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I would appreciate your help with streamlining the electronic publishing
process I currently use, or with suggesting new processes and/or tools to
make the task more efficient.
I write technical bulletins and application notes and publish them
electronically
in multiple public venues, including an automated fax server, CompuServe,
MSN, the Web, and our BBS. Each of the venues has its own requirements
for file format(s), index generation, and upload/download processes.
Existing
tech bulletins change frequently and new documents are added often. Some
of the information occurs in multiple tech bulletins with minor
modifications
(the documents address configuration issues for various PC products and the
related interfaces to mainframe and minicomputer environments). I need to
publish the document in the various formats (.doc, .txt, .tif, zipped .exe),
import them into Scopus call tracking software and update an associated
Access database, update an index for each medium, upload or transfer
the files to the appropriate server or external service, and notify
Technical
Support that the new or revised files are available, as well as document the
administrative information about the file. This takes a lot of time.
I am especially interested in hearing about (1) ways to track revisions in
multiple
documents and (2) automated publishing tools for electronic publishing of
Word
documents. Automated tools would ideally run in a Windows NT environment and
be able to save documents in various formats, cut and paste to other
applications,
run scripts that can log on to CompuServe and upload files, and update the
index.
Any other thoughts on electronic publishing methods and tools are also
welcome.
Please email me privately at kbruni -at- hq -dot- walldata -dot- com -dot- Thanks.
Kathy Bruni
kbruni -at- hq -dot- walldata -dot- com
"You gave me what you had. If I expected more from you
than I received, then I was filled with my expectation
and not your offer." --Noah benShea
