RE(~): Which FMaker version?

[Dov Isaacs]

There are several considerations, some of which have already been addressed on 
this thread.

(1)  There is only one “current” version of FrameMaker and that is 
FrameMaker 10. Since there is relatively little FrameMaker product ever in the 
retail channels, it is very unlikely that you are going to find legitimate, 
factory-sealed, “new” copies of older versions of FrameMaker for sale, other 
than perhaps FrameMaker 9. Although “used” copies of FrameMaker may be 
available for sale, make sure that their license may be legitimately 
transferred to you by the seller. There is a resource on Adobe’s website that 
provides the instructions and forms for that. Note that an older version of 
FrameMaker that was previously used by someone as the basis for an upgrade to a 
newer version of FrameMaker cannot be sold or otherwise transferred. Academic, 
student, and/or volume licenses likewise cannot be sold.

(2)  The only version of FrameMaker currently supported by Adobe is 
FrameMaker 10. If you have any problems with older versions, you are pretty 
much on your own (I believe Adobe will provide pay-per-incident support for 
FrameMaker 9, but not for earlier versions).

(3)  If you expect official support for Windows 7 and Office 2010, then 
FrameMaker 10 is your only option.

(4)  Versions of FrameMaker prior to FrameMaker 9 may have serious 
problems with PDF creation on Windows 7 using the headless Distiller provided 
with FrameMaker.

If as a small, struggling startup company you said you were running on old, 
used systems running Windows XP and Office 2003 (or earlier), I would not be 
so-concerned about use of an older FrameMaker version. Using Windows 7 and 
Office 2010 changes the equation dramatically!

- Dov

From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com 
[mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of 
visualbis...@comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 7:05 PM
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Which FMaker version?


My manager has finally gotten frustrated enough with Word to check into buying 
FrameMaker. She asked me what version would be best for us, and I'm not sure 
what to tell her. I have used FM 5 and FM 7 a lot, FM 8 a bit, and have no 
experience with FM 10. At this point we are building basic documents, but we 
would like to have better control over the formatting, and be able to use 
conditional text. I don't foresee us using the structured version, or any of 
the "fancy" additions to the later versions. But I don't want to saddle us with 
a dinosaur, either.



What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs and 
CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business (check out 
www.agilyx.com), and have to keep an eye on the budget, 
but we want to create professional results in everything we do.



We are using Windows 7 and Office 2010, on a variety of Dell laptops.



Thoughts? Please reply to me directly, as I am only receiving the digest right 
now.



Thanks!



Debbie in Oregon
___


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.

RE(~): Which FMaker version?

[Dov Isaacs]

There are several considerations, some of which have already been addressed on 
this thread.

(1)  There is only one ?current? version of FrameMaker and that is 
FrameMaker 10. Since there is relatively little FrameMaker product ever in the 
retail channels, it is very unlikely that you are going to find legitimate, 
factory-sealed, ?new? copies of older versions of FrameMaker for sale, other 
than perhaps FrameMaker 9. Although ?used? copies of FrameMaker may be 
available for sale, make sure that their license may be legitimately 
transferred to you by the seller. There is a resource on Adobe?s website that 
provides the instructions and forms for that. Note that an older version of 
FrameMaker that was previously used by someone as the basis for an upgrade to a 
newer version of FrameMaker cannot be sold or otherwise transferred. Academic, 
student, and/or volume licenses likewise cannot be sold.

(2)  The only version of FrameMaker currently supported by Adobe is 
FrameMaker 10. If you have any problems with older versions, you are pretty 
much on your own (I believe Adobe will provide pay-per-incident support for 
FrameMaker 9, but not for earlier versions).

(3)  If you expect official support for Windows 7 and Office 2010, then 
FrameMaker 10 is your only option.

(4)  Versions of FrameMaker prior to FrameMaker 9 may have serious 
problems with PDF creation on Windows 7 using the headless Distiller provided 
with FrameMaker.

If as a small, struggling startup company you said you were running on old, 
used systems running Windows XP and Office 2003 (or earlier), I would not be 
so-concerned about use of an older FrameMaker version. Using Windows 7 and 
Office 2010 changes the equation dramatically!

- Dov

From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at 
lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of visualbis...@comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 7:05 PM
To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Which FMaker version?


My manager has finally gotten frustrated enough with Word to check into buying 
FrameMaker. She asked me what version would be best for us, and I'm not sure 
what to tell her. I have used FM 5 and FM 7 a lot, FM 8 a bit, and have no 
experience with FM 10. At this point we are building basic documents, but we 
would like to have better control over the formatting, and be able to use 
conditional text. I don't foresee us using the structured version, or any of 
the "fancy" additions to the later versions. But I don't want to saddle us with 
a dinosaur, either.



What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs and 
CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business (check out 
www.agilyx.com<http://www.agilyx.com>), and have to keep an eye on the budget, 
but we want to create professional results in everything we do.



We are using Windows 7 and Office 2010, on a variety of Dell laptops.



Thoughts? Please reply to me directly, as I am only receiving the digest right 
now.



Thanks!



Debbie in Oregon
-- next part --
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: 
<http://lists.frameusers.com/pipermail/framers/attachments/20110813/87b3f247/attachment.html>

Responses to Can't get a pdf file from FM 10

[Mike Wickham]

Two wild stabs at your problem:

1. I recall a time when I was getting no PDF generation. It turned out 
that in File> Preferences> General, I had Cross-Platform File Naming set 
to Macintosh on a Windows computer, and my file name was one character 
too long for the Mac 31-character (or whatever) limit. FM actually let 
me go through something like four dialog boxes toward creating the PDF, 
but gave me no clue while it was failing.

2. I also had problems with Acrobat X on Windows 7 64-bit. I was getting 
no PDFs. It turned out that Acrobat updates, both 10.0.1 and 10.0.2 were 
trashing the port setting for the Adobe PDF printer and setting it to 
COM1:! It was necessary to delete Adobe PDF printer and do a repair 
install to fix the issue.

Mike Wickham

On 8/13/2011 3:16 PM, Cal Callahan wrote:
> I'm using Windows 7 and Acrobat Pro. I'm not at work right now, so 
> can't check how much RAM & free disk space I have, but I'm sure 
> there's plenty.
> I tried print to file, print to PDF, save as PDF, print to pdf Cute 
> Writer (?), create pdf from Acrobat Pro, and probably some others I 
> don't recall. I sometimes would get the job option error message, but 
> that seems to have gone away since I created a job option called 
> Standard1. I see a "file not found" error from Acrobat Pro that 
> presumably results from my opting to show the pdf after generation.
> Don't know about the font embedding or the job options setting for 
> that, but will check when I go back to work Tuesday.
> It's a company computer, so don't know what patches have been 
> installed, how I would know if they had been installed, or if I can 
> install the HotFix for Postscript printers. (Do I need this when I'm 
> just trying to save a file as pdf?)
> Thanks for your feedback and sorry I'm fuzzy on the details.
> cal
>

Re: Responses to Can't get a pdf file from FM 10

[Mike Wickham]

Two wild stabs at your problem:

1. I recall a time when I was getting no PDF generation. It turned out 
that in File> Preferences> General, I had Cross-Platform File Naming set 
to Macintosh on a Windows computer, and my file name was one character 
too long for the Mac 31-character (or whatever) limit. FM actually let 
me go through something like four dialog boxes toward creating the PDF, 
but gave me no clue while it was failing.


2. I also had problems with Acrobat X on Windows 7 64-bit. I was getting 
no PDFs. It turned out that Acrobat updates, both 10.0.1 and 10.0.2 were 
trashing the port setting for the Adobe PDF printer and setting it to 
COM1:! It was necessary to delete Adobe PDF printer and do a repair 
install to fix the issue.


Mike Wickham

On 8/13/2011 3:16 PM, Cal Callahan wrote:
I'm using Windows 7 and Acrobat Pro. I'm not at work right now, so 
can't check how much RAM & free disk space I have, but I'm sure 
there's plenty.
I tried print to file, print to PDF, save as PDF, print to pdf Cute 
Writer (?), create pdf from Acrobat Pro, and probably some others I 
don't recall. I sometimes would get the job option error message, but 
that seems to have gone away since I created a job option called 
Standard1. I see a "file not found" error from Acrobat Pro that 
presumably results from my opting to show the pdf after generation.
Don't know about the font embedding or the job options setting for 
that, but will check when I go back to work Tuesday.
It's a company computer, so don't know what patches have been 
installed, how I would know if they had been installed, or if I can 
install the HotFix for Postscript printers. (Do I need this when I'm 
just trying to save a file as pdf?)

Thanks for your feedback and sorry I'm fuzzy on the details.
cal



___


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.

Can't get a pdf file from FM 10

[Art Campbell]

In addition to Stuart's list, the OS is pretty important, as is the
amount of RAM and free disk space.

For example, if you're running XP but haven't applied the Microsoft
HotFix for PostScript printers... that would be an obvious point of
failure.
Same thing if your "large file" doesn't have the temporary space on
the hard drive required to generate several sets of PS and PDF files.

Is the file failing to PDF at a particular point in the file, or at
different points, randomly?

Art Campbell
 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? art.campbell at gmail.com
? "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52
Vincent and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? No disclaimers apply.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? DoD 358

I support www.TheGrotonLine.com, hyperlocal news for Groton MA.



On Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 12:09 PM, Stuart Rogers
 wrote:
> On 13/08/2011 11:58 AM, Cal Callahan wrote:
>>
>> It's one large .fm file, not a book. Even with the pdf job option
>> (theoretically) saved and selected, I can't get a pdf file using either
>> save as or print to. Two of my cohorts also had no luck with the file.
>>
>> There are unresolved cross-references and there are references to images
>> I thought I had removed and replaced with images imported into the file.
>> Could either (or both) of those be causing my problems? If not, what?
>>
>> Willing to try even the least likely solutions before going through the
>> arduous and odious task of basically rebuilding the entire file.
>>
>> One suggestion was to turn off the images and try printing again. I'm
>> not in the office today, but that's the first thing I'll try when I go
>> in. Any other thoughts?
>>
>>
>
> More details please. ?What exactly happens when you try to produce the PDF?
> ?Any error messages? ?Can you print to file and distill from there? ?Are you
> using Acrobat Pro or just Distiller? ?Are the fonts licensed for embedding
> and the job options set to fail if not? ?Are all your programs fully
> patched?
>
> Yes, you should definitely clean up unresolved references before printing,
> but I don't think they would cause a PDF failure if you've successfully
> opened the file. ?(They could cause a fail if you were printing from a book
> without having opened all files first.)
>
> HTH,
>
> Stuart
> ___
>
>
> You are currently subscribed to framers as art.campbell at gmail.com.
>
> Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com.
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com
> or visit
> http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/art.campbell%40gmail.com
>
> Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
>

Which FMaker version?

[Art Campbell]

And because of the way Adobe develops, each of the TCS component aps
is developed on its own schedule and then rolled into a point release
of the TCS, which has been happening at least once a year lately.

Art Campbell
 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? art.campbell at gmail.com
? "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52
Vincent and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? No disclaimers apply.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? DoD 358

I support www.TheGrotonLine.com, hyperlocal news for Groton MA.



On Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 1:37 PM, Matt Sullivan  
wrote:
> Yes, the TCS is the most cost effective way to go, and the maintenance plan 
> is now referred to as the Improved Upgrade Plan. It is the same cost, but now 
> includes Bronze Level tech support as well. The upgrade plan will save you 
> roughly half on your future upgrades. As an example, I just got my download 
> for TCS 3.5, which includes Captivate 5.5.
>
> -Matt
>
> Matt Sullivan
> Director of Training
> roundpeg, inc.
> matt at roundpeg.com
> 714 960-6840
>
> On Aug 13, 2011, at 8:50 AM, Stuart Rogers  phoenix-geophysics.com> wrote:
>
>> On 11/08/2011 10:04 PM, visualbistro at comcast.net wrote:
>>> My manager has finally gotten frustrated enough with Word to check into
>>> buying FrameMaker.
>>
>> What took so long? ?;-)
>>
>> She asked me what version would be best for us, and
>>> I'm not sure what to tell her. I have used FM 5 and FM 7 a lot, FM 8 a
>>> bit, and have no experience with FM 10. At this point we are building
>>> basic documents, but we would like to have better control over the
>>> formatting, and be able to use conditional text. I don't foresee us
>>> using the structured version, or any of the "fancy" additions to the
>>> later versions. But I don't want to saddle us with a dinosaur, either.
>>>
>>> What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs
>>> and CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business
>>> (check out www.agilyx.com ), and have to keep an
>>> eye on the budget, but we want to create professional results in
>>> everything we do.
>>>
>>> We are using Windows 7 and Office 2010, on a variety of Dell laptops.
>>>
>>
>> I'd recommend the latest version, as anything else is already 'a dinosaur' 
>> in relation to the latest operating systems, drivers, etc.
>>
>> So definitely FM10, but you should also look into TCS 3.0. ?In that single 
>> bundle you get FM, Robohelp, Captivate, Photoshop, Bridge, Acrobat, 
>> LiveCycle (maybe; I got it in TCS 2, but is not mentioned in TCS 3 blurbs) 
>> for much less than the cost of the individual programs. You will need not 
>> just FM but Acrobat and a graphics editor like Photoshop at a minimum 
>> anyway; if you will be doing online Help or animated demos, then RoboHelp 
>> and Captivate are proven tools for those purposes.
>>
>> If Adobe offers a maintenance plan that includes product updates, it would 
>> be worth investigating that, too.
>>
>> HTH,
>>
>> Stuart Rogers
>> Technical Communicator
>> Phoenix Geophysics Ltd.
>> Toronto
>> ___
>>
>>
>> You are currently subscribed to framers as matt at grafixtraining.com.
>>
>> Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com.
>>
>> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
>> framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com
>> or visit 
>> http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/matt%40grafixtraining.com
>>
>> Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit
>> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
> ___
>
>
> You are currently subscribed to framers as art.campbell at gmail.com.
>
> Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com.
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com
> or visit 
> http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/art.campbell%40gmail.com
>
> Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
>

Re: Responses to Can't get a pdf file from FM 10

[Cal Callahan]

I'm using Windows 7 and Acrobat Pro. I'm not at work right now, so can't
check how much RAM & free disk space I have, but I'm sure there's plenty.

I tried print to file, print to PDF, save as PDF, print to pdf Cute Writer
(?), create pdf from Acrobat Pro, and probably some others I don't recall. I
sometimes would get the job option error message, but that seems to have
gone away since I created a job option called Standard1. I see a "file not
found" error from Acrobat Pro that presumably results from my opting to show
the pdf after generation.

Don't know about the font embedding or the job options setting for that, but
will check when I go back to work Tuesday.

It's a company computer, so don't know what patches have been installed, how
I would know if they had been installed, or if I can install the HotFix for
Postscript printers. (Do I need this when I'm just trying to save a file as
pdf?)

Thanks for your feedback and sorry I'm fuzzy on the details.

cal

On Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 10:55 AM, Art Campbell wrote:

> In addition to Stuart's list, the OS is pretty important, as is the
> amount of RAM and free disk space.
>
> For example, if you're running XP but haven't applied the Microsoft
> HotFix for PostScript printers... that would be an obvious point of
> failure.
> Same thing if your "large file" doesn't have the temporary space on
> the hard drive required to generate several sets of PS and PDF files.
>
> Is the file failing to PDF at a particular point in the file, or at
> different points, randomly?
>
>  >
> > More details please.  What exactly happens when you try to produce the
> PDF?
> >  Any error messages?  Can you print to file and distill from there?  Are
> you
> > using Acrobat Pro or just Distiller?  Are the fonts licensed for
> embedding
> > and the job options set to fail if not?  Are all your programs fully
> > patched?
> >
> > Yes, you should definitely clean up unresolved references before
> printing,
> > but I don't think they would cause a PDF failure if you've successfully
> > opened the file.  (They could cause a fail if you were printing from a
> book
> > without having opened all files first.)
> >
> > HTH,
> >
> > Stuart
> > ___
>
___


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.

Responses to Can't get a pdf file from FM 10

[Cal Callahan]

I'm using Windows 7 and Acrobat Pro. I'm not at work right now, so can't
check how much RAM & free disk space I have, but I'm sure there's plenty.

I tried print to file, print to PDF, save as PDF, print to pdf Cute Writer
(?), create pdf from Acrobat Pro, and probably some others I don't recall. I
sometimes would get the job option error message, but that seems to have
gone away since I created a job option called Standard1. I see a "file not
found" error from Acrobat Pro that presumably results from my opting to show
the pdf after generation.

Don't know about the font embedding or the job options setting for that, but
will check when I go back to work Tuesday.

It's a company computer, so don't know what patches have been installed, how
I would know if they had been installed, or if I can install the HotFix for
Postscript printers. (Do I need this when I'm just trying to save a file as
pdf?)

Thanks for your feedback and sorry I'm fuzzy on the details.

cal

On Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 10:55 AM, Art Campbell wrote:

> In addition to Stuart's list, the OS is pretty important, as is the
> amount of RAM and free disk space.
>
> For example, if you're running XP but haven't applied the Microsoft
> HotFix for PostScript printers... that would be an obvious point of
> failure.
> Same thing if your "large file" doesn't have the temporary space on
> the hard drive required to generate several sets of PS and PDF files.
>
> Is the file failing to PDF at a particular point in the file, or at
> different points, randomly?
>
>  >
> > More details please.  What exactly happens when you try to produce the
> PDF?
> >  Any error messages?  Can you print to file and distill from there?  Are
> you
> > using Acrobat Pro or just Distiller?  Are the fonts licensed for
> embedding
> > and the job options set to fail if not?  Are all your programs fully
> > patched?
> >
> > Yes, you should definitely clean up unresolved references before
> printing,
> > but I don't think they would cause a PDF failure if you've successfully
> > opened the file.  (They could cause a fail if you were printing from a
> book
> > without having opened all files first.)
> >
> > HTH,
> >
> > Stuart
> > ___
>
-- next part --
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: 
<http://lists.frameusers.com/pipermail/framers/attachments/20110813/7bf000cf/attachment.html>

Can't get a pdf file from FM 10

[Stuart Rogers]

On 13/08/2011 11:58 AM, Cal Callahan wrote:
> It's one large .fm file, not a book. Even with the pdf job option
> (theoretically) saved and selected, I can't get a pdf file using either
> save as or print to. Two of my cohorts also had no luck with the file.
>
> There are unresolved cross-references and there are references to images
> I thought I had removed and replaced with images imported into the file.
> Could either (or both) of those be causing my problems? If not, what?
>
> Willing to try even the least likely solutions before going through the
> arduous and odious task of basically rebuilding the entire file.
>
> One suggestion was to turn off the images and try printing again. I'm
> not in the office today, but that's the first thing I'll try when I go
> in. Any other thoughts?
>
>

More details please.  What exactly happens when you try to produce the 
PDF?  Any error messages?  Can you print to file and distill from there? 
  Are you using Acrobat Pro or just Distiller?  Are the fonts licensed 
for embedding and the job options set to fail if not?  Are all your 
programs fully patched?

Yes, you should definitely clean up unresolved references before 
printing, but I don't think they would cause a PDF failure if you've 
successfully opened the file.  (They could cause a fail if you were 
printing from a book without having opened all files first.)

HTH,

Stuart

Which FMaker version?

[Steve Rickaby]

At 02:04 + 12/8/11, visualbistro at comcast.net wrote:

>What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs and 
>CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business (check out 
>www.agilyx.com), and have to keep an eye on the budget, 
>but we want to create professional results in everything we do.

As Peter suggested, older version would only be occasionally available from the 
likes of eBay. However, I went to FrameMaker 7 on Mac via that route and it 
gave me no problems. At some point I will try to go to v 8 for Windows via the 
same route, when I upgrade my main Mac to one of the Intel-based models.

I have no direct experience of versions after 7, but others have said they 
prefer FrameMaker 8. v 9 introduced the new Adobe-style palette-based UI, to 
general derision, but DITA support got better across 8 -> 9 -> 10. Conditional 
text was improved significantly with one of the version later than 7 to allow 
the use of Boolean conditions, but I'm not sure whether those came in with v 8 
or v 9.

If you don't need DITA/structure, consider looking for a second-hand full copy 
of FrameMaker 8, but see what other opinions you get.

-- 
Steve

Which FMaker version?

[Stuart Rogers]

On 11/08/2011 10:04 PM, visualbistro at comcast.net wrote:
> My manager has finally gotten frustrated enough with Word to check into
> buying FrameMaker.

What took so long?  ;-)

She asked me what version would be best for us, and
> I'm not sure what to tell her. I have used FM 5 and FM 7 a lot, FM 8 a
> bit, and have no experience with FM 10. At this point we are building
> basic documents, but we would like to have better control over the
> formatting, and be able to use conditional text. I don't foresee us
> using the structured version, or any of the "fancy" additions to the
> later versions. But I don't want to saddle us with a dinosaur, either.
>
> What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs
> and CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business
> (check out www.agilyx.com ), and have to keep an
> eye on the budget, but we want to create professional results in
> everything we do.
>
> We are using Windows 7 and Office 2010, on a variety of Dell laptops.
>

I'd recommend the latest version, as anything else is already 'a 
dinosaur' in relation to the latest operating systems, drivers, etc.

So definitely FM10, but you should also look into TCS 3.0.  In that 
single bundle you get FM, Robohelp, Captivate, Photoshop, Bridge, 
Acrobat, LiveCycle (maybe; I got it in TCS 2, but is not mentioned in 
TCS 3 blurbs) for much less than the cost of the individual programs. 
You will need not just FM but Acrobat and a graphics editor like 
Photoshop at a minimum anyway; if you will be doing online Help or 
animated demos, then RoboHelp and Captivate are proven tools for those 
purposes.

If Adobe offers a maintenance plan that includes product updates, it 
would be worth investigating that, too.

HTH,

Stuart Rogers
Technical Communicator
Phoenix Geophysics Ltd.
Toronto

Which FMaker version?

[Peter Hirons]

I strongly suspect that you will not be able to buy anything other than the 
latest version through the normal channels. Most software companies insist that 
their dealers withdraw the old version when the new on comes along.



You might find an older version from a back-street box shifter or from 
somewhere like eBay, but support may be difficult.



In any case you should go for the latest ? you don?t need to use Structured ? 
and keep your documents simple until you feel confident to go for the more 
advanced features.



You should also get some training ? minimal for you, but not for anyone with no 
prior knowledge of FM.  The ?Classroom in a Book? series are good if you can?t 
get to formal training.



Peter



From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at 
lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of visualbis...@comcast.net
Sent: Friday, August 12, 2011 3:05 AM
To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Which FMaker version?



My manager has finally gotten frustrated enough with Word to check into buying 
FrameMaker. She asked me what version would be best for us, and I'm not sure 
what to tell her. I have used FM 5 and FM 7 a lot, FM 8 a bit, and have no 
experience with FM 10. At this point we are building basic documents, but we 
would like to have better control over the formatting, and be able to use 
conditional text. I don't foresee us using the structured version, or any of 
the "fancy" additions to the later versions. But I don't want to saddle us with 
a dinosaur, either.



What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs and 
CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business (check out 
www.agilyx.com), and have to keep an eye on the budget, but we want to create 
professional results in everything we do. 



We are using Windows 7 and Office 2010, on a variety of Dell laptops.



Thoughts? Please reply to me directly, as I am only receiving the digest right 
now.



Thanks!



Debbie in Oregon

-- next part --
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: 
<http://lists.frameusers.com/pipermail/framers/attachments/20110813/af42a713/attachment.html>

Re: Can't get a pdf file from FM 10

[Art Campbell]

In addition to Stuart's list, the OS is pretty important, as is the
amount of RAM and free disk space.

For example, if you're running XP but haven't applied the Microsoft
HotFix for PostScript printers... that would be an obvious point of
failure.
Same thing if your "large file" doesn't have the temporary space on
the hard drive required to generate several sets of PS and PDF files.

Is the file failing to PDF at a particular point in the file, or at
different points, randomly?

Art Campbell
               art.campb...@gmail.com
  "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52
Vincent and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
                                                      No disclaimers apply.
                                                               DoD 358

I support www.TheGrotonLine.com, hyperlocal news for Groton MA.



On Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 12:09 PM, Stuart Rogers
 wrote:
> On 13/08/2011 11:58 AM, Cal Callahan wrote:
>>
>> It's one large .fm file, not a book. Even with the pdf job option
>> (theoretically) saved and selected, I can't get a pdf file using either
>> save as or print to. Two of my cohorts also had no luck with the file.
>>
>> There are unresolved cross-references and there are references to images
>> I thought I had removed and replaced with images imported into the file.
>> Could either (or both) of those be causing my problems? If not, what?
>>
>> Willing to try even the least likely solutions before going through the
>> arduous and odious task of basically rebuilding the entire file.
>>
>> One suggestion was to turn off the images and try printing again. I'm
>> not in the office today, but that's the first thing I'll try when I go
>> in. Any other thoughts?
>>
>>
>
> More details please.  What exactly happens when you try to produce the PDF?
>  Any error messages?  Can you print to file and distill from there?  Are you
> using Acrobat Pro or just Distiller?  Are the fonts licensed for embedding
> and the job options set to fail if not?  Are all your programs fully
> patched?
>
> Yes, you should definitely clean up unresolved references before printing,
> but I don't think they would cause a PDF failure if you've successfully
> opened the file.  (They could cause a fail if you were printing from a book
> without having opened all files first.)
>
> HTH,
>
> Stuart
> ___
>
>
> You are currently subscribed to framers as art.campb...@gmail.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/art.campbell%40gmail.com
>
> Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
>
___


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.

Re: Which FMaker version?

[Art Campbell]

And because of the way Adobe develops, each of the TCS component aps
is developed on its own schedule and then rolled into a point release
of the TCS, which has been happening at least once a year lately.

Art Campbell
               art.campb...@gmail.com
  "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52
Vincent and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
                                                      No disclaimers apply.
                                                               DoD 358

I support www.TheGrotonLine.com, hyperlocal news for Groton MA.



On Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 1:37 PM, Matt Sullivan  wrote:
> Yes, the TCS is the most cost effective way to go, and the maintenance plan 
> is now referred to as the Improved Upgrade Plan. It is the same cost, but now 
> includes Bronze Level tech support as well. The upgrade plan will save you 
> roughly half on your future upgrades. As an example, I just got my download 
> for TCS 3.5, which includes Captivate 5.5.
>
> -Matt
>
> Matt Sullivan
> Director of Training
> roundpeg, inc.
> m...@roundpeg.com
> 714 960-6840
>
> On Aug 13, 2011, at 8:50 AM, Stuart Rogers  
> wrote:
>
>> On 11/08/2011 10:04 PM, visualbis...@comcast.net wrote:
>>> My manager has finally gotten frustrated enough with Word to check into
>>> buying FrameMaker.
>>
>> What took so long?  ;-)
>>
>> She asked me what version would be best for us, and
>>> I'm not sure what to tell her. I have used FM 5 and FM 7 a lot, FM 8 a
>>> bit, and have no experience with FM 10. At this point we are building
>>> basic documents, but we would like to have better control over the
>>> formatting, and be able to use conditional text. I don't foresee us
>>> using the structured version, or any of the "fancy" additions to the
>>> later versions. But I don't want to saddle us with a dinosaur, either.
>>>
>>> What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs
>>> and CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business
>>> (check out www.agilyx.com ), and have to keep an
>>> eye on the budget, but we want to create professional results in
>>> everything we do.
>>>
>>> We are using Windows 7 and Office 2010, on a variety of Dell laptops.
>>>
>>
>> I'd recommend the latest version, as anything else is already 'a dinosaur' 
>> in relation to the latest operating systems, drivers, etc.
>>
>> So definitely FM10, but you should also look into TCS 3.0.  In that single 
>> bundle you get FM, Robohelp, Captivate, Photoshop, Bridge, Acrobat, 
>> LiveCycle (maybe; I got it in TCS 2, but is not mentioned in TCS 3 blurbs) 
>> for much less than the cost of the individual programs. You will need not 
>> just FM but Acrobat and a graphics editor like Photoshop at a minimum 
>> anyway; if you will be doing online Help or animated demos, then RoboHelp 
>> and Captivate are proven tools for those purposes.
>>
>> If Adobe offers a maintenance plan that includes product updates, it would 
>> be worth investigating that, too.
>>
>> HTH,
>>
>> Stuart Rogers
>> Technical Communicator
>> Phoenix Geophysics Ltd.
>> Toronto
>> ___
>>
>>
>> You are currently subscribed to framers as m...@grafixtraining.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/matt%40grafixtraining.com
>>
>> Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit
>> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
> ___
>
>
> You are currently subscribed to framers as art.campb...@gmail.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/art.campbell%40gmail.com
>
> Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
>
___


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.

Re: Which FMaker version?

[Matt Sullivan]

Yes, the TCS is the most cost effective way to go, and the maintenance plan is 
now referred to as the Improved Upgrade Plan. It is the same cost, but now 
includes Bronze Level tech support as well. The upgrade plan will save you 
roughly half on your future upgrades. As an example, I just got my download for 
TCS 3.5, which includes Captivate 5.5.

-Matt

Matt Sullivan
Director of Training
roundpeg, inc.
m...@roundpeg.com
714 960-6840

On Aug 13, 2011, at 8:50 AM, Stuart Rogers  
wrote:

> On 11/08/2011 10:04 PM, visualbis...@comcast.net wrote:
>> My manager has finally gotten frustrated enough with Word to check into
>> buying FrameMaker.
> 
> What took so long?  ;-)
> 
> She asked me what version would be best for us, and
>> I'm not sure what to tell her. I have used FM 5 and FM 7 a lot, FM 8 a
>> bit, and have no experience with FM 10. At this point we are building
>> basic documents, but we would like to have better control over the
>> formatting, and be able to use conditional text. I don't foresee us
>> using the structured version, or any of the "fancy" additions to the
>> later versions. But I don't want to saddle us with a dinosaur, either.
>> 
>> What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs
>> and CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business
>> (check out www.agilyx.com ), and have to keep an
>> eye on the budget, but we want to create professional results in
>> everything we do.
>> 
>> We are using Windows 7 and Office 2010, on a variety of Dell laptops.
>> 
> 
> I'd recommend the latest version, as anything else is already 'a dinosaur' in 
> relation to the latest operating systems, drivers, etc.
> 
> So definitely FM10, but you should also look into TCS 3.0.  In that single 
> bundle you get FM, Robohelp, Captivate, Photoshop, Bridge, Acrobat, LiveCycle 
> (maybe; I got it in TCS 2, but is not mentioned in TCS 3 blurbs) for much 
> less than the cost of the individual programs. You will need not just FM but 
> Acrobat and a graphics editor like Photoshop at a minimum anyway; if you will 
> be doing online Help or animated demos, then RoboHelp and Captivate are 
> proven tools for those purposes.
> 
> If Adobe offers a maintenance plan that includes product updates, it would be 
> worth investigating that, too.
> 
> HTH,
> 
> Stuart Rogers
> Technical Communicator
> Phoenix Geophysics Ltd.
> Toronto
> ___
> 
> 
> You are currently subscribed to framers as m...@grafixtraining.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/matt%40grafixtraining.com
> 
> Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
___


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.

Which FMaker version?

[Matt Sullivan]

Yes, the TCS is the most cost effective way to go, and the maintenance plan is 
now referred to as the Improved Upgrade Plan. It is the same cost, but now 
includes Bronze Level tech support as well. The upgrade plan will save you 
roughly half on your future upgrades. As an example, I just got my download for 
TCS 3.5, which includes Captivate 5.5.

-Matt

Matt Sullivan
Director of Training
roundpeg, inc.
matt at roundpeg.com
714 960-6840

On Aug 13, 2011, at 8:50 AM, Stuart Rogers  
wrote:

> On 11/08/2011 10:04 PM, visualbistro at comcast.net wrote:
>> My manager has finally gotten frustrated enough with Word to check into
>> buying FrameMaker.
> 
> What took so long?  ;-)
> 
> She asked me what version would be best for us, and
>> I'm not sure what to tell her. I have used FM 5 and FM 7 a lot, FM 8 a
>> bit, and have no experience with FM 10. At this point we are building
>> basic documents, but we would like to have better control over the
>> formatting, and be able to use conditional text. I don't foresee us
>> using the structured version, or any of the "fancy" additions to the
>> later versions. But I don't want to saddle us with a dinosaur, either.
>> 
>> What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs
>> and CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business
>> (check out www.agilyx.com ), and have to keep an
>> eye on the budget, but we want to create professional results in
>> everything we do.
>> 
>> We are using Windows 7 and Office 2010, on a variety of Dell laptops.
>> 
> 
> I'd recommend the latest version, as anything else is already 'a dinosaur' in 
> relation to the latest operating systems, drivers, etc.
> 
> So definitely FM10, but you should also look into TCS 3.0.  In that single 
> bundle you get FM, Robohelp, Captivate, Photoshop, Bridge, Acrobat, LiveCycle 
> (maybe; I got it in TCS 2, but is not mentioned in TCS 3 blurbs) for much 
> less than the cost of the individual programs. You will need not just FM but 
> Acrobat and a graphics editor like Photoshop at a minimum anyway; if you will 
> be doing online Help or animated demos, then RoboHelp and Captivate are 
> proven tools for those purposes.
> 
> If Adobe offers a maintenance plan that includes product updates, it would be 
> worth investigating that, too.
> 
> HTH,
> 
> Stuart Rogers
> Technical Communicator
> Phoenix Geophysics Ltd.
> Toronto
> ___
> 
> 
> You are currently subscribed to framers as matt at grafixtraining.com.
> 
> Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com.
> 
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com
> or visit 
> http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/matt%40grafixtraining.com
> 
> Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.

Re: Can't get a pdf file from FM 10

[Stuart Rogers]

On 13/08/2011 11:58 AM, Cal Callahan wrote:

It's one large .fm file, not a book. Even with the pdf job option
(theoretically) saved and selected, I can't get a pdf file using either
save as or print to. Two of my cohorts also had no luck with the file.

There are unresolved cross-references and there are references to images
I thought I had removed and replaced with images imported into the file.
Could either (or both) of those be causing my problems? If not, what?

Willing to try even the least likely solutions before going through the
arduous and odious task of basically rebuilding the entire file.

One suggestion was to turn off the images and try printing again. I'm
not in the office today, but that's the first thing I'll try when I go
in. Any other thoughts?




More details please.  What exactly happens when you try to produce the 
PDF?  Any error messages?  Can you print to file and distill from there? 
 Are you using Acrobat Pro or just Distiller?  Are the fonts licensed 
for embedding and the job options set to fail if not?  Are all your 
programs fully patched?


Yes, you should definitely clean up unresolved references before 
printing, but I don't think they would cause a PDF failure if you've 
successfully opened the file.  (They could cause a fail if you were 
printing from a book without having opened all files first.)


HTH,

Stuart
___


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.

Can't get a pdf file from FM 10

[Cal Callahan]

It's one large .fm file, not a book. Even with the pdf job option
(theoretically) saved and selected, I can't get a pdf file using either save
as or print to. Two of my cohorts also had no luck with the file.

There are unresolved cross-references and there are references to images I
thought I had removed and replaced with images imported into the file. Could
either (or both) of those be causing my problems? If not, what?

Willing to try even the least likely solutions before going through the
arduous and odious task of basically rebuilding the entire file.

One suggestion was to turn off the images and try printing again. I'm not in
the office today, but that's the first thing I'll try when I go in. Any
other thoughts?

cal
___


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.

Can't get a pdf file from FM 10

[Cal Callahan]

It's one large .fm file, not a book. Even with the pdf job option
(theoretically) saved and selected, I can't get a pdf file using either save
as or print to. Two of my cohorts also had no luck with the file.

There are unresolved cross-references and there are references to images I
thought I had removed and replaced with images imported into the file. Could
either (or both) of those be causing my problems? If not, what?

Willing to try even the least likely solutions before going through the
arduous and odious task of basically rebuilding the entire file.

One suggestion was to turn off the images and try printing again. I'm not in
the office today, but that's the first thing I'll try when I go in. Any
other thoughts?

cal
-- next part --
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: 
<http://lists.frameusers.com/pipermail/framers/attachments/20110813/c035cb1d/attachment.html>

Re: Which FMaker version?

[Stuart Rogers]

On 11/08/2011 10:04 PM, visualbis...@comcast.net wrote:

My manager has finally gotten frustrated enough with Word to check into
buying FrameMaker.


What took so long?  ;-)

She asked me what version would be best for us, and

I'm not sure what to tell her. I have used FM 5 and FM 7 a lot, FM 8 a
bit, and have no experience with FM 10. At this point we are building
basic documents, but we would like to have better control over the
formatting, and be able to use conditional text. I don't foresee us
using the structured version, or any of the "fancy" additions to the
later versions. But I don't want to saddle us with a dinosaur, either.

What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs
and CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business
(check out www.agilyx.com ), and have to keep an
eye on the budget, but we want to create professional results in
everything we do.

We are using Windows 7 and Office 2010, on a variety of Dell laptops.



I'd recommend the latest version, as anything else is already 'a 
dinosaur' in relation to the latest operating systems, drivers, etc.


So definitely FM10, but you should also look into TCS 3.0.  In that 
single bundle you get FM, Robohelp, Captivate, Photoshop, Bridge, 
Acrobat, LiveCycle (maybe; I got it in TCS 2, but is not mentioned in 
TCS 3 blurbs) for much less than the cost of the individual programs. 
You will need not just FM but Acrobat and a graphics editor like 
Photoshop at a minimum anyway; if you will be doing online Help or 
animated demos, then RoboHelp and Captivate are proven tools for those 
purposes.


If Adobe offers a maintenance plan that includes product updates, it 
would be worth investigating that, too.


HTH,

Stuart Rogers
Technical Communicator
Phoenix Geophysics Ltd.
Toronto
___


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.

Which FMaker version?

[Art Campbell]

I'd go a little further.

If you're in production and want the fewest problems, go with the
current release, 10.

You really don't have a choice, but the good news is that it's built
to run well on W7 (and does, most of the time), and has a number of
tools and features that make writing life easier. DO NOT try to cut a
corner and skip upgrading Acrobat (assuming you use the full version)
to X.

Do look into FM's new licensing / maintenance / upgrade program...

Art Campbell
 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? art.campbell at gmail.com
? "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52
Vincent and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? No disclaimers apply.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? DoD 358

I support www.TheGrotonLine.com, hyperlocal news for Groton MA.



On Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 7:03 AM, Steve Rickaby
 wrote:
> At 02:04 + 12/8/11, visualbistro at comcast.net wrote:
>
>>What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs and 
>>CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business (check out 
>>www.agilyx.com), and have to keep an eye on the 
>>budget, but we want to create professional results in everything we do.
>
> As Peter suggested, older version would only be occasionally available from 
> the likes of eBay. However, I went to FrameMaker 7 on Mac via that route and 
> it gave me no problems. At some point I will try to go to v 8 for Windows via 
> the same route, when I upgrade my main Mac to one of the Intel-based models.
>
> I have no direct experience of versions after 7, but others have said they 
> prefer FrameMaker 8. v 9 introduced the new Adobe-style palette-based UI, to 
> general derision, but DITA support got better across 8 -> 9 -> 10. 
> Conditional text was improved significantly with one of the version later 
> than 7 to allow the use of Boolean conditions, but I'm not sure whether those 
> came in with v 8 or v 9.
>
> If you don't need DITA/structure, consider looking for a second-hand full 
> copy of FrameMaker 8, but see what other opinions you get.
>
> --
> Steve
> ___
>
>
> You are currently subscribed to framers as art.campbell at gmail.com.
>
> Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com.
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com
> or visit 
> http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/art.campbell%40gmail.com
>
> Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
>

Re: Which FMaker version?

[Art Campbell]

I'd go a little further.

If you're in production and want the fewest problems, go with the
current release, 10.

You really don't have a choice, but the good news is that it's built
to run well on W7 (and does, most of the time), and has a number of
tools and features that make writing life easier. DO NOT try to cut a
corner and skip upgrading Acrobat (assuming you use the full version)
to X.

Do look into FM's new licensing / maintenance / upgrade program...

Art Campbell
               art.campb...@gmail.com
  "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52
Vincent and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
                                                      No disclaimers apply.
                                                               DoD 358

I support www.TheGrotonLine.com, hyperlocal news for Groton MA.



On Sat, Aug 13, 2011 at 7:03 AM, Steve Rickaby
 wrote:
> At 02:04 + 12/8/11, visualbis...@comcast.net wrote:
>
>>What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs and 
>>CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business (check out 
>>www.agilyx.com), and have to keep an eye on the 
>>budget, but we want to create professional results in everything we do.
>
> As Peter suggested, older version would only be occasionally available from 
> the likes of eBay. However, I went to FrameMaker 7 on Mac via that route and 
> it gave me no problems. At some point I will try to go to v 8 for Windows via 
> the same route, when I upgrade my main Mac to one of the Intel-based models.
>
> I have no direct experience of versions after 7, but others have said they 
> prefer FrameMaker 8. v 9 introduced the new Adobe-style palette-based UI, to 
> general derision, but DITA support got better across 8 -> 9 -> 10. 
> Conditional text was improved significantly with one of the version later 
> than 7 to allow the use of Boolean conditions, but I'm not sure whether those 
> came in with v 8 or v 9.
>
> If you don't need DITA/structure, consider looking for a second-hand full 
> copy of FrameMaker 8, but see what other opinions you get.
>
> --
> Steve
> ___
>
>
> You are currently subscribed to framers as art.campb...@gmail.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/art.campbell%40gmail.com
>
> Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com. Visit
> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
>
___


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.

Re: Which FMaker version?

[Steve Rickaby]

At 02:04 + 12/8/11, visualbis...@comcast.net wrote:

>What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs and 
>CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business (check out 
>www.agilyx.com), and have to keep an eye on the budget, 
>but we want to create professional results in everything we do.

As Peter suggested, older version would only be occasionally available from the 
likes of eBay. However, I went to FrameMaker 7 on Mac via that route and it 
gave me no problems. At some point I will try to go to v 8 for Windows via the 
same route, when I upgrade my main Mac to one of the Intel-based models.

I have no direct experience of versions after 7, but others have said they 
prefer FrameMaker 8. v 9 introduced the new Adobe-style palette-based UI, to 
general derision, but DITA support got better across 8 -> 9 -> 10. Conditional 
text was improved significantly with one of the version later than 7 to allow 
the use of Boolean conditions, but I'm not sure whether those came in with v 8 
or v 9.

If you don't need DITA/structure, consider looking for a second-hand full copy 
of FrameMaker 8, but see what other opinions you get.

-- 
Steve
___


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.

RE: Which FMaker version?

[Peter Hirons]

I strongly suspect that you will not be able to buy anything other than the 
latest version through the normal channels. Most software companies insist that 
their dealers withdraw the old version when the new on comes along.

 

You might find an older version from a back-street box shifter or from 
somewhere like eBay, but support may be difficult.

 

In any case you should go for the latest – you don’t need to use Structured – 
and keep your documents simple until you feel confident to go for the more 
advanced features.

 

You should also get some training – minimal for you, but not for anyone with no 
prior knowledge of FM.  The “Classroom in a Book” series are good if you can’t 
get to formal training.

 

Peter

 

From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com 
[mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of 
visualbis...@comcast.net
Sent: Friday, August 12, 2011 3:05 AM
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Which FMaker version?

 

My manager has finally gotten frustrated enough with Word to check into buying 
FrameMaker. She asked me what version would be best for us, and I'm not sure 
what to tell her. I have used FM 5 and FM 7 a lot, FM 8 a bit, and have no 
experience with FM 10. At this point we are building basic documents, but we 
would like to have better control over the formatting, and be able to use 
conditional text. I don't foresee us using the structured version, or any of 
the "fancy" additions to the later versions. But I don't want to saddle us with 
a dinosaur, either.

 

What are the general thoughts from this "community?" What are the PROs and 
CONs? What should I recommend? We are a small startup business (check out 
www.agilyx.com), and have to keep an eye on the budget, but we want to create 
professional results in everything we do. 

 

We are using Windows 7 and Office 2010, on a variety of Dell laptops.

 

Thoughts? Please reply to me directly, as I am only receiving the digest right 
now.

 

Thanks!

 

Debbie in Oregon

___


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.