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PRESENTED BY
Signs of Needing a Refresh Global Project Linking Refreshing Your Project Staying On Track Questions
AGENDA
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Cleaning Up the Clutter: Refresh Your MadCap Flare Project Design - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Cleaning Up the Clutter: Refresh Your MadCap Flare Project Design - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Cleaning Up the Clutter: Refresh Your MadCap Flare Project Design PRESENTED BY Nate Wolf AGENDA Signs of Needing a Refresh 1 Global Project Linking 2 Refreshing Your Project 3 Staying On Track 4 Questions 5 SIGNS YOUR PROJECT NEEDS A
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- Multiple Stylesheets and/or TableStyles
- Unused or inefficient file usage
- Old HTML design/not responsive
- Local Formatting
- Not using Project Properties
SIGNS YOUR PROJECT NEEDS A REFRESH
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- Styles getting out of hand much?
MULTIPLE STYLESHEETS/TABLE STYLES
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- Unused topics
- Similar topics used for different purposes
- TOCs for every version of a product
Rethink the ways you use files
INEFFICIENT FILE USAGE
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- Want to move from Tripane?
- Does your layout and design look like it’s from the 90’s?
OLD DESIGN
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- Styles overridden with local formatting
LOCAL FORMATTING
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Not set at project level
- Target Level
- Even worse, topic level
LOCAL SETTINGS
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Global Project Linking
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START WITH A GLOBAL PROJECT
- Stylesheets
- Table Styles
- Variables
- Page Layouts
- Master Pages
- Snippets
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WHY USE A GLOBAL PROJECT?
- Files maintained in one place
- Gatekeeper
- Future-proof your documentation strategy
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GLOBAL PROJECT LINKING
Global Project B Project A
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SETTING UP GLOBAL IMPORT FILE
In your child project(s)
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SETTING UP GLOBAL IMPORT FILE
Set up import options
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SETTING UP GLOBAL IMPORT FILE
Accept files
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REIMPORTING GLOBAL PROJECT
Reimport manually or automatically
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Refreshing Your Project
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Disclaimer
- Not a complete list
- Every project is different
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- KEEP. IT. SIMPLE.
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I cannot stress this enough!
- Create a backup of your child project(s) for testing
- If anything goes wrong, you’ll have a working backup
BACKUP PROJECT(S)
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- Look at stylesheet implementation
– Most likely can create a new one (run reports) – Think simple
- Use templates
- No need for styles that perform same function
– Multiple indent styles – Over-defining styles
REVISIT YOUR STYLESHEET(S)
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- Moving to a new
HTML design?
- Want to update
your PDF design?
Revisit Layout Files
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- Add new variables?
- Start using them?
- Find and Replace with a variable
– <MadCap:variable name="DemoVariables.ProductName" />
REVISIT VARIABLES
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- What items are currently unused?
RUN REPORTS
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REPORTS
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- Topics
- Import Files
- Stylesheets
- Table Styles
- Variables
- TOCs
Delete Files
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SET PROJECT DEFAULTS
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- Targets
APPLY YOUR CHANGES
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- TOCs
- Styles
APPLY YOUR CHANGES
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- CTRL+A + Select
– Removes from entire file
REMOVE LOCAL FORMATTING
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Regular Expressions (RegEx or RegExp) Example
- Find
<span class=“bold”>(.*?)<\/span>
- Replace
<strong>\1</strong> http://regexlib.com/CheatSheet.aspx
REPLACE OLD STYLES W/ REGEX
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IN SUMMARY
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Go global! Revisit Design Files Run Reports Delete Stale Files
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Set Project Defaults Apply your settings Remove Local Formatting Clean up with RegEx Pat yourself on the back!
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Backup
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Staying On Track
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…in your project Create files/comments in your project that details uses for:
- Styles (CSS)
- TOC setup
- Global project
- Etc.
DOCUMENT YOUR PROJECT
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- Run the same reports from earlier
- Set a timeline and reminders
RUN REPORTS PERIODICALLY
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- Don’t revisit bad habits
- Need to make a change?
– Do it the right way!
- Create an archive project
- Remember, keep it simple
DON’T ADD UNNEEDED JUNK
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