How FatWire Makes Desktop Authoring Easy

Create, Manage and Publish Content Using Microsoft Word and FatWire Content Server

Don't you wish you could take that Microsoft Word document you just typed and publish it to your Web site? Seems easy enough. But what if you want to format it differently? Do images need to be stripped out of it for wireless subscribers? How do you link to it from the main page? Suddenly your simple Word document isn't so simple anymore.

FatWire Content Server makes it easy for users to get their content to the Web simply by using Microsoft Word. This means enterprises can shorten the time spent on document creation, ensure the business users who own content are the ones publishing it, and leverage the information in existing documents.

Simplified Content Creation, Editing, and Publishing
FatWire Content Server makes the content management process transparent, enabling individuals across the enterprise to create, edit, and preview content directly from within Microsoft Word. FatWire Content Server then transforms that content into XML and takes care of reformatting, distribution, linking, and publishing. The resulting content is formatted to your specifications and ready for display across multiple destinations and devices. This content transformation process allows users to transparently become Web/wireless/XML authors simply by using Microsoft Word.

User-Friendly Tools
FatWire Content Server includes a toolbar that lets users create and submit content directly from within Word. The toolbar (similar to other toolbars within Word) guides users through the creation and formatting process. Additionally, users can specify document metadata, such as a publication date, keywords, or a category for the document.

Enhanced Workflow and Collaboration
FatWire Content Server's powerful workflow features can also be accessed from within Word. New content can be automatically placed in a workflow. FatWire Content Server will then notify users that the content is ready for review. Reviewers can make changes and comments within the original Word document, using the familiar "Track Changes" feature. When an edit is complete, the reviewer can designate the next step and save the document back to FatWire Content Server.

Integrated Preview Feature

Integrated preview features in FatWire Content Server enable users to see how a document will look on their Web site directly from Word. If a document includes redlined changes, FatWire Content Server automatically generates a preview as if all changes were accepted.

Powerful Administration Tools
FatWire Content Server enables administrators to make rapid changes across the enterprise without changing individual client installations. Using browser-based forms, administrators can specify exactly what is editable within Word and which users have content creation and editing privileges.

How it Works
While FatWire Content Server is simple to use, the technology behind it is very powerful. FatWire Content Server takes ordinary Word documents and transforms them into fielded, XML-based content assets. Here's a high-level view of how this works:

  1. A business user creates a Microsoft Word document. Word-standard structural tags are inserted to mark up the pieces of the document. These tags can be inserted manually using the FatWire Content Server toolbar or automatically through Word document templates.
  2. The business user selects "Save To Content Server" from the FatWire Content Server toolbar. The original Word document is sent to FatWire Content Server where it is stored for subsequent editing in its original format.
  3. The Word document is transformed into XML by use of embedded technology from Verity's XML Export engine. The XML is stored as a fielded content asset. The storage method makes it possible for the content to be reused and repurposed across sites and devices. The same storage method also makes it possible to automatically generate, for instance, a list of headlines. This step takes a matter of seconds.
  4. The business user can now preview the Word document within the context of the site by selecting "preview" within Word. The original Word document is available for subsequent editing directly from within Word. When the Word document is changed, it is transformed once again and the content asset is updated.