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Authoring Systems: An Overview

Authoring Systems: An Overview . Presented by Dave Murphy Senior Managing Editor Lippincott Williams and Wilkins 530 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 215 521 8747 . Authoring Systems Objective . A tool that is flexible enough to allow rigidly and loosely enforced structural rules

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Authoring Systems: An Overview

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  1. Authoring Systems: An Overview Presented by Dave Murphy Senior Managing EditorLippincott Williams and Wilkins 530 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 215 521 8747

  2. Authoring Systems Objective • A tool that is flexible enough to allow rigidly and loosely enforced structural rules • A tool that includes content management features • Check-in / check-out • Workflow processing • Collaborative authoring for an environment that is not media neutral, but targeted for all media

  3. Authoring Tool Process Goals • Help writers and editors concentrate on writing • Achieve gains in production by passing well structured content or XML to the production processes • Eliminate the problems associated with managing unstructured files • Provide the publisher with some workflow management and reporting tools

  4. What is an Authoring tool? • A Word template? • YES! Sometimes the solutions can be simple. • You need to balance the cost of technology against the needs to the project. • A template can help guide your authors in writing to a pre-established pattern.

  5. The Five Minute Series Needed to distribute hundreds of topics to hundreds of authors No XML but some level of structural control and some page count management.

  6. What is an Authoring tool ? (continued) • A slightly more sophisticated version is a Word template with some scripted features. • Sample that follows set up with Univers Condensed for box text, set to 7.5/9 as in specsIncludes Font check during validation also now checks and resets leading • Includes a "Paste" macro on the toolbar--if the author uses this instead of the regular paste function, it will clean the text automatically for them and prevent a possible error if they are trying to paste line/page breaks into text boxes, which Word will not allow. • This template designed to help control the content depth during the authoring stage. • Not 100 % accurate but effective at limiting the author to the space allocated for an individual topic.

  7. LAUNCH TEMPLATE

  8. Templates the up-side • Low cost • Easy to create • Nominal learning curve • Aids in guiding author to write to a predetermined structure

  9. Templates the down-side • Distribution issues, especially when an update is needed. Getting authors to change templates • Macro and Macro virus paranoia - alerts go up, IT managers don't want to allow the functions • Compatibility across various versions of Word • Word files have many issues. If the template doesn't kill off word features like text boxes, the author can still break all rules • Conforming and control issues - dealing with hundreds of files • Real virus problems - template may actually get infected, and can spread viruses.

  10. Authoring and Composition tools • Adobe InCopy® and InDesign® • Plus Side • Well integrated system • WYSIWYG environment for copyfitting • Negative Side • Cost to license • Learning curve

  11. The Next Step Power X Editor Authoring System Developed by Techbooks • Developed to support compositor internal editorial processes • Has been modified to include additional editorial features needed for a collaborative work flow • Is being reviewed for potential to work with an internal content management system (Documentum)

  12. Production Advantages • Can Provide XML at Any Time for Marketing, Publish-Before-Print • Author Productivity Enhanced as Focus is on Content, Not Presentation • Development Team Can Provide Specific Customization to the Interface • Preview Mode Provides a “Galley View”

  13. Real Life • Real people are finicky • Need to be able to break out of system for special cases • The system must be supported by competent help

  14. Summary • There are no one size fits all solutions. For some titles none of these are necessary, for some task a template or a scripted template is the way to go. • For multi-authored complex books, for annuals and for titles where structural integrity is required to facilitate repurposing the data a full blown authoring system is worth investigating. • It is a system that is evolving as our understanding of its strengths and weaknesses grow.

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