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Can I use FrameMaker as my source for online help?

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I've been using WebWorks to take my user guide content from FrameMaker and convert it to HTML online help. Can I take FM content and use it directly in RoboHelp somehow, or is there a more elegant solution? I'd rather stick with the Tech Comm suite. Thanks.

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Jeff_CoatsworthCorrect answer

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FM and RH have traditionally played nice with multiple versions on the same machine - the worst side-effect is the Windows file associations get mucked up - .fm files open in FM2020 instead of FM2015. HOWEVER, Acrobat is notorious for having a conniption fit with old copies - it tends to trash existing installs if they are present (and not told to be skipped) - thus the safe advice is always use another machine & copies of your content to play around with.

Jeff_Coatsworth

Correct answer

Community Expert

FM and RH have traditionally played nice with multiple versions on the same machine - the worst side-effect is the Windows file associations get mucked up - .fm files open in FM2020 instead of FM2015. HOWEVER, Acrobat is notorious for having a conniption fit with old copies - it tends to trash existing installs if they are present (and not told to be skipped) - thus the safe advice is always use another machine & copies of your content to play around with.

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Your safest route is to use a non-production machine and download a trial of the 2020 suite. Then you can play away with a copy of your FM content to see what you can produce.

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bronxguys02Author

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Another great idea. Will do.

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Matt-Tech Comm Tools

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Jeff prefers the Fm to Rh to HTML5 route, and I prefer the Fm to HTML5 route.

The setup is similar, but if the straight output from Fm gives you what you need, eliminating the Rh updating process is (for me) a big plus.

Inserting Rh into the process means that there is an extra "update" needed to push content to Rh, which can take a few minutes.

I've also seen the Rh project get corrupted, especially in the 2015 and earlier versions of TCS.

Either way, you'll find the skins and options in the latest TCS are far superior to what is available in 2015.

-Matt

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-Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

bronxguys02Author

Known Participant

Thank you for your response. I just started comparing the two and so far, prefer FM straight to HTML5, but we'll see when I get farther into the process. 🙂

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Hmm, FM13 would be FM2015, right? IIRC that was the first year FM went into the year system of releases. So you already have the ability to publish to HTML5 in that version. I find that you get more control over the output if you go the FM to RH route, but YMMV. Play around & see what you can achieve. There have been issues reported in the FM to RH integration in FM2020 and RH2020, and RH2020 is a completely different UI compared to Classic versions from before.

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bronxguys02Author

Known Participant

Thank you for your answers. I will check it out.

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Depending on your version of FM (which you don't mention) you can go two ways - FM to HTML5 output directly or FM to RH to HTML5.

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bronxguys02Author

Known Participant

Thank you for the quick response. Currently using FM13, planning to upgrade to latest Tech Comm suite.

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