Can I print one topic at a time in PDF format?

[ccardimon]

This is probably a dumb question. TPTB want to stay informed on my progress on a certain project.

I need to gently feed them drafts in topic-sized pieces.

Is there an easy way to print out individual topics/chapters in PDF format?

[doc_guy]

The only way I can think of is this: If your primary target is a PDF-type target, then you can preview your file in the Flare XML editor. That will preview your file as a PDF file, and you can save that to your desktop and share it from there.

It won't look exactly the same as the output file, because of the way that Master Page Layouts are applied, but it will be close (and there are some ways you can fudge it, if you really want to, by duplicating page layouts and removing the "first" page in the layout, and then changing it before you publish).

Anyway, hope this helps.

[ccardimon]

Love 'em, but ours is a fairly old-fashioned group. I tried emailing the topics out using the X-Edit business, and that went over like the F-bomb on the Six O'clock evening news. It was a no-fly zone. No one was about to download the latest .NET or update their machines or anything. Game over.

My group likes paper. They like to slap a printout on their desks, and when the mood strikes them, sit down, and apply pen or pencil to paper to suggest corrections. Printed PDFs are the preferred deliverable.

If I hand over a 200-page manual, and this one promises to be HUGE, it won't get reviewed. Ever.

If I hand over five-pages at a time, they might just breeze through each allotment.

The last time I tried to share out a document from my computer, everyone promptly forgot about it.

The document must be a physical presence on their desks they have to deal with before they spill coffee all over it.

[LTinker68]

I tend to create a PDF target called "TestPrint" that has its own TOC ("TestTOC") and I add/remove topics from there willy-nilly and build the output when I want to look at one particular topic (or chapter). Actually, I copy my production target, rename it, and point it to the test TOC so that I match the final PDF as far as variables, stylesheet specified, etc. About the only thing that really won't be identical to the final output is where the page breaks fall. And possibly the page layout if I don't feel like specifying the correct page layout in the test TOC.

[ccardimon]

I tend to create a PDF target called "TestPrint" that has its own TOC ("TestTOC") and I add/remove topics from there willy-nilly and build the output when I want to look at one particular topic (or chapter). Actually, I copy my production target, rename it, and point it to the test TOC so that I match the final PDF as far as variables, stylesheet specified, etc. About the only thing that really won't be identical to the final output is where the page breaks fall. And possibly the page layout if I don't feel like specifying the correct page layout in the test TOC.

That sounds like the road I might have to travel.

[KevinDAmery]

Of course, if you're having to go to paper anyway, the other option is to output the whole thing, then just print the pages you need and distribute them (i.e. print pages 123 - 128).

[ccardimon]

Of course, if you're having to go to paper anyway, the other option is to output the whole thing, then just print the pages you need and distribute them (i.e. print pages 123 - 128).

I feel really stupid right about now. I never thought of that! Thank you.

Even so, MadCap should have an easy way of outputting per topic. Hint, hint.

[Andrew]

What we've done for review copies is to create a target and TOC with _REVIEW after them. I then add single topics at a time to that TOC, and then just build the review target. That way, the only thing I ever need to edit is the TOC.

[doc_guy]

Even so, MadCap should have an easy way of outputting per topic. Hint, hint.

Well, they do. Preview a topic with your PDF target as the primary target, and you get a single topic PDF file.

[Andrew]

Even so, MadCap should have an easy way of outputting per topic. Hint, hint.

Well, they do. Preview a topic with your PDF target as the primary target, and you get a single topic PDF file.

Unfortunately, page references etc. do not work in preview.

[doc_guy]

They don't help you either if all you are printing is a single topic. Even if you use a TOC and generate the topic, the page reference stuff won't work, because the target content may not be part of the topic.

[Andrew]

They don't help you either if all you are printing is a single topic. Even if you use a TOC and generate the topic, the page reference stuff won't work, because the target content may not be part of the topic.

That all depends on the size of your topic. When creating paper manuals (such as a New Features Guide) we typically use one topic per section / feature, so one topic can run 20 pages.