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Re: XML-based Help Authoring tools for customized help
Subject:Re: XML-based Help Authoring tools for customized help From:"Mark Baker" <listsub -at- analecta -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 11 Dec 2003 13:11:05 -0500
Bill Lawrence wrote:
> 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.
Which is a very good reason to use it, once you have reached that stage.
Fluency is tremendously important to an author. Fluency with tools is one
thing, but when you get into markup languages you are actually intruding on
the domain of the language itself. Instead of writing in English you are
asking the writer to write in English+Markup and that request carries with
it a big hit to their fluency.
Trying to work in a language in which you are not fluent is doubly
frustrating it hurts both your productivity and your creativity. The mind is
required to engage itself actively at the level of language, just as it was
when you were first learning to speak and to write. The cognitive overhead
of working in a language in which you are not fluent is large and
burdensome. It takes mental energy away from your task.
Now this problem is not unique to markup. DTP tools have this impact as
well. Some studies have actually shown at decline in the quality of prose in
people using WYSIWYG editors. Overall, markup, if used effectively, can
significantly reduce the cognitive burden on the writer by removing
formatting concerns.
However, one of the key concerns we should have when we implement a markup
system is to ensure that authors regain their fluency as quickly as
possible. This means designing our tagging languages so that they are as
easy as possible for authors to learn. This is doubly important if we expect
that our system is going to have to change over time, and so our authors are
going to have to learn new tags.
The fact that we are all, very properly, strongly attached to those tools
and languages in which we are already fluent, is a strong indication that
new tools and languages need to be designed to allow for the rapidest
possible acquisition of fluency on the part of the user.
RoboHelp for FrameMaker is a NEW online publishing tool for FrameMaker that
lets you easily single-source content to online Help, intranet, and Web.
The interface is designed for FrameMaker users, so there is little or no
learning curve and no macro language required! Call 800-718-4407 for
competitive pricing or download a trial at: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l4
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