TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
That was my interpretation as well. Either the company is intrigued by
Bobbi's FM experience and would like to know whether FM would be an
improvement over what they have now, or (hopefully not) Bobbi has managed to
annoy them with comments about how much "better" FM is as a tool and they're
giving her a chance to put up or you-know-what by providing a detailed
FM-vs-Word comparison.
I've done single-sourcing with FM and I hated it. I doubt that I'd like
trying to do it in Word any better. If it's a genuine future step, my
preference would be to move to a native XML tool. Single-sourcing is a
significant mindset adjustment compared to traditional authoring, and trying
to hang on to old, familiar tool environments just bogs down the learning
process. At least it did for me.
Gene Kim-Eng
On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 7:26 AM, Combs, Richard
<richard -dot- combs -at- polycom -dot- com>wrote:
> So, to recap, here's the situation as I understand it: The company has been
> using Word. Bobbi has come in as a contract technical writer, and she's
> experienced with FM, but has never used Word for such a project.
>
> Why would you say the issue isn't Word vs. FM? Other than your enthusiasm
> for ID, that is. :-)
>
> The issue is Word vs. FM because one is a comfortable fit for the company
> (no change required) and the other is a comfortable fit for their writer (no
> learning curve or stumbling blocks).
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for registration.
Use referral code TECHWR-L for $50 off conference tuition!
See program at: http://lavacon.org/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-