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.
Re: Making a pitch to switch from Word to FrameMaker
Subject:Re: Making a pitch to switch from Word to FrameMaker From:Linda Laurie <LinLaurie -at- CLASSIC -dot- MSN -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 1 Oct 1997 04:56:32 UT
I have to disagree. I like Word and would not want to switch to a more
expensive tool with a user paradigm very different from other DTP packages.
Frame started out as competition for Ventura Publisher and PageMaker and has
evolved into a single-source publishing system. I believe it started the
single-source ideology but it isn't the only tool doing single source
publications any more.
Word is versatile, easier to use, has a paradigm that is similar to PM and
other DTP programs. I know many writers that would not want to switch.
Lin
----------
From: Technical Writers List; for all Technical Communication issues on
behalf of John Lord
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 1997 3:35 PM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: Re: Making a pitch to switch from Word to FrameMaker
At 11:47 AM 10/1/97 -0700, you wrote:
<snip>
>Next week we're making a pitch for out company to switch from WinWord 97 to
>FrameMaker 5.5.
>When I asked the manager of my group, who used to work for HP, about
>adopting Frame, he replied that most tech writers hate Frame and that it
>was a hangover from the days of UNIX. Most writers at HP, he claimed, would
>gladly dump Frame for Word if they could.
<\snip>
I'm sure that you will get many responses from tech writers on this topic.
Your ex-HP manager could not be further from reality - most of the writers
I know (me included) feel so strongly about using FrameMaker that they
would quit rather than switch to MSWord. I would bet that most of the
current writers at HP feel the same way, and suspect that the ex-HP manager
is at least 4 or 5 years behind the times.
Do everything possible to avoid MSWord as your major writing tool - you
should probably be able to find lots of ammunition from the TECHWR-L
archives on FrameMaker versus MSWord.
Good Luck
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Lord Manager of Technical Publications mailto:jlord -at- livingston -dot- com Livingston Enterprises, Inc. http://www.livingston.com Pleasanton, California.
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html