![]() ![]() InDesign’s XML abilities are no match for FM here. InDesign isn’t made for this.įM also has powerful XML abilities that are used for publishing from databases and converting among many different data formats. Mflare vs framemaker software#FrameMaker is part of the Adobe Technical Communication Suite (TCS), which includes RoboHelp, software that converts FM content to a variety of online help systems, and testing, training, and response-tracking abilities. If you’re thinking “ ouch!” then you get the point. The idea is that once an architectural plan is created for a project, and all the stakeholders agree to stick to it, then those bits of information can be stored logically, reused efficiently, and delivered promptly. Briefly, DITA is a method of writing that breaks information into very small units, each with a specific purpose for organizing the information. Recent FrameMaker releases have been steadily improving its ability to work with DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture). Are there any pluses and minuses that are deal-breakers for choosing one over the other? Definitely! So… what are they? Can they do them as easily? Some features yes, some not so much. Comparing FeaturesĬan you use either InDesign or FrameMaker to create technical documentation? Yes. Here’s where that second question about special outputs and deliverables can dictate the choice of software tools. But even if you do a great job of it, that information is useless unless it’s distributed.ĭelivering the content, in usable form, is where technical publishing tools come into play. Remember that good technical writing - gathering, organizing, digesting, and explaining complex material - is tough. Okay, let’s try a second question: What special outputs or deliverables are required by the project? That’s an important one, so let’s look at it a little closer. Of course, the chance of that happening is about equal to the likelihood of turning a supertanker within its own length. “Compelling” means convincing all the stakeholders - all documentation-team members must agree to embrace the product, and the PTB must agree to pay for training, and for converting the old content to the new product, and the cost of running the old and new systems in parallel during the transition. There’s a little bit of wiggle room here: If an employee or team can convince the PTB (Powers That Be) to change software, by submitting a compelling case for changing applications, it’s possible to achieve the change. It sounds like a smart-alec response, but it’s easy to see what whoever pays the bills gets to choose. This is such an easy question to answer! Ready? I’ll answer it with a question: Which software application does the person or company who is paying you want you to use? For example, in PDF, websites, service portals or help systems.Could someone explain to me the key differences between InDesign and FrameMaker and when I would use one or the other for technical writing? ![]() ![]() MadCap Flare can publish to different output media simultaneously and in the correct format. Mflare vs framemaker manual#For example, in the table of contents of an instruction manual or a service portal. This takes the form of a resource structure and a separate content structure for the target medium. Here MadCap Flare even goes a few steps further and can manage source structures (stored content, left in the picture) separately from target structures (content to be published, right in the picture). These (single-source) contents can have different characteristics (variants).Ī wide variety of documentation can be easily and quickly collect and published from this content. ![]() All editorial content is structured in topics and stored and managed centrally as information modules. In contrast to multi-source publishing in MS Word, for example, single-source publishing means collecting and publishing editorial content from a single source. Madcap Flare is a single source editorial software and works with topic-oriented XML content. ![]()
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