Time to Activate and Normalize your document!

This step allows your document to be processed by eXtyles (activate) and prepares the content for processing (normalize). The Activate and Normalize function performs the following tasks:

1. Sets document information (i.e., collects metadata; an interactive operation)

2. Saves a baseline copy of the document (an automatic operation)

3. Prepares the document (an automated and, in some cases, interactive operation)

How to Use Activate and Normalize

1. Select Activate and Normalize from the eXtyles ribbon

2. Enter your document's metadata in the Document Information dialog

3. Click OK. eXtyles will perform some automatic steps to prepare your document for eXtyles processing.

After the Activation and Normalization stage has successfully completed, the remaining selections on the eXtyles ribbon are enabled.

Sets Document Information

When you select the Activate and Normalize function from the eXtyles menu, eXtyles displays the Document Information dialog. This dialog requires that you provide data about the document to eXtyles (e.g., publication, article number, etc.) so that eXtyles can associate the document with the correct style template and metadata.

eXtyles saves and maintains this document-specific information with the document regardless of where it is shared or opened, and you can change the document information at any time by selecting Update Document Information from the eXtyles menu/ribbon.

There are two ways to fill in the information in the document information:

1. Manually: This is the most common way that users enter information

2. Automatically: With the Metadata Browse/Import feature

A Customized Feature with Common Elements

Because the Document Information dialog collects metadata unique to each publisher, publication, and document, each customer’s Document Information dialog is different and you will be entering information unique to your organization’s publication workflow.

Even so, there are some fields and functions in the Document Information dialog that are common to all eXtyles users.

Field or Function

Description

Publisher, Publication, and (Article) Type fields

Although these fields are populated with options unique to your organization, they are required for all eXtyles users. These fields are important because they inform eXtyles as to what style template needs to be attached to the document being processed, which contains a collection of styles specific to the publication and publisher. These settings also control the list of active dictionaries for the Auto-Redact operation and the reference template used during reference processing.

Report/Article number or ID field

Generally a report, article, or ID number is required. Beyond being important metadata that should be collected, this information is also often used to label objects (e.g., tables, figures) in the XML with unique identifiers.

Add Document Information to Header option

When checked, this option will add information from the Document Information dialog to the header area in Word. The information that can be added to the Word header is customized for your organization; for example, your organization may include the Article Type and Article ID in the header.

If this option is selected, existing header content will be overwritten.

Starred fields ( * )

Any field that is preceded by an asterisk is a required field. If you attempt to Activate a document without filling in all required fields you will be prompted to do so before Activation continues.

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Saves a Baseline Copy

When you select the Activate and Normalize function, eXtyles automatically saves a baseline copy of the document in native Word format in the same directory in which the original document is located. The baseline document is saved with “$base” appended to the end of the document name (e.g., 123_Mauscript$base.doc).

If the original document is not in native Word format—that is, it is not a .doc or .docx file—eXtyles prompts you to save the document as a Word file before continuing. After you save the document in native Word format, eXtyles creates the baseline copy automatically.

If you want to create additional baseline documents later in the eXtyles process, you can use the Create New Baseline function to create additional copies of the document.

Prepares the Document

After the baseline document has been saved, eXtyles automatically normalizes your document (performs initial document preparation), which includes the following operations:

1. Accept all changes if Track Changes was turned on, and then turn off Track Changes

2. Normalize font-offset combinations for special characters

3. Apply a temporary monospace-font paragraph style to paragraphs that are entirely in a monospace font but not in a monospace-font paragraph style; this step allows flexibility during the Cleanup stage.

4. Remove unnecessary author formatting (such as font size and font color changes)

5. Footnotes and endnotes may be unlinked and converted to plain text (depending on your eXtyles configuration settings).

This process is mostly automatic; however, sometimes additional document preparation steps might be necessary before other eXtyles functions can be executed.

Troubleshooting

If eXtyles freezes or has dramatically changed your document during the Activation and Normalization process, please contact eXtyles-support@inera.com.