Perils of DITA publishing, part 3: Indexing
In which we are boxed in by the limitations of DITA indexing support.
Content management
New to tech comm? Expect the unexpected
When I started at Scriptorium a year ago, I knew almost nothing about tech comm. I knew what technical content was, having used it many times, but I’d never really thought about how it was produced.
Breaking the batch habit
The batch publishing paradigm is deeply ingrained in technical communication, and breaking out of it is going to make the transition from desktop publishing to structured authoring look easy.
Webcast: Collaboration: A hands-on demo using Confluence wiki
In this video recording, guest presenter Sarah Maddox explains why collaboration is a good thing, why a wiki is a good solution for it, and how to do it on Confluence.
Even wireframes need real content
We all know that Lorem Ipsum is not your friend. But sometimes, even sample content fails.
Integrating accessibility features into technical content
Accessibility is a term commonly associated with the process of making content available for people with vision, hearing, and mobility impairments.
Avoiding an extinction event
The elimination of the distribution monopoly for content is upending the publishing industry and technical communication specifically.
Another peril in ebook publishing: Amazon KF8 compatibility
KF8. Nope, it’s not K2‘s long-lost mountain cousin. It’s Amazon’s new ebook format.
While dealing with this new format probably isn’t as daunting as scaling a 28,251 ft. mountain, KF8 is providing a particularly bothersome challenge right out of the gate: it’s not compatible with any Kindle devices other than the Kindle Fire!
The dawn of digital publishing
Is a week long enough to gain some perspective on the new landscape in ebook publishing?
Tempus fugit
I’ve been thinking about how time affects communication. We have constant deadlines, some of which are easier to meet than others. But there are other ways in which time affects content strategy.
The perversion of indexes
In addition to mixed column and copyfitting, the shift from desktop publishing to structured authoring may result in the demise of the traditional index.
The latest style for tech comm: adding value
Over the weekend, a friend showed me an episode of a reality show that featured some commentary by a “style expert.” This expert offered his advice while dressed in an outfit that would work well as a costume in a production of Oliver Twist (and that’s being charitable).
Content monoculture
I’m having some trouble with the idea of “extending DITA” outside the world of technical communication. DITA is obviously important in the right environment, but should we be advocating the use of DITA for more and more content?
FrameMaker, DITA, xrefs: I could tell you, but…
Modifying FrameMaker cross-reference formats: it’s basic and one of the cool things about FrameMaker. But not if you’re editing DITA files using FrameMaker 9 or 10.
Video has not killed the tech comm star
Ellis Pratt of Cherryleaf asks: How important is video to technical authors?
Graham argues you cannot afford to ignore video.
The PDF roadblock
Getting attractive PDF output out of XML is a serious technical challenge. But in some organizations, the PDF requirement is being used to prevent to unwanted workflow changes.
Contemplating the tablet in tech comm
Ebooks and tablets are helping people read more than they did before: in a recent survey, 66 percent of portable device owners said they were reading more.
That statistic should prompt all technical communicators to think about if—and how—ebooks and other tablet-compatible formats (including apps) fit into their content delivery.
Social media: marketing in every message
Social media has transformed the work of technical communicators, but we’re far from alone in feeling its impact:
Writers can make good publishers
Earlier this week, Richard Curtis at e-reads asked Do Authors Make Good Publishers?, and he answers the question emphatically in the first paragraph of his post:
The answer is No.
How to succeed in ePub building with really trying
The ePub spec is long and very formal, but the format itself is fairly straightforward. And while building an ePub by hand is not complicated in itself, reworking content from other formats can be tricky.
Using Ant to find a needle in a haystack
Many content management systems (CMSs) take over the responsibility of file naming. For the most part, this is fine and is actually necessary for maintaining cross-references and conrefs within the CMS. When you use the CMS to build a DITA map, the CMS uses its own names in the <topicref> elements.
A contrarian view of the future of publishing
Based on a quick Google search, things don’t look too hot for publishing:
The ePub has landed! The ePub has landed!
Our Technical Writing 101 book is now available in an ePub edition. You can purchase it from our online store or get it from Apple’s iBookstore.
