Single-sourcing refers to writing documentation once and reusing it in multiple deliverables. For example, you might create procedures for a printed or PDF user guide, then use those same topics in an online help system.

Single-sourcing can be a very important part of an overall documentation strategy, as it ensures that content is correct across multiple deliverables. However, there are some pitfalls. Writers working in a single-sourcing workflow need to write content in a way that works for all the different deliverables. Just porting content directly from one output format to another with no regard for the end result is not good single-sourcing technique. A classic example of poor design would be including printed page numbers for cross-references in an online help system. Most good tools for single-sourcing include options such as conditional text and variables to mitigate these risks.

I have extensive experience using Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe RoboHelp and Omsys Mif2go to single-source a very large documentation set. I designed a complete single-sourcing workflow and supported other writers on our team in implementing this workflow. This enabled a very small team to maintain a very large documentation set (over 5000 pages) and create deliverables for numerous software releases.

My work included the following:

• Designing attractive FrameMaker templates for print and PDF documents.
• Designing an online help system using HTML and CSS.
• Configuring rules to translate the FrameMaker elements into the appropriate HTML/CSS code to create the help topics. I did this both with mif2go and with the built-in integration between FrameMaker and Robohelp and produced similar results with both tools.
• Writing topics that could then be used in both printed/PDF documents and in online help. This included using conditional text and variables where appropriate to tailor the content for the output format.

There are many additional single-sourcing tools and methodologies currently available. As a side project, I am currently investigating using DITA to produce modular topics that can be assembled into a variety of outputs. I’ve also had some exposure to using Madcap Flare to single-source content into different formats. Delving into these types of tools and determining the best way to work is one of my strengths, so I am confident I could tackle single-sourcing with any toolset.

Does your company need a writer who will dive into your product, help define documentation strategies, and efficiently create effective documentation in multiple formats? Contact me.