Microsoft Word 2007 vs. Framemaker

Report · May 27, 2008

To all Framemaker Users,

I would like to get your expert and valued opinions. I do all documentation for my employer and have been using Microsoft Word from the beginning. I've always wanted to make the change to Framemaker but my superiors frowned because they want everything done in Word. Since my guides and/or manuals never went past 200 pages, I felt I could live with Word.

In any event, Microsoft Word's user interface has changed for 2007 (as I'm sure you know). I have to admit, I'm not impressed with the display. Therefore, my question is whether I should, again, pursue Framemaker as a documentation tool. Please remember, everything must be saved as a Word document. Therefore, I would be using Framemaker to save as Word documents. Is this a viable solution or should I consider other products (that I can use and save as a Word document). Any ideas or thoughts are most appreciated as this change will have an effect on my job in the next 6-12 months.

Paul

Report · Jun 04, 2008

Francis...

I suggest you start a new thread asking for advice about the best practices for importing graphics into Frame documents. This is not the proper thread to tackle your difficulties with bitmaps and line art.

There are several of us that can offer additional advice to improve your understanding of the process and hence your workflow.

Dennis...

Report · Jun 08, 2008

"- Templates are real templates in Word that can automatically ensure consistent formatting. With Frame you have to import formats from another document."

... actually the templates in Frame are much more robust. However, a file becomes a template based on location, not file extension (as in Word).