Some photoshop tips – if you resize image more than 50% you must change size in few step and after each step use Unsharp Mask standard filter or use additional external resize plugin. If you need resize multiple images you can create Photoshop batch (Action).

Like Char, I also use some macros in my Word docs, but these—like setting up the Word templates—are one-offs. Many Word things are already controlled by settings in Author-it, but there are a few macros I add to particular client templates if the need is there.

Char mentioned the embedding linked graphics one; I also use one to resize tables to fit the available width, another to ‘swap out’ the table header colour to suit the ‘skins’ of each of my client’s documentation outputs for their various customers, and so on. I’ve shared a couple of these macros on my blog: http://cybertext.wordpress.com/category/software/author-it-v5/

You can use Author-it’s default Word templates ‘out of the box’ and may never need to use a macro. You definitely don’t need one for resizing graphics, though I’ve worked at places where Word is the authoring tool of choice and would have killed for such a macro! Thanks for sharing.

Rhondas last blog post..World’s largest “how to” manual

I use several macros in my docs, but not to clean up formatting. In my master library, I use one that embeds images (by default, they’re linked when publishing to Word, and embedding means that I only have to send the Word doc and not the entire folder). I have another that adjusts the top spacing in Word options (because I don’t like the defaults). And I have one that clears the “Keep With Next” setting from all paragraphs with AllowPageBreak style to prevent page layout problems (AIT changes some of those paragraphs to use Keep with Next, mostly when they’re before graphics).

For some of my clients, I use more…turn on chapter numbering, modify page numbers to include chapter numbers, update the TOC to include appendices, and so on.

Formatting (other than the one mentioned above) never needs to be changed. Styles are defined in the template. Autotext entries provide the header and footer. Settings in AIT are passed to the Word doc to control if chapters/sections start on odd/even/next pages.

The nice thing about the macros is that once they’ve been added to the template, you just need to publish. Like Rhonda, all I ever do is fix page breaks.

The even nicer thing is that once all the bits have been set in AIT, they never have to be changed, and they can be used for any books (similar to “projects” in other applications). When I publish my training materials, I’m using things I first set up in 2001, and I have something like 100 books using those settings.

I’d be happy to give you a demo sometime

Char James-Tannys last blog post..FrameMaker support lists

There’s no need to do this in Author-it. Author-it’s file objects allow you to set the Word resizing so it’s done automatically. In fact, there’s very little post-processing or checking in Author-it’s Word output, and you can get away with none. I still check for correct page breaks, but that’s all—and that’s a PERSONAL decision, not something I *have* to do. Even on a 400+ page document, checking the page breaks takes no more than 10-15 minutes. Then I PDF the document and it’s done.

Compared to other tools, Author-it’s Word output is ready to go, once you’ve set up your templates (a one-off process).

Rhonda

Rhondas last blog post..Transparent background for desktop icons