Common Questions: Change Markup

This week’s topic: Change Tracking & Change Markup

Change markup has historically been something that you had to implement yourself in XML publishing. Arbortext supports typical change markup behavior in the standard document types, and with a small amount of configuration for custom doctypes.

All of the standard change markup functions are supported OOTB in Arbortext Editor and publishable through Arbortext Styler or Publishing Engine. OOTB, you have support for Add, Delete, Modify. You can highlight changes, accept changes, and reject changes. You can even compare documents.

When combined with Arbortext Content Manager (ACM), you get the ability to add baselines to documents, to version, to create snapshots in time. You can recreate document output at any point in the document's history and know that you're producing today exactly what you froze then.

Today, we're answering some of the more common and general questions about change markup content in Arbortext.

Question: Highlighting

Can a writer highlight specific parts of a draft for review?

Answer:

Yes

Question: Comparing Files

Does the ACM have a diff function?

Answer:

Comparisons between source files are handled in the Arbortext Editor not ACM.

Question: Tags used

We would like to know the detailed specification regarding tags for change tracking. What tags does ACM insert into the XML file?

Answer:

ACM does not insert anything with regard to the change tracking functionality.

Change tracking is handled in Arbortext Editor. Change tracking supports the usual features -- Add, Delete, Changed. You can highlight changes and accept or reject changes.

Question: Review comments

How are review comments incorporated into the source?

Answer:

Through the Change Markup mechanism

You might also be interested in the article we wrote previously about reviewing content in XML

Question: Accept/Reject/Modify

Can you simply click Accept/Reject/Modify?

Answer:

Yes

Change tracking happens as expect in most normal editing applications: Add, Delete, Changed, Highlight changes, Accept Changes, Reject changes, compare documents.. All of these are standard OOTB with Arbortext.

You can learn how to active, use, and take advantage of this feature in the video on Change Tracking.