A Publisher’s Guide to Choosing the Right XML Editor

Wednesday Webinar Series

A Publisher’s Guide
to Choosing the
Right XML Editor
August 4, 2010

©2010 Really Strategies, Inc. | www.rsuitecms.com

Webinar Agenda
 Welcome, Overview, Introductions

 Online Poll

 Editing Solutions for XML Publishing Environments

 Q&A

©2010 Really Strategies, Inc. | www.reallysi.com

Who is Really Strategies?
 Founded: 2000
 Consulting Services to Publishers
 Specialists in XML-based Content Management Solutions
2007, 2009

 Project/Program Management
 Workflow Analysis and Reengineering
 Content and Metadata Modeling
2004 - 2009

 Technology Assessment and Roadmaps
 Much more…

A content management system for 2006, 2007, 2008

publishers.

The first SaaS XML content management 2007, 2009

system
A publishing service from authoring
through production, where you pay only for
the final pages produced. 2004, 2005, 2007


Serving over 100 companies
STM Educational Media Tech Pubs

4


Webinar Presenter

 Lisa Bos
CTO and Co-founder
Really Strategies, Inc.

5


ONLINE POLL

6


Topics

 Editing Options
 3 Primary Factors in Choosing
 Ideal Choices for Your Factors
 Other Factors to Consider

 Best Practices

7


Choices

 XML doesn’t always show up at the start of your
business process
 Lots of choices before and after XML

8


But First

 Why Are We Talking About This?
 User resistance to native XML editing
 Users not technical enough for XML editing
 Users not under my control

 Real Issue:
Creative process
vs.
Structuring and classifying

9


Common Choices
 Quark XML Author inside
 Microsoft Word with Microsoft Word
Creative
custom conversion or  InCopy/InDesign as an XML
a tool like eXtyles
authoring + editor
 InCopy/InDesign with
conversion  oXygen Author
conversion
 Arbortext
 XHTML editor like
WYMeditorto use
Easy  XMetaL XML Editing
Native

browser controls
Wiki software  Serna
 Custom XML  FrameMaker
Native XML
control/forms software
like Ektron controls  Xopus
browser
eWebEditPro+XML  XML Mind
 Developer IDEs like XML
Spy
©2010 Really Strategies, Inc. | www.rsuitecms.com 10

Two Approaches for Conversion
from Word
Copy edit codes, like
<head1> or head1:
and/or Conversion
Styles and formatting scripting (XSLT
from Word’s XML,
Perl from RTF, …)

 Our favorite for
simple content

Interactive conversion


More than a tools like: Best for complex
icPlugIn
conversion content
tool

11


Interactive Conversion from Word with Ictect icPlugIn

Prepare
Clean-up and pre-
process input document

Intelligent Content
Mark-up entire document
or selected parts

Check
Customizable checks for
quality control

Format
Transform document to a
desired output format

Integrate
Incorporate changes or
supplements into the
base document


Browser Controls

There are
fewer XML
editor
plug ins.

There are lots of
good plug in
XHTML editors.
This one is
open source.

Both are great options for

 small documents that are
highly fielded or very simple
(XHTML)


Native (Standalone) XML Editors
Creative
authoring/production
merged with
All the standalone XML editors are


structural editing to large
great options for small
documents of any content type and can
be highly customized

Has an Standalone Browser-based
open XML editing
source XML editing
option

14


The 3 Biggest Factors

 Users
 Content
 Business Process

15


Targeting Editing Solutions to Users
Intuitive, controlled Less tightly controlled
solutions solutions
 Non-technical  Technical

Yes, but more importantly:
 You can’t dictate to (including  You can dictate to (and train)
software installation)
 You can’t communicate directly  You can communicate with
with (or just too many to be directly
practical)
Imply the level of customization required
as well as which product to choose

16


Targeting an Editor to Content
(or a Content Model to an Editor)
 Standards-based (XHTML, DITA, DocBook, NLM)
 If you want to use DITA, don’t choose a browser plug-in
 If you want to use a browser plug-in, don’t choose DITA

 Special content types (math, complex tables,
media assets, …)
 Editor integrations/features matter

 Document length


Targeting an Editor to Workflow

Create Edit Produce/
Publish

XML
Early



Publish

XML
Late



Other Tasks

Publish

XML in
the
Middle And so on…


Process Complexities – A Closer Look

Magazines
Tech Docs

Textbooks
Reference
Journals

Training
Books
Content and Workflow

News
Complexities Implications
Special content types/complex content X X o X X Conversion to XML especially
models difficult
Irregular content X X X

Lots of hierarchy X X X X

Many cross-references X X X X

Content re-use X o X X Need solutions to convert multiple
* X X o X
times per workflow or ways to
External contributors to whom you can't
avoid conversion such as
dictate
PDF/HTML commenting tools
Content returns to authors after edit X X X X X o X

A lot of online-only content * X o X X X X

Different print and online update and delivery X X * X o X
cycles
Content updated during production X X X X X X X

High (print) design; complex production steps o o X X X XML after print, update of XML
X X X
after composition, or different
Particularly intense deadlines/workload
print and online XML
Real-time collaboration on content production o X X X X

o Sometimes * Becoming a more important factor


Best Choices Today (Clean Slate)

Magazines
Tech Docs

Textbooks
Reference
Journals

Training
Books

News
Candidates Best choice for …
• Content authored by external authors who work
Word + Conversion to
A+C A+C A+C offline or outside the publishing environment,
XML especially when that content is irregular and/or long

InCopy/InDesign + • Content authored by users under your influence who
A+C A+C
Conversion to XML collaborate on complex, varying layouts

Browser Editor Plugin +
A + C or ACE + ACE + ACE + • Simple, short fulltext content authored online (or
Conversion to XML or ACE
100% 100% 100% 100% pasted from Word)
Native XML

Custom Forms + • Extremely regular content, even if complex, where
ACE + ACE +
Conversion to XML or the documents are short or there is potential to work
100% 100%
native XML with small units (topics)

• Simple, short fulltext content authored online (or
pasted from Word)
Desktop or Browser- • Extremely regular content, even if complex, where
based Native XML the documents are short or there is potential to work
ACE CE ACE ACE ACE ACE CE
Editor (with appropriate with small units (topics)
customization) • Longer documents inside the publishing
environment
• Content being cleaned up after conversion to XML

A = authors C = copy editors/production editors E = editors, specialty editors, production editors


Thoughts on All These Conversions
Conversion Type Cost Range (relative) Manual Intervention Needed
Document formats (like Word) to Inexpensive to very expensive Likely, ranges widely with content
XML
XML back to document formats Inexpensive to very expensive Can often be avoided
XML to Web Inexpensive Almost never
XML to print composition (like Inexpensive to expensive Almost never to always, ranges widely with
InDesign) or PDF preview content/layout
Print composition to XML Very expensive Almost always, but with simple content and
disciplined users can be highly automated

 Even the expensive costs are justified if:
 There’s an ongoing reduction of manual labor
 There’s an ongoing time savings that increases revenue
 There’s a resulting cultural change that moves you where you
need to be

 Understand the model for ongoing costs, and do the math
23


Other Factors

 The larger publishing environment
 Content management technologies
 Print composition strategy/technology
 Willingness/opportunity to change products to
achieve efficiency
 Existing licensing
 Existing skillsets

CMS

24


Best Practices

 KISS
 Add features incrementally based on experience
 Make content model only as complex as it absolutely must be
 Multiple editing solutions for different users
 Lots of user feedback and preparation
 Piloting
 Early engagement with key users
 Beta testing versus traditional acceptance
 Training
 Appropriate ongoing support and enhancements (staff
and budget)
 Internal or at least readily accessible expertise is essential

25


Closing Thoughts

 It is a real challenge to support creative
processes in a structured authoring tool

 The efficiency and opportunity gains of an XML-
early editing environment are greater than you
might imagine and worth some compromise in
other areas

26


A Publisher’s Guide to Choosing
the Right XML Editor

QUESTIONS

27


Upcoming Webinars
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September 29, 2010 | 2:00 to 3:00 PM EST

More Information: http://www.reallysi.com/webinars
28


A Publisher’s Guide to Choosing the Right XML Editor

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