RE: RoboHelp for FrameMaker

["T. Word Smith" <techwordsmith -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Hi,

I tested version 1. Is there another?

--- Brian Jennings <BrianJennings -at- cougarmtn -dot- com>
wrote:
> "and it's 2-3 times
> slower than WWP 2003."
> 
> I'm not sure what version you tested, but I do know
> they made some changes
> that have really improved the time issue. 

Cool. They needed to do that.

> Whether or
> not it's still that
> much slower than WWP I don't know. Also, from my
> limited knowledge of WWP, I
> think it doesn't have the output flexibility of RH 4
> FM. In other words, I
> could output the same project to two .chms and have
> different conditional
> text show in each one (along with other options). 

WWP can do that easily. WWP lets you change and apply
conditions within the project.

> Or
> I could output the same
> help to .chm and also to webhelp.

RHFM does this more easily than WWP. Setting up that
second, different type of project would entail more
work than setting up a second, same type of project.

>  Remember, I can
> set this all up and so I
> can get these output without making any changes to
> the project, just compile
> the output and off I go. I don't think WWP does
> this. I could be wrong. 

But, how real-world is this? If I have FrameMaker
content, I want press, PDF, and online help. If I'm
targeting multiple platforms, I choose one kind of
online help that fits the bill for all: WebWorks Help.

How many projects will you have where you need HLP,
CHM, and WebHelp all from the same FM source?

Really, do you deliver WebWorks Help, CHM, and HLP
from the same source and why? Why not deliver one help
type?

> With
> that said, I agree that the products are very
> similar and a decision between
> the two products is largely subjective. 
> 

As it is with all the tools--subjective. For me, RHFM
has nothing that really would attract WWP users and
given it's a version 1 product and slow ... and WWP is
certainly no speed demon ... my seat-of-the-pants
comparison leans heavily towards the more mature WWP
product.

However, if you have brand loyalty to the point that
you've been limping (seriously, limping) along with
regular RoboHelp and FrameMaker source files for
years, then RHFM is your chance to move on up to an
efficient workflow--not the most efficient, but 327%
more efficient than you had with plain vanilla
RoboHelp. (BTW, am not slamming RoboHelp in and of
itself, just its capabilities with regards to
FrameMaker source files.)


=====
T.

"Money makes the world go 'round is an incomplete statement; money is the fuel, and stupidity is the short bus that burns it." (Bill Swallow-02/04)

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