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Rick Quatro asked about Tools statistics:
"I am new to the list and work with both FrameMaker and InDesign. I am
working with a client that is looking at using InDesign for their technical
documentation. They want to know if other tech writers are using InDesign,
as opposed to FrameMaker or Word, etc. Does anyone know of any data or
surveys that might show where InDesign stands in the technical publications
world? "
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Rick:
Joe Welinske [joewe -at- writersua -dot- com] does an annual tools survey ( http://welinske.com/tools-survey/ ) that produces statistics to answer that
kind of question. To his website and look for the latest results. (I don't
know whether this year's survey has been completed and the results compiled
yet.)
My personal opinion is that Mac shops tend to use ID for documentation, but
PC organizations use MS Word, FM, or Madcap's Flare. ID requires 3rd-party
plug-ins to do common large doc things like TOCs, auto numbering of sections
and figures, and Indexes, but some folks are using it. One of the LinkedIn
tech writing groups I belong to recently had a long discussion about ID
versus other tools, but I couldn't find it to cite it for you.
Margaret Cekis, Johns Creek GA.
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