FrameMaker vs. Word

Introduction

The most important skills for a technical writer are writing, editing, and design. However, these skills are not enough to make you a successful technical writer. He must also learn to use the creation tools.

The most used publishing tools are:

• frame maker
• Microsoft Word

frame maker

FrameMaker is a desktop publishing and help creation application created by Adobe Systems. Technical writers use it as a publishing tool to create large documents. Its latest version is 7.2.

Advantages of FrameMaker:

• Useful for writing large and complex documents.
• Creating a PDF is easy and the user can create bookmarks, links and other PDF features.
• It is easier to change the layout of a document using Master pages. A master page is created each time the user creates a new document. It is used to decide the layout of the document.
• The text of the tables can be rotated.
• You can print a rotated page with normal headers and footers, which means that the text can be in landscape mode while the headers and footers are in portrait mode.
• It has good color options. They include CMYK and Pantone.
• It can handle a large number of graphics.
• It has a number of cross book features. One of them is to search and check the spelling of the entire book. This feature is useful for handling large books.
• It has good flexibility in numbering options. It has built-in variables for chapter and volume numbering. It can also handle long numbered lists without any errors.
• Allows you to configure the numbering of steps or procedures.
• Cross references can be easily added. You can also define formats for your cross references.
• You can customize and save table layouts.
• The selection lists for character and paragraph formats are displayed as windows. They can be moved on the screen as needed.
• FrameMaker supports conditional text.
• Easier to create a single source documentation set in FrameMaker. Single font allows you to use the same content in many documents. For example, if your user guide and administrator guide have some common themes, it’s easier to share them rather than keep separate copies.
• It has Webworks Publisher, which is a powerful tool used to generate HTML, XML, or RTF output.

FrameMaker Disadvantages:

• It has a steep learning curve for Word users.
• FrameMaker for Windows does not have macros.
• Undo is limited to one action.
• Unable to right click and paste selected text. You have to use keyboard commands or use the Edit menu for it.
• It has an unpredictable spell checker.
• The drag and drop feature is not present in FrameMaker.
• It does not have a grammar checker.
• Inserting graphics is very inconvenient. You must first create an anchored frame, insert the graphic, and then manually resize it.
• The Find command does not stop when it reaches the end of the document. Keep going.
• You have to manually format the table columns.

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is word processing software used to create documents. It is a powerful tool for creating professional-looking documents.

Advantages of Microsoft Word:

• There are many help creation tools available, such as RoboHelp. Help Authoring Tools (HAT) are used to create online help manuals and are used by technical writers. They get the source text from programs like HTML and Word and generate output in formats like Microsoft WinHelp or Adobe PDF.
• It has nice spell checker features like on-the-fly spell checker, removing the spell checker dialog when you select text, and informing the user when they reach the end of the document.
• You can use track changes to review documents.
• It has a good grammar checker.
• It has the ability to “undo” many times.
• It has macros, which can automate repetitive actions.
• You can open two parts of a document in one window using Word.

Disadvantages of Microsoft Word:

• Not stable for large documents. Gets slow when handling high volumes.
• It is difficult to have a set of documentation from a single source.
• It doesn’t run on Unix.
• It doesn’t handle multiple document features like headers, footers, indexes, table of contents, cross-references, etc. very well.

conclusion

FrameMaker is best suited for large documents or documents with many files, such as books and user manuals. Word is better for smaller documents like reports, newsletters, letters, and memos. However, Word is much easier to use and has many advanced features.

Most of FrameMaker’s features can be implemented in Word, but FrameMaker handles large documents better and also has good cross-reference and multi-file support.

Both Adobe FrameMaker and Microsoft Word are powerful professional creation tools. They both have strengths and weaknesses. To decide which one is best for you, take a close look at the type of document you need to write.