Hi Nancy: I did a presentation about our switch from unstructured to structured FrameMaker back in 2005, so let me know if you want me to send it to you. It answers all your questions, such as how many pages we had, why we did it, what our output was, etc. I'm a lone writer too, but we don't do translation.
It's been about five years since we switched to structured FrameMaker, and I'm very happy with the results. I personally prefer to work in structured FM, and the SMEs who are using it prefer it too. Those who don't like to use FrameMaker have the option of writing in XML because of the structure. We've saved loads of time (sorry, don't have numbers) and loads of inaccuracies by being able to convert comments in code to XML-tagged documents that import directly into FrameMaker. I've also saved loads of time by having SMEs write either in FrameMaker or XML, so I think we've gotten our money back by now. However, I've been told that it's very unusual to be able to get SMEs to work in FrameMaker. If you're an STC member, Sarah O'Keefe wrote an article about whether structured authoring was a wise investment for small documentation shops (like lone writer places), and that article is supposed to appear in the December issue of Intercom. That might help, too. By the way, structured FrameMaker doesn't have to mean XML; I just found it useful to be able to do both. Fei Min -----Original Message----- From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Nancy Allison Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 2:09 PM To: framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: Switching to Structured FrameMaker Hi, all. With regard to structured FrameMaker, I am very late to the party. In fact, I have never used it yet. There's a good chance I'll be asked to investigate whether it would be useful to my current client. I thought I'd get a head start on the issues by asking for information from people who have made the switch. Here are my questions: --What was your documentation situation? (How many product lines, how many publications, how much single-sourcing, how much translation?) --Why did you (or your manager) decide that it was time to switch to structured documentation? What kind of limit had you reached? --What kinds of output do you create from structured FrameMaker? --Has structured FrameMaker made your work easier or more efficient? Has it improved the responsiveness or quality of your documentation? Feel free to tell me something else, if my questions don't address your situation. Thanks for all responses. --Nancy _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to Framers as feimin.lorente at onsemi.com. Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/feimin.lorente%40ons emi.com Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
