If you are familiar with Oracle's User Productivity Kit, you are aware that UPK is a great product for rapidly developing application training. Did you know that you can also customize the UPK outputs to incorporate your company's logo, colors, and preferred styles?

There are several areas that support customization:

1. Logo - Within the developer, you can change the logo for all outputs at one time.


2. Player - The player output uses a style sheet that can be updated to change colors, graphics and other visual branding.


3. Documentation - The print documentation uses a Word-based template that can be modified to match your corporate standards.

I'll discuss the first one today, and we'll cover the others in subsequent blogs.

Before you begin:

1. If you are working in a multi-user environment, ensure that you have "Modify" permissions for the Styles directory under the Publishing folder.


2. Make a copy of the current styles. This recommendation is for backup purposes. If something goes wrong, you will have a way to recover.


3. Consider creating your own category by creating a new folder under the Styles directory, and then copying the styles into your new folder. When you upgrade to future versions, the system will overwrite the standard styles with any new feature additions and updates that have been made. With your own category, all of your customizations will remain intact.

To update the logos in all outputs:

1. From the Tools Menu, choose Customize Logo.


2. Select the category if necessary.


3. Browse to select your logo. You can use any size logo, in any graphic format (*.bmp, *.gif, *.jpeg, *.jpg, *.png, or *.tif). The system will make a copy of your logo and add it to each of the publishing styles.


4. Choose OK, and the update process begins. It may take a few minutes.

Helpful hints:

• The logo you select is used "as is" - no resizing or cropping occurs during this process.


• The Customize Logo process automates replacing all the logo graphics for online deployment (small_logo.gif and large_logo.gif) and the headers in the documentation outputs. You can manually replace these graphics on an individual style basis if you prefer.


• The recommended logo size is 230 pixels wide x 44 pixels high. Prior to updating the logos, the system will display the size of the selected logo. If you use a logo that is much larger than the recommended size, the heading area will resize to fit the new logo, but that will impact the space available for your training material.


• If you are using a multi-user environment, the system will check out the publishing styles to you for the logo updates. After you review the styles, remember to check them in so the rest of your team can access the new changes.

I'd be interested in hearing (or seeing) how you brand your UPK. Feel free to share in the comments!

--Maria Cozzolino, Manager of Requirements & UI for UPK Product Development

PS. For those of you who want to customize the player and documentation NOW, check out the detailed instructions in the Publishing Content chapter of the Content Development Guide.