Anyone who has seen the 'Mother' of 'em all, Quark Express, will know how simple publishing should be. Quite why Page Plus and Publisher have made such a complex task of it is a mystery. Word processors can often mimic DTP by clever use of borderless tables, but none can match the versatility of a proper publishing application.
The web has forced software creators to integrate web publishing tools within traditional desktop programs. On the whole these are inefficient and generate code that is untidy and memory hungry.
Always preview what you are going to print, checking carefully that all text is visible and that overlapping elements do not interfere with eachother. Ensure that the correct printer is set up in the File-Print menu and make a draft print first to double check layout and spelling.
Often simplicity is the key. Headlines can be boxed and large font, Features can be bordered. Whatever colours are used, it makes sense to check that the document works in black & white, should it be photcopied etc.
Clever use of Templates and certain effects can help create a corporate feel to your publications. Often time spent just creating a skeleton to be built upon can save a lot of time in the future.
Another reason for simplicity and not to overdo graphics is file size. Your document may be intended to be distributed on the web or intranet.
However, publishing for a network such as your intranet or the WWW doesn't just mean making web pages available. As long as the receiving device can read a specific file format, then that file may be downloaded and read by it. See File Management Workshop for help on ile formats
Specific examples are given in the Intranet Ideas
pages.
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Electronic Publishing
Here is the one simple rule:
Make documents available in a format readable by your intended users.
Here is an overview:
| Type of Document
|
Format
|
Readable with
|
Pros/ Cons
|
|
Web Page with graphics
|
.htm, .html (.gif, .jpg, .png)
|
Any Web Browser
|
Any browser-enabled device can view.
Can be very memory-efficient
|
|
Text Document
|
.txt
|
Browser/ Wordprocessor/ Text Editor
|
Any computer, any platform can view
Bare text, no frills layout
|
|
Formatted Text Document with graphics
|
.rtf
|
Most Wordprocessors
|
Some documents may loose some formatting when converted from propreitary programs.
|
|
Progam-specific Document
|
.doc (MS WORD), .lwp (Lotus WORDPRO)
|
Compatible Wordprocessor or Viewer
|
Limited really to individual systems.
May exclude some users.
|
You may also be familiar with Portable Document Format (.pdf) documents, readable with Acrobat. To publish in this format you will need to purchase a program. The reader is available free.
By using the 'Save As' function of most editing programs (including spreadsheets) you can save the same document in different formats for different users. However, bear in mind te moment you create multiple copies of the same thing, you make synchronisng different versions more awkward.
By exercising common sense, you can allow your documents to be viewable by as many or as few users as you wish. See File Management Workshop for more information.
The whole point of ePublishing is how the document displays on different screens. Most e-documents need never be printed out in their entirety. Keeping it simple and not overdoing the embellishments can mean a document may be mre easily covertible to a different format.
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Web pages for the Public
In business, first impressions last. The three golden rules are:
Confirmation that the user has reached the site
Make Navigation easy (three clicks at the most to get information)
Make pages downloadable quickly
How are these acheived?
- A decent front end is a must. Somewhere your company ID must appear to say "Yes, you have reached our site". This front end should not be all bells and whistles. If you want to include streaming graphics and movies, at least give your visitors the chance to refuse them. Make it so that you first page doesn't need scrolling. Often a Single graphic and a company name appear and then redirect automatically to an index page.
- Plan your site structure. Think about what categories of information are needed. Make important information (services, products, support, contact details) just one click away. Make it easy for your user to return to the main page. Don't only design a page to fit in a 1024x780 browser as those with less resolution will have to scroll!
- Don't go overboard on pictures. These always take longer to download. Many fancy 'Save As Web Page' document converters (in WORD, AMI PRO, Page Plus) turn fancily formatted text and tables into graphics and therfore create hirrendously-sized pages. Generally a wait of anything more than ten seconds (remember users may be using a slower connection than you)
We hope that this site demonstrates a sensible approach to web site building. It has been deliberately created from scratch using an HTML editor. No fancy WYSIWYG programs have been used. A Web site is only as good ultimately as the designer. Think of your priority: information.
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Web pages for internal reference
A fancy front end is not absolutely necessary here. Pages most probably need to be categorised and accessible from a front menu. Think of someone new to your company. Could they find what they wanted?
- Frequently accessed documents need to be readily available
- Databases must be acessible only by those with authorisation.
- Intranet pages should, to a large extent, replace the need for multiple copies of paper documents. Employees need not print off copies if they have an electronic version accessible.
- An Intranet needs planning and is likely to be added to by many different people. Its overall navigation will benefit form being strategic and clear.
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Consultation Documents
In the olden days, these were called "drafts" and were sent to different people before a final copy was made. Keeping a document as an electronic copy until it is finally completed is a good principle made ever so much easier by Email technology.
It often makes sense to transmit just a plain text document to get the contents approved and ammended and to worry about the final formatting at the end.
You can usually use the File-Send to menu to either email an open document or route it via a string of people for checkng.
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Documents for public information
The public must never be assunmed to be computer literate nor even literate, in the sense that what works well for you, might not get the message over to them. A well-designed public document will be laid out clearly with respect to the target reader. It will contain the information necessary, and this will be formatted (through fonts of different sizes, shading, boxes and colors if appropriate) to convey key ideas and headings to the reader.
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Presentations (Speakers to audience)
Slides can be easily created in Powerpoint, Freelance Graphics and other presentation packages. What is important though is to arrange slides to reflect a well-ordered and contiguous structure where one theme follows on from another.
However, the largest pitfall is really the slides themselves which often are poorly designed and cluttered.
Presentation Software Workshops
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Presentations (Interactive/ automated booth)
HTML pages can provide a simple means of navigating a user through sets of pages. Programmes such as Dazzler, PowerPoint and other multimedia applications can produce extremely high-quality results.
Whatever, remember that the content, not the form is the most important aspect. Designing a really effective presentation for a specific audience can take hours or even days.
It is relatively easy in PowerPoint and Wordprocessing to create 'hyperlinks' to other slides or different documents. Usually a right click over highlighted text or graphic can lead to the desired menu.
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Promotional Media
It is amazing how many advertisers still don't accept eMail! Often adverts have to be printed out and faxed to them. Some can now use web pages you send.
Posters etc need the page setup to be right. Some programs have a 'Scale to Fit paper' option in their Print setup dialogues.
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eCatalogue
These days two simple formats for these (which usually contain pictures and text) are .pdf and .htm (.html) - readable by Adobe Acrobat Reader and any web Browser respectively. The former needs PDF writer software, whereas the latter can even be done with plain text editor. Both however need a little learning to get their creation right.
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Letters & Communications
The use of Templates and Page Margin adjustments is the key to quick composition of letters etc. Essentially what you want to do is to separate the elements all similar communications have (i.e. address details/ space for letterhead/ signing-off details/ date field) from the bits that change (i.e. content of communication).
Word Processing Workshops
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