[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
[Author Index (this month)][Thread Index (this month)][Top of Archive]

Re: Multi-Platform Environments and DTP

Subject: Re: Multi-Platform Environments and DTP
From: Ed Marsh <lists -at- edmarsh -dot- com>
To: Chantel Brathwaite <brathwaitec -at- castupgrade -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 24 May 2011 11:57:15 -0400

From what little I know about Scribus, it's not on par with the professional layout software like Xpress or InDesign. While InDesign's long document features have steadily improved, Frame is still the standard in this regard, at least in the TechComm community.

Would it be possible to install something like VirtualBox on your Windows PC, and use that to run Linux and capture the screens you need? That way you can continue to use your Windows-based tools without problems. I run Ubuntu in VirtualBox to develop and test web sites in Drupal.

Hope this helps.

-=Ed.

On Mon, 23 May 2011 16:50:05 -0400, Chantel Brathwaite <brathwaitec -at- castupgrade -dot- com> wrote:

We are looking for alternatives to MS Word for long (500+ pages),
multi-chapter technical documents. Our customer is the government, so
no matter what we do, we will probably have to deliver some content in
word - but other content can be delivered as a pdf. Our environment is
a mix of windows, linux, and one mac user ... most of the developers
use Linux and run windows on a terminal emulation program called
crossover. I am using windows xp. I'll probably be using xp for
while unless I switch to linux.

Currently, I'm using Word and Framemaker 7.2. We were hoping to use
Framemaker exclusively for the different developers in the office...
but Frame no longer supports Unix. So, we are looking at
alternatives. Here's what I've considered. I would love feedback on
this ...

1. I keep Framemaker 7.2 (or possibly upgrade), then use mif2go to
convert the documents into a format that the engineers can read and
edit. Then I copy and paste the information back to the original
frame document. Or alternatively, I convert them to PDF. I can
import PDF comments from Frame10, but there are some limitations from
what I understand (the document has to be the same as the original
which makes including edits from multiple reviewers a little more
difficult).

2. We move to the cross-platform version of Framemaker - which is
Frame 8. But, older licenses are pretty expensive and Adobe will only
allow us one upgrade unfortunately.

3. We look into using a virtual machine ... but that might cause them
to make some changes that I'm not sure that they'll want to make.
(Crossover, which is a terminal emulation program doesn't support
adobe products very well - and the newer versions of frame are
untested.) If we do that, we can all just upgrade Frame 10 and all
documentation can be converted over.

4. We look at an alternative - such as QuarkXpress. But, I've heard
that the tech support for that product is really poor and while there
is windows and mac support, there is no unix support for the latest
version. I also looked at InDesign, but there is no unix support (and
it fails Crossover support). I'm not sure about PageStream and
Scribus; I'm just starting to look at those tools ...

I'm continuing to think about angles to work on this ... but it seems
that over the past five to ten years the DTP field has thinned
considerably for unix boxes, unfortunately.

Is there something that I'm overlooking? Or can you suggest other
alternatives for me or your experiences? For those of you working in
multi-platform environments, what do you typically use?

Thanks!

--
Chantel Brathwaite
Technical Writer
Cole Engineering Services Inc.
Web: http://www.coleengineering.com
Email: Chantel -dot- Brathwaite -at- coleengineering -dot- com
Phone: 407-207-1773 ext. 4138

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
http://www.doctohelp.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as lists -at- edmarsh -dot- com -dot-
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit

http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/lists%40edmarsh.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
http://www.doctohelp.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as admin -at- inktopia -dot- net -dot-
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/admin%40inktopia.net


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat





Follow-Ups:

References:
Learning HTML: From: Toni Williams
Re: Learning HTML: From: Sandy Harris
Re: Learning HTML: From: Katherine Noftz Nagel (Kat)
Re: Learning HTML: From: John G
Multi-Platform Environments and DTP: From: Chantel Brathwaite

Previous by Author: Re: Small-Scale Document Mgmt
Next by Author: Looking for cost-effective online help solution
Previous by Thread: Re: Multi-Platform Environments and DTP
Next by Thread: Re: Multi-Platform Environments and DTP

[Top of Archive] | [Author Index (this month)] | [Thread Index (this month)]

What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:

Sponsored Ads