Re: XML-based Help Authoring tools for customized help

Subject: Re: XML-based Help Authoring tools for customized help
From: David Knopf <david -at- knopf -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2003 07:41:47 -0800


Bruce Byfield wrote:

Frame 7 can export to DocBook in structured mode, but, I wouldn't suggest that anyone use it. Structure FrameMaker, formerly known as FM + SGML, strikes me as needlessly complicated. Honestly, you'd be better off with a plain text editor.


Bruce,

You might be better off with a plain text editor. I might be better off with a plain text editor. There are an awful lot of writers, however, who most certainly would *not* be better off with a plain text editor, including the hundreds of thousands of people who already know Frame well (many of whom like it quite a lot) and who do not know, or wish to know, much about markup languages.

Using Structured FrameMaker, authors can work in an environment that is already comfortable to them, produce valid XML that conforms to DocBook or a customized DTD, rely on the FrameMaker EDD to apply formatting tags for print/PDF output transparently and automatically, and generate online content in a wide range of formats via XML/XSLT or a range of third-party tools designed specifically to work well with FrameMaker source documents.

Most people I've worked with who've spent a good deal of time working with both Epic and Structured FrameMaker would choose the latter over the former in a heartbeat.

Regards,

--

David Knopf ~ Knopf Online ~ San Francisco
mailto:david -at- knopf -dot- com ~ http://www.knopf.com

Consulting & Training for Technical Communicators
FrameMaker ~ WebWorks ~ Structured Authoring ~ XML
WebWorks Publisher Certified ~ Adobe Certified Expert: FrameMaker
Member, JavaHelp 2.0 Expert Group
Moderator, HATT & wwp-users



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Follow-Ups:

References:
RE: XML-based Help Authoring tools for customized help: From: Michael McCallister
RE: XML-based Help Authoring tools for customized help: From: Bruce Byfield

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