RE: Review Copy

[Lief Erickson <lerickson -at- mqsoftware -dot- com>]

Cam Whetstone uses FrameMaker to create his documents and his reviewers want
to review everything online. He doesn't see a problem with all of the
developers getting FrameMaker, while his managers disagree.

<<Is there some package out there that can take a frame file and let a
reviewer make comments on it and send it back to me to evaluate? >>

Cam,

There is a product that works with FrameMaker called mif2go (www.omsys.com)
that will create RTF files, which can then be viewed by the engineers using
MS Word. I use it here and it works wonderfully. After I create the RTF file
I turn on Track Changes in MS Word, save it, and email to the developers.
They mark it up in MS Word, save it, and email it back to me. I can easily
see their changes and incorporate them. I'm happy. They're happy. And they
didn't touch the FrameMaker files - nor did they have to learn FrameMaker.
And we didn't have to buy anything extra besides mif2go, which is
inexpensive ($295).

You might also look at using Adobe Acrobat. You could create a PDF file and
the developers could use the Notes and Annotations features in Acrobat. 

I would be very wary about letting the engineers play in your source files.
You don't get to play in theirs - and for a reason; you're not a
"developer." Likewise, they are not "writers." Your managers are correct in
this decision. It is one that I would applaud, if I were you.

Good luck!

-Lief Erickson
IBM Certified Specialist - MQSeries
Sr. Technical Writer
MQSoftware, Inc.
lerickson -at- mqsoftware -dot- com