Creating electronic documents that interact with diagnostic software for on-site service

Xerox Corporation has developed an integrated electronic documentation system for field technicians to use at customer sites for diagnosis and repair of equipment. The electronic documentation system lets users access large technical documents that include text, graphics, video, and sound. Documents interact with the equipment being serviced to provide the reader with information relevant to the current situation. This article discusses how the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) was used, user interface requirements and how they are addressed in the system, multimedia implementation techniques, integration strategies with other service tools, and the technologies employed in the system.