenman
Eight25 Media
Dotcomweavers
8th Sphere
Big Drop
U r b a n
p l a n n i n g
f o c u s
G e n e r a l w e b
d e s i g n
s e r v i c e s
Case Study Town of Morrisville, North Carolina
Overview
Who?
Where?
Why?
How?
Morrisville…Where is it?
Morrisville…Where is it?
Demographics • Resident Population:
– 23,699 • Daytime Population:
– 36,503
• Educational Attainment: – 95.0% high school or higher – 65.4% bachelor’s degree or
higher
Demographics • Median Household Income:
– $91,206 • Age Characteristics:
– 33.1 median age – 29 percent is 19 years or
younger
• Racial Characteristics: – 24.3% Asian Indian
Why Change?
Subdivision Ordinance
Zoning Ordinance
Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance
Stormwater Ordinance
Design & Construction
Ordinance
New Expectations • Instant access • User-friendly • Aesthetically
pleasing
Goals Planning Department
• User-friendly
• Easy to Search
• Easy to Maintain
• Ability to Update Quickly
• Visual Continuity
• Ability to Hyperlink
• Reasonably Priced
• Mobile Compatible
Goals Planning Department Manager’s Office
• User-friendly
• Easy to Search
• Easy to Maintain
• Ability to Update Quickly
• Visual Continuity
• Ability to Hyperlink
• Reasonably Priced
• Mobile Compatible
• User-friendly
• Easy to Search
• Visually Pleasing
• Departmental Consistency
• Easy for Staff to Use
Goals Planning Department Manager’s Office IT Department
• User-friendly
• Easy to Search
• Easy to Maintain
• Ability to Update Quickly
• Visual Continuity
• Ability to Hyperlink
• Reasonably Priced
• Mobile Compatible
• User-friendly
• Easy to Search
• Visually Pleasing
• Departmental Consistency
• Easy for Staff to Use
• Town Hosted
• Town Supported Platform
• No Extra “helpdesk” Work
Options
Stormwater Ordinance
Options
Stormwater Ordinance
Option 1: Customizable
Option 2: Off the Shelf
Options
User-friendly Easy to Search Easy to Maintain Ability to Update
Quickly Visual Continuity Ability to
Hyperlink • Reasonably Priced Mobile
Compatible
Visually Pleasing • Departmental
Consistency ($$$) Easy for Staff to
Use • Town Hosted Town Supported
Platform No Extra
“helpdesk” Work
User-friendly Easy to Search Easy to Maintain Ability to Update
Quickly Visual Continuity • Ability to
Hyperlink (limited) Reasonably Priced Mobile
Compatible
Visually Pleasing Departmental
Consistency Easy for Staff to
Use Town Hosted Town Supported
Platform No Extra
“helpdesk” Work
Option 1: Customizable Option 2: Off the Shelf
Lessons Learned
• Visual Appealing • Easy to Use • Easy to Navigate • Table of Contents • Searchable • Always up to Date • Options to Tailor Layout and Format • Ability to Embed Links into
Email/Documents
• Export Limitations • No Network = No Document • Hyperlink Limitations • Upload Time • Website Posting Limitations • Software Updates
What Works Areas of Opportunity
Original Document Format
Lessons Learned
• Visual Appealing • Easy to Use • Easy to Navigate • Table of Contents • Searchable • Always up to Date • Options to Tailor Layout and Format • Ability to Embed Links into
Email/Documents
• Export Limitations • No Network = No Document • Hyperlink Limitations • Upload Time • Website Posting Limitations • Software Updates
What Works What Would We Change
Original Document Format
Did the Shoe Fit?
A digital agency focused on the
intersection of technology and
urban planning.
http://recode.la
A modern zoning code is visual
Goal
Develop a modern, web-based version
of LA’s new code that is interactive,
elegant, personalized, and optimized
for mobile devices.
Our beautiful vision
Reality
Solution
From Adobe InDesign
To a mobile-optimized, searchable website in <30 seconds
e-Template
https://TangerineDocuments.com/
Selecting a digital publishing method
Long / highly-structured documents
What format does the existing document live in?
Feature comparison
Time and budget
Technical capacity / staff size / IT policies
Frequency of amendments
Audience – internal and external
Support – internal and external
Selecting a digital publishing method
Feature Comparison
Selecting a digital publishing method
Selecting a digital publishing method Feature Comparison
Feature
Publishing Method
Interactive
PDF SaaS
E-book
& EPUB
Document
processor
HTML
site CMS
1. Edit source content
2. Table of contents
3. Dynamic search
4. Hyperlinks
5. Responsive layout
6. Styles and automatic numbering
7. Cross-referencing
8. Images
9. Tables
10. Autonomous server
Selecting a digital publishing method Feature Comparison
Feature
Publishing Method
Interactive
PDF SaaS
E-book
& EPUB
Document
processor
HTML
site CMS
11. Templates
12. Independent HTML and CSS
13. GIS Integration
14. Multi-channel publishing
15. Annotations
16. Built in calculators
17. Support for all devices
18. Video integration
19. Tracked changes
20. Hover-over and drop-down text
Building a digital publishing campaign
Building a digital publishing campaign Organizational culture
Know the budget cycle
Cross-departmental buy-in
Form a strong project team
Have multiple project champions
Clear work plan
Realistic milestones
Communicate measureable progress
Testing, Evaluation, and Implementation
Make time for this – you might need to work late
Not everything will go as expected
Downloading trials
Importing content
Creating sample work products
Tracking and resolving known issues
Choosing the vendor / pricing / number of seats / maintenance plan
Maintaining amendments
Testing, evaluation and implementation
BEYOND PDFS
pete.sull ivan@ durhamnc.gov
steins@ urbaninsight.com
ctanner@ townofmorrisvil le.org
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