This view shows the tool when first run and before any SDO specific script runs have been loaded. The tool is basically a single view panel which invokes and remotely controls MS Word for most of its rendering operations. When operating, it can be placed in the background and Word placed in the foreground (although the user must not click on Word while it is running or the automation may be disturbed). Ideally the best way to render documents is on a double screen monitor system where you can observe MS Word being created as well as have full view of 1st Word. This is the normal setup used by SCSC in its work. Users with multiple processor systems may want to run 1st Word on one processor and MS Word on another processor for faster run times. Typical run-off rates are about 30 finished pages per minute (about two pages per second), excluding the final hyper linking times.

The control will be broken up and described in five groups in the following pages.

A warning for new users: This tool expects to take over and run MS Word on your machine using remote automation calls.  It expects complete and exclusive access to MS Word when running, therefore you cannot edit other documents or have them open with word at the same time.  You can of course run word before and after the actual run, but not during.

File Setting Controls The File Setting Controls deal with selecting what database file will be processed, what style sheet will be used to guide the output, and what the final output document will be called. These controls are described in further detail here. In those standards that are broken up into multiple volumes, this section also controls which volume (and therefore what subset of content) will be processed. A required first step of starting MS Word and establishing the inter-process automation links is also shown here, a necessary first step for all runs. [Top]

Overall Style Settings The Overall Style Setting area deals with selecting the gross style and description that will be used by the run. Most SDOs, and most document renderings, have some pretty repeatable habits. Rather then set all these buttons by hand each time, this section sets up the default settings which that SDO prefers to use. These controls are described in further detail here. [Top]

Recipe Setting Controls The Recipe Setting area deals with selecting the specific steps of each run and which table or external files are to be used. These controls are described in further detail here. [Top]

Run and Status Controls The Run and Status Control area deals with starting the run and viewing the results after the run completes. These controls are described in further detail below. The button Perform Selected Steps is the go button. When this button is pressed the program attempts to pre-flight the current script list. If the preflight testing passes, the run is started with each step handled in turn until the script is completed. A discussion about the pre-flight process and its errors can found here. A Pre-flight test involves seeking for the files, tables, and Misc text entries that are used in each processing step to confirm that they exist BEFORE the actual processing begins. Steps that pass are shown with a check box. If the pre-flight fails, an icon showing which steps failed is displayed as well as an error report. You can also click on the icon to get data relevant to that step. Correct things and repeat. The button View Result is used to run the word document when completed. The button Quit is used to exit the program. Below these buttons is a status line, used to provide detailed feedback on the processing of each record in turn. A progress bar appears here for many of the processing steps as well. [Top]

Processing Options The Processing Options area deals with selecting various details of how the document is rendered, which will be used in the run to affect the style and formatting. Like the process steps, rather then set all these buttons by hand each time, this section is set up to SDO default values by the choice of overall style. These controls are described in further detail here. [Top]