Advanced Author-it Workshop

Description

This workshop is aimed at those who are currently using Author-it and who wish to understand the more advanced features.

  • Advanced Variables
    • Configuring variables
    • Using file object variables
    • Nested variables
  • Variants
    • How variants work
    • Configuring variants
    • Use case: Variables for multi-disciplinary documentation; for example, same product, different regions/audiences (single level variants)
    • Use case: Variables for multi-release documentation; for example, software documentation (hierarchical variants)
  • Document/Output Design
    • Understanding the Author-it publishing process
    • Review of media objects and object templates that affect publishing
  • Customising Word output:
    • Creating new styles in Author-it
    • Creating new styles in the Word template
    • Modifying existing styles
    • Updating headers/footers
    • Creating a basic AfterPublish Macro.
  • Customising HTML output:
    • Understanding the difference between HTML output and Web Help output
    • Creating new styles in HTML output
    • Configuring the HTML output tri-pane window
    • Creating new styles in Web Help output
    • Configuration the Web Help tri-pane output
    • Introduction to more advanced Web Help configuration.

Prerequisites

Solid Author-it knowledge from a user perspective, including:

  • Understanding of all Author-it object types
  • How to create books and topics (and associated objects)
  • How objects relate to each other and work together
  • Understanding of media objects (basic).

Intermediate/advanced Word skills, including:

  • Understanding of Word templates
  • How to create/modify styles
  • Understanding of building blocks and AutoText entries.

Basic/intermediate HTML/CSS skills including:

  • Basic/intermediate understanding of CSS
  • Comfortable to read HTML and CSS source code and have a basic understanding
  • Ability to write HTML/CSS an advantage.

Notes

  • Participants must bring their own laptop.
  • The workshop uses Author-it On Premises (licences will be organised for participants).
  • Author-it v6.1 will be used. Participants must have this version of Author-it installed and working on their laptops before the workshop starts. There will be no time at the start of the workshop to install Author-it.
  • Laptops must have Word 2007 or Word 2010 installed (not Office Starter).
  • This workshop will be unstructured with limited training resources provided (for example, training guides). Participants will be walked through different scenarios and provided support to complete the exercises.

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