RE: Conversion of Word documents to structured frame documents

[Kevin McLauchlan <KMcLauchlan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dan and Jeremy (and others) were battling it out, when:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>>I know of several instances where major Frame license holders have
>>considered using Frame or FM+SGML in their proposal groups, but abandoned
>>the idea because of the unreliability of the round-trip conversion
process.
>>In a pressure-cooker proposal environment, round-trip conversions must be
>>almost completely free of errors, or the necessity for any post-conversion
>>clean-up.
>
>I think it does them a disservice to insist that round-tripping is the
>"real" answer.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I don't insist, they do, because there's no feasible way for most of them to
put FrameMaker in the hands of all the diverse contributors to a large
proposal, and then train them to use it within the short period of a
proposal cycle.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This seems to highlight the very real need for a "Junior FrameMaker". 

It would be an app that could accept an FM document and allow simple 
editing, based ONLY on the template of that incoming doc.

You fire up the app, and you can't do a thing...  :-)

You import/open a Frame document or template, and you can start 
mucking about with text, tagging new text with existing Para and 
Char tags.  

The purpose of the app would be authoring and review. It would be 
cheap.  It would be little more than an editor.  It would be simple to 
use because.... go back to the beginning of this paragraph...

Well anyway, that's what *I* want, in order to do *my* job, today, 
with minimum grief from contributors and reviewers and, especially, 
from purse-string-holders who want me to justify continuing to use 
this awkward (from everybody else's point of view) FrameMaker.

If we (my employer) could purchase a few seats of "Junior", for a few 
hundred bucks TOTAL, then the bitching and moaning would go away.

My needs are served by PDFing only if the reader/editor my 
people use is cheap, AND if the conversion back from marked-up 
PDF is painless and complete and UTTERLY reliable.

Anybody differ?

I suspect I could make a similar argument for a "Junior+SGML".

Am I alone? 

PS:  I was just thinking, Adobe could play close to the vest by 
adding the capability to FM, to compile/generate "FrameMaker 
Junior" with the current document embedded (a Save as... option).  
The result would be a runtime doc-and-editor executable, complete. 
If it couldn't even import/open other docs, but could only save the current 
doc with changes (change bars?) in perfect FM format, ready for 
taking back into MY copy of FM, that would be sufficient for 
me.  Then we wouldn't even need to justify extra "seats" for a 
standalone app.   Hmm.  Not sure how imported graphics would 
work, but the rest *sounds* straightforward.    ....  he said....

And I'm not even wearing a tie or a hat, so the blood IS getting 
all the way to my brain... and this is STILL all that comes out.
Oh well........  :-)


Kevin McLauchlan
kmclauchlan@chrysalis-its.com    (aka  kevinmcl@netrover.com)
Journeyman techy writer, duffer skydiver, full-time unrepentent chocoholic



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