1. Text here From Unstructured Word to Single Sourced Flare Presented by Per Frederiksen, Owner of Write2Users

2. Speaker Bio Owner and founder of Write2Users (W2U) Technical Writer since 1991 Localization Manager since 1997 Software trainer since 1997 Webmaster from 2000 2009 Switched from Robohelp to Flare in 2006 Certified Madcap Trainer and Consultant Highly Commended Award in eHelp Online Help competition Runs the Technical Communication Workshop worldwide with partner Mette Nyberg from Schneider Electric, Denmark

3. Customer is Optimarin AS from Norway Pioneers in ballast water systems for ships and vessels New rules require this type of system onboard any vessel Each vessel has a customized system onboard (components, dimensions, etc.) Each vessel has its own unique manual Customer Case

4. Copy/paste is dead single sourcing rules Too many style and table variants in Word source files Word graphics with callouts require localization Very big matrix of sales options components, suppliers, etc. Unique front page for each manual Requirement: One target for all manuals Challenges

5. Overview Topic Word Flare Manuals (PDF) Now: 60 Soon: 200 Now: 60 Soon: 200 Online help None Soon available Tables Many variants 4 table styles Styles 100+ 20-30 Single sourcing Text None copy/paste Snippets, conditions, variables Images Common repository Common repository Database None One Flare target and client frontend

6. Word Import Mark up styles in Word print version Create new stylesheet in Flare Test style mapping in Flare Word file cleanup Test and re-test Word Import Import into Flare and cut cord to Word

7. Flare Stylesheet Focus on PDF This is the primary output for the customer. Notice that font sizes for h1, h2, etc. are in %. Prepared for online The stylesheet is prepared for HTML5 output. All other style sizes are relative to 11 pt.

8. Style Mapping Many style variations The Word file had many style variations. Style mapping Numerous variations collapsed in Flare and made style mapping possible.

9. Search and Replace Our recommendation Make the switch to Flare as early as possible. You can stay in Word forever to prepare for a clean Flare import. First steps Analyze the print version armed with a highlight marker. Mark up all instances of recurring replacement candidates. Examples: Heading numbering Incorrect/Inconsistent use of styles Unwanted line and page breaks Text inside images 1. Start with standard search/replace operations. 2. Continue with search/replace based on regular expressions The style attribute is redundant. Its part of the style in Flare.

10. Regular Expressions Replacement candidates Word lists (bullets/numbers) Table of Contents Heading numbering Remove Word bookmarks this example Expresso Regular Expressions builder This tool allows you test your regular expressions before launching them.

11. Table Styles Many table variations We managed to boil it down to four different table styles. Table styles Word has no table styles, so they must be applied manually. Use Apply Style. Local changes are defined in table stylesheet.

12. Snippets How it works Weve combined the invisible.css table style with a snippet. Inserting the warnings Type the first letters of the word to insert the snippet. Right-click and convert to text, then edit the text.

13. Conditions - images Apply conditions directly in the topic 1. Right-click the image and select Conditions. 2. Apply the relevant PICT_ condition. Images for conditions We are using four images to show the images for the six sales versions. Six sales versions BK FX FS Plus the above with Stripping

14. Conditions - text Apply conditions directly in the topic 1. Select the relevant text. In this example, the FX column header is selected. 2. Press CTRL+SHIFT+C and apply the relevant USE_ condition. Apply conditions to TOC items 1. Select the topic in the TOC. 2. Press F4. 3. Click the Conditional Text tab. 4. Select the relevant USE_ condition.

15. Front page Global and target- specific variables Link to: cover.png Image is taken from repository of images and copied/renamed at build time. Uses Page Layout - Cover

16. Front page Page Layout The break between body (1) and body (2) controlled with a column break. Topic Cover.htm Preview of print topic.

17. Database solution What we know The manual content is determined by the sales options purchased There are many sales options and many combinations Each manual is unique Each front page is unique We must prepare for language versions Normal Flare use would result in hundreds of targets What we want Optimarin users can produce a manual based on the sales order Content must be maintained in one Flare project Content and images must be shown/hidden based on conditions A database solution which can create specific manuals from one target and save produced targets (for reuse)

18. Database solution Our solution 1. The user enters Flare target settings and customer information in a client frontend. 2. Customer/sales information is picked up from Dynamix and sent to the database. 3. The database information is injected into the target file. 4. The target file is built automatically and notifications will be sent by e-mail.

19. HTML5 output The project is prepared for HTML5 output Not the primary format for the end user (PDF) Very relevant for internal use and technical support they will have access to the entire documentation With minimal changes to the CSS and a new master page, the HTML5 output is not far away

20. Lessons learned Process Conclusions Styles Create a new CSS in Flare and profit from the hierarchical nature of stylesheets. Also applies to well-structured Word files. Word cleanup Only clean up obvious mistakes like incorrect styles in Word. The open nature of Flare source files makes it easy to clean up code later on. Cut the cord and dont go back! Regular Expressions Can be used for advanced search/replace operations. Use tools like Notepad++, TextPipe and Expresso. Single sourcing Its possible to go beyond Flares native single sourcing capabilities. Used to minimize the number of targets in this project. Conditions We were certain that boolean operators could solve our challenge, but ended up with a standard condition setup. Lesson learned remember to think in alternatives.

21. More information? Questions? Thank you for your attention! Web: www.write2users.com Phone: +45 53 55 31 40 Per Frederiksen Thomas Bro- Rasmussen