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Subject:Re: in search for better tools From:Robert Lauriston <robert -at- lauriston -dot- com> To:GILLIOTTE Valérie <vgilliotte -at- mega -dot- com>, TECHWR-L Writing <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 8 Dec 2009 08:36:12 -0800
What's the maximum number of variations of one document that you'll need?
Switching to XML or structured FrameMaker wouldn't make any difference
in this context.
2009/12/8 GILLIOTTE Valérie <vgilliotte -at- mega -dot- com>:
> Hello,
>
> We are currently using Frame 7.1 and WWP2003 + ePro for single-sourcing our documentation. When I mean single sourcing, I mean having the same source for Pdfs and on-line help, that's all. We are now up against a new problem : having to produce different outputs based on the same source but with slight differences in the names of concepts etc (for example, according to the framework customers are using, a cat could be called a dog .... (but the principle of use of the tool remains the same).
>
> Right now, we would have to duplicate large portions of texts, changing them slightly, which is insane. I know Frame 7 is not ideal for managing multiple conditions and and I don't find text insets common to all products that easy to manage.
>
> I wonder what the best tools are and the easiest to implement for this now ( unfortunately, we have fewer human resources and more texts to duplicate).
>
> I considered using Frame 9. I kwow it handles conditions much better than Frame 7. Then, the question would be structured or unstructured ? I guess structured would be a better way as it enforces structure but requires more time to implement .... as our documentation is not always topic-oriented (sometimes we have to show examples of processes).
>
> To sum it up, years ago we implemented medium-level single sourcing with Frame and Webworks for print and on-line help. Now we need a bit more but we still can't afford high-level single sourcing (XML-XSL, etc), at least I guess so (if some small structures have sucessfuly implemented an XML solution without too much cost, I would be glad to hear about it).
>
> I wonder what the best compromise is ... Is it still Frame? (Or are there other tools that could be worth investigating ?)
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