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I use Frame to emulate the look and feel of documents created in Word.
Shoot...I've used Frame to emulate the look and feel of documents
created for UNIX MAN pages. It may require a fair amount of tweaking,
but there is nothing special to the formats you can apply to Word that
you cannot emulate in Frame (though I'm sure that someone will come up
with some attribute that cannot be matched :-) ).
Do yourself a favor...Frame will match Word easier than Word will match
Frame. Create the design in Word, then match it in Frame..otherwise, you
will go nuts trying to do something in Word that isn't supported easily
(e.g., side-heads without putting everything in tables).
In fact, I was at a contract where I had three templates, each with the
same set of tags by name, but way-different attributes, including Master
Page. If the VP of Engineering wanted the document to look like a MAN
page, I imported that set of tags and MP. If Network Operations wanted
the same content with a different L&F, I imported those tags and MP. If
Marketing wanted their L&F, (which had been started by Word until I cam
in and introduced Frame), in went their version of the tags and MP.
Brian Doonan wrote:
>
> I've noticed that some of you use both Word and Framemaker to create
> documents. Being rather new to this field of work, I have yet to use
> Framemaker, although I have significant experience working with Word. I
> understand that if one works with documents under 200 pages Word is a good
> option and if the documentation is over 200 pages Framemaker is preferred.
>
> The problem that I am facing at this moment is that I am working with both
> short and long manuals, many being well over the 200 page mark. I would
> consider using Framemaker for these documents but I am concerned that the
> "look" produced by using these two programs will differ considerably. It is
> in my company's interest to have a consistent look to our manuals, whether
> they are hard copies or help files.
>
> I am interested in knowing if I can use both these programs without
> compromising the consistency of the look.
>
> Since I am a strong supporter of keeping the traffic of this mailing list
> to a minimum, I am willing to post a summary of the replies if people send
> me their messages directly rather than posting them through the list.
>
> Brian Doonan
> Technical Writer Coreco Inc.
>
--
John Posada, Technical Writer
Telcordia Technologies, the company formerly known as Bellcore mailto:john -at- tdandw -dot- com mailto:jposada -at- telcordia -dot- com
phone(w) 732-699-3077 phone(h) 732-291-7811
alpha-pager: 800-864-8444 pin 1857522 http://www.tdandw.com
email pager: mailto:1857522 -at- pagemart -dot- net
My opinions are mine, and neither you nor my company can take credit for
them.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish,
and he will sit in a boat and smoke cigars all day."
"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."
G Hanek
