Resource Directory

DITA TC FAQ about keys

Resource: Submitted by Kristen James E... on Tue, 2011-03-22 16:25. Last updated on Mon, 2011-05-09 22:08.

The OASIS DITA Technical Committee has realized that parts of the DITA 1.2 specification do not unambigiously cover important questions about keys. We offer the following FAQ items in advance of an DITA 1.2 errata:

Q1: Given multiple key definitions, how does a processor determine which key definition is effective?

Q2: What should rendering tools display in the place of elements which have a keyref attribute?

Q1: Given multiple key definitions, how does a processor determine which key definition is effective?

Overriding the DITA Open Toolkit with Plug-ins

Resource: Submitted by robander on Tue, 2011-12-20 20:09. Last updated on Tue, 2012-01-10 14:56.

There are several ways to customize output from the DITA Open Toolkit,
some of which are better or than others. The most comprehensive method is
to create a plug-in, which can do anything from modifying the presentation
of a single element, to adding support for a new DITA Specialization, to
creating an entirely new transform type. Plug-ins can likewise scale up from
a couple of 5 line XML files all the way to complex set of XSLT or Java
libraries. In this presentation from December 2011, given to the Boston and RTP DITA User Groups, we discussed the various methods

DITA Best Practices: A Roadmap for Writing, Editing, and Architecting in DITA

Resource: Submitted by ellice on Thu, 2011-10-13 18:37.

The authors begin with topic-based writing, presenting proven best practices for developing effective topics and short descriptions. Next, they address content architecture, including how best to set up and implement DITA maps, linking strategies, metadata, conditional processing, and content reuse. Finally, they offer “in the trenches” solutions for ensuring quality implementations, including guidance on content conversion.

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How do you design end-user assistance?

Resource: Submitted by Jonatan Lundin on Sun, 2011-10-02 13:03.

The autumn 2011 edition of the award winning ISTC journal Communicator includes an introduction to SeSAM. Download it from http://www.sesam-info.net/Communicator_2011_Autumn_SeSAM.pdf.

Designing for findability is a key if you want to be successful. Check out SeSAM if you spend a lot of effort thinking about what type of information to include in manuals and how to organize content, and if your end users are complaining about the difficulty in finding answers.