Need Advice on Upgrade Strategies for FM and Acrobat

[Fei Min Lorente]

Hi Jasmine:

All of my SMEs, with one or two exceptions, use FrameMaker to draft
material for me. The amount of time it saves me from converting Word to
FrameMaker is worth the money. I've been told this is just short of a
miracle, but I just wanted to let you know that it's possible, and there
are even a few of them who prefer FrameMaker to Word.

I might have an advantage because I moved to structured FrameMaker, so
it makes it easier for the SMEs to follow the templates. You didn't
mention if you're using structured. If you're not, this probably isn't a
good time to introduce it.

My "secrets" to winning over the SMEs are:
- Give them a cheat sheet.
- Give them a one-hour tutorial.
- Offer to be their technical support any time of the day or night.
- Point out that if they work in FrameMaker, they don't have to give you
the material as far in advance in order to give you enough time to
convert the files from Word.

Sorry I can't help you on an upgrade path except to echo Jeff's
question: why would the SMEs need Acrobat? I'm currently looking at
upgrading myself, so I'm working out a plan, too.

Fei Min

-----Original Message-----
From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com
[mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of
quills at airmail.net
Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 6:38 PM
To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: Need Advice on Upgrade Strategies for FM and Acrobat

You'll have to train them to use your templates. It might be easier to 
let them use Word and import those files.

Many of the uninitiated balk at maintaining the discipline needed to not

use line formatting.

But, if there is political will, you could do alright.

Scott

On 2/9/11 3:49 PM, Graham, Jasmine S wrote:
> Hello Fellow Framers,
>
> I need your advice on how to best recommend a strategy for new Frame
and Acrobat software purchases/licensing/upgrades/maintenance contracts,
etc. I apologize for the lengthy email with many questions, but I'm sure
I'm still overlooking some important points.
>
> SOME HISTORY
> I currently have the TCS1 package FM 8 (structured), Acrobat 9,
Robohelp, Captivate, on Windows XP SP3. For 2+ years, I've been the only
FM user here (everyone else uses Word). Frame's strong points are
helping me to develop and maintain large amounts of new technical
documentation. So, I've won some support for it, which I am really
thrilled about.
>
> THE OPPORTUNITY
> Now there is an interest in purchasing FM for possibly 3-4 SMEs who
will be drafting documentation for my project. These folks perform
engineering and testing functions (writing is not their primary task),
but their manager sees value/potential in using Frame vs. Word and wants
to gain momentum with it.
>
> THOUGHTS / QUESTIONS
>
> -- We should all use the latest Frame (10). Should I upgrade Frame
only on my PC, or should I really consider the full TCS3 upgrade?  I
already have Photoshop. The other folks don't need Robohelp/Captivate,
so TCS3 is overkill for them.
>
> -- All of us need a compatible Acrobat (I have no idea what to expect
if we install Frame 10 on one of these laptops with an older version of
Acrobat). Should I recommend the latest Acrobat for everyone just to be
safe?
>
> -- Are there some reliable, yet also fairly reasonable
licensing/upgrade/maintenance strategies to keep us all in sync?
>
> -- What's beneficial to do now in case we should add Frame users again
down the road?
>
> -- What gotchas, headaches, and other things must I think about before
I jump into the deep end??
>
> Since day one, I've not had any problems with my TCS1 setup, so I'm
quite nervous about introducing new software versions without
introducing unwanted special effects. :-)
>
> I also know that there will be a learning curve and I'll have to train
the others, create cheat sheets, and so forth. And, I must get familiar
with the new interface, too. I'm confident I can manage these things.
Also, I've made every effort to keep the template streamlined and
simple, so hopefully, that will help, too.
>
> THANKS IN ADVANCE for all words of wisdom and experience in this
area!! :)
>
> Jasmine Graham
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