Frame vs. Flare for My Needs

[John Sgammato]

FM12 has very good output to Microsoft Word.
I use it all the time for internal use.

On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 3:21 PM, Kevin Ryan <
kevin.ryan at systemsandsoftware.net> wrote:

>  Hi,
>
>
>
> I could use the advice of some Frame veterans on whether a switch from
> Frame to Flare might be a delusion-inspired wrong turn for me, or possibly
> the right way to go.
>
>
>
> My company's primary documentation output is PDF user/training/reference
> guides authored on FrameMaker 7. Not the current Frame version, I know, but
> sufficient with our good templates to produce solid, professional-looking
> documents we're proud of. Other current deliverables include
> context-sensitive HTML topics produced via Mif2go and a limited number of
> "Process Assistance" MS Word topics.  These latter are a sort of MS-Word
> help equivalent that our customers can download from our application, edit
> if necessary, and even upload back into our application for others if they
> want to. I create Process Assistance MS-Word topics by cutting from Frame
> and pasting into Word, followed by manual reformatting (ouch).
>
>
>
> Our customers (utilities) have been requesting another MS Word output:
> Editable MS Word versions of our 20-300 page PDF manuals so that they can
> edit them for their own purposes (such as internal training).
> Unfortunately, we've been unable to find a workable Frame-to-Word
> conversion process to this end.  I can do manual reformatting to Word in
> our short Process Assistance topics, but to do it on entire manuals would
> give me a nervous breakdown.
>
>
>
> So, with better MS-Word output generation as my primary goal, I've been
> considering a switch to Flare. Its capability to output in PDF, Word, and
> HTML seems as though it might ultimately streamline our processes. As I
> test Flare by my 30-day trial, though, I'm reminded of the many things
> FrameMaker does really well — things I might be losing if I made the
> switch:  For example, precise page layouts, complex graphics, robust
> tables. To its credit, Flare seems to offer output versatility, excellent
> documentation and support, and a lot of Marketing momentum.
>
>
>
> Am I misguiding myself?  Barking up the wrong tree?
>
>
>
> Thanks for any opinions or comments.
>
>
>
> *Kevin Ryan*
>
> *Technical Writer*
>
> [image: cid:image001.jpg at 01C97FA7.A9E51B40]
>
> Systems & Software, Inc.
>
> 426 Industrial Avenue
>
> Suite 140
>
> Williston, VT 05495
>
> 802.865.1170 phone
>
> 802.865.1171 fax
>
>
>
>
>    ------------------------------
>
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> <http://www1.harriscomputer.com/en/conference/>
> October 21–23, 2015, Atlanta, Georgia - Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
>
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-- 

<http://www.actifio.com/>    *John Sgammato, Documentation Architect*
*e* john.sgammato at actifio.com  *c* 508.927.2083
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