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The Situation:
I am in the planning stage for installation documentation to support our new
generation of software. We are developing for three operating systems:
Windows NT, Sun Solaris, and HP-UX. In the past, my company has developed
individual installation guides for each platform. As you can imagine, it's a
bear to work on and track issues for three (it was four) books
simultaneously. It's doable, of course, but I'm looking for ways to improve
the process given our tightening development schedules. One thing I am
considering is a form of signle-sourcing. I can author one FrameMaker book
and use conditional text to handle the differences among the platforms. Then
I can manage the conditional text to produce three individual guides.
The Questions:
Have any of you tried creating multiple deliverables from one FrameMaker
book? If so, was it a success or a nightmare? What are some things to
consider as I plan for the project? What traps can I avoid? I know this can
be done, but is it the best solution?
