XML Publishing with Adobe InDesign

Tagging XML in InDesign

The Case for Tagging Content: Why You Need XML

What makes sense for you to import or export as XML should be driven by a business need. The information in the XML should be valuable enough to justify the time and effort to mark up the content as XML and export it, or to create a template to import it.

Business functions, such as sales, marketing, manufacturing, shipping, etc., rely upon documents of various kinds to transmit information. If you look at documents, you can usually discern the function the document serves and who needs to use the document. If you look closely at documents that seem fairly "free form," such as marketing collateral, you can ferret out tidbits of discrete information within the text and images.

Try examining a piece of marketing literature, and seeing what it really contains. Typically, in the small print are legal disclaimers, copyrights, trademark notices, and the like. Does the business have a way to control the wording and usage of these important pieces of content in all of their printed materials and web pages? If these are not controlled, sometimes expensive lawsuits result from leaving them off, letting them become outdated, or providing erroneous information.

Now, look at the typical contact information and branding—company logos, slogans, addresses, phone numbers, web, email and street addresses. These also can differ from time to time, and from use to use, if they are retyped at the time that a marketing piece is created. ...