Electronic Catalogs FAQ - Complete list
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Do we need a different know-how for the creation of an electronic catalog than for the creation of a printed one? -
Indeed. However, you do not have to acquire this yourself to get a good result.
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Is there search functionality in electronic catalogs that is not available in paper catalogs? -
Yes. A mouse click on part numbers or illustrations is a direct call for additional information.
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Apart from the extra effort during revisions, do conventional graphics have an other disadvantages in comparison to "intelligent" graphics? -
Besides the effort for the administration of hotspots and links, there are some functional limitations with conventional graphics depending on the target environment.
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When must the catalog program be replaced? -
There are three cases when this should happen.
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Is the common overlay technique an efficient method for the creation of hotspots? -
Unfortunately, the overlay technique, though common, is not an efficient method for the creation of hotspots. In electronic catalogs that require frequent revisions, this technique often demands a lot of manual effort during each revision.
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Can the electronic catalog be distributed via CD or network as soon as it is completed? -
Generally yes - if the license rights for the free distribution of the catalog program are clarified.
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Can I conduct a fully automatic creation and revision of an electronic catalog with a standard software product? -
Yes. You can do so with IsoCompose by ITEDO Software.
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Can factors aside from those of the catalog program force its substitution? -
Unfortunately, yes. The list of reasons leading to incompatibility is long and never complete.
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Can a company do the manual changes necessary when revising a catalog with overlays, or are external programmers needed for this? -
Often, but unfortunately not always, manual changes can be done without external assistance.
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Which criteria should be met by specialists to be hired for programming a catalog software? -
These specialists should have proven already that they are capable of handling a project of this size reliably.
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When is a revision required? -
A revision becomes necessary when adjustments to the content or the catalog software must be made.
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Why do I need an additional work step after updating my data in the electronic catalog? -
In this additional work step the links between the illustrations and the entries of the parts list are created.
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Why is it easier and faster to find information in an electronic catalog than in a paper catalog? -
In an electronic catalog, information can be linked in such a way that it is presented in a lucid and systematic manner. The user can navigate from one piece of essential information to a corresponding piece through links and hotspots.
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When revising an electronic catalog, why is such a big effort needed to update links between new illustrations and revised parts lists? -
So far, most of the programs that are used for updating parts lists and illustrations do not usually support links between them.
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Why should I care about distribution rights when the data in the catalog is mine? -
Since the viewing software of the catalog might not be yours, you will probably have to acquire the license rights in order to distribute it.
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Why should I not build into my electronic catalog all conceivable functionality from the beginning? -
You should not do this because the creation costs for a catalog could quickly surmount the calculated budget.
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Why are some functions added much later to a catalog program instead of simply implementing them all from the beginning? -
Increased functionality is often added later namely because the reliability of and the effort for an initial catalog version should first be tested.
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What factors influence the acceptance of an electronic catalog on the user/customer side? -
Timeliness and speed are the main factors that influence the customer's acceptance.
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What is most essential when preparing an electronic parts catalog? -
It is most important that the illustrations are prepared in such a way that they can be used in all conceivable environments.
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What is the most important criterion of a catalog for the customer? -
The major benefit of a sales catalog is its timeliness.
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What is an "intelligent" graphics viewer? -
An "intelligent" graphics viewer can, apart from the simply displaying and printing graphical objects, also provide interactive functions on such objects.
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What is an electronic catalog? -
A catalog is an arrangement of information and illustrations concerning parts or products, which can be accessed electronically. A catalog is very often tabulated.
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What is an object-oriented electronic catalog? -
This is a catalog that can be viewed on a computer that only contains graphics created as objects, usually vector graphics.
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What makes more sense: a customized or a standard catalog program? -
This depends on your requirements, available time and budget.
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What is the difference between common and "intelligent" illustrations? -
In contrast to common illustrations, "intelligent" illustrations reference one or more graphical objects. These references can be recognized through identification numbers (IDs), as well as by the hotspot information of each respective object.
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What are the main cost factors of an electronic catalog? -
The main cost factor is the inevitable, recurring costs for revisions.
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What kinds of electronic catalogs are there? -
Electronic catalogs are classified by the way they are distributed: via networks (internal networks or the Internet) or via CD-ROM.
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What functionality should be offered by an electronic spare parts catalog? -
What functionality to include in an electronic spare parts catalog should depend on the requirements of the user. The available functionality and the timeliness of the data are decisive factors for the users' acceptance of electronic catalogs.
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What catalog viewing technology would be the most cost-effective and sensible? -
We recommend that you use the one technology everybody is already using: Internet browser technology.
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Which costs arise from the first creation of an electronic catalog? -
The effort for the first creation of a catalog includes the conception, the catalog software (custom development and/or standard product), the preparation of the data, and sometimes the production of CDs when this is the desired distribution method.
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What are the costs for revising an electronic catalog? -
The costs depend on the kind of changes to be made. In most cases, the changes refer to the contents and affect the text and/or the illustrations.
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What are the costs for creating an electronic catalog? -
The cost of the first creation and the cost of revisions must be taken into account. Depending on the software, these can be respectively high or low.
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What are the cost benefits of electronic catalogs in comparison with printed catalogs? -
Electronic catalogs primarily have lower creation and distribution costs than printed catalogs.
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What methods are there for the creation of intelligent illustrations with graphical objects? -
There are 3 initial situations that all require different approaches, depending on the involvement of illustrations created from scratch, raster files, or legacy vector illustrations without object assignment.
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Which program errors enforce an exchange of the catalog software? -
Errors that force exchanges are mainly failures that affect the catalog functionality and that have not been registered in former operating tests.
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What are the benefits and disadvantages of each electronic catalog distribution method? -
CD-ROMs are less expensive, but also less up-to-date while network-based catalogs are more up-to-date but the data transfer to the user usually requires a higher financial effort.
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What prerequisites must be met for a maximum degree of automation in the generation and revision process of an electronic catalog? -
The essential prerequisite for the automation of these processes is the availability of intelligent graphics with graphical objects.
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What advantages does the implementation of intelligent illustrations in electronic catalogs offer in comparison to conventional raster graphics? -
The automation resulting from implementing "intelligent" illustrations can lead to substantial cost savings over time. This solution includes other advantages: better display quality and scalability.
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What are the benefits of using Web technologies for displaying electronic catalogs? -
The benefits of using Web technologies for display include the fact they don't require license fees, they are established worldwide, they can be used on all computers and in all environments, they undergo rapid development, and they allow the implementation of additional functionality via Java or JavaScript modules.
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What advantages does the automatic creation of a catalog offer? -
Besides enormous time and cost benefits, another advantage of an automatic creation is the indirect, increased security of the contained links.
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What advantages does an "intelligent" graphics viewer offer? -
An intelligent graphics viewer bundles all requirements on the handling of graphic details into one viewing program.
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What temporal liberties does an "intelligent" graphics viewer provide? -
An "intelligent" graphics viewer allows a number of decisions to be made at a later point in time.
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What user benefits does an electronic catalog offer in contrast to a paper issue? -
Intelligent linking of the information in an electronic catalog is a major time saving benefit that does not exist in a paper issue.
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What advantage do intelligent illustrations offer in contrast to common ones when it comes to updating the hotspots during a revision of an electronic catalog? -
The hotspots of intelligent illustrations do not need to be aligned manually because they automatically adjust themselves to the exchanged graphical objects.
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What advantage does creating overlays with intelligent vector graphics offer when in the end TIFF raster graphics are used in the electronic catalog anyway? -
The creation of overlays with intelligent vector graphics simplifies and automates the process of updating and revising the electronic catalog.
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Does the way a graphic is created influence its representation? -
A graphic's appearance on paper is usually pretty straightforward, no matter how it was created. Electronically, however, the creation method of a graphic ultimately determines how well it can be viewed on a computer monitor.
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How does the catalog program create the displayed parts lists? -
Parts lists are mainly available in table form and are directly converted from a database into the catalog format.
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How does the automatic updating of hotspots and links with "intelligent" graphics work in contrast to using conventional methods on common illustrations in an electronic catalog? -
Automatic updating of hotspots and links with "intelligent" graphics is done via object IDs in contrast to revisions made on conventional overlays.
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How can the automatic generation and revision of an electronic catalog be best achieved? -
The goal is to eliminate manual work steps during generation and revisions.
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How do the new "intelligent" graphics automatically generate overlays when we are still working with a raster graphics collection of our existing electronic catalog as an interim solution? -
"Intelligent" graphics generate the overlay rectangle, which includes the whole object, from data about the graphical object.
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How much effort is the creation of an electronic catalog? -
The effort of creating an electronic catalog essentially consists of the data preparation and the programming of the catalog.
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How much effort goes into the creation of a printed catalog? -
After completion of the content, a paper catalog must be prepared for printing, and then must be printed and bound, which can take up to several weeks.
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How can I keep an electronic catalog up-to-date? -
When a catalog is distributed via a network, the timeliness of the data on the server determines the need to update. On CD, the updates must be reduced to a minimum.
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How can I use a part number to search for additional information in an electronic parts catalog? -
A part number within an illustration is linked to its corresponding entry in a parts list. Simply click on the number using your mouse.
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What is the most cost-effective method for entering my data into an electronic catalog? -
The most cost-effective method would be to utilize software that allows you to immediately load and link your data to an electronic catalog (assuming that this process would not require any special knowledge or further preparation on your behalf.)
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How can you realize cost savings when revising electronic catalogs? -
These cost savings can only be realized through the automation of processes.
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How does the electronic catalog software connect to the various data? -
In principle, electronic catalog software connects just as any other program: it simply loads the data into its program environment.
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How is a catalog usually structured? -
Catalogs usually consist of illustrations and associated parts lists.
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What factors go into a decision about software for electronic catalogs? -
First, you must decide whether you wish to have a customized or a standard solution.
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How should you allocate the information in intelligent graphics? -
You should assign this data according to logic principles:
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How should the existing illustrations for a printed catalog be fashioned so they can be used easily for the electronic version of the catalog? -
A homogenous vector graphics archive is the preferable way to store such information (i.e. all illustrations should be in the same vector format.)
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How should the existing text or parts lists for a printed catalog be fashioned so they can be used easily for the electronic version of the catalog? -
A database is the preferable way to compile such information.
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How should the links in an electronic catalog be saved? -
The links should not be saved in illustration files.
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How are the links (the connections between text and graphic) created and administrated? -
Unfortunately, there is no universal answer to this since the syntax of the links depends on the environment.
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How are the links between illustrations and parts lists created in an electronic catalog? -
The technology in use determines how, where and to what extent this is done.
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How do you prepare illustrations for processing in a catalog program? -
Illustrations often have to be converted to a format that is suitable for electronic delivery.
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How are the links and hotspots in electronic catalogs usually created? -
Hotspots on illustrations are typically created with overlays.
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How should a spare parts catalog based on Internet technologies be created initially? -
There are several possibilites.
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We already have a printed catalog that we would like to distribute electronically now. How do we get started? -
The answer to this depends on the type of your graphic and parts list data.
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We already have an electronic catalog with raster graphics and overlays and cannot immediately switch our whole graphics archive to intelligent graphics. -
Can we still benefit from the advantages of intelligent graphics in a step-by-step manner?
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We could easily convert our paper catalog into an electronic PDF version. Why should we take any further effort? -
It is true, PDF allows an entry into electronic distribution at low cost. However, there are many disadvantages for the user.
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What influences the total cost of an electronic catalog? -
The costs for an electronic catalog depend of various factors, among these the prerequisites inside the company, the kind of catalog and its volume.
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What influences the efficiency of the automatic generation and revision process? -
These processes depend on the desired target environment and the kind of available data for generation and revision.
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A revision leads to an effort in which parts of an electronic catalog? -
When an electronic catalog is revised, not only do the text of the parts lists and the illustrations have to be changed, but also the appropriate links.
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