How FrameMaker 11 and RoboHelp 10 Help in Multi-Lingual Documentation Projects Whitepaper

Introduction

This white paper is an update to a previously released publication based on a series of blogs written by Globalization Partners International (GPI). This version has been abridged and also refreshed with newer features found in Adobe’s latest release of Technical Communication Suite (TCS 4.0), which includes FrameMaker 11 and RoboHelp 10.

The following new features have a significant impact on finalizing document, Help or tablet publication in multilingual projects:

• Published output from RoboHelp or FrameMaker via Tech Comm Suite has been expanded to multiscreen HTML5, allowing a single action to create content for multiple Help, tablet, mobile and desktop devices.

• Style catalogs have been expanded to include Object Styles, which can globally change properties, appearance and positioning of both “named” anchored frames and graphic objects.

• DITA/XML editing has 3 distinct author/edit views: (a) traditional page preview, WYSIWYG view (b) new Author View which eliminates page breaks and makes formatting generic and (c) XML Code View which displays actual XML code; Intelliprompt displays legal elements or attributes during editing.

• Expanded rich graphics control; users may swiftly generate a hyperlinked table of parts, views or animations extracted from imported 3D graphics. Users may also create “hot spots” over zones of graphics or illustrations which are hyperlinked to related text.

• Tech Comm Suite includes expanded CMS support in FrameMaker and SharePoint support in RoboHelp.

Being based on earlier blogs, this white paper does not focus exclusively on new product functionality. However, we have inserted relevant new features where appropriate. Note that two of the original RoboHelp articles have been merged into one, so the original four articles have changed to three.

How Standard (Unstructured) FrameMaker Helps Translation

1. Managing Styles in Paragraph, Character , Table and Object Style Catalogs in FrameMaker 11

Although FrameMaker has always demonstrated great power in the ease with which you can import style formats (paragraph, character and table) from other documents, this feature often leads to unused formats in these catalogs.

FrameMaker 11 provides an option button in all catalogs which allows you to make catalogs and style management much simpler. These features will prove to be a huge time-saver in post translation formatting of FrameMaker documents and also make

How FrameMaker 11 and RoboHelp 10 Help in Multi-Lingual Documentation ProjectsPublication update and overview

Adobe® FrameMaker® 11Try the full functionality of FrameMaker 11 (as a part of Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4.0 software) in minutes and without downloading the software. Tutorials are also included. Test-drive it now at www.runaware.com/clients/adobe/techsuite.

FrameMaker more accessible for new users or temporary contractors who briefly assist with your projects. You may:

• Display all styles, with styles in use displayed first (styles currently used in the document have a check in front of them)

• Show only styles that are in use

• Show only unused styles

• Customise a list, showing only the styles you wish, or changing the order in which styles display (e.g. place the most frequently used styles at the top of the list). Previous versions of FrameMaker always displayed catalog styles in alphabetical order, not in order of importance. This led to many odd workarounds, like placing a “z_” prefix in front of infrequently used formats, or styles relegated to master page headers and footers.

• You may delete all unused formats. This last option is particularly useful if you want to purge all styles from a document except the 10 styles present in a “partial template” document. When you import styles from such a document, you will no longer bring in the host of unused or unwanted styles which have cluttered up catalogs in the past.

FrameMaker 11 also features a dedicated Table catalog to display table styles. This eliminates the rather illogical actions in previous releases: (a) opening the Table Designer, (b) scrolling through the pull-down list of named table styles and (c) having no indication of which table styles were currently availble in the current document. A new catalog of Object Styles for controlling graphics and anchored frames is available as well.

2. Managing format overrides with FrameMaker 11

Many other FrameMaker reviews have swept the improved ability to manage format overrides under a “Miscellaneous” category, but this enhancement is a huge boon in the translation workflow. This feature will enable your translation company to significantly reduce manual Desktop Publishing time to adjust formatting in translated documents. This feature will be particularly useful in “scrubbing” or “cleansing” source English documents before translation, to reduce the number of manual format override corrections required.

Many unstructured FrameMaker documents have unwanted or unnecessary format overrides to paragraphs, character selections and tables. The Find/Change menu has the ability to search for Paragraph Format overrides, Character Format overrides, Table Format overrides, even Object Style overrides. In the example shown below, a search for Character Format override has located a section of text in which the “spread” has been expanded to add white space between characters to extend text to the right margin. This type of cosmetic change in English source files can wreak havoc in translated documents.

This is typical of character styles that are artifacts from older legacy documents which were converted from Microsoft Word to FrameMaker. In this case, clicking on Change will remove the format override, and restore formatting from the paragraph to the selected text.

3. Drag and drop editing and automated scripting to eliminate repetitive tasks with FrameMaker 11

Drag n’ Drop editing was introduced in the previous release of FrameMaker, and is still worth mentioning. Corrective formatting frequently involves selecting a few characters (e.g. tab/space) and moving it to the correct location in text. Being able to do this in one step (vs. cut and paste) is faster and will reduce errors. The benefits are magnified by the number of target languages your language service provider (LSP) is delivering to you.

Adobe ExtendScript allows you to automate repetitive and time consuming tasks. You may create your own scripts, use existing scripts or even configure scripts for “autorun”. Scripts may be viewed and accessed from a catalog.

A number of powerful third-party products made scripting possible with previous releases of FrameMaker. The limitation was that both the customer and his translation agency needed a license for the scripting product. Now that ExtendScript is bundled into FrameMaker, scripting will go into wider use. We may also see community-based scripts spread through social networking and become available through various FrameMaker forums.

4. FrameMaker 11’s background text color (highlighter)

Another “Word-like” feature is the availability of text background color on the character or paragraph level. User-defined colors may prove most useful with conditional text tags. Though infrequently used in translated FrameMaker documents, conditions will be much more evident if a unique background color can temporarily display when “condition indicators” are specified. Background color (e.g. a pale gray) can also be used to temporarily mark portions of a document that need special review regarding formatting or other post-translation issues.

5. Extended rich media support and automated parts tables in FrameMaker 11

FrameMaker 11 introduced several significant features that make 3D diagrams and rich media assets like video even more useful and relevant in translation projects. First of all, a brief, 30 second video can replace over a dozen screen captures and numbered figure titles. This significantly reduces printed page count and also the number of screens needed when projects are published to tablets.

Imported 3D images may be “named”, and new graphic commands allow the user to create text links, or generated tables that are linked to the graphic. For instance, with a 3D graphic, the user may identify that graphic and choose to generate a table of parts (extracted from the image), which are automatically hyperlinked. When the document is published to PDF, each item in the table will change the view of the graphic to apply shading to the selected part, while rendering the rest of the image similar to a wire diagram.

This enables translation customers to create engaging, guided experiences for their clients. What’s more, the generated table places part names or animation/view names in a table where localization can easily take place, without having to extract key callouts from text layers in static graphics!

6. Collaborative review through enhanced import of PDF comments into FrameMaker

The importation of comments from PDF files into FrameMaker was considerably improved in the previous product release. After review, upon import, the PDF comments will visually display within FrameMaker in a manner that resembles their function. For example, deletions default as “strikeout text”, while “insertions” will appear in green.

When using track changes to review documents which have PDF comments from multiple authors, FrameMaker 11 provides a pull-down menu in the Review workspace which lets the user filter the comments and show those of a single viewer. This will eliminate a great deal of confusion, as collaborative review will sometimes contain conflicting comments from various reviewers. Also, when your cursor is inserted in an imported comment, the reviewer’s login name and timestamp will appear in the lower left corner of the document window.

The comment highlighter in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader will create comments embedded in text highlighted with the background color. This feature will be especially valuable to your translation company during LQA (Linguistic Quality Review). Many linguists in “exotic” languages must provide comments in PDF; very few have access to on-line, translation portal tools. Up until now, many linguists reviewing Asian languages have tried to use the “sticky note” for comments. It is often not evident which range of Asian characters were being indicated for change. Now linguistic reviewers can simply select text and use the “replace text” annotation tool in free Acrobat or Acrobat Reader, enter the change needed, and their instructions will be crystal clear to any translation company staff making final changes to the target language document.

Incidentally, the PDF comments shown in the screen capture above may be made in the free version of Acrobat Reader; the linguistic review does not need a full Acrobat license. Collaborative Review enables multiple reviewers to simultaneously annotate the same PDF file on a server or in a free Acrobat.com “cloud.” The screen capture below shows the improved, more logical display of reviewer comments after importation into FrameMaker 11. Since FrameMaker allows the editor to import combined PDF comments and annotations “in place” within the source FrameMaker text, there is no possibility of operator error, as is the case with copy/paste comments from PDF “by hand”.

Several Ways that Structured FrameMaker 11 helps Translation

FrameMaker 11 has full support for DITA 1.2, which has a major impact on anyone creating topic-based content, especially in a CMS-controlled environment. It is now possible to introduce a range of topics or DITA content in a single step, whereas earlier versions of FrameMaker required redundant, individual links. FrameMaker’s user interface has been improved, making complex procedures with XML and DITA much more accessible to “casual” or occasional users. This is significant, because many translation agency customers rely heavily on contractors or transient staff.

1. Three ways to view and edit XML or DITA content

In previous releases of FrameMaker, powerful XML or DITA editing was the norm, but it took place within one type of view: WYSIWYG or “page display” view. The user could see both page breaks and

“final” print or PDF formatting at all times during the authoring process. FrameMaker 11 provides 3 ways to view and manipulate structured content, which can be invoked by 3 icons at the top of the XML/Structured workspace:

• Traditional WYSIWYG view—as in previous releases, the user can view realistic print formatting and either use the Structure View window, or he may turn on the display of elements as tags, and expand or collapse them for swift reordering of elements.

• Authoring View—this view is more generic. Not all formatting is shown (e.g. sideheads, indented body text) and there are neither page breaks nor page headers and footers. If the workspace is resized (e.g. more narrow), the text will “flow” similar to an ePub on a tablet. Actual formatted line breaks are not shown. This view is ideal for team members who need to focus on content during authoring or linguistic QA, and not be distracted by formatting.

• XML Code View—this powerful view shows only XML code and optionally some FrameMaker specific information preserved as comments. Authors may enter elements directly as code. As soon as the “<” is entered to bring in a new element, “Intelliprompt” will display a list of legal elements to choose from. When the element’s closing “>” is entered, FrameMaker automatically drops in the closing tag for the element. For instance, “<b> <\b>” for bold. An optional “tree” view of elements is available on the right-hand side, as shown below.

2. Enhanced tag view allows DITA element manipulation on a single, small screen in FrameMaker 11

Although you can customize and manage workspaces in FrameMaker, version 11 has several successive enhancements that make structured authoring even easier than before. A single click of a FrameMaker icon in the structured authoring workspace will display all XML or DITA elements as tags in the document window. (With most earlier versions of FrameMaker, View->Elements as Tags… would display element tags in the document view that would not collapse.) The major improvement is the ability to expand or collapse tags. Once this is done, a selected element can be moved through drag n’ drop, and eliminate the need to display the tree-like structure of an XML document in the structure view.

The screen capture above illustrates a case where the last item in a list may be selected and moved in front of the first list item. This is easier to accomplish without viewing the text content of the collapsed tag. The traditional structure view with its “tree-like” view of the document need not be open during this simple editing task.

Benefit—structured authoring and editing are now much friendlier on a laptop or single-screen environment. With previous versions of FrameMaker, users often begged their managers for a second computer screen to display the traditional structure view on a separate screen. This is one more way in which FrameMaker 11 will help structured authoring extend to less experienced, new users, who need to author content in DITA or XML. Complex, structured document manipulations, which previously required large or multiple computer monitors, can now be performed anywhere, even on a laptop.

3. Manage metadata with FrameMaker 11 attribute editor

Attributes are one of the most powerful aspects of DITA and XML. It is possible to “tag” elements with certain values that can be used in a variety of ways, for instance, a “language” attribute can identify whether portions of the source FrameMaker document should not be translated. Attributes may work in tandem with language specific formatting specified in the FrameMaker EDD (element definition document).

FrameMaker 11 provides a very accessible and friendly attribute editor. A simple window can display only required or specified attribute values, or all values. With earlier versions of FrameMaker, the user had to use the structure view to select the [+] to the right of an element in order to display attribute choices. Double-clicking the attribute with older versions of FrameMaker opened an inconvenient, modal menu which displayed attribute values and allowed change. FrameMaker 11 allows attribute values to display in a cleaner, concise fashion.

Benefit—this enables novice users to become familiar with metadata much more quickly. Expert users will use this feature to monitor hidden metadata in a more convenient format.

4. FrameMaker 11’s filter by attribute, a better solution for “conditional text” in structured documents

At first glance, filter by attribute may appear to be similar to showing or hiding document content with FrameMaker’s conditional text control. This feature in structured FrameMaker 11 has several advantages over traditional conditional text control for documents destined for translation:

• Multiple expressions can be saved at the same time.

• It does not allow the hiding of the entire document, since the root element may not be hidden.

• Regular conditional text control can create an empty content document.

• The smallest unit that can be hidden with filter by attribute is an element. Regular conditional text control could be applied to any selected text, including one character.

• A better level of granularity is available in terms of creating a hide condition, because an attribute can have several values (based on its definition). Hence, each attribute value has a separate “show” or “hide” possibility.

Structured FrameMaker documents are composed of elements, each of which may have one or more attributes. Now, you can filter the visible content of a structured FrameMaker document based on attribute values. Since other XML applications can use the same attribute-value pair as FrameMaker 11 to filter content, filter by attribute enables you to preserve single-sourcing workflows across other XML applications.

When a filter is applied to the document, elements that have attributes that do not meet the filter criteria are screened out. You can specify how the filtered out content is treated:

• as hidden,

• highlighted with a color,

• or applied with a condition tag.

FrameMaker’s traditional conditional text control and user variables have the potential for (a) negatively affecting word order in translation and (b) merging paragraphs of different types if a

“hidden” condition tag straddles paragraph fragments. Since filter by attribute affects entire elements vs. text selection, this method in structured FrameMaker 11 for displaying or hiding text is much less likely to create unwanted combinations of text that can adversely affect translation.

5. Developing attribute values with FrameMaker 11

FrameMaker 11 includes a Config File Maker wizard that lets you quickly define attribute value options. For example, in an attribute such as audience, the XML standard allows text. This means that users can enter any value in this optional string attribute. Use Config File Maker to implement a set of your own allowed values, so that writers can choose an option from a drop-down list, eliminating the risk of user error.

This feature, over time, will enable FrameMaker 11 users to fine-tune their document structure to be more “foolproof” from an end-user perspective. Cleaner source document structure, especially with structured XML or DITA documents, always improves the translation workflow.

6. Content Management System support in FrameMaker 11

Support for both EMC Documentum and the Microsoft Sharepoint is built directly into FrameMaker 11 allowing you to check in and out, upload, edit and manage versions directly from FrameMaker 11. Supported features include uploading files or folders, opening and editing content, deleting files or folders, searching the Content Management System (CMS) repository, identifying file dependencies, and more.

The connectors to several popular document CMS solutions are bundled into FrameMaker 11 at no additional cost. This is one of many high-end features, often available as expensive options on competitive products, that justifies FrameMaker’s relatively high price point. Obviously, FrameMaker 11 can connect to other CMS solutions, like Ektron, with some consulting required.

Benefit—every translation company has customers who are struggling to craft a cost-effective CMS solution. FrameMaker’s built-in support for two of the most common CMS choices for tech doc groups enables both the customer and the Language Service Provider (LSP) to benefit from leveraging reusable content on a topic-by-topic basis.

7. DITA usability enhancements in FrameMaker 11

Create “fill-in-the-blank” DITA concepts, topics, etc. Previous versions of FrameMaker created a blank sheet of paper for new DITA topics. The user had “guided editing” in the structure window via changes in the available acceptable elements displayed in the Element Catalog to discover and insert the next legal element.

FrameMaker 11 now creates a topic that is filled in with the first chain of logical elements, with grayed areas of sample text for the author or editor to simply “fill in”. This sample text can be customized to meet the clients’ individual guidance needs. An example of a new, “untouched” DITA topic is shown below. Notice how it is prepoplutated with minimal, required elements.

Book or DITA map view

Switch between Resource Manager (RM) or Document view in a DITA map: FrameMaker users who work with DITA maps often wish to work with a Resource Manager view or a Document view. Switching between these two views is now as simple as clicking a toolbar icon. The availability of two views also makes FrameMaker 11 easier to use for new content creators who are used to more traditional XML editors.

Drag and drop across DITA maps

Rather than cut and paste topicref elements between maps, they can be reorganised by using drag n’ drop. By using the drag n’ drop features, maps can be customised quickly. Content in one map can be moved into another map and reorganised as needed. This new method is more intuitive and makes advanced structured DITA editing available to a larger pool of content creators. The benefit to the translation workflow is that source documents based on DITA maps can be produced more accurately by more people.

Insert multiple topicref elements in a DITA map

When working with maps and topicref elements need to be added, it is very time consuming to select one topicref element after another. Instead, FrameMaker enables you to select a range of topicref elements, or even all the files in a folder, and add them all at once. This is one more example of how enhancements to structured authoring in FrameMaker 11 will accelerate creation of source files for translation, which will shorten overall project timelines.

How RoboHelp 10 benefits Translation

RoboHelp 10 can be used very productively as a standalone product, for people who only need various forms of Help systems , ePubs or output to tablets and mobile devices. But one of the biggest benefits to end-users is RoboHelp’s seamless integrations with FrameMaker 11, Acrobat X and Captivate 6 in Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite 4.0 (Tech Comm Suite). Although this section focuses specifically on RoboHelp, the incredible power of combining content creation from FrameMaker and rich media generation from Captivate, seamlessly output through RoboHelp via Technical Communication Suite should not be overlooked. In fact, you should check to make sure that your language translation services provider (translation agency) is “up-to-speed” on the latest version of Technical Communication Suite. This powerful product combination allows rich PDF output as well as publishing to desktop Help, ePubs, tablets and mobile devices.

A note about FrameMaker 11 and RoboHelp 10 integration

A desirable option for maximizing your single-source workflow for traditional documentation and HTML Help (or other formats) is to author your basic content in FrameMaker 11. Then, have FrameMaker paragraphs or DITA elements mapped to appropriate styles in RoboHelp 10, and output to a distinctly differently formatted Help system via Technical Communication Suite 4.0. Conditional text control in unstructured FrameMaker or DITA/FrameMaker can allow you to produce multiple versions of content, e.g. one for PDF output, and another, more extensive set of content for a complex Help system. For purposes of simplicity, this article will just focus on RoboHelp 10 functionality.

How the product has changed

Many readers may be familiar with older versions of RoboHelp (e.g. pre-Adobe releases created and supported by Macromedia), and may not be familiar with some of the compelling reasons to consider RoboHelp 10, or to upgrade to it from an older version. Here are just a few reasons to consider an upgrade to the current version of RoboHelp:

• Improved user-interface and “author-friendly” workflow. Despite the many forms of input and output, the tools are remarkably accessible and logical.

• The product is scalable and can easily grow with expanding needs.

• Significant time and money can be saved with the new Review and Collaboration workflow solution. Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free tool for reviewers to use.

• Several “extras” are bundled into the product at no extra charge, including RoboScreen Capture, RoboSource Control and Extended Scripting automation.

1. RoboHelp features that specifically aid translation projects

Here is a short list of product functionality in RoboHelp 10 that is critical to multilingual and translation projects:

• One set of source files can be published to multiple tablets, mobile devices and desktop browsers via HTML5

• Unicode support for over 35 languages

• Edit topics side-by-side with the Multiple Document Interface (MDI)

• Support for multiple tables of contents, indices and glossaries for different languages

• Granular control over language definition: define a language at the topic or even paragraph levels, in addition to the project

• The “LANG” attribute is used for thesaurus, spell checking, Smart Indexing and also creating the search index

• The language attribute specified at the paragraph level is given the highest preference

• RoboHelp produces clean XHTML code

• A Review and Collaboration workflow solution can streamline your workflow saving considerable time and cost as the team is empowered to communicate efficiently and accurately

Test drive Adobe® RoboHelp® 10Try the full functionality of RoboHelp 10 (as part of Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4.0 software) in minutes and without downloading the software. Tutorials are also included. Test-drive it now at www.runaware.com/clients/adobe/techsuite.

Although these few features assist Help translation projects tremendously, several new product enhancements, and features introduced in the previous release are very relevant as well.

2. RoboHelp output expanded beyond ePub to include HTML5 multiscreen

RoboHelp 10 can now publish to multiscreen HTML5, enabling content to display on multiple tablets and devices. Several attractive default profiles and layouts for HTML5 are included in the product. Profiles for HTML5 include “media query”, which essentially makes the published output “device aware”. The illustration below represents the same content published from RoboHelp via multiscreen HTML5 to several different devices, including iPhone, iPad and Galaxy tablets, with markedly different layouts and style.

About the ePub format—ePub is an XML-based file format designed to reflow text based on current screen size. The ePub format provides a “standard” for organizing and reading digital content on mobile devices. The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), a nonprofit standards organization, designed and maintains the ePub file format. The standard was developed with the participation of over 60 companies and organizations and was unanimously approved by IDPF members.

Top features of ePub—

• Text reflows according to screen size, which is perfect for reading on mobile devices, eBook readers, and tablets

• Simple table of contents and navigation implementation

• Ability to embed images, objects and multimedia files

• Open, nonproprietary file format standard developed and maintained by the IDPF

• Advanced control with font embedding and CSS styling

• Interoperability for unencrypted files

RoboHelp 10 has a “wizard-driven” workflow that makes the process of publishing to ePub or HTML5 extremely easy. You simply click File > Generate > ePub Output to start the process. You can view how simple the process by watching some of the webinars and video demos contained in the list of resources below.

3. RoboHelp 10 streamlines the review and collaboration process

One of the biggest challenges most clients have in managing the source language content for Help systems is keeping content in sync and managing the review and collaboration process. RoboHelp 10 has several potent methods to ease these processes. The three major workflow solutions to this challenge are detailed below:

Adobe PDF-Based Review

This method supports a “round-trip” workflow. The content manager can select topics individually or based on status. This can include just snippets or Master Pages. After the review process, authors can import the comments back into RoboHelp and either accept or reject comments as they deem appropriate. There is no limit to the number of reviewers of topics, so this is highly scalable.

PDFs generated for review can be hosted on an internal server, on Acrobat.com (a cloud), or a Microsoft SharePoint server. So, the reviewer’s access to files for review can be very flexible. Creating a PDF for review in RoboHelp is relatively simple.

Once all comments are in from reviewers, the author can use the Review > Import Comments from PDF command. A Review Pane shows a list of comments or changes. The author can easily go to a specific topic to accept or reject it by double-clicking on the comment.

The screen capture below, from an earlier RoboHelp Reviewer’s Guide, shows a document with imported PDF comments visible in the Review Pane at the bottom of the screen:

4. RoboHelp’s ability to manage tracked changes amongst multiple content creators

RoboHelp has a powerful track changes facility, very similar to that introduced in FrameMaker a few releases ago. Using the Review > Track Changes command will highlight additions and deletions. Comments can also be added at this point. RoboHelp also has a feature under Tools > Options that allows the reviewer or author to identify themselves, so their name will be associated with any insertions or deletions that the specific team member makes.

RoboHelp methods for SME review via Acrobat PDF

RoboHelp easily produces PDF for commented review. But there are several workflows or methods that can be used, so clients and their translation agency may choose the technique that best suits the project and content at hand. As discussed in the previous article, translation agency publishers can import the linguist’s comments into RoboHelp and then accept or reject them based on glossaries or other project standards. This is a highly scalable solution, as there is no limit to the number of reviewers or topics.

Depending on the size and location of the linguistic review team, there are three RoboHelp PDF Review methods to choose from. The only software required by the remote linguistic reviewer is the free version of Adobe Reader software.

• Send for Shared Review—in this scenario, RoboHelp creates a PDF and then uploads it to Acrobat.com (a cloud), a Microsoft SharePoint server location or an internal server for review. The RoboHelp publisher or author who starts the process must have Acrobat X Pro installed. Incidentally, Acrobat Pro is included with Adobe Technical Communcation Suite, which also includes FrameMaker, Captivate and Photoshop.

• Create a Local PDF—probably the most common technique, this involves simply creating a PDF file and manually posting multiple copies for each reviewer.

• Attach for eMail Review—this technique creates a PDF and automatically attaches it to a new email message opened in your email client (e.g. Outlook) You can provide instructions or descriptive detail in the body of the email and distribute what will become individual copies to any number of reviewers.

Mark topic status as “Ready for Review”

Sometimes projects are translated in “stages”, e.g. portions of the content (chapters, or topics) are updated after initial translation begins. In this case, the client or translation agency staff can use the RoboHelp Project Manager to select topics and mark them “Ready for Review”. Or the translation manager can simply send a topic or an entire set of topics inside a folder for review. This allows portions of a complex project to achieve LQA (Linguistic Quality Assurance) without waiting for the last topic to receive final approval in its source language.

RoboHelp Table of Contents may be used to select portions read for review

Generating PDF for Review in RoboHelp used to be based on an extensive set of nested topics. RoboHelp 10 enables authors or editors to tick boxes next to any level of a Table of Contents to determine which portions should be included in a PDF to be distributed for review. Comments and annotations received from such PDFs may be imported “in place” in the RoboHelp source files.

5. Shared and reusable resources in RoboHelp aid multi-author environments

RoboHelp 10 provides an enhanced Resource Manager and increased support for Version and Source Control application. This allows projects with multiple authors to leverage document assets more effectively when authoring source language files. Incidentally, lack of source and version control on the client side can be one of the biggest headaches for translation agency project managers, who must often make multiple requests from their clients for the latest or most accurate files.

6. Keep assets up-to-date by “Live Linking” in Resource Manager

When working in a collaborative authoring environment with shared resources, it is imperative to know when externally linked content has changed. What if another author has updated a portion of an externally referenced topic, for instance? “Live linked” content in RoboHelp will visually show the author when a referenced file has been changed. This feature goes far beyond the simple linking of Adobe FrameMaker or Microsoft Word documents into RoboHelp projects, which was established in earlier releases of RoboHelp.

The screen capture below (drawn from the Adobe RoboHelp Reviewer’s Guide) shows how a linked graphic, “ChartCrop.jpg” has been modified; there is a linking color of red in the lower right corner of the icon. The author right-clicks and selects Sync to update the graphic and make sure that the image reflects the latest change.

7. Source and Version control keeps team members “in synch”

RoboSource helps multiple authors avoid getting “out of synch” as changes occur in their projects. This is a natural benefit to the dynamic workflow which often requires Help projects to begin before final documentation or even final translation is complete.

Many source control applications integrate directly with RoboHelp and can be invoked directly from within your RoboHelp project:

• RoboSource Control 3.1

• Team Foundation Server 2010 and 2008

• Perforce

• Microsoft Visual Source Safe 5.0

• Any other version control application that supports Microsoft Source Code Control API

The image below shows a topic being checked in to source control within RoboHelp.

8. Asset Folders are now unlimited

Resource Manager enables every author to create as many Asset Folders as required. Asset Folders may range from Graphics, to Multimedia, to Cascading Style Sheets, to Master Pages and many other file types.

9. Create links via Drag and Drop

You may now use an “asset view” inside Resource Manager by simply dragging it from the pod directly into the project. A link is created, and once any changes occur to the original graphic, the RoboHelp author is notified and given the option to update to the new version. This feature can be used across multiple RoboHelp projects involving many authors.

10. Prevent duplication and maintain consistency with Asset Links

When a link is established between any resource and Resource Manager, RoboHelp periodically scans both the Project and Resource Manager locations to detect if anything has changed. If an asset has been modified in any way, RoboHelp will notify the author of the change.

Adobe, the Adobe logo, Adobe AIR, AIR, FrameMaker and RoboHelp are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

© 2013 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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A note about FrameMaker 11 and RoboHelp 10 integration

RoboHelp 10 can be used very productively as a standalone authoring solution for people who only need various forms of Help systems or publishing to tablets and mobile devices. But one of the biggest benefits to end-users is RoboHelp’s seamless integrations with FrameMaker 11, Acrobat XI and Captivate 6 in Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite 4.0. This provides a highly desirable product combination to maximize your single-source workflow for traditional documentation (“fancy” PDF) and HTML Help (or other formats) by authoring your source language files in FrameMaker 11. Then use the Publish function in FrameMaker 11 to transform files through RoboHelp 10, and output to a distinctly differently formatted Help system, HTML5 or ePub format.

Further information about Adobe Tech Comm Products

You may go to the following websites for further product information:

• Tech Comm Suite 4.0—http://adobe.ly/ZHMlM5

• FrameMaker 11—http://adobe.ly/ZJla5A

• RoboHelp 10—http://adobe.ly/ZJlrFC

• Adobe TV—http://adobe.ly/PTsNDi

• Adobe Technical Communication Blog—http://blogs.adobe.com/techcomm/

• Adobe RoboHelp User Forums—http://forums.adobe.com/community/robohelp

• Adobe RoboHelp Help & Support—http://www.adobe.com/support/robohelp/

• Adobe TCS OnDemand Seminars—http://adobe.ly/Pbdp0J

• Adobe Calendar of upcoming TCS Seminars—http://adobe.ly/Pbz6xI

GPI Authors

Globalization Partners International (GPI) is a full Language Services Provider (LSP) and you may contact them at info@globalizationpartners.com or at +01 866-272-5874 with your specific localization questions about FrameMaker, RoboHelp and your project goals. You may also request a complimentary Translation Quote for your project as well. GPI periodically publishes blogs which include tips and best practices for Technical Communication Suite and other Adobe products. You may benefit from periodically reading these blogs at http://blog.globalizationpartners.com/