Nenad demoed (remotely from Vancouver, Canada) the latest features of the XDocs CMS. In particular he showed the Author/SME review workflow using Oxygen Author and XDocs Explorer with the XDocs SME Review Module. He also demonstrated various options for publishing through the XDocs Explorer.

As an example of a collaborative workflow, Scott (presenting locally) checked out the same files from the XDocs CMS and made edits using FrameMaker and DITA-FMx. He then demonstrated automated publishing using FMx-Auto and FrameMaker to create a PDF from DITA files pulled from the XDocs CMS.

After the presentation, we had lengthy discussions of options for authoring and publishing DITA content .. a really fun meeting!

Info from Brian:

If your company uses Microsoft SharePoint, and you work with DITA content, please make an effort to attend this session and learn about the current capabilities of DITA Exchange software.

The session will address the combination of SharePoint and DITA from two perspectives: For those in need of a complete DITA implementation (Authoring process, CCMS, Review & Approval workflows, Multichannel publishing, etc.); and for those looking to augment an existing DITA implementation by taking advantage of SharePoint for collaboration & workflows, data integration, search, Web publishing and automated document assembly through Microsoft Word Templates or an integrated instance of the DITA Open Toolkit.

We will demonstrate how SharePoint sites can be built using dynamically-rendered DITA content, and we’ll also look at using various XML authoring tools with SharePoint, including a Microsoft Word "Customization" designed to guide business users and SMEs in the creation and editing of valid DITA topics.

We’re looking forward to an interactive, “show & tell” discussion about how the DITA information architecture and XML publishing model adds value to SharePoint, and how SharePoint provides an effective platform upon which we’ve been able to build sophisticated CCMS capabilities publishing processes...

If you would like more info on using SharePoint and DITA Exchange please contact Brian @ DITA Exchange.

» Presentation (PPT)

• www.XMLdocs.info
• www.DITAinfo.info
• www.DRUPALinfo.info

What motivated us to create the model websites?

We kept hearing this story over and over again from our clients. Does it sound familiar to you?
As the owner, manager, or creator of technical information, youíre constantly trying to figure out how best to achieve accurate, useful, and accessible information solutions of high business value to your clients and customers. You also worry a lot about how to take advantage of the best standards, tools, and publishing environments available, and how to do it all on a shrinking budget.

In particular, you want the information you produce to be of professional quality, accurate, and essential. You would like to offer it to your users in print, on the web, and on multiple popular devices.

Structured information written to the DITA or DocBook standard often demonstrates these characteristics. However, depending on the experience level of the professional staff, the published result may fall short in solving your users' day-to-day problems, and it may be expensive to produce.

Yes, you also want your information to be relevant, popular, and accessible. How could you attract some sharp subject matter experts (SMEs) willing to share their "in-the-trenches" knowledge as an altruistic endeavor? And wouldn't it be nice if they were also capable writers and more than willing to update the information over time?

Unstructured information can be all of these things, but it can also be poorly written, out-of-date, and unruly to manage.

Is it possible to achieve ALL of the objectives with NONE of the common problems?

We created our model websites with this goal in mind. We decided to call our solutions "information mashups," because they contain both structured and unstructured information that is collocated and is displayed to users as a content "collection."

After about a year into this project we believe that this kind of DITA/Drupal content solution offers exciting and compelling possibilities, and we are pleased to share our thoughts and also learn from your experiences.

What questions will be answered in the presentation?

• On which publishing platforms did we prototype our solutions, and how did they compare?
• How did we develop our Drupal sites into mature models?
• What are the key DITA and Drupal 7 features that we believe have contributed the most to our information solutions?
• How could you make use of our models and lessons learned to build your own publishing solutions using DITA and Drupal?

For details, visit www.adobe.com.

Thanks Tom!

DITA-FMx supports FrameMaker versions 7.2, 8, 9, and 10, and FMx-Auto is available in server and desktop versions depending on your workflow and needs.

Even if you're not using FrameMaker for authoring, you can take advantage of its superior and easy to use PDF publishing capabilities.

» Introductory slides (PDF)

» Presentation/demo video (1 hour)

At this time Codex only supports the creation and editing of "topic" topics and a limited number of elements. The interface is very easy to use, and could be used by anyone regardless of their knowledge of DITA or structured authoring. Codex also lets you create maps, and has a very slick method for adding and arranging topic references. For this feature alone, I'd consider using Codex as an easy way to create new maps.

After the presentation we had a lengthy discussion of the pros and cons of such an editor, with many people feeling that a lightweight editor definitely has its place in their organization, but it would need to be a bit more feature-rich than Codex is currently. Because of the limited support for elements and topic types, it may be difficult to integrate into many existing authoring workflows. We discussed a possible feature that would allow the end user to define the set of limited topic types and elements, and thought that this could resolve the issue of wanting to "keep it simple" while remaining flexible enough for various needs.

It sounds like Codex will be adding more features over the coming months, so this is definitely something to keep your eye on.

» "Video" recording 1h11m [49.5 MB] - Unfortunately the video seems to be messed up! The audio is good though. To actually see Codex, go to their website and download a trial.

This meeting was quite the event. Adam was presenting remotely from Japan, we also had remote attendees from Israel, Florida, and Los Angeles (well, actually Orange Co.). Our in-house audience was made up of many of the usual folks from the area, but we also had a couple of out of town guests from North Carolina and Los Angeles. It's great to be able to include so many people in our gatherings! Thanks again to Citrix for the use of GoToMeeting which makes it possible to include remote attendees!

Dick and I are interested in working on a volunteer basis (no cost to you) on such a content-rich solution. We would like to start the project by mid-August and complete it by the end of September.

To see what we mean by "DITA/Drupal mashup" see our model sites: www.XMLdocs.info  (WordPress) and www.DITAinfo.info (Drupal). Some of our blogs on those sites explain our vision, and you can click through the structured and unstructured information (the information domain is DITA itself).

Benefits to you: (1) Opportunity to experiment on a project you judge to have future business value (2) Opportunity to take advantage of all we have learned so far on these kinds of projects.

Benefits to us: (1) Opportunity to expand our knowledge and skill in this area (2) Opportunity to better understand client requirements and preferences.

If you are interested in exploring the possibilities, please contact us at 408-832-4212 or avanraaphorst@gmail.com. This is a one-time offer to an organization with the right profile and the ability to act quickly.

-Anna van Raaphorst and Dick Johnson

Dick and Anna