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P
pinu2
Participating Frequently
March 8, 2010
Question

FM/RoboHelp Integration

  • March 8, 2010
  • 4 replies
  • 2061 views

We have FM 9 and we're looking to buy RoboHelp 8.  From what I'm reading here, it doesn't sound they are integrated.  I

am expecting what I saw in the RoboHelp for FrameMaker demo at the Baltimore STC conference, where

my changes in FrameMaker are automatically picked up in RoboHelp.

Is this the case or do you need to import FM into RoboHelp every time there is a change?  FYI, the sales person couldn't answer this question.

Thanks.

This topic has been closed for replies.

4 replies

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pinu2Author
Participating Frequently
March 10, 2010

Thanks, RJ.  I'll take this offline and send you an e-mail today.

Ted

P
pinu2Author
Participating Frequently
March 9, 2010

Thanks for the information.  What I saw was actually "RoboHelp for FrameMaker" at the 2004 Baltimore STC conference.  It was a Macromedia offering before the Adobe takeover, and long before the Tech Comm Suite.  We tried to order it about eight months later and it was already discontinued.

I still have the trial CD and it worked very well - much like using RoboHelp with Word.

We were hoping to come back to RoboHelp from Flare, but we won't do it if RoboHelp still isn't integrated with FrameMaker almost six years later.  We already have FrameMaker 9, Acrobat 9 Pro, and CS3 (Photoshop, etc.), so we really don't want to overpay for RoboHelp just to get the Suite.

This is very disappointing, to say the least.

A
Art Campbell
Inspiring
March 9, 2010

The software works, and works well... it's in the second generation.

While I understand your reluctance to spend money you don't have to, for most shops buying two or three of the applications in the suite covers the cost of the upgrade, which gives you the other aps essentially for "free."

So I'd submit that it was your shop's decision to purchase piece-meal rather than as a suite that's causing you problems.

Cheers,

Art

Burtin
Burtin
Inspiring
March 9, 2010

I agree with Art completely.

A number of people have posted similar issues because of trying to take the same path (buying one or two of the parts and trying to get the same functionality as the suite) to save some money. The problem is that you just can't get here from there. It appears that you already qualify for upgrade pricing (link below), so the smart money's on cutting your losses now and adopting the whole suite as soon as possible.

http://store.adobe.com/store/en_us/popup/software/techcommsuite2/upgrade_eligibility.html

Hope this helps...

Burtin

Matt-Tech Comm Tools
Community Expert
Matt-Tech Comm ToolsCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 8, 2010

To follow on the 2 previous correct entries, you can download the

entire TCS2 suite to demo, but you'd better plan on doing it overnight or

over a weekend. (13Gb, if I remember correctly)

-Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant
A
Art Campbell
Inspiring
March 8, 2010

I suspect what you saw was TCS2, which has some additional integration code.

However, most of the time, for most people in most situations, things work pretty well.

What you usually see in the forums are the corner cases and problems.

May want to ask in the TCS User's Group... http://groups.google.com/group/TCS-Users?hl=en.

Burtin
Burtin
Inspiring
March 8, 2010

Hello, Art.

The independent (or "point") versions of FM and RH are not integrated. In order to get the functionality you saw in the demo you mentioned, you will need to upgrade to the full Adobe Technical Communication Suite, currently at version 2 (FM 9.0p250 and RH 8.0.2.208).

Best regards,

Burtin Hart

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