Simple Answers to Your Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some simple answers to your most frequently asked questions.
How does Content Mapper get high quality XML from Microsoft Word?
What are the advantages of Content Mapper over traditional XML editors like XMetal, Arbortext Editor, Structured Framemaker and XML Spy?
What is DITA and why are you focused on it?
What is “Simply DITA?”
How can Simply XML help me get more from my investment in Information Mapping?
What are the advantages of Microsoft SharePoint over other Content Management Systems?
Can I store content authored in XML in CMS products like Documentum, LiveLink, SQL server, etc?
Can I work offline with Content Mapper?
Will Content Mapper support custom metadata and custom publishing requirements?
My organization stores XML in one of the lesser known Content Management Systems. Can you help?
Why are you selling Content Mapper for only 25% of the list price of competing XML editors?
How does Content Mapper get high quality XML from Microsoft Word?
The Microsoft XML is not driven by schemas or DTD’s. It does everything, but constrains nothing, leaving the organization short of its desire to achieve the advantages of XML for single source and multi-channel publishing while controlling authoring and publishing. Content Mapper takes control of the Microsoft Word interface and only allows the use of elements that are permitted by industry standard or custom schema. The result is ease of use for the author and implementation of standards-based publishing.
What are the advantages of Content Mapper over traditional XML editors like XMetal, Arbortext Editor, Structured Framemaker and XML Spy?
Content Mapper allows the author to work in the familiar Microsoft Word-based environment. The environment is WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) and the author never has to see the underlying XML. And the price for software and required human resources is significantly less.
What is DITA and why are you focused on it?
DITA is a rapidly emerging standard for all kinds of documentation and business documents. DITA takes advantage of topic-based writing and facilitates the implementation of single source and multi-channel publishing. Simply XML also offers a high quality instructor-led web-based training course to simplify the transition to DITA. DITA is being promoted by companies like IBM, Intel, and Adobe and is favorably supported by research houses including CIDM, the Rockley Group and Gilbane Group.
What is “Simply DITA?”
Simply DITA is a document structure for Simply XML's Content Mapper authoring software. It takes advantage of the DITA XML standard without burdening the average writer with viewing XML code or dealing with hundreds of extraneous DITA elements. Within our Microsoft Word-based XML authoring tool, we have implemented enough elements to allow writers to easily create DITA topics, tasks, concepts, references and DITA Maps. With support for the DITA Open Tool Kit, publishing is easy and inexpensive. The Simply DITA document structure is targeted at authors in smaller documentation groups and casual authors in much larger organizations.
How can Simply XML help me get more from my investment in Information Mapping?
Hundreds of thousands of authors have been trained to write using Information Mapping’s methodology. Simply XML has licensed the Information Mapping structure and can deliver high quality XML to totally conform to the Information Mapping standard. Simply XML’s CEO was the CEO of Information Mapping for more than 20 years. If your authors have used Formatting Solutions Pro to generate documents, Maps, and Blocks, we can easily import those documents into Content Mapper, allowing you to leverage your investment in existing information. High quality Information Mapping training and consulting services are always available from Information Mapping to support your implementation effort. Or, if you are transitioning from Information Mapping to DITA, we can help you import legacy documents into the DITA standard.
What are the advantages of Microsoft SharePoint over other Content Management Systems?
Most large and medium-sized enterprises already use SharePoint as a repository. Implementation of single source and multi-channel publishing can be phased in with little incremental software investment. With Microsoft’s ongoing development and enhancement efforts, its wide acceptance as a repository and the large number of organizations supporting it, the decision to use SharePoint will prove prudent for the long run.
Can I store content authored in XML in CMS products like Documentum, LiveLink, SQL server, etc?
It is very easy to store content created in Content Mapper in any repository. A relatively simple services engagement will allow Content Mapper to display your customized CMS workflow, versioning and metadata information.
Can I work offline with Content Mapper?
Yes. If you are working with Content Mapper's personal repository on your local computer, then you can store and publish content offline. If you use Content Mapper to connect to a remote CMS or repository, then you can save existing documents from the repository to the .cm07 format and open and edit them locally. You can also create a new document in .cm07 format locally, and later open and save it to your remote CMS or repository when you are online.
Will Content Mapper support custom metadata and custom publishing requirements?
Yes. It is very easy to support your own metadata attached to either the personal repository or through a link to the metadata in your corporate CMS. Custom publishing requirements are supported in a publishing wizard or with the straightforward development of custom stylesheets.
My organization stores XML in one of the lesser known Content Management Systems. Can you help?
With the improved architecture of Microsoft .Net 3.5, integration with a different CMS can be accomplished through a relatively straight forward services engagement.
Why are you selling Content Mapper for only 25% of the list price of competing XML editors?
We are trying to help the industry achieve wide-scale adoption of XML and we believe that the two primary roadblocks to enterprise adoption have been the cost of the products and the required technical staff. Both of these issues have been addressed in a way that will make large scale adoption of XML-based authoring simple and effective. XML is not rocket science. Content Mapper is very easy to learn and use, so our objective is “simply xml.”
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