Formatting Docs On-The-Fly

Subject: Formatting Docs On-The-Fly
From: Tony Markos <ajmarkos -at- yahoo -dot- com>
To: CB Casper <knowone -at- surfy -dot- net>, techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 08:15:09 -0800 (PST)

CB:

Thanks for your (below) very informative response.

You stated:

"Structured FrameMaker limits the ability of
individual
authors to get creative with the company style."

My comment and a question:

On a past TW assignment, I had edited/rewrote alot of
procedures written by network engineers. As the job
was at a DOD agency, we had a standard format/style.
However, that format/style was often violated. In
correcting these situations, I noted that the reason
for such violations was almost always the same:
Getting creative with the format/style was an easy way
for the writer to mask "holes" in his/her
understanding of the subject at hand (i.e, if I do not
fully understand the subject, then a way around the
situation is to "modify" the style so that it fits
what I do know).

Is not such modifying the style on-the-fly such a
wide-spread issue that structured Framemaker is bound
to be of limited use?

Tony Markos

--- CB Casper <knowone -at- surfy -dot- net> wrote:

I moved from Interleaf to structured FrameMaker inan
environment that produces a huge amount of docs from
many departments for multiple products. They have a
legitimate desire for the hundreds of docs to have a
simliar look and feel to their presentation.

Structured FrameMaker limits the ability of individual
authors to get creative with the company style.

After a couple of years of using structured FM, I was
given a unstructured FM doc to make some major
changes.

I gave up using unstructured FM and converted it to
structured. I was too well versed in structured and
the lack of it was too frustrating. I knew how to get
what was needed in the structured environment, but not
in unstructured.

So the answer is, from a training perspective, authors
need to learn both.
>


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Follow-Ups:

References:
RE: FrameMaker training: From: CB Casper

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