CCC's Digital Services team is excited to introduce a brand new XML Templates application available at www.xml-simplicity.com. The application suppports current versions of the MSIE and FireFox browsers running under Windows.
The templates will give you an idea of what graphical structured-XML online editing looks and feels like.
The templates have several sample automatic outputs for file formats such as PDF, HTML, RTF, and ePub.
XML documents created using the templates can be downloaded to your local machine and, at a later date, they can be uploaded to the application for further editing.
Each template loads with a Quickstart document that provides a quick sample of data, which you can replace with your own content. There is a comprehensive "Getting Started" document for more detail on using the templates.
We are planning to expand our template collection and to provide templates in French as well.
We welcome your feedback and suggestions for new templates.
Enjoy.
Lately we have been talking a lot about XML workflows and how they can drastically increase productivity and speed up workflows. At CCC, we have been applying XML’s enhanced structuring and output capabilities in our Digital Services area since 2009 using our XML-Simplicity portal, and we have been steadily integrating XML functionality into our daily workflow over here in the Creative Services department.
Presently a large portion of our Creative Service’s workload is monthly newsletters that follow consistent styles and layout every issue. Applying XML’s highly structured authoring capabilities to these newsletters is a wonderful option that helps streamline any of the repetitive tasks that occur when bringing the editor’s articles into the existing templates for these newsletters, enabling us to automate the design and production. The real benefit, then, is that you can develop permanent style mapping rather than having to potentially map Word styles each time a new issue is created. We are able to map InDesign styles to tags applied to an XML document and eliminate the tedious task of working through multi-page layouts and applying formatting to each individual paragraph.
We also have the ability to export from a database file to XML for format-heavy content projects like directories. By using a Schema associated with the XML, we are able to ensure that the content is organized consistently. One feature that is particularly valuable for directory publishers is the ability to link the InDesign layout to the XML file. This linking means that each time the XML file is updated, the file automatically updates in InDesign as well.
As well as bringing XML into InDesign it can also be used for getting content out of InDesign and into XML format. This is usually required for projects that need to not only be printed but then used for web applications as well. We can export the content to XML and then generate the HTML that you need.
More information can be found through Adobe.com and I highly recommend the book “A Designer’s Guide to Adobe InDesign and XML” a great resource and contained a lot of tutorials as well as downloadable exercise files.
Send us some feedback; I would love to hear from other designers, and get some comments on your experiences with InDesign and XML.
Until next time,
Michelle
What started out as quiet rumblings years ago has escalated into full-scale conversations today. People have been singing its praises, and switching over in record numbers. So flexible... so nimble... so reliable... I am talking about XML, of course.
Making the decision to move your content over to an XML data structure is a great one. It truly is a flexible, nimble and reliable mark-up language that will empower users to truly maximize content and data to its fullest potential by realizing increases in workflow productivity, the repurposing of content to develop new revenue streams, and even the creation of entirely new products altogether. But committing to an XML format means defining a structure, organizing and tagging the data to get your desired output look and feel, and this can feel like a daunting task.
Never fear, CCC is here! Read on as Keith offers a handy tip for getting started with XML structuring...
Once you have decided to implement XML as a single-source data storage format you are faced with how to structure and organize your data content. This can be one of the most challenging aspects of implementing an XML strategy. There is a good news story, though: For many types of data you don’t have to start from scratch.
There are several web sites that compile lists of public-domain XML vocabularies (aka XML schemas). These schemas are typically constructed by committees composed of subject-matter experts from academic, industry and governmental institutions. Many such schemas are de facto industry standards. These schemas outline the physical structure of your XML documents and contain rules for data content, order, and quality (called restrictions or constraints).
You will often find a schema that can be used “as is” or otherwise provide a starting point for your own custom schema. Usually the vocabulary is more robust than needed, but it is a fairly simple process to trim the structure back to a more manageable set of elements to custom fit your needs. These professional-quality schemas can act as an excellent starting point for your structuring exercise and give you a quick leg up on the task of creating your own XML based data.
Here is a list of sites to check for sample schemas:
Please leave a comment below if you have found any schemas that you have found useful, or contact me directly if you have any questions about setting up your own customized schema.
Cheers,
Darryl
Flipboard is still relatively new to the world of apps and for those unfamiliar, it is a free iTunes download that lets users amalgamate news feeds and social media into a unified, magazine viewing experience. It connects to all your social media accounts - Facebook and Twitter primarily, and utilizes all that information to create a user-friendly familiar interface similar to a magazine. The result is a beautifully laid out webpage, that is fun to browse and fun to read.
“We love magazines. There’s something great in terms of graphic design, typography and emphasis on the visual side. And there’s also the fact you have editorial – someone filtering down the new stuff, telling you what’s important, interesting and worthwhile. Both those things we wanted to marry with social.”– Evan Doll, ex Apple engineer and co-founder of Flipboard.
“… the beauty and timeless graphic design principals of print. We wanted to create something that was much more visually beautiful than what we’ve seen with web pages.”– Mike McCue, co-founder and CEO of Flipboard.
By incorporating your own content to build the interface, Flipboard allows you to flip through photos, the news, your Facebook updates, Twitter and most recently Google Reader in a way that mimics magazines, which we have seen remains an incredibly popular format with readers.
In December of 2010, Apple announced “Flipboard” as iPad’s App of the Year and was also named as one of TIME magazine’s Top 50 Innovations of 2010. The same week Flipboard also joined forces with several media outlets including The Washington Post and Bon Appetit.
Have you seen it? Have you tried it? Do you like it?
For those of you who are not familiar with this app, you can view a Flipboard demo here: www.flipboard.com. To learn how Flipboard becomes your own personal magazine, filled only with content you’re interested in and that is constantly updated every time you turn it on. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2vpvEDS00o&feature=player_embedded
We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Until next time,
Michelle
As we close out 2010, we are taking time to reflect on the challenges we have faced this past year, and are looking forward to new challenges in 2011.
Keeping up with advances in digital publishing, developing enhanced e-books, and offering increasing levels of sophistication in online learning technologies are just some of the major hurdles and challenges facing our clients as they look to 2011. CCC is excited to be collaborating with publishers, associations, and organizations as they develop innovation strategies for the coming year.
We are exploring, and exploiting, the advanced authoring and editing capabilities of XML with our XML-Simplicity template platform. We continue to search for ways to improve editorial production workflows and thereby improve operational efficiency. CCC hopes to serve self-publishers and small publishers in their efforts to maximize the value of their existing and future content by offering a sacalable and affordable point of entry into the realm of digital publishing.
What are your challenges for 2011, and how can we help you?
Let us know in the comments below.
Talk to you soon!
Andrea
As the year winds down, all of us at Computer Composition of Canada Inc. hope that you, your families, and your friends have a safe and happy holiday season!
We are looking forward to 2011 with great excitement. We have some terrific new services that we will be discussing in the blog, and we hope to meet many of you at the various events that we will be attending.
So, if you happen to see one of us at an event, or out and about, please stop us and say hi!
Sending you happy holiday wishes,
Andrea
Mgr, Business Development
I recently was forwarded a link for a blog post off of a site called Book Business Extra, where a publishing industry executive, Michael Weistein, discusses the value of design in creating content through print and web. I was asked my opinion on it from a graphic designers point of view on the subject.
I am a print girl at heart. Don’t get me wrong, I am embracing our new technological world. Though I don’t own a IPad or Kindle, I am not oppose to them. That being said, I still prefer actual books/magazines over reading them online or through an App. I value layout and typography … oh typography how I love you so! I have always felt that design for print wais completely different from design for web. Apples and oranges … both fruit but completely different. I am not a web designer, though. My background is in print, always has been, so my view points are from a print perspective.
I agree a lot with what the author has written in this article. Good design is just as important as the actual content. I come across a lot of materials that may not be the most fascinating of information but my job is to make it look good, and not take away from the content. I prefer print products in this case for most things. When transported to the web, many other technologies surface that can sometimes take away from the content being displayed. The blog I read is a good example, even while trying to read the blog I was constantly distracted by the flashing small advertisement in the right hand corner of the poker player.
Print products set boundaries for me to stick to the subject matter, but I wonder where the boundary lies when carried to the web. Are many online creators transporting print to online and going overboard with Flash, mini-movies, advertisements, etc.? The author talks a lot about not utilizing all the design opportunities that non-print products have to offer … but because they are available does it mean we have to use it?
Let me know what you think with a comment below!
Until next time,
Michelle
Hi there! I'm Darryl Lehmann an Information Technology professional working with Computer Composition of Canada Inc. My focus is developing new tools and systems for multi-channel publishing. Having worked with many of the major web-based technologies, I understand the challenges of modifying one's work practices to utilize new technologies. I will be writing blogs offering my perspective on some of the publishing tools that are in use, examine the tools and systems that are new and shiny, and provide real life scenarios for how it all comes together.
To begin, we are going to delve into XML: what is it, why is it, and what do we use it for?
What is it?
The acronym XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. The heart of this is the word "extensible"; in this case referring to the fact that we the authors create or extend our own set of "mark-up" or tags to define our data.
Quite simply, XML is a storage tank for data. What lies underneath and how its implemented is perhaps the mystery or should I say mystique surrounding XML. While XML is a simple concept its implementation is fairly abstract, being that you the author describe your data's containership. This leaves people wondering, so why XML?
Let's have a look...
Single source, multiple outputs
The primary benefit that XML provides us in publishing is versatility, not only in creation but also in producing output from it. Continuing with our example, we can use this data to print labels, or to generate this week's flyer, or we could extend the data model to track inventory and use it to drive an automated restocking program. Single source, multiple outputs, this is one of the main business drivers behind the adoption of XML!
Businesses cannot afford to store essentially the same data in multiple locations in order to produce different outputs. Nowadays our data needs to be adaptable as our business’s environments evolve.
Bringing it together
What we've been examining here is the crux of what makes XML so special. XML gives us a human and machine interpretable interface to our data. It provides us with seemingly limitless possibilities for data re-use.
As a language it's completely free, and boasts wide-scale adoption from software industry leaders. XML and its related technologies are W3C standards. These standards will evolve over time but you can be assured that there will be clearly defined evolutionary paths and strategies and your investment in XML will be safe guarded.
Until next time,
Darryl
Programmer and Developer
This is our first (but certainly not last!) CCC blog post that examines the wonderful world of XML. For many of us in the publishing industry, XML is a buzz-word that has been flying around for some time now. Keith Matthew, our Manager of Digital Services, has been working in and around XML for years and recognizes that to the average person XML can be overwhelming, particularly when you are considering authoring in it. Keith has put together a post that aims to shed some light on one way to make authoring in XML a little less intimidating. Read on for more...
Authoring in XML: It doesn’t have to be ugly
Most people experience XML in its raw text form and the tagging can be bewildering to less technical users.
Here for instance is what a typical XML document looks like in different environments:
XML-specific Editor:
Word Processor:
Suffice it to say, for those who are unfamiliar with mark-up languages the preceeding examples paint a pretty familiar but daunting picture of working in XML. Fortunately however, there are tools available that put a friendlier face on working with XML-coded content, but which still retain the benefits of structured XML content. One such tool to consider is CCC's XML-Simpicity Template system.
Here is an example of editing in XML with tag display turned off for a clean look.
CCC's XML-Simplicity Template system (tags off):
Turning tags on in the XML-Simplicity Template authoring portal shows you the tagging, but still in an accessible way.
CCC's XML-Simplicity Template system (tags on):
Normal text and word processors allow you to do WHATEVER you like, however an XML-enabled graphical editor can enforce structure while still presenting the data in a visually appealing way. What this really means is that authors and editors can work in a word processor-like environment that is familiar and intuitive, while Production departments can be assured of receiving content conforming to a structure that they themselves can define. This becomes increasingly important as Production departments are increasingly being tasked to manipulate content to create online and digital outputs.
So give visual editing a spin yourself online for free on our XML-Simplicity Template site and then please leave a comment below to let us know what you think.
Cheers,
Keith
Manager, Digital Services
As members of the publishing community, we have been following with grea interest the discussions surrounding Bill C-32, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act. Fast and furious, the comments have flown around the Twitter-verse and on Facebook, as book producers, readers and lenders all speak out with their take on the impact this proposed legislation.
We have waited with great anticipation for the ACP to lend their voice to the dialogue, speaking as the voice of the 120+ Canadian publishers who are to be highly impacted by this amendment. Click through here to read the ACP's position on Bill C-32.
To learn more about the ACP, its mandate, and its programs you can visit them online at http://www.publishers.ca/.
What do you think of this legislation? Leave a comment below.
Until next time,
Andrea