Interleaf/QuickSilver Expert

• Do you have documents formatted in BroadVision QuickSilver or Interleaf Version 5, 6, or 7 that needs updating?
• Do you want to convert documents from Interleaf or Quicksilver into another format?
• Do you need a writer who is also skilled at using Interleaf and Quicksilver?

I can help!

Writing, Formatting, and Administration

I have my own copies of Interleaf 5, 6, 7 and QuickSilver 1.

Conversion Services

I have also converted thousands of pages of Interleaf documents into other formats, such as FrameMaker. I have developed special conversion techniques that reduce the number of conversion errors and maximize the visual appeal of the converted document.

A good conversion requires a more intelligent approach than running the documents through a filter and then cleaning up the resulting damage by hand, because all conversion filters are limited. Worse, they fail in different ways depending on the details of how the document was implemented in the first place. The good news is that the process can be largely automated, and this can pay off handsomely if you have suites of documents with a consitent style.

Efficient conversion is a multi-pass process. First the document is run through the usual conversion filters and areas of weakness are identified. For example, one conversion package may do a better job on the text, and another on the diagrams. In this case, the two converted documents are merged; the diagrams from the second filter are pasted into the output of the first filter.

But in addition to this merging process, the source documents need to be adjusted into a form that will convert cleanly (pre-conversion tweaking), and the converted output needs to be fixed up as well (post-conversion tweaking). Many conversion errors are repeated hundreds or thousands of times per document, making manual clean-up very expensive and error-prone. Script-based fixes will correct every instance of such an error at the expense of perhaps fifteen minutes of programming time.

This structured approach results in documents that maintain a consistent standard. Unlike hand-conversion, the same issues will not be fixed in different ways on different pages, or fixed some in places and missed in others. The converted documents are both visually and structurally clean. No one else makes this claim!

Drop Me a Line

Robert Plamondon
High-Tech Technical Writing
36475 Norton Creek Road
Blodgett OR 97326
Phone: (541) 453-5841
E-mail: hightech@plamondon.com

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