RE: Two Professional Questions

[Ed <hamonwry12 -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

I'm a fan of Flare, less so of the other tools in the suite. Mimic is a bit
behind Captivate and Camtasia, and Capture's not as good as SnagIt. The
Analyzer app is a very nice addition, though.

I pull in content from Frame, and Flare does the conversion to WebHelp. What
I like about Flare is that it's hackable; all of the config files are XML
files, and all of the styling's done with CSS. You can create batch files to
compile your help, so as long as you have a little knowledge, you can do
most of the work outside of the GUI.

Hope this helps,
-=Ed.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+hamonwry12=hotmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+hamonwry12=hotmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf
> Of Roberta Hennessey
> Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 2:30 PM
> To: salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com
> Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: Two Professional Questions
> 
> Ah, thank you so much.
> 
> What have people's experience been with MadCap's suite of products?
> thumbs up or down?
> 
> 
> On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 2:25 PM, Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>
wrote:
> 
> > For any Word question (or M$ question), I recommend Windows Secrets
> > Lounge<http://lounge.windowssecrets.com/>(formerly Woody's Lounge, as
> > in long-acknowledged Word uber-guru, Woody
> > Leonhard).
> >
> > > Chris
> > On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 10:01 AM, Roberta Hennessey
> > <rahennessey -at- gmail -dot- com>wrote:
> >
> > > Oh my, I hope I've not been annoying.
> > >
> > > My consideration is that the guide I was hired to create is now apt to
be
> > > at
> > > least two guides, and a future
> > > software releases will add a third book. There are no functional specs
> > here
> > > nor program management milestones.
> > > It appeared Word was going to be the tool of choice before I got here.
> > >
> > > Not being a Word superuser,  I have found Word does not update the
TOCs
> > > very
> > > well. I also cannot get Shift + F5 to
> > > work with cross references so users can go back to the point of origin
of
> > > the cross reference. This would provide a user
> > > with quick, good access to additional information if they needed it.
> > (Does
> > > anyone know of a fix? I see lots of complaints on web but no
solution.)
> > >
> > > Part of the comfort factor is true, though I see ease of creating
other
> > > versions of the doc a consideration as well.
> > > I think (and I could be very wrong) it would take another contractor
far
> > > less time to come in an add 2 new chapters to
> > > a guide using Frame than using Word (and running the risk of the doc
> > > getting
> > > too big).
> > >
> > > Am I wrong? Can anyone suggest where a writer can go for expert
superuser
> > > Word help? What alternative tools would people
> > > suggest - this is going to be 2 to 3 guides for an internet
application.
> > I
> > > think I have 6-9 weeks to complete.
> > >
> > > Bobbi
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 12:21 PM, Gene Kim-Eng <techwr -at- genek -dot- com>
wrote:
> > >
> > > > That was my interpretation as well.  Either the company is intrigued
by
> > > > Bobbi's FM experience and would like to know whether FM would be an
> > > > improvement over what they have now, or (hopefully not) Bobbi has
> > managed
> > > > to
> > > > annoy them with comments about how much "better" FM is as a tool and
> > > > they're
> > > > giving her a chance to put up or you-know-what by providing a
detailed
> > > > FM-vs-Word comparison.
> > > >
> > > > I've done single-sourcing with FM and I hated it.  I doubt that I'd
> > like
> > > > trying to do it in Word any better.  If it's a genuine future step,
my
> > > > preference would be to move to a native XML tool.  Single-sourcing
is a
> > > > significant mindset adjustment compared to traditional authoring,
and
> > > > trying
> > > > to hang on to old, familiar tool environments just bogs down the
> > learning
> > > > process.  At least it did for me.
> > > >
> > > > Gene Kim-Eng
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 7:26 AM, Combs, Richard
> > > > <richard -dot- combs -at- polycom -dot- com>wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > So, to recap, here's the situation as I understand it: The company
> > has
> > > > been
> > > > > using Word. Bobbi has come in as a contract technical writer, and
> > she's
> > > > > experienced with FM, but has never used Word for such a project.
> > > > >
> > > > > Why would you say the issue isn't Word vs. FM? Other than your
> > > enthusiasm
> > > > > for ID, that is. :-)
> > > > >
> > > > > The issue is Word vs. FM because one is a comfortable fit for the
> > > company
> > > > > (no change required) and the other is a comfortable fit for their
> > > writer
> > > > (no
> > > > > learning curve or stumbling blocks).
> > > > >
> > > > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > > >
> > > > Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with
> > > > Doc-To-Help.
> > > > Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
> > > > Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
> > > > http://www.doctohelp.com
> > > >
> > > > LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for
registration.
> > > >   Use referral code TECHWR-L for $50 off conference tuition!
> > > >          See program at: http://lavacon.org/
> > > >
> > > >
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> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Roberta Hennessey
> > > Technical Writer
> > > (978) 835-4282
> > > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > >
> > >  Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with
> > > Doc-To-Help.
> > > Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
> > > Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
> > > http://www.doctohelp.com
> > >
> > > LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for
registration.
> > >   Use referral code TECHWR-L for $50 off conference tuition!
> > >          See program at: http://lavacon.org/
> > >
> > >
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> > >
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >
> > Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with
> > Doc-To-Help.
> > Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
> > Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
> > http://www.doctohelp.com
> >
> > LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for registration.
> >   Use referral code TECHWR-L for $50 off conference tuition!
> >          See program at: http://lavacon.org/
> >
> >
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> 
> 
> --
> Roberta Hennessey
> Technical Writer
> (978) 835-4282
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> 
> Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with
Doc-To-Help.
> Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
> Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
> http://www.doctohelp.com
> 
> LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for registration.
>    Use referral code TECHWR-L for $50 off conference tuition!
>           See program at: http://lavacon.org/
> 
> 
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help. 
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try 
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. 
http://www.doctohelp.com

LavaCon 2010 in San Diego Sept 29 - Oct 2 is now open for registration.  
   Use referral code TECHWR-L for $50 off conference tuition! 
          See program at: http://lavacon.org/


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