Frame vs. Flare for My Needs

Wed Feb 25 14:09:52 PST 2015

I'd second John. Current FM output ain't bad, and if you want better,
MIF2Go RTF is really good. I'd stick with FM and upgrade to a non-antique
version (speaking with 4 year's Flare experience) because that conversion
isn't really what Flare does better.

Art Campbell
          art.campbell at gmail.com
  "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52 Vincent and
a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
                                                      No disclaimers apply.
                                                               DoD 358

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On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 3:39 PM, John Sgammato <john.sgammato at actifio.com>
wrote:

> 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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>    ------------------------------
>>
>> *Save the Date! 2015 Harris Customer Training Conference:*
>> <http://www1.harriscomputer.com/en/conference/>
>> October 21–23, 2015, Atlanta, Georgia - Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
>>
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>
>
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