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I'm interested in people's opinions on the relative merits of
Microsoft Word 6.0 vs. FrameMaker vs. Ami Pro vs. something called
"Word Pro" for the production of manuals.
Ami Pro = Word Pro. Lotus changed its name with the most recent version.
The biggest problem I have with Ami Pro is its parochiality. It's too hard to
get documents from it into other packages without post-transfer cleanup.
According to some folks I talked to at one of the conversion developers, Lotus
doesn't like to tell people what its file format is.
This problem is exacerbated when you cross platforms. I've yet to run into a Mac
package which can translate a complex Ami Pro document without difficulty.
Microsoft has a converter for WinWord now that cuts down post-transfer cleanup
to about 10-20 minutes per document (document length is short-to-medium, say 10
to 30 pages). None of the third-party folks on any platform has done as well.
Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 124
Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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In God we trust; all others must provide data.
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Opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.
If JCI had an opinion on this, they'd hire someone else to deliver it.
