Though I teach most MadCap Flare classes online these days, I am scheduled to teach a live Flare Single Sourcing class on June 3, 2009, in Arlington, VA.
About the single sourcing class
The single sourcing class is a one-day, hands-on session that uses a scenario-based model to teach you how to single source your content with Flare. The course includes an overview of single sourcing for those who are new to the concept. It also includes advanced tips and best practices for experienced information developers.
In the course scenario, One Source Hotels is expanding to open two resort hotels: one in the US and another in Canada. The company needs to develop policies and procedures for the new hotels. They need to single source one set of content to account for differences between the customs and the legal requirements of the two countries. They need to publish to HTML and PDF.
Course prerequisites
If you are a beginning Flare user and are unfamiliar with the Flare work environment, I recommend that you take the Flare Basic/Intermediate class before attempting the single sourcing class. Unfortunately, we simply cannot cover the work environment in detail. If you have no formal Flare training but are comfortable working with the product, then you will will probably do well in the single sourcing class.
Course highlights
The single sourcing course covers many powerful Flare features, including
- re-using content
- maintaining a linked workflow where contributors are writing in Word and FrameMaker and publishing in Flare
- creating ad hoc tables of content for different outputs
- using Flare page layouts for printed output
- using snippets to reuse content with embedded conditions
- using variables in topics and in a TOC
- running builds from the command line and automating builds with batch files
- creating multiple targets (one online and one print target for each hotel)
sharing content and resources using Global Project Linking.
Details for the upcoming session
- When: Wednesday, June 3, 2009, from 9 am to 5 pm
- Where: 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 610,
Arlington, VA 22202 (Crystal City, accessible by Metro) - Price: $599 per student
- What to Bring: Laptop with Flare 4.2.1 installed. If you need to use a trial version, MadCap will provide a temporary key.
Questions and registration
Contact Jennifer Morse, Senior Territory Manager, MadCap Software:
- Direct: +1.858.320.0387×212
- Toll Free: 1.888.623.2271×212
- Fax: 858.320.0338
- Email: jmorse@madcapsoftware.com
- Curriculum outline: http://tiny.cc/YcylK
Even if you don’t live in the Washington, DC, area but live within a reasonable travel distance, I hope that you will join us.
