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<DIV>Hi guys</DIV>
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<DIV>If you're planning to roundtrip through XML, with different authors using different XML editors, you'd need to have all the formatting in the EDD, right?</DIV>
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<DIV>Or am I on completely the wrong track in my ignorance?</DIV>
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<DIV>Thanks</DIV>
<DIV>Rebecca</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>>>> "Rick Quatro" <rick@rickquatro.com> 14/09/12 10:02 >>><BR>I like Fred's arguments here. I have mainly advocated the<BR>Paragraph/Character format approach in EDDs for two main reasons:<BR><BR>1) It is generally easier to have a single EDD work with multiple templates,<BR>which is advantageous for some document sets.<BR><BR>2) It allows the client a bit of flexibility in determining the look and<BR>feel of their templates. I do the EDD work and they can do the template work<BR>with the Paragraph and Character Designer interface that they are familiar<BR>with.<BR><BR>Because the large number of formats that this approach can entail, you need<BR>to plan your format names carefully so they make sense to the template<BR>designer.<BR><BR>Over time, I have become less strict, and moved to more of a mixed approach.<BR>For certain types of formatting, I will use a base paragraph format and<BR>specify "exceptions" in the EDD; for example, page breaks, extra space at<BR>the end of a list, etc. This still allows template changes with the<BR>Designers, but cuts back on the number of "exception" formats in the<BR>paragraph and character catalogs. I have found that this works well and<BR>still supports the two reasons above. <BR><BR>Rick<BR><BR>Rick Quatro<BR>Carmen Publishing Inc.<BR>585-283-5045<BR>rick@frameexpert.com<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: framers-bounces@lists.frameusers.com<BR>[mailto:framers-bounces@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Fred Wersan<BR>Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2012 1:29 PM<BR>To: framers@lists.frameusers.com<BR>Subject: Re: Unstructured to Structured: Question about retaining, paragraph<BR>formats<BR><BR>Just my two cents on this.<BR><BR>There is no right answer. Depends where you want the control to be and maybe<BR>your philosophical approach - as in "no formatting in the EDD".<BR><BR>When I went structured, it was an opportunity to reduce paragraph format<BR>bloat. I analyzed what I needed, pared down the paragraph and character<BR>formats and tried to stay that way. I didn't want a different format for<BR>every possible different formatting issue that might come up. In part this<BR>means that if you are strict about things you don't let users deviate from<BR>the set of formats that are provided. But you can cover acceptable<BR>deviations by putting formatting in the EDD (if your philosophy permits<BR>this).<BR><BR>As a practical matter, I have found that due to limitations in the EDD,<BR>there are times when putting formatting in the EDD works well and times when<BR>it just doesn't seem to work right. The conditions get too complicated and<BR>it isn't worth it.<BR><BR>Of course, as a lone writer, I get to make all the decisions, but I try to<BR>act as if it were a bigger setup - no changes to para formats and no new<BR>on-the-fly formats allowed.<BR><BR>With multiple books using the same EDD, they all have to comply or they get<BR>blasted every time I update the EDD, so there is a strong incentive to do<BR>things right.<BR><BR>A previous respondent said: "<BR><BR>The idea with structure is (as has already been said) to separate structure<BR>from display.?"<BR><BR><BR>I am not sure that I entirely agree with that. The idea of structure,<BR>particularly in FrameMaker, is that the computer enforces the formatting<BR>based on the element structure rather than writers needing to apply<BR>formatting via paragraph tags as they go along. If you are in a non-WYSIWYG<BR>environment, then you don't get the display. In FrameMaker you get the<BR>display too, but you don't have to be responsible for it, just for applying<BR>the correct element tags. Whether the computer enforces the formatting based<BR>entirely on what is in the EDD or on a mix of EDD coding and para formats is<BR>an implementation detail. Either way the application of formatting is done<BR>by the computer, not by the user.<BR><BR>Fred<BR><BR>--<BR>Fred Wersan<BR>VT MÄK, Principal Technical Writer<BR>68 Moulton Street, Cambridge, MA 02138<BR>T: +1.617.876.8085 x124 Email: fwersan@mak.com<BR><BR>Get Realistic Background Traffic - up to 75% off!<BR>www.mak.com/YourPatternOfLife | Offer ends September 25, 2012<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR><BR><BR>You are currently subscribed to framers as rick@rickquatro.com.<BR><BR>Send list messages to framers@lists.frameusers.com.<BR><BR>To unsubscribe send a blank email to<BR>framers-unsubscribe@lists.frameusers.com<BR>or visit<BR><A href="http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/rick%40rickquatro.com">http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/rick%40rickquatro.com</A><BR><BR>Send administrative questions to listadmin@frameusers.com. Visit<BR><A href="http://www.frameusers.com/">http://www.frameusers.com/</A> for more resources and info.<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR><BR><BR>You are currently subscribed to framers as rebecca.officer@alliedtelesis.co.nz.<BR><BR>Send list messages to framers@lists.frameusers.com.<BR><BR>To unsubscribe send a blank email to<BR>framers-unsubscribe@lists.frameusers.com<BR>or visit <A href="http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/rebecca.officer%40alliedtelesis.co.nz">http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/rebecca.officer%40alliedtelesis.co.nz</A><BR><BR>Send administrative questions to listadmin@frameusers.com. Visit<BR><A href="http://www.frameusers.com/">http://www.frameusers.com/</A> for more resources and info.<BR></DIV>
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