Indexing recommendations

[Shlomo Perets]

Kevin,

You wrote:

>... The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is
>gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and
>work with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start
>there.

I recommend Marker Madness from Zenserve, http://www.zenserve.co.uk


Shlomo Perets

MicroType, http://www.microtype.com
Training, consulting & add-ons: FrameMaker, Structured FM and Acrobat

Indexing recommendations

[Mark Southee]

I've been using Emdex - http://www.emdex.ca/ and have found it does the
job well. It's $100 for a single user license.

Cheers

Mark 

-Original Message-
From: framers-bounces+mark.southee=surfcontrol@lists.frameusers.com
[mailto:framers-bounces+mark.southee=surfcontrol.com at lists.frameusers.co
m] On Behalf Of Kevin Hunter
Sent: 04 October 2006 16:10
To: 'framers at lists.frameusers.com'
Subject: Indexing recommendations

Hi all,

I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't
worked with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before).
The manual has also been totally restructured, and many features
superseded by different ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, and
the 'old', manual way is probably not going to work for me too well.

The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is
gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and
work with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start
there. But if I have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a
product that has the best combination of other, extra features for the
price?

I've so far found:

http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of
features, but would I use them all?)
http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker
tools, less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of
some of the features http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html
-Silicon Prairie index tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link
directly into the frame marker system, does some other kind of marker?

Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any
time taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be
sufficient.

Thanks,

Kevin Hunter
ESDI, Victoria BC

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RE: Re: Indexing recommendations

[Frank Stearns]

On Wed, 4 Oct 2006, Guy K. Haas wrote:

Thanks for the elaboration, Frank. 
Have you considered making a configuration option for IXgen that would enable 
the user of such third-party tools to turn off the "[" balancing?


Yes -- that is indeed the conceptual plan. Problem is, within IXgen there 
several ways this could be done and several different places where it 
could be done.


Even for a very "simple" change like this, UI and coding permutations 
expand rather quickly, and then one must be very careful.


We elected to roll this into a future IXgen release, when a regular 
development/testing cycle would be in place.


I also recall now that when this issue came up with one of Rick's clients, 
we provided a n/c IXgen 5.5 license for them to use when 
TimeSavers would be downstream.


Bracket processing was added in IXgen 7 to support several new features of 
IXgen. At that time we were not even aware of TimeSavers. As an indication 
of the rarity of the problem, more than three years of IXgen 7's release 
passed by before the issue surfaced.


Hope that clarifies a bit more.

Frank Stearns Associates | makers of IXgen(tm) for FrameMaker(r)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
TOLL FREE Voice (USA and Canada):  800-567-6421
USA Voice: 360-892-3970  USA FAX: 360-253-1498
http://www.fsatools.com

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Indexing recommendations

[Frank Stearns]

On Wed, 4 Oct 2006, Guy K. Haas wrote:

> Thanks for the elaboration, Frank. 
> Have you considered making a configuration option for IXgen that would enable 
> the user of such third-party tools to turn off the "[" balancing?

Yes -- that is indeed the conceptual plan. Problem is, within IXgen there 
several ways this could be done and several different places where it 
could be done.

Even for a very "simple" change like this, UI and coding permutations 
expand rather quickly, and then one must be very careful.

We elected to roll this into a future IXgen release, when a regular 
development/testing cycle would be in place.

I also recall now that when this issue came up with one of Rick's clients, 
we provided a n/c IXgen 5.5 license for them to use when 
TimeSavers would be downstream.

Bracket processing was added in IXgen 7 to support several new features of 
IXgen. At that time we were not even aware of TimeSavers. As an indication 
of the rarity of the problem, more than three years of IXgen 7's release 
passed by before the issue surfaced.

Hope that clarifies a bit more.

Frank Stearns Associates | makers of IXgen(tm) for FrameMaker(r)
franks at fsatools.com 
TOLL FREE Voice (USA and Canada):  800-567-6421
USA Voice: 360-892-3970  USA FAX: 360-253-1498
http://www.fsatools.com

Indexing recommendations

[Rick Quatro]

Hi Frank,

First of all, let me say publicly that I have a great deal of respect for 
you, both professionally and personally. I admit that my comment about price 
is subjective and was based on competitors' prices. I concede that value is 
not always measured on initial cost alone.

As far as marker content modification, however, my criticism stands. 
TimeSavers is a mature, well-known product in the FrameMaker market. Because 
of TimeSavers' extensive use of markers, IXgen was a great product to use in 
conjunction with it. Earlier versions of IXgen did not alter marker content, 
making it entirely suitable for any kind of marker processing. If index 
marker processing is the primary focus of IXgen, then why allow it to 
process Hypertext markers at all?

It would be simple for IXgen to accommodate TimeSavers users: simply have an 
optional setting to prevent IXgen from altering the contents of markers. 
Making this optional would not break any indexing features, but would 
restore its usefulness for non-index use. Instead of looking at this as an 
accommodation for .001% of your users, look at it as way of increasing 
market share. Perhaps more important, it would prevent the alienation of 
existing IXgen users that happen to be processing non-index markers and 
don't want their marker content altered.

Respectfully,
Rick Quatro

>> 2) IXgen may alter your marker contents, for example, by adding a ] to 
>> balance an opening [. This may be fine for Index markers, but may be
>
> And index marker processing IS the primary focus of IXgen -- not 
> specialized syntax for some other third-party product.
>
>> inappropriate for other marker types. For example, if you use IXgen with 
>> TimeSavers, you will not want anything added to your Hypertext markers. 
>> Many TimeSavers Hypertext markers have a [ in them that should not be 
>> balanced. IXgen should have a setting to prevent modification of your 
>> marker content, but it doesn't.
>
> The answer here is simple -- if you're one of the very small number of 
> IXgen users who work with the TimeSavers product, *don't* use IXgen to 
> process hypertext markers!! (Of course you can still use IXgen for index 
> and other marker types that contribute to the index.)
>
> We are looking at ways to accommodate TimeSavers, but we are unwilling to 
> risk breaking indexing features that are very helpful to 99.999% of our 
> users.

Indexing recommendations

[Rick Quatro]

IXgen used to be the gold standard for manipulating FrameMaker markers, and 
one that I used to heartily recommend. There are two things that soured me 
on IXgen:

1) Upgrade prices are quite high, especially if you only use it 
occasionally.

2) IXgen may alter your marker contents, for example, by adding a ] to 
balance an opening [. This may be fine for Index markers, but may be 
inappropriate for other marker types. For example, if you use IXgen with 
TimeSavers, you will not want anything added to your Hypertext markers. Many 
TimeSavers Hypertext markers have a [ in them that should not be balanced. 
IXgen should have a setting to prevent modification of your marker content, 
but it doesn't.

For these reasons, I hesitate to recommend IXgen to my clients.

Rick Quatro
Carmen Publishing
585-659-8267
www.frameexpert.com

Hi all,

I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't worked 
with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). The manual 
has also been totally restructured, and many features superseded by 
different ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, and the 'old', manual 
way is probably not going to work for me too well.

The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is 
gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and work 
with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start there. But if 
I have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a product that has the 
best combination of other, extra features for the price?

I've so far found:

http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of 
features, but would I use them all?)
http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker 
tools, less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of some of 
the features
http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie index 
tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the frame marker 
system, does some other kind of marker?

Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any time 
taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be sufficient.

Thanks,

Kevin Hunter
ESDI, Victoria BC

Indexing recommendations

[Art Campbell]

Be sure to look at IXGen by Frank Stearns. http://www.fsatools.com/ I
believe he's still doing eval versions. Solid design, bulletproof, and
as you point out, does all kinds of nice tricks.
Probably cuts indexing time in half, without sacrificing quality.
In addition to indexing, IXGen works with all kinds of markers, so you
can use it for hypertext and other applications too.


Art

On 10/4/06, Kevin Hunter  wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't worked 
> with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). The manual 
> has also been totally restructured, and many features superseded by different 
> ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, and the 'old', manual way is 
> probably not going to work for me too well.
>
> The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is gravy, 
> but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and work with 
> entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start there. But if I 
> have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a product that has the 
> best combination of other, extra features for the price?
>
> I've so far found:
>
> http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of 
> features, but would I use them all?)
> http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker 
> tools, less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of some of 
> the features
> http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie index 
> tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the frame marker 
> system, does some other kind of marker?
>
> Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any time 
> taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be sufficient.

-- 
Art Campbell art.campbell at 
gmail.com
  "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52 Vincent
   and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
 No disclaimers apply.
 DoD 358

Indexing recommendations

[Peter Gold]

Hi, Kevin:

You might want to look at the freeware MarkerWorker FrameMaker plug-in 
from cudspan:

Documentation:

http://www.telecable.es/personales/cud/Files/cudSpan/CudSpanDocs.pdf#search=%22markerworker%20cudspan%22

Download from:

http://www.telecable.es/personales/cud/cssIndex.htm

HTH

Regards,

Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't 
> worked with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). 
> The manual has also been totally restructured, and many features 
> superseded by different ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, 
> and the 'old', manual way is probably not going to work for me too well.
>
> The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is 
> gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and 
> work with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start 
> there. But if I have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a 
> product that has the best combination of other, extra features for the 
> price?
>
> I've so far found:
>
> http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of 
> features, but would I use them all?)
> http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation 
> marker tools, less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the 
> usefulness of some of the features
> http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie 
> index tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the 
> frame marker system, does some other kind of marker?
>
> Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any 
> time taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be 
> sufficient.

Re: Indexing recommendations

[Rick Quatro]

Hi Frank,

First of all, let me say publicly that I have a great deal of respect for 
you, both professionally and personally. I admit that my comment about price 
is subjective and was based on competitors' prices. I concede that value is 
not always measured on initial cost alone.


As far as marker content modification, however, my criticism stands. 
TimeSavers is a mature, well-known product in the FrameMaker market. Because 
of TimeSavers' extensive use of markers, IXgen was a great product to use in 
conjunction with it. Earlier versions of IXgen did not alter marker content, 
making it entirely suitable for any kind of marker processing. If index 
marker processing is the primary focus of IXgen, then why allow it to 
process Hypertext markers at all?


It would be simple for IXgen to accommodate TimeSavers users: simply have an 
optional setting to prevent IXgen from altering the contents of markers. 
Making this optional would not break any indexing features, but would 
restore its usefulness for non-index use. Instead of looking at this as an 
accommodation for .001% of your users, look at it as way of increasing 
market share. Perhaps more important, it would prevent the alienation of 
existing IXgen users that happen to be processing non-index markers and 
don't want their marker content altered.


Respectfully,
Rick Quatro

2) IXgen may alter your marker contents, for example, by adding a ] to 
balance an opening [. This may be fine for Index markers, but may be


And index marker processing IS the primary focus of IXgen -- not 
specialized syntax for some other third-party product.


inappropriate for other marker types. For example, if you use IXgen with 
TimeSavers, you will not want anything added to your Hypertext markers. 
Many TimeSavers Hypertext markers have a [ in them that should not be 
balanced. IXgen should have a setting to prevent modification of your 
marker content, but it doesn't.


The answer here is simple -- if you're one of the very small number of 
IXgen users who work with the TimeSavers product, *don't* use IXgen to 
process hypertext markers!! (Of course you can still use IXgen for index 
and other marker types that contribute to the index.)


We are looking at ways to accommodate TimeSavers, but we are unwilling to 
risk breaking indexing features that are very helpful to 99.999% of our 
users.


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Re: Indexing recommendations

[Frank Stearns]

On Wed, 4 Oct 2006, Rick Quatro wrote:

IXgen used to be the gold standard for manipulating FrameMaker markers, and 
one that I used to heartily recommend. There are two things that soured me on 
IXgen:


1) Upgrade prices are quite high, especially if you only use it occasionally.


Rick, you're not doing the full calculation. IXgen carries a **five year** 
performance warranty (mostly unheard of in the software industry). Said 
another way, there is no "annual maintenance fee" or leaving the users 
high and dry. You pay more, but you also get much, much more.



2) IXgen may alter your marker contents, for example, by adding a ] to 
balance an opening [. This may be fine for Index markers, but may be


And index marker processing IS the primary focus of IXgen -- not 
specialized syntax for some other third-party product.



inappropriate for other marker types. For example, if you use IXgen with 
TimeSavers, you will not want anything added to your Hypertext markers. Many 
TimeSavers Hypertext markers have a [ in them that should not be balanced. 
IXgen should have a setting to prevent modification of your marker content, 
but it doesn't.


The answer here is simple -- if you're one of the very small number of 
IXgen users who work with the TimeSavers product, *don't* use IXgen to 
process hypertext markers!! (Of course you can still use IXgen for index 
and other marker types that contribute to the index.)


We are looking at ways to accommodate TimeSavers, but we are unwilling to 
risk breaking indexing features that are very helpful to 99.999% of our 
users.




For these reasons, I hesitate to recommend IXgen to my clients.


Admitting our bias, we do recommend IXgen for these reasons:

(a) feature set

(b) warranty

(c) long-term performance & history of our company and the product.

For a fully-functional demo, please visit the IXgen Central portion of 
www.fsatools.com


Frank Stearns Associates | makers of IXgen(tm) for FrameMaker(r)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
TOLL FREE Voice (USA and Canada):  800-567-6421
USA Voice: 360-892-3970  USA FAX: 360-253-1498
http://www.fsatools.com
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Indexing recommendations

[Frank Stearns]

On Wed, 4 Oct 2006, Rick Quatro wrote:

> IXgen used to be the gold standard for manipulating FrameMaker markers, and 
> one that I used to heartily recommend. There are two things that soured me on 
> IXgen:
>
> 1) Upgrade prices are quite high, especially if you only use it occasionally.

Rick, you're not doing the full calculation. IXgen carries a **five year** 
performance warranty (mostly unheard of in the software industry). Said 
another way, there is no "annual maintenance fee" or leaving the users 
high and dry. You pay more, but you also get much, much more.


> 2) IXgen may alter your marker contents, for example, by adding a ] to 
> balance an opening [. This may be fine for Index markers, but may be

And index marker processing IS the primary focus of IXgen -- not 
specialized syntax for some other third-party product.


> inappropriate for other marker types. For example, if you use IXgen with 
> TimeSavers, you will not want anything added to your Hypertext markers. Many 
> TimeSavers Hypertext markers have a [ in them that should not be balanced. 
> IXgen should have a setting to prevent modification of your marker content, 
> but it doesn't.

The answer here is simple -- if you're one of the very small number of 
IXgen users who work with the TimeSavers product, *don't* use IXgen to 
process hypertext markers!! (Of course you can still use IXgen for index 
and other marker types that contribute to the index.)

We are looking at ways to accommodate TimeSavers, but we are unwilling to 
risk breaking indexing features that are very helpful to 99.999% of our 
users.


> For these reasons, I hesitate to recommend IXgen to my clients.

Admitting our bias, we do recommend IXgen for these reasons:

(a) feature set

(b) warranty

(c) long-term performance & history of our company and the product.

For a fully-functional demo, please visit the IXgen Central portion of 
www.fsatools.com

Frank Stearns Associates | makers of IXgen(tm) for FrameMaker(r)
franks at fsatools.com 
TOLL FREE Voice (USA and Canada):  800-567-6421
USA Voice: 360-892-3970  USA FAX: 360-253-1498
http://www.fsatools.com

Indexing recommendations

[Linda G. Gallagher]

Kevin,

I've only used the Silicon Prairie plug-in, and it does use regular Index
markers. You create your index entries using the tool, which creates a
condition and paragraph tag. You see the index entries in your text, each in
a separate paragraph, then you tell the tool to update all markers (from the
book level), which adds regular Index markers for each entry you created.

I've used it on several books, and it works great. I'm only a satisfied
customer, who started using the tool when I wanted to put variables in index
entries.

~~
Linda G. Gallagher
TechCom Plus, LLC
Intelligent technical communication since 1993
Technical writing, help development,
FrameMaker and WebWorks Publisher conversions
lindag at techcomplus.com
http://www.techcomplus.com/
303-450-9076
800-500-3144
~~
Manager, Consulting and Independent Contracting
Special Interest Group
Society for Technical Communication
http://www.stcsig.org/cic/index.html
~~


-Original Message-
From: framers-bounces+lindag=techcomplus@lists.frameusers.com
[mailto:framers-bounces+lindag=techcomplus.com at lists.frameusers.com]On
Behalf Of Kevin Hunter
Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 9:10 AM
To: 'framers at lists.frameusers.com'
Subject: Indexing recommendations


Hi all,

I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't worked
with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). The manual
has also been totally restructured, and many features superseded by
different ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, and the 'old', manual
way is probably not going to work for me too well.

The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is
gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and work
with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start there. But if
I have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a product that has the
best combination of other, extra features for the price?

I've so far found:

http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of
features, but would I use them all?)
http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker
tools, less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of some of
the features
http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie index
tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the frame marker
system, does some other kind of marker?

Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any time
taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be sufficient.

Thanks,

Kevin Hunter
ESDI, Victoria BC

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Re: Indexing recommendations

[Peter Gold]

Hi, Kevin:

You might want to look at the freeware MarkerWorker FrameMaker plug-in 
from cudspan:


Documentation:

http://www.telecable.es/personales/cud/Files/cudSpan/CudSpanDocs.pdf#search=%22markerworker%20cudspan%22

Download from:

http://www.telecable.es/personales/cud/cssIndex.htm

HTH

Regards,

Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices


Hi all,

I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't 
worked with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). 
The manual has also been totally restructured, and many features 
superseded by different ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, 
and the 'old', manual way is probably not going to work for me too well.


The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is 
gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and 
work with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start 
there. But if I have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a 
product that has the best combination of other, extra features for the 
price?


I've so far found:

http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of 
features, but would I use them all?)
http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation 
marker tools, less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the 
usefulness of some of the features
http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie 
index tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the 
frame marker system, does some other kind of marker?


Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any 
time taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be 
sufficient.

___


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Re: Indexing recommendations

[Shlomo Perets]

Kevin,

You wrote:


... The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is
gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and
work with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start
there.


I recommend Marker Madness from Zenserve, http://www.zenserve.co.uk


Shlomo Perets

MicroType, http://www.microtype.com
Training, consulting & add-ons: FrameMaker, Structured FM and Acrobat



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Re: Indexing recommendations

[Scott Prentice]

Hi Kevin...

MarkerTools is not so much of an "Indexing Solution" as it is a tool for 
making it easier to work with markers.One of the most useful features is 
the updated marker dialog that lets you select multiple markers (or all 
markers in a file), and browse through them without needing to select 
each marker individually. This dialog is big enough to see all of the 
text in a marker, and in addition to many other features, lets you 
insert Frame variables into markers. You can download a fully functional 
version and try it for 30 days for free.


Cheers!

...scott

Scott Prentice
Leximation, Inc.
www.leximation.com
+1.415.485.1892



Kevin Hunter wrote:

Hi all,
 
I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't worked with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). The manual has also been totally restructured, and many features superseded by different ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, and the 'old', manual way is probably not going to work for me too well.
 
The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and work with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start there. But if I have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a product that has the best combination of other, extra features for the price?
 
I've so far found:
 
http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of features, but would I use them all?)

http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker tools, 
less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of some of the 
features
http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie index 
tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the frame marker 
system, does some other kind of marker?
 
Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any time taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be sufficient.
 
Thanks,
 
Kevin Hunter

ESDI, Victoria BC
 

  


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Indexing recommendations

[Scott Prentice]

Hi Kevin...

MarkerTools is not so much of an "Indexing Solution" as it is a tool for 
making it easier to work with markers.One of the most useful features is 
the updated marker dialog that lets you select multiple markers (or all 
markers in a file), and browse through them without needing to select 
each marker individually. This dialog is big enough to see all of the 
text in a marker, and in addition to many other features, lets you 
insert Frame variables into markers. You can download a fully functional 
version and try it for 30 days for free.

Cheers!

...scott

Scott Prentice
Leximation, Inc.
www.leximation.com
+1.415.485.1892



Kevin Hunter wrote:
> Hi all,
>  
> I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't worked 
> with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). The manual 
> has also been totally restructured, and many features superseded by different 
> ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, and the 'old', manual way is 
> probably not going to work for me too well.
>  
> The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is gravy, 
> but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and work with 
> entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start there. But if I 
> have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a product that has the 
> best combination of other, extra features for the price?
>  
> I've so far found:
>  
> http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of 
> features, but would I use them all?)
> http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker 
> tools, less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of some of 
> the features
> http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie index 
> tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the frame marker 
> system, does some other kind of marker?
>  
> Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any time 
> taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be sufficient.
>  
> Thanks,
>  
> Kevin Hunter
> ESDI, Victoria BC
>  
>
>   

RE: Indexing recommendations

[Mark Southee]

I've been using Emdex - http://www.emdex.ca/ and have found it does the
job well. It's $100 for a single user license.

Cheers

Mark 

-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
m] On Behalf Of Kevin Hunter
Sent: 04 October 2006 16:10
To: 'framers@lists.frameusers.com'
Subject: Indexing recommendations

Hi all,
 
I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't
worked with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before).
The manual has also been totally restructured, and many features
superseded by different ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, and
the 'old', manual way is probably not going to work for me too well.
 
The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is
gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and
work with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start
there. But if I have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a
product that has the best combination of other, extra features for the
price?
 
I've so far found:
 
http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of
features, but would I use them all?)
http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker
tools, less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of
some of the features http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html
-Silicon Prairie index tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link
directly into the frame marker system, does some other kind of marker?
 
Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any
time taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be
sufficient.
 
Thanks,
 
Kevin Hunter
ESDI, Victoria BC
 
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Re: Indexing recommendations

[Rick Quatro]

IXgen used to be the gold standard for manipulating FrameMaker markers, and 
one that I used to heartily recommend. There are two things that soured me 
on IXgen:


1) Upgrade prices are quite high, especially if you only use it 
occasionally.


2) IXgen may alter your marker contents, for example, by adding a ] to 
balance an opening [. This may be fine for Index markers, but may be 
inappropriate for other marker types. For example, if you use IXgen with 
TimeSavers, you will not want anything added to your Hypertext markers. Many 
TimeSavers Hypertext markers have a [ in them that should not be balanced. 
IXgen should have a setting to prevent modification of your marker content, 
but it doesn't.


For these reasons, I hesitate to recommend IXgen to my clients.

Rick Quatro
Carmen Publishing
585-659-8267
www.frameexpert.com

Hi all,

I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't worked 
with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). The manual 
has also been totally restructured, and many features superseded by 
different ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, and the 'old', manual 
way is probably not going to work for me too well.


The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is 
gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and work 
with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start there. But if 
I have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a product that has the 
best combination of other, extra features for the price?


I've so far found:

http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of 
features, but would I use them all?)
http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker 
tools, less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of some of 
the features
http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie index 
tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the frame marker 
system, does some other kind of marker?


Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any time 
taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be sufficient.


Thanks,

Kevin Hunter
ESDI, Victoria BC

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Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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Re: Indexing recommendations

[Art Campbell]

Be sure to look at IXGen by Frank Stearns. http://www.fsatools.com/ I
believe he's still doing eval versions. Solid design, bulletproof, and
as you point out, does all kinds of nice tricks.
Probably cuts indexing time in half, without sacrificing quality.
In addition to indexing, IXGen works with all kinds of markers, so you
can use it for hypertext and other applications too.


Art

On 10/4/06, Kevin Hunter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Hi all,

I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't worked with 
for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). The manual has also 
been totally restructured, and many features superseded by different ones. Now 
I'm looking at building the index, and the 'old', manual way is probably not 
going to work for me too well.

The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is gravy, 
but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and work with 
entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start there. But if I have 
to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a product that has the best 
combination of other, extra features for the price?

I've so far found:

http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of features, 
but would I use them all?)
http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker tools, 
less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of some of the 
features
http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie index 
tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the frame marker 
system, does some other kind of marker?

Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any time taken 
to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be sufficient.


--
Art Campbell [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52 Vincent
  and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
No disclaimers apply.
DoD 358
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RE: Indexing recommendations

[Linda G. Gallagher]

Kevin,

I've only used the Silicon Prairie plug-in, and it does use regular Index
markers. You create your index entries using the tool, which creates a
condition and paragraph tag. You see the index entries in your text, each in
a separate paragraph, then you tell the tool to update all markers (from the
book level), which adds regular Index markers for each entry you created.

I've used it on several books, and it works great. I'm only a satisfied
customer, who started using the tool when I wanted to put variables in index
entries.

~~
Linda G. Gallagher
TechCom Plus, LLC
Intelligent technical communication since 1993
Technical writing, help development,
FrameMaker and WebWorks Publisher conversions
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.techcomplus.com/
303-450-9076
800-500-3144
~~
Manager, Consulting and Independent Contracting
Special Interest Group
Society for Technical Communication
http://www.stcsig.org/cic/index.html
~~


-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Behalf Of Kevin Hunter
Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 9:10 AM
To: 'framers@lists.frameusers.com'
Subject: Indexing recommendations


Hi all,

I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't worked
with for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). The manual
has also been totally restructured, and many features superseded by
different ones. Now I'm looking at building the index, and the 'old', manual
way is probably not going to work for me too well.

The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is
gravy, but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and work
with entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start there. But if
I have to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a product that has the
best combination of other, extra features for the price?

I've so far found:

http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of
features, but would I use them all?)
http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker
tools, less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of some of
the features
http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie index
tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the frame marker
system, does some other kind of marker?

Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any time
taken to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be sufficient.

Thanks,

Kevin Hunter
ESDI, Victoria BC

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Indexing recommendations

[Kevin Hunter]

Hi all,

I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't worked with 
for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). The manual has also 
been totally restructured, and many features superseded by different ones. Now 
I'm looking at building the index, and the 'old', manual way is probably not 
going to work for me too well.

The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is gravy, 
but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and work with 
entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start there. But if I have 
to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a product that has the best 
combination of other, extra features for the price?

I've so far found:

http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of features, 
but would I use them all?)
http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker tools, 
less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of some of the 
features
http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie index 
tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the frame marker 
system, does some other kind of marker?

Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any time taken 
to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be sufficient.

Thanks,

Kevin Hunter
ESDI, Victoria BC

Indexing recommendations

[Kevin Hunter]

Hi all,
 
I'm at the indexing stage of a 400 page book for a product I hadn't worked with 
for about 3 years (so no memory of what I indexed before). The manual has also 
been totally restructured, and many features superseded by different ones. Now 
I'm looking at building the index, and the 'old', manual way is probably not 
going to work for me too well.
 
The minimum I'd like is to see index entries inline. Anything extra is gravy, 
but I'm not convinced I do need much extra, so if I can see and work with 
entries inline (a View option?) for cheap/free, I'd start there. But if I have 
to pay for this feature, can you all recommend a product that has the best 
combination of other, extra features for the price?
 
I've so far found:
 
http://www.fsatools.com/ - IXgen (comparatively more costly, lots of features, 
but would I use them all?)
http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/markertools.php - Leximation marker tools, 
less costly, but I have more trouble seeing the usefulness of some of the 
features
http://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com/Products.html  -Silicon Prairie index 
tools, cheapest, but doesn't seem to link directly into the frame marker 
system, does some other kind of marker?
 
Anyway, I realize this is a regular question, so I do appreciate any time taken 
to send suggestions. Succinct, bulleted lists would be sufficient.
 
Thanks,
 
Kevin Hunter
ESDI, Victoria BC

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