setting up technical documentation workflow from scratch : about DocZone

[de Rouck, Tom (Gent)]

Hi Wim, Jakobsen,

I just wanted to add a small hint: if you're really going to choose DocZone because of its integrated translation support, please think twice.
They're not ready yet... We are doing a translation job for the moment in that tool and a lot of programming work is still to be done (again, I only speak about the translation side).

regards,

Tom





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Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:02:28 +0200

From: "Wim Hooghwinkel - idtp" <wim at idtp.eu>

To: <framers at lists.frameusers.com>

Cc: 'Studio Smalbro' <studio at smalbro.dk>

Subject: setting up technical documentation workflow from scratch

Message-ID: <000f01cb692b$69849d40$3c8dd7c0$@eu>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi,

You're lucky to be able to set this up from scratch! Don't make the mistake to choose a tool before you have defined your goals and requirements. Also be careful for vendor lock in. Go for open standards and flexible solutions.

If you go for XML remember that there are many XML editing tools.

You should definitely take a look at the Adobe Technical Communication Suite

- this doesn't comprise a database but it has all the tools you need to create, review and manage technical docs.

If you want a database you probably end up with a structured approach based on DITA. FrameMaker and the Adobe TCS are fully capable of handling DITA topics from a database.

Further check out: Alfresco with Componize, Ixiasoft DITA CMS, DocZone (with integrated translation support), Author-IT, the MadCap Flare suite, Help&Manual, the Danish based DITA Exchange solution on Sharepoint or in case you're not tight on budget SDL Trisoft. (just google for the URLs)

Some of these work with FrameMaker, some don't (out of the box) and these are not all DITA but in all cases DITA compliant if needed.

Want more help? Contact me off list!

HTH



Kind regards, vriendelijke groet,

Wim Hooghwinkel

iDTP - Technical Communication Consultant Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in FrameMaker tel. +31652036811 Skype wimhooghwinkel Twitter @idtp @NLDITA info at idtp.eu www.idtp.eu<outbind://8/www.idtp.eu> www.nldita.nl<outbind://8/www.nldita.nl> FrameMaker support: framemaker at idtp.eu

From: Studio Smalbro <studio at smalbro.dk>

To: framers at lists.frameusers.com

Subject: setting up technical documentation workflow from scratch

Message-ID: <4CB16A8D.4050405 at smalbro.dk>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

I am about to author a small report on setting up a technical documentation workflow from scratch.

I need to devise a setup where a group of author can write tech docs, another group maintain and translate the docs and publish them as pdf.

It is vital that the process can be thought within a technogy which allows for later integration with publishing to web as well.

I have taken a look at Woodwings serverbased solution which uses InDesign as publishing frontend, but I would like to see whether I can accomplish the same using FrameMaker. I suppose I must look for a kind of database drive solution where the authors write into a database.

I have taken a look on a couple of database publishing solutions:

Patternstream, Sabern, FrameMaker Server but some of these solutions looks strangely dated when one merely looks at their websites. Sabern uses product images from FrameMaker 5.5. Patternstream recommends in FrameMaker 8 in a news release dated 2007. Adobes documentation for FrameMaker Server seems to be non existent - even a tutorial links to some very quaint and useless course on a server not even belonging to Adobe.

My question is: Am I looking in the wrong places? Can somebody reccommend products which will help me streamline the process?

regards

Jakobsen


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