structuring topics without structured authoring

Structuring Topics withoutStructured Authoring

Michael McCallister

WritersUA Central

October 21, 2015

Ask questions any time!

Who am I?

• Senior Document Architect, PKWARE

• Books about openSUSE Linux and WordPress

• Blog: Notes from the Metaverse (metaverse.wordpress com)

• President, Society for Technical Communication, Wisconsin Chapter

• National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981, At Large chapter

What We’re Covering

● DITA and PKWARE

● Organizing Help Topics in RoboHelp 10

● Preparing Master Pages in RoboHelp

Ultimate Goal of Tech Comm

● Right content (and only right content)

● Right context

● Right format

Quick Survey:What is DITA?

What's a Topic?Neil Perlin

Focused on one subject:

● Answers one question

● How do I...?

● What is...?

As self-contained as possible

● All info needed to answer question

● Related info is separate

● Topics link to related topics

Project Settings in RoboHelp 10

Topic Properties in RoboHelp 10

Topic Properties Report

Topic Properties Report Options

Topic types leading to structure

● Concept: Big Picture

● Task: What the user does

● Reference: All the other stuff user needs to know

Another PKWARE Interlude

Master pages in RoboHelp

● Imported from FrameMaker

● Page Templates

● Added CSS

Master Pages in RoboHelp 2015

● Whirl the Whirls Sample

● Master pages

● CSS Editor

Goals for Creating Topic Types

● Help users be more effective

● Better statistics for management

● Ease the transition to structured authoring

Connect with Me

• PKWARE Help: help.pkware.com

• Email: mike.mccallister@pkware.com

• Web: michaelmccallister.com

• Twitter: @workingwriter

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/workingwriter

Michael McCallister, Independent Writers of Chicago March 2015

Questions?

Michael McCallister, Independent Writers of Chicago March 2015