Writers' Row

[dlrturtle]

I am looking at the possiblity of changing from Word to FrameMaker for large manuals. Word is just too unstable for documents that are several hundred pages long, and they are slow to open and easy to mess up. I know that FrameMaker is a viable option, but one of our customers requires that all manual files be provided to them in Word. Does anyone know if you can convert FM back to Word? I had the demo, but I got caught up in a proposal, and it expired before I could actually do much with it. Adobe refuses to give me another shot at it.

Thanks.
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[LucyL]

I just sent e-mail to the tech writer in our computer department. Our doc control group demands Word, and I have to comply. IT falls outside of their purvue so the other writer gets to use FrameMaker and other nice tools. He's a veteran tech writer, so I think he'll have an answer for you.

I haven't used FrameMaker in over 10 years, since I landed here in a Microsoft only world.

Lucy
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Lucy L
My blog: http://marshianthoughts.blogspot.com/

[Anya]

Check this support page on the Adobe site:
http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/316205.html
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[LucyL]

Here's the response from my co-worker who uses FrameMaker:

FM exports to .rtf format. I would think with a little work on the Word templates the resultant output would be OK.

If not, there are also sources on the Internet who offer converters. I know if I had a client who required Word versions of large documents I would pay for the converter myself rather than struggle with Word.
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Lucy L
My blog: http://marshianthoughts.blogspot.com/

[LucyL]

Donna,
One more thing--the filters that convert FrameMaker to RTF apparently has some issues with auto numbering in Word (no surprise since Word has its own internal problems with auto numbering).

My colleague would be interested in hearing how successful the conversion goes. He knows it is supposed to work, just does not have much experience with FM==>Word.
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Lucy L
My blog: http://marshianthoughts.blogspot.com/

[dlrturtle]

Thanks. I am trying to amass information so that if they do decide to do this, they will be going in with their eyes open. A contract is a contract, and it is doubtful that we can change this requirement. I also doubt that we will be able to justify the cost of a lengthy conversion and cannot charge this back to the government. I am not in charge nor do I have a lot of input (I am trying to learn to keep my mouth shut). My inclination would be to continue using Word for the contract work that requires it, and go to FM for other documentation.

Thanks again. It's good to have this forum to kick things around in.
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[LucyL]

My colleague insists the FM is much friendlier and easier to manage than is Word for large documents, such as manuals with multiple chapters. I can't speak about FM, but I've certainly spent hours trying to fix formatting issues with Word when doing long manuals. For instance, sectioning a document makes automatic pagination go nuts and you have to hand enter/fix the page numbers. The fixes don't always work!

Given the opportunity, I'd take a good look at FM for my projects, but I don't have that option.

The learning curve shouldn't be too bad.
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Lucy L
My blog: http://marshianthoughts.blogspot.com/

[dlrturtle]

I would jump to FM in a minute if it weren't for this requirement for us to provide Word files. We can't double-bill the customer for the conversion and the contract is not negotiable.
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[LucyL]

I have just inherited a software manual that was already in progress and formatted as a book with structured files. I'm really not having much trouble editing in it. The previous "owner" did create some tools in FM that are making the job go faster.

It does handle multiple chapters very nicely and the numbering, TOC, and other elements seem to maintain their integrity across chapters.

I now have a good (but surprisingly hard to find) manual for FM on my desk called just "FrameMaker 7" in Scriptorium's Publishing Fundamentals series. Authors are O'Keefe and Loring.

As I spend more time with the program, I'll try to compare its features with MS Word.
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Lucy L
My blog: http://marshianthoughts.blogspot.com/