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More free DITA training: the concept topic

Thanks to everyone who has signed up for LearningDITA.com and taken the free Introduction to DITA course. The introductory course offers a high-level overview of DITA.

Want a deeper dive into the DITA information types (concept, topic, reference, and glossary)? Today, we are releasing our second course on the DITA concept topic. The course and supporting videos were created by a Scriptorium team led by Gretyl Kinsey (with help from Simon Bate, Jake Campbell, and me).

Alan Pringle
August 31, 2015
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DITA

The friendly guide to the scope, format, and type attributes in DITA

In testing one day, I was running a set of sample content through the DITA-OT, and much to my consternation, the build was succeeding, but generating no content. The error log helped to ferret out the source of the problem; the preprocessor was attempting to extract a linktext and navtitle from an image file that could not be found.

The image in question was a keyref pulled in from a map referenced in the main map file. Everything validated, previews showed the images resolving correctly, yet the images steadfastly refused to be pulled in during preprocessing—so what was wrong?

Jake Campbell
August 24, 2015
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Opinion

Tech comm skills: writing ability, technical aptitude, tool proficiency, and business sense

Technical Writing is only about what software you know! Is that why every where I read any type of document, web page, or article it is FULL of misspellings, incorrect punctuation, and horrible formatting?!!

That’s what started a thread on LinkedIn that encapsulates long-running debates on the skill sets technical writers need. (The thread was removed from LinkedIn sometime after Friday, unfortunately.)

Alan Pringle
August 17, 2015
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Analysis

Design versus automation: a strategic approach to content

Design and automation are often positioned as mutually exclusive–you have to choose one or the other. But in fact, it’s possible to deliver content in an automated workflow that uses a stellar design. To succeed, you need a designer who can work with styles, templates, and other building blocks instead of ad hoc formatting.

More content across more devices requires scalability–and that means more automation. A strategic approach to content needs to incorporate both design and automation as constraints and find the right balance between the two.

Sarah O'Keefe
August 10, 2015
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DITA Opinion

Making metadata in DITA work for you

Metadata is one of the most important factors in making the most of your DITA XML-based content environment. Whether you’re converting legacy content into DITA or creating new structured content, it’s important to know what metadata (or data about data) your files will keep track of and why. Coming up with a plan for using metadata can be tricky, so here are some tips to make the process easier.

Gretyl Kinsey
August 6, 2015
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