SMIDGEN (was Mac to PC - then back to Mac?)

[Michael J Maloney <mmaloney -at- EPIC-ISTI -dot- COM>]

Randy Cheves Writes:

>In agreement with the IsoDraw company, we obtained a copy of their
software to find the best way to go from Canvas and several other software
programs to FrameMaker. 

As for the IsoDraw program, we like the ease of using it and the fact that
it imports into FrameMaker very easily. One bad point of the software is
the cost. It is fairly expensive.<

Randy:

Thank you for considering IsoDraw as part of your total publishing
solution. Your comment above may lead the uninitiated to believe that
IsoDraw is an easy to use,  fairly expensive file converter.

If your goal is to purchase a reliable filter for introducing Canvas and
other file types into FrameMaker documents, IsoDraw might be considered a
fairly expensive solution. However, the ability to perform this task
successfully (filtering/exporting) represents only a SMIDGEN of IsoDraw's
capabilities, therefore possibly creating a misunderstanding regarding its
price/functionality ratio. 

IsoDraw is primarily a sophisticated "standards based" technical
illustration software with tremendous drawing capabilities. IsoDraw is
designed to work as an important production component within the
contemporary technical communication workflow. I think of IsoDraw as a
technical illustration tool and also a "bridge" product functioning between
the source of graphic data and the eventual placement of that data into a
technical document, ITEM, or Web application.

The PRESS RELEASE below explains why IsoDraw is a wonderful product to
consider when using FrameMaker as a publishing solution. (BTW, IsoDraw also
exports graphics in native MIF format.) However, the explanation below only
represents a SMIDGEN of IsoDraw's capabilities.

______________
PRESS RELEASE

Adobe and IsoDraw Provide Powerful Solution for
Standards-based Graphics in Publishing

Adobe FrameMaker 5.5 and FrameMaker 5.5+SGML to Include IsoDraw Technology
for Key Graphics Standards San Jose, CA - August 4, 1997 - Adobe Systems
Incorporated and The IsoDraw Company announced today that The IsoDraw
Company will provide Adobe with several important graphics technologies for
use in Adobe® FrameMaker® software and other products. The two companies
will also be cooperating in marketing Adobe FrameMaker software and The
IsoDraw Company's flagship technical illustration program, IsoDraw&trade;,
to the
technical documentation market.

CGM Graphics Standard Now Available to Adobe FrameMaker 5.5 Users Customers
in industries that produce high volumes of documentation with large numbers
of technical graphics have been frustrated by the lack of support for CGM
(Computer Graphics Metafile) graphics in today's publishing systems. CGM is
the ISO (International Standards Organization) standard 2D graphics format
defined for use with SGML. CGM has been widely adopted as a graphics
standard by industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, oil & gas,
heavy equipment, machine tools, rail equipment, and telecommunications.
With the release of Adobe FrameMaker 5.5 and FrameMaker 5.5+SGML software,
customers will for the first time have a robust publishing product that is
fully integrated with the latest CGM graphics capabilities.
  "Customers creating documents in industries that have SGML and CGM
standards requirements frequently rely on multiple, incompatible tools that
result in incomplete solutions," said Paul Anderson, vice president and
general manager of Adobe's Publishing Division. "With the integration of
IsoDraw and FrameMaker software, customers now have an off-the-shelf
solution that supports the broadest range of SGML and CGM standards, making
it easier and
more cost-effective to create and publish content that meet industry
requirements." "We currently use IsoDraw and FrameMaker for our technical
drawing and documentation," said Scott Mason, technical illustrator at John
Deere Corporation. "I am thrilled that Adobe and IsoDraw are collaborating
to provide better support for standards-based graphics in publishing. That
can only
make our job easier." "Good CGM graphics support has until now been a weak
area in the SGML authoring market," said Mark Vernon, president of The
IsoDraw Company. "The IsoDraw Company's agreement with Adobe will give a
big boost to the role of graphics in standards-based publishing. And as
more people want to deliver documentation electronically, complete with
interactive graphics, the combination of FrameMaker and IsoDraw will be
even more attractive."

Flexibility and Improved File-Exchange Adobe FrameMaker 5.5 software will
import and export CGM version 1, 2, and 3 graphics using new filters
supplied by The IsoDraw Company. Further, customers who use IsoDraw will
find that FrameMaker 5.5 can read CGM Version 4 files created by IsoDraw.
The new CGM filters in FrameMaker will include support for specific
industry profiles such as CALS (military), ATA (commercial air transport),
SAE J2008 (automotive), ISO ISP (general business), and PIP
(petrochemical).  "Customers who need high quality technical illustrations
for their documentation will benefit greatly when using FrameMaker together
with IsoDraw," explained Sean Conley, FrameMaker product manager. "Because
the two products will share the same CGM and other import/export filters,
customers can preserve the quality of their graphics in FrameMaker and will
not encounter the difficulties associated with incompatible filters."
Significantly enhanced filters for additional graphics formats used in
technical documentation including IGES, DXF, and HPGL will also be supplied
to Adobe by The IsoDraw Company for inclusion in FrameMaker 5.5. The result
is improved exchange of complex vector graphics between most CAD systems
and FrameMaker.

________________________________________________


If anyone would like to know more about IsoDraw, (including WebCGM,
interactivity with intelligent graphics, batch conversion tools, Interleaf
Graphics Extraction to CGM, and Internet plug-ins for viewing CGM
graphics), please contact me directly.

BTW, this response is not a solicitation. This response was submitted to
interrupt any potential misunderstanding regarding IsoDraw. Taken in this
context, I hope the flaming intensity is somewhere between minimal and
non-existent. Thank you in advance.


Michael J. Maloney
President, EPIC Creative Services
President, ISTI (International Society for Technical Illustrators)
IsoDraw User/Reseller/Trainer

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000