SPR Fixes Summary

• Arbortext Editor Fixes
  • 1201143 A new set option set prefersystemidxmlcatalogs has been introduced as an equivalent to set prefersystemid for XML catalogs. Its default value is also off.
  • 1216869 A browse button is included in the Modify Attributes window for elements that are identified as having graphic content.
  • 2081943 .iso graphic files now display as expected in Arbortext Editor.
  • 2099292 Arbortext Editor now checks that doc_cache_dir() and doc_cache_base() return values are legal before returning them.
  • 2100893 Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly when loading an EPS graphics file.
  • 2105100 Arbortext Editor will only collapse spaces, tabs, and newlines if the parserdeletespaces option is on. Other white space will be ignored.
  • 2106854 Select All will now properly highlight both the edit and docmap views.
  • 2108633 All predefined XML entities will be written as entities if entityoutputconvert is on.
  • 2109072
    When there are four or more rows of toolbars, Arbortext Editor will no longer create a new row for the second toolbar in the last row.
  • 2109786 Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly if a XUI dialog uses a menu item with a command for a toolbar button that does not exist.
  • 2110203 Arbortext Editor no longer unexpectedly terminates under certain conditions when selecting text in a table cell in a document whose FOSI has a system function.
  • 2110601 The content model of DefaultFont in pdfconfig dtd has been changed to require at least one FontName.
  • 2111926 Arbortext Editor no longer unexpectedly terminates when flattening a document whose stylesheet uses XPath.
  • 2112226 An Enhanced Completeness Checking operation now flags same-document xref errors in a DITA document.
  • 2113021 ImportNode() will no longer throw an exception when called with an element with attributes on an SGML document.
  • 2113856 The playback of a macro for inserting a marked section will now operate correctly. Arbortext Editor will no longer unexpectedly terminate when inserting an IGNORE marked section during macro recording.
  • 2114401 Arbortext Editor with Styler no longer terminates unexpectedly when copying and pasting text (with tagging) from another application.
  • 2114610 Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly when an event log and a message box are opening concurrently.
  • 2114789 The built-in function graphic_information() will return information for a graphic stored in a CMS.
  • 2114798 Tags with multiple scopes will now be parsed correctly.
  • 2115055 An Enhanced Completeness Checking operation now looks for subtopic IDs and ignores IDs from child topics when validating key references.
  • 2115293 Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly when an event log and a message box are opening concurrently.
  • 2116419 Windchill CGM illustrations can be updated to use the appropriate authoring application: Arbortext IsoDraw for IsoDraw graphics and Graphics Editor for non-IsoDraw graphics. The graphics will then publish successfully.
  • 2116959 Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly when bursting a document that contains a XInclude that is not well-formed.
  • 2117916 Bursting no longer produces errors and potential for unexpected termination under certain situations in a 64-bit Arbortext Editor environment.
  • 2118112 Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly in some situations when a file referenced by CONREF is not present.
  • 2118118 The new environment variable APTMARKUPDISPLAYMAX allows the override of the maximum 128 character length set for markup names and values shown in the Editor view.
  • 2118125 Entity dialog boxes will now show all entries when the number exceeds 64,000.
  • 2118774 A 64-bit Arbortext Editor environment no longer terminates unexpectedly after loading certain EPS files.
  • 2120143 Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly in certain situations when generating a Resolved Document for Editing for a DITAMAP that contains a conkeyref.
• Publishing Fixes
  • 1870066 PDF creation from the Print Preview window functions as expected.
  • 2021972 The content of a shortdesc element following an abstract tag now appears in print output.
  • 2090913 Setting the environment variable APTLIGATURESENABLED to any value that does not begin with y or Y and is not on, On, or ON will suppress ligatures globally. For finer control, setting the allowligs attribute of lettersp to 0 in a high-level eic in the stylesheet will turn off ligatures.
  • 2092075 A counter can reset at an element that is not an ancestor of the element being counted, or doesn’t occur in the document.
  • 2093845 Different graphics referenced by the same filename in a document now appear correctly in HTML outputs.
  • 2095280 defaultprintdpi settings are respected in print output generated by the APP engine.
  • 2097654 Right aligned tabs in a paragraph with a negative indent now format as expected, allowing level 1 entries in a table of contents to display numbering in PDF output.
  • 2100082 Spaces between inline elements are no longer missing from RTF output.
  • 2101124 TOC entries in PDF output now target the correct location when related link information for the same targets is also included in the output.
  • 2103553 Repeating titles for a division that is an ancestor (but not the parent) of the title are output correctly.
  • 2103558 In tables, bullet points are now displayed inline with the succeeding text.
  • 2103561 A non-zero value for the baseline-shift property will trigger an equivalent offset as expected, when working with RTF output.
  • 2105389 An empty spanned index no longer causes a loop and subsequent APP out of swap space memory error when publishing PDF.
  • 2107239 Tables in RTF output no longer display rules that have not been specified in the original table configuration.
  • 2108873 All content appears in tables of contents in PDF output generated by APP engine.
  • 2110898 A PDF publishing operation no longer terminates unexpectedly from a pointer error when a root level block or table spans multiple columns.
  • 2110937 A sentence containing a generated cross reference breaks as expected.
  • 2111115 PDF publishing from a 64–bit environment no longer terminates unexpectedly.
  • 2111459 Borders for a table column that spans multiple rows display as expected.
  • 2111709 The value of the FOSI string modifier TB is reflected in PDF or preview output.
  • 2113552 The APP engine no longer stops responding within a deep-contentssplit cell when trying to delete an empty block that is already being skipped because it has overflowed the page.
  • 2114315 The publishing of a PDF of a parts document now completes as expected.
  • 2114318 Initial magnification settings in pubview.cf are now reflected in the Print Preview window when the .cf file is referenced.
  • 2115227 Footnotes now display as expected in PDF output.
  • 2115229 Tables now display as expected in PDF output.
  • 2115231 Right aligned tabs in a paragraph with a negative indent now format as expected, allowing headers to display page numbers in PDF output.
  • 2115542 The presence of non-Arbortext processing instructions in source will be flagged in the event log during publishing and will not cause the publishing operation to terminate.
  • 2116070 Graphics are given the correct amount of space in PDF output.
  • 2116150 A BOM in custom hyphenation files is processed correctly during preview and publishing.
  • 2116714 Multi-language gentext is translated correctly in PDF output.
  • 2117503 Graphics referenced by URL in an Arbortext Styler stylesheet now appear in output as expected.
  • 2117945 An XPath expression has the desired effect when declared for a title that repeats across pages in PDF output.
    Publishing Fixes
• DITA Application Fixes
  • 1313512 Support for conditional processing via DITAVAL file has been added in this release.
  • 1313515 Support for conditional processing via DITAVAL file has been added in this release.
  • 2106850 The Resource Manager dialog box launched from the Modify Attributes dialog box no longer sets the wrong format attribute for maps stored in Windchill.
  • 2110292 ACL DITA option dita::_setNoMergeAttributes(list) stops cascading attributes specified in DITA Maps and their specializations from merging values (for profiling).
  • 2114576 An EMPTY content model for one of two identically named tags from different document types in the same map no longer takes precedence over the non-empty model when generating a RDS.
• Arbortext Styler Fixes
  • 1493756 Custom table contexts, and elements styled as Table or Custom Table, now have their Structure Type fixed to Block, to allow indent settings to be respected.
  • 2112249 Generated text in the servicemanual.style stylesheet is now encoded correctly.
  • 2115499 Generated text in a stylesheet that exceeds 4096 characters is no longer removed when the stylesheet is upgraded.
  • 2115768 Generating APP source for numbered non-title contexts no longer causes Arbortext Styler to terminate unexpectedly.
  • 2116265 Cross references to hidden titles now work for XSL outputs.
  • 2116546 The value (none) for Item element is now processed correctly for an element styled as Definition List.
  • 2116965 The FOSI Compile Warning Messages window is also suppressed when the stylesheet errors and fosiwarnings preferences are deactivated.
  • 2118556 Not saving an updated stylesheet no longer causes Arbortext Editor to terminate unexpectedly.
• Arbortext Import Fixes
  • 1328096 Options for Pre- and Post-Process Drivers for a PDF-XML conversion now have default values applied.
  • 1458108 Revision tracking information in a Word document is processed and preserved during an Import operation, allowing the import to complete as expected.
• Arbortext Publishing Engine Fixes
  • 2104782 The pdfconfigfile option is now supported when publishing with Arbortext Publishing Engine.
• PTC Server connection and Repository Adapter Fixes
  • 2099017 When toxml twoway metadata rules are present, a user can check out a read-only document loaded in Arbortext Editor, that has been modified by another user since it was loaded, without generating a Can’t open object error.
  • 2103084 Temporary files are now saved to a .tmp* subfolder in WindchillAdapterTempDir.
  • 2114052 An attempt to connect Arbortext Editor to the offline server after disconnecting an active server connection now works as expected.
• XUI Fixes
  • 1332262 Selecting a table row no longer returns a null value for the selected attribute.
  • 1978447 XUI table controls in docked dialogs will sort in response to clicking on the column header.
  • 2099704 To better support tool tips on individual XUI tree nodes, the XUI treenode element now has a tiptext attribute. The tiptext attribute is no longer supported on XUI treecontrol and activex elements.

For more information..

Documentation supporting Arbortext is delivered in the Arbortext Editor Help Center. Documentation for this and all recent releases can also be downloaded from the Reference Documentation area of  the PTC web site at support.ptc.com.

Here’s the list of SPRs and enhancements added to a product release.  Platform support, browser support, languages and localization are all addressed in the release notes. We highly recommend you log in to the support site and read the release notes (login required).

SPR Fixes Summary

• Platform Support
• Arbortext Styler
• ACL Changes
• Hardware requirements for Windows 7
• SPR Fixes

SPR Fixes

• 2046375 Chinese characters in CGM graphics display as expected.
• 2061637 CGM images are converted correctly when publishing a PDF with set isoviewfileformats=cgm applied.
• 2063544 Highly vectorized SVG graphics no longer cause an unexpected termination when generating PDF output.
• 2077346 Object IDs generated for ISO graphics transformed by IsoDraw/IsoView now conform to WebCGM standards, allowing the objects to be listed in browsing dialogs.
• 2081943 Certain Iso graphics now display fully in Edit view
• 2084232 Calling oid_graphic_size() for a CGM graphic no longer causes a UNIX PE process to terminate unexpectedly.
• 2090868 A text field in a XUI dialog box will display scroll bars when the text content exceeds the size of the field.
• 2090913 Setting the environment variable APTLIGATURESENABLED to any value that does not begin with y or Y and is not on, On, or ON will suppress ligatures globally. For finer control, setting the allowligs attribute of lettersp to 0 in a high-level eic in the stylesheet will turn off ligatures.
• 2091291 The Start At numbering dialog now prevents entry of an invalid XML element/attribute name.
• 2093658 A CGM graphic file created by IsoDraw displays correctly when published to PDF.
• 2094502 ACL variable substitution will now work correctly for commands that span multiple lines.
• 2096403 Arbortext Editor will no longer produce invalid table markup on inserting a row or column when the table model is declared in a certain way in a schema.
• 2096922 TeX memory has been increased to allow certain large documents to format.
• 2097139 Information regarding font substitution carried out during a PE-Tie or PE-Interactive PDF publishing process is now written to the compose log.
• 2097446 Arbortext Editor will no longer ignore a root element’s namespace declaration in some situations where the root tag and its attributes are longer than 1024 characters.
• 2097476 The PE Rendition Request Processor no longer causes Document Manager’s Rendition Services to fail when processing rendition requests for documents that have no content.
• 2097933 Arbortext Editor no longer unexpectedly terminates in some cases when a table containing a cell with vertical alignment is re-recognized due to an external markup change.
• 2098562 Values that evaluate to 0 are now correctly treated as a non-blank string when matching condition tests.
• 2099292 Arbortext Editor now checks that doc_cache_dir() and doc_cache_base() return values are legal before returning them
• 2099319 Arbortext Editor will now allow more than 20 menus to be added to a menubar or toolbar.
• 2100082 Spaces between inline elements are no longer missing from RTF output.
• 2101124 TOC entries in PDF output now target the correct location when related link information for the same targets is also included in the output.
• 2101170 The presence of CGM graphics in a document no longer causes Arbortext Editor or print/PDF preview and publishing to terminate unexpectedly.
• 2101193 Arbortext Editor no longer unexpectedly terminates in some cases when a table containing a cell with horizontal alignment is re-recognized due to an external markup change.
• 2103561 A non-zero value for the baseline-shift property will trigger an equivalent offset as expected, when working with RTF output
• 2105100 Arbortext Editor will only collapse spaces, tabs, and newlines if the parserdeletespaces option is on. Other white space will be ignored.
• 2105336 Arbortext Editor no longer terminates unexpectedly when modifying attributes in DITA maps using Column view.
• 2106850 The Resource Manager dialog launched from the Modify Attributes dialog box no longer sets the wrong format attribute for maps stored in Windchill.
• 2106854 Select All will now properly highlight both the edit and document map views.
• 2107239 Tables in RTF output no longer display rules that have not been specified in the original table configuration.
• 2108633 All predefined XML entities will be written as entities if entityoutputconvert is on.
• 2110292 ACL DITA option dita::_setNoMergeAttributes(list) stops cascading attributes specified in DITA Maps and their specializations from merging values (for profiling).
• 2111926 Arbortext Editor no longer unexpectedly terminates when flattening a document whose stylesheet uses XPath

For more information..

Documentation supporting Arbortext is delivered in the Arbortext Editor Help Center. Documentation for this and all recent releases can also be downloaded from the Reference Documentation area of  the PTC web site at support.ptc.com.

The main feature of this release is the work PTC has done on PDF standards. In the PDF print options dialogue you’ll see a few changes:
* The ‘General’ tab now has a ‘Color Profiles’ area where you can specify the default color profiles to apply to the PDF for different color models.
* The ‘Linked images’ selector now has a ‘Passthrough’ option which tells APP to pass any linked images directly through to the PDF creation library, effectively maintaining any color profiles applied to that image.
* There is a new ‘Standards’ tab which features selectors for PDF/X and PDF/A standards. You can select the level of compliance you want to aim for there. You must make sure that all your other settings comply with that standard.
* Also on the ‘Standards’ tab are options to apply an output intent.
* You will also notice a ‘Security’ tab in the PDF options. This allows you to set passwords and permissions for your PDF

SPR Fixes Summary

* Fixed issue when restarting a nested table mid way through a row span and with a header too (SPR 2066886)
* Prevented ‘column too narrow’ error messages when ‘overlap’ option is enabled and they have no content (SPR 2066886)
* Modified ‘column too narrow’ error messages to reflect behaviour when ‘overlap’ option is enabled (SPR 2066886)
* PDF driver now passes JPEG image compression option to EPS processor, when selected. (SPR 2069166)
* Avoid JavaScript errors when working with anchored frames. (SPR 2073184)
* Fixed overflow of a table when using <!–?tbrkeept –>, when there are cells spanning from previous rows which aren’t in the first column. (SPR 2074162)
* Fixed crash when loading some TIFF images. (SPR 2066784)
* Fixed issue with nested tables or blocks that span and then break to a new frame or page (SPR 2075732)
* Fixed random crash when accessing attributes with no name through DOM (SPR 2076303)
* Fixed missing image problem in PDF driver when too many EPS files are included. (SPR 2077998)
* Fixed occasional crashes when using defaultRow.fTableCell and defaultRow.fTableStyle. (SPR 2081988)
* Fixed occasional crashes when using “trf:wdr” while iterating native JavaScript arrays. (SPR 2085084)
* Updated Unicode support to version 5.1.0 (SPR 2086780)
* Fixed problem with Unicode BIDI support in Arabic text. (SPR 2084017)
* The top_break argument of formatting.tableEnd() was being ignored. (SPR 2093699)
* Implemented better support for vertical justification with multiple levels of blocks. (SPR 2053634)
* Avoid rounding JavaScript lengths. (SPR 2095646)
* Fixed problem with slow file writing in 64 bit version.
* Fixed possible crash in Dieckmann Hyphenation system. (SPR 2093148)
* Preserve Symbol font mapping to Private Use Area when specified. (SPR 2093503)
* Fixed problem with missing Arabic glyphs. (SPR 2093538)
* Setting special break flags in <!–?h –> PI now overrides Unicode line breaking rules. (SPR 2093726)
* Improved memory usage with the XML printer driver. (SPR 2053117)
* Fixed XML Printer driver to stop filtering characters in the Unicode Private Use Area range. (SPR 2084043)
* Fixed XSLT format-number function. (SPR 2092921)
* Fixed pointer error when printing to a Postscript printer in the 64 bit version. (SPR 2092565)
* Fixed problem when hyphenating a word containing a JavaScript PI. (SPR 2073385)
* Fixed problem with PDF page bookmarks when top gap or left gap is specified in document preferences. (SPR 2095879)
* Fixed problem with XML parsing using a significant amount of memory. (SPR 2074116)
* Fixed problem with XML default namespaces not working with context matching. (SPR 2072521)
* Fixed problem with APP 64 bit crashing during XSLT transformation. (SPR 2079327)
* Fixed timing issue with XSLT taking too long to transform a XML file to a Perl script. (SPR 2061281)

For more information..

Documentation supporting Arbortext is delivered in the Arbortext Editor Help Center. Documentation for this and all recent releases can also be downloaded from the Reference Documentation area of the PTC web site at support.ptc.com.

Here are some highlights of Workflow features supported in Windchill:

Arbortext Content Manager supports standard workflows as well as sophisticated capabilities for routing change information to the correct process participants. Arbortext Content Manager provides tools to support the creation of processes that are unique or dictated by industry-specific standards.

Because document components share common security properties, permissions and workflows vary based on the version and lifecycle of the document. Content changes are tracked and traceable to the individual user who initiated them

Powerful configuration and workflow management capabilities enable users to choose whether to manage each component individually or manage entire documents with a single workflow.

The ability to “burst” Arbortext-authored documents into document components within Windchill, which enables configuration and lifecycle management, including check in, check out, revise, promote, and workflow capabilities, at both the component and document “assembly” level.

The ability to implement workflow-driven process automation to speed document review and approval, optimize change management, and deliver audience-specific publications in the appropriate format

Today, we’re answering some of the more common and general questions about Workflow support in Arbortext Content Manager. As always, if you have a question that we haven’t answered or if you want more details, remember to send us your questions or add them to the comments!

Question: GUI for Workflow

Does ACM have a graphical representation of the workflow?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Automating output production

Can you automate the generation of deliverables by using a workflow?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Translated content workflows

Can translated content be integrated into the workflow process?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Creating outputs

Can a writer produce his or her own deliverables, including language-specific deliverables?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Updating workflows

Can you update workflows on the fly?

Answer:

There is an “Instance of a Workflow” and a “Template of a Workflow”. Changing the Template does not change any Instances currently running.

Question: Changing completed workflows

If content is being processed through a workflow that has changed and the change affects a process that has already been completed, does the process remain unchanged?

Answer:

It depends on what you’ve specified should happen in this case

Question: Changing in-process workflows

On the other hand, if the content has not yet reached that point in the process, does the contents then get processed using the new workflow automatically?

Answer:

It depends on what you’ve specified should happen at any point in the workflow (each case)

When you think about content management and content strategy, you start thinking about content components that can be assembled, disassembled, and reassembled into the many output formats and output channels your customers require. It stops being a question of simply “Content Management” but management at the component level. Those who adopt a strategy at the component level tend to experience a higher ROI. Why? Because they are maximizing efficiencies for reuse and they are able to meet the new consumer demand for customized on demand content composition. They are in front of the curve rather than falling behind.

Managing content is everywhere! You are surrounded by it every day.

It is even in your very own home. You cannot escape it. It is almost as if it happens instinctively, without a thought. Socks go in the sock drawer and spices go in the kitchen cupboard (or maybe a spice rack…. or even a spice rack in the kitchen cupboard – the ultimate in component management). You keep your toilet paper in the bathroom and your paper towels in the kitchen. Why? Because it makes good sense. When I set out to make a frittata, I go to the spice cupboard to get out the ingredients I need. I do not look for them in the bedroom or the bathroom.  I source the flour from the pantry where it is conveniently near the shortening – not in the garage next to the oil can wrench.

The same basic form of organization happens in the business world. While at home or in a professional kitchen, we have pantry’s or cupboards, in business we have files and folders stored in a file cabinet. You have product x and you keep all the information for product x in its folder.  When you need to get information on Product X, you go look for the folder then you search inside it.

But what happens as Product X evolves? What happens when Product X goes international? Global? What about other departments with their own information on Product X? Which folder in which cabinet? You may have a file cabinet, but who else has their own file cabinet? Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, …. How about countries? Does each country also manage their own Marketing, Sales, Customer Service…? What about translation? How many file cabinets do you need? How many separate content management situations can you manage?

Before you know it, you have file pandemonium! Born from this obvious demand to put some kind of control in place, Content Management Systems came along.

Many of you have at least CMS system in place, if not more. And, after you put that system in, I bet you breathed a sigh of relief. Finally we have order and control!

But do you?

Not really.

What you do have is a group of siloed solutions all designed for a special purpose. They operate in isolation from each other, with no clear bridge between them. While they do meet a need to control and centralize content, they are effective only for the limited access group. Can you imagine trying to stock a professional kitchen this way? How about your own kitchen? Do you have separate cupboards dedicated to each of the meals you prepare?

In the end, you are still left with inefficient systems unable to take advantage of reuse. You are still left with the obvious question; What is the Truest, Latest, Most accurate source of content? And, how do I get that out to all the right people in all the areas that use it?

Component Content Management is a method of breaking down content to its lowest common denominator. By taking this approach, just like math, it is easier to manage the equation or solve the problem. With CCM we view content a bit differently. It’s not the whole package, it’s all the parts that make up the package.
* True Content Asset Management – all content assets can be stored in one place
* One single source of truth – one repository so no need to replicate content in separate systems.
* Transforming value perception of content – to the parts instead of the finished output

Did you have a meal today? Did you have bread? Muffin? Pasta? Gravy? Cake? Chips? Creamed Soup? Pancakes? Quiche?

All of these share at least one common ingredient (or for our purposes – shared content): flour. In this case, Flour is the lowest common denominator that we can manage at the component level. The professional kitchen would manage one flour for many uses, not the end product. They would not have a separate pantry for Pasta and a separate one for gravy and a separate one for muffins and yet another pantry for bread and another for Quiche and another for desert pies. Chances are there is one big pantry that has flour. It is shared to create the products for all of the customer demands. Aside from the obvious cost and space savings for one centralized repository, you can also manage to deliver the most up to date component for the many outputs. Or the freshest flour.

Flour, first “discovered” around 9000 BC, is used a basic ingredient in many things around the world in just about every culture. Have you have ever tried to get away from flour? A while back, I switched to a diet that forbade any flour of any kind (as well as other carb intensive items) so I had to read labels. It’s everywhere! The reuse potential for flour is phenomenal.

It is like the company information. If it’s done right, you cannot get away from the company contact information. It’s everywhere! Every group uses it. In the old world – they all had it in their own special silo. So what happens in the case of M&A or how about if your company changes their name or any critical contact information? You would have to go into every single instance in all the vast array of silo’d repositories and change the information. If you have a Component Content Strategy in place and a control system that is a true central repository, you only change it in one place and allow the tools to manage the change automatically.

Before you can deliver composed content on demand, you need to get your pantry in order.

Back to the meal you had: The restaurant produced a meal for you based on your request. What did you order? Your order may have been very different than the other people you ate with and those may have been different than other diners at other tables. To produce that final composition – they pulled together ingredients (components) from the pantry (CCMS). You could say a pantry is allot like a CCM. It is one central source of content that can be used to produce many types of outputs in many ways, on demand. It is a shared repository. A single source to provide components for a variety of departments to meet the requests of a variety of consumers. The Pastry chef can use the same pantry as the Saucier, the Sous Chef, the Executive Chef, the Line Cooks, and the Garde Manager,
So how do you get your kitchen in order? A professional pantry, just like any good CCMS, requires careful thought and preparation.

Start by creating one or more process flow diagrams of where content goes and where it comes from.

Your first step in designing your strategy is to analyze your existing content. Who creates it and who consumes it. How many chefs do you have (what departments create or contribute to content? Marketing, Sales, Product development, engineering, HR, tech pubs, Support services ….)? How many different types of customers (internal, external; end users, resellers, field service,)? How many different ways do you serve it up (print, pdf, HTML, On-line help, Social media)? What’s your menu of dishes (products or services you provide)?

Start looking at content to identify things that are common structural elements.

Once you have this foundation. Next you need to look for the common ingredients (shared content). Do you use the same product information? All or part? What parts? These become the flour, butter, eggs, salt of your pantry (the lowest common denominator, the components). The Saucier and the Pastry chef can pull the basic ingredients from the same pantry, combine them with some of their own and deliver very different compositions. While not all of their components are the same, they still share parts. You’re looking for commonalities and differences and starting to see where things have diverged while, at the same time, defining how you want it to be.

Then, start identifying content groupings. Does the content have a specific group that requires it or a specific type of consumer.

Are there legal requirements? Warnings, Cautions, Notes, Disclaimers, Company name, address… the list goes on. Product x vs Product y. Penne pasta vs linguini vs crème brûlée vs pizza vs tomato bisque. Troubleshooting tasks or installation instructions. Serving instructions verses cooking or prepping instructions. Greek flaming Saganki, anyone?

But be careful. Don’t spend all your time preparing and analyzing how to put your pantry together. Most restaurants go out of business their first year and you don’t want to be one of them! Draw your line in the sand and step bravely into the future. Technology, resourcing, and requirements change. All the analysis in the world won’t make you bulletproof against tomorrow’s challenges. Who expected we’d have an iPad and exactly what its format requirements were going to be 10 years ago? Who knows what’s coming next?

Don’t let your restaurant go out of business. Make sure that you learn how to analyze content, how to maintain it, how to expand it when there’s a new product, a new acquisition, a new customer output requirement, so you have the best chance for success.