atw: Arbortext Epic with Style compared with Structured FrameMaker

All:

We are considering moving away from (unstructured) FrameMaker to either (a)
Arbortext Epic with Styler (AES) or (b) Structured FrameMaker (SFM) for
single-sourcing printed user guides and on-line help.  We want XML to be
the native file format (SFM can be made to do this). XML is the only way to
go for reasons that are beyond the scope of this message.  We figure there
is about as much pain transitioning from FM to SFM as there is from FM to
AES, and that choosing which one to go with should depend on other than
transitory migration issues.

I am just starting on a detailed AES evaluation.  In the past I have used
Structured FrameMaker (back to when it was called FrameBuilder and
FrameMaker+SGML).  But I am by no means an XML/SGML or EDD guru, having
used SFM only as an author relying on a prebuilt DTD/EDD.  Has anybody else
faced a similar choice and can supply the reasons why they chose a
particular tool?  I am looking for war stories and potential gotchas in the
areas below.  How was your experience with these major areas?  [The
subitems are just to indicate the kinds of things that might be covered.]

Migrating legacy unstructured FrameMaker
      Tools and aids in either environment
      Difficulty in migrating legacy content -- quality of migration aids

Installing and implementing chosen solution
      Installation of clients, servers and licencing scheme
      Degree of integration, i.e. need lots of plugins for acceptable
functionality?
      Configuring installation, including user accounts or other access
requirements
      Total cost of ownership, viz. purchase, implementation and running
costs over five years

Designing templates -- DTDs or schemas, stylesheets, workflows
      Capabilities of design tools  -- graphical views v. text

Authoring environment
      Structure view, ease of restructuring, guided editing
      Find and replace with reg exps
      Multiple dictionaries
      Error checking and project management

Conditioned content (condition formats, profiles)
      Creating condition formats/profiles
      Applying conditioned formats/profiles, and visual indication
      Support for ORing and ANDing of overlapped conditions
      Hierarchical conditions

Generating output -- on-line help and printed documentation
      Ease of setup
      Supported help formats
      Setting up print and PDF output
      Ease of switching from one type of output to another

Content management
      'Book' control file for managing component files -- chapters,
appendices, TOCs, etc.
            (Actually, we would like granularity at the topic level)
      Alternative books with different combinations of components in
different sequences

Raindrops on roses, And warm woollen mittens
      What's best and worst about Structured FrameMaker?
      What's best and worst about Epic with Styler?
      Any major gotchas to be wary of, e.g. Unicode support?

Please reply to the list as no doubt others will be facing this decision in
the coming years as Adobe lets SFM languish in limbo.  I hope others may
find the results of this useful. (I have cross-posted to the FrameSGML,
Austechwriters, Techwr-l, framers@omsys, and framers@frameusers lists.)

[Windows 2000, FrameMaker 6.0p405, FrameScript 1.27C01, Enhance 2.03,
Acrobat 4.05.2, mif2go 31u33, WebWorks Publisher 7.0, IXgen 5.5.h, HTML
Help Workshop 4.74 build 8702.0, HTML Help 1.31]

Regards,
Hedley

--
Hedley Finger
MYOB Australia Pty Ltd  <http://www.myob.com.au>
P.O. box 371   Blackburn VIC 3130   Australia
12 Wesley Court   Tally Ho Business Park   East Burwood 3151   Australia
Tel. +61 3 9222 9992 x 7421  Fax. +61 3 9222 9880  Mob. +61 412 461 558
<mailto:hedley.finger@xxxxxxxx>

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