Re: Using Word for book publishing

[Edwin Skau <eddy -dot- skau -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Hi, Kevin,

FrameMaker uses a list numbering model that is similar to the SEQ fields in
Word.

No, I can't summarize the word object model in 25 words or less. Any attempt
to do that would result in a definition too simplistic to be useful. But
it's interesting that a technical writer needs input to be expressed in 25
words or less in order to make sense of it. I'd think that would be a
career-limiting constraint.

It is also interesting that you format spots.

LOL
Edwin



On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 8:32 PM, McLauchlan, Kevin <
Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> wrote:

>
>
> > From: Edwin Skau [mailto:eddy -dot- skau -at- gmail -dot- com]
>
> > [...]
> > Almost all problems with word seem to map to the application
> > of superficial attributes (text formatting, numbering, etc.).
>
> Numbering might be "superficial" to the Word object model
> (and can you summarize the Word object module in 25 words
> or less, please?), but numbering has never been superficial
> to my documents.
>
> In fact, numbering is kinda integral, especially in
> complicated procedures, where nested numbered lists
> need to behave reliably.
>
> I have avoided spot formatting for years and years, in
> favor of styles. But after using FrameMaker for years,
> and then being hit with Word 97 and Word 200x, and seeing
> what happened to my lovely styles, I began avoiding Word
> at every opportunity.
>
> It didn't help that numbering could do some amazingly
> ugly things - where the only warning one had that
> the horror was about to visit was the nearness of
> an inflexible deadline. And people in the know
> were suggesting that stable numbering could be
> accomplished only by bending an unrelated advanced
> feature to fit the task. Why should numbering
> work better with SEQuence fields than with the
> explicit numbering from the menus applied via
> styles?
>
> Mixing SEQence field numbering systems with the menu-applied
> numbering is always an adventure. That's what happens
> when other people get their hands on documents and
> don't understand how they work, but do understand that
> it's their job to modify content or add new content
> for their specific project. Boom. Spaghetti.
>
> Then it's "Kevin, there's something wrong with your
> document. The pagination's all screwed up, the Table
> of Contents won't update properly, and the configuration
> steps in my inserted table won't re-number correctly.
> Fix it for me, would you? What do you mean five days?
> You're supposed to be the expert!"
>
> Um, Bozo, I've got about ten days of work to finish
> in the next five days, and that was before you came along.
>
>
>  -k
>
>
>
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