Re: FrameMaker's Future

[Wes Juranek <wjuranek2@xxxxxxx>]

All this bleak talk of FrameMakers Future has got me wondering if there 
isn't another way to do our production that doesn't rely on FrameMaker.

History-
I have been using FrameMaker for 2 years and in our current production 
process it is vital and irreplaceable! We produce distance education 
courses in both print and web format. Our process begins with complete 
stylizing of Word documents that are then converted to XML using 
FrameMaker and a 6 page ConversionTable.FM document. The XML is then 
converted into a print course using FrameMaker (EDD and Template). A 
recent course that was produced was around 600 pages and was split into 
two volumes. The XML is then also converted to static web pages using an 
in-house built PERL program and HTML templates. This whole process takes 
about 3 hours depending on the size of the course, whereas we used to 
spend 2-3 months converting Word documents to Print and Web.

If FrameMaker was to be discontinued permanently, using the last 
released version would obviously be better than going back to the old 
way of doing things. Are there other products out there that will 
structure stylized Word documents into XML with the power that 
FrameMaker's conversion table provides? (creating child/parent 
relationships, attributes, quantifiers (+,*,?,%)) Are there other 
products out there that will convert XML to print with the power that 
FrameMaker provides? (Different master pages according to element, apply 
different styles based on relation of XML element, book building, page 
numbering)

A couple days ago was the first time I had heard of Arbortext, I haven't 
had a chance to look further into the product. Does anyone know if it 
will do what I describe above?

Framers has been a great place to get answers to problems while learning 
and using FrameMaker, much appreciation to you all.

Wes

--
Wes Juranek
Applications Programmer/Analyst
Extended Education & Outreach
(402) 472-2019 / wjuranek2@xxxxxxx

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