RE: Queries on Single Sourcing

["Bill Swallow" <wswallow -at- nycap -dot- rr -dot- com>]

Maybe I'm weird, but I have the mental image of Steve Martin and John Candy
driving down the highway, making "drinking gestures" to a couple across the
median who are screaming at them "You're going the wrong way!!!"

Which tool to use is one of the LAST questions you should be asking.
Actually, you shouldn't need to ask it, at least not the way you did. 

No, you need to evaluate your workflow too and find out what is going to be
the best solution first. You may find that FM and Word are both inadequate
for your content development needs, or you may find that your workflow
favors one over the other. You may also find that WWP is the better solution
regardless of FM vs. Word, or RoboHelp is (after all, both WWP and RH work
with both Word and FM).

You need to determine this on your own. My advice to you is to stop thinking
tools and start thinking workflow. The right tools will make themselves
known to you once you determine your best workflow. Otherwise, you'll have a
nasty experience not unlike being sandwiched between two 18-wheelers driving
right at you on the highway. ;)

Good luck!

Bill Swallow
wswallow "at" nycap "dot" rr "dot" com 

::: -----Original Message-----
::: For our software product, we generate an online help file 
::: as well as a 
::: printed manual. We  plan to implement single sourcing. Can 
::: you suggest 
::: which is the best tool? FM + Webworks or RoboHelp + Word
::: We currently use Robohelp 9 to develop the online help and 
::: generate the 
::: printed manual using the "Generate Printed Documentation". 
::: I believe 
::: migrating from RoboHelp 9 to X5 will not be an issue. But 
::: does the "word 
::: generate" feature of X5 works fine? Any views of the 
::: technical writers who 
::: are using RoboHelp X5?
::: Or, is it advisable to migrate from RoboHelp to FM, if we 
::: are currently 
::: using RoboHelp 9?