The Real Cost for FrameMaker 6

["Rick Quatro" <frameexpert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Framers,

I thought I would weigh in with some thoughts on the real cost of FrameMaker
6.

Acrobat Distiller 4. Many current FrameMaker users have already updated to
Acrobat 4, so the fact that you only get Distiller with FM 6 won't be an
issue for them. But new users will surely be disappointed. Hopefully, the
marketing literature will disclose that FM 6 includes Distiller only. To do
any serious PDF work, you will need the full version, particularly if you
want to index your PDFs with Catalog or use the highly touted Acrobat forms.

Lee Richardson wrote:
As discussed in a previous email, the full version of Acrobat 4 includes
much more functionality than Acrobat 3, enough that bundling it gratis with
FrameMaker no longer makes sense.
<end of quote>

I would like to see the "much more functionality" spelled out. By this, he
probably means that you can now set PDF Document Information directly in
FrameMaker, and you can generate "Structured PDF." I have yet to see an
explanation of what Structured PDF is, and its benefits. By the way,
PDFMaker for MS Word still gives Word users more options for transferring
features to PDF than FrameMaker 6 does!

HTML/XML Export via WebWorks. This is a nice addition, simply because it far
outshines FrameMaker's built-in HTML/XML export capacities. But, it still
falls short of a full solution. WebWorks Standard Edition does not allow you
to modify your WebWorks Publisher styles. In other words, if the output from
the included HTML and XML templates is not exactly how you want it, you will
have to purchase the Professional Edition in order to modify the styles. In
one way, this is a step backwards from Frame's built-in export; at least you
can make some output modifications on the reference pages!

Lee Richardson wrote:
Yes, in a variety of ways. You can edit their .asp templates directly, using
a text editor. A better solution (recommended, of course, by Adobe), is to
use GoLive. You can also control the output styles directly in FrameMaker.
If you've got more-complex requirements, using a full version of WebWorks to
create custom project templates is more appropriate, then you can use those
project templates with WebWorks SE for day-to-day HTML/XML production. Many
users will get what they need by editing the provided .asp templates by hand
or with their favorite HTML editor.
<end of quote>

The WebWorks .asp templates basically control the output of the HTML/XML
headers and footers. Individual paragraph and character output formatting is
only accessible with WebWorks Professional Edition. When he says, "You can
also control the output styles directly in FrameMaker," he is probably
referring to the WebWorks templates extensive use of Cascading Style Sheets
based on your FrameMaker formatting. For many users, CSS is not an option
because of the overhead it adds to your output files.

Bottom Line: Adobe seems to think that there are many users that will be
served just fine by Distiller only for PDF, and WebWorks Standard Edition
for HTML/XML support. Let the buyer beware: you may be sorely disappointed
with these "extras" if you don't fall into the "many users" category. You
will find yourself needed the halves that were left out. Your full cost for
the FM 6 upgrade will require an extra $100 for Acrobat, and an extra
$450-$600 for WebWorks Professional (depending on when or where you buy it).

Of course, there is another group of users looking at the upgrade: those of
us who already have Acrobat 4 and the full version of WebWorks. We will have
to decide if the improvements to the core FrameMaker product are worth the
upgrade cost....no comment (for now).

Rick Quatro
Carmen Publishing
716 659-8267
frameexpert@mindspring.com
FrameMaker solutions at http://www.frameexpert.com


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