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The newsletter of Scriptorium Publishing |
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Volume10, Issue 4
April/May 2007
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In this issue:
Interleaf to FrameMaker: Updating HTML and PDF Production
Chocolate, Workshops, and Presentations (and More Chocolate)
Say Hello to Simon Bate
Win a FrameMaker 7 Workbook Bundle!
DITA and XMetaL Training Coming Soon
Sign Up to Beta Test FrameMaker 8
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Interleaf to FrameMaker: Updating HTML and PDF Production
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We've posted a new solution brief, Streamlining HTML and PDF production (PDF, 600 KB), that describes how we updated a client's laborious Interleaf-based process with an automated workflow based on FrameMaker.
Authors submitted content in Microsoft Word, and compositors imported those files into Interleaf. The PDFs derived from this content had no hyperlinks or bookmarks by default, and the HTML output required hours of cleanup to meet stringent Section 508 accessibility guidelines.
To automate the conversion of the Interleaf-based information into FrameMaker, we developed a process that used Blueberry Software's Filtrix software and custom FrameScript scripts.
We created a set of unstructured FrameMaker templates with multiple master pages to accommodate the client's many page layouts. We also set up text insets to handle the redundancy of information in thousands of rate tables. The workflow we set up in unstructured FrameMaker 7 and ePublisher Pro enabled pushbutton production of Section 508–compliant HTML output and PDF output with bookmarks and live links.
For more information about how we can help you automate your documentation workflow, contact sales@scriptorium.com. |
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Chocolate, Workshops, and Presentations (and More Chocolate) |
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It's been a delightful spring filled with...conferences.
Sarah, Matt, and Betty attended the WritersUA
conference in Long Beach. We rolled out our new Yellow Books for the first time—a collection of our most popular white papers on structured authoring. These booklets are free for anyone who stops by our booth. Sarah also delivered a double-length, hands-on Introduction to DITA and a session on coping with the XML paradigm shift. Both were well-attended and full of people asking interesting questions.
Sarah then moved on to Zurich for the STC TransAlpine Chapter's conference. After a grueling 24-hour journey (two flight cancellations due to wind, rerouting through London instead of New York, and a missed connection in London-Gatwick that led to a bus ride over to Heathrow), she arrived. But the weather was fabulous, and the Teuscher store was conveniently located between the hotel and the conference venue. (Sarah reports that her customs form listed nothing but an embarrassingly large quantity of chocolate. In her defense, she points out that Swiss francs are not terribly useful in North Carolina.) The return trip was mercifully uneventful.
The following week, the Southwest Ontario STC's XML workshop was on the agenda. Sarah provided a two-day XML and Structured Authoring workshop followed by a seminar on migration from unstructured to structured FrameMaker.
Many thanks to the volunteers in TAC and SW-Ontario, especially Dan, Nancy, and Leanne, who spent untold hours coordinating these events. In both cases, the events went off without any problems, and the hospitality was great.
On May 13–16, our booth and our people (Sarah, Matt, and probably Sheila) will be traveling to Minneapolis for the STC Technical Communication Summit. Sarah is offering two sessions:
She will also be participating on Paula Berger's (in)famous Trends Panel, which is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. Watch our blog for updates as we get them. Please stop by our booth in the exhibition hall to say hello and collect your Yellow Book. We'll also share our chocolate stash. Maybe. |
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Say Hello to Simon Bate |
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Simon Bate has joined the Scriptorium Publishing team as a consultant. Simon comes to us with extensive scripting, template development, structured authoring implementation, and XSL experience. Welcome, Simon!
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Win a FrameMaker 7 Workbook Bundle! |
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As part of our ongoing tenth-anniversary celebration, we are giving away a set of our FrameMaker workbooks: five workbooks encompassing both the unstructured and structured interfaces. We're also including a copy of Publishing Fundamentals: FrameMaker 7 (formerly FrameMaker 7: The Complete Reference). The value of this comprehensive bundle is $613.
Enter the drawing
The contest ends on May 31, so enter soon! We will announce the winner in the next issue of Illuminations. |
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DITA and XMetaL Training Coming Soon
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Starting this summer, we will offer Introduction to DITA and XMetaL. This three-day course will offer an overview of the DITA structure, and it will include hands-on training for XMetaL Author DITA Edition. Watch future editions of the newsletter for details about the class syllabus.
Tentative DITA and XMetaL class schedule
We're also offering FrameMaker 7, XML, XSL, Photoshop, and InDesign classes this spring and summer. For information about upcoming class dates, check out our online calendar, or select the following links:
Our online calendar now includes classes through December 2007.
We teach our public classes in our classroom in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina, and we also offer courses online, so you don't need to travel. For more information about classroom- and online-based training, see our training options page.
If you have any questions, contact training@scriptorium.com. |
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Sign Up to Beta Test FrameMaker 8 |
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As Sarah O'Keefe mentioned in our blog, Palimpsest, Adobe has just announced they are looking for volunteers to test the beta version of FrameMaker 8. |
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Comments? Questions?
Want to subscribe to the newsletter? |
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We welcome your suggestions
for newsletter topics. Drop us a line at comments@scriptorium.com.
If you know colleagues
who could benefit from our services, please let them know about
us. They can also contact sales@scriptorium.com
or training@scriptorium.com.
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Copyright ©
2007 Scriptorium Publishing Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
Last modified
June 25, 2007
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