Sharing XML documents during the writing and review process is a missing link in the XML publication chain. While Office or PDF applications help, they also add another extra-layer of complexity and loose the “XML awareness” of our initial document. That’s where LiveTechDocs comes into play.
Technical documentation is a prime beneficiary of XML technology, with standards such as DocBook and DITA. However, while XML revolutionized the way technical documentation is written, it did nothing to help documentation teams improve the collaboration process with the SMEs and other invested parties. In some cases, things got worse, with another layer of complexity added between the documentation team and the documentation stakeholders. Where is the missing link?
When it comes to documentation projects, primarily technical, medical, and scientific, using XML is a no-brainer. The heavy thinking comes when deciding which flavor of XML to use: DocBook or DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture). I have been a steadfast supporter of DocBook for over six years. I’d tried my hand at DITA and gave it up as a fad; lots of bells and whistles, but too complicated to integrate. And couldn’t DocBook do everything DITA promised anyway?
We are very happy to announce LiveTechDocs beta release.
LiveTechDocs collaboration service lets you share, browse, and review XML-based documentation projects. We currently support DocBook XML (4.x), an industry standard for writing technical documentation.
In LiveTechDocs, all the project files, tasks, and activities are accessed securely in one place. Technical writers notify the team when the documentation is updated, reviewers attach their comments directly on the documentation page, and the project manager tracks and validates the comments and the project progress.
Interested to learn more? Register now or try our demo project!
The LiveTechDocs Team
support@livetechdocs.com
I was one of the lucky US visitors to assist in the OASIS Open Standards conference in Sydney. This two-day event organized by Allette Systems (well done guys!) gave a great perspective on topics such as Open Office Standards (ODF and Microsoft Open XML), best practices to integrate and benefit from standards, and how one can use standards to save Australia from terrible droughts - like the one they had in 2007.
On behalf of the LiveTechDocs team, welcome!
We created LiveTechDocs blog with several objectives in mind:
We hope you will find the information in our articles useful. We welcome feedback to improve the LiveTechDocs blog experience. Feel free to contact us at teresa.mulvihill@livetechdocs.com or fabrice.talbot@livetechdocs.com
The LiveTechDocs founders
Fabrice Talbot & Teresa Mulvihill