Conversion to and from SGML. To convert existing files in other formats to SGML, you can use several options, including:

•  Convert the document into ASCII text. Then cut and paste it into an empty SGML document template.

•  Use a WordPerfect macro file.

•  Use an outside package—for example, a Perl program or a commercial conversion program such as Avalanche’s FastTAG.

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• See “The World of Perl” and “Avalanche/Interleaf FastTAG,” pp. 491, 495

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Converting from SGML to other file formats is straightforward in WordPerfect SGML Edition. You simply perform a Save As operation and specify the format that you want to use.

Document Parsing and Validation. Document parsing occurs in two situations: when you save a document as an SGML document and at your request. You select the validation features. They include:

•  Character mapping

•  Entity validation

•  Entity declaration

•  ID and IDREF

•  Logic, including tag placement and attribute values

•  Text sequence, such as SGML markup with the document content

Because you can select each type of error checking, it is easy to author and convert a document in stages.

Highlights. WordPerfect SGML Edition is a powerful tool for authoring SGML documents. Its output formatting capabilities are noteworthy. Multiple stylesheets are available for the same DTD, and it has conditional formatting capabilities.

The integration of SGML authoring capabilities into the standard WordPerfect authoring package makes WordPerfect SGML Edition easy to use if you are already familiar with the standard WordPerfect word processing package.

WordPerfect Corp.,

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Orem, UT 84057

Web: http://wp.novell.com/elecpub/sgmlweb.htm

Near & Far Author

Perhaps one of the slickest products on the SGML Authoring list is Microstar’s new Near & Far Author. This program operates alongside Microsoft Word. It customizes the Word interface to facilitate structured authoring. What makes the program so slick is its graphical mapping of document structure. It teaches authors intuitively about structure better than any SGML seminar ever could.

Features. Near & Far Author, shown in figure 26.5, is very forgiving. It is not just intended for use by SGML experts. A writer who is familiar with Word stylesheets can write structured documents and create SGML files. Instead of designing your own DTD, you can create a quick-and-dirty map by importing an existing document model and publishing a default map. The program designs its own map for you automatically from that imported model. This structure map becomes the foundation of your authoring template and the structure of your SGML instance. It is intuitive and friendly, enabling authors who do not know SGML to produce structured documents.

Fig. 26.5  Microstar’s Near & Far Author is a smart authoring tool and a surprisingly good design tool.

The product is simple to use. Select Create New SGML from the Near & Far Author menu, and choose a DTD. Near & Far Author creates and parses a default MAP file that enables you to create an SGML file immediately.

DTDs and Output Specifications. No direct support for creating DTDs is provided with Near & Far Author. However, you can build document models that you can use to build structured documents for SGML authoring. Combined with Near & Far, this feature enables you to build terrific DTDs. As soon as you create a new SGML instance, the program asks you to select a DTD. When you do, it validates the DTD.

What is helpful is the product’s capability to edit document maps. The interactive structure tree makes it easy to select an element and edit it for content.

Near & Far Author does not directly support output specification creation. It performs a similar function through the use of document maps for mapping to standard Word formatting functions.