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RE: XML-based Help Authoring tools for customized help
Subject:RE: XML-based Help Authoring tools for customized help From:"Bill Lawrence" <scribe -at- matrixplus -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 11 Dec 2003 12:37:47 -0500
We seem to be poised on the brink of one of those endless "religious
wars" about tools, schemas, etc. So, I'll step back a bit. One of the
reasons that I'm so fond of Docbook is that I've used nothing else for
about a decade and it's reached the point of being "second nature." I'm
almost more comfortable with it now than with something like Word.
However, I recognize that's not the case for most people.
If you end up using a fairly simple schema, you might want to check out
Morphon as an editor. It's now free, and actually has pretty much the
same capabilities as Xmetal. I've used it interchangeably with Xmetal,
and frankly the only real advantage Xmetal has is that I can load a
number of documents into the editor fairly without bogging it down.
My fondness for Epic is largely based on its ability to preview
conditional documents in the editor. My single-source material has lots
of conditional text and graphics, designed for different audiences and
purposes. Being able to see only one "flavor" in the editor is a very
nice feature. I also have lots of tables, which (at least from my point
of view) precludes using editors such as emacs.
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