Multiple Approaches to |  | by Larry W. Dybala |
Documents can be prepared for print and on-line distribution at the same time. The document you see on paper can also be viewed in Acrobat Reader ,a web browser such as Netscape, and Windows Help. Depending upon the tool used to produce it, little or no additional work is involved in publishing a multi-purpose document.
The typical media used for on-line publications can be classified according to whether the emphasis is on format, structure, or a combination of the two (hybrid). An easy way to tell the difference among the approaches is by whether or not the text wraps within your viewer. Material that must be presented precisely, such as an advertisement, might best be placed on-line using a tool that converts the document's format. Material that is content oriented, and in which the format plays a secondary role, might best be placed on-line using a tool that converts the document's structure. Acrobat emphasizes format, HTML (HyperText Markup Language) emphasizes structure, and Windows Help takes the hybrid approach.
Format Approach and Specific Programs
On-line tools that take a format approach are standard word processors and desktop publishing programs. You can view any document with the word processing package it was created in. Documents look exactly like the originals; you are viewing the original file in the same program it was created in. One drawback to this approach is that the person viewing the document can also change it. If a document was created in another program, you may be able to import it into the one you are using, but often much of the formatting is lost. One common technique is to save documents in Rich Text Format (RTF) and then import these files.
Document Viewing
Many word processing and desktop publishing programs have special viewers that you can use instead of the program the document was created in. Microsoft Word and Word Viewer such a word processor/viewer combination. FrameMaker and FrameViewer make up such a combination for desktop publishing.
Hypertext Linking
Other programs allow you to add hypertext links. When you click on a hypertext link, you automatically move to the part of the document the link points to. Often, you can also link to other files. Word Perfect, Microsoft Word, and FrameMaker are a few of the programs that have this capability.
Automatic Hypertext Link Generation
Still other programs support document viewing, hypertext linking, and automatic generation of hypertext links. FrameMaker is a good example of this type of program. It is especially useful for producing on-line books and manuals. Hypertext links are automatically generated for the table of contents, index, and cross-references. For example, when you click on a cross-reference such as "see page 8" (which can be formatted in a contrasting color or font), you move to the specific link on page 8.
Format Approach and Multiple Programs
Several products use the format approach to process the files of a variety of programs. On-line documents are typically produced by printing them to a file with a special driver. This produces documents that look exactly like the originals. These products work much like the standard Windows fax programs. Typical of these products are Envoy, Common Ground, and Acrobat. One drawback of most of these programs is that you add the hypertext links after creating the on-line document. If you make changes, you must make them to the preprocessed document within the original editing package, reprint it with the special driver, and then add back all of the hypertext links.
Acrobat
One program that circumvents this problem is Acrobat. In addition to being able to convert documents directly by printing them to a file, it can also convert PostScript documents with a special product called Acrobat Distiller. Most likely, you will produce the PostScript document by printing it to a file with a PostScript print driver. However, when you use one of several programs that work with Distiller, including FrameMaker, Corel Ventura, and PageMaker, the links that are made within these desktop publishing programs are preserved intact.
Structure Approach
This structured approach is the one that most of those using Web browsers are familiar with. It includes HTML, the language used for documents on the Web. The format is determined by the structure of the document. That structure is defined by the version of HTML you are using, e.g., level 2 or level 3, with or without Netscape extensions. You set the formatting characteristics of your browser, such as font size and type. The browser reads the codes that determine the document structure and translates them into the correct document format. This gives the reader great flexibility, but requires that the writer take into account a variety of display formats.
SGML
HTML originated from SGML(Standard Graphical Markup Language). SGML is used by many specialized publishing programs. It is particularly highly regarded by industries that produce a great many publications, such as aerospace and the government. It is being used all the time, and many people who write long documents in HTML actually use an SGML editor. SGML is a multipurpose markup language, while HTML is specifically for Web documents. For every SGML document set you must have a special DTD (Document Type Definition). It acts like a global style sheet, except it defines the structure of the document rather than its format. When the document is finished, it is parsed with the DTD. On-line documents are viewed through browsers that recognize the codes from the DTD. It works exactly like HTML. Those who use STML for writing HTML can simply change the DTD whenever new levels of HTML or extensions appear.
HTML
HTML is SGML with a special HTML DTD. For level 3 HTML, you would use a DTD that defines the document structure according to the rules of level 3 HTML. If you wanted to include Netscape extensions, you could just add them to the DTD. Most of us use programs that are designed to work only with HTML, or they translate the styles of our word processor or desktop publishing package into HTML. You don't need to modify the DTD; the correct one is built in.
HTML Editors
You can use any text editing program that can save files as regular ASCII text to produce HTML. Everyone who produces HTML should learn its coding conventions. In order to add a special feature that you've seen in other Web documents, simply look at the document's source and apply the same codes to produce the same formatting. But HTML editors are a big help. They are easy to use and help you learn HTML. Instead of having to type the codes in manually, they add them for you. There are many good HTML editors available. One of the best is Hot Dog. Another, without as many features, but which is free, is HTML Writer. Using an HTML editor is easy and is particularly valuable for writing shorter documents and tweaking longer ones. If you use an HTML editor, rather than a plug-in editor or translator, you lose the ability to produce the document in multiple on-line media. Of course, you can print documents produced in an HTML editor from your Web browser, but it is far more desirable to print them from your word processing or desktop publishing program. And if you want to publish a document using several on-line media, it is better to use a regular word processing or desktop publishing program. [See Endnote for related article.]
HTML Plug-in Editors
Several word processing packages have plug-in programs that turn them into outstanding HTML editors. Both WordPerfect and Microsoft Word have such plug-ins. Microsoft Word's Internet Assistant includes a special HTML template that makes Word an HTML editor. Its regular styles are mapped to those of HTML. You can even use Word as a Web browser to test your document and to connect to the Internet. You can use the Word document for printed publications and within Word Viewer as is. With a little extra processing, you can create Windows Help files and Acrobat documents.
HTML Translators
Another type of program translates the files generated from your word processing or desktop publishing program. There are a number of programs that can do this. You simply map the styles that you developed for a document to the corresponding styles in HTML. You then run this program to create an HTML file. Many programs translate FrameMaker files to HTML. Others translate the file formats of several word processing and desktop publishing programs to HTML.
Hybrid Approach
The third approach used by several programs is a combination of format and structure. These hybrids include Folio Views, SmarText, and Windows Help. Text will wrap in their viewers, but their proprietary file formats describe both structure and format.
Windows Help
To produce Windows Help files, you must insert footnotes and hidden text to represent hypertext links and index terms, save your document in Microsoft's Rich Text Format (RTF), and compile the document with the Windows Help compiler. The result is a .HLP file available to anyone who uses Windows. This Help file can be run alone by executing the WinHelp program. (Simply double-click on the Help file and the WinHelp program will open the Help file you clicked on.) Or, as is most typical, the Help file is called from within a Windows program. This is the on-line Help that all Windows users are familiar with. Click on Help (which is always available in a menu bar) and you can move to the Help contents or Help search feature. Windows 95 Help works the same way, though it has many added features.
You can produce Windows Help files in three ways:
1. Making hypertext links manually (through footnotes, hidden text, etc.).
2. Making hypertext links with special utilities via dialog boxes (several free Microsoft Word macro programs are available for doing this).
3. Making hypertext links with special programs (most work with Microsoft Word) such as RoboHelp and Doc-to-Help.
A combination of the second and third approach is the most useful. You can create a document using a special program and then tweak it with the special utility. You never have to deal with the arcane commands necessary for creating Windows Help manually.
Larry Dybala, a HAL-PC member, is active in the Windows publishing, electronic forms, and the Internet SIG. He is a technical communicator at Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation, where he is responsible for on-line publications and electronic forms. Contact him at his home page at http://hal-pc.org/~lwd/. © 1996 by Larry W. Dybala.
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