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Brian Daley writes:
> >From: John Fulmer INET <fulmerjo -at- PULUA -dot- HCC -dot- HAWAII -dot- EDU>
> >How better can I describe it to say that the only thing the glossy
> >is good for is to obtain a telephone number to call to try and get
> >the number of someone who can tell me the technical specifications
> >I need to know if the equipment will work with my system or not!
> >
> >-------------------------------------------
> >
> >As a recent convert to FrameMaker on SUN, I found the statement
> >above to be an apt description of the *user* documentation that
> >came with this software.
> >
> >Is this why there are so many questions here about what FrameMaker
> >can and cannot do?
> I think one reason there's so many questions about what Frame can and
> cannot do is that never before could you get so much power at such a low
> price. I never expected to get hypertext capability or automatically
> numbered series in the PageMaker 4.x I was using before (or running
> header/footers, or Mac-IBM-Unix cross-platform compatibility). But Frame
> does so much stuff for only a little more money that we start asking why it
> can't do what Interleaf does.
> Maybe the Sun manuals stink, but the ones for the Mac version are some of
> the most complete manuals I've seen.
> Brian Daley | Marquette Electronics, Inc.
> briand -at- mei -dot- com | Diagnostic Division - Technical Communication
> (414) 362-3133 | 8200 West Tower Avenue
> FAX: (414) 357-5988 | Milwaukee, WI 53223 USA
I must agree with Brian. I have been using FrameMaker for just under a year on
the PC and have found the documentation to be a terrific ideal for technical
writers to aim for in their own efforts. I have not encountered any other
product of any kind which can boast of such extensive and accurate document-
ation. If anything, I would describe the documentation to be complete almost
to a fault. Any DTP package with the complexity needed to handle long,
extensively cross-referenced technical documents is bound to be difficult to
learn. This difficulty should not be mistakenly attributed to the quality
of the documentation. The bottom line is: if you want the level of
functionality that FrameMaker supports, you must realize that it comes at
some expense.
Carter Hansen
carterch -at- aol -dot- com
Mid America Computer Corporation
1638 Lincoln Street
Blair, NE 68008-0400
(402) 533-5737
