Re: FrameMaker and MS Word

[Chris <cud -at- telecable -dot- es>]

I can show you some documents that you may not be able to produce in 
Word - anyway you certainly wouldn't *want* to.  I import 30 to 50 M of 
data into EDA datasheets, for example.   (troff and WordPerfect I would 
trust with this work, though...  Not sure about Ventura.)  But the 
original post had to do with 150 page documents...

And it's absolutely true that translation from Word to Maker and back 
again isn't necessarily an enjoyable step to add to your daily process. 
The right tool for the right job is a maxim to follow.  Before 
switching tools, you should demonstrate (to yourself at least) that you 
will recoup the cost fairly quickly, your quality and productivity will 
increase, and you will not negatively impact anybody else in your 
organization.  Communication between Maker and Word is definitely an 
obstacle.  I understand Mif2Go overcomes this problem...  Look in on the 
FrameUsers list if you're still interested.

That said, there are ways to incorporate engineers' work in a Maker 
document.  You can give them simple Word templates that translate well 
to Maker.  You can ask for ASCII text, and even use it as text insets 
(live references to text files).  You could go so far as to design HTML 
forms that capture engineers' information in a format you can easily 
incorporate in your docs (I did that once).  You (possibly) can increase 
the service you provide, and only ask them for raw data - reduce their 
work load, increase your control over the docs.  You may be able to come 
up with all sorts of ways to automate the process - automation can 
increase the volume and quality of your output dramatically.  Or you 
might be able to set up an SGML environment, and make the product issue 
simply go away.  (Given that the poster is at Lycos, an SGML solution 
may not be so far-fetched.  It may even already exist.)  All of these 
things apply to just about any other tool as well as to Maker, BTW. 
Main question:  what's the cost/benefit?

As for distribution, you can distribute in PDF - if everybody has 
Acrobat (not just the reader), then they can stick notes into your 
drafts and you can do the updates.  (For me, I prefer to "own" my docs, 
and not to let other people edit them directly.)  But I have to stress 
that if you are "fixing" the pubs environment, you should have a final 
goal, and be able to demonstrate that the final goal is a worthwhile 
improvement.  In other words, the  work flow you're aiming for should be 
attainable *and* pretty darned interesting.  Otherwise, why bother?

--
Chris Despopoulos, maker of CudSpan Freeware...
Plugins to Enhance FrameMaker & FrameMaker+SGML
http://www.telecable.es/personales/cud/
cud -at- telecable -dot- es



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Attention ForeHelp and Doc-to-Help Users! Upgrade your existing product to 
RoboHelp for FREE, through January 15th. RoboHelp can import your existing 
Help projects! Learn how else RoboHelp can benefit you. www.ehelp.com/techwr

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.