So Long and Thanks for the Fish -- Migrating from FrameMaker to Flare

Wed Oct 30 10:57:59 PDT 2013

Fred,

You have described TeX Live very well, so I will only add a few more words based on my recent experiences with it.

1.      Although there are a few distributions listed on the CTAN web site, the TeX Live package has proven effective for me, even though they recommended a different one for Windows.

2.      The download is large.

3.      It was easy to install.

4.      You can get confused about which packages to install - my solution was simple: install everything! :)

5.      Periodically running the TeX Live manager to update packages is simple. It hides the complexity of maintaining versions, etc.

a.      Updates are incremental - only the packages that have changed are downloaded and added.

6.      After installing TeX Live, I used the included TeXworks editor for a few days and chose to look for an alternative.

7.      I settled on TeXstudio because of a few reasons (which may not apply to everybody, of course):

a.      Has an excellent mechanism to manage "included" input files - conceptually similar to a "book" in FrameMaker.

b.      Very easy addition of simpler LaTeX commands into the input files using menu buttons.

c.      As you type, an "entry completion" system allows finding and adding the LaTeX instruction and parameters very easily.

d.      The "usual" color-coded GUI editor to separate LaTeX commands from your own text.

e.      Rapid PDF generation. On my year-old laptop, generates PDF from 100 page docs in 1 or 2 seconds. The screen automatically splits to show source and PDF side-by-side instantly.

f.       Super-fast ability to see the PDF output from changes to the input source text.

g.      Mouse menu items to "jump to the source for this line of PDF output" and "jump to the PDF for this line of source text".

Hope this helps,

Z

From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Fred Ridder
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 5:52 AM
To: shmuelw at excalibur.co.il; Alan Litchfield; framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: RE: So Long and Thanks for the Fish -- Migrating from FrameMaker to Flare

No, he's saying that TeX Live (the name is officially two words, BTW, which is kind of refreshing in the CamelCaseWorld of TeX and LaTeX) is a *distribution* of TeX, in the same sense that Debian and Ubuntu and Fedora (from Red Hat) are distributions of Linux. TeX Live is a collection of non-proprietary tools, utilities, and "packages" (the official TeX name for macro add-ons that enhance functionality by adding new commands, options, and formatting capabilities) from diverse sources that is wrapped up as a unified installation. TeX Live includes an editor, but it is not their own tool; for the Windows and OS X TeX Live distributions, the included editor is TeXworks.

TeX Live is probably the most widely used TeX distribution because it is the default TeX distro in most of the major Linux distributions and several Unix distributions. But there are other popular TeX distros, too. For example, some groups at my current employer have a Doxygen-based document generation process used that is built around the MiKTeX distribution, which uses the TeXnicCenter editor. And there is a kind of super-distribution for Mac OS X (MacTeX) that includes the whole TeX Live distro along with an alternative editor (TeXShop), a bibliography manager, and some other Mac-specific TeX tools.

Distros don't make it as simple as keeping track of a version number and a patch number for a single tool, but at least they provides some consistency and coordination in the TeX chaos of hundreds of separate pieces of software from dozens of different sources...

-Fred Ridder

> Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 09:46:18 +0200
> From: shmuelw1 at gmail.com<mailto:shmuelw1 at gmail.com>
> To: alan at alphabyte.co.nz<mailto:alan at alphabyte.co.nz>; framers at lists.frameusers.com<mailto:framers at lists.frameusers.com>
> Subject: Re: So Long and Thanks for the Fish -- Migrating from FrameMaker to Flare
>
> Are you saying that TeXLive is sort of a flavor of LaTex, not an editor
> like TeXstudio?
> Is it compatible with TeXstudio?
> Do you use an authoring tool with TeXLive other that a simple text editor?
>
> Regards,
> Shmuel Wolfson
> Technical Writer
> 052-763-7133
>
> On 29-Oct-13 8:15 PM, Alan Litchfield wrote:
> > Hiya,
> >
> > TeXLive is a distribution of the TeX, LaTeX, XeTeX, LuaTeX, etc.
> > typesetting systems. It is multiplatform (that is, it can be used on
> > vertualy all computer platforms). The main installation schemes are
> > for Windows and Mac but many others also exist for various linux
> > flavours.
> >
> > It is free and can be installed from the net, by downloading the iso
> > and making a dvd or mounting and installing from there, or by joining
> > TUG and getting a free DVD with your membership.
> >
> > Regular/constant updates are obtained from a range of ctan mirror
> > sites around the globe.
> >
> > The LaTeX, etc. typesetting systems are really a composition of macros
> > (packages) and various supporting binaries built upon the TeX
> > typesetting system. The packages are binaries are all supported by and
> > army of volunteers and there is a mechanism for additional packages to
> > be contributed. That means if you area having issues with a package
> > you can often email the maintainer direct or you can open it in a text
> > editor and fix it yourself if you are skilled.
> >
> > Traditionally, TeX has used the ASCII character set but more modern
> > systems now use all available font systems, for example LuaTeX and
> > XeTeX are designed to use OpenType fonts.
> >
> > Other packages allow for output to multimedia players too.
> >
> > Alan
> >
> >
> > On 29/10/13 9:54 PM, Shmuel Wolfson wrote:
> >> What exactly is TeXLiv? They don't explain it very well on the site.
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >> Shmuel Wolfson
> >> 052-763-7133
> >>
> >> On 28-Oct-13 8:48 PM, Alan Litchfield wrote:
> >>> Interestingly, Syed's comments mirror my own trajectory but I have
> >>> been using LaTeX et al for as long as I have been using FrameMaker.
> >>>
> >>> I doubt I will be moving past version 10 unless my clients continue
> >>> to request I upgrade (to match compatibility with their software). I
> >>> doubt I will be taking any short term licensing options because
> >>> files are not created for short term use.
> >>>
> >>> Importantly for me, TeXLive is free and has a strong and vibrant
> >>> user base.
> >>>
> >>> Alan
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On 29/10/13 7:22 AM, Syed Zaeem Hosain (Syed.Hosain at aeris.net<mailto:Syed.Hosain at aeris.net>) wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Hi, Joseph.
> >>>>
> >>>> You are not the only one who is abandoning FrameMaker ... if you look
> >>>> at my posts in the past months, I have done the same although I
> >>>> have been using it since 1988 off and on. I am still on the list
> >>>> for old times sake, though. J
> >>>>
> >>>> Please do send me your detailed reasons in an off-list e-mail -
> >>>> would like to know /your/ decision trigger! For me, it was the (a)
> >>>> recent over-pricing for some version upgrades that should have been
> >>>> done as free bug fixes, (b) the Adobe trend (albeit not yet
> >>>> announced for FrameMaker) to SAAS as the only licensing mechanism,
> >>>> and (c) their abandonment of small users (i.e., number of licenses)
> >>>> from their multi-year update licensing system.
> >>>>
> >>>> Today, *all* my new documents are no longer in FrameMaker. I am
> >>>> /only/ using it for maintaining and changing old documents, and if
> >>>> the change is large enough, I move it off FrameMaker. That takes a
> >>>> couple of days - even for the large documents - and then I am fine
> >>>> for the future! In time, all my old documents will be moved from
> >>>> FrameMaker.
> >>>>
> >>>> However, I have not chosen Flare as my platform, although it looks
> >>>> quite capable. Switching to it is expensive (of course, if they
> >>>> made me a $199 one-time offer to switch from FrameMaker to Flare, I
> >>>> would do it! J)
> >>>>
> >>>> For now, /for my needs (which may not apply to everybody)/, a
> >>>> combination of Word 2013 for short documents (less than 10 to 20
> >>>> pages), and LaTex (for large multi-hundred page specifications) is
> >>>> proving quite workable. Not perfect, and not as flexible as
> >>>> FrameMaker, but the costly "upgrades" of FrameMaker is not
> >>>> acceptable, and the trend to equally costly SAAS is a deal-breaker.
> >>>>
> >>>> BTW, LaTeX in particular allows me to achieve **complete**
> >>>> look-and-feel consistency in my specifications - formatting is
> >>>> separate from text entry - and I value that highly. It was my
> >>>> reason for selecting FrameMaker over Word about 12 years ago for my
> >>>> current company.
> >>>>
> >>>> Regards, and good luck!
> >>>>
> >>>> Z
> >>>>
> >>>> *From:*framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com
> >>>> [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] *On Behalf Of *Joseph
> >>>> Lorenzini
> >>>> *Sent:* Saturday, October 26, 2013 10:13 AM
> >>>> *To:* FrameMaker Forum; TCS-Users at googlegroups.com<mailto:TCS-Users at googlegroups.com>
> >>>> *Subject:* So Long and Thanks for the Fish -- Migrating from
> >>>> FrameMaker to Flare
> >>>>
> >>>> Hi all,
> >>>>
> >>>> I have used FrameMaker for over 5 years. I have used it to produce
> >>>> thousands of pages of documentation. And I honestly thought that FM
> >>>> was a great tool...for a time. Plus, the community was super helpful.
> >>>>
> >>>> So its with some regret that I am telling you that I am leaving
> >>>> this community and the TCS suite. I am adopting Flare as a
> >>>> replacement. Please note I am no evangelist of Flare nor do I think
> >>>> that there's One Right Tool. FrameMaker can be a great solution for
> >>>> some and if works for you then great. The reasons why I made this
> >>>> choice were driven by a specific business and use case
> >>>>
> >>>> There are many reasons for this but that would cause this post to
> >>>> grow quite large and I didn't want to flood this community with a
> >>>> gigantic post about why I am not using its tool anymore.
> >>>>
> >>>> That said, my experience of why and how i migrated may be of
> >>>> interest to others in this forum. If you'd like a detailed
> >>>> explanation and are curious to learn more, I would be happy to
> >>>> share those details with you offline. Feel free to email me.
> >>>>
> >>>> Sincerely,
> >>>>
> >>>> Joseph Lorenzini
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>
> >>>>
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