One quick note... The EDD/DTD, many of the XSL tools for output (to PDF/HTML/Help) and training on using the tools (Frame) for DITA are mostly done. There is an EDD and a default environment included in FrameMaker (and a lot of other DITA specific tools) already. The XSL is included for most outputs in the toolkit, but you likely have to tweak it. WebWorks supports DITA as a source to create PDF/HTML/Help using a lot of ideas you already have in your Frame or Word workflows. So does Mif2go, so does Robohelp. Some support is already in place. Training is widely available and I've mentioned in other postings (I think) that you can even try out the book I have for free by downloading the first five chapters from my site.
I would agree on your points overall though. As tools continue to develop I think the overall workflow will get easier. Since I can work with the DITA "stuff" that Adobe includes I can do a demo for a client in days or less, not weeks. I can convert large volumes in weeks, or months, not months or years. However, mapping current styles, and the update of content to meet the new bucket system is part of the process and THAT is where I think the effort should be. Especially the part that teaches the new buckets. That's where the return can come from as well. The other problem with tools like Dreamweaver/FrontPage (opinion) was the masses who then felt "oh, I can create a webpage, it's easy" and decided to do so. There is a lot of sloppy code still out there and a lot of overhead in tools like IE, Firefox, Chrome, and others to deal with that. Every system has good/bad, and each will have people who argue for/against them. I think the best bet is to get as much background as you can, evaluate options, ask for free stuff (demo, trial versions) and see what does or does not work. As this is on the Framers list I think most of us agree that Frame is a better tool for tech comm than Word, but I think that we can also generally agree that, if it is used well, with best practices, Word can do a decent amount of things. It's a matter of education, experience, best practice, workflow, and overall management of all the content you need to work with. Put it all together and you can have a decent system. The same with/without DITA/structure. It may or may not work for all, but if you do plan to use it, do the homework and use it correctly. Hope that helps. Boy, this has been a good discussion on an interesting topic. Bernard -----Original Message----- From: Ed [mailto:hamonwr...@hotmail.com] Sent: April-30-10 16:49 To: 'Matt Sullivan'; 'Bernard Aschwanden (Publishing Smarter)'; 'Alison Craig'; 'FrameMaker Forum' Subject: RE: Structuring documents (was RE: Adobe's New Corporate Strategies) Matt- People are asking why it's so hard to convert. My point is that for many solo writers, it's hard to propose a conversion to management, and get buy-in, especially when there's doc to write that's currently being delivered just fine in their eyes. To successfully convert unstructured content to a structure, you need: An expert to create an EDD and/or DTD. An expert in XSL to create output. An expert to map your current styles to elements. An expert to help you update your content to shoe-horn into the new XML 'buckets'. An expert to train those who are going to be using the new tools. Now, that could be one person, or a team. However, it's still someone else that needs to be paid. It doesn't take a team to upgrade from Word to Frame. Converting to CHM has been mostly a one-button operation for years. If you want WebHelp, all you need is some HTML and CSS knowledge and a copy of a HAT. Once Pagemaker came around, it made publishing easier. Once Dreamweaver and FrontPage came around, it made creating web pages easier. Converting to structure may never get that easy, but it's gotta get easier than it is now. -=Ed. > -----Original Message----- > From: Matt Sullivan [mailto:m...@grafixtraining.com] > Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 3:42 PM > To: 'Ed'; 'Bernard Aschwanden (Publishing Smarter)'; 'Alison Craig'; > 'FrameMaker Forum' > Subject: RE: Structuring documents (was RE: Adobe's New Corporate Strategies) > > The question isn't/wasn't whether or not to structure...that decision is > based on (among other things): > -number of authors > -level of reuse > -need to enforce content model > -need to pass content between one organizational group and another > > If the powers that be decide there is an ROI to structure, then that's what > you'll do. > > Once that decision is made, as with any software or format conversion, there > will be a conversion of legacy docs to the new format. > > As noted by myself, Bernard, and others, the ease of conversion to XML or > DITA is mostly dependent on the quality of the legacy docs and their > consistency in applying a stylesheet. > > If I were asked to convert docs to a format I'm not expert in, I'd expect a > major headache. So should someone without XML, DITA, or DTD experience if > they want to do this by themselves. > > However, relatively speaking, the pain of XML and DITA conversion is not > appreciably greater than any other conversion, if you are going to retain > full use of references, toc's, linking, graphics, etc. > > As you can see, from various posts, there are folks that can help. It's not > our place to tell you (without analysis)whether or not to structure but we > can effeciently and economically help with that transition. > > > -Matt > > ________________________________ > > Matt Sullivan > GRAFIX Training > > 714 960-6840 > 714 585-2335 cell /txt/sms > skype: mattrsullivan > > http://www.grafixtraining.com > http://blogs.roundpeg.com > http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattrsullivan > http://twitter.com/mattrsullivan > http://twitter.com/roundpeginc _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to framers as arch...@mail-archive.com. 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