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I think the list needs to include "workable tools
to accomplish the required tasks and to generate
the required output within the timeframe, and
according to the standards mandated by the employer".
In other words, if they want you to use Notepad
and Paint (and won't pay for better), then they
are defacto buying into the kind of quality that
can be output, and the time it takes to do it
with those tools.
Some people like to say that those tools are
all they need (or at least I think he used
to say that when he was still on the list??),
but that kind of claim assumes that somebody
else will do DTP or will do the web publishing
or the help-file generation.
Personally, I could be content to just write in
a text editor, either with, or without, layout
tags. I do find it more satisfying to use
FrameMaker myself, rather than to feed somebody
whose only specialty is page layout/dtp.
At any rate, I'm using almost exactly the list
you named, but trying to wean myself over to
OpenOffice
the GIMP
Dia
Quanta
and whatever else looks useful.
(But, I'm not doing any WinHelp...)
I'm taking a hit by moving away from FrameMaker,
because there are features in FM that are
very useful -- though not critical -- that are
not in OpenOffice. Or, if they ARE there, I
haven't stumbled on 'em yet, and the documentation
isn't very helpful. Which means, that they aren't
there for me. Even so, the advantage is not enough
to keep me tied to Windoze and FM.
So, to sum up:
If I'm expected to do the whole job of creating and
publishing documents, then I need tools that can
handle all aspects, in reliable fashion, and with
some alacrity. I can afford to be slightly picky
BECAUSE there is a wealth of most kinds of tools
available, and I enjoy the smorgasbord.
> What are your minimum software tool reqs. for documenting?
>
> I mean, I suppose we could use MS Paint, Print Screen, Notepad, etc.,
> but for more than one project, at the professional level, such
> "inclusions" cost more in terms of efficiency, productivity, and time
> than does the purchase of specialist tools?
>
> I consider the following minimum specialist tools, with my current
> preferences in brackets:
>
> -Screen capture software (SnagIT)
>
> -Raster editing software (Photoshop)
>
> -Vector editing software (Illustrator)
>
> -DTP software (FrameMaker)
>
> -Online help software (WebWorks Publisher Pro)
>
> -Other DTP/publishing specialty software (Acrobat, purchased fonts,
> Adobe Type Manager Deluxe)
>
> -General software for everyday needs (MS Office, I.E. 6, Outlook)
[...]
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