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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?

DITA for Beginners (Article from tcworld, March 2011)

Resource: Submitted by tself on Fri, 2012-03-23 06:19. Last updated on Fri, 2012-03-23 16:15.

This article by Tony Self, titled "Can you explain that again? DITA for beginners", was published in tcworld, March 2011, and is re-published with permission.

Abstract: DITA is a difficult thing to explain to the uninitiated. It is difficult because we expect it to be a product or a technology, when it is actually a standard and a methodology. DITA provides an approach to technical writing that embraces best practice ideals such as modularity, single-sourcing, and content re-use. The reasons for moving to DITA are business-focused.

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.