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> Do you externalize parts of your product for customer modification, i.e.
> field names, object names, etc.?
>
> so potentially you could have 100 different customers calling a widget, a 100
> different names.
>
> If you do, how do you handle keeping the documentation straight with the
> customer modifications?
Actually, one of my fellow presenters at WinWriters in February of last year
(and then again later in Boston in August), Chip Jones, presented on how
Ceridian does *exactly* this. They extract the widget names into a database,
and then allow users to name them what they want to name them. The
corresponding locations in the documentation change accordingly. He even
provided the ASP source code for how they did it, in the proceedings!
(Unfortunately, WinWriters doesn't make the proceedings available to people who
didn't attend the conference.)
I probably shouldn't post his email address on the list, since I don't know if
he is a subscriber (I can't recall seeing any of his posts, if he is), but if
you email me, I will forward any questions you may have for him on to him.
I also have experience with including database content in documentation, so if
you have any questions for me, please feel free to ask away. I love talking
about this stuff! :-) I also have a web site that teaches how to do it (the
information is even specifically written for technical writers!) at http://jsp.davidcastro.com.
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