Is there a video demonstrating Word vs Framemaker?

Mon Sep 24 10:40:47 PDT 2012

After reading all the comments on this thread, I have to comment.

First, there is no question that after using Word for more than a decade to produce manuals, I prefer Frame, which I´ve been using for the last 3 years.

However, if your employer says he can´t afford Frame, or is one of those employers who thinks it´s always cheaper to use the tools you already have – and you´re not trying to Single Source – then Word can be reasonably effective (albeit finicky and arbitrary).

And contrary to all the posts here, cross-references do come through in the PDF and TOC links are automatic as well – I have a whole suite of manuals in our Quality System´s History repository to prove this. I also have numerous hours/days of experience dealing with renumbering lists to prove that Word can also be a big fat pain in the behind.

If you´re already using Frame and your employer wants to regress, or your using Word and you need to progress, then follow that script from Scriptorium and prove your case. If the audience you have to sell isn’t both Frame and Word proficient, you´ll have to hold their hands through a demonstration. As Scriptorium says, words just aren´t effective. If they can see the productivity gains (add in a single sourcing demo, if applicable), they´ll be convinced.

Alison

Alison Craig
Technical Documentation Lead

604-279-8550 | fax 604-279-8559 | toll-free 1-866-437-9508
Ultrasonix Medical Corporation | www.ultrasonix.com<http://www.ultrasonix.com/>

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From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Daniel Doornbos
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2012 8:38 AM
To: Framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: Is there a video demonstrating Word vs Framemaker?

Dear Framers,

The author of "Word 排版藝術" clearly shows what is possible to do in MS Word.
And, having used Word for over 20 years myself, I'm sure he spent a lot of time and effort doing it.

However, not how his overly complex TOC has no hypertext links, because Word's cannot generate them automatically.
You have to add them manually links to your PDF after you generate it, which in turn takes even more time and effort.

For tech docs, the reader needs correct, complete, and concise information he can find quickly.
"Word 排版藝術" not such a document.
And to me, it clearly demonstrates Framemaker's superiority to Word.

Daniel Doornbos
Sr. Technical Communicator
Graphics & Writing
www.graphics-writing.com<http://www.graphics-writing.com>
daniel at graphics-writing.com<mailto:daniel at graphics-writing.com>

On Sep 23, 2012, at 5:31 PM, Wei JIANG [PT-CN] wrote:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:

Re: Is there a video demonstrating Word vs Framemaker?

Date:

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:29:06 +0800

From:

Wei JIANG [PT-CN] <jiangw at polytrans.com.cn><mailto:jiangw at polytrans.com.cn>

To:

Carol J. Elkins <celkins at awrittenword.com><mailto:celkins at awrittenword.com>

Dear Framers,

Many years ago, a programmer and lecturer from Taiwan authored a book -

The Art of Word – Write and Typeset Large Scale Documents - on how to

typeset in Word in an artist's way. That book - around 400 pages -

explains nearly every aspect of Word that the author found useful while

typesetting his own books. Here is a link to a PDF file which contains 2

sample chapters from that book:

http://jjhou.boolan.com/lsword-20040516-2chaps.pdf . Even if you do not

read Chinese, I guess you can still feel the "professionalism".

Kindest,

Wei Jiang

English<>Chinese Translator and Multilingual DTPer based in Beijing, China

On 9/24/2012 3:35 AM, Carol J. Elkins wrote:

> I think there is so much more to say about a Frame vs Word comparison

> in a video than stability, single-sourcing, and conditional text. I am

> not an advanced Word user, so it is likely that I simply do not know

> how to force Word to do some of the things that Framemaker does so

> simply, but off the top of my head, managing files at the book level;

> cross-references that remain live when converted to PDF; automatic

> index generation; etc. A quick google for Framemaker versus Word will

> bring up a lengthy laundry list of features that could be demonstrated

> side by side in a video. Granted, in most instances, the Word side

> would simply be sitting there looking dumb while the Frame side zipped

> along making our lives easier.

>

> In addition, Scriptorium Publishing outlines a great Frame vs Word

> demo at http://www.techknowledgecorp.com/demo.html

>

> I don't have any video experience, but if I did, I'd make this video

> in a heartbeat because I think it would be a well-viewed, valuable

> resource for Framers. I know Adobe can't do it for legal reasons, but

> it would be great if one of us who DOES have video experience could

> build it.

>

> Carol

>

> At 10:28 AM 9/23/2012, you wrote:

>> I agree that it's a bad idea to show both of them in a video. The

>> main advantages of Unstructured FrameMaker (as I see it) are

>> stability and single-sourcing.

>

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