Re: SGML to HTML conversion

[jeremy@xxxxxxxxx (Jeremy H. Griffith)]

On Tue, 28 Mar 2000 17:08:32 +0100, Kathleen James <kjames@uk.oracle.com> wrote:

>We use Framemaker+SGML v5.5.6 plus a custom FDK client to assign & track
>a unique identifier as an attribute on certain elements.  A year ago, we
>tried to use Quadralay Webworks (our company standard) to create HTML
>but found it couldn't cope with out-of-book xrefs created using gotolink
>markers with hardcoded paths, and they had no plans to add that feature.
>gotolink markers are no longer essential to our docs, but thousands of
>them would have to be changed.

AFAIK, Mif2Go has no trouble at all with such markers.  We're surprised
that WWP does.  You're welcome to send us a sample file (.zipped, and
under 500K .zipped) to verify that.  Unfortunately, we're running about
a week behind on sample files at the moment, due to unexpected overload
coinciding with a forthcoming upgrade release, but we'll get to yours
as soon as we can!

In the meantime, please have a look at our HTML output capabilities at:
  http://www.omsys.com/dcl/htmlpro.htm
and our HTML Configuration Guide at:
  http://www.omsys.com/htmlini/htmlini.htm

The added capabilities in the next upgrade, due out April 1, include the
generation of all files needed for both MS HTML Help and JavaHelp, with
a few extras to make the index more usable...  We've also drastically
increased the places and ways you can use HTML macros.  We'll be updating 
our Web docs on this next week.

>We solved the problem temporarily by exporting to SGML and then running
>a home-built Word macro to do the HTML conversion, which I've been
>maintaining ever since in my enthusiastically amateurish way. Now we
>need a more robust solution. The options, I think, are:
>-- hire a programmer to write a perl conversion script (the solution
>must work in both NT and Unix)
>-- buy 3rd party software (which must be customizable to cope with our
>unique identifiers, which are exported as an SGML processing instruction
>and converted into sets of paired comments that wrap translatable text
>segments and the old gotolink markers)
>
>Any thoughts on either, or something else? Your help would be greatly
>appreciated.

Sounds difficult and painful... and probably a lot more than the $295
single-seat price for Mif2Go (which includes a year of unlimited email
tech support and all upgrades).  We do customize Mif2Go regularly to
meet specific customer needs; that's why it has such a rich set of
features, our customers help build it.  ;-)

-- Jeremy H. Griffith, at Omni Systems Inc.
   (jeremy@omsys.com)     http://www.omsys.com/
** To subscribe to Free Framers, email the message **
** body "subscribe framers" to majordomo@omsys.com **

** To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@omsys.com **
** with "unsubscribe framers" (no quotes) in the body.   **