Penta perfects its editorial system

When Springhouse Corporation decided it was time to computerize its editorial processes two years ago, it also decided, logically, that the editors ought to be very much involved in choosing the system. At first blush, the company thought that simple word processors would probably suffice. But as the editors and management began checking around, they soon came to believe that word processors were too limited.

"We saw no real value in word processors," recalls Base Guiley, vice president of manufacturing and production, "because even if we were capturing the editors' keystrokes into our composition system."

The composition system at Springhouse, which publishes Nursing '85, NursingLife, Office Systems '85, Learning and several medical book series, was from Penta Systems International Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland. Penta, however, offered no corresponding editorial system. So, reflecting the way specialty computer systems are often developed, Springhouse approached Penta with a proposition: If Penta developed the software with Springhouse's guidance on features, then Springhouse would act as a test site and showcase for the system after it was developed and installed. In that way, the new Penta Editorial System was conceived.

Springhouse is now a first-round (or beta) test site for the system it helped to launch. Hardware was installed at the company's Pennsylvania headquarters last June; as of early February, the software was 90 percent implemented. It is not yet a full-scale installation; during this development phase, only nine of Springhouse's 60 editors are using terminals.

Satisfying two parties

That quick synopsis belies the amount of thinking and research that resulted in the Penta Editorial System. When the decision was made to computerize, a core of Springhouse editors joined Guiley and the director of typography, Dave Kosten, in defining exactly what the system was expected to accomplish--for both editors and management.

The editors were looking for a system that could provide complete manuscript management, from text entry to composition, for both books and magazines (since Springhouse publishes both). On an individual level, the system had to help editors perform their tasks more efficiently by reducing wasteful retyping and paper handling. On a process level, it had to automate and track a complex copy flow that sees manuscripts pass through multiple editors and numerous revisions. And the system had to be able to store each revised version, building an "edit history" of changes made to copy as it progressed through the cycle. Because most of the company's publications are medical, that history is important as a constant check for slip-ups, says Matthew Cahill, executive editor of reference books, who was instrumental in designing the system specifications.

"For instance, we often write about drug dosages, where a slip of a decimal point can cost someone's life," Cahill explains.

The edit history was important to Springhouse editors for another reason, he points out. They do little original writing, but instead work on manuscripts submited from outside authors. "Since we're a heavy rewrite shop, we want to be able to see the rewrites and teach new editors to do that," he explains.

From the perspective of Springhouse owners, the expectations for an editorial system were straightforward: The system had to increase editorial productivity and quality in terms of measurable dollars. "Management wants to see direct improvement in the top people--meaning editors producing more," Guiley explains. Although attaching a dollar value to increased volume and efficiency is not so difficult, he notes, doing the same for "improved quality" is difficult. But in order to go forward with the computerization, management wants to see that "hard justification."

Building a wish list

The general parameters of what the system should do were easy to define. The next step meant sending a task force of editors to look at systems in use by other publishers in hopes of finding one that would suit Springhouse. Their early visits took them to U.S. News & World Report, where the Atex publishing system was first developed, and to Crain Communications in Chicago, where an editorial and composition system from CSI is in use. The editors also looked at low-cost options--a network of personal computers from Computek, for instance.

The editors were especially impressed with the Atex products. "But we weren't particularly thrilled with having an editorial system not married to our composition system," Cahill reports. Rather than scrap the Penta production system already in use, the Springhouse editors compiled a "wish list" and took their case to Penta. "It was sort of a home brew of personal wishes and ideas gathered from other systems," Cahill says.

"One of the things we did best in all this," recalls Guiley, "was to involve the editors and teach them [about systems] so that at a certain point, they knew what they wanted. Knowing they would eventually have to sell it to management, it had to be something the editors really wanted."

Dave Kosten, Cahill adds, was the fulcrum in this process: He was able to listen to the editors describe what features would help them in the editorial process, and then translate those needs into terms Penta coul understand.

Editors requested such things as a way to insert confidential comments in the text; split-screen capability for easier rewriting of manuscripts; and an edit trace system so that they could easily see what changes were made to the copy by others.

Super-mini at core

The system Penta designed is based on an MV 4000 super-minicomputer from Data General as the central processing unit. The MV 4000 is the smallest in a powerful 32-bit computer line that gives greater computing capacity than 16-bit computers (which are typical of older editorial and composition systems). The MV's AOS/VS operating system--the computer's traffic cop--allows for multiprocessing and virtual storage. With multiprocessing, many different programs can run concurrently on the system, while virtual storage eliminates restrictions on the amount of main memory. This means the computer can handle concurrent processing of programs and data, allowing the Penta Editorial System to co-exist with office automation, composition and other software on one CPU. Thus, the configuration provides an integrated publishing system that can be used for several purposes, not solely for editorial processing.

Editors access the system using Penta Editorial Terminals--"intelligent" video display terminals each containing its own Motorola 68000 microprocessor and 256K of memory. The microprocessor directs many of the terminal's functions so that the user is not constantly drawing on the CPU's computing capacity. This allows many users to work on the system simultaneously without draining the main CPI, resulting in very fast response.

Each Penta keyboard also has its own smaller microprocessor (the Intel 8035) directing its operations. The microprocessor controls the function of each key without asking the CPU for guidance. It also lets users "personalize" their keyboards by specifying what certain keys mean--again without drawing on CPU capacity. "The only time you have to access the system is mainly to retrieve and save data from disk storage," Kosten says.

The terminals were "ergonomically" designed--a popular buzzword in computer lingo that means they were designed with human comfort in mind. Some of the features the Springhouse editors especially like are the way the large monitors sit on a smallish pedestal whose neck swivels like a Lazy Susan and moves up or down to adjust to eye level--like ET's neck, as one user describes it. Another "thoughtful" touch--the keyboard has volume control that can be turned up for editors who might miss the clacking of typewriters.

Although Springhouse currently has only nine terminals on line, the MV 4000 CPU can support up to 32 terminals, while the larger MV 8000, the next in the series, can accommodate up to 64 terminals. The largest MV model, the 10,000, can support a maximum of 128 terminals.

File structure mirrors organization

The Penta Editorial System is meant to automate the flow of copy through the editorial process so that, instead of trafficking hard copy back and forth, editors simply route copy electronically. To organize that electronic routing, file space on the system is partitioned into two separate hierarchies: one for individuals, and one for publications. Each hierarchy contains layers of "desks" that mirror the company's organizational chart, one in terms of staff relationships, the other in terms of product relationships.

Nursing '85, for instance, has its own desk in the publications' hierarchy, and its desk occupies a space in the computer's memory separate from Learning's desk. Under the Nursing '85 desk, the hierarchy broadens--each issue of the magazine has its own desk, for instance, and under each issue are desks for sections of the magazine.

Files move through the system from desk to desk. This structure keeps them organized and flowing through proper editorial channels, and it helps users know where to find the file they're looking for. A built-in "librarian" keeps track of the status and whereabouts of each file, and directs editors in search of a particular file to the proper desk.

The desk structure also provides the basis for a security system. Users are assigned certain privileges to access desks--they may be able to read only the files contained in a particular desk, for instance; or they may have "read and edit" privileges--or they may not be able to access a certain desk at all. The desks in the employee hierarchy, for example, are personal desks, accessible only by the individual owner. Access privileges are programmed into the software, and are linked to each user's secret log-on code.

When software for the Penta Editorial System is complete, the system will be able to automatically move files from desk to desk based on a predetermined route and schedule that is customized to each user's copy flow process. The number of hours or days that a manuscript should stay at a particular desk will be entered into the system. Then if an editor hasn't moved the article on schedule, the computer will send a message to notify certain people along the way that there is a hodlup.

The system as an editing tool

With only nine terminals on-line, the Springhouse installation is still too patchy to allow for judgments on how well the Penta Editorial System performs as a total manuscript management system. The editors there have spent time experimenting with the software, working out bugs and testing features that they requested on their "wish list" to Penta. Those who have been editing on the terminals say they are quite pleased with how the system performs as an editing tool.

"It has radically affected the way I work," reports executive editor Cahill. "It's made me a more efficient manager. I can get information to editors clearer and faster than before."

"It's a marvelous editorial luxury," seconds Tony DeCrosta, managing editor of NursingLife. "For example, I write a monthly feature called "Clinical Advances" that runs four to six pages in the magazine. Before, it would take me about 35 hours to write. Now I can do the same thing on the system in 18 to 20 hours tops."

The system has all the standard word processing featues that make writing, correcting and maneuvering text much easier on the terminal than on a typewriter. Paragraphs can be moved around, blocks of text deleted or inserted wth single keystrokes. Mistakes are corrected by simply typing over them. One key unique to the system transposes letters or words, fixing a common and annoying typing error instantly. When all the fixes/additions/deletions are made, the editor is left with clean copy.

Split screen, edit trace and more

The Penta system also includes features that go beyond basic word processing and pertain directly to the business of editing magazine and book manuscripts. The terminal screen can be split, for instance, so that the original version of an article can be called up on one side while the editor rewrites it on the other side. Martin DeCarlantonio, a senior editor on Nursing '85, finds it useful to split the screen, call up the manuscript on one side and jot down its key points on the other side before rewriting.

Because the Springhouse editors wanted a way to include comments about the text as they worked, the system was programmed to recognize two levels of comments that can be inserted in the copy--one for internal use only, and one that can travel with the manuscript back to the author for revisions. When a printout is made after editing, for example, level-one comments can be suppressed, while level-two comments print out.

Springhouse "was a pest about" a line numbering feature where each line of text retains its original line number even after the text has been edited, says Kosten. This was necessary so that, when editors discussed revisions with an author over the phone, both editor and author could refer to the original line numbers. At any point in the editing process, the lines can be renumbered to reflect the current line count.

The edit trace feature the Springhouse editors asked for was also developed. When operating in this mode, the editor's deletions appear as a strike-through, while additions are highlighted. Edit trace has a second level as well, which shows the additions or deletions made by the previous editor. One keystroke removes the editing marks and incorporates the changes. But whether an editor works in edit trace or not, the system keeps track of all changes and stores each version, so any previous version can be retrieved.

"Each text has a history file containing a lot of information on who edited a piece, how many keystrokes they made, how long they kept the file out, and so on," explains Kosten. "This is good if something is misprinted and as a learning tool for junior editors."

Spelling made easy

One editor describes the Penta system as taking much of the drudgery out of editing. Indeed, it takes over some of the less creative aspects--checking carefully for correct spelling, for example. A spelling checker and corrector are built into the system, based on a user-defined dictionary. The system will either alert the editor to misspelled or questionable words (spelling checker), or take it one step further and present the editor with correct spellings of misspelled or doubtful words that appear in the text (spelling corrector). The eidtor needing a little help can also type in the phonetic spelling of a word and the computer will come back with the correct spelling of possible choices.

Also on-line is the American Heritage Dictionary and Roget's Thesaurus. With one keystroke, the terminal will display the complete dictionary entry for whatever word is requested, or will generate a list of synonyms--thus eliminating the need to page through a reference book.

"I was skeptical at first about the on-line dictionary," observes DiCarlantonio. "But it really is faster to push a key than reach for a book."

The system can even help out with some of the more sophisticated challenges of editing: The software contains a program known as Writer's Workbench, developed by Bell Labs (now AT&T Technologies Inc.). Workbench has 22 programs that check for such things as abstract words, sexist language, proper punctuation and split infinitives. It also does a "readability" test to check for excessive use of the passive voice, too many long sentences or sentences with similar structure, and so on. Each of the 22 Workbench programs will eventually run interactively on the terminal. Now many of them are run in batch mode off the CPU.

The production interface

Ideally, the minicomputer on which the Penta Editorial System runs also controls the typesetting and production processes. The composition software recognizes simple typesetting instructions entered by the editors and translates them into specific typesetting codes.

At Springhouse, however, composition is still being done on the company's older Penta system, a Nova 16-bit minicomputer manufactured by Data general. The CPU controlling that system and the MV 4000 running the Penta Editorial System are linked so that copy can be transmitted electronically between them. Nevertheless, certain typesetting efficiencies cannot be realized until the entire publishing process is switched over to the MV 4000.

The Penta Editorial System offers users three different ways to enter typesetting codes. Style/interchange tables in the software convert the simple codes used by editors into standard typesetting codes for the production process.

One method uses "video attributes"--underscore, highlight, dim, etc.--to represent certain typestyles and formats. For instance, a magazine's design may use 42-point headlines. The "underscore" video attribute can be assigned to represent that headline style, so that the editor writes the headline using underscore and the computer translates that into typesetting codes for 42-point type. Seven different video attributes that can work alone or in combinations are available.

A second way that users can elect to enter typesetting instructions is by programming certain command keys to enter simple generic typesetting codes into the text. For instance, one key can be programmed with the specifications for a headline used on all standard departments in the magazine. In this case, the editor simply inserts the typesetting code into the text by striking the proper command key.

Finally, users have the option of typing in standard format codes to represent font, leading and typesize before the text item.

Springhouse prefers using video attributes to represent typesetting codes. The advantage to the video attributes, says Kosten, is that it frees the editors from inserting even the simplest typesetting commands and doesn't muddy the text with strange codes.

Once editors have the manuscript in final form with typesetting instructions indicated, copyfitting is accomplished interactively using an H&J key. The text appears hyphenated and justified on the editor's screen. Cuts or additions can be made and widows and orphans eliminated as the production process progresses.

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