This is a list of the “other” tools that are not DITA-optimized XML editors, or DITA-capable Component Content Management Systems (CCMSes). It’s a motley collection of tools, many of them customized specifically for use with DITA. All prices are in $US except where noted. Prices listed are current as of February 11, 2015. * DesignedRead More
Tag: DITA Tools
Selling More Software to DITA Users Using One Magic Ingredient: Relevant Content!
DITA software vendors: stop making it a chore for prospective buyers to find out how your product will help them author DITA content. You’d think that this would be self-evident, but as I work on compiling a list of DITA-optimized editors and Content Management Systems I am continually amazed at how hard some vendors makeRead More
DITA-related Tools
In addition to DITA-capable Component Content Management Systems (CCMSes) and DITA-optimized XML editors, there are various other tools available to help documentation teams and individual technical writers who are working with DITA. In the work I have done as a consultant for Yellow Pencil, I often find that organizations require more sophisticated output features thanRead More
Product Preview: Samalander DITA Xref Manager
I had the opportunity last week of getting a preview of a new product that Samalander Software is planning to release today: DITA Xref Manager. Designed for small technical writing teams who are working without the benefit of a Content Management System (CMS), it automatically checks the validity of all xrefs contained within a ditamapRead More
What Size are DITA-using Firms and Where is DITA Going?
One other thing that emerged from the job posting information was that it matches a pattern I have seen before, suggesting that DITA is a “one size fits all” solution. The same pattern is seen here, with very-large, large and mid-size firms being those who are seeking people with DITA experience the most: As youRead More
New WritersUA Tools Survey and Some DITAWriter Updates to Expect in 2013
The people at WritersUA are again running their annual survey asking Technical Writers what tools they use, and the relative importance of those tools to their work. If you are a technical writer I urge you to take part in the latest survey. It only takes a few minutes, consisting of a single page whereRead More
Interview with Peter Fournier of Samalander Software
When I was compiling a list of DITA-supporting software tools recently, I ran across one firm based out of Ottawa in Canada called Samalander (not a typo) that didn’t just make one DITA-related tool, but at last count has made no less than ten of them, ranging from DITA metrics tools to link checkers andRead More
The Latest Trends in DITA XML Use in Tech Writing (Part 2)
In the previous article I looked briefly at the numbers from the latest Microsft’s Visio survey of technical writer tools, taking the raw data and showing where the DITA-OT appears in the list of the overall top 20 Technical Writer’s tools (#18, up from #20 in 2011) and where it appears in a listing ofRead More
The Latest Trends in DITA XML Use in Tech Writing (Part 1)
Update January 27, 2012: Have changed the table info so that it is driven from a database – now you can sort and search the content of the tables, as well as seeing the full listing of tools in the survey. It wasn’t that long ago when I looked at the 2011 Survey that WritersUARead More
Where Does DITA XML Fit When it Comes to Tech Writing Tool Use?
Update January 27, 2012: Have changed the table info so that it is driven from a database — now you can sort and search the content of the tables, as well as seeing the full listing of tools in the survey. The folks at self-selection bias are running their annual survey of the type ofRead More