ePublisher AutoMap Jobs

ePublisher AutoMap : ePublisher AutoMap Jobs

ePublisher AutoMap Jobs

This section describes how to create and manage ePublisher AutoMap jobs which can run immediately or be scheduled to run at a later time. Topics covered include:

It is also worth noting that the ePublisher AutoMap main window makes a visual distinction between project-based and stationery-based jobs. Each job name is preceded by the corresponding ePublisher icon for project and stationery accordingly:

Creating and working with project-based jobs

This section describes how to create and work with project-based jobs. Project-based jobs are new to ePublisher AutoMap. Previous versions of ePublisher AutoMap could only create stationery (template) based jobs.

Project-based jobs are highly convenient when all you want to do is schedule an existing ePublisher Express project.

With the new project-based job feature, you simply schedule the existing project itself in AutoMap! Here is how:

To create a new ePublisher AutoMap project-based job:

To create a new project-based job chose File → New Job (Ctrl+N) or click the New Job button on the toolbar.

This will display the New Job dialog:

Job type

The first step in creating a new ePublisher AutoMap job is to choose the job type. For now, we are discussing ePublisher AutoMap project-based jobs. Stationery-based jobs are covered in Creating and working with stationery-based jobs.

Choosing the job type:

1.	From the New Job dialog, choose the ePublisher project radio button.

2.	Type the path or click the Browse Folder icon to select the ePublisher Express project you want to schedule.

3.	Click OK to continue.

Job info

The Job Info dialog provides fields to specify the name of the job and any scripts to run before and after conversion.

Entering job info:

1.	Type the desired job name into the Job Name field.

Notice that the ePublisher Express project chosen in the first step is displayed in the Choose ePublisher Express project field. If necessary, the project for a job can be changed by typing a new path to the stationery, or click the Browse Folder icon to select the desired ePublisher Express project file.

3.	If you would like to run a pre or post build script to invoke before and after a job runs, click the corresponding Edit Script buttons. Type or paste your script into the editor as described in the Script Editor section of this documentation.

It is not necessary to specify both pre and post build scripts.

4.	Click Next to continue.

Target Selection

Depending on your project, there will be one or more targets specified in the Target Selection dialog panel. Targets can either be customized versions of the same format or different formats altogether.

The Target Selection panel lets you choose which targets will be converted as part of this ePublisher AutoMap job. To get any useful output, at least one target should be selected.

Please refer to the ePublisher Pro documentation for a more thorough explanation of creating and managing targets.

To enable and disable targets:

1.	Click the checkbox in the Build column to toggle enabling/disabling for each target displayed.

2.	Click Finish to continue.

3.	Scheduled the job. See Scheduling a job for more information.

Project-based job deployment

Project-based jobs only deploy if a deploy target is set in the project itself. This is specified in the Format Settings in ePublisher Express. ePublisher AutoMap only reads the deploy target name from the ePublisher Express project; therefore, you must create that same deploy target name and define its location in ePublisher AutoMap. Failure to do this will result in a deploy error. See Output Destinations for information on settings up deploy targets.

Creating and working with stationery-based jobs

This section describes how to create and work with stationery-based jobs. Stationery-based jobs exercise the real power of ePublisher AutoMap and can be a tremendous timesaver increasing productivity and reducing errors when generating online and print content.

ePublisher AutoMap stationery-based jobs allow you to associate DITA files, Adobe FrameMaker or Microsoft Word documents with a configured ePublisher stationery. This combination lets you apply a single stationery to many different source documents, reusing the work required to build the presentation. This method ensures accuracy and consistency across many different outputs from an organization.

To create a new ePublisher AutoMap stationery-based job:

To create a new stationery-based job chose File → New Job (Ctrl+N) or click the New Job button on the toolbar.

This will display the New Job dialog.

Job type

The first step in creating a new ePublisher AutoMap job is to choose the job type. For now, we are discussing ePublisher AutoMap stationery-based jobs. Project-based jobs are covered in Creating and working with project-based jobs.

Choosing the job type:

1.	From the New Job dialog, choose the ePublisher stationery radio button.

2.	Type the path or click the Browse Folder icon to select the ePublisher Pro stationery upon which to base this job.

3.	Click OK to continue.

Job info

The Job Info dialog provides fields to specify the name of the job and any scripts to run before and after conversion.

Entering job info:

1.	Type the desired job name into the Job Name field.

Notice that the ePublisher Pro stationery chosen in the first step is displayed in the Choose ePublisher stationery field. If necessary, the stationery for a job can be changed by typing a new path to the stationery or click the Browse Folder icon to select the desired ePublisher Pro stationery file.

3.	If you would like to run a pre or post build script to invoke before and after a job runs, click the corresponding Edit Script buttons. Type or paste your script into the editor as described in the Script Editor section of this documentation.

It is not necessary to specify both pre and post build scripts.

4.	Click Next to continue.

Documents

The Documents dialog lets you configure the groups and documents that you want to convert in this job. Optionally, you may invoke a script to retrieve documents on a per group basis. For example, you may want to retrieve documents from a version control or content management system. If so, you can provide a script to retrieve and prepare your documents accordingly.

This script will run before a conversion, thereby ensuring that you always have the most current version of your content without having to perform a manual update before each conversion.

Although it is possible to create a single job with mixed source content, you must have license keys to convert files of a given content. Please contact Quadralay for more information on obtaining license keys.

To add documents manually:

1.	Click the New Group button to create a new group.

2.	Give the group a name.

3.	Click the Add Document button to browse and choose your source documents.

4.	Repeat steps to add more groups and source documents.

5.	Click Next to continue.

To add documents using a script:

1.	Click the New Group button to create a new group.

2.	Give the group a name.

3.	Click the Edit Script button to invoke the script editor.

4.	Type or paste your script into the editor as described in the Script Editor section of this documentation.

5.	Click Next to continue.

To delete groups or source documents:

1.	Click to select a group or file name.

2.	Click the Delete button or hit the Delete key on the keyboard.

3.	Click Yes or No to the confirmation dialog.

To rename a group:

1.	Select the group name.

2.	Hit the F2 key on the keyboard or click again on the group name.

3.	Type the new group name.

4.	Hit the Enter key on the keyboard or click outside the group to accept the new name.

Target Selection

Depending on your stationery, there will be one or more targets specified in the Target Selection dialog panel. Targets can either be customized versions of the same format or different formats altogether.

The Target Selection panel lets you choose which targets will be converted as part of this ePublisher AutoMap job. To get any useful output, at least one target should be selected.

Please refer to the ePublisher Pro documentation for a more thorough explanation of creating and managing targets.

To enable and disable targets:

1.	Click the checkbox in the Build column to toggle enabling/disabling for each target displayed.

2.	Click Next to continue.

Target Configuration

The Target Configuration panel allows adjusting conversion parameters on a per target basis. Depending on the format of the target chosen, the Target Configuration panel may include up to five tabs for adjusting various settings including:

The information presented in each tab is relative to the target name selected in the left hand column. In other words, target values can be adjusted independently. For example, you may have two WebWorks Help 5.0 targets where the conditions are set differently depending on the target audience.

Target Info

The target Info tab provides for some general settings related to the target, including where to deploy the output after generation, whether the previous output files should be deleted before generating, and the ability to specify a pre and post build script before and after each target is converted.

To configure deployment:

1.	Select the target to configure by clicking on its name in the Target Name column.

2.	Select a pre-configured deploy location from the Deploy to popup list.

Deploy targets can be pre-configured using the Output Destinations in the application Preferences.

3.	To add a new deploy location click the Add Deploy Target button and configure it as explained in Output Destinations. Once added, the new location will be available from the Deploy to popup list.

4.	Enable the Delete files in output location before deployment checkbox if you would like to delete any pre-existing files before converting the target.

To specify pre or post build scripts per target:

1.	Select the target to configure by clicking on its name in the Target Name column.

2.	Click the Edit Script button for pre or post build to invoke the script editor.

3.	Type or paste your script into the editor as describe in the Script Editor section of this documentation.

It is not necessary to specify both pre and post build scripts.

Target Conditions

Conditions refer to conditional text in the Adobe FrameMaker or Microsoft Word documents. The Conditions panel provides controls for scanning and displaying the documents’ conditions as well as specifying the values to use during the conversion.

To scan for conditions:

1.	Ensure that the correct target is selected in the Target Name column.

2.	Click the Scan button to scan for all conditions in all source documents included in the job.

If you have the Always scan for variables and conditions setting turned on in the application Preferences, the conditions and variables will automatically scan when entering the Target Configuration panel.

The process of scanning for conditions and variables is the same. Therefore, if you scan for conditions, the variables panel will also be updated. Likewise, if you scan for variables, the conditions panel will be updated.

Choosing to show or hide conditional text:

1.	Ensure that the correct target is selected in the Target Name column.

2.	If necessary, click the Scan button to scan for all conditions in all source documents.

3.	Click the Visible checkbox for each condition to show or hide the content represented by the given condition.

Target Variables

Variables refer to text in the Adobe FrameMaker or Microsoft Word documents that may receive their value dynamically during the job conversion. The Variables panel provides controls for scanning and displaying the documents’ variables as well as specifying the values to use during the conversion.

To scan for variables:

1.	Ensure that the correct target is selected in the Target Name column.

2.	Click the Scan button to scan for all variables in all source documents included in the job.

To change variable values:

1.	Ensure that the correct target is selected in the Target Name column.

2.	If necessary, click the Scan button to scan for all variables in all source documents.

3.	Select the variable name to adjust by clicking on it in the Name column.

4.	Edit the value in the large edit pane on the right side of the variable list.

Format Settings

Format Settings are parameters that affect how a WebWorks provided format behaves. For example, there are format settings in WebWorks Help 5.0 that determine whether the favorites tab is displayed or how to collapse the table of contents. Other fields include turning on accessibility reporting or specifying document encodings and locale.

In addition to settings that determine how a format should look and feel, Format Settings also include information fields for customizing your output. For example, it is possible to specify information such as a company name, logo, address, phone number, and other custom fields in effort to generate output that is customized to an organization’s presentation goals.

The Format Settings in ePublisher AutoMap are displayed and adjusted identically to that in ePublisher Pro.

Format Settings provide a brief summary of the format settings available. For details and more information on using format settings, please refer to the ePublisher Pro.

Format Settings are saved and stored in ePublisher Pro stationery. When selecting stationery in ePublisher AutoMap, these values will already be configured if they were changed in ePublisher Pro. This allows a single designer to adjust the Format Settings and simply provide stationery for everyone to use. However, it is possible to override the stationery settings on a per-target basis for each job in ePublisher AutoMap.

To change a format setting:

1.	Ensure that the correct target is selected in the Target Name column.

2.	Select the format setting you want to change in the Setting column.

3.	Change the value in the Value column.

Depending on the types of values, different controls may be available. For example, if a setting can have a value of Enabled or Disabled these will be presented in a combo box. On the other hand, a URL field will be a text field for typing the link.

Merge Settings

The Merge Settings panel is used to set up multi-volume help systems. This tab is only available and displayed when using a format that supports merging helpsets. Currently this includes:

Multi-volume help comprises of a single set of files that combine output from multiple groups. When you merge the output files from the groups within your job, you are taking the table of contents, index, and search data from each top-level group’s generated entry-point file, and combining that information into a single, consolidated system. Currently, when you generate output for your job, each first-level group will generate its own entry-point file. In order to create one cohesive helpset, you need to merge the individual entry-point files and content.

Multi-volume helpset example

The image below demonstrates a multi-volume help system example and explains how to properly set up a merged helpset.

In this example, there are ten document groups that were set up in the Documents tab. The groups’ names will appear in the hierarchy when you open the Merge Settings tab. In this case, these groups reflect the names of the individual specific departments in a company (Development, Internal Sales, Legal, Hiring, etc.) They are represented as the children in the hierarchy above.

To build a single company handbook, it may be convenient to assemble these specific departments into more general categories as shown above. In this case, top-level department names were added such as Engineering, Support, Sales and Marketing, and Human Resources. These categories can be created and nested as necessary to create the desired hierarchy. Notice the Support category nested beneath Engineering. This hierarchy will determine how the table of contents is created in the merged helpset. The groups are then dragged and dropped beneath these categories accordingly.

The Title field is for assigning the name of your multi-volume helpset. This name will be displayed in the title bar when users first open the helpset. The Table of contents title lets you specify a localized name for each group name to be displayed in the table to contents. Finally, the Group context lets you specify a localized name to use as the topic context when building online help systems with context sensitive help.

Group names are used to generate output filenames; therefore, they must follow the Windows file naming conventions. However, this may unnecessarily limit your choice of names to display in the table of contents. That is the purpose of being able to specify a localized name in the Table of contents title field. Similarly, the Group context works the same way.

Setting up a merged helpset:

1.	Click the Add button to add new categories.

2.	Arrange the categories by dragging and dropping them as required.

3.	To nest categories, drag the intended child category on top of the intended parent category.

Categories can only be nested beneath other categories. You cannot nest a category beneath a group name.

4.	Arrange the groups be dragging and dropping them as required.

5.	To nest groups, drag the intended group on top of the intended category.

Groups can only be nested beneath categories. You cannot nest a group beneath another group name.

6.	Specify a master title for the helpset in the Title text field.

7.	If desired, click each group name and specify a localized Table of contents title and Group context.

If values are not given for Table of contents title and Group context then the original group name will be used. It is not necessary to specify localized names for these fields.

To remove a category:

1.	Click a category name to select it.

2.	Click the remove button.

To rename a category:

1.	Click a category name to select it.

2.	Hit the F2 keyboard button or click the name again.

3.	Edit the name and click the Enter keyboard button to save your changes.

Job panel navigation

When using the New Project setup panels, it is possible to navigate forward and back through the job configuration panels by clicking the Next and Previous buttons accordingly. This allows returning to panels that have already been configured to adjust values as needed.

Once the job has been configured, return to the Target Configuration panel and click the Finish button to save your changes and schedule the job. See Scheduling a job for more information on scheduling your new job.

For information on editing an existing job, please see Working with existing jobs.

Scheduling a job

Immediately after creating a new job, the Windows Scheduler is invoked so that you may schedule your job to convert.

ePublisher AutoMap uses the Windows Scheduler built into the Microsoft Windows operating system. The Windows Scheduler allows scheduling a job to run at pre-determined times and repeating intervals.

If you do not wish to schedule the job at this time, click the Cancel button. The Windows Scheduler can be re-invoked at any time. If you do schedule the job, you will be prompted for your Windows login user name and password when you click OK in the Windows Scheduler dialog.

Windows task scheduler summary

Detailed instructions and a step-by-step guide on using the Microsoft Windows task scheduler can be found in the Windows operating system online help. To invoke the Windows online help, choose Start → Help and Support.

The following is a short summary of how to schedule a job using the Windows task scheduler. These instructions assume that you just configured a new job and hit the Finish button or selected an existing job and chose to schedule it.

How to schedule a job:

1.	Click the New button in the Schedule panel.

2.	Adjust the Schedule Task, Start Time, and Schedule Task Daily parameters.

Click OK.

Since you are scheduling a task in the Windows Scheduler, you must provide authentication to add the task.

4.	Enter your user name into the User Name field. Be sure to include the domain name as shown if your organization uses a Windows domain type server.

ePublisher AutoMap will try to detect whether it is on a domain and pre-populate this field if possible.

5.	Enter your password into the Password field.

6.	Click OK to schedule the job or Cancel to abort.

Working with existing jobs

The following sections describe how to edit and manage jobs including:

Editing an existing job

Deleting an existing job

Scheduling an existing job

View job log file

Duplicate an existing job

Run an existing job

Cancelling a job

Editing an existing job

If you have created a job, then you already know how to edit a job. The panels for editing an existing job are identical to those used to create a job. The only exception is that there are no Next and Previous buttons. You simply select the tabs containing the information that you want to modify.

To edit an existing job:

1.	Select the job to edit in the ePublisher AutoMap main window.

2.	Choose Job → Edit… (Ctrl+E) or click the Edit… toolbar button.

Deleting an existing job

If a job is no longer needed, it can be deleted from the ePublisher AutoMap main window.

To delete an existing job:

1.	Select the job(s) to delete in the ePublisher AutoMap main window.

2.	Choose Job → Delete (Delete key) or click the Delete toolbar button.

3.	Answer Yes or No to confirm whether your want to delete the job(s).

Scheduling an existing job

It is possible to change the schedule for an existing job without having to recreate the job.

To create a new ePublisher AutoMap project-based job:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006726", false);

Choosing the job type:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006732", false);

Entering job info:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006738", false);

To enable and disable targets:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006748", false);

To create a new ePublisher AutoMap stationery-based job:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006754", false);

Choosing the job type:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006760", false);

Entering job info:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006766", false);

To add documents manually:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006778", false);

To add documents using a script:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006784", false);

To delete groups or source documents:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006790", false);

To rename a group:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006794", false);

To enable and disable targets:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006804", false);

To configure deployment:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006816", false);

To specify pre or post build scripts per target:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006822", false);

To scan for conditions:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006829", false);

Choosing to show or hide conditional text:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006834", false);

To scan for variables:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006840", false);

To change variable values:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006845", false);

To change a format setting:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006855", false);

Setting up a merged helpset:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10007418", false);

To remove a category:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10007429", false);

To rename a category:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10007432", false);

How to schedule a job:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006884", false);

To edit an existing job:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10006896", false);

To delete an existing job:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10007891", false);

To change the schedule of an existing job:WebWorks_WriteArrow(WebWorksRootPath, "wwdd10007897", false);

To create a new ePublisher AutoMap project-based job:

Choosing the job type:

Entering job info:

To enable and disable targets:

To create a new ePublisher AutoMap stationery-based job:

Choosing the job type:

Entering job info:

To add documents manually:

To add documents using a script:

To delete groups or source documents:

To rename a group:

To enable and disable targets:

To configure deployment:

To specify pre or post build scripts per target:

To scan for conditions:

Choosing to show or hide conditional text:

To scan for variables:

To change variable values:

To change a format setting:

Setting up a merged helpset:

To remove a category:

To rename a category:

How to schedule a job:

To edit an existing job:

To delete an existing job:

To change the schedule of an existing job: