Imagine being able to produce multiple flavours of one single print document through the simple use of tags. We’re not talking about XML quite yet – but a tool in FrameMaker (FM) that can help you churn out different renditions of the same document by having select text appear or not appear.
Conditional Text
Using a software manual as an example, you may want to render certain chunks of text associated with a particular version of the software as conditional. You can then associate those chunks with a condition tag name of your choice, and then choose to hide or show the condition tag as required. Conditional text allows you to avoid the chore of cutting and pasting text and all the things we hate about maintaining multiple versions of a document. This would be a huge benefit to any newbie who is just starting print documentation work and a great way to start employing niftier methodology without opening the XML door just yet.
To illustrate how this would work with the simplest example: 1) I’d grab the latest Version 1.1 user manual (.doc), and then export its contents into a .fm file. 2) I would add/change new content where appropriate in the .fm file for the upcoming 1.2 release, and then tag newly added text with the condition tag “1.2”. If a sales rep needed version 1.1 of the manual, I would simply hide the “8.2” condition tag in FM and generate a PDF accordingly. If a technical analyst needs an 8.2 version of the manual, I would select to show all condition tags, generate a PDF, and so on. The result would also save lots of memory space in your repository!
Unfortunately, conditional text is not a built-in feature available for Word 2003 (not sure about 2007 though). If you're still examining the switch to FM and have yet to try the month-long free demo, you can download a copy at the Adobe site here. To learn more about conditional text in FM 8, just look up ‘conditional text’ in FM’s LiveDoc search.
Even better, with DocTrain West coming up, you don't have to learn FM alone! Bring your laptop with the FM 8 demo installed and ready to go, and let Matt Sullivan of GRAFIX Training and Consulting teach you how to really tap into the power of FM and its sibling applications available in Adobe's Technical Communication Suite. His pre-conference workshop takes place this coming May 6 at Pinnacle Ballroom 3 of the Vancouver Marriot Pinnacle.
Using a software manual as an example, you may want to render certain chunks of text associated with a particular version of the software as conditional. You can then associate those chunks with a condition tag name of your choice, and then choose to hide or show the condition tag as required. Conditional text allows you to avoid the chore of cutting and pasting text and all the things we hate about maintaining multiple versions of a document. This would be a huge benefit to any newbie who is just starting print documentation work and a great way to start employing niftier methodology without opening the XML door just yet.
To illustrate how this would work with the simplest example: 1) I’d grab the latest Version 1.1 user manual (.doc), and then export its contents into a .fm file. 2) I would add/change new content where appropriate in the .fm file for the upcoming 1.2 release, and then tag newly added text with the condition tag “1.2”. If a sales rep needed version 1.1 of the manual, I would simply hide the “8.2” condition tag in FM and generate a PDF accordingly. If a technical analyst needs an 8.2 version of the manual, I would select to show all condition tags, generate a PDF, and so on. The result would also save lots of memory space in your repository!
Unfortunately, conditional text is not a built-in feature available for Word 2003 (not sure about 2007 though). If you're still examining the switch to FM and have yet to try the month-long free demo, you can download a copy at the Adobe site here. To learn more about conditional text in FM 8, just look up ‘conditional text’ in FM’s LiveDoc search.
Even better, with DocTrain West coming up, you don't have to learn FM alone! Bring your laptop with the FM 8 demo installed and ready to go, and let Matt Sullivan of GRAFIX Training and Consulting teach you how to really tap into the power of FM and its sibling applications available in Adobe's Technical Communication Suite. His pre-conference workshop takes place this coming May 6 at Pinnacle Ballroom 3 of the Vancouver Marriot Pinnacle.
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