Re: FrameMaker 5.5.6

[Dan Emory <danemory@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

An Adobe apologist from "down undah" whose name shall go unmentioned here,
equated the complaints of the originator (Godwin) of this thread (as well as
several others who chimed in with similar complaints) to those of "a kindred
spirit," meaning me.

I have never challenged the adequacey of FrameMaker as a tool, only the fact
that the latest release has more bugs than Starshop Troopers, plus Adobe's
failure, after four bug releases in 12 months, to fix at least the bugs in
those pre-existing features that workd ok in the previous release. I have
also complained about the deteriorating quality of Adobe's support for the
product.

Joanne Godwin's problem centers on trying to understand FrameMaker by
reading the user manual and the on-line help, both of which went to the dogs
in Release 5.5.

Someone who responded to this thread suggested that, to understand a product
like FrameMaker, you've "got to think like the software." I agree completely
with that. You can't acquire that mind-set from the documentation in its
present state, nor can you get it by attending a 5-day formal training
course. You can only acquire it through systematic experimentation--trying
things out, making mistakes, learning from them, and storing all those
experiences up for future use. It's also important to learn about
third-party add-ons to FrameMaker that you might need on a particular project.

The most fundamental benefit that comes from thinking like the software is
that it arms you with the conviction that, with FrameMaker, there's almost
always a way to solve even the most intractable problems. That's what
distinguishes it from almost any other comparable product, except, perhaps,
Interleaf.

Once you've acquired that level of understanding, it becomes easier to
attack any problem because of your virtual certainty that there's a solution
within FrameMaker and its third-party add-ons. Once you've acquired that
mind-set, life becomes more interesting.It's always exhilirating when a
solution comes together.

On the other hand, it's no fun at all to devote time trying to figure out
workarounds to bugs in features that used to work, because those bugs are
likely to destroy your earlier solutions. That's irritating, not exhiliarating.

Those like me with long experience using FrameMaker, who have reached that
"higher plane," are emotionally attached to the product, and still believe
in it, despite Adobe's misguided efforts.      


Dan Emory
Dan Emory & Associates
FrameMaker/FrameMaker+SGML Document Design
and Database Publishing Specialists

Voice/Fax: 949-722-8971
E-Mail: danemory@primenet.com
10044 Adams Ave. #208
Huntington Beach, CA 92646


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