Creating Documents
with the EDIS Authoring Tool (EAT): Table of Contents
-
Getting Started- Using the EAT
-
Releasing a Document to the Public
-
Editing Documents on the Review Site Using the
EAT
-
Requesting a Digital Library Number (DLN)
-
Searching for a Document Recently Released on EDIS
-
Error Message When Trying to
Retrieve a Document in the EAT
-
Error Message When Trying to Submit a
Document using the EAT
-
Obtaining an IFAS Publication Number
-
Viewing a PDF file when a document is in review
1. Getting
Started- Using the EDIS EAT
First, visit
the EDIS Editor Resource Page at http://help.ifas.ufl.edu/edis_editor/index.html.
There you will find the latest version of the software, along with a user
guide and a set of tutorials. Training is available for the Editor. Check
with the Help Desk (352-392-INFO) for class scheduling.
In order to submit documents with the EAT,
you will need to obtain an ID number from Dr. Howard Beck (352-392-3196,
hwb@agen.ufl.edu).
Procedures for new documents
Documents on EDIS are official UF/IFAS publications and as such require
departmental approval. Some departments require you to obtain an IFAS
Publication Number while other departments do not. To obtain an IFAS Pub
Number or to ascertain whether one is necessary or not, contact the Cluster
Editor for that department. The Cluster Editors and their departments are
listed at
http://ics.ifas.ufl.edu/Publications/Publications2.html#EditorialContacts.
Each document on EDIS is identified in the database
by a Digital Library Number (DLN). To obtain a DLN for new publication,
contact the EDIS librarian, Diana Hagan (352-392-3196,
djhagan@mail.ifas.ufl.edu).
Now you are ready to start creating the publication
at your computer. By following the EDIS Authorign Tool instructions you can save
and edit it on your hard drive. To check your progress online or to enable
selected people to view it, first save it to your hard drive and then submit
it as a "review" document. This will place it in the EDIS database as a
review version. Review versions are not listed anywhere, but can be viewed
if you know the URL. The URL for review documents is in the following format:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/REVIEW_XX123
Simply replace XX123 in the above example with the
DLN for the document (a DLN usually consists of two letters followed by
three numbers). Share the URL with anyone who might need to view the document
during production.
When editing is finished and the document is ready
to go, simply save it to your hard drive and submit it as a "release" document.
It will then be an active document in the EDIS database. If you have not already
told Diana Hagan where in the EDIS menu system to place this
document, email him this information. The URL for active documents is as
follows, substituting the DLN for XX123:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/XX123
Procedures for existing documents
1. RETRIEVE the document from the online database,
using the document's DLN
2. LOAD that document in the editor
3. EDIT the document
4. SAVE the document
5. SUBMIT to the online database
If you submit it as a "Release" document,
it goes immediately into EDIS as an approved document.
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2. Releasing a Document to the Public
First of all, the document is immediately available on EDIS. If it is a
revision of an existing document, it will immediately replace it. If it
is in the EDIS menu system, it will now appear there. You can always check
your document by using the URL that all active publications share:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/XX123
Simply replace XX123 with the DLN of
the document.
If this is a new document and you have not
yet told Diana Hagan or Brian Clary where it belongs on the EDIS
menu system, this is the time to do so. EDIS documents need to appear within the
Departmental menu system, but can also be in any other menus you feel are
appropriate. It is best to submit menu information by email to Diana Hagan <djhagan@mail.ifas.ufl.edu>
and/or Brian Clary <BDClary@mail.ifas.ufl.edu>.
All activity with the EDIS Editor is
reported in a log file. When a document is released, this event is recorded
by OIT. Unless a PDF file is sent, one is prepared. Brian Clary receives
a daily list of released documents and moves the PDF files to EDIS. He
then edits (or creates) a listing for it on EDIS, which allows the document
to be found in a number of places, most notably the Web page where Cooperative
Extension Offices search for and order publications <http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/search/dosearch.html>.
In order for a publication to be located
using the search engine on the EDIS Web Site, it must first be indexed.
This procedure records all the words in the publication so that the search
engine can find it. Indexing the database takes several hours, and is normally done once a week, on Friday evening.
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3. Editing Documents on the Review Site Using the
EAT
To edit existing documents in the Review Site:
1. RETRIEVE the document from
the online database, using DLN
2. LOAD that document in the
editor
3. EDIT the document
4. SAVE the document
5. SUBMIT to the online database
If you submit it as a "Release" document,
it goes immediately into EDIS as an approved document.
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4. Requesting a Digital Library Number (DLN)
To
obtain a DLN, contact Brian Clary. He will need the title and the sponsoring
IFAS department. Due to the complexity of some titles, this is best done by
email: BDClary@mail.ifas.ufl.edu.
(This is the best time to tell us where
in the EDIS menu system this document should appear. Doing it now will
save time later on.)
Brian will check to make sure that this
document has never been assigned a DLN. If it hasn't, he will assign a
DLN and contact you.
The next step is to authorize this
DLN to be edited. This is a manual step done at the IT office which only takes a couple
of minutes and electronically associates the DLN to the specific sponsoring
department. At this point the document can be submitted or edited by people
who have authorization.
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5. Searching for a Document Recently Released on EDIS
The
EDIS search engine uses an index of all the words in all the documents
on EDIS, so your document needs to be added to the index before it can
be found by the search engine. Indexing the database takes several hours, and is
normally done once a week, on Friday evening.
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6. Error Message When Trying to
Retrieve a Document in the EAT
There
are a two reasons you might receive this message. First, check to make
sure you have entered the DLN in upper case letters. It will not accept
the DLN if it is in lower case. Next, double-check to make sure you have
entered the correct DLN. If the DLN has not been assigned to a document,
you will get an error message.
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7. Error Message When Trying to Submit a
Document using the EAT
You
may be trying to submit the document using a DLN that has not been assigned
yet. The system will not accept a document unless the DLN for it has been
entered into the database.
(Note that it is possible that DLNs
assigned several years ago and never submitted will need to have their
DLNs entered into the database. If you are working on one of these, contact
Diana Hagan <352-392-3196
djhagan@mail.ifas.ufl.edu>)
You will also get an error message if you are not
authorized to edit the document. This might happen if you are a Cluster Editor
who needs to edit a document for a department you are not normally associated
with. It can also happen if, for instance, you are at a Research Station and
working on documents for several different departments. Contact Diana Hagan or Brian Clary <352-392-3196
BDClary@mail.ifas.ufl.edu>
to fix this.
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8. Obtaining an IFAS Publication Number
Some departments require you to obtain an IFAS Publication Number while
other departments do not. To obtain an IFAS Pub Number or to ascertain
whether one is necessary or not, contact the Cluster Editor for that
department. The Cluster Editors and their departments are listed at
http://ics.ifas.ufl.edu/Publications/Publications2.html#EditorialContacts.
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9.
Viewing a PDF file when a document is in review
Due to the
large number of changes in review documents, PDF files are not routinely created
for documents in review. If you would like to have a PDF show up along with your
review document you can write Diana Hagan <djhagan@mail.ifas.ufl.edu>
and he will create it and place it on EDIS review for you. If you prefer,
you can email a PDF for him to place there. Be sure that you make it clear
that the PDF is for review.
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