-------- Original Message -------- From: Robert Lauriston <rob...@lauriston.com>
... Things like that. The current state of the FrameMaker docs is the result of them being updated with new features release after release. You should rewrite from scratch with a task-oriented focus. ------ While I'm inclined to agree--and as I acknowledge that 'cobblers wear no shoes' and we'll never have perfect documentation about documenting with FM--it is no mean feat to address every "task" that one might attempt in FM. I'm not sure how I would begin, and I've used if for quite a while (though not so long as many here). What I think gives more "bang for the buck"--again, assuming we can't have it all--is doing more and better work on the provided templates. I should be able to open a template and: * See every style applied somewhere, in "real" applications (with lorum, if necessary) not just a word or two so you can click it, and DEFINITELY not blank. * See usage _explained_ when a non-obvious technique is employed (e.g., 2pt height, -2pt above anchor lines; resetting numbering on list intro headings NOT on stupid "List 1/A" styles!). [Yes, I know: it's high time I insisted upon clients Structured FM!] * See even more info on the Reference pages--would it kill you to explain the all of the building blocks for Index or TOC tagging in a text box on those Ref pages?! * Compare and contrast with other templates with the same deliverables goals, but different major style elements (e.g., step-level indentation, which calls for TONS more List styles; or Chapter-Page(-Figure/-Table/-etc) numbering which calls for use of BOOK-level tools and/or Running H/Fs) And so forth: A DITA project that I can immediately deploy, if I'm none too picky about appearance yet. Maybe a structured application or five that actually DO what 90% of all software and hardware companies need (HTML Help, PDF-for-print, PDF-for-screen, ePub). And I think you can save yourself the effort of delivering "business" templates anymore, which will free up development time for those really awesome, thorough, real-world-case templates. I mean, does anyone really use FM for that, with Open/Libre/MSOffice totally dominating that content generation space? (TL;DR:) I would rather learn by reading explications of actual, working template files that are already 80% of the way to being what I need for any publication, than reading "empty" instructions in a user guide. And when I'm ready to use those working template files to build up content, Ctrl+A, Delete removes all of the "learning tools" and samples, leaving only clean pages (with H/Fs). And I'm not having to add fifty styles to deal with real-world cases going forward. David _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to framers as arch...@mail-archive.com. Send list messages to framers@lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscr...@lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.