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When to use RoboHelp over FrameMaker?

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I am pseudo-new to the Adobe RoboHelp and FrameMaker. I am trying to understand why you would use one tool over another. Any advice? .

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Jeff_CoatsworthCorrect answer

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You could use either tool for that - both will produce Responsive HTML5 output that can be uploaded to a webserver for hosting. PDFs can be created and hosted as downloadable files. They both run on JavaScript to serve up a Table of Contents, Index, Glossary, and Search; no need for a CMS unless you're doing a lot a of content reuse - in which case, Structured FM would be better suited. FM has a steeper learning curve (it's not Word) and RH is very author-friendly. Don't forget you can get free 30-day trials of them both to play with.

Peter Grainge

Community Expert

@bronxguys02 Open the About RoboHelp sample project. It contains lots of information about importing and creating outputs.

Any specific questions, please start a new thread.

________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

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bronxguys02

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Thank you!

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Peter Grainge

Community Expert

@bronxguys02 RoboHelp can generate Responsive and PDF. You don't need Fm for that but maybe you have a reason for going that route.

________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

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bronxguys02

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Thank you, Peter. I am trying to determine the best way to "do it all." Apparently authoring with RH is all I need for our OLH and PDF deliverables. I'll be importing our single source FM files that were used to create OLH in WebWorks and PDF for manuals. Is there "process" documentation that takes me through the required settings to establish RH output I want after importing the FM files? I'm not sure what to do first to customize the output.

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Peter Grainge

Community Expert

How recently did you buy? If very recent it might be worth speaking to Customer Support as it would probably have been cheaper to buy the Technical Communication Suite. Both have recently been upgraded so if you bought within the last month, they may let you upgrade. However there is a fly in the ointment. All are now subscription only. The TCS subscription is less than individual subscriptions.

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aaroAuthor

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Thank you, Peter. I should have been more detailed. I did purchase the Technical Communication Suite. Thanks for looking out for a noob. Aaron

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

RH can import FM content, but the reverse is not true - getting RH content into FM is a painful process done mainly through copy/paste or Word.

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bronxguys02

Known Participant

If I author in RH, can I then publish to PDF without going through FM?

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bronxguys02

Known Participant

Or is it better to author in FM and send to RH for HTML5 output (or Responsive HTML)?

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Jeff_Coatsworth

Correct answer

Community Expert

You could use either tool for that - both will produce Responsive HTML5 output that can be uploaded to a webserver for hosting. PDFs can be created and hosted as downloadable files. They both run on JavaScript to serve up a Table of Contents, Index, Glossary, and Search; no need for a CMS unless you're doing a lot a of content reuse - in which case, Structured FM would be better suited. FM has a steeper learning curve (it's not Word) and RH is very author-friendly. Don't forget you can get free 30-day trials of them both to play with.

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aaroAuthor

Participant

I purchased both. One other question, if I may. Because of the learning curve with FM, I think I will start with RH. Eventually though, I think there will be reusable content needed. Can I port the RH files to FM when the time is right?

Thanks again for being so helpful.

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johndaigle

Legend

BTW, "aaro" RoboHelp itself has very powerful reuse features, including robust cross-referencing, variables, snippets and condition tagging that enables Dynamic Content Filtering.

...just sayin'

John Daigle

Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor

1395 NE Newport Heights Dr.

Newport, OR 97365

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John DaigleAdobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate InstructorNewport, Oregon

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

Use both! Honestly, that's why the Technical Communication Suite exists.
But in reality, you need to look at what you're going to do and what output you want to produce - FM comes from the book-publishing industry, so long-form, highly-linked, strong PDF creation is its forte. RH has traditionally been aimed at producing online HTML in various forms; that's its strength. Both products are narrowing the gap: FM is publishing HTML5 output and RH is now creating better PDF output.

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aaroAuthor

Participant

Thank you, Jeff, for the quick response. I am wanting to create an operations, maintenance, and surviellance manual and make it available online, but printable if need be. Once I have it created, I'm assuming it goes into some sort fo CMS?

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