atw: Re: XML - a requirement for a TechWriter looking forwork?
- From: "Geoffrey Marnell" <geoffrey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:14:44 +1000
Matthew,
You don't need XML to do that. Just save your Visio file as a scalable
vector graphic (.svg) and open it in Illustrator. It opens as a regular
vector graphic, with all components editable.
Cheers
Geoffrey Marnell
Principal Consultant
Abelard Consulting Pty Ltd
T: (+61 3) 9596 3456
F: (+61 3) 9596 3625
W: http://www.abelard.com.au
-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Matthew da Silva
Sent: Wednesday, 10 September 2008 4:01 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: XML - a requirement for a TechWriter looking forwork?
While discussing XML is there any way to use XML to migrate drawings between
software packages? I've got a Visio file I want to get into Illustrator. I
assume the only way is to redo it in Illustrator from scratch.
=
-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Anthony Self
Sent: Wednesday, 10 September 2008 3:41 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: XML - a requirement for a TechWriter looking forwork?
Dear Nikki and all
When Dave Halls advised technical writers to "learn XML", he was giving good
counsel. Not wanting to put words in his mouth, his more explicit advice
might have been to "learn the basics and principles of XML so you can
understand what it all means".
XML is bigger than Ben Hur. It is a bigger initiative than the World Wide
Web. XML is a set of building blocks for the categorisation, storage and
retrieval of all human knowledge. It is impossible to learn everything there
is to know about XML, because of the length and breadth of the technology.
XML has already affected many aspects of our personal and business lives.
Journalists use it to produce your newspaper. iPods use it for podcasting.
Amazon uses it to help you choose books to buy.
Bloggers use it. GMail uses it to provide a richer Web mail client.
RoboHelp uses it to store its project file settings. OpenOffice uses it to
store office documents in an international standard format. Scholars use it
to understand Sumerian literature. The Bureau of Stats uses it to distribute
census data. And so on.
In the documentation field, authoring tools are built around XML. If your
tool is not XML-based, it's out-of-date, and probably about to be redundant.
Frame is XML-based. Flare is XML-based. Word 2007 is XML-based. OpenOffice
is XML-based. AuthorIt is XML-based. Firefox is XML-based.
It is possible that you can stumble on, perhaps even using Word or Frame,
and be blissfully unaware of what XML is. Perhaps you can continue to make a
living for many years to come without understanding one jot of XML. But Dave
Halls' talk and advice related to professional development. If you want to
progress in your profession, you must understand XML and its impacts. There
are more relevant changes to our working mode just around the corner. Moving
from style-based authoring to structured authoring is perhaps the biggest
change. The return on investment of structured authoring using DITA (another
XML-based
technology/methodology) is potentially enormous. At the moment, the tools
haven't quite caught up to the technology, so it is a little early for many
organisations to move to this approach, but in a year or two, everyone will
be moving in that direction.
You won't understand DITA and structured authoring unless you understand
(the basics and principles of) XML. Because XML is so big, it's best to
start now, rather than try to catch on when it's too late!
Finally, I have had the pleasure of working on a number of DITA projects, as
well as teaching it, and it is an extremely rewarding thing to work with as
a writer.
Tony Self
>>> "Nikki Ward" <Nikki.Ward@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 10/09/08 9:32 AM >>>
Hi all,
If you have some time, I would like some feedback on this presentation
supplied to the QLD Tech Writers group.
I just thought it rather interesting that "Learn XML" is becoming part of a
requirement for a Tech Writer who is looking for work.
...
-----
Swinburne University of Technology
CRICOS Provider Code: 00111D
NOTICE
This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended only for the
use of the addressee. They may contain information that is privileged or
protected by copyright. If you are not the intended recipient, any
dissemination, distribution, printing, copying or use is strictly
prohibited. The University does not warrant that this e-mail and any
attachments are secure and there is also a risk that it may be corrupted in
transmission. It is your responsibility to check any attachments for viruses
or defects before opening them. If you have received this transmission in
error, please contact us on +61 3 9214 8000 and delete it immediately from
your system. We do not accept liability in connection with computer virus,
data corruption, delay, interruption, unauthorised access or unauthorised
amendment.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
**************************************************
To view the austechwriter archives, go to
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter
To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes).
To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION
modes) go to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter
To contact the list administrator, send a message to
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************
**************************************************
To view the austechwriter archives, go to
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter
To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes).
To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION modes)
go to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter
To contact the list administrator, send a message to
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************
**************************************************
To view the austechwriter archives, go to
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter
To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes).
To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION modes) go
to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter
To contact the list administrator, send a message to
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************
Other related posts:
