Wanted: Any available doc comparing Word XP and FrameMaker 7.2?

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Gay Alson wondered: <<I'm preparing a proposal for my boss to help 
decide which way to jump in a proposed upgrade to our authoring tool 
and I need something more recent than the excellent (archived) straw 
poll conducted back in 1995, when a reader asked for opinions as to 
which was the superior tool.>>

Rather than looking for a pre-existing comparison, I'd recommend 
turning the problem around and starting with a careful analysis of your 
actual, specific needs. What problems are you trying to solve now, and 
what problems do you expect to have to solve in the future? Based on 
that list, you can easily narrow down your comparison to the features 
that really count for you, not the kinds of features you'll see in 
typical computer magazine reviews--which are largely useless (too 
short, too general, and too focused on new features rather than overall 
usability).

<<At that time, people were still on Word 6 and Frame 5 but I don't 
want to base my recommendations on features or functionality that have 
significantly changed.>>

And they have indeed chnaged very significantly. Techwr-l is probably a 
good place to collect opinions from experienced users of both programs 
on how well they should meet your specific needs.

Here's an idle thought that should work very well for you and for our 
little community: With Lisa's permission, send along a poll to the list 
(containing the problems you're trying to solve and asking for ratings 
of each program in terms of its ability to solve those problems) and 
collect the answers privately. Ask for more than just "how well on a 
scale of 1 to 10" answers; ask for the little tips, tricks, and gotchas 
that won't show up in numeric scales but that can still be very 
significant.

Once you've got your answers, write up an article that summarizes the 
problems and how well each program stacks up in terms of its ability to 
solve each problem. Then publish the article in the techwr-l magazine. 
I'll bet a virtual beer you can even talk Lisa into paying you for the 
article, since it would be of obvious use to others in our community.

<<I haven't been as lucky in finding similar information about Word 
XP... (If not XP, even 2003 would help.>>

A small clarification: 2003 is the most recent version, not XP, and 
consensus in the editing community seems to be that XP was a botched 
release that should be avoided at all costs. Go straight to Word 2003 
and you won't regret it. (Speaking second-hand here, since I'm on a Mac 
and will probably have to wait until next year for 2003 to come out on 
the Mac so I can test it myself.)

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Geoff Hart   ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
www.geoff-hart.com
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