Importing docs from Word question
I've got a challenge at work I've been asked to work on: Starting with a Word document of about 1000 pages (don't ask; I didn't do it) and 2187 graphics (again, not my fault!), we want to turn this into a working FM 7.x document that has the graphics no longer embedded and instead stored off in a graphics directory of some kind and linked at the appropriate places in the Frame document. There's not always an associated figure caption, so naming of the graphics is going to have to be something pretty arbitrary (even if its only oh a page number from the Word document or something). For the obvious reasons, including the writer who has to work on this possibly beating himself to unconsciousness with his keyboard, I'd like to automate as much of this process for him as possible. I haven't done any huge imports like this before and the question of how to extract the embedded graphics and replace them with a link is not something I've dealth with before. Is this best done BEFORE the import (using, say, a Word macro or manipulating the RTF file), AFTER the import (using a FrameScript or some sequence of find/replaces on the MIF file), or via some other mechanism? Many thanks! Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) j...@hedtke.com (primary email) johnhed...@aol.com (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as arch...@mail-archive.com. Send list messages to fram...@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.
Importing docs from Word question
I've got a challenge at work I've been asked to work on: Starting with a Word document of about 1000 pages (don't ask; I didn't do it) and 2187 graphics (again, not my fault!), we want to turn this into a working FM 7.x document that has the graphics no longer embedded and instead stored off in a graphics directory of some kind and linked at the appropriate places in the Frame document. There's not always an associated figure caption, so naming of the graphics is going to have to be something pretty arbitrary (even if it?s only oh a page number from the Word document or something). For the obvious reasons, including the writer who has to work on this possibly beating himself to unconsciousness with his keyboard, I'd like to automate as much of this process for him as possible. I haven't done any huge imports like this before and the question of how to extract the embedded graphics and replace them with a link is not something I've dealth with before. Is this best done BEFORE the import (using, say, a Word macro or manipulating the RTF file), AFTER the import (using a FrameScript or some sequence of find/replaces on the MIF file), or via some other mechanism? Many thanks! Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
Installing Acrobat 9.0 taking FOREVER??!?
I just re-installed Acrobat 9.0 Pro Extended off the Adobe TCS 2.0 and it took very close to two hours. Nope, nothing special, but the histogram just s-l-o-w-l-y crawled across the screen and a mere two hours later, it seemed to be done. Is this normal for Acrobat 9.0 or for the Tech Comm Suite 2.0? I have no way of knowing and there's no telling what Adobe may consider acceptable. Thoughts? Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) j...@hedtke.com (primary email) johnhed...@aol.com (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as arch...@mail-archive.com. Send list messages to fram...@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: Installing Acrobat 9.0 taking FOREVER??!?
I'd find that utterly believable. I'm sure that my registry is full of junk. I've been thinking about doing a system reload and reinstall for months, but I also know that it takes about 40-50 hours of productive time to get the box back to the state I'd wanted--reloading and reconfiguring all the programs--and I haven't found a good window to do it in. Thanks! :) At 07:28 AM 4/22/2009, qui...@airmail.net wrote: I would say that it's more common to the operating system. The more you have going on in your background the more time Windows takes to do installs. And my experience has always been for long install times on Windows. I believe it to be a function of how the OS is structured and the registry. Scott John Hedtke wrote: I just re-installed Acrobat 9.0 Pro Extended off the Adobe TCS 2.0 and it took very close to two hours. Nope, nothing special, but the histogram just s-l-o-w-l-y crawled across the screen and a mere two hours later, it seemed to be done. Is this normal for Acrobat 9.0 or for the Tech Comm Suite 2.0? I have no way of knowing and there's no telling what Adobe may consider acceptable. Thoughts? Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as arch...@mail-archive.com. Send list messages to fram...@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: Installing Acrobat 9.0 taking FOREVER??!?
Yes, I understand. I really hate that going off in mumble mode that Windows does so well. John ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as arch...@mail-archive.com. Send list messages to fram...@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.
Installing Acrobat 9.0 taking FOREVER??!?
I just re-installed Acrobat 9.0 Pro Extended off the Adobe TCS 2.0 and it took very close to two hours. Nope, nothing special, but the histogram just s-l-o-w-l-y crawled across the screen and a mere two hours later, it seemed to be done. Is this normal for Acrobat 9.0 or for the Tech Comm Suite 2.0? I have no way of knowing and there's no telling what Adobe may consider acceptable. Thoughts? Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
Installing Acrobat 9.0 taking FOREVER??!?
I'd find that utterly believable. I'm sure that my registry is full of junk. I've been thinking about doing a system reload and reinstall for months, but I also know that it takes about 40-50 hours of productive time to get the box back to the state I'd wanted--reloading and reconfiguring all the programs--and I haven't found a good window to do it in. Thanks! :) At 07:28 AM 4/22/2009, quills at airmail.net wrote: >I would say that it's more common to the operating system. The more >you have going on in your background the more time Windows takes to >do installs. And my experience has always been for long install >times on Windows. I believe it to be a function of how the OS is >structured and the registry. > >Scott > >John Hedtke wrote: >>I just re-installed Acrobat 9.0 Pro Extended off the Adobe TCS 2.0 >>and it took very close to two hours. Nope, nothing special, but >>the histogram just s-l-o-w-l-y crawled across the screen and a mere >>two hours later, it seemed to be done. >> >>Is this normal for Acrobat 9.0 or for the Tech Comm Suite 2.0? I >>have no way of knowing and there's no telling what Adobe may >>consider acceptable. Thoughts? >> >> >>Yours truly, >> >>John Hedtke >>Author/Consultant/Contract Writer >>www.hedtke.com <-- website
Installing Acrobat 9.0 taking FOREVER??!?
Yes, I understand. I really hate that "going off in mumble mode" that Windows does so well. John
Re: FM9 Buggy UI Behavior (Joseph)
Dear Joseph, et al: Yes, I have been observing the dancing menus problem for a month or two. I hadn't noticed the other problems, but they could well be. I've got ATCS 2.0 loaded (and am writing a review of it). I'd tried to describe this problem to RJ Jacques, but he said he hadn't run into this before and didn't know what it was just from the description, so I was unable to get additional information (as of around the beginning of March). I was trying to shoot a Captivate movie to show this, but got sidetracked by work. Sounds like I'm not the only one, though. whew! My system is a pretty vanilla box: ASUS motherboard with an onboard Nvidia GeForce FX 5200, with a ViewSonic 21 LCD monitor. I'm running at 1400 x 1050 x 32-bit color. The dancing menus are easy to see and trigger: loading a new FM file does it for me. Don't know if it's something other people have shown the folks at Adobe yet, but at least there's more than one of us. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) j...@hedtke.com (primary email) johnhed...@aol.com (secondary email) At 12:00 AM 4/14/2009, you wrote: I have started testing FM 9 p230. Over all, I like the new UI design. However, I have noticed one issue right off the bat. When I rearrange/minimize windows, drag tabs and pods around, or change work spaces, the UI starts behaving oddly for a couple seconds in the following ways. -Menus will start shaking and shifting around -UI elements bleed into one another -the selection for user defined work spaces disappears from the work space menu Has anyone else experienced problems like this?? -- Sincerely, Joseph Lorenzini ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as arch...@mail-archive.com. Send list messages to fram...@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.
FM9 Buggy UI Behavior (Joseph)
Dear Joseph, et al: Yes, I have been observing the dancing menus problem for a month or two. I hadn't noticed the other problems, but they could well be. I've got ATCS 2.0 loaded (and am writing a review of it). I'd tried to describe this problem to RJ Jacques, but he said he hadn't run into this before and didn't know what it was just from the description, so I was unable to get additional information (as of around the beginning of March). I was trying to shoot a Captivate movie to show this, but got sidetracked by work. Sounds like I'm not the only one, though. <whew!> My system is a pretty vanilla box: ASUS motherboard with an onboard Nvidia GeForce FX 5200, with a ViewSonic 21" LCD monitor. I'm running at 1400 x 1050 x 32-bit color. The dancing menus are easy to see and trigger: loading a new FM file does it for me. Don't know if it's something other people have shown the folks at Adobe yet, but at least there's more than one of us. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email) At 12:00 AM 4/14/2009, you wrote: >I have started testing FM 9 p230. Over all, I like the new UI design. >However, I have noticed one issue right off the bat. When I >rearrange/minimize windows, drag tabs and pods around, or change work >spaces, the UI starts behaving oddly for a couple seconds in the following >ways. > >-Menus will start shaking and shifting around >-UI elements bleed into one another >-the selection for user defined work spaces disappears from the work space >menu > >Has anyone else experienced problems like this?? > >-- >Sincerely, > >Joseph Lorenzini
Layoffs and Frame 9?
Does anyone know if the Adobe layoffs are going to affect the release of Frame 9? I'm still hoping that it'll fix the problems in Frame 8, so I'm very keen to see it happen. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
Layoffs and Frame 9?
Does anyone know if the Adobe layoffs are going to affect the release of Frame 9? I'm still hoping that it'll fix the problems in Frame 8, so I'm very keen to see it happen. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
Re: OT: Podcast Question
According to this book what I wrote about Podcasting a couple years ago, iPodder (a free app) may be a viable alternative. It'll download files whenever you want and then they're there waiting for you to inhale to iTunes to plug into the iPod. If you're simply interested in downloading them to play them locally, you can skip iTunes entirely and play them from iPodder using whatever MP3 playing app you have. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) At 08:11 AM 4/28/2008, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Sorry for the OT, but this silly little problem has to have been answered somewhere before and I just can't find a clue... I'm using iTunes to download a set of daily podcasts because the servers here don't have the bandwidth to support streaming. I have set up the download to check for new episodes daily, and that works fine. However, the first time I configured the application, it was @ 7:53 AM. Now that is the scheduled time for the daily update. It would be a whole lot slicker (and conserve bandwidth) if I could set that update to happen at 2:AM. I tried all of the controls I could find through the UI and tried looking for something promising in the registry, but no joy so far. I tried iTunes support and even subscribed to their forums, but can't figure out how to post? Anybody have a resource for addressing iTunes questions? -- J. Paul Kent 206-383-0539 ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/john%40hedtke.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
OT: Podcast Question
According to this book what I wrote about Podcasting a couple years ago, iPodder (a free app) may be a viable alternative. It'll download files whenever you want and then they're there waiting for you to inhale to iTunes to plug into the iPod. If you're simply interested in downloading them to play them locally, you can skip iTunes entirely and play them from iPodder using whatever MP3 playing app you have. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email) At 08:11 AM 4/28/2008, jopakent at comcast.net wrote: >Sorry for the OT, but this silly little problem has to have been >answered somewhere before and I just can't find a clue... > >I'm using iTunes to download a set of daily podcasts because the >servers here don't have the bandwidth to support streaming. > >I have set up the download to check for new episodes daily, and that >works fine. > >However, the first time I configured the application, it was @ 7:53 >AM. Now that is the scheduled time for the daily update. It would be >a whole lot slicker (and conserve bandwidth) if I could set that >update to happen at 2:AM. > >I tried all of the controls I could find through the UI and tried >looking for something promising in the registry, but no joy so >far. I tried iTunes support and even subscribed to their forums, >but can't figure out how to post? > >Anybody have a resource for addressing iTunes questions? > >-- >J. Paul Kent >206-383-0539 >___ > > >You are currently subscribed to Framers as john at hedtke.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/john%40hedtke.com > >Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit >http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
RE: In Praise of Framers and QuickBooks Pro 2008
I write accounting software reviews for Accounting Technology magazine this time every year. (This year's covered several different versions of Peachtree, MS Office Accounting Professional, QB Pro and QB Premier, MYOB, and Simply Accounting.) MS Office Accounting Express is definitely free and may be adequate for simple bookkeeping at the level Rick may need. It tends to like using MS Office 2007, but that's not an absolute essential as I recall. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) At 04:01 PM 4/25/2008, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: One other possibility to think about (it is not Intuit) ... Microsoft has a freebie available that may fit the need: Microsoft Accounting Express 2008. Check out the info here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/accountingexpress/FX101729681033.aspx. This is designed for small businesses. Finally, The Price Is Right for this software. :) Z -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Quatro Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 2:05 PM To: framers@lists.frameusers.com; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: OT: In Praise of Framers and QuickBooks Pro 2008 Hello Framers, First of all, I want to thank all of you Framers who generously answer my off-topic posts. I have received some great suggestions and guidance on many topics over the years. Framers are smart! Now on to my latest OT post. I am getting ready to incorporate my business and my accountant recommended QuickBooks Pro 2008. I was getting ready to buy it, but I am a little spooked by the negative reviews on Amazon and elsewhere. Does anyone here have any feedback on it? Also, are there any Intuit folks on the list? I would be willing to barter some FrameScript work for a legal copy of QuickBooks Pro 2008. Thank you very much. Rick Quatro Carmen Publishing 585-659-8267 www.frameexpert.com ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/john%40hedtke.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
In Praise of Framers and QuickBooks Pro 2008
I write accounting software reviews for Accounting Technology magazine this time every year. (This year's covered several different versions of Peachtree, MS Office Accounting Professional, QB Pro and QB Premier, MYOB, and Simply Accounting.) MS Office Accounting Express is definitely free and may be adequate for simple bookkeeping at the level Rick may need. It tends to like using MS Office 2007, but that's not an absolute essential as I recall. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email) At 04:01 PM 4/25/2008, Syed.Hosain at aeris.net wrote: >One other possibility to think about (it is not Intuit) ... Microsoft >has a freebie available that may fit the need: Microsoft Accounting >Express 2008. > >Check out the info here: >http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/accountingexpress/FX101729681033.aspx. >This is designed for small businesses. > >Finally, "The Price Is Right" for this software. :) > >Z > > > -Original Message- > > From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com >[mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of > > Rick Quatro > > Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 2:05 PM > > To: framers at lists.frameusers.com; framers at omsys.com > > Subject: OT: In Praise of Framers and QuickBooks Pro 2008 > > > > Hello Framers, > > > > First of all, I want to thank all of you Framers who generously answer >my > > off-topic posts. I have received some great suggestions and guidance >on many > > topics over the years. Framers are smart! Now on to my latest OT post. > > > > I am getting ready to incorporate my business and my accountant >recommended > > QuickBooks Pro 2008. I was getting ready to buy it, but I am a little > > spooked by the negative reviews on Amazon and elsewhere. Does anyone >here > > have any feedback on it? > > > > Also, are there any Intuit folks on the list? I would be willing to >barter > > some FrameScript work for a legal copy of QuickBooks Pro 2008. Thank >you > > very much. > > > > Rick Quatro > > Carmen Publishing > > 585-659-8267 > > www.frameexpert.com >___ > > >You are currently subscribed to Framers as john at hedtke.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/john%40hedtke.com > >Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit >http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
Re: FM 8
This is very similar to the change in paragraph mark property inheritance that happened after, uh, WinWord 6, I think it was. This change in behavior was written up in Word Annoyances and MS was roundly chastised for doing it. The explanations where always pretty half-assed and it sounded like the product manager had just decided to do this without an appreciation of the behavioral changes it would affect. No amount of complaining got them to fix it, sadly, and we've had to make do with working around it since. I hope that that this will get treated like a bug by Adobe and actually fixed instead of having a similar smoke-and-mirrors explanation without any resolution. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) At 06:20 AM 3/24/2008, Yves Barbion wrote: Hi John, there is indeed a difference in behaviour between FM 7 and FM 8. The behaviour you are describing occurs if the paragraphs don't contain any text (yet). So: 1.) Put some text in the paragraph below the one which you are going to delete. Delete the above paragraph. The next paragraph will keep its tag. 2.) Put some text in the paragraph before you press Enter. The next paragraph will get the tag which is in the Next Pgf Tag of the Paragraph Designer. I also preferred the behaviour of FM 7. It allowed me to create a blank structure very quickly: 1. Apply the paratag topictitle to a blank paragraph. 2. Press ENTER to get a blank paragraph tagged sectiontitle. 3. Press ENTER to get a paragraph tagged body. 4. Write my body text. 5. Fill in the sectiontitle and topictitle, depending on what I have written in the body text. I doubt whether Adobe will consider this a bug and will therefore release a patch for it. Kind regards Yves Barbion Documentation Architect Adobe-Certified FrameMaker Instructor Scripto bvba Asselsstraat 65 9031 Gent Belgium T: +32 494 12 01 89 F: +32 9 366 50 23 BTW (VAT) BE 0886.192.394 skype: yves.barbion John Pilla wrote: Our company just upgraded to FM 8 from FM 7. I noticed strange feature behaviours. 1.) When I delete a paragraph, the paragraph below the deleted paragraph takes on the properties, the paragraph tag of the paragraph above the deleted paragraph. This is very annoying, and wastes a lot of extra time in having to re-apply a paragraph tag every time a paragraph is deleted! 2.) Even though a paragraph tag, universally applied, and not over-ridden has a Next Para Tag of a different one than itself, when we press Enter for the new paragraph, the next paragraph is not the one designated as the Next Para Tag, but the same para tag as the one we were on when Enter was pressed. This, too is most annoying and does not seem to be consistent. For at times it does appear to work; however, I have not been able to nail down the conditions when it behaves as it should and when it does not. Any one know if a patch is coming out for these? ~ John ~ Sr. Learning Specialist [EMAIL PROTECTED] Home Office Phone: +1.603.864.6797 IBM Tivoli Provisioning and Maximo Enablement Maximo 5 Certified IBM Certified Deployment Professional - Maximo V6 EAM IBM Certified Deployment Professional - Maximo V6 ITSM Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/yves.barbion%40gmail.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/john%40hedtke.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
FM 8
This is very similar to the change in paragraph mark property inheritance that happened after, uh, WinWord 6, I think it was. This change in behavior was written up in "Word Annoyances" and MS was roundly chastised for doing it. The explanations where always pretty half-assed and it sounded like the product manager had just decided to do this without an appreciation of the behavioral changes it would affect. No amount of complaining got them to fix it, sadly, and we've had to make do with working around it since. I hope that that this will get treated like a bug by Adobe and actually fixed instead of having a similar smoke-and-mirrors explanation without any resolution. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email) At 06:20 AM 3/24/2008, Yves Barbion wrote: >Hi John, > >there is indeed a difference in behaviour between FM 7 and FM 8. The >behaviour you are describing occurs if the paragraphs don't contain any >text (yet). So: > >1.) Put some text in the paragraph below the one which you are going to >delete. Delete the above paragraph. The next paragraph will keep its tag. > >2.) Put some text in the paragraph before you press Enter. The next >paragraph will get the tag which is in the Next Pgf Tag of the Paragraph >Designer. > >I also preferred the behaviour of FM 7. It allowed me to create a >"blank" structure very quickly: > >1. Apply the paratag "topictitle" to a blank paragraph. >2. Press ENTER to get a blank paragraph tagged "sectiontitle". >3. Press ENTER to get a paragraph tagged "body". >4. Write my body text. >5. Fill in the sectiontitle and topictitle, depending on what I have > written in the body text. > >I doubt whether Adobe will consider this a bug and will therefore >release a patch for it. > >Kind regards > >Yves Barbion >Documentation Architect >Adobe-Certified FrameMaker Instructor > > >Scripto bvba >Asselsstraat 65 >9031 Gent >Belgium >T: +32 494 12 01 89 >F: +32 9 366 50 23 >BTW (VAT) BE 0886.192.394 >skype: yves.barbion > > > > >John Pilla wrote: > > Our company just upgraded to FM 8 from FM 7. > > > > I noticed strange "feature" behaviours. > > > > 1.) When I delete a paragraph, the paragraph below the deleted paragraph > > takes on the properties, the paragraph tag of the paragraph above the > > deleted paragraph. > > This is very annoying, and wastes a lot of extra time in having to > > re-apply a paragraph tag every time a paragraph is deleted! > > > > 2.) Even though a paragraph tag, universally applied, and not over-ridden > > has a Next Para Tag of a different one than itself, > > when we press Enter for the new paragraph, the next paragraph is not the > > one designated as the Next Para Tag, but the same para tag as the one we > > were on when Enter was pressed. > > This, too is most annoying and does not seem to be consistent. For at > > times it does appear to work; however, I have not been able to nail down > > the conditions when it behaves as it should and when it does not. > > > > Any one know if a patch is coming out for these? > > > > ~ John ~ > > Sr. Learning Specialist > > John.Pilla at us.ibm.com > > Home Office Phone: +1.603.864.6797 > > IBM Tivoli Provisioning and Maximo Enablement > > > > Maximo 5 Certified > > IBM Certified Deployment Professional - Maximo V6 EAM > > IBM Certified Deployment Professional - Maximo V6 ITSM > > Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management > > > > ___ > > > > > > You are currently subscribed to Framers as yves.barbion 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/yves.barbion%40gmail.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 john at hedtke.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/john%40hedtke.com > >Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit >http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
Software Purchase Justification
I always rely on savings/efficiency when touting a software purchase: What will this save the company? How will it improve efficiency, throughput, or final quality to buy this thing? In the case of the Adobe Tech Comm Suite, it's got a few advantages right off the top: even at list price, you're getting updates to FrameMaker and Acrobat for less than the cost of buying them individually, and you also get RoboHelp and Captivate as well. (I think a lot more people should use Captivate.) BTW, there are currently several listings for the Tech Comm Suite on eBay, two of which are significantly less than the suggested list price: http://cgi.ebay.com/Adobe-Technical-Communication-Suite-NEW-NIB_W0QQitemZ120222385795QQihZ002QQcategoryZ41877QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Adobe-Technical-Communication-Suite-New-Sealed-Box_W0QQitemZ300199662760QQihZ020QQcategoryZ41877QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (There's also a listing that's $100 *more* than the suggested list price on the Adobe website. Go figure. :D) Buying the product at a significant savings may be enough frosting on the cake to seal the deal on your proposal. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email) At 07:20 AM 2/18/2008, Ann Balaban wrote: >Have any of you written a software purchase justification? I am trying >to purchase > >the Adobe Technical Communications Suite and my boss says I'm missing a >few > >things in my justification. If anyone has any examples I could use, I >would appreciate > >seeing them. > > > >Ann Balaban > >The T-System > >abalaban at tsystem
Re: How to verify what was the last release of FrameMaker 7.2
I'm using Patch 158, fwiw. At 04:40 PM 11/8/2007, Maxwell Hoffmann wrote: Content-class: urn:content-classes:message Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 I have a customer who has encountered a known bug in FrameMaker 7.2. She wants to know how to verify whether there was a later patch for FrameMaker 7.2 available than what she has installed. I did a search in Adobe/User Forum/FrameMaker and was unable to find the answer to this. Does anyone know how to verify what was the latest version of FrameMaker 7.2? Maxwell Hoffmann Manager of Consulting Training Solutions ENLASO Corporation T: 805 494 9571 * F: 805 435 1920 E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ⦠ENLASO Corporation provides quality enterprise language solutions and exceeds client expectations through continuing research, development, and implementation of effective localization processes and technologies. Visit: www.translate.com for more information or to subscribe to our complimentary localization newsletter. http://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellhoffmann ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/john%40hedtke.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
How to verify what was the last release of FrameMaker 7.2
I'm using Patch 158, fwiw. At 04:40 PM 11/8/2007, Maxwell Hoffmann wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="UTF-8" > >I have a customer who has encountered a "known" >bug in FrameMaker 7.2. She wants to know how to >verify whether there was a later patch for >FrameMaker 7.2 available than what she has installed. > >I did a search in Adobe/User Forum/FrameMaker >and was unable to find the answer to this. > >Does anyone know how to verify what was the latest version of FrameMaker 7.2? > >Maxwell Hoffmann >Manager of Consulting & Training Solutions >ENLASO Corporation >T: 805 494 9571 * F: 805 435 1920 >E: mhoffmann at translate.com ??? ENLASO >Corporation provides quality enterprise language >solutions and exceeds client expectations >through continuing research, development, and >implementation of effective localization >processes and technologies. Visit: >www.translate.com for more information or to >subscribe to our complimentary localization newsletter. >http://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellhoffmann >___ > > >You are currently subscribed to Framers as john at hedtke.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/john%40hedtke.com > >Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit >http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
RE: radical revamping of techpubs
Yes. I'm a Eudora user for the last 12 years and I tend to eschew HTML mail. At 07:10 AM 10/22/2007, Chris Borokowski wrote: From my experience, HTML-encoded email seems to screw up more than it helps. Stick to good ol 7-bit ASCII. --- John Hedtke [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Actually, no, that's not the case, Gillian; Tekwryter's emails directly to me have been well-formatted. I think this is more an effect of the listserve software doing something unexpected. http://technical-writing.dionysius.com/ technical writing | consulting | development __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/john%40hedtke.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
radical revamping of techpubs
Yes. I'm a Eudora user for the last 12 years and I tend to eschew HTML mail. At 07:10 AM 10/22/2007, Chris Borokowski wrote: > From my experience, HTML-encoded email seems to screw up more than it >helps. Stick to good ol 7-bit ASCII. > >--- John Hedtke wrote: > > > Actually, no, that's not the case, Gillian; Tekwryter's emails > > directly to me have been well-formatted. I think this is more an > > effect of the listserve software doing something unexpected. > > >http://technical-writing.dionysius.com/ >technical writing | consulting | development > >__ >Do You Yahoo!? >Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around >http://mail.yahoo.com >___ > > >You are currently subscribed to Framers as john at hedtke.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/john%40hedtke.com > >Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit >http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
RE: radical revamping of techpubs
At 04:09 PM 10/19/2007, Technical Writer wrote: That's what makes marketing such a popular major. :) Truly! ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
OT: Kittens and writing
I have a 7-8 month old kitten who runs on pure energy. He's been discovering the thrill of leaping on my desk and knocking things over. Cats are notoriously opaque. sigh Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
RE: radical revamping of techpubs
marketshare from that company. The company almost went under until the board of Directors wisely fired him and put a new CEO at the helm. -Gillian Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live OneCare! Try now! Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live OneCare! Try now! _ Climb to the top of the charts! Play Star Shuffle: the word scramble challenge with star power. http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_oct___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/john%40hedtke.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
RE: radical revamping of techpubs
True enough. :) At 11:23 AM 10/19/2007, Rene Stephenson wrote: The market is also driven by price, availability, and value (=quality for the price), but pervasive marketing and cut-throat competition can trump. Rene John Hedtke [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: You're making an assumption that the market is driven by quality. It is not, though that's certainly a factor. The market is driven even more by good marketing. At 10:58 AM 10/19/2007, Technical Writer wrote: And yet people still buy it. If they did not, issues of quality would be irrelevant; only the quality items would be purchased, the crap would languish on the dealer shelves, and we would be working rather than having this discussion.http://www.tekwrytrs.com/Specializing in the Design, Development, and Production of:Technical Documentation - Online Content - Enterprise Websites Subject: RE: radical revamping of techpubsDate: Fri, 19 Oct 2007 10:55:33 -0700From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; framers@lists.frameusers.com I have seen enough bug reports in my time to know that quality is not subjective. If the software generates a mile-long list of bugs reported by customers and QA people, the software application is crap. Thank you, Gillian Flato Technical Writer (Software) nanometrics 1550 Buckeye Dr. Milpitas, CA. 95035 (408.545.6316 7 408.232.5911 * [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Technical Writer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, October 19, 2007 10:52 AMTo: Flato, Gillian; [EMAIL PROTECTED]: RE: radical revamping of techpubs The same could be said of pacemakers, missile control systems, and a host of others. That does not change the fact that in most software applications, perceptions of quality are highly subjective. Subject: RE: radical revamping of techpubsDate: Fri, 19 Oct 2007 10:09:42 -0700From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; framers@lists.frameusers.com Quality is primarily a subjective opinion; Similarly, whether a product is crap or not is again an opinion, not an objective evaluation that can applied in all cases. When you work in the semi-conductor industry making high-tech instruments that are used in fabs (chip fabrication plants), quality is not subjective. If the tool stops running after a few thousand cycles or a part on the tool fails after only a few months of running, then it's objective. A part broke, the Tool shutdown, quality is crap, that's not subjective. TechWriters in my field document the software that runs on these types of tools. If you go to a fab, you'll see the type of tools I am taking about. BTW, why don't you identify who you are? You act so sanctimonious yet you hide behind a moniker. Have some cohones and tell us who you are. Thank you, Gillian Flato Technical Writer (Software) nanometrics 1550 Buckeye Dr. Milpitas, CA. 95035 (408.545.6316 7 408.232.5911 * [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Technical Writer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, October 19, 2007 9:37 AMTo: Flato, Gillian; [EMAIL PROTECTED]: RE: radical revamping of techpubs And I know of a CEO who used to either get there first, or let the wannabes struggle over the crumbs. Name of Bill Gates. Quality is primarily a subjective opinion; witness the 90+% of the population of the planet using Windows, despite the occasional Blue Screen of Death, or necessary re-booting orre-installing required. Similarly, whether a product is crap or not is again an opinion, not an objective evaluation that can applied in all cases. The Debian flavor of Linux is considered the best by some, and the worst by some. The opinions are subjective. Everyone TW wants to believe that he or she is producing quality documentation that creates a warm fuzzy in the user, and makes customers-for-life of the company that produces whatever is being documented. I simply suggest a reality check may be more useful. If the TW is documenting software, perhaps he or she should change fields to one with a slower pace of life (and writing). The option is to accept the realities of the marketplace, and how those influence and constrain the production of technical documentation. In a world in which dynamic onlne help files are rapidly replacing hard copy documents, it seems more useful to focus on developing a skill set that enables high-volume production of acceptable quality content, rather than obsessing over trivial (to most users) details of grammar, construction, or voice. In that direction may lie the future of TW--get it written, get it online, and concentrate on the Pareto principle of satisfying the needs of the majority of users rather than obsessing over the subjective opinions of the minority. From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; framers@lists.frameusers.com ...or similar biggies realize that time-to-market is everything, Time-to-market is not everything if you sacrifice quality. If you're first on the market but your product is crap, the fact that you were first on the market is irrelevant
First on market (was RE: radical revamping of techpubs)
Despite the incredible pressure that people feel to be the first on the market with the latest release, I think history shows that it is almost NEVER the first product to market that has long-term success, at least in high-tech. The IBM PC was not the first to market by a number of years. Microsoft hasn't ever gotten there first with anything that comes to mind. VisiCalc. WordStar. Doc-to-Help was, I think, on the market before Robohelp, yet they got outmarketed ultimately. VHS vs. Beta: Beta was, and is, a better overall format but VHS outmarketed Beta and poof no more Beta. And so on. It could be argued that what tends to work is the products that watched what the first product did and then didn't make the same mistakes or at least capitalized on marketing. There are exceptions to this--Visio comes to mind--where something is so truly innovative as to be unique, but these are rare and stellar examples. For the most part, the first product to cross the finish line is guaranteed to ~not~ survive the test of time. Even on a short-term basis, pushing a product out the door to meet an arbitrary schedule gets you what you deserve. Who here is fool enough to install the .0 version of anything from, say, Microsoft or Adobe? And who, having done that, got away with it with their computing skin intact? Robert Cringely was nice enough to quote me in his column a couple months ago: At Microsoft, quality is job SP1, but this is an aphorism you could apply to a lot of companies, not just the folks in Redmond. They all feel the same pressures and make the same mistakes. If I knew that a company was actively taking a few extra months to plan things and deliver me a bug-free product, I'd be very impressed and would consider that heavily when shopping for something. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
First on market (was RE: radical revamping of techpubs)
Despite the incredible pressure that people feel to be the first on the market with the latest release, I think history shows that it is almost NEVER the first product to market that has long-term success, at least in high-tech. The IBM PC was not the first to market by a number of years. Microsoft hasn't ever gotten there first with anything that comes to mind. VisiCalc. WordStar. Doc-to-Help was, I think, on the market before Robohelp, yet they got outmarketed ultimately. VHS vs. Beta: Beta was, and is, a better overall format but VHS outmarketed Beta and >poof< no more Beta. And so on. It could be argued that what tends to work is the products that watched what the first product did and then didn't make the same mistakes or at least capitalized on marketing. There are exceptions to this--Visio comes to mind--where something is so truly innovative as to be unique, but these are rare and stellar examples. For the most part, the first product to cross the finish line is guaranteed to ~not~ survive the test of time. Even on a short-term basis, pushing a product out the door to meet an arbitrary schedule gets you what you deserve. Who here is fool enough to install the .0 version of anything from, say, Microsoft or Adobe? And who, having done that, got away with it with their computing skin intact? Robert Cringely was nice enough to quote me in his column a couple months ago: "At Microsoft, quality is job SP1," but this is an aphorism you could apply to a lot of companies, not just the folks in Redmond. They all feel the same pressures and make the same mistakes. If I knew that a company was actively taking a few extra months to plan things and deliver me a bug-free product, I'd be very impressed and would consider that heavily when shopping for something. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
radical revamping of techpubs
ajority of users > rather than obsessing over the subjective opinions of the > minority.< From: gflato at nanometrics.com> To: > tekwrytr at hotmail.com; framers at lists.frameusers.com> > ...or similar > biggies realize that time-to-market is everything, > > > Time-to-market is not everything if you sacrifice quality. If > you're first on the market but your product is crap, the fact that > you were first on the market is irrelevant. > > I know a CEO who > got fired because all he cared about is being first on the market > but his products were crap and failed often. Other company's that > were slower to market but turned out quality products, stole > marketshare from that company. The company almost went under until > the board of Directors wisely fired him and put a new CEO at the > helm.> > > -Gillian> > > >Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live >OneCare! Try now! > >Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live >OneCare! Try now! >_ >Climb to the top of the charts! Play Star Shuffle: the word >scramble challenge with star power. >http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_oct___ > > >You are currently subscribed to Framers as john at hedtke.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/john%40hedtke.com > >Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit >http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
radical revamping of techpubs
True enough. :) At 11:23 AM 10/19/2007, Rene Stephenson wrote: >The market is also driven by price, availability, and value >(=quality for the price), but pervasive marketing and cut-throat >competition can trump. > >Rene > >John Hedtke wrote: >You're making an assumption that the market is driven by quality. It >is not, though that's certainly a factor. The market is driven even >more by good marketing. > >At 10:58 AM 10/19/2007, Technical Writer wrote: > > >And yet people still buy it. If they did not, issues of quality > >would be irrelevant; only the "quality" items would be purchased, > >the "crap" would languish on the dealer shelves, and we would be > >working rather than having this > >discussion.http://www.tekwrytrs.com/Specializing in the Design, > >Development, and Production of:Technical Documentation - Online > >Content - Enterprise Websites > > > > > >Subject: RE: radical revamping of techpubsDate: Fri, 19 Oct 2007 > >10:55:33 -0700From: gflato at nanometrics.comTo: tekwrytr at hotmail.com; > >framers at lists.frameusers.com > > > > > > > >I have seen enough bug reports in my time to know that quality is > >not subjective. If the software generates a mile-long list of bugs > >reported by customers and QA people, the software application is crap. > > > > > >Thank you, > > > > > >Gillian Flato > >Technical Writer (Software) > >nanometrics > >1550 Buckeye Dr. > >Milpitas, CA. 95035 > >(408.545.6316 > >7 408.232.5911 > >* gflato at nanometrics.com > > > > > > > > > >From: Technical Writer [mailto:tekwrytr at hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, > >October 19, 2007 10:52 AMTo: Flato, Gillian; > >framers at lists.frameusers.comSubject: RE: radical revamping of techpubs > >The same could be said of pacemakers, missile control systems, and a > >host of others. That does not change the fact that in most software > >applications, perceptions of quality are highly subjective. > > > > > >Subject: RE: radical revamping of techpubsDate: Fri, 19 Oct 2007 > >10:09:42 -0700From: gflato at nanometrics.comTo: tekwrytr at hotmail.com; > >framers at lists.frameusers.com > > > > > > >>Quality is primarily a subjective opinion; > > >>Similarly, whether a product is crap or not is again an opinion, > > not an objective evaluation that can applied in all cases. > > > >When you work in the semi-conductor industry making high-tech > >instruments that are used in fabs (chip fabrication plants), quality > >is not subjective. If the tool stops running after a few thousand > >cycles or a part on the tool fails after only a few months of > >running, then it's objective. A part broke, the Tool shutdown, > >quality is crap, that's not subjective. > > > >TechWriters in my field document the software that runs on these > >types of tools. If you go to a fab, you'll see the type of tools I > >am taking about. > > > >BTW, why don't you identify who you are? You act so sanctimonious > >yet you hide behind a moniker. Have some cohones and tell us who you are. > > > > > >Thank you, > > > > > >Gillian Flato > >Technical Writer (Software) > >nanometrics > >1550 Buckeye Dr. > >Milpitas, CA. 95035 > >(408.545.6316 > >7 408.232.5911 > >* gflato at nanometrics.com > > > > > > > > > >From: Technical Writer [mailto:tekwrytr at hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, > >October 19, 2007 9:37 AMTo: Flato, Gillian; > >framers at lists.frameusers.comSubject: RE: radical revamping of techpubs > > And I know of a CEO who used to either get there first, or let the > > wannabes struggle over the crumbs. Name of Bill Gates. Quality is > > primarily a subjective opinion; witness the 90+% of the population > > of the planet using Windows, despite the occasional Blue Screen of > > Death, or necessary re-booting orre-installing required. Similarly, > > whether a product is crap or not is again an opinion, not an > > objective evaluation that can applied in all cases. The Debian > > flavor of Linux is considered "the best" by some, and "the worst" > > by some. The opinions are subjective. Everyone TW wants to believe > > that he or she is producing quality documentation that creates a > > warm fuzzy in the user, and makes customers-for-life of the company > > that produces whatever is being documented. I simply suggest a > > reality check may be more useful. If the TW is documenting > > software, pe
radical revamping of techpubs
Au contraire, I think that's a very good way to put it, Chris. John At 11:37 AM 10/19/2007, Chris Borokowski wrote: >Another way to say this might, the market is driven by perceived >quality of product as a product. Microsoft Windows is not as stable as >BSD, but it installs easily and lets the average user get up and >running quickly while maintaining high backward compatibility. Is that >higher quality, or lower quality? Not so clear. However, for the task >at hand, defined by the purchasing audience, it is a more apt fit. > >I believe that the market is driven by image, including the marketing >you mention, but part of that is a perception of quality as defined by >the needs of the users. > >I'm sure that did nothing to simplify this debate. Feel free to flame >me off-list for such blatant non-helpfulness. > >--- John Hedtke wrote: > > > You're making an assumption that the market is driven by quality. It > > is not, though that's certainly a factor. The market is driven even > > more by good marketing. > > >http://technical-writing.dionysius.com/ >technical writing | consulting | development > >__ >Do You Yahoo!? >Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around >http://mail.yahoo.com >___ > > >You are currently subscribed to Framers as john at hedtke.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/john%40hedtke.com > >Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit >http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
radical revamping of techpubs
ilpitas, CA. >95035> >(408.545.6316> >7 408.232.5911> >* >gflato at nanometrics.com> >> >> >> >> >From: Technical Writer >[mailto:tekwrytr at hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, > >October 19, 2007 9:37 >AMTo: Flato, Gillian; > >framers at lists.frameusers.comSubject: RE: >radical revamping of techpubs> > And I know of a CEO who used to >either get there first, or let the > > wannabes struggle over the >crumbs. Name of Bill Gates. Quality is > > primarily a subjective >opinion; witness the 90+% of the population > > of the planet using >Windows, despite the occasional Blue Screen of > > Death, or >necessary re-booting orre-installing required. Similarly, > > >whether a product is crap or not is again an opinion, not an > > >objective evaluation that can applied in all cases. The Debian > > >flavor of Linux is considered "the best" by some, and "the >worst" > > by some. The opinions are subjective. Everyone TW wants >to believe > > that he or she is producing quality documentation >that creates a > > warm fuzzy in the user, and makes >customers-for-life of the company > > that produces whatever is >being documented. I simply suggest a > > reality check may be more >useful. If the TW is documenting > > software, perhaps he or she >should change fields to one with a > > slower pace of life (and >writing). The option is to accept the > > realities of the >marketplace, and how those influence and constrain > > the >production of technical documentation. In a world in which > > >dynamic onlne help files are rapidly replacing hard copy >documents, > > it seems more useful to focus on developing a skill >set that > > enables high-volume production of acceptable quality >content, > > rather than obsessing over trivial (to most users) >details of > > grammar, construction, or voice. In that direction >may lie the > > future of TW--get it written, get it online, and >concentrate on the > > Pareto principle of satisfying the needs of >the majority of users > > rather than obsessing over the subjective >opinions of the > > minority. < From: gflato at nanometrics.com> >To: > > tekwrytr at hotmail.com; framers at lists.frameusers.com> > ...or >similar > > biggies realize that time-to-market is >everything, > > > > Time-to-market is not everything if you >sacrifice quality. If > > you're first on the market but your >product is crap, the fact that > > you were first on the market is >irrelevant. > > I know a CEO who > > got fired because all he cared >about is being first on the market > > but his products were crap >and failed often. Other company's that > > were slower to market but >turned out quality products, stole > > marketshare from that >company. The company almost went under until > > the board of >Directors wisely fired him and put a new CEO at the > > helm.> > > >-Gillian> >> >> >Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! >Try Windows Live > >OneCare! Try now!> >> >Boo! Scare away worms, >viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live > >OneCare! Try >now!> >__ >___> >Climb to the top of the charts! Play Star Shuffle: the >word > >scramble challenge with star >power.> >http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlma >iltextlink_oct___> >> >> > >You are currently subscribed to Framers as >john at hedtke.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/john%40hedtke.com> > >> >Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. >Visit> >http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.> > >Yours truly,> > John Hedtke> Author/Consultant/Contract Writer> >www.hedtke.com <-- website> 541-685-5000 (office landline)> >541-554-2189 (cell)> john at hedtke.com (primary email)> >johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email) > >_ >Climb to the top of the charts! Play Star Shuffle: the word >scramble challenge with star power. >http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_oct___ > > >You are currently subscribed to Framers as gflato at nanometrics.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/gflato%40nanometrics.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 john at hedtke.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/john%40hedtke.com > >Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit >http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
OT: Kittens and writing
I have a 7-8 month old kitten who runs on pure energy. He's been discovering the thrill of leaping on my desk and knocking things over. Cats are notoriously opaque. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
radical revamping of techpubs
At 04:09 PM 10/19/2007, Technical Writer wrote: >That's what makes marketing such a popular major. :) Truly!
Re: radical revamping of techpubs
A pithy and very well-written message, Ron. Bravo! Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
RE: radical revamping of techpubs
XP and Agile are excuses for bad behavior. We're manly men who code brilliantly; we don't need documentation because our code is perfect and if the users don't understand our godlike design, that's their problem. XP and Agile will get code out the door and it may even be good code (occasionally), but it ignores the idea that 90% of programming is maintenance... and without internal documentation or process, you have no history. I've seen XP happening in a number of companies that are now dead. Think of it as evolution in action. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) At 07:46 AM 10/18/2007, Gordon McLean wrote: The movement toward Extreme Programming and Agile Development is a case in point; documentation is considered a waste of valuable developer time, and only needs to be slapped together in minimalist form at the last minute. That is at odds with the TW perspective of involvement during the entire development process (which is ONLY appropriate for Waterfall, because everything else changes). Tosh. http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/agileModelingXP.htm#Documentation Outside your extreme programming project, you will probably need documentation: by all means, write it. Inside your project, there is so much verbal communication that you may need very little else. Trust yourselves to know the difference. Ohhh wait, you mean that internal documentation is a waste of time, not customer facing (and requested) documentation. Right? That'll be why, as one of three technical authors working within an XP driven development team (and I mean within as in sitting alongside, contributing to design discussions, arguing UI points, trying early builds) we are struggling to keep up with the (external) documentation requirements. Gordon This email (and any attachments) is private and confidential, and is intended solely for the addressee. If you have received this communication in error please remove it and inform us via telephone or email. Although we take all possible steps to ensure mail and attachments are free from malicious content, malware and viruses, we cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any changes to content outwith our administrative bounds. The views represented within this mail are solely the view of the author and do not reflect the views of the organisation as a whole. Graham Technology plc Registered in Scotland company no. SC143434 Registered Office India of Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland PA4 9LH http://www.grahamtechnology.com ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/john%40hedtke.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
radical revamping of techpubs
A pithy and very well-written message, Ron. Bravo! Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
radical revamping of techpubs
XP and Agile are excuses for bad behavior. "We're manly men who code brilliantly; we don't need documentation because our code is perfect and if the users don't understand our godlike design, that's their problem." XP and Agile will get code out the door and it may even be good code (occasionally), but it ignores the idea that 90% of programming is maintenance... and without internal documentation or process, you have no history. I've seen XP happening in a number of companies that are now dead. Think of it as evolution in action. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email) At 07:46 AM 10/18/2007, Gordon McLean wrote: > > > > The movement toward Extreme Programming and Agile Development is a > > case in point; documentation is considered a waste of valuable > > developer time, and only needs to be slapped together in minimalist > > form at the last minute. That is at odds with the "TW perspective" > > of involvement during the entire development process (which is ONLY > > appropriate for Waterfall, because everything else changes). > > > >Tosh. > >http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/agileModelingXP.htm#Documentation > >"Outside your extreme programming project, you will probably need >documentation: by all means, write it. Inside your project, there is so much >verbal communication that you may need very little else. Trust yourselves >to know the difference." > >Ohhh wait, you mean that internal documentation is a waste of time, not >customer facing (and requested) documentation. Right? > >That'll be why, as one of three technical authors working within an XP >driven development team (and I mean within as in sitting alongside, >contributing to design discussions, arguing UI points, trying early builds) >we are struggling to keep up with the (external) documentation requirements. > >Gordon > > > > >This email (and any attachments) is private and confidential, and is >intended solely for the >addressee. If you have received this communication in error please >remove it and inform us via >telephone or email. Although we take all possible steps to ensure >mail and attachments >are free from malicious content, malware and viruses, we cannot >accept any responsibility >whatsoever for any changes to content outwith our administrative >bounds. The views represented >within this mail are solely the view of the author and do not >reflect the views of the organisation >as a whole. > >Graham Technology plc >Registered in Scotland company no. SC143434 >Registered Office India of Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland PA4 9LH > >http://www.grahamtechnology.com > > >___ > > >You are currently subscribed to Framers as john at hedtke.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/john%40hedtke.com > >Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit >http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
Re: radical revamping of techpubs
Just to throw my opinion on the fire as well, yeah, I'd say it's time to make like a tree and get outa there. :) It's the same old leftovers we've seen a zillion times before. The fact that the developers are not writers nor native English speakers just adds a comic twist to the incompetence of the people who made such a boneheaded decision. I'm sure that there will be a certain amount of smugness about how original they've been, but you may quote me by saying what I always say whenever I hear this kind of rank stupidity coming from some Richard Cranium type: Aye, we've steered onto the rocks. I ~told~ you it was bad luck to steer straight onto the rocks! Care to tell us the name of the company so we can short their stock? :) Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) At 11:47 AM 10/10/2007, mulholland4 wrote: Hi, I would like to see what the group thinks of this scenario for writing documentation within a company? 1. Remove all existing tech writing staff from techpubs. 2. Replace these with software developers and specialists who know the software inside out and get them to write all of the documentation. These would now be known as Developer-techwriters. (It should be noted that none of these people has English as a first language, despite this being the primary market for the documentation.) 3. Hire editing staff to edit only the language and grammar of the documents written by the software specialists. The reasoning behind this scenario is; that this saves money as the developers know the software, and it is really cheap to get university students to come in and edit. I won't make comments on this just now as i'm sure there are many of us who just want to run screaming! ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
radical revamping of techpubs
Just to throw my opinion on the fire as well, yeah, I'd say it's time to make like a tree and get outa there. :) It's the same old leftovers we've seen a zillion times before. The fact that the developers are not writers >nor< native English speakers just adds a comic twist to the incompetence of the people who made such a boneheaded decision. I'm sure that there will be a certain amount of smugness about how original they've been, but you may quote me by saying what I always say whenever I hear this kind of rank stupidity coming from some Richard Cranium type: "Aye, we've steered onto the rocks. I ~told~ you it was bad luck to steer straight onto the rocks!" Care to tell us the name of the company so we can short their stock? :) Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website Region 7 Director, STC 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email) At 11:47 AM 10/10/2007, mulholland4 wrote: >Hi, >I would like to see what the group thinks of this scenario for writing >documentation within a company? > >1. Remove all existing tech writing staff from techpubs. >2. Replace these with software developers and specialists who know the >software inside out and get them to write all of the documentation. These >would now be known as Developer-techwriters. (It should be noted that none >of these people has English as a first language, despite this being the >primary market for the documentation.) >3. Hire editing staff to edit only the language and grammar of the documents >written by the software specialists. > >The reasoning behind this scenario is; that this saves money as the >developers know the software, and it is really cheap to get university >students to come in and edit. > >I won't make comments on this just now as i'm sure there are many of us who >just want to run screaming!
MadCap software
I just found out third-hand that there's going to be some kind of discounted promotional pricing on MadCap software at Lavacon. They're also working out a deal to donate $100 to Habitat for Humanity for every unit they sell there, which is one of my favorite charities and I why I'm pumped about this. So if you're in the market for MadCap software and you're going to LavaCon, now's the time to get it. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com -- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (primary email) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (secondary email) ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send list messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/archive%40mail-archive.com Send administrative questions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
MadCap software
I just found out third-hand that there's going to be some kind of discounted promotional pricing on MadCap software at Lavacon. They're also working out a deal to donate $100 to Habitat for Humanity for every unit they sell there, which is one of my favorite charities and I why I'm pumped about this. So if you're in the market for MadCap software and you're going to LavaCon, now's the time to get it. Yours truly, John Hedtke Author/Consultant/Contract Writer www.hedtke.com <-- website 541-685-5000 (office landline) 541-554-2189 (cell) john at hedtke.com (primary email) johnhedtke at aol.com (secondary email)
