Re: ANNOUNCE: WebWorks Publisher training

[jeremy@xxxxxxxxx (Jeremy H. Griffith)]

On Wed, 17 Mar 1999 10:22:12 -0500, "Sarah O'Keefe" <okeefe@scriptorium.com>
wrote:

>If you're looking for a way to automate conversion of your FrameMaker
>content to HTML, WinHelp, and other online formats, WebWorks Publisher
>(www.quadralay.com) is the answer.

Sorry, Sarah, I just can't let that one pass unchallenged!  <bg>
For WinHelp, at least (and soon for much more), mif2rtf is also an
answer well worth considering.  Many framers who have tried both tell
us they prefer it, in no uncertain terms.  OTOH, the only people who
have tried both and tell us they prefer WWP are Quadralay trainers.
Hmmm... ;-)  We suggest, for WinHelp, that you look at both answers
for yourself.  (For Word RTF, of course, mif2rtf is in a class by
itself; we emulate many Frame features that Word does not support.)

We hasten to add, there is one big exception.  We understand that
Quadralay has almost finished a version of WWP that handles double-
byte text (Japanese, Chinese, Korean) correctly.  If that is one
of your targets, by all means talk to Quadralay.  We do not have
CJK support in mif2rtf yet, and it is not a priority for us.

Also, if Microsoft's HTML Help is a requirement for you, that is
something we will not be supporting in mif2rtf (sorry, Bill).  We
think it is dangerous, because it requires that Internet Explorer
be installed (even if it is "hiding"), and IE is a big security
risk to any system that can reach the Web (even if a firewall is
present).  MS keeps "fixing" security holes, but it is like using
putty on a sieve...  We cannot, in good conscience, support it.
If you must use it, check out WWP.

We *do* plan to support other HTML-based Help systems, but that
is not yet an announced part of mif2rtf.  Mainly that's because
the other systems aren't quite ready for prime time; the first
official release of JavaHelp has not yet come from Sun.  There
are a couple of offerings from Blue Sky, as part of RoboHTML,
and we do produce files suitable for input to their system now.

We also support cross-platform WinHelp, via custom modifications
for Altura (Mac) and Bristol HyperHelp (UNIX), and that is in 
current production use by our customers.  We think that's still
the most stable and reliable cross-platform Help approach.

>Like Framemaker, it's a complex tool with a long learning curve.

That is what we have heard too.  We don't offer any courses in 
mif2rtf, because they would be too short to be worth attending.  
The readme contains all you need to know to get started.  From 
then on, the process is iterative; you do the conversion, look at 
the results, see something you want different, change the .ini 
file (or a Frame template, depending), and run again.  The filter 
is so fast that your reruns won't leave you drumming your fingers.  
And once you get it right with one of the files in your book, 
you'll use the same settings for all the rest.

To wrap up, if your need is for Word RTF, or WinHelp, and you
are using English or European versions of FrameMaker, check out
mif2rtf before you make any decisions:

  http://www.omsys.com/dcl/mif2rtf.htm

If you are using CJK versions of FrameMaker, or absolutely must
create MS HTML Help, go directly to WWP instead.  <g>  And in
any case, if you choose WWP, by all means give Sarah a call!
>From what we've heard, she does a top-notch job with training!

-- Jeremy H. Griffith, at Omni Systems Inc.
  (jeremy@omsys.com)  http://www.omsys.com/

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