Mekon Eclipse Create is built on the unmatched power and usability of Adobe FrameMaker.
It was designed from the outset for technical authors creating data modules in a busy production environment. Eclipse Create provides support for S1000D Issue 1, Changes 6 to 9, and Issue 2. No other applications come close to matching the broad coverage and depth of detail unique to Mekon Eclipse.
The editing environment provides a clear and concise interface which is straightforward and intuitive to use. The strength of Eclipse Create for S1000D is its ability to obtain printed page layouts for the various structured files that conform to the S1000D specification layout instructions, while providing convenient and clear editing environments. Various viewing options are provided for editing purposes, enabling the user to switch on and off the structure element ‘tags’ and text symbols.
Eclipse Create has many powerful features including:
Many other productivity tools are included, and all previous DTD releases continue to be supported.
Many special features are included to ensure that the formatting always meets your needs.
In S1000D-based projects, the single source is the Common Source Database (CSDB) or, at a finer level of granularity, the SGML data module. Eclipse Create for S1000D lets you publish your data modules to a wide range of output formats, such as SGML and PDF, either singly or, in the FrameMaker BookBuild application, as published collections and, of course, very high quality printed output. Eclipse BookBuild is a plug-in to Eclipse Create for FrameMaker that enables a user to build and print a multi-volume paper publication.
In Eclipse Create for S1000D, you can now save to SGML with a single click. This method overwrites the original SGML instance, ideal for integration with CSDB systems. Alternatively, click shift and Save SGML to save an SGML instance without processing instructions to the location of your choice. SGML processing instructions are used by Mekon applications to store advanced formatting information that is not implied by the basic SGML structure.
Eclipse Create for S1000D has been designed to give the highest possible quality output for PDF and Print. The formatting follows the S1000D specification exactly, but allows some additional control to cover ambiguities in the specification, or customer-driven alternatives. Our plug-in technology also allows project-specific formatting requirements to work alongside or completely replace existing S1000D rules. Publishing data modules as hard copy manuals may not have been the original intention of the specification, but many organisations have decided that it suits their needs. Mekon can help here too, as the Eclipse BookBuild tool is designed to make the process very simple while providing the enhanced functionality required to produce and manage a traditional printed manual.
The Table of Contents, List of Figures and Tables, and References Table are automatically generated on request. This behaviour can be changed so that these items are not generated. You may wish to include a table of contents in a normal descriptive module but exclude it from a datasheet that uses the same document type.
Our application provides advanced in-line applicability formatting checks for matched applicability structure and will apply special paragraph or step numbering to the affected items. Alternatively, the entire applicability structure can be displayed in position.
Each page of a data module includes an effectivity block. This displays information about the applicability status of the data module. Because every project has different requirements for the text in the block, you can now tailor the display by manipulating a configuration file.
S1000D Issue 2 introduced project-specific attribute values for certain elements. For example, Skill level “sk01” could mean different things on one project than another. Applications are designed in a modular fashion and a project is easily able to change outputs as required.
Document languages can be configured by the user or administrator and affect the text that appears on the page. For example, the heading “References” changes to “Querverweise” when German is the selected language. This language switching also affects the existing security text configuration. Standard document languages are English, German and Dutch (other languages will be added in future releases). Custom language or security sets can be created by the user.
We have added a user-friendly way to create ISO special character entities, which is more robust than the standard implementation. We also include the special “Mekon ISO Entity Symbol” font to ensure that all of the permitted ISO characters are available for use.
There are some objects in a data module that require special formatting control to achieve the best results. Edit mode enables the user to add or change text and elements in a simplified structure ensuring easy validation. Switching to Format mode applies the advanced formatting for PDF or Print.
Figure titles are added to the anchored frame allowing graphics to “float” for superior pagination.
Captions groups display at the specified size and colour when the Format command is applied.
AirFault structure is reorganised for ease of editing when in Edit mode.
The S1000D specification was originally written for Aerospace use, but it is now being used by Land, Sea and Air projects. Eclipse Create for S1000D includes the ability to change element names in the FrameMaker environment to meet the needs of any project. For example, the default “Air Vehicles Engines and Equipment” element could be refined as “Ship Engines and Equipment” or even “AVEE”. The application will always be delivered with the standard full element names active.
Mekon is able to provide SE guidance and training on the specification, and give advice on applications that will automatically check textual content against the rules of ASD SE.
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