TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
TechComm Dood noted (with irony I appreciate) that <<I think your
solution was embedded by the list server in your post.>>
It's true that WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT (the advertised product in question)
does allow online _review_ of Frame documents, and seems to be quite
good at that, but this is not at all the same thing as online
_editing_.
My understanding of the product is that FinalDraft is a considerably
more powerful and better managed (groupware) version of the simplistic
commenting feature that comes with Acrobat. Unfortunately, that doesn't
cut it for editing, because it seems like you're working outside the
original Frame file. That means someone has to reintegrate the edits
into the file. For comments, this is probably adequate; for heavy
substantive editing, this is completely ineffective.
Also, for those of us who work on Macs, it's worth noting that
Quadralay provides no Mac software. Although I can understand why they
made this decision, I have to ask why, if the reviewer part of the
package is integrated with Internet Explorer, they couldn't create
something in Java that would offer cross-platform support. Not rocket
science, boys and girls.
Last but not least, for those of us who consider Internet Explorer to
be a great big "come ransack my computer" function for crackers and who
avoid this particular malware wherever possible, I'm not keen on the
software architecture either. "Internet Explorer security" is an
oxymoron.
If I'm wrong about these points, I'd like to hear more from people who
are actually using the software. I'm basing my opinions purely on the
published specs at Quadralay's site, and perhaps I'm misreading
something.
--Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo: http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Technical Communication Certificate online - Malaspina-University College, Canada. Online training in technical writing, software (FrameMaker, RoboHelp, Dreamweaver, Acrobat), document & web design, writing manuals, job search. www.pr.mala.bc.ca/tech_comm.htm for details.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
