Join us on September 12, 2012 at 12:00-1:00 PM CST for STC Single Sourcing SIG Webinar with Maxwell Hoffmann of  Adobe. Maxwell will demonstrate Hoffmann will use FrameMaker 11 in unstructured mode with conditional text to create multiple versions of  a manual, including an online parts manual for HTML. This webinar focuses on a single source solution to a real-world business challenge and is free to SIG members.

Single Sourcing Challenge

CompanyA manufactures equipment for the mining industry. The technical publications team currently uses FrameMaker to create printed operator and service manuals that must go with every machine shipped (PDF). 60% of each operator manual is consistently reused  between products and portions of the service manuals are reused for online parts manuals (HTML). The technical publications team has 3 months to determine how they will also deliver the same materials to tablets. Inputs: native file format (FrameMaker) Outputs: PDF (print, online) and HTML (web, mobile) 

Single Sourcing Solution 

Hoffmann will use FrameMaker 11 in unstructured mode with conditional text to create multiple versions of  a manual, including an online parts manual for HTML. He will use: 

- Keyboard shortcuts to apply and remove conditional text.
- Text insets with best practices to maximize content reuse (change once, publish many.) 
- Imported equipment 3D graphics with automatically generated a hyperlinked parts list and hotspots to graphics that parallel cross-reference functionality. 
- FrameMaker 11 Tech Comm Suite 4 to “silent publish” through RoboHelp to HTML5 to create web, mobile and tablet versions that are device aware via “media query.” 
- Edits for the project in FrameMaker 11. 
- If time allows, a collaborative review, via annotated PDF files imported “in place” directly in to the FrameMaker source files. 

Presenter

Maxwell Hoffmann is Adobe’s Product Evangelist for Technical Communications and a former product manager for FrameMaker at Frame Technology. Hoffmann spent nearly 15 years in the translation industry, where he managed or published over 1,000,000 pages of multilingual content in thousands of projects. He has also managed projects in DITA, XML with authoring tools range from Word, InDesign, Quark Express to structured FrameMaker. Hoffmann has presented face-to-face, hands-on training to over 1,200 people in scalable authoring solutions over several years.