atw: Re: Word to Frame
- From: "Peter Rule" <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2005 09:13:10 +1100
Christine,
I agree completely with Peter below.
I have used both Word and Frame extensively and some of the suggestions about
Frame (as Peter says) have been way over the top.
Essentially, Frame is a fantastically stable word processor that is no more
difficult to learn than any other. Just because it does things slightly
differently to Word doesn't mean it is more difficult or less functional.
For those experienced with it, it is clearly the word processor of choice; it
is just that we rarely seem to get the chance to use it due to the doiminance
of Word.
For any of you out there who have not used it, and you get the opportunity to
use it, then my advice is to take the opportunity. You'll learn something.
Cheers,
Pete
-----Original message-----
From: "Peter Fagan" peterf@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005 16:28:24 +1100
To: "Austechwriter \(post\)" austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Word to Frame
> Christine (Birtley-Kent)
>
> I read your Austechwriter post "Word to Frame" and the
> replies to it.
>
> In my opinion, many of the comments in the replies
> were misleading and unnecessarily alarmist.
>
> A few comments:
>
> "FrameMaker is an object-oriented but chapter / book based
> desktop
> publishing application"
>
> "Framemaker is a desktop publishing tool, its focus is on
> page layout."
>
> FrameMaker is a book publishing application; it is not a DTP
> application.
> Adobe's DTP applications are PageMaker and In-design.
>
> "In Frame you set up your page layout and
> styles first, then create your text."
>
> That is what experienced Word users do as well.
>
> FrameMaker is also a word processor. You can write a one
> page letter with
> it if you like, just as easily as you can in Word.
>
> "[FrameMaker and Word] work in quite different ways under
> different
> operating paradigms."
>
> "Trying translate what you can do in Word to what you can
> do in Frame is guaranteed to tie you up in knots. They use
> different metaphors and approach the concept of writing,
> editing and publishing in very different ways."
>
> I disagree. To the end user they are quite similar.
>
> "...then impose STRUCTURE (heaps of structure!) which
> actively
> prevents you from working in any way other than the original
> document designer intended - far from the free-form ways of
> Word"
>
> You can use FrameMaker in a very structured way.
> But you don't have to. As I wrote earlier,
> you can write an unstructured one page letter with it if you
> like,
> just as easily as you can in Word.
>
> "forget about automating most tasks"
>
> True, there is no easy way to do something like record a
> macro.
>
> "The learning curve, after working with Word, will have you
> beating your head against your keyboard. It insists on a
> whole different way of thinking."
>
> "[FrameMaker] is an absolutely
> marvellous tool for those entirely familiar with it and
> using it every day. But if you started with Word, have
> used it every day and suddenly need to use ONLY FrameMaker
> every day, be prepared for large and unrelenting dollops,
> even waves of mental anguish. Smoke will come out of your
> ears..."
>
> "Frame does have a steep learning curve."
>
> Hyperbole. To the end user FrameMaker and Word are really
> quite similar.
> For the most part, the learning curve for a complete novice
> would be no
> steeper than that for Word. There are some hard topics
> (e.g. Table of Contents), but other topics are easier than
> their Word equivalents.
>
> For an experienced Word user, Frame has analogous features
> and operations that are easy to assimilate. For many tasks,
> the only real "challenge" is to commit the keystroke
> bindings to memory
> - Ctrl + C (copy) in Word is Esc + E + C in FrameMaker and
> so on.
>
> "Frame has often been called the world's worst word
> processor"
>
> I can't imagine why. A gross overstatement of its handful of
> minor deficiencies.
>
> "Don't look for things like ... re-apply styles"
>
> "[for reapply styles, ... the standard
> FrameMaker equivalent is a series of 4 keystrokes"
>
> There is a one mouse-click operation to re-apply a style.
>
> "The best way to start using Frame is to forget about the
> way you do
> things in Word, and switch your thinking from a word
> processing metaphor to a desktop publishing metaphor."
>
> I disagree with every word of this passage.
> Instead, look for analogous operations.
> Both products do the same things in similar ways.
> Far better to say "I do x in Word - I wonder how it is done
> in FrameMaker?"
> Most of the time there will be an analogous and fairly
> obvious answer.
>
> "FrameMaker ... uses the noun "format" where Word uses
> "style".
> (FrameMaker also uses the term "tag" to mean "style
> name".)"
>
> FrameMaker has and uses "Styles" in a manner very similar to
> Word.
> They are even termed styles in the interface.
>
> "Otherwise, do enjoy!"
>
> You will enjoy - working with a truly rock-solid piece of
> software
> with well designed and brilliantly implemented
> functionality.
>
> I have been working with FrameMaker on UNIX for five years
> on large
> and complex documents. I manage the FrameMaker equivalent of
> the (dreaded)
> Word Master Document and have not detected one software
> error or
> imperfectly implemented feature in that time.
> My book has never crashed and burnt.
>
> In addition, FrameMaker offers powerful features such as
> conditional content which are unavailable in Word.
>
> Peter Fagan
> IntraDoc Pty Ltd
>
> **************************************************
> To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to
> austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to
> austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field.
>
> To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
> "unsubscribe" in the Subject field.
>
> To search the austechwriter archives, go to
> www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter
>
> To contact the list administrator, send a message to
> austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> **************************************************
**************************************************
To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to
austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field.
To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
"unsubscribe" in the Subject field.
To search the austechwriter archives, go to
www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter
To contact the list administrator, send a message to
austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**************************************************
Other related posts:
