Organizations worldwide and across industries use our Information Mapping because they want to standardize their approach to organizing and presenting information. The main objective is to enhance communication and collaboration among team members.

Our copyright-protected Methodology is used to

• break down complex information into manageable chunks that are easy to find and understand
• create relevant and user-focused information that helps the reader to absorb and retain information more effectively
• reduce the likelihood of errors or misunderstandings
• ensure that content meets the necessary regulatory requirements, and
• facilitate the translation and adaptation of content for different linguistic and cultural contexts.

The Information Mapping Methodology consists of three key components. Each component helps writers to create a structured first draft and readers to easily scan, skip, and retrieve information.

The table below outlines the three components:

Creating content involves analyzing, organizing, and presenting tasks. You’ll use the three components to perform these tasks.

FS Pro for Word allows you to quickly create documents based on our Methodology, without losing time on formatting.

The video below shows how to

• add Blocks and Maps
• present the information Types consistently, and
• structure it easily to guide your reader as much as possible.

There are four basic FS Pro rules to respect:

• Make sure that you put your cursor at the right place to add or remove Blocks, add a table row , etc.
• Each page contains Blocks, a Map title at the top, and a Block line at the bottom of the page. To achieve this, use the “Continued on next page” to
  • split a Map that spans more than one page, and
  • repeat the Map title on all pages for the same Map.
• Limit the number of Blocks in your Map to only nine (9) for easy digestion of information.
• Use the FS Pro paste feature to copy and paste text from other sources into the FS Pro document.

This topic contains the following sections:

The video below demonstrates how to create a new FS Pro for Word document:

Let us write our first document using the Information Mapping modular units, Blocks and Maps.

Block

A replacement for the traditional paragraph with

• one main idea
• a descriptive label, and
• separators like lines and white space.

Map

A collection of related Blocks with a relevant Map title.

The video below demonstrates how to easily start writing our first document:

FS Pro for Word foresees over 20 standard templates to save time. Create a report or meeting notes effortlessly, using one of these templates.

The video below demonstrates how to use Standard Templates:

Maps and Blocks are the core components of your FS Pro document. A Map always contains Blocks and includes a title that represents the main idea of those Blocks.

The video below demonstrates how to easily insert Blocks and Maps into the document:

The video below shows how to delete Blocks and Maps:

An Oversized Block is useful for inserting large visuals such as images, flowcharts, or tables.

It is also useful when a regular Block doesn’t provide enough space for your content.

The video below demonstrates how to insert an Oversized Block:

Each page in an FS Pro for Word document requires a Map title to guide your user as effectively as possible. If your Block or its content jumps onto the next page, you need to use the Continue function.

The Continue function allows you to

• notify your user that the Map continues on the next page, and
• repeat the Map title on the following page.

The video below demonstrates how to use the Continue function:

Studies have shown that everything we hear, see, and write can be classified as one of the six Information Types.

These Information Types correspond to typical users’ questions.

The video below demonstrates the different Information Types in the document:

We present Principle information using one or a combination of the following presentation modes:

• text
• bulleted lists
• tables
• symbols and other graphics

The video below demonstrates how to create Principal information:

We present Procedure information clearly and consistently through a

• Step/Action table, or
• If/Then (Decision) table.

The video below demonstrates how to create Procedure information:

We present Process information through a

• Stage/Description table, or
• When/Then table.

The video below demonstrates how to create Process information:

We present Concept information.

• in a Definition Block, and
• with Example and Non-Example Blocks, if necessary.

The video below demonstrates how to create Concept information:

We present Structure information through

• a Diagram Block
• a Parts table
• Part/Function or Part/Description tables, and/or
• A structure description Block.

The video below demonstrates how to create Structure information:

We present factual information through

• phrases and sentences
• bulleted and numbered lists
• tables, and/or
• charts and graphics.

The video below demonstrates how to create factual information:

In addition to Blocks and Maps, you can use larger information units to build more extensive documents and organize your content effectively. These include the following units:

• Blocks
• Maps
• Sections
• Chapters
• Parts

The video below demonstrates how to use the different information units of the Information Mapping Methodology:

An Overview Map is a specialized Map that begins with an information unit. Its purpose is to answer the reader's question, "What is this about?".

An Overview Map may include

• definitions, concepts, or other general information relevant to all the Maps to follow, and
• a Topic/See Page table that lists Map titles and page numbers.

The video below demonstrates how to use Overview Maps:

Use the Topic/See Page table to

• navigate to the Map, Section, Chapter, or Part we need, and
• automatically update the titles and their corresponding page numbers.

The video below demonstrates how to use a Topic/See Page table:

Apply numbering or lettering to

• Part, Chapter, Section, and Map titles, and/or
• Block labels.

Use Arabic numbers, letters (upper or lowercase), or Roman numerals (upper or lowercase).

The video below demonstrates how to apply title numbering or lettering:

This topic contains the following sections:

FS Pro for Word allows us to insert, edit, and delete pre-formatted tables without navigating away from the ribbon.

The video below demonstrates how to easily insert, edit, and delete tables and subheadings:

The Table Manager allows us to create custom tables, save, and insert them whenever needed. This saves time and guarantees consistency.

The video below demonstrates how to create a custom table through the Table Manager:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/1113245060

The Reusable Units function allows us to save an information unit and reuse it in other documents. This guarantees content integrity and, therefore, consistency across documents.

The look and feel of the information unit is automatically adapted to the look and feel of the new document.

The video below demonstrates how to easily save and retrieve a Reusable Unit:

Custom Fields are variables that are referenced and reused to automatically fill out the information in your document. They’re very useful when creating templates or model documents.

The video below demonstrates how to create, insert, and update Custom Fields:

We define different targets in the master document using the Target Manager function to create multiple Word documents, PDFs, and online publications.

The video below demonstrates how we can quickly create targets and how to tag each Chapter, Section, Map, or Block:

The Outline Pane allows you to

• easily view the structure of your document
• navigate quickly through the document
• reorganize the components within your document by dragging and dropping them
• indicate the Information Types of each information unit, and
• identify outline pane errors.

The video below demonstrates how to use the Outline Pane:

Writers use the Outline Pane to identify specific Information Types in the document.

Example: They navigate through the Outline Pane to find all procedures in the document.

If the unit is still undefined, there is no Information Type symbol displayed for the unit. We can assign the Information Type directly in the Outline Pane.

The video below demonstrates how to assign or change Information Types in the Outline Pane:

This topic contains the following sections:

Custom Templates ensure consistency among different writers of similar documents.

The video below demonstrates how to add or delete Custom Templates:

Consistency in the look and feel of your document and across documents is important. Creating a Style Set via the Style Manager can easily define the formatting of our

• titles
• Block labels and text
• tables
• bulleted and numbered lists
• Block lines, and so on.

The video below demonstrates how to use our own custom Style Set for our documents:

Saving custom templates, tables, reusable units, style sets, and so on within our ribbon means that only we have access to these items.

By exporting these items into a zip file, we easily share any of our custom-created items with our colleagues, so they do not have to reinvent the wheel.

Similarly, importing Custom Items allows us to import a zip file of all Custom settings to be used in creating our documentation.

The video below demonstrates how to export and import Custom Items:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/1113890374

The FS Pro Cloud is where users find and manage their online publications created with FS Pro for Word.

The video below demonstrates how to view online publications on the FS Pro Cloud:

We can easily transform our FS Pro document into an online publication by publishing our document to the FS Pro Cloud.

The online publication is another way of viewing your content, whenever you want, wherever you want.

The online publication has a responsive design, which means that you can easily view it on any device you use.

The video below demonstrates how to publish to the FS Pro cloud:

The FS Pro for Word allows us to create custom Style Sets for a professional look and feel of your FS Pro for Word document. Similarly, we create themes in FS Pro Cloud for customizing the look and feel of our online publications.

The video below demonstrates how to easily create a new theme for online publications:

The published document can be

• viewed
• associated with a theme
• moved between folders, and
• shared using a link or QR code.

The video below demonstrates how to manage publications in the FS Pro Cloud:

FS Pro for Word is available in ten languages.

The video below demonstrates how to change the language of the FS Pro ribbon:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/1113889446

Easily manage the frequency of updates to the software according to our needs. This can be set to

• daily
• weekly
• every two weeks
• every time FS Pro for Word starts, or
• never.

The video below demonstrates how to manage Update Settings:

The video below demonstrates where to find more FS Pro for Word support: