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Subject:Re: Frame vs. Pagemaker? From:Peter Gold <pgold -at- NETCOM -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 31 Oct 1997 11:31:01 -0800
Disclaimer:
I work for an Adobe VAR and I train and support FrameMaker users. I've
also taught PageMaker.
The important differences IMO between these products are in the areas of
the documentation creation and revision cycle, information extraction,
automation, and collaborative working.
* PageMaker's Story Editor is not as good an original writing environment
as FrameMaker's "WI/SI" (write it / see it) style.
* During the life cycle of a document, it's easier to update outdated page
references of all kinds (TOC, index, cross-references, etc.) in Frame
than in PageMaker.
* Frame works on Macintosh, MS-Windows/NT, and unix platforms. No PM on
unix at all, so some multi-hardware companies might make this the key
issue for choosing one or the other.
* Frame was designed from the start with hypertext linking features and
conditional text, both of which simplify creating and maintaining
outputs for different purposes, such as paper/online, interactive (Acrobat, HTML) as well as multiple versions (teacher/student,
confidential/public, French/English/German/etc.) from a single source.
* Although Frame's not often used for the kinds of complex layouts that
are common for PM, it's nearly as capable, and now offers more color
support than before, and the Macintosh 5.5 version offers more prepress
support.
In short, the feature gap is closing, though the differences that make
one a very comfortable writing/editing/revising toolkit, and one not quite
so comfortable, remain the differentiators for now.
Regards,
Peter Gold
pgold -at- netcom -dot- com
On Fri, 31 Oct 1997, Karen Schriver wrote:
> your assessment of why you would choose to use Framemaker versus
> Pagemaker? In which contexts would you use either? What features make
> the difference for the tasks you do? I note that most people on the list
