Re: Multiple versions of same manual

[Mark Forseth <markf -at- MERGE -dot- COM>]

Consider two solutions:

1) FrameMaker's Conditional Text feature, which allows maintaining a single
boilerplate paragraph, section, or chapter, then "linking" that text into
multiple publications.

2) SGML, which can do essentially the same thing as Frame's Conditional
Text feature, and which offers much more flexibility. SGML can be written
in any DTP software (including MS Weird). Frame sells a plug-in for SGML.
Problem: SGML is an involved and complex markup language.

Good luck,

mf

>setup: a product i am working on comes in three flavors -- Local,
>Networked, and Enhanced Networked. i wrote a manual for what has ended up
>being the Enhanced Networked product -- when i started there was only going
>to be 1 product, not 3. now that it's 3 separate but similar products, i'm
>being asked to create a separate Local manual and Network manual b/c we
>don't want the Local customers thinking they're getting a stripped down
>product. it's a fairly messy job, since many of the features intertwine
>throughout the three different products.
>
>question: is there a way to print the 3 manuals w/out actually having to
>write 3 separate manuals? i'm worried about updating the manuals since in
>many places they share the same information, and would then have to be
>updated 3 separate times (since i'm a contractor, the job of updating hte
>manuals will likely fall to someone else, either contract or permanent). is
>there a way to tag sentences and paragraphs as belonging to one manual and
>not another (like BUILDTAGS in WinHelp), and during printing, enable or
>disable these tags? and lastly, is there a way to do this in Word 97
>(blah!)?
>************************
> Fetchez la vache!
>
> Hsuan-min Chou
> hchou -at- interaccess -dot- com
>************************
>