Five tips for converting content to DITA
So, you’ve decided to move to a DITA-based workflow. Before you convert your existing content to DITA, consider these five tips, which encompass both big-picture and coding-specific issues.
Author: Alan Pringle
Webcast: The realities of ebook distribution
In this webcast recording, Alan Pringle discusses the challenges of ebook distribution and how Scriptorium has addressed them when selling EPUB and Kindle editions. Topics covered include:
- Formatting differences in ereader devices and apps
- Pricing
- Other lessons learned through painful experience
Pay no GREAT attention to that man behind the curtain
Every department has its resident tech wizard: the maintainer of the templates, the DITA Open Toolkit, the wiki, and so on. What happens when that wizard flies off to a new kingdom?
From tech writer to DITA superhero
In the world of superheroes, technical writers could just slide down a pole or do a clandestine spin to transform themselves into DITA technologists. Of course, nothing is that easy, so what does the transformation from tech writer to DITA superhero really require?
Five questions to ask before distributing content as HTML
HTML5! Mobile! Responsive design!
It’s easy to get distracted by sparkly buzzwords when you investigate distributing your technical content as HTML. Instead, focus on a few basic but essential questions:
Adapt or die: style guide edition
Being cognizant of your environment and adapting accordingly is a good survival technique for any being (as Darwin recognized), and it’s particularly true in the professional world. And that’s why I’m puzzled by how much time tech writers spend agonizing over style and word choices in tech comm forums, on Twitter, and elsewhere.
Mission: Impossible? Consistently good ebook formatting across devices
Your mission, should you decide to accept it: distribute content as ebooks.
Gone with the width: what’s the optimal length for a line of text?
When it comes to a line of text, how long is too long? And do the rules for text column width change when content is rendered on different devices?
Perils of DITA publishing, part 7: the displeasures of distributing ebooks
In which we uncover some unpleasant realities about distributing ebook editions.
Perils of DITA publishing, part 3: Indexing
In which we are boxed in by the limitations of DITA indexing support.
