terminological and other messing about

[dchenes]

I think I'm about to embark on a fool's errand, but if it works, it'll make my life considerably easier. What I'm going to try to do is make a MS Word-formatted index out of an XML file.

See, MultiTerm will export glossary entries as XML files, but that's not going to help me very much, because a raw XML file is a pain in the ass to read. I've been given permission to not use MultiTerm any more, which is nice because it means I don't have to go chain myself to a computer in the lab. I want a glossary I can actually look at and say "All right, I've got 58 entries, that's enough", instead of having to remember that the entry number in MultiTerm isn't the number of terms because it counts references to publications as entries, and having to change input models to find out how many reference entries I've got, and...well, it's a pain in the ass, is what it is.

Playing with that ought to keep me busy between the coffee hour and the project management lecture tomorrow. If anybody has any brilliant advice about how NOT to do this the hard way, I'd love to hear it. (My current idea is to go back to MultiTerm and see how much of a pain it is to export the glossary as an HTML file. I know Word does nasty things to HTML, but I'm hoping that's only if you're writing HTML in Word to begin with, in which case you really shouldn't.)

I know that most of the entries I have are completed; I just don't know how many I've got. If I really do have 58, I can finish the incomplete ones in a couple of days and stop thinking about the glossary altogether. I just pulled that number out of the air, though. I need 50, and I think I'm close to that, but I can't tell.

I also have to rewrite my resume again, pursuant to the workshop we had last week. I was smart enough to bring a copy of my resume to the workshop and write changes on it, but I haven't gotten around to actually changing them yet. Today's workshop was about cover letters and interviews, and it really didn't need to take an hour. I got about fifteen minutes of good information out of it, and spent the other 45 chewing on the end of my pen and trying not to strangle one of my project management groupmates, who managed to monopolize the discussion to the point where the speaker started ignoring her. I wish I hadn't bothered to go.

I'm really going to have to grow a brain one of these days.

Comments

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

You can make a stylesheet for an XML file--they are XSL files, and you embed a call to them in the XML doc to format them all pretty. It's how my company does it, unfortunately I did not write the XSL file that I use.

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

If Word touches an HTML file, said file is munged, but at least it will PROBABLY still work in the version of IE that was current when your copy of Word was released. Doesn't matter there the HTML file came from in the first place. You can get better results by exporting to HTML and omitting the "Round Trip" data, but each HTML capable version of Word does that differently. For example, you have to download a plugin for Word 2000, and it's a PC only plugin.

If you want, e-mail me the XML file and any associated information. I'll take a look and let you know what formats I can send it back in. It's been a solid nine months since I mucked around with the Perl XML parser, but I have fond memories of it. I'd also love the chance to mess around with the MS SQL XML functionality.

You can also try importing the XML file into Excel or another spreadsheet application. If you're lucky, it might just import as an actual table that you can work with. If it were me, I'd prefer that, as it would give me more options for manipulating the data. You could also export it to HTML or Word from there.

You can also try searching for "XML Parser" on Google or Sourceforge.net. There might be something that will just bring it into HTML for you, at which point you can import it into almost anything.

Mozilla is an OK HTML editor when you get to that. I prefer working in raw code when I can, but sane people want WYSIWYG. If going that route, a Dreamweaver demo would be an option. Based not on Zealotry, but actual experience, I'd avoid all MS products for HTML generation or editing. At it's best, Word, Frontpage, Publisher and the rest produce IE only HTML. Not just IE only, but IE for the version that was out when said MS program was released, and the HTML does not render well in older or newer versions of IE. If IE 5.5 was out when your version of Word went Gold, then don't expect the resulting HTML to work in IE 6. It night, but it's a roll of the Die.

On a side note, did you get the care package?