<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">I haven't used Flare actively in a year or so... but after several years daily experience, I'd say:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><ul><li>Fewer bugs -- nope<br></li><li>Better conversion -- depends. I use MIF2Go to get to HTML/RTF/XHTML. Flare isn't better than that. FM 12 is pretty good for exporting. Flare is adequate or better -- better than early native FM export, but not up to MIF2Go, and maybe not as good as FM 12 -- I haven't tried a direct comparison.</li><li>Better support -- yes, definitely, <i><b>if you pay for it</b></i>. You can get someone on the phone and they'll work on the problem until you have a fix. If you don't pay for support... you're relying on peer users, pretty much. </li></ul></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature">Art Campbell <a href="mailto:art.campbell@gmail.com" target="_blank">art.campbell@gmail.com</a><br> "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52 Vincent and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson<br> No disclaimers apply.<br> DoD 358<br><br>I support <a href="http://www.TheGrotonLine.com" target="_blank">www.TheGrotonLine.com</a>, hyperlocal news for Groton MA.</div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 4:44 AM, Reng, Dr. Winfried <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:wreng@tycoint.com" target="_blank">wreng@tycoint.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Hi,<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">In my company there are also discussions to choose<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">MadCap Flare as a common authoring tool.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">I see different requirements among us. Some need<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">HTML or CHM, others only PDF.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">The arguments from MadCap Flare users here are:<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">o Less bugs.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">o Better conversion to CHM and HTML.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">o Better support.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">(I do not know if all these are also valid for FM 12 or upcoming FM 13!)<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Can those who use or used Flare comment on these?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Are these arguments valid?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">What other experiences do you have?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Which features do you miss?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">I see that Flare does not allow text on top of graphics.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">I could not find out whether you can enter simple tabs.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">I have problems adjusting table column widths.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">I have even problems to zoom in when I have the print layout selected.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Flare does not support separate DTDs.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Best regards<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Winfried<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> <a href="mailto:framers-bounces@lists.frameusers.com" target="_blank">framers-bounces@lists.frameusers.com</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:framers-bounces@lists.frameusers.com" target="_blank">framers-bounces@lists.frameusers.com</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Kevin Ryan<span class=""><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, February 25, 2015 9:21 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:framers@lists.frameusers.com" target="_blank">framers@lists.frameusers.com</a><br>
</span><b>Subject:</b> Frame vs. Flare for My Needs<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Hi,<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">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.
<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">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).
<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">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.
<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">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.
<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Am I misguiding myself? Barking up the wrong tree?
<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Thanks for any opinions or comments.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#2d4678">Kevin Ryan</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#2d4678">Technical Writer</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif""><img width="309" height="46" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D051A9.A5D7A380" alt="cid:image001.jpg@01C97FA7.A9E51B40"></span><span lang="EN-US"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Systems & Software, Inc.</span><span lang="EN-US"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">426 Industrial Avenue
</span><span lang="EN-US"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Suite 140</span><span lang="EN-US"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Williston, VT 05495</span><span lang="EN-US"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif""><a href="tel:802.865.1170" value="+18028651170" target="_blank">802.865.1170</a> phone</span><span lang="EN-US"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif""><a href="tel:802.865.1171" value="+18028651171" target="_blank">802.865.1171</a> fax</span><span lang="EN-US"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> <u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<hr size="2" width="100%" align="center">
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://www1.harriscomputer.com/en/conference/" target="_blank"><b>Save the Date! 2015 Harris Customer Training Conference:</b></a><br>
October 21–23, 2015, Atlanta, Georgia - Atlanta Marriott Marquis. </span><u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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