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Subject:Re: Replacing paper with online docs? From:Graham Tillotson <graham -at- MEGSINET -dot- NET> Date:Fri, 7 May 1999 15:39:04 -0500
I'll be interested to read Mike Starr's article on using
a print manual as the basis for online documentation, because
I would heartily argue the opposite. Start with online
documentation managed in a central source, then orchestrate
the export-to-print process.
How many of you see the current trend in documentation
toward database-driven, repository software to manage
content? I look at available tools--Folio, Canterbury, Hynet
Directive, Domino.doc, Oracle Tutor, RoboHELP 7.x, and websites
in general--and I wonder why *anyone* would start with print
documentation as the basis for an online project. What
a Sisyphean task! The current trend is not to start with
print and figure out where to move your content; rather, it
is to start with HTML/XML and spin off content to multiple
deliverables.
Graham R. Tillotson, Senior Consultant
Whittman-Hart, Inc.
300 N. Elizabeth
Chicago, IL 60607