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Ginny Lee asked about the difference between FrameMaker and
PageMaker.
I have PageMaker and am considering getting FrameMaker. You
might want to check the archives for discussion on this topic.
As I understand it, PageMaker and FrameMaker are meant for
different tasks and sorts of projects. I have PageMaker, because
one of my predecessors used it for certain documents, and I have
recently been trying to learn to use it. I had been very frustrated to
work on actual, what I thought were simple, documents in
PageMaker. I think I finally have got the hang of PageMaker.
PageMaker is really a page layout tool. You can design templates
and styles to assist with repetitive design issues. A good purpose
for using PageMaker is a newsletter, where you maintain a similar
layout from issue to issue, and for each issue you import ("place")
stories (that have been written in Word or some other word
processor).
Although I have seen workbooks and short manuals created in
PageMaker, I am convinced that this is only appropriate for the final
layout of a document that will not change (or that is easy to layout
again in PageMaker). For example, PageMaker (at least 6.5plus)
has a plugin to create running headers based on a changing
element of the body text (for example, a particular header). I
thought this sounded great, except that PageMaker just generates
the running header as text; it is not a field that can be updated as
you change the body text (e.g., insert a number of paragraphs that
move a header to the next page). The same idea holds true for the
plugin to create numbered lists.
PageMaker is also popular for brochures, ads and other short
documents, where there is a large focus on page layout. It also lets
you create a few text/art effects, but I think you might be better
served on those effects in Illustrator or Photoshop (depending on
the artwork you are trying to combine with the text element).
Also, PageMaker styles are limited to paragraph styles - there are
no character styles.
My understanding is that FrameMaker is designed for longer
documents, such as manuals. I think the focus is not as heavy on
page layout, and that is not just meant for the final layout. (i.e.,
that you can easily work on the changing text of a document within
FrameMaker).
If you are planning to "single source" documents, PageMaker and
FrameMaker provide you with different approaches. I understand
that in FrameMaker, you use styles to handle conditional text,
which can be used to create different documents. In PageMaker, I
do not see a way to make styles conditional. Instead, you can
place different design elements (text and/or graphics) on different
layers and turn on or off layers before printing (or creating a PDF
document). If you have worked with layers in Photoshop, it is a
similar concept.
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Michele Marques
Technical Writer, CMS Manufacturing Systems
mmarques -at- cms400 -dot- com
905-477-4499 x280
