TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mike Schmidt, a tech writer (the only
one, actually) at Weather Central, Inc. in Madison, WI.
I've recently been commanded to abandon all the tools I've been using
for years (and know intimately) in favor of the Adobe Suite. I've also
been commanded to
"establish a timeline and list of resources that would be needed" to do
this.
In short, is there anyone out there that's had to convert a sizeable
amount of their own material to a completely new format? In my case,
it's the Corel suite (Ventura Publisher, Corel Draw, Corel Photo Paint)
and Microsoft Front Page, into Adobe stuff including Robohelp and who
knows what else.
If you detect a hint of negativity in this... you're right. I am totally
at home with the programs I've been using for, in some cases, my entire
career, and I'm not thrilled about dumping it. I'm sure Adobe stuff is
great, but it's the learning curve and tons of busy work I'm not
terribly happy about.
At any rate, I expect I'll need some training and lots of time to
convert existing material, without even thinking of the constant stream
of new material being created.
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