Organizations all around the world, 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 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 shows the components and their functions:

Creating content involves the analyze, organize, and present tasks. You’ll use the three components to perform these tasks.

FS Pro for Word allows you to quickly create documents based on the Information Mapping methodology, without spending lots of 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.

We categorized all functionalities into three levels:

If you’re a beginner who is just starting with FS Pro for Word, then these basic functionalities will guide you through the steps of creating a new FS Pro for Word document.

On completing this topic, you will, among other things, know how to

• add/delete Maps and Blocks
• use standard templates
• create, edit, and delete tables
• use basic Microsoft Word functionalities without having to navigate away from the FS Pro ribbon, and
• work with the six Information Types.

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 FS Pro 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 because of easy digestion of information.
• Use the FS Pro paste feature to copy and paste text from other sources into the FS Pro document.

Discover the videos in this Section to respect the basic FS Pro rules.

This topic contains the following sections:

The video below demonstrates how to log in and out of FS Pro for Word:

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 provides over 20 commonly used Standard Templates to save us the time we would spend structuring such documents.

The video below demonstrates how to use Standard Templates:

Maps and Blocks are

• the building blocks of the document, and
• added using FS Pro for Word effortlessly.

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 helpful

• in inserting a large image, flowchart, or table, and
• when the space for content in the Block is not enough.

The video below demonstrates how to insert an Oversized Block:

Each page in an FS Pro for Word document must have a Map title to facilitate the scanning of your document. The Continue Page function allows you to

• split a Map that spans more than one page, and
• repeat the Map title on all pages for the same Map in the FS Pro for Word document.

The video below demonstrates how to easily use the Continue function:

The video below demonstrates how to use basic Microsoft Word functionalities within the FS Pro ribbon:

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 sub headers:

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:

Studies have shown that everything we hear, see, and write can be classified into six Information Types.

These Information Types are designed to answer your reader's 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 write Principle information:

We present Procedure information clearly and consistently through a

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

The video below demonstrates how to write Procedure information:

We present Process information through a

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

The video below demonstrates how to write 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 write 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 write Structure information:

We present a Fact information through

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

The video below demonstrates how to write Fact information:

If you’ve been using FS Pro for Word for some time and you’re familiar with the basic functionalities, then this topic can help you grow your FS Pro for Word skills.

On completing this topic, you’ll know how to

• create larger documents by using the IM document hierarchy
• organize your document by inserting
  • a Table of Contents
  • Overview Maps, and
  • Topic/See Page tables
• create and use reusable units
• use single source documents for multiple target audiences
• use the outline pane, and
• identify and assign Information Types in the outline pane.

This topic contains the following sections:

FS Pro for Word allows the insertion of a classic Table of Contents (TOC) on any page we need, but usually at the beginning.

By default, the TOC consists of all titles in the document. We can include Block labels as well, if required.

The video below demonstrates how to insert a TOC:

We use the Information Mapping hierarchy to effectively organize content. This includes the following information 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 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:

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:

If you have been using FS Pro for Word for some time now and are comfortable with the basic and advanced features, this topic can help you become an expert user by teaching you how to

• create a custom look and feel for your documents
• share your Custom Items with your team
• manage online publications on the FS Pro Cloud, and
• customize your FS Pro for Word settings.

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:

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:

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: