Structured versus Unstructured FrameMaker

Forum|Forum|14 years ago
March 23, 2011
3 replies
10768 views

Hi everyone. I'm not sure if this is the right venue for this, so apologies if it's not, but I'm looking for information and opinion.

I'm working in TCS2, Windows 7 64 bit. I have been for about two years now, and I author in unstructured FrameMaker, import into RoboHelp and create online help. And at first, I wasn't doing much with conditional text in Frame, it was pretty straightforward authoring and so I began in unstructured Frame. I am now handling up to seven different conditional tags and various combinations therein... And someone mentioned to me that it could be a good idea to now move to structured Frame.

My main book consists of a TOC, index, and then several chapter files which are imported into the book. Each file is also part of it's own separate book, as I do generate PDFs as a secondary help type. I use bulleted lists, various heading levels, character tags and paragraph tags, and cross-references. I'm not sure what else is relevant information that impacts this move or that would serve as additional pro/con here.

I understand this would involve learning and time... So I need to be convinced of the value of moving to structured Frame, and then I need to convince others around me, etc. I'm wondering what the main advantages are, where the pain might be, if there are limitations when dealing with a Robohelp integration (if anyone knows that), etc. We are a small-ish company but I am the only writer, so I expect the help will only grow as we move forward.

Any thoughts/comments/details are appreciated.

Thanks,

Adriana

FAQ

This topic has been closed for replies.

adrianaharperAuthor

Known Participant

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this discussion. The debate rages on in my world as to if I'm moving or not... But at least I have more to go on, now! It also appears as though there is entirely more to consider than the management of conditional text.

Any additional comments, resources, thoughts, etc. are welcome.

Thanks again to the community here,

Adriana

adrianaharperAuthor

Known Participant

This is exactly the type of discussion and information I was hoping to gather, and I hope it continues... Thank you to all who have contributed so far, so much good information.

Is there a way to determine if I (an organization) needs or would benefit from structured authoring over unstructured authoring? The ones I've found so far are:

· You need to create XML but want to work in a familiar authoring environment without dealing with the minutiae of XML syntax.

· You need to enforce a consistent structure within and across documents.

· You need a guided editing interface to support authors in creating valid structured and/or XML documents.

· You need to create valid XML documents because of your publishing requirements, customer requirements, or content management needs.

· You need to publish print or PDF documents from XML source files.

(I found these items on the WritersUSA site as previously mentioned in this thread (thank you) - http://www.writersua.com/articles/frame/index.html)

I would say only one applies to me, at present - the consistent structure. That is always important. So if that is it, and I'm already doing that because I'm the only writer so I manage what I do on a daily basis, do I not need structured authoring?

I understand it would take time to learn, etc. and that is a real consideration. However, if that time equals a payoff in terms of my authoring, my generated end results, etc - it would be worth it in the long run. I guess in other words, I am open to short-term pain for long-term gain...On the other hand, I also need to explain to those around me why this needs to happen, so I need some arguments or backup for a change (other than moving ahead with technology - which is a good argument and one I agree with, but it doesn't necessarily justify the 'why' in terms of slowed production output in the interim, if it turns out the move isn't worth it...).

Thanks for the continued discussion and information,
Adriana

Van Kurtz

Inspiring

Adriana,

Maybe the extra time it takes to create the EDD, etc, could be balanced by the time wasted in fixing and recovering from frequent FrameMaker crashes due to problems with conditional text.

Van

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

What do you think you'll gain by moving to structured FM? Unless you implement some sort of schema like DITA and a CMS for content re-use, it's probably not going to get you very far ahead.

RoboColum_n_

Legend

To add to what Jeff said, you may want to read this article on the WritersUA site. It is a little old but it still applies. Hopefully it will help you make up your mind.