I do a yearly printed parts catalog for a distributor. The contents of the catalog are then posted on the web, both in a straight PDF, but also in HTML. The reason for putting the catalog online in HTML is that a lot of people don't like PDF, plus we also post a lot of additional info on the HTML pages (drawings, spec sheets) that would be too expensive to put in a printed catalog. So, the online catalog is very extensive and the printed catalog is more like a detailed brochure.

The new catalog will be done in InDesign 2.0 (Quark Express also has this capability) and these programs can export the data in XML. I sure wish there was a way to take the XML data (page by page is fine) and automatically merge it into template that makes a static html page that I can then upload. I don't want or need dynamic data, since the pages are only changed once a year, I need to add addtional material to the HTML pages that will not be in XML, and (most importantly) I don't want to lose the top positions I have in all the search engines, so I don't want dynamic pages.

I just looked at the new GoLive 6.0 specs, and it looks like Adobe may be doing something along these lines. This would be extremely helpful to those of us who handle both print and web.

Patzee,

You're correct. Using the Dynamic Content feature of GoLive 6 you can repurpose your XML data from InDesign 2 for use in GoLive. You'd create an XML data source instead of using a database as your would if you were using the Dynamic Conent features in conjuntion with PHP, ASP or JSP.

The data source then allows you to specify what element tags, attributes and special [body] elements should be bindable, etc.

Here's a little snippet from the online help file. :

"An XML data source object describes the structure and tags of a kind of XML file. For each of these tags, it tells GoLive how to find and process the information in the XML file so that it can be extracted and made available to Web pages in the site. When you create an XML data source object, you tell GoLive about each of the tags in the XML file and how to process them. The tag structure and the names of the tags themselves are obtained by scanning a sample XML file that serves as a general example for all XML files that will use the same format. Thus, the data source identifies a class of XML files. Each XML file that follows the format can be processed using the same XML data source object."
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Hope this helps. <img src=../images/dwzone/forum/icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

Lynn Grillo
Adobe Systems

Web Community Specialist, Adobe Systems

Edited by - lgrillo on 11 Feb 2002 23:55:26

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Patzee,

You're correct. Using the Dynamic Content feature of GoLive 6 you can repurpose your XML data from InDesign 2 for use in GoLive. You'd create an XML data source instead of using a database as your would if you were using the Dynamic Conent features in conjuntion with PHP, ASP or JSP.

The data source then allows you to specify what element tags, attributes and special [body] elements should be bindable, etc.

Here's a little snippet from the online help file. :

"An XML data source object describes the structure and tags of a kind of XML file. For each of these tags, it tells GoLive how to find and process the information in the XML file so that it can be extracted and made available to Web pages in the site. When you create an XML data source object, you tell GoLive about each of the tags in the XML file and how to process them. The tag structure and the names of the tags themselves are obtained by scanning a sample XML file that serves as a general example for all XML files that will use the same format. Thus, the data source identifies a class of XML files. Each XML file that follows the format can be processed using the same XML data source object."
&lt;p&gt;
Hope this helps. <img src=../images/dwzone/forum/icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

Lynn Grillo
Adobe Systems

Web Community Specialist, Adobe Systems

Edited by - lgrillo on 11 Feb 2002 23:55:26
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

Lynn:
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
You're correct. Using the Dynamic Content feature of GoLive 6 you can repurpose your XML data from InDesign 2 for use in GoLive.
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

(Sorry, I messed up my first reply <img src=../images/dwzone/forum/icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle>

I was hoping that UD/DW 5.0 would have the ability to make static HTML pages from XML data, but I've not heard anything. I did watch the QT repurposing clip for GL6.0 this morning and it sure looked to me like I could set up a template to work with my ID2.0 data. I ordered my ID2.0 upgrade last week, so I'm looking forward to receiving it and seeing how to get my table data out of ID2.0 (...not to mention the shear pleasure of no longer 1.Opening an Excel table, 2. then pasting it into Word to format it, 3. pasting the table that was formatted in Word into CorelDraw, 4)exporting the table from Corel as an EPS, 5) then finally placing the EPS table into PM).

I haven't seen any messages in the Adobe forum on GL6.0 regarding repurposing or in the InDesign forum yet on working with XML. There must be a lot people with applications like mine where we don't need or want) the big corporate XML applications, but just need a reasonable way to move our printed data to the web without PDF and without the data being dynamic.

Thanks!