Graphical overlays on top of other graphics files

[HALL Bill <bill.hall@xxxxxxxxx>]

FM+SGML 5.5.6 (or is this our trigger to force an upgrade?) in a content
management environment:

We are looking for a way to overlay document-specific graphical information
(e.g., callouts and specific reference links to the particular document) on
top of a base graphic which is identical across many documents.

To date, we have avoided doing things with FDK, but this would seem to be a
situation where an FDK approach might be fully appropriate, and probably
much simpler than trying to assemble the drawing components in an
independent graphics tool before they are pasted into the document instance.

My initial thought is that we could achieve this by framing the base graphic
and overlaying a second graphic with a transparent background in the frame
on top of the first. Presumably both the base graphic and the overlay would
be referenced as SGML entities and managed appropriately in the content
management environment. The SGML instance would reference the base and
overlay drawings, and include a processing instruction to the FDK utility to
overlay the second drawing on the first.

The content management environment would only need to know that the two
drawings went together with a standard processing instruction object, while
FM+SGML would not need to know anything about how the drawing entities or
entity references were placed in the instance.

Is this feasible? Has anyone done anything like it before? Are you prepared
to share any thoughts about code, how the workfellow actually works, etc?

Regards,

Bill Hall
Documentation Systems Analyst
Strategy and Development Group
Tenix Defence
Nelson House, Nelson Place
Williamstown, Vic. 3016
Australia
Tel: +61 3 9244 4820
     +61 3 9244 4000 (Switch)
URL: http://www.tenix.com
Mailto:bill.hall@tenix.com

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