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I have repeatedly heard that FrameMaker is not intuitive to use, but I have
no proof that this is actually the case. Interestingly, Adobe (or their
dealer - not sure which) hyped up the fact of going with "the more modern
and powerful" InDesign. The question of why FrameMaker was everywhere, was
replied to by "it is old, old, software that is still in use." I was also
told that if starting over, InDesign was the way to go because of
flexibility, and a modern GUI. Even though I had already made my mind up,
that we weren't interested in it, that didn't particularly go down well
w.r.t. deciding on FrameMaker (or it's longevity).
As for the DTP turmoil ... it is getting harder, and harder, to convince
management of purchasing this specialized software. Considering MS Word is
perceived (by others) to be easier, more reliable, and more WISIWIG than
products such as PageMaker. I started to think there was some truth to this,
after dealing with several 'major' flaws in PageMaker. I was (at one time)
ready to pitch it, and go back to using MS Word.
I believe there is no excuse for Adobe not fixing major flaws in their
software ... and in my mind, that type of behavior doesn't bode well for
their DTP market (at least for engineering documents). Especially, if MS
Word is seen as an alternative by some. I.M.H.O., if Adobe ever dumped
FrameMaker, they'd be in trouble trying to push InDesign on people like
myself.
Now, I just hope Ventura isn't as buggy! ... will see. ;-)
Bruce
Eric Dunn wrote:
> <<Unfortunately, it was ruled out because of the steep learning curve, and
> Adobe's somewhat uncommitted attitude towards future releases.>>
>
> Is the learning curve really that much greater than Ventura? Also
> Adobe has only
> just released version 7 of FrameMaker and is working on Version
> 8. How more
> committed do you want?
>
> The FrameMaker being replaced by InDesign rumours have been
> unfounded and even
> denied by Adobe employees. Indeed if you are creating manuals,
> both Pagemaker
> and InDesign are the wrong tools.
>
> As for "turmoil in the DTP market" what do you mean? How is there
> more turmoil
> in the DTP market than any other software product category?
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