When you are a new to ITP and the ITP/MDK Repository, you probably have a set of documents you want to convert to ITP Models. This chapter describes an approach that over the years has proven its worth.
Note
The style of Style Documents is not visible when editing OpenOffice.org documents.
The first step: Setting up the ITP/MDK Repository structure
First, determine how you want to organize your documents; develop a structure of projects and folders. Start with ordering your documents in sets of documents that belong together, department-wise, function wise or for another reason. Examine your subsets. Would it be a good idea to have a different project in the ITP/MDK Repository for every subset? The idea is to design a structure that is simple enough to be usable and complex enough to allow for future growth. Use folders in your projects to collect documents in related sets. Use any criterion you want. The only argument that counts at this stage is usability.
Create the projects and folders in it in the ITP/MDK Repository.
The second step: Find general building blocks
After you have created the projects and folders you will have to take a closer look at your documents in general to find similar blocks. Can you find parts of all documents that are, or have to be, equal? For example the address is always laid out the same, a disclaimer that is added to every document. Fragments you find in this step ought to be turned into building blocks and set in a Library that is available for all projects.
Note
In our experience there will always be a general Library that provides building blocks for calculations on dates, error handling and so on.
The third step: Find project building blocks
After identifying general building blocks you can do the same for all projects individually.
In this step examine each subset (project) you created in the first step to find overall characteristics for the particular subset of documents. Can you find parts in the subset that are or have to be equal for every document in the subset? Parts like this can be turned into building blocks. If building blocks found in this phase are used in more than one project you can put them in a separate Library that can be used by other projects.
The fourth step: Corporate style
Step 2 and 3 concentrate on what documents share in content terms, this step concentrates on what they share in look and feel.
Ask yourself if the same corporate style has to be applied to all of the documents. Examine the fonts that have to be used, the company logo and its position on the page, headers and footers, margins of the documents and things like that. Try to find characteristics that apply for every document. Try to find characteristics that apply to the subsets of documents you created in the first step. Decide whether you need an overall Style Document or a set of Style Documents.
Decide which styles you need and the characteristics of the styles.
Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.org styles play an important role in ITP documents. We advise to use styles as much as possible to layout documents. Consistent use of styles guarantees a consistent layout of the result documents. Furthermore, consistent use of styles speeds up the maintenance of the document and can prevent unexpected layout of the result document. We need to stress this point because most of the time the layout of a result document is unexpected it can be traced back to locally applied layout instructions in the Model Document.
Refer to your Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.org documentation for more information on using and creating styles.
Note
Although it is possible to configure a Style Document for a folder, we advise to configure a Style Document on project level only. Project's Style Document setting is by default available for all project folders (inherited).
Include documents in a project will always be opened with the Style Document that is configured in the project.
The fifth step: Develop the building blocks
In this phase you are actually going to produce the building blocks you identified in steps 2 and 3 and test them.
The sixth step: Develop the style
In this phase you are actually going to produce the Style Documents you need and test them.
The seventh step: Develop Model Documents
With the structure of projects, folders, Include folders, Include documents, Style projects and Style Documents in place you can start developing your Model Documents or import existing documents and adapt them to the new structure.