Mainstream publishing could use footnotes [was 'RE: But what about theFOOTNOTES???']

[hedley_finger@xxxxxxxxxxx]

All:

Graeme Forbes responded to Dick Gaskill with ...

> "I know that Adobe keeps good track of who their customers are and what
they
> use their products for.  I am sure that if there were enough requests to
> justify the expense of fixing the footnotes in Frame(as there were for
the
> book-wide functions introduced in FM6) Adobe would have done it."
>
> This argument assumes that Adobe has no interest in attracting *new*
users
> to FrameMaker - only the problems that bother a critical mass of
*current*
> users will get attention.
>
> But there is a pool of potential users that Adobe might make make some
> inroads into, namely, academics. Probably the scientists will not give up
> TeX, but for others writing books and structured research papers, FM is a
> much better tool than Word. FM doesn't get used because of (a) price, and
> (b), footnotes.

And, might I add, mainstream commercial publishing.  Most of them use Quark
Xpress, PageMaker, or InDesign for all kinds of books, not just the
layout-intensive gardening, do-it-yourself, and cookery books to which
these programs are admirably suited.  In Australia, I believe
Wiley-Jacaranda and HarperCollins have seen the light.

I find it pathetic that publishers get an indexer to prepare an index with
Cindex or Sky Index which is COMPLETELY uncoupled from the content of the
book.  So, when the illustrated landscape edition is released or the
paperback is released, both of which mean that the pagination has
completely changed, it is often cheaper to redo the index from scratch than
to try to edit and update the existing index.

[Ironic aside:  The Cindex user guide is prepared in FrameMaker but the
index is done in Cindex!]

Coupled with FrameMaker's ability to produce fully hyperlinked PDF files,
you would think the ability to reuse existing index entries over and over
in different formats and new editions would swing commercial publishers to
FrameMaker.  But, no, they still go on in their own pigheaded way ...  or
perhaps they are potential NEW CUSTOMERS only waiting for footnotes which
balance across double-spreads and reflow on to succeeding pages?

Unfortunately, FM's document model is based on individual pages, but
InDesign, PageMaker, and Xpress all work in double-spreads, the way
editors, paste-up artists, and printers have always worked.  Switching to a
double-spread model would enable Adobe to address not only footnotes but
floating tables and graphics in a more logical fashion.

By the way, Graeme has been tending the Flame of Faith since FM3, awaiting
the imminent arrival of the Footnote Messiah.  Don't worry, Graeme,
eventually the forces of good will triumph!

Regards,
Hedley,
Footnote Acolyte

--
Hedley Finger
Technical Communications/Technical communicator and FrameMaker mentor
MYOB Australia <http://www.myob.com.au/>
P.O. box 371   Blackburn VIC 3130   Australia
12 Wesley Court   Tally Ho Business Park   East Burwood VIC 3151
Australia
<mailto:hedley_finger@myob.com.au>
Tel. +61 3 9222 9992 x 7421,   Mob. (cell) +61 412 461 558

Copyright (C) MYOB Limited 2002


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