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I used RoboHelp for a long time, and did a lot of Robo training "back in the
day." I discovered Flare a few years ago. Flare's print quality has improved
greatly over the years, but you will need to know at least a little about
how HTML and CSS work together to jump in and start printing with the exact
results you want. It can do all the page layout functions you need, but it
is a development tool, not an authoring tool like FrameMaker. The PDF output
is good, but again, you won't see FrameMaker results.
I still wouldn't use any tool other than Flare unless I had to for a client.
Some find the learning curve steep. I taught myself by experimenting with
the pre-supplied templates, then going to the Help. It wasn't that hard to
learn, really. There are oodles of resources on the MadCap site, as you
probably have discovered. I believe there are quick start guide-like
templates, IIRC. The styles editor tool is easy to learn now, and shows you
a preview of what your style changes will look like.
I am so happy with Flare that I became a Flare consultant! ;-)
Jack DeLand
Adam Charles Consulting, LLC
734 972 3026
www.adamcharlesconsulting.com
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+jackdeland=comcast -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+jackdeland=comcast -dot- net -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Nancy Allison
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2016 5:05 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Flare-only shop?
Hello, all.
Does anyone work in a Flare-only shop?
My company is considering moving to online help only; we would no
longer generate large, book-style PDFs, just Web Help and HTML5.
However, we would still sometimes create printed 2- to 8-page Quick
Start Guides, which would need all the niceties of print page layout,
such as headers, footers, etc.
If you use Flare only for all document creation, how well is Flare
suited for traditional print output?
What is your assessment of Flare? Are you happy with it, or would you
prefer another tool?
Thanks for any and all comments.
--Nancy
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