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Subject:Re: Two Professional Questions From:Roberta Hennessey <rahennessey -at- gmail -dot- com> To:salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com Date:Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:30:28 -0400
Ah, thank you so much.
What have people's experience been with MadCap's suite of products?
thumbs up or down?
On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 2:25 PM, Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
> For any Word question (or M$ question), I recommend Windows Secrets
> Lounge<http://lounge.windowssecrets.com/>(formerly Woody's Lounge, as
> in long-acknowledged Word uber-guru, Woody
> Leonhard).
>
> > Chris
> On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 10:01 AM, Roberta Hennessey
> <rahennessey -at- gmail -dot- com>wrote:
>
> > Oh my, I hope I've not been annoying.
> >
> > My consideration is that the guide I was hired to create is now apt to be
> > at
> > least two guides, and a future
> > software releases will add a third book. There are no functional specs
> here
> > nor program management milestones.
> > It appeared Word was going to be the tool of choice before I got here.
> >
> > Not being a Word superuser, I have found Word does not update the TOCs
> > very
> > well. I also cannot get Shift + F5 to
> > work with cross references so users can go back to the point of origin of
> > the cross reference. This would provide a user
> > with quick, good access to additional information if they needed it.
> (Does
> > anyone know of a fix? I see lots of complaints on web but no solution.)
> >
> > Part of the comfort factor is true, though I see ease of creating other
> > versions of the doc a consideration as well.
> > I think (and I could be very wrong) it would take another contractor far
> > less time to come in an add 2 new chapters to
> > a guide using Frame than using Word (and running the risk of the doc
> > getting
> > too big).
> >
> > Am I wrong? Can anyone suggest where a writer can go for expert superuser
> > Word help? What alternative tools would people
> > suggest - this is going to be 2 to 3 guides for an internet application.
> I
> > think I have 6-9 weeks to complete.
> >
> > Bobbi
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 12:21 PM, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com> wrote:
> >
> > > That was my interpretation as well. Either the company is intrigued by
> > > Bobbi's FM experience and would like to know whether FM would be an
> > > improvement over what they have now, or (hopefully not) Bobbi has
> managed
> > > to
> > > annoy them with comments about how much "better" FM is as a tool and
> > > they're
> > > giving her a chance to put up or you-know-what by providing a detailed
> > > FM-vs-Word comparison.
> > >
> > > I've done single-sourcing with FM and I hated it. I doubt that I'd
> like
> > > trying to do it in Word any better. If it's a genuine future step, my
> > > preference would be to move to a native XML tool. Single-sourcing is a
> > > significant mindset adjustment compared to traditional authoring, and
> > > trying
> > > to hang on to old, familiar tool environments just bogs down the
> learning
> > > process. At least it did for me.
> > >
> > > Gene Kim-Eng
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 7:26 AM, Combs, Richard
> > > <richard -dot- combs -at- polycom -dot- com>wrote:
> > >
> > > > So, to recap, here's the situation as I understand it: The company
> has
> > > been
> > > > using Word. Bobbi has come in as a contract technical writer, and
> she's
> > > > experienced with FM, but has never used Word for such a project.
> > > >
> > > > Why would you say the issue isn't Word vs. FM? Other than your
> > enthusiasm
> > > > for ID, that is. :-)
> > > >
> > > > The issue is Word vs. FM because one is a comfortable fit for the
> > company
> > > > (no change required) and the other is a comfortable fit for their
> > writer
> > > (no
> > > > learning curve or stumbling blocks).
> > > >
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> > --
> > Roberta Hennessey
> > Technical Writer
> > (978) 835-4282
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >
> > Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with
> > Doc-To-Help.
> > Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
> > Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
> > http://www.doctohelp.com
> >
> > LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for registration.
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> >
> >
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> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with
> Doc-To-Help.
> Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
> Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
>http://www.doctohelp.com
>
> LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for registration.
> Use referral code TECHWR-L for $50 off conference tuition!
> See program at: http://lavacon.org/
>
>
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--
Roberta Hennessey
Technical Writer
(978) 835-4282
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for registration.
Use referral code TECHWR-L for $50 off conference tuition!
See program at: http://lavacon.org/
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