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Incrementally updating a publication

To incrementally update a publication, create an update package. This is a .zip file that contains the changed XML content (for S1000D, the changed data modules and publication modules) for a given revision, and a configuration file called info.xml. Updates optimized for speed do not explicitly contain changed data modules and publications modules.

About this task

You can use incremental updates to publish updates to a publication between full revisions. By distributing incremental update packages, you eliminate the need to distribute an entirely new CD image. This process is useful for delivering critically important or time-sensitive revisions. Your next full revision must contain a rollup of all incremental updates, otherwise they will be lost.

You can optimize updates for size or for speed.
  • Size

    Results in a .zip file that contains updated DMs, PMs, and graphics.

    If bandwidth is a concern, optimize for size.

  • Speed

    Results in a .zip file that contains updated index XML files and graphics; it does not contain DMs or PMs.

In the case of S1000D, you can make incremental changes to data modules, publication modules, graphics and multimedia objects.

Procedure

  1. Create a folder for your update:
    OptionDescription
    SizeAnywhere in your filesystem.
    SpeedIn the source_xml folder of the publication you are updating
  2. Inside this folder, create a subfolder called update_xml/
  3. If the package is optimized for:
    OptionDescription
    Sizeplace added or updated data modules and/or publication modules into the update_xml/ folder.
    Speedplace added or updated data modules and/or publication modules into the source_xml folder of the publication you are updating.
  4. If you have added or updated figures or multimedia content, create a sibling folder to update_xml/ named figures/ and place this content in that folder
  5. Create a new XML file with the following contents:
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
    <info>
      <book_name>PUBLICATION</book_name>
      <collection_name>COLLECTION</collection_name>
      <figures_location>figures</figures_location>
      <!-- Omit the <parsed> element to optimize 
           for speed instead of size -->
      <parsed>true</parsed>
      <!-- Omit the <pm> element if the update package 
           contains only changes to existing document 
           units. -->
      <pm>PUBLICATIONMODULE.xml</pm>
      <version>XX</version>
      <waiting-message>MESSAGE</waiting-message>
    </info>

    where:

    • PUBLICATION is the publication to which you want this update to be applied
    • COLLECTION is the collection that contains this publication
    • PUBLICATIONMODULE.xml is the name of your updated publication module file, located in update_xml/.
    • XX is an integer representing the version of the incremental update (not the publication issue). For example, if this is your third incremental update, XX should be 3. Continue to increase this number with each incremental update, even after you perform a full revision.
    • MESSAGE is a message to display to the user while they wait for the update to be completed, for example, "Please wait while updates are being installed." For large updates, consider testing in a test environment how long the update takes to apply and customizing the message with this estimated duration.
  6. If your info.xml file contains a parsed element, open your publication configuration file (for example, MyPub.xml in the templates\conf\ subfolder of the LiveContent S1000D home directory) for editing.
    1. Add the following configitem elements:
      <configitem name="CreateUpdateXML">
        <comments>Create update XML if set to 1.</comments>
        <value>1</value>
      </configitem>
      <configitem name="UpdateDirectory">
        <comments>Target folder for update XML files.</comments>
        <value>D:\PATH\TO\update_xml</value>
      </configitem>

      where D:\PATH\TO\update_xml refers to the location of your update_xml/ folder.

    2. Save and close your publication configuration file.
    3. Generate your optimized update package by entering the following on a command line:
      LiveContentPublish -eracUpdate d:\PATH\TO\PubConfig.xml

      where D:\PATH\TO\PubConfig.xml is the full path and filename of your publication configuration file.

    Update-specific XML files will be generated in the folder specified by UpdateDirectory in the publication configuration file.
  7. Save this file as info.xml to the .zip file in the root folder, and then close it.