Comparing WebWorks versions

[Michael Müller-Hillebrand]

Hello Eileen,

Just today I was asked by the IT coordinator of a client, why there is
an upgrade of the well-known FrameScript plug-in within just 10 months
after the last version. You know the rule: "Never change a running
system." Why do you want/need to upgrade at all? Are there any problems
with your current setup?

Some thoughts:

Since you are working with Sourcerer you seem to work with structured
documents: Webworks ePublisher (WWeP) does not support structured
documents at the moment.

Unless you want to redesign your WWP conversion templates from scratch
using WWP2003 wouldn't make a big difference compared to version 7,
because the inner workings (a.k.a. Webworks Macro Language) are the same.

WWP7 and WWP2003 share a technology which is in a kind-of end-of-life
phase -- nevertheless I have quite a lot of clients which benefit from
projects with WWP6, WWP7, or WWP2003 (remember: "Never change..."). WWeP
internally uses XML and XSL. You could do the same based on your
structured FM documents: Save the content as XML and use custom XSL
transformations to create HTML. In some situations it might be a better
idea to learn XSL (not simple, but a W3C standard!) instead of WebWorks
Macro Language (also not simple!).

Kind regards,

- Michael

On 26.01.2006 01:40, Anderson, Eileen schrieb/wrote:
> My team is using structured FrameMaker v7.1, Sourcerer v1.11, and
> WebWorks Publisher v7.0.6 to create single-source documents to output
> for different audiences and media (including print, PDF, and HTML).
> 
> Ideally, we'd like to upgrade to the latest version of all software,
> including FrameMaker v7.2 and WebWorks ePublisher Pro. However,
> Sourcerer (which we absolutely rely on) does not yet support FrameMaker
> v7.2.  So for now we'll stick with Frame v7.1.
> 
> Two of our team members are about to learn how to use WebWorks Publisher
> Pro to create and modify templates. (Current team members know only how
> to apply existing WWP templates.) However, at least one vendor I've
> consulted no longer offers training on WebWorks Publisher Pro version 7;
> it's simply too old. I'm wondering if we should upgrade to WebWorks
> Publisher Pro 2003 or WebWorks ePublisher Pro.
> 
> There is one downside to upgrading: While our desktop publishers will
> have WebWorks Publisher Pro, our authors will have only the WebWorks
> Standard v7 that is included with purchase of FrameMaker. We previously
> found that if we created templates in WWP Pro 2003, authors using WWP
> Standard 7 couldn't output HTML using those templates. (That's why we
> "downgraded" our WebWorks Pro licenses to version 7.) Having authors
> capable of outputting their own HTML is a luxury for us, but not an
> absolute need.
> 
> So, Framers, this is where I'd like to benefit from your experience and
> advice.
> 
> - Have you used WebWorks ePublisher Pro? Do you find it offers
> significant enhancements over prior versions of WebWorks Publisher Pro?
> Is it compatible with FrameMaker version 7.1?
> - Do you see a significant advantage in using WebWorks Publisher Pro
> 2003 as compared to WebWorks Publisher Pro version 7?
> - Do you have other thoughts on our situation or lessons learned from
> your experiences with different WebWorks Publisher versions?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> - Eileen Anderson
> Manager of Curriculum Editing & Desktop Publishing
> T-Mobile Customer Care Learning & Development
> eileen.anderson at t-mobile.com

-- 
_____________________________________________________________
Michael Müller-Hillebrand          http://cap-studio.de/
WebWorks Publisher Support & Info  http://wwp-support.info/
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