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Writers and ePublisher Express
With ePublisher, writers use their preferred content authoring tool and the source document templates provided by the Stationery designer to create content and prepare their source documents for output generation. Writers can use Microsoft Word, structured or unstructured Adobe FrameMaker, and DITA-XML content authoring tools to author content. Writers format, or tag, their source documents by applying styles and formats, and then ePublisher uses this information to generate the appropriate output based on the settings the Stationery designer specified in the Stationery. Writers do not need to worry about output design. Instead, writers can focus on creating the content users need.
When writers are ready to generate online content, writers use ePublisher Express to perform the following tasks:
Create an ePublisher Express project based on Stationery created by a Stationery designer.
Add the source documents they want to use to generate output to the ePublisher Express project.
Generate output. The output writers generate adheres to the styles and standards defined by the Stationery designer in the Stationery. Writers can generate output on demand. ePublisher can also automatically generate output based on a schedule if ePublisher AutoMap is implemented.
Deploy generated output. Writers can deploy their generation to a Web site or to a central location from which a product build can obtain the files. ePublisher can automatically deploy output if ePublisher AutoMap is implemented.
Check the generated output into a version control system or copy the generated output to a central archive location.
Although writers typically use the Stationery provided by the Stationery designer without modification, writers can use ePublisher Express to perform some customizations of output target settings if they have target setting modification permissions. For example, writers can customize company information such as company name, phone number, and Web site information in their generated output if they have target setting modification permissions. If writers need to customize any target or project settings, they should first ensure they have appropriate target setting modification permissions. After they make any target setting customizations, they regenerate their output and verify their target setting customizations before deploying their final output.
Most writers prefer to use ePublisher Express to perform an initial output generation early in their project cycle. This allows writers to quickly and easily verify that they are formatting their source documents correctly and also confirm that their generated output has the appearance and features they want. After an initial verification of the generated output early in the project cycle, writers continue to add content to their source documents, then regenerate output on a periodic basis, such as once a week, as the project progresses.
If ePublisher AutoMap is implemented, ePublisher AutoMap can be configured to automatically generate output for writers on a regular schedule. For example, ePublisher AutoMap can be configured to automatically generate output for a project every night. When writers arrive at work the next day, writers can quickly and easily verify that the latest content they added to their source documents is formatted correctly and displays appropriately in their generated output. Periodic output generation using the latest version of source documents and Stationery provides the following benefits:
Allows writers to quickly and easily confirm that they are formatting their source documents correctly and feel confident that their generated output always conforms to the standards and styles defined in their project Stationery by the Stationery designer
Reduces the amount of time writers spend doing a quality assurance review for their generated output at the end of a project cycle
Helps eliminate post-generation editing and processing, which save organizations time and money
Ensures that the end of the project cycle is smooth and hassle-free
ePublisher allows writers to quickly and easily produce high-quality output according to specifications each time they generate output.