RE: Single-sourcing with Word (an extension to Large Documents in Word)

Subject: RE: Single-sourcing with Word (an extension to Large Documents in Word)
From: Dan Goldstein <DGoldstein -at- nuot -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com)" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2014 09:14:28 -0500

Briefly, the style method assigns a character or paragraph style for each publishing requirement. I create a single Word document with multiple styles and multiple templates that pull the appropriate text. In a given template, I might define style B and C as hidden text, so only style A appears; or only style C as hidden, so styles A and B appear; or none of the styles as hidden, so the full text appears. The text is displayed, edited, printed, etc. according to the template that I link to the document at that moment; the document itself doesn't change. For example, in a textbook that has a teacher's edition, the Teacher style would be defined as hidden in the Student template, but visible in the Teacher template.

Whirlers have written that they use an additional template for editing the full text, where the styles are color-coded - haven't tried that myself. Also, I haven't used this method with table styles, so I can't say if tables would require additional configuration.


-----Original Message-----
From: Lin Sims
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2014 8:56 AM
To: Dan Goldstein
Cc: TECHWR-L (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com)
Subject: Re: Single-sourcing with Word (an extension to Large Documents in Word)

Frame has had boolean control of conditions since at least FM 10, and even lets you create a saveable expression so you don't have to set it up each time.

I looked over Geoff Lane's list, and am slightly mortified to say that I have no idea what he's talking about with respect to hiding text based on styles, nor how to use document properties to mimic conditional processing.
As for the last two, I've never done a mail merge (no idea how I managed to bypass that), but setting up multiple subdocuments for the text to be imported sounds like a lot of work; and setting up a database ain't happening here.

I was on the word-pc list years ago, but dropped off when my work environment returned to FM. If they decide to use Word, I'll rejoin it, because I will need a LOT of help.

This information, however, is going to help a lot in the decision process.

On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 at 8:24 AM, Dan Goldstein <DGoldstein -at- nuot -dot- com> wrote:

> Sue Gallagher already brought up one Word method for conditional text,
> which is the use of IF fields for bookmark (variable) values. Fred
> Ridder posted on TECHWR-L in 2006:
> "In reality, Word's IF field code is more powerful than FrameMaker's
> conditional text implementation because it supports Boolean operators."
> Word still has that capability, but it's possible that FrameMaker has
> caught up in the meantime.
>
> Geoff Lane posted four additional methods on TECHWR-L in 2004:
> http://www.techwr-l.com/archives/0411/techwhirl-0411-00373.html
> My preferred method is the first one in his list (conditional text styles).
>
> All that said, I agree with David below: Word-PC is where the experts
> go to play. If they haven't created a macro yet for Word to bring you
> your newspaper and slippers, they will soon. Worth a visit.
>
> -- Dan Goldstein
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Farbey
> Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2014 2:56 AM
> To: TECHWR-L (techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com)
> Subject: Re: Single-sourcing with Word (an extension to Large
> Documents in
> Word)
>
> Technical writers often find things like conditional text very useful.
> FrameMaker offers such features as standard, whereas in Word the
> features may be there but they aren't obvious or easy to use.
>
> If you have the time and the inclination to investigate the more
> advanced features in Word - or don't have the budget to invest in
> FrameMaker - there's an enormous amount of information available to
> help you learn, including a dedicated mailing list (see
> http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/word-pc.html).
>
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--
Lin Sims
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Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork, communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa

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Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Read about how Georgia System Operation Corporation improved teamwork, communication, and efficiency using Doc-To-Help | http://bit.ly/1pJ4zPa

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You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
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Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives


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