How do your create an xml glossary file?

Report · Oct 15, 2013

Everyone talks about importing the glossary from an xml file , even from one created from Excel. I have browsed until my fingers bleed and watched the tutorials and seached the Captivate files to try and find a glossary root file to work with.

Please excuse my Newb question but how to I create an xml file, specially using Excel (the easiest way for me to set up a Glossary)? Is there an example I can work off? How do I paste the import xml tags as offered in the widgit to such a file.

This glosary file will be imported and used in to approximately 40 modules so obviously I want just one file to work with.

Again sorry for the newb question.

Report · Oct 29, 2013

Hi,

I noticed you had not had any reponse as yet, so here is how I accomplished it....

First if you don't have the Excel xml addin, go here and follow thos instructions to enable xml functionality in Excel.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/excel-help/create-an-xml-data-file-and-xml-schema-file-from-worksh...

Then you basically have 2 columns in excel, one titles label and the other named def, then you copy an past the relevant information to the spreadsheet similar to this image....

Then you convert the cell range to XML table, etc as per the instructions given on the linki provided.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Rossco

Report · Oct 29, 2013

Hi Rossco,

Thanks so much for your help. You have helped in an unintended way.

Following your links gave me the idea below as I do not use PC if I can help it.

What I have done is set up a spreadsheet (any sort) and enter in the columns

If you copy the cells do not get picked up so you can copy and paste straight in to a Dreamweaver xml file and presto, the xml document is in a format to be imported by the Glossary. It pays to do a find and replace to get rid of extra tab spaces which must be an artefact of copying across cells.

Therefore after hiding the tags columns I can work on a file just like this.

it is pretty clumsy. You would think there would be an out of the box solution.

So many thanks again, your help is really appreciated.

Pete

Peter van Herk

VH Pty Limited

Business and Industry Development

www.vanherk.com.au

PH: 1800 224 755 Brisbane Office

Mob: 0418 451288 32 Merthyr Rd

Fax : 07 3337 9702 New Farm

E: peter@vanherk.com.au Qld 4005

Report · Oct 29, 2013

Here are the screen shots of my solution

1/Set up the spreadsheet

Copy and paste in to Dreamweaver xml page. Search and remove spare Tab spaces

Hide columns in spreadsheet and work away in this easy format.

Though easy it is such a clumsy clumsy clumsy work around to have an easy format to make up a glossary and get it in to the Captivate Glossary widget.

Report · Oct 29, 2013

Thats great, I am glad it sparked the fire to go 🙂

I agree, although easy it is very clumsy and should not be that clumsy for for an adobe product that is made to do exact;ly that.

Cheers

Rossco

Report · Oct 30, 2013

Works like a charm. Thanks Rossco.

Sreekanth

Report · Mar 03, 2014

This is very helpful - I'm just missing the piece of how I import the excel data into the Dreamweaver code. Am I repeating the same code over and over in Dreamweaver and cutting and pasting from the excel file?

I'm a newb also so any help would be appreciated!

Report · Mar 03, 2014

Hi Jeremia,

From one newb to another ;o)

I ditched the whole thing as soon as I figured it out because putting the glossary in to the captivate slides was really clunky and not a neat solution. Instead we are using our custom written background database and having a glossary link in the main navigation menu, a luxury many captivate scorm projects would not have.

However the spreadsheet is a way of writing all the tags needed for the xml code (fill down). Just highlight ALL the cells with all the tags as per the screen shot, copy and then paste in the open dreamweaver page. However, make sure the dreamweaver page is an xml page. You can then use the xml dreamwever page as the import in to captivate.

Because you are copying from a spreadsheet the paste action in dreamweaver will insert tabs between the data of the cell. You get rid of this by doing a search and replace...search for the tab and replace with nothing, effectively deleting the unwanted tabs.