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You could go the FrameMaker to XML to HTML route. Have the programmers make
the changes in the XML, ASCII like HTML, and then you could import the XML
back into FrameMaker.
I also ask, as another responder did, "Why do you have to update the Help
files and not FrameMaker"? I would always opt to updating the original
source over updating the output of the original source. I have many ask why
not just edit the PDF to fix that spelling or grammatical error. Well, the
next time you generate the source, the error may still be there and you have
to 'remember' to go back and fix the output, again. Always fix the source
and re-generate the desired outputs, whether it is PDF, XML, HTML...
whatever.
-----Original Message-----
From: wpsynek -at- datadesignservices -dot- com
[mailto:wpsynek -at- datadesignservices -dot- com]
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2003 8:53 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: FrameMaker > Help > FrameMaker?
Hello everyone,
I'm a new subscriber to this list and have been pretty impressed with how
quickly questions/problems posted get answered. Well, here's my first
question, hopefully someone has done this before and can make some
suggestions...
I contract my services to a company and I am their lone Tech Writer. I was
recently told of a short-term project they want me to do that would
involve creating a User Manual for a new software application using
FrameMaker. They want me to use the FrameMaker source to create online
help files using RoboHelp. After I deliver the documentation and help
files, the software group plans on making all minor revisions to the help
files themselves using RoboHelp.
So far so good, but here's where my question comes into play... the
software group's plan is to have me incorporate the accumulated "minor"
changes into the FrameMaker source at periodic intervals as part of a
"major" update.
Is there any way to easily (or not so easily) get these changes from the
help files back into FrameMaker?
At this point I have no clue as to how the changes to the help files
could be tracked so that the FrameMaker source files can be updated
relatively painlessly.
