Hello and Comment on Frame vs. Word

[Melonie Holliman <mrh -at- ABM -dot- AUSTIN -dot- TX -dot- US>]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to the group. It looks like a good resource.

My input on the Frame vs. Word issue:

I have used Interleaf, Frame, Word, Pagemaker, etc. in my
career. At one time, I made the decisions on buying for a
in-house DTP group, and I was constantly getting questions
on what was the best program. My answer: what are you trying
to do and what is your technical level?

Here is my opinion on how to use these programs:

Word is a great program for simple pieces (no matter how long).
Absolutly great for academic papers with just a few graphics and
simple headers and footers. I now use it, along with Robohelp,
to produce my help and tutorials. This program is great for the
low end user (which most of us probably are not). Word does have
some features I would like to see in Frame.

Pagemaker and Quark are great for brochures and newsletters. I just
inherited a 90 page manual in Pagemaker and it was HELL!! The
pagination control is nothing compared to Frame's. Page numbering is
weak as well. Graphic control is weak (with the exception of importing.)

Frame and Interleaf: I think these two programs are in the same
category rather than Word vs. Frame. Interleaf is an antiquated
bear with finicky habits that is never compatible with any standard
(Can you tell I do not really like this package? Could it be that
I was lied to by the staff a few too many times?) Realistically,
if you can live with its quarks and "character defects", it is
about 10% better than Frame. Last time I checked, though,
it cost about 10 times as much. Frame has its down sides, but I
do like it best. It does seem to be more stable on the Mac or UNIX
platforms than Windows. I have been working on a 500 page manual
with conditional headers/footers and rotated pages. I cannot imagine
attempting that in Word. Another great plus to Frame, it seems to port
cross-platform better than most other programs (fonts, of course,
are always a problem).

By the way, both of these programs take quite a bit of technical
knowledge to use WELL (Interleaf, for sure). Most people do not
use ANY program to its true capacity.


Anyway, that is my two cents worth. Feel free to email me directly
for more input or arguments.

Thanks,

Melonie Holliman
mrh -at- abm -dot- austin -dot- tx -dot- us

PS: Does anyone else get REALLY paranoid writing for hundreds of writers?
Forgive any grammerical or spelling errors, please.