Arbortext PTC/User Blog

Please join us online for our regular meeting:

“An ACL Tool to Find and Replace XML Attribute Values“

Presented by Todd Hicks, Wolters Kluwer
North America Global Platform Organization

Date: Saturday, 23 October 2010, 9:00-10:30 AM Pacific/US

Location: Online via GoToMeeting. You must Register to receive the GoToMeeting invite.

Cost: Free and open to all who wish to attend.

Topic

Legal publishing uses a lot of attributes, and CCH publications are some of the richest legal reporting available. When we converted to SGML nine years ago, one of the first things our users requested was a way to modify attributes globally outside the Arbortext Editor Modify Attributes dialog. Often they have been required to open XML files in Notepad, or Edit as XML Source to change attributes in large files, which led to error and was very time-consuming. The project got on the schedule in 2007, and we started the initial analysis, starting with what language to write the tool in, and how to create the interface.

Because this tool requires a good deal of querying the DTD, we decided to write it in ACL. The interface requirements included making it impossible for a user to create invalid XML. For example, the tool needed to remove #FIXED attributes from the attribute list, and, if the user wanted to delete attribute values, the tool needed to remove #REQUIRED attributes from the list. While the Arbortext Object Model (AOM) exposes only a namelist of required attrs, these attribute types are exposed by the tag_attr_required() and tag_attr_fixed() ACL functions. Dozens of such calls that query the DTD or a given Object ID (oid) are easily accessible in ACL.

Because this tool requires a complex dialog box with 24 dialog controls, and because we wanted to give the users a beautiful dialog box, we needed a way to create the dialog that would allow us to drag and drop dialog elements, resizing and changing appearance in real time. We used ACL Designer, a powerful but unsupported interface design tool that, with a conversion program that ships with Arbortext Editor, can be used to create XUI dialog boxes with a wide variety of controls. The ACL dlgitem functions allow granular management of dialog item controls.

As Spider-Man knows, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The Global Attribute Find-Replace tool can save a huge amount of time, but it can also destroy a lot of content very quickly. The danger of using the tool incorrectly is mitigated by two layers between the core find-replace function and the user: a business-logic layer, which allows granular control over what the user can and can’t do; and a dialog layer, which  allows XML-aware control over user input. Because of this tiered approach, it was easy to develop another tool on top of the core function.

This presentation will show you

• an end-to-end example of Requirements Gathering, Technical Design, and Application Development for a complex XML tool
• powerful XML and dialog functions in ACL
• a “tiered” approach to application development
• tips on controlling dialog behavior
• XUI tips
• ideas for interface design and implementation

This project involved a great deal of requirements gathering, meetings, testing, signoffs, and ongoing user input, to come to fruition. The process worked, and we now have a valuable addition to Editor functionality that saves a great deal of time and error.

About the Speaker

Todd Hicks has been working in legal publishing for 20 years, and with Arbortext for ten years. In high school he ran the old printing press, and knew then that he wanted to be involved in publishing. An English major in college, he became a proofreader for CCH, Incorporated, and quickly moved to technical writing, and then to programming, especially for publishing and user interfaces. When CCH converted to SGML, he wrote Wordbasic/Onmimark scripts; when CCH started using Arbortext Adept Editor, he learned ACL, Java, and Javascript, built dozens of tools, and designed the infrastructure for the editor and its interface with Information Manager, our CMS at the time. He now leads a team of Editor programmers to build tools and infrastructure for Arbortext Editor and its interface with Documentum at Wolters Kluwer. He has presented three times at Arbortext conferences.

Note

This meeting will be held online. You must RSVP to receive the GoToMeeting invite. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Acknowledgments

This meeting is brought to you by the SF Bay Arbortext PTC/User Group.

We want to thank Single-Sourcing Solutions for coordinating our meeting logistics, administration, and for providing access to their GoToMeeting resources and conference bridge facilities.

Please join us online for our regular meeting:

“Building the future of technical publishing
with MathFlow, MathType, and MathML“

Presented by Autumn Cuellar & Robert Miner, Design Science

Date: Saturday, 25 September 2010, 9:00-10:30 AM Pacific/US

Location: Online via GoToMeeting. You must Register to receive the GoToMeeting invite.

Cost: Free and open to all who wish to attend.

Topic

The XML standards framework underlying many technical publishing challenges and opportunities of the last decade has noticeably matured in recent years.  A long list of technologies such as HTML, DITA, MathML, SVG, CSS and PDF now have very full and stable feature sets that are more and more widely and dependably implemented.  As a predictable consequence, the energy of early adopters is again on the move, shifting toward creative combination and reuse of these technologies. Web applications for collaboration, social networking and distributed authoring web applications are proliferating at a tremendous pace. eBooks are increasingly popular, with readers seeking access not only from desktops but a variety of readers, devices and tablets, where electronic ink is an input format.

What does all this mean for you? In this presentation, we’ll discuss the future of technical publishing, both from the point of view of taking advantage of the maturation of the traditional XML standards framework, as well as the perspective of putting yourself in a position to get out in front of emerging trends.

About the Speaker

Robert Miner leads Design Science’s research and development efforts. He has led the development of Design Science’s MathFlow product line from its inception, and now oversees development of DSI’s MathType, MathPlayer and MathDaisy products as well. While at DSI, Miner helped initiate research programs for adding value to electronic math content, particularly in the areas of math-aware searching and mathematics accessibility. In addition, Miner co-chairs the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Math Working Group that developed and maintains MathML, an XML markup language for mathematics. He has written and spoken extensively on MathML and its impact on technical publishing. Robert received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Maryland, and studied at Oxford and Universität Bern.

Autumn Cuellar is the XML Specialist at Design Science, where she works with publishers, engineers, educators, and programmers to include MathML in XML publishing workflows. Before joining Design Science, Autumn was a researcher at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, developing CellML, an XML language for describing biological models, and associated metadata and ontologies.

Autumn Cuellar

Note

This meeting will be held online. You must RSVP to receive the GoToMeeting invite. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Acknowledgments

This meeting is brought to you by the SF Bay Arbortext PTC/User Group.

We want to thank Single-Sourcing Solutions for coordinating our meeting logistics, administration, and for providing access to their GoToMeeting resources and conference bridge facilities.

Update! Video and slides posted here.

Please join us online for our regular meeting:

“Deploying and Maintaining a Large Single-Sourcing Solution: Now What?”

Presented by Todd Nowlan, a large Canadian Telecom

Date: Saturday, 28 August 2010, 9:00-10:30 AM Pacific/US

Location: Online via GoToMeeting. You must Register to receive the GoToMeeting invite.

Cost: Free and open to all who wish to attend.

Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/987710090

Topic

Your organization has gone through the pains of developing business cases and acquiring funds to implement a single-sourcing solution. How do you proceed with choosing and implementing a solution, what are the steps you need to take to deploy the system, what are the critical success factors and pitfalls you need to consider? Once you’ve deployed your solution, what is it that you need to do to maintain the system, how do you handle the inevitable mountain of requests coming from all stakeholders to improve and extend capabilties?

This session will outline some of the key items to consider and plan for in each phase of a single-sourcing solution’s lifecycle based upon a high-tech company’s experience and learnings. The presentation will take you through some of the approaches they found to be effective for implementing and managing their combined Arbortext PE/DLM and Documentum system.

About the Speaker

Todd Nowlan is currently IT Project Manager responsible for maintaining and supporting the documentation and training CMSs for a large telecom equipment provider. Todd has more than 16 years experience with the methods and toolsets associated with structured authoring, XML authoring, and content management. He has held various technical and management roles supporting small and large user communities, including experience developing XML business cases, deriving technical requirements, testing, and deploying processes and systems.

Note

This meeting will be held online. You must RSVP to receive the GoToMeeting invite. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Acknowledgements

This meeting is brought to you by the SF Bay Arbortext PTC/User Group.

We want to thank Single-Sourcing Solutions for coordinating our meeting logistics, administration, and for providing access to their GoToMeeting resources and conference bridge facilities.

Update: The video for this meeting has been posted here.

Please join us online for our regular meeting:

“Combining Projections to Create Enhanced Lineart Images“

Presented by Rick Ernst, Newbook Production

Date: Saturday, 24 July 2010, 9:00-10:30 AM Pacific/US

Location: Online via GoToMeeting. You must Register to receive the GoToMeeting invite.

Cost: Free and open to all who wish to attend.

Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/674447594

Abstract:

In this demonstration, we explore a series of steps that can be used to create a title cover page images comprised of a continuous tone image (Photograph) and lineart. This technique is ideally suited for title cover page illustrations for a technical manual or publication. This type of technique was utilized in the 1950s-1970s where illustrators created lineart images on clear acetate on top of airbrush retouched photographic images to improve the visual impact of the image.

We will explore the basic operations involved with combining projections to create enhanced lineart images.  After completing this demonstration, we will understand the advantages of associativity, be able to access the Image browser and apply an associative link to to 3-D CAD solid models. Next we will apply colors to selected assemblies, parts and apply 3-D projections to convert the 3-D data to a 2-D illustration. Next, we will apply adjustments to the Background layer and duplicate the associative link to the Standard layer. Then we will apply a 3-D Transformation to return to the 3-D environment where we will convert the image to 2-D lineart. Finally we will adjust the thick and thin pens as necessary and export the file as a raster image.

Audience:
This demonstration is intended for Authors and Illustrators of technical information who work with 3-D CAD data and want to create title cover page illustrations.

Topics:

• The Advantages of Associativity
• Access the Image browser
• Apply an associative link (to a 3-D CAD solid model)
• Apply colors to assemblies and parts
• Apply 3-D Projections and convert to 2-D image.
• Adjust the Background Layer
• Duplicate the associative link
• Apply 3-D Transformation
• Convert to 2-D and apply Thick and Thin lines
• Adjust Thick and Thin Pens as necessary
• Export a file

About the Speaker

Rick Ernst was born in 1967 in Kitchener, Ontario. Rick attended Sheridan College where he studied Scientific (Technical) Illustration and Computer Graphics.  Rick has more than 14 years of accomplished experience in the areas of Technical Publications and Illustration. Experience working with military, telecommunications and construction equipment standards. His related experience includes two years at PTC as a Technical Writer and less than a year at ITEDO as a technical support Engineer. At PTC he rewrote the Arbortext IsoDraw curriculum consisting of three courses: Arbortext IsoDraw Foundation, Arbortext IsoDraw CADprocess and Arbortext IsoDraw Update. Currently Rick works for Newbook Production Inc. as the training co-ordinator where he fulfills a variety of tasks to support customer learning, engagement, and training.

Note

This meeting will be held online. You must RSVP to receive the GoToMeeting invite. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Acknowledgements

This meeting is brought to you by the SF Bay Arbortext PTC/User Group.

We want to thank Single-Sourcing Solutions for coordinating our meeting logistics, administration, and for providing access to their GoToMeeting resources and conference bridge facilities.

UPDATED: The video for this meeting has been posted here.

Please join us online for our next meeting:

“A Developer’s Guide to IsoDraw Customization,
Macro Coding, and the Associated Benefits“

Presented by Trevor Hendricks, Kohler Co.

Date: Saturday, 26 June 2010, 9:00-10:30 AM Pacific/US

Location: Online via GoToMeeting. You must Register to receive the GoToMeeting invite.

Cost: Free and open to all who wish to attend.

Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/709075803

Topic

This presentation is focused on the customization of IsoDraw. It will consist of general examples of how macros can be used to simply common tasks, benefits of setting preference files, and advantages of using custom toolbars. The session will be divided into three main components: macros, preference files, and toolbars.

The first component will consist of suggested macro applications such as:

• Custom macro that both saves master files and exports production files.
• Centralized variable setting macro.
• File clean-up routines.

The session’s second component will focus on the advantages of setting preference files:

• Consistency of file content.
• Shared import and export settings.

The final portion will focus on creating toolbars.

• Keeping toolbars user-friendly.
• Categorizing tasks by use of various toolbars.

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Effectively create macros to streamline the processes of common tasks.
• Set preference file to ensure consistency.
• And finally, organize macros and common tasks into user-friendly toolbars.

About the Speaker

Trevor Hendricks is the master of all things IsoDraw at Kohler — and everywhere else. Everyone in the IsoDraw community looks to Trevor for advice, suggestions, and guidance. Trevor can be found at the forums at PTC.com. We are delighted to have him presenting this month.

Note

This meeting will be held online. You must RSVP to receive the GoToMeeting invite. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Acknowledgements

This meeting is brought to you by the SF Bay Arbortext PTC/User Group.

We want to thank Single-Sourcing Solutions for coordinating our meeting logistics, administration, and for providing access to their GoToMeeting resources and conference bridge facilities.