Introduction

The Modularity of MadCap Flare Projects

You may be wondering how it’s possible to use one source of content for multiple published formats, or outputs. The obvious issue with this is that different outputs require different formatting or content based on different audiences. MadCap Flare allows for these changes through its structure of topic-based authoring.

In simple terms, topic-based authoring is the splicing of content into multiple building blocks where the blocks can be edited individually, mixed around, and reused. Imagine your Flare project as a paper doll, and your different portions of content are the articles of clothing that you’re creating for your doll to wear. You can make changes to each article of clothing without affecting the others, and it’s up to you what clothing goes together to create each outfit. That’s topic-based authoring.

MadCap Flare also separates content from formatting. Formatting is designated by stylesheets that are edited first, then applied to content second. Specific formatting settings are associated with specific outputs. The separation of style from content further supports the flexibility of single-sourcing.

The Importance of Single-Sourcing

Single-sourcing allows you to publish one version of content multiple times across multiple forms of media. The advantage to this is that rather than editing the content for each form of media, or each instance of publishing, you only edit a single version, or a single source file. This is an important difference, because it reduces the amount of labor, expenses, and time of editing to the minimum. For example, if you wish to publish three versions of your content you are no longer required to edit three versions, but just one. That’s a third of the usual effort!