New Single-sourcing discussion
Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 3:21 pm
Due to user request we are opening a new discussion area specifically for single-sourcing. Share your successes, horror stories, favorite tips and techniques.
Peer-to-Peer Support
https://forums.madcapsoftware.com/
You could try the WebHelp Mobile output instead of WebHelp or WebHelp Plus.WhyUNoWork wrote:- Allow us to modify the WebHelp target to output the html files only. No frames, no toolbar, no snazzy do-hickies. Nothing that's "canned".
The MadCap.css stylesheet is referenced before your topic stylesheet in the output, so as a workaround you can add styles to your topic stylesheet to override the styles in the MadCap.css stylesheet.WhyUNoWork wrote:- Give us the option to also output with a stylesheet (NOT the MadCap .css files, but whatever .css we modified manually)
Believe me, I've tried. I read one of your past posts that suggested this (thanks by the way! You've been a steady source of info on these forums.) Unfortunately, the HTML output is still "dirty" (for lack of a better word). For example all of this is added to the head of every HTML page for Mobile WebHelp:LTinker68 wrote:You could try the WebHelp Mobile output instead of WebHelp or WebHelp Plus.WhyUNoWork wrote:- Allow us to modify the WebHelp target to output the html files only. No frames, no toolbar, no snazzy do-hickies. Nothing that's "canned".
Code: Select all
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//WAPFORUM//DTD XHTML Mobile 1.2//EN" "http://www.openmobilealliance.org/tech/DTD/xhtml-mobile12.dtd">
<html xmlns:MadCap="http://www.madcapsoftware.com/Schemas/MadCap.xsd" MadCap:lastBlockDepth="3" MadCap:lastHeight="47" MadCap:lastWidth="1242" MadCap:conditions="TurnConditions.ScreenOnly" MadCap:disableMasterStylesheet="true" MadCap:tocPath="" MadCap:InPreviewMode="false" MadCap:PreloadImages="false" MadCap:RuntimeFileType="Topic" MadCap:TargetType="WebHelpMobile" lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us" MadCap:PathToHelpSystem="../../" MadCap:HelpSystemFileName="Default.xml" MadCap:SearchType="Stem">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<link href="../../Skins/Default/Stylesheets/StackLayout.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<link href="../../Skins/Default/Stylesheets/Header.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /><title>advertisers</title>
<link href="../../Resources/Topic.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<link href="../Resources/Stylesheets/OverlayHelpStyles.css" rel="stylesheet" />
</head>
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<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<link href="../Resources/Stylesheets/OverlayHelpStyles.css" rel="stylesheet" />
</head>
Yeah, I do this. But by default it still links the MadCap stylesheet. Regardless of whether your files use that CSS or not, it's hardcoded in because a skin must be selected for a target (even if it's default).LTinker68 wrote:The MadCap.css stylesheet is referenced before your topic stylesheet in the output, so as a workaround you can add styles to your topic stylesheet to override the styles in the MadCap.css stylesheet.WhyUNoWork wrote:- Give us the option to also output with a stylesheet (NOT the MadCap .css files, but whatever .css we modified manually)
Code: Select all
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<html xmlns:MadCap="http://www.madcapsoftware.com/Schemas/MadCap.xsd" MadCap:lastBlockDepth="3" MadCap:lastHeight="47" MadCap:lastWidth="1242" MadCap:conditions="TurnConditions.ScreenOnly" MadCap:disableMasterStylesheet="true" MadCap:tocPath="" MadCap:InPreviewMode="false" MadCap:PreloadImages="false" MadCap:RuntimeFileType="Topic" MadCap:TargetType="WebHelp" lang="en-us" xml:lang="en-us" MadCap:PathToHelpSystem="../../" MadCap:HelpSystemFileName="Default.xml" MadCap:SearchType="Stem">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><title>advertisers</title>
<link href="../SkinSupport/MadCap.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<link href="../Resources/Stylesheets/OverlayHelpStyles.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<script src="../SkinSupport/MadCapAll.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>
</head>
<body>
<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed adipiscing, risus ac pretium semper, arcu massa ultrices mauris, eu sodales nisl quam sit amet elit. Morbi sapien leo, venenatis consequat venenatis eget, ultricies et risus. Fusce nec quam eget tortor accumsan dictum. Vestibulum ornare, nisi imperdiet tempor bibendum, risus magna blandit augue, a condimentum magna mauris ut arcu. Morbi vitae vestibulum mi. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. In ac elit bibendum massa bibendum adipiscing et eget orci. Curabitur pharetra scelerisque viverra. Integer ac ligula in nunc ornare bibendum ut ac felis. Donec a leo eleifend lectus accumsan blandit in eget orci. Nullam rutrum, massa in gravida luctus, sapien est tempus sapien, nec rhoncus enim diam mollis ligula. </p>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../SkinSupport/MadCapBodyEnd.js">
</script>
</body>
</html>
Yes, this is true. However, if you are single-sourcing like I am even that gets a little dirty depending on the content, mainly due to the use of conditional text. For example:SteveS wrote:The source files used by Flare (ie the topic you open in Falre to edit before compliling) is in HTML.
If you don't use anything that is converted during compilation/ publishing you could use the plain HTML used during the authoring phase.
Very simplistic, and it doesn't allow for glosasaries, indexes, or any of the other great stuff, but it is plain HTML.
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<html xmlns:MadCap="http://www.madcapsoftware.com/Schemas/MadCap.xsd" MadCap:lastBlockDepth="4" MadCap:lastHeight="262" MadCap:lastWidth="1229">
<head>
</head>
<body>
<h1 MadCap:conditions="TurnConditions.AuthorComments">OMG a Heading!</h1>
<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed adipiscing, risus ac pretium semper, arcu massa ultrices mauris, eu sodales nisl quam sit amet elit. Morbi sapien leo, venenatis consequat venenatis eget, ultricies et risus. Fusce nec quam eget tortor accumsan dictum. Vestibulum ornare, nisi imperdiet tempor bibendum, risus magna blandit augue, a condimentum magna mauris ut arcu. Morbi vitae vestibulum mi. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. In ac elit bibendum massa bibendum adipiscing et eget orci. Curabitur pharetra scelerisque viverra. Integer ac ligula in nunc ornare bibendum ut ac felis. Donec a leo eleifend lectus accumsan blandit in eget orci. Nullam rutrum, massa in gravida luctus, sapien est tempus sapien, nec rhoncus enim diam mollis ligula. </p>
<ul>
<li>Blah</li>
<li>Blah</li>
<li>Blah</li>
</ul>
</body>
</html>
feature requests can be added using this URL: https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... quest.aspxKCinColorado wrote:Glad I saw this as I was considering moving my readme files to Flare. Was hoping for a plain HTML output as I don't currently have a basic HTML editor. I second the request for such an output in Flare!
Ok--thanks for the help. I think I figured it out. I just built a template with no variable entries--that way the variables populate across all 90-or-so targets. ^_^ It was actually a pretty easy fix. Thanks for giving me this space to think about it.aemily89 wrote:First post! I'd like to start by admitting that I am a TOTAL noob--this is my first tech writing job, and I'm a little overwhelmed. So. That being said, I am having a bit of a problem using Flare.
We have almost 100 target files--about three for each of our clients. Each cycle, we set-up and update the targets, the conditions, and the variables (etc.) individually--a repetitive task that takes over 900 clicks. We're looking for a way to streamline this process. Is there a function in Flare (or an extension) that allows us to change the Master TOC, the Output Folder, and the variables within multiple targets at once? We are changing the same things on each of these files. That leaves a lot of room for error.
I understand that it is *work*, but we have one source and 90+ custom output targets--I'd say 80% of those targets have the same content with just a few different variables, but they all go into their own folders for each of the customers. Our CTO thinks the process can be automated, and they're talking about putting ~60 man hours into a PowerShell script to go in and edit the files outside of Flare (that could end up costing about enough money to send our team of two to MadCamp!). A few of us are convinced that we're just not using Flare's full capacity. We're a small company that does vocational rehab software for state agencies--it's great that they're so considerate to how much work we do, but something's amiss. There should be a function within the program for this purpose... I think I'm just missing it. Help?
I've been thinking about it, and I wonder... if I were to build a template that had all of my files, but no variable definitions, could I fill in the definitions later and eliminate at least some of the margin for error?