Integrating Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite version 1

Note: This book covers Adobe’s Technical Communication Suite 1 not version 2. If you have TCS2, this book will not work for you. Instead, you should use our Introduction to the Adobe Technical Communication Suite 2 book.

Get introduced to Adobe FrameMaker, RoboHelp and Captivate via this step-by-step workbook

The Adobe Technical Communication Suite (TCS) is a complete solution for authoring, managing and publishing technical information and training content in multiple formats and languages. The suite combines four powerful programs:

• Acrobat 3D
• Adobe FrameMaker 8
• Adobe RoboHelp 7
• Adobe Captivate 3

Why is the Technical Communication Suite so cool? For the first time, you can author your technical content in Adobe FrameMaker (instead of Microsoft Word) and, rather than import the FrameMaker content into Adobe RoboHelp, you can link the FrameMaker content into a RoboHelp project by reference. Once linked together, the RoboHelp project and FrameMaker document(s) communicate with each other. All you’d need to do to update both your FrameMaker and RoboHelp content is make changes in FrameMaker and, back in RoboHelp, perform an Update.

You can also import Adobe Captivate projects into the FrameMaker document. If you create a PDF out of the print document, the interactivity is retained, making your PDF highly interactive. And of course, since the suite applications are integrated, you can edit the imported Captivate project from within FrameMaker, make changes in Captivate and, when you exit Captivate, the edited project is republished and updated in FrameMaker.

Note: To complete the lessons presented in this book, you will need the following software and hardware: Adobe Technical Communication Suite, Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, Microsoft® Windows Vista® or Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 or higher, 1GB of RAM (2GB recommended), 3.4GB of available hard-disk space, DVD-ROM drive, 1,024x768 screen resolution and for some 3D features in Adobe® Acrobat® 9 Pro Extended: a video card with pixel shader support and Microsoft DirectX 8.1 or 9 for video hardware acceleration (recommended for optimal performance). The versions of FrameMaker 8 and RoboHelp 7 in the Technical Communication Suite are enhanced versions that can only be found in the Suite. The enhanced versions facilitate deeper integration between FrameMaker 8 and RoboHelp 7. Adobe's Technical Communication Suite does not come with this book. The suite can be purchased directly from Adobe.

This book includes the following lessons:

Introducing the Adobe Technical Communication Suite

• What Is Adobe's Technical Communication Suite?
• The Technical Production Lines
• Redundancy: A Major Frustration
• The Technical Communication Suite Workflow

Adobe RoboHelp 7

• Generate FlashHelp
• Create a WebHelp Project
• Import an HTML File
• Import a Word Document
• Import a FrameMaker Document
• Rename Topic Titles
• Create Project Folders
• Auto-Create a TOC
• Cascading Style Sheets
• Apply a Style Sheet to a Topic
• Apply Styles to Selected Paragraphs
• Use Spell Check

Adobe Captivate 3

• Set the Recording Type and Options
• Record a Captivate Demonstration
• Recording Custom Captivate Lessons
• Create a Custom Recording
• Insert and Edit Text Captions
• Change Text Caption Properties
• View the Timeline
• Change a Slide’s Display Time
• Change Timeline View Settings
• Use the Timeline to Set Text Caption Display Times
• Show/Hide Timeline Objects
• Use Options to Control Object Timing
• Edit a Slide and Object Display Times
• Insert a Text Button
• Set a Button’s Options
• Apply a BMP Playbar
• Apply a Skin
• Edit and Save a Skin
• Loading Screens
• Add a Loading Screen
• Publishing
• Publish a Flash (SWF) Lesson

Adobe FrameMaker 8

• Set the FrameMaker Interface
• Explore a FrameMaker Book
• Explore FrameMaker’s Paragraph Numbering Power
• Update and Generate
• Paragraph Formats
• Create a New FrameMaker Document
• Import Text
• Change Document Layout Settings
• Edit an Existing Format
• Change the Side Head Pagination
• Create an Autonumber Format
• Create a Series Label
• Add Text to a Master Page Header
• Add Running Headers
• Remove Word Text Formatting
• Apply Word Styles to Paragraphs
• Import a Word Document

Integration

• Publish a Captivate Project
• Import a Published Captivate SWF Into FrameMaker
• Edit a Captivate Project Through FrameMaker
• Create an Interactive PDF
• Create a New RoboHelp Project
• Attach a CSS to a Topic
• Link a FrameMaker Book Into a RoboHelp Project
• Edit the FrameMaker Document Settings
• Map Styles
• Control Topic Pagination
• Edit FrameMaker Content
• Add an Associated TOC and Index
• Assign a TOC and Index to a RoboHelp Layout

Book Specifications:

ISBN: 1932733248 | Spiral Bound | 144 pages | Page Size, 8 1/2 x 11 inches
Retail Price: $25.00

See also:

Attend a Live, Virtual Class on Adobe Captivate

Attend a Live, Virtual Class on Adobe Robohelp 7

Attend a Live, Virtual Class on Adobe FrameMaker 8

Attend a Live, Virtual Class on Adobe's Technical Communication Suite

Adobe Captivate 3: Script Writing and Production Guide

CaptivateMyData

Essentials of Adobe Captivate 3

Essentials of Adobe RoboHelp 7