Using FrameMaker to Mothball

[Tim Altom <taltom -at- IQUEST -dot- NET>]

>Like most contractors, I've mothballed several projects. I've always
>tried to leave my work as finished as possible, and to include readme
>files about directory structures and any quirks in the work, so that any
>other writer could quickly pick up where I left out. This behavior seems
>to me the professional and ethical thing to do.
>
>However, discussing this incident got me thinking about the whole
>process. I'd like to ask the lists:
>
>--do list members agree that an orderly mothballing is a professional
>and ethical imperative?

Undoubtedly yes. We take the view that we're creating and holding these
materials in trust, not in prison. One of the last, but not the least
important, jobs on site is to tidy up the files and make sure that somebody
knows where everything is.

>--what steps do list members think that mothballing should involve? What
>do people think should be involved in a complete mothballing process?

Depends, of course. But in general the graphics and any creation files
should be put into a central repository. Where it all goes and what's in
there depends on the client's desires. Because we rarely work for a client
using Frame internally, we give them the files, usually on a ZIP, but we
know we'd better keep copies too.

>--does anyone make any special use of FrameMaker features to aid
>mothballing?
>
Not in particular. Having a book file is a small benefit.


Tim Altom
Vice President, Simply Written, Inc.
317.899.5882 (voice) 317.899.5987 (fax)
www.simplywritten.com
Creators of the Clustar Method (TM)
An out-of-the-box methodology for fast task-based documentation
that's easy to port to paper, WinHelp, Acrobat, SGML, and other media.