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Subject: Re: [dita-adoption-help] DHTG progress and check-in...


I agree. Unfortunately, it looks like I won't be able to make it to the next meeting since I'll be at the CIDM conference.

...scott

 
On 4/18/12 10:35 AM, Goolsby, Chris wrote:

Sounds like this needs discussion with the whole team. I suggest we add it to the agenda for next week’s meeting.

 

Chris

 

From: dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org [mailto:dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org] On Behalf Of Scott Prentice
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 1:01 PM
To: dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: Re: [dita-adoption-help] DHTG progress and check-in...

 

I don't personally consider PDF a Help deliverable either .. but there are many who do. People spend a great deal of time crafting a PDF specifically for online use as a Help system (smaller window and special icons for navigation). It sounds like Arbortext should definitely be included in the current list (given our current scope).

It's the tools that provide the connection between DITA and Help. The technologies are not inherently DITA-related. If we were to drop anything I'd think it would be the technologies, not the tools.

A discussion of the scope of this document is probably a good idea though .. we are a bit stalled, and probably understaffed for the undertaking. However, I think that having all of the tools and technologies in one single document could be really helpful. Sure .. all of this information exists in various lists on the web, but that's not the point.

I think that we need to keep in mind that these topics in general don't need to (and shouldn't) be the "source" for the information. They should just be very high-level topics that discuss the basic features and possible pros/cons of a given tool/technology. These topics should point to elsewhere for the real documentation.

I'm thinking that perhaps we should actively farm this stuff out to the community rather than taking it all on ourselves. I'll bet that if we posted a list of topics we needed to be written and some guidelines, it would be fairly easy to get people to sign up to write something. We could be the aggregators and compilers rather than doing all of the writing.

...scott



On 4/18/12 7:49 AM, Goolsby, Chris wrote:

I would not personally call a PDF a “help” deliverable. Arbortext Editor can produce PDF, CHM, a custom web help, and a more robust system in conjunction with Digital Media Publisher – all from DITA source. I’m wondering whether we should consider reducing our scope. Maybe drop the tools altogether and keep the technologies. Move the DITA-OT stuff to whatever documentation is provided with the OT. Just list the tools that support the technologies where the technologies are described. I expect there are other places on the web that list DITA authoring tools.

 

With the current scope of the guide and pace of developing topics, it will take a long time to get it finished….

 

Chris

 

From: dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org [mailto:dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org] On Behalf Of Scott Prentice
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 5:22 PM
To: dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: Re: [dita-adoption-help] DHTG progress and check-in...

 

Hi Chris...

The rationale for adding those tools is that they generate a "help" deliverable from DITA content. FrameMaker writes to PDF, and XMetaL and Oxygen both have custom webhelp options. I agree that this is a slippery slope, but I think it's easier to be too inclusive than too exclusive. Any application that consumes DITA and generates one of the listed Help Delivery Technologies, should be included. If Arbortext natively produces a Help deliverable, then it should definitely be on the list.

Does that sound like a reasonable approach? I'm totally open to discussing other ways to decide if a tool should be included.

...scott


On 4/17/12 1:10 PM, Goolsby, Chris wrote:

Hey.

 

Looking at the outline, I see tools there that are really just XML editing tools and not really help development tools. For example:

 

Adobe FrameMaker

JustSystems XMetal

Oxygen XML Editor

 

Maybe some of the others, as I’m not familiar with all of the tools on the list. I’m not remembering why we decided to include these in the guide. I would advocate for taking them out, as they only tangentially apply to help development. If we want to keep them in, then we should add others like PTC Arbortext Editor. But that’s a slippery slope….

 

Regards.

 

Chris

 

From: dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org [mailto:dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org] On Behalf Of Scott Prentice
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 8:17 PM
To: dita-adoption-help@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: [dita-adoption-help] DHTG progress and check-in...

 

Hi All...

I'm a little late in sending this out, but luckily the meeting was postponed so I didn't miss it entirely!  :o

I'd like to encourage all of us to go to the DHTG Allocation page on the wiki, and review it for accuracy. If your name is assigned to a document, is the status correct? If the document in question just needs some simple update, perhaps you can do that and mark it off the list? Let's each try to update at least one document before the next meeting.

    http://wiki.oasis-open.org/dita-adoption/DITA_Help_Technologies_Guide_Allocation

Cheers!

...scott






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