Re: single source print+html

[Dave Whelan <dwhelan -at- PANGEA -dot- CA>]

Ned is looking for
>WYSIWYG print/html single source authoring environment.

Single source and WYSIWYG are incompatible: one separates form from content,
the other combines them.

I like the idea of single source because it allows you to gather and distill
information without worrying about presentation format.

Over the summer, I have been helping to beta test a single sourcing product
called AutoDoc. It is based on an object-oriented database where you can
store disparate pieces of information, including graphics. These pieces of
information form the single source. You can link these pieces of information
together to form a document of any size. You can link the pieces together
differently to form different documents.

When you have created your document, you can choose to present it in several
formats: at the moment, AutoDoc can convert to Word97 format, to HTML, and
to WinHelp. You specify each format separately, so you can have the same
information presented in different ways in each format. You could even
generate several documents using the same format but presenting the
information differently.

I think this approach has a lot of potential.

I am not sure AutoDoc is ready for prime time yet, but you can check it out
at http://www.oscl.com. BTW, I have no financial interest in AutoDoc or in
the company developing it.

Regards,
Dave.

****************************************************
David P. Whelan, Whelan Technical Services
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (204) 334-1339
mailto:d -dot- whelan -at- ieee -dot- org
http://www.pangea.ca/~dwhelan
****************************************************

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