Publish to Syndicate

Flare supports integration with Xyleme Syndicate; a cloud-based content delivery platform that extends the reach capabilities of your content. From Flare you can automatically publish output files to a selected folder on a Syndicate server. By uploading Flare output to Syndicate, you can make it output accessible in a variety of ways internally and externally. It is also a great way to collaborate with instructional designers and others in your company.

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Syndicate Benefits

Syndicate supports the delivery and analysis of documentation for both eLearning and technical communication. It is a useful platform for administrators who manage content and for learners who consume content. Syndicate provides a way for organizations to centralize many types of documents, search the repository, allow multiple learning management systems (LMSs) to access the same content, and track interactions users have with content.

Following are some of the Syndicate hosting features that are particularly appealing to technical communicators.

Hosting Feature	Description
Access to outputs	Syndicate is a content delivery system. Each document (e.g., eLearning, video, PDF, HTML) can have one or more URLs associated with it. Content can be syndicated out via shared links (public or private) to other places such as LMSs, web applications, internal help desks; and from there provide direct access.
Analytics	Syndicate analytics centers on tracking user interactions with content. It can track how users consume content such as individual topics or videos. For eLearning it can manage millions of records in its built-in learning record store (LRS).
Content delivery network (CDN)	Syndicate uses a global network of interconnected servers that speeds up loading data to end users.
Custom domain	Syndicate supports domain white labeling which enables you to present your organization on a branded, customized URL.
Faceted searches with taxonomies	Syndicate supports content search through a predefined set of attributes such as resource type, format, language, etc. It also offers a customizable taxonomy that can enhance a search. This is primarily useful internally within Syndicate.
Federated searches	A federated search lets you search for content across multiple data sources (in this case, different outputs uploaded to Syndicate). You can search for content in the Syndicate portal directly, but this only looks at documents residing in Syndicate. Therefore, it is primarily useful for internal purposes. However, the entire search experience can be externalized to a third-party application via an integration leveraging Syndicate's expansive application programming interface (API) library. Note When search is externalized, it is technically possible to federate the search. The integration might query content residing in Syndicate but also content in other libraries (e.g., SharePoint, Zendesk, Confluence).
Headless Content via API Shared Integrations	With Syndicate, you can use application programming interface (API) shared integrations to extract specific pieces of content from your output uploaded to Syndicate. This can be especially useful with any micro content that you produce in a Flare project. These extracted content objects can then be displayed in other applications or services that your company uses, essentially producing headless content.
Multi-Channel eLearning Management	eLearning packages (compliant with SCORM and xAPI) that originate from Flare can be uploaded to Syndicate. In Syndicate you can manage eLearning packages with learning record store (LRS) functionality.
Permissions	Access to content in Syndicate can be controlled at the folder and document levels using a group-based permission model.
Single sign-on (SSO)	Syndicate supports user login with SSO and can work with more than one identity provider (IdP), including authentication access for non-SSO users.
Schedule activation dates	The accessibility of a published document can be automated through activation dates (i.e., enabling viewing via a shared link) and deactivation dates (i.e., disabling shared links to the document).
Versioning	Syndicate tracks version histories of a document which facilitates compliance and audits. Versions are established when a document is replaced with a newer uploaded document or republished in the same folder and output profile.

MadCap Software offers two cloud-based platforms (i.e., Syndicate and Central). To compare Syndicate hosting features with Central, see Syndicate vs. Central Hosting Features.

For more information about Central, see MadCap Central and Flare.

Note If you are interested in learning more about Syndicate, contact MadCap Sales. They can provide information about the product, demos, review purchase options, and set up Syndicate accounts.

Upon purchase of Syndicate a unique Portal URL is provided (e.g., https://core-customer.bravais.com), where you can sign into the portal with your credentials (e.g., email and password).

Before You Start Publishing to Syndicate

Following are some steps you should complete and information you should know before you publish from Flare to Syndicate.

Note Xyleme Syndicate is part of the MadCap Software family of products. This documentation assumes you have a Syndicate account set up and a working knowledge of the Syndicate portal. For more information refer to the Syndicate documentation.

Syndicate Side

Following are settings and considerations on the Syndicate side of this process.

API-base vs. Regular URLs

Your Syndicate account has multiple URLs associated with it. The regular user URL (e.g., https://[customer].bravais.com), and the API-base URL (e.g., https://core-[customer].bravais.com).

For example, the company Fictionsoft might be set up with the following.

1) Tenant (or regular user) URL: https://fictionsoft.bravais.com

2) API-base URL: https://core-fictionsoft.bravais.com

It is the Delivery (CORe) API that is used to publish content to Syndicate. The base URL for the API calls is https://core-[domain].bravais.com, where [domain] is the user's domain name. Note that CORe stands for Core Object Repository, and bravais is the legacy name for Syndicate.

You can get to the Syndicate portal through a web browser (if you are not already logged in) by typing your user URL. It will redirect you to the API-base URL.

Default Inactivity Period

The Syndicate server will automatically log out users after a period of inactivity, so you might have to log in again before publishing. The default period of inactivity is 15 minutes, but it can be changed per customer on the Syndicate account.

Multilingual Targets

Multilingual targets in Flare can be published to Syndicate.

Publishing

If you do not specify a Syndicate publishing destination in Flare, you can prepare the output and upload it to the Syndicate portal manually. After you build the files in Flare, open the Output folder. For multi-file output types, select all the files and add them to a compressed zip folder. Then, from the Syndicate Admin Portal, add the document by selecting the zip file or single-file output type to upload the document.

Note When publishing manually, you might want to enter Index.htm in the Target Editor's Output File field. This will ensure that a preview of the document displays in the Syndicate portal.

Flare Side

Following are settings and considerations on the Flare side of this process.

eLearning Material

If you are using Syndicate as the destination type to host output, note the following if you select eLearning options in the target (i.e., you choose to generate a SCORM or xAPI packaging). When Flare builds output for HTML5 that includes eLearning, it generates an LMSPackage folder in the project’s output folder with a zip file. But when Flare publishes to Syndicate, only the LMS package is automatically uploaded (and not the whole project zip file).

Flare to Syndicate Only

Flare supports sending output to Syndicate but not importing content from it. Be aware that every time you republish an already uploaded document to the Syndicate server, it creates a new version of it.

How to Create a Destination File

The first step in publishing output is to add a destination file to your project. A destination file has an .fldes extension and is stored in the Project Organizer under the Destinations folder.

Open the Project Organizer.
Open an existing destination file or add a new one. See Adding Destination Files.

After you add a destination file, the Destination Editor opens. Use this editor to create the publishing destination (i.e., to publish or send files to the Syndicate server for hosting the output). Populate the editor with your destination information.
In the Destination Editor, click the Type drop-down field, and select Xyleme Syndicate.
Click Login Credentials.
In the Syndicate Login dialog, enter the Syndicate Delivery (CORe) API URL (e.g., core-subdomain.bravais.com). Click Next.

For most users, you only need to replace the word "subdomain" with your own subdomain (e.g., fictionsoft), and leave the rest of the URL as it is.
In the Sign In screen, enter a Username and Password, and press Enter or the Sign In button. After the initial sign in, you will not have to log in every time. (If your organization is set up with SSO, click Sign In with SSO to enter your credentials.)
Complete the Xyleme Syndicate fields.

See the full topic for details.
- URL This is the API-base URL for accessing your Syndicate portal.
- Folder Enter the folder path in the text box to publish to syndicate. If you want to publish to nested folders, you can use a backslash or a forward slash in the path (e.g., MadCap Flare\Venture, Training/Module).
- Document Name The document name defaults to the target name (referring to the Target Editor's General tab Output File field). The document name and the output file are customizable, but use caution since different combinations of updates to the fields can yield varying results for the document name in Flare's output folder, and for the document name and source file name in the Syndicate portal.
- Document Description The description defaults to the target comment. If you customize the description in the Destination Editor it overrides the comment found in the Target Editor's General tab. The default or description entered displays with the document details in the Syndicate portal.
Warning Since a destination is a single file that multiple targets can use, be careful when changing the Document Name or the Document Description information in the Destination Editor. If you keep the default values, it will keep each target's output unique when you publish.
(Optional) In the View URL field, you can enter an address corresponding to your publish destination. This field is for your own internal purposes, and is simply a quick way for you to open the output associated with the destination by clicking the button to the right.
Click to save your work.

How to Publish to Syndicate

After everything is set up and you have created a destination file, you can associate that file with a target. Then you can build and publish the output.

Open your target (e.g., HTML5, PDF, Word, Clean XHTML).
Select the Publishing tab.
Next to your Syndicate destination, select the Publish check box.
Click to save your work.
In the local toolbar, click Build.
After the target is finished generating, click Publish.

Note If you make changes (e.g., you update the output file name, target name) after you have published content, rebuild the output before publishing again. Rebuilding the output ensures that the published content can be previewed properly in Syndicate.

Note If you publish Clean XHTML output to the Syndicate server, be aware that the document will upload but the preview will not display in the portal.

Tip Since you have many options for publishing content to Syndicate, you might find it helpful to practice publishing output to a test development instance using different settings in Flare. Once you identify results that you like in Syndicate, you can publish output to production.

Post-Publishing in Syndicate

Once a document is uploaded to Syndicate, select it for a document preview and its details. You can look at or update items such as document properties, versions, permissions for controlling document access, and the history of the document.

It is advisable to get familiar with the Syndicate portal since there are many features and resources available—for making the most of it as your content delivery platform. For more information see the Syndicate documentation.