RE: InDesign CS2 file to Web topics?

["Daniel Ng" <kjng -at- gprotechnologies -dot- com>]

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This sounds like a transforms issues. I can't recommend Madcap Flare here or
any of the single-sourcing suspects here.

Can you save/export the InDesign file to another file format, such as Word
or even FrameMaker Mif.

I wonder if webworks publisher can handle this.

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Gold [mailto:peter -at- knowhowpro -dot- com] 
Sent: Friday, October 03, 2008 4:51 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: InDesign CS2 file to Web topics?

Message: 10
Brigitte Johnston <johnstonbrigitte -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
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My company has recently produced a new (paper) manual using InDesign CS2.
The manual was put together by a graphic designer (with my help!) because it
was a rush job, and I did not know the software (and didn't have it on my
machine -- I've been using Word for the last 7 years!).
So, as I'm sitting here teaching myself InDesign (I'm just getting started -
today), I get a call from one of our VPs asking "What would it take to put
portions of that manual into a format accessible via the Web?" He wants
parts of this manual (topics) accessible and printable individually, but he
does not want people to be able to just print the entire manual. We'd like
to have something resembling help topics, not just pages of the PDF'd manual
(although that may be the first version, just to get them out there).

Can someone point me in the right direction? Does this require additional
software, or can these topics be generated from the InDesign files? (There
are several files, one for each chapter, put together as one PDF.) If we can
use InDesign, what's the function I'm looking for? The graphic designer is
also looking into this, but I thought I would ask all of you as well. The
more I can get my hands in this the better!
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Hi, Brigitte:

ID CS3 has better HTML-for-Web output than ID CS2, and ID CS4 (just
announced, but not shipping for a while) has even better, but they all needs
touching-up - major or minor, depending on your needs - and none equals the
output of true help authoring tools.

ID CS3 also has long-document tools - text variables, running headers,
interruptible numbered lists - not in ID CS2. ID CS4 adds conditional text
and cross-references. Both of these can make PDF documents more useful as
help. For example, using conditional text, you can mark content with
conditions like Online_and_Paper, Online_Only, and Paper_Only, then show or
hide the appropriate content before exporting to PDF. Cross-references
create hyperlinks within and across documents in PDF.

Upgrading to ID CS3 now qualifies you for a free IDCS4 when it's released,
for only the cost of shipping.

You can get more information from the Adobe InDesign Windows and Macintosh
User-to-User fora. Most postings platform-specific, so you should search
both. If you post to both fora, include a note that you're double posting.

HTH

Regards,

Peter
__________________
Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices


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