Re: Word vs. Frame
GlacierI have searched everywhere, and cannot find a recent comparison of MS
Word (2000) and FrameMaker (at least 6.0). The most recent one I can find is
Alex Ragen's comparison from 2000. I hoping that someone may have created a
comparison in a table-like format.
The company I work for has decided it is time to revisit the tool we use to
create our documentation. The problem is, I am absolutely in love with
FrameMaker and can't imagine going back to Word. Our manuals can be quite
large, with multi-chapters, conditional text, etc. and my experience has
been that Master Documents in Word is still unstable.
I'd start by finding out what's driving the managers to re-evaluate. Do they have a list of FM negatives that they can't live with anymore?
Despite the Glories That Are FrameMaker, from a manager's point of view FM is an unnecessary pain in the butt due its general unfamiliarity even among office staff who are otherwise computer-literate. Not to mention licensing issues.
For most simple business documents, including manuals, Word and FM are functionally equivalent. There is a small but critical list of features where FM is superior (some of which you described). If you need any of those features, then make your case based on that.
From a business POV, it would be desirable to simplify your docs (if possible) so they no longer require FM-specific features.
IMHO FrameMaker is not for everyone; it's a publishing tool, not an office productivity tool.
Also, sorry for the dark thought, but perhaps Suzette's managers are planning to distribute the workload across existing staff? Or maybe they just want to move to a tool that everybody can use.
Mike O.
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