I was writing a comment on techcommtoolbox.com about FrameMaker and realized not only was it getting quite lengthy, but it would be good info to share here. I know FramMaker isn’t for everyone, but it really is a robust and flexible application when it comes to authoring technical content.
And for those who don’t know, you can comment on anything in techcommtoolbox.com, and I invite you to do so. The more comments in there, the richer the resource it becomes! It does appear that comments are moderated, so play nice to ensure your comment is published! I doubt there will be discrimination between praise and criticism, though I’m willing to wager that raving rants and flames will not be published. It is, after all, a professional resource.
FrameMaker is one of my favorite print-oriented technical documentation tools, and a solid tool for single-sourcing where solid printed or PDF documentation is needed. Many people tend to look sideways at it when they first start using it, for it functions a bit differently than other print authoring tools. Many other tools focus on layout and design, where FrameMaker allows you to automate the layout via text frames on its master pages and focus on the core of technical writing: content.
What I like most about FrameMaker is how easy it is to create multi-purposed content from one linear content source. The approach is old-school; author content in chapters or blocks of related information, using headings to break the content up – a practice that is as old as book writing itself. But, it is very easy to leverage this approach to authoring well-chunked topic-based content as well.
The trick to making this seemingly linear authoring tool work in a single-source fashion is to make smart use of the many dynamic functions it provides. By leveraging multiple master pages, conditional text, variables, cross-references, and reference page elements, you can set up your content to work as a book, a Help system, a user guide, a training guide, or have it ready for multiple language translation.
FrameMaker isn’t known as the most cutting edge or technically sexy tool out there, but the old saying holds true: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’ve been successful with FrameMaker for over a decade, and don’t see its usefulness disappearing any time soon.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Another FrameMaker plus that I take for granted is that FrameMaker is quite bulletproof — based on my FrameMaker 7.2 experiences. It’s really not very easy to crash FrameMaker.
I know I’m going to be sorry that I said that. There is a bullet out there with my name on it.
And as you said, there is nothing about FrameMaker that locks you in to a linear/narrative approach to content authoring. You can get locked in by habit, intertia, or even rational choice, but FrameMaker can lend itself to a topic-based authoring approach.