Translation: Word vs Framemaker vs Indesign

["Catherine Buck" <cbuck -at- xillix -dot- com>]

This message is about what program to use as the target and possible as the
source (input) for translating a manual.
We have an 80 page manual in Word, currently translated into 11 languages
including Polish, Czech and Turkish (P-C-T). We have a translation agency
handling all aspects of translation, and delivering Word and PDF files to
us.
Because of formatting problems at the output stage, it looks like we have to
switch away from Word. But Framemaker does not support P-C-T (unbelievable
as this may sound). The other suggestion is Adobe Indesign, but this seems
to me to be more of a program suitable for magazine layout, and not really
suited to a manual that has numbered lists, page numbering, cross
references, a ToC, etc. Is this true?
Another choice is to use Framemaker for most languages and Indesign for
P-C-T. Although this seems a pain, it does have the advantage of allowing FM
for most languages, and ID for P-C-T (which I am hoping, no doubt in vain,
will just go away one day).
Using both FM and ID for the target also has the advantage of allowing me to
put the English version into FM (instead of leaving it in Word) and thereby
taking advantage of the conditional text feature for handling the
differences between UK, US and Canadian English versions. (These differences
are not just spelling - they are also market and regulatory differences).
Note that we would not have to buy either FM or ID if we didn?t want to. I
can continue to deliver the source in Word and get back PDF for the printer
plus a file in the new output software. Not being able to work with the
output file would not be an issue.
Any insights or suggestions about ID vs FM?


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