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Within my definition of single sourcing, we do single sourcing for our
current products from Frame to paper, web, cdrom, and are moving to help. We
are currently looking at single sourcing from RH to help, paper, and web.
Side note: my definition of single source is: 1) write the content in one
place, 2) use Save As, Export, Import, Generate, etc. to put into other
formats WITHOUT tweaking or having a human modify it.
We have spent a lot of time creating templates and style sheets in Frame and
HTML to enable us to do this smoothly. As a result, we create content in
Frame, using a template that conditionalizes some text for either paper or
web. Then we save as .fm, .html, and build a book which is published as
paper and pdf. Recently we have been taking the Frame files and tweaking the
content into RH. We do, of course, need to find a template/whatever it will
take to be able to smoothly generate help files.
As an additional complication, we have a new product that will have help
files as first priority. We are seriously considering using RH as the
primary content creation point and then creating the other eventual files
from that original content. We need to share files with the current
products, but we do not currently have a need to source the help content
into paper, cdrom, or pdf.
My standard of performance for the new product is:
a) help files have to be available with the new sw product, and with the new
hw product.
b) content has to be available on the web.
c) First quality priority is the help file, second is web, and paper is not
required.
(when we created in Frame, it used to be first quality was web, then paper,
and no help files were required)
d) Thanks to a recent big sucking layoff, I need to maximize the reusability
of the content.
So, Bruce, I have roughly the same problem as you.
For RH, it's a blessing that we can put the .chm files on the web in place
of pdfs. That's one step saved.
So my current plan is (and may be totally unworkable):
1) Import current content via RH MIF import. If tweaking is required, I must
try to resolve it so that I can keep the original content in Frame.
2) Create new content in RH.
3) Build .chms for my help files and to put on the web.
4) Create a template for RH that will accommodate MIF and original content.
I am confident that graphics will have to be totally revisited, since we
compromised on web graphics slightly in Frame in the original scenario. I
don't know what will be our standard, because "graphic design is no longer a
core competency."
Karen Otto
Telnet 921-3513
(509) 921-3513
karen_otto -at- agilent -dot- com
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