XML Adobe
Leveraging 15 years experience in developing single-source
publishing solutions, Mekon has designed the first XML
publishing adaptor to enable Adobe FrameMaker users to utilise
the powerful print pagination capabilities of FrameMaker and
FrameMaker Server within DITA based XML publishing systems. See
DITA
XML Publishing
Users wishing to utilise the benefits of XML publishing and the
Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) standard can now,
for the first time, use FrameMaker as the pagination engine to
format output content as PDF within their system. Mekon has
developed the adaptor in response to a growing recognition by
technical publications departments of the benefits of using
DITA's 'topic' based approach to enable effective content re-use
and is being made available via the DITA Open Toolkit. [see
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=dita
for more details].
"Using our knowledge of single-source publishing technology and
standards such as DITA, we have helped to ensure technical
publications departments can utilise a familiar and powerful
application (FrameMaker) in their DITA publishing projects. This
eliminates the need to invest in a separate pagination engine
and helps to ensure that FrameMaker users can continue to
leverage their existing investment in this most trusted of
applications." Mark Poston, Senior Technical Consultant, Mekon.
The adaptor generalises specialised DITA XML content and applies
class based formatting rules thereby removing the need for users
to create new EDDs every time a new specialised element is
required. Using FrameMaker templates, users can quickly and
easily customise the format of their output documents. Mekon's
contribution of the Adobe FrameMaker publishing adaptor to the
DITA Open Toolkit has received an enthusiastic endorsement from
other DITA vendors such as Blast Radius XMetaL. "The addition of
a FrameMaker publishing adaptor to the Open Toolkit underscores
the importance of the DITA standard to the technical
communication community," said Robert Miller, Vice President of
Marketing, Blast Radius XMetaL. "It simplifies the migration
process for the many organizations that want to move their
legacy content from FrameMaker to DITA, by allowing them to
continue to use FrameMaker to publish their print deliverables."
Blast Radius XMetaL, who assisted Mekon with the development of
the adaptor, plans to demonstrate it at the public webinar "
FrameMaker & XMetaL