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A FrameMaker to XML Conversion Project at HP

A FrameMaker to XML Conversion Project at HP. Eileen Wollam NonStop Publications Program Manager Hewlett-Packard Company 17 April 2007. Overview. Background of the NonStop Project NonStop XML Conversion Process Quick XML Tutorial Arbortext Editor Demo. Background of the NonStop Project .

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A FrameMaker to XML Conversion Project at HP

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  1. A FrameMaker to XML Conversion Project at HP Eileen Wollam NonStop Publications Program Manager Hewlett-Packard Company 17 April 2007

  2. Overview • Background of the NonStop Project • NonStop XML Conversion Process • Quick XML Tutorial • Arbortext Editor Demo

  3. Background of the NonStop Project • HP is consolidating data centers, thereby shutting down some existing servers and applications. • My team has to migrate over 1,000 legacy manuals from the server that hosts the NonStop Technical Library to docs.hp.com by mid-August 2007. • docs.hp.com will not accept our existing chunked PDF files created from FrameMaker source. • To meet the deadlines for the migration, we divided our content into three types: • Active content • Inactive content • Really old content

  4. Migrating Legacy Content • Active content • Approximately 10-30 manuals are revised for each quarterly release. • We are converting these manuals to XML as they are revised. • Revised manuals often replace older versions of the manual in the online library. • Inactive content: • Approximately 1,000 manuals fall into this category. • Customers still need this content, but it’s not likely to be revised soon. • We are converting the FrameMaker source or chunked PDF files to single PDF files to enable migration. • Really old content • Customers no longer need this content. • We archiving it but not converting it.

  5. Converting FrameMaker Source to XML • Perform preconversion tasks in FM 6.0 to ensure consistent tagging and structure. • Build new book file in FM 7.1and run the conversion utility. • Run several Perl scripts on the resulting XML file to clean up predictable errors. • Convert .wmf images extracted during conversion into .png format. • Open XML file in Arbortext Editor and fix structural errors. Pay attention to cross-references, tables, index entries. • Do other cleanup, such as adding front matter, tagging conditional text, adding alternative text to images. • Transform content to PDF or HTML and look it over carefully for dropped text and messed-up formatting.

  6. Conversion Tips • Consistent structure and tagging in your FM source is extremely important. • Before you create a conversion utility, you must select a DTD and map FM tags to XML tags. (We knew we would use a subset of DocBook.) • The original conversion utility had lots of problems. The Perl scripts have been a life saver. • We are using a graphics converter called ReaConverter to batch-convert images. Another real life saver! • The more attention you pay during preconversion the fewer errors you’ll have in your converted XML file.

  7. Quick XML Tutorial • What is XML? • Why convert to XML? • Key terms • XML syntax • Using an XML Editor • Arbortext Editor Demo

  8. What Is XML? • XML is an open-source, structured markup language recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium. • XML separates content from format, allowing you to render multiple output formats from a single XML source file. • XML allows you to easily share content with translators, contractors, and third parties. • Structured markup enforces consistency in a document.

  9. Why Convert to XML? • XML is the basis for a single-sourcing strategy. You can: • Render multiple output formats (e.g., PDF, HTML, online help, UNIX man pages) from a single XML source file. • Use conditional text to create different versions of a document more easily than with FrameMaker or MS Word. • Combined with a content-management system, you can: • Assemble XML modules from a variety of sources into a single finished document. • Facilitate reuse by creating modules that others can import into their documents by reference.

  10. Key Terms (1 of 2)

  11. Key Terms (2 of 2)

  12. XML Syntax • All elements and attributes must be valid to the DTD. • All elements must have a closing tag: <para>…</para> • All elements must be properly nested: <book><chapter><section> • All documents must have a root element: <book>…</book>. • All attribute values must be quoted: <chapter id=“intro”>…</chapter>

  13. Using an XML Editor • The most common XML editors are: • Arbortext Editor (formerly Epic Editor) • XMetaL • AuthorIT • XML Editors typically include these features: • Validation to the DTD • Allowable tags and attributes selectable from menus • Tags on or off views • A semi-WYSIWYG table editor • NonStop Pubs uses Arbortext Editor with a subset of the DocBook DTD.

  14. Arbortext Editor Demo • Demo • Q&A

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