The Rockley Group has long been recognized as a leader in DITA and content strategy. This group has published several “must read” reference books on topic based authoring and different approaches to content strategy. For the Rockley Group’s latest book, DITA Metrics 101, they decided to self-publish to both print, tablets and mobile using Adobe’s read more…
In this blog, our guest blogger, Tony Self of Hyperwrite in Melbourne, Australia, shares his thoughts on various levels of Re-use. Tony has done several guest webinars with AdobeTCS. You will find links to recorded webinars and upcoming webinars at the end of this blog. Levels of Re-use, by Tony Self At the heart of read more…
Many forms of tech doc still require CAUTIONs and WARNINGs, which are delineated by special artwork. Most Word users employ artwork that is copied and pasted to achieve the desired look. FrameMaker 11 offers a powerful feature: Reference Pages which contain one instance of the desired CAUTION artwork that is duplicated many times via paragraph read more…
Ellis Pratt of Cherryleaf in the UK made a very compelling presentation on the Changing Nature of Content in a recent webinar with Adobe. There is a webinar recording, and a detailed white paper (authored by Pratt) which you can download on this subject. NOTE: both of the links in the previous sentence will take read more…
Dear RoboHelp Users, In my last post on this thread, I described how you can create multiscreen HTML5 content for various devices using RoboHelp 10. Since my last post, I have had several conversations with users regarding this functionality. I presented the multiscreen HTML5 feature in the TC World Bangalore conference, where a number of read more…
Hello everyone! At the last STC Summit last year in Chicago, we had several people come up to us and say they were sad they missed the amazing lineup of speakers we had at Adobe Day just one day prior to the Summit opening. To ensure no one misses the great opportunity this time, we’ve read more…
Dear All, I am pleased to announce that we have fixed a recently reported issue related to IE 10. The issue description and the solution is described below. Issue If the end-users access the published help on IE 10 browser, once they navigate back from Index/Search/Glossary to Contents, they were not able to see the read more…
Tables are relatively simple to create with Word, but compared to FrameMaker tables they would not be classified as “sturdy.” For years tables have been one of the strongest features in FrameMaker, in large part due to the degree that customers have “stretched the envelope” with complex, high page count projects that required tables with read more…
Dear RoboHelp Users, I will be attending the STC Summit at Atlanta during 5th to 8th May. I would like to meet as many of you as possible, and discuss how we can improve the product going forward. During the conference, you can catch me at the Adobe Booth. On 6th May, I’ll also be read more…
Dear RoboHelp Users, I’m pleased to announce the availability of RoboHelp patch 10.0.1, in which we have fixed several issues that were reported to us by our users and valued partners. The major issues we have fixed in this patch are as follows. FrameMaker – RoboHelp Integration Some users reported that RoboHelp used to crash read more…
In this blog, our guest blogger, Tony Self of Hyperwrite in Melbourne, Australia, shares his thoughts on various levels of Re-use. Tony has done several guest webinars with AdobeTCS. You will find links to recorded webinars and upcoming webinars at the end of this blog. Levels of Re-use, by Tony Self At the heart of read more…
Many forms of tech doc still require CAUTIONs and WARNINGs, which are delineated by special artwork. Most Word users employ artwork that is copied and pasted to achieve the desired look. FrameMaker 11 offers a powerful feature: Reference Pages which contain one instance of the desired CAUTION artwork that is duplicated many times via paragraph read more…
Maxwell Hoffmann
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Best Practices, Cross References, FrameMaker, Promotions, rich graphics, Technical Communication, Vector artwork, WriteRight
Ellis Pratt of Cherryleaf in the UK made a very compelling presentation on the Changing Nature of Content in a recent webinar with Adobe. There is a webinar recording, and a detailed white paper (authored by Pratt) which you can download on this subject. NOTE: both of the links in the previous sentence will take read more…
Dear RoboHelp Users, In my last post on this thread, I described how you can create multiscreen HTML5 content for various devices using RoboHelp 10. Since my last post, I have had several conversations with users regarding this functionality. I presented the multiscreen HTML5 feature in the TC World Bangalore conference, where a number of read more…
Tables are relatively simple to create with Word, but compared to FrameMaker tables they would not be classified as “sturdy.” For years tables have been one of the strongest features in FrameMaker, in large part due to the degree that customers have “stretched the envelope” with complex, high page count projects that required tables with read more…
Dear RoboHelp Users, I’m pleased to announce the availability of RoboHelp patch 10.0.1, in which we have fixed several issues that were reported to us by our users and valued partners. The major issues we have fixed in this patch are as follows. FrameMaker – RoboHelp Integration Some users reported that RoboHelp used to crash read more…
In conversion projects, time is often the limiting factor. Even if you really feel the entire 500-page manual should be converted to DITA or some other structure, you might be stuck with the old materials for a long time to come. And while you are hacking away at the old document, changing details in the read more…
One of the most common complaints I have heard from Microsoft Word users is the amount of time they spend trying to reposition “slippery” graphics that fall off of the page near a page break. With effort, it is possible to create a true anchored frame to control an image somewhat, but the choices for read more…
FrameMaker 11 has a long history of creating multiple versions of documents or projects to address different audiences, and similar but slightly different product lines. For at least two decades, FrameMaker users have been able to use conditional text control to issue different, custom versions of documents from a single set of “base” source documents. read more…
There is a a considerable contrast between Microsoft Word and FrameMaker regarding the way that styles, catalogs and removal of format overrides are handles. Word displays character styles (e.g. emphasized words) and paragraph styles (e.g. lists of headings) together in one style catalog. FrameMaker has a separate catalog for: paragraph styles character styles table styles read more…
Many forms of tech doc still require CAUTIONs and WARNINGs, which are delineated by special artwork. Most Word users employ artwork that is copied and pasted to achieve the desired look. FrameMaker 11 offers a powerful feature: Reference Pages which contain one instance of the desired CAUTION artwork that is duplicated many times via paragraph read more…
Hello everyone! At the last STC Summit last year in Chicago, we had several people come up to us and say they were sad they missed the amazing lineup of speakers we had at Adobe Day just one day prior to the Summit opening. To ensure no one misses the great opportunity this time, we’ve read more…
Dear RoboHelp Users, I’m pleased to announce the availability of RoboHelp patch 10.0.1, in which we have fixed several issues that were reported to us by our users and valued partners. The major issues we have fixed in this patch are as follows. FrameMaker – RoboHelp Integration Some users reported that RoboHelp used to crash read more…
One of the most common complaints I have heard from Microsoft Word users is the amount of time they spend trying to reposition “slippery” graphics that fall off of the page near a page break. With effort, it is possible to create a true anchored frame to control an image somewhat, but the choices for read more…
FrameMaker 11 has a long history of creating multiple versions of documents or projects to address different audiences, and similar but slightly different product lines. For at least two decades, FrameMaker users have been able to use conditional text control to issue different, custom versions of documents from a single set of “base” source documents. read more…
Long time FrameMaker maven and trainer, Barb Binder of Rocky Mountain Training, was our recent webinar guest in a lively session entitled “FrameMaker 11 Classroom in a Book: meet the author, see it on iPad!” In this engaging interview, Barb revealed what led her to write the book in the first place, and the reception read more…
“We left Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint off the survey because they are so ubiquitous in the IT industry. In past surveys over 90% of respondents indicated using Word.“ - 2012 WritersUA User Assistance Tools Survey Word is one of the most pervasive and widely used documentation tool in the world. It however does not meet read more…
Ray Gallon or The HumanistNerd just completed a fabulous series of webinars for fans of User Assistance. The complexity of today’s technical products means ‘how-to’ information may no longer provide users with all they need. More than procedures, users need to acquire skills and concepts that enable them to be autonomous, make decisions, and work read more…
“It’s your Word against…my FrameMaker!” It’s time to write technical content on the leading technical writing tool. There’s so much we could say. But for now, visit: www.DOUWRITERIGHT.com
Hurrah! It’s time to pop the bubbly… It gives us immense pleasure to share this news with our readers: Adobe FrameMaker 11 is the recipient of the 2013 SIIA CODiE Award for Best Solution for Integrating Content into the Workflow. Giving us company in the august list of winners is Adobe CQ which won in read more…
Guest Bloggers
C
olum McAndrew
Senior Technical Writer, IDBS
Twitter: @robocolumn
Colum is a Technical Author based in Guildford, UK. A user of Adobe RoboHelp since 1999, he can frequently be found on that product’s support forums offering advice to other users. He also writes the RoboColum(n) technical authoring blog which focuses largely on RoboHelp, RoboHelp Server and other Adobe Technical Communications Suite products.
J
ohn Daigle
President, Evergreen Online Learning, LLC
Twitter: @hypertexas
A frequent speaker at national online help conferences, John is an Adobe Certified RoboHelp, Captivate and Acrobat Connect Professional Instructor. He has taught RoboHelp since 1992 and Adobe Captivate since it was introduced. His speaking engagements include the STC Manhattan Chapter, STC Summits in Minneapolis, Atlanta, Philadelphia, WritersUA and LavaCon conferences. John is a member of the Society for Technical Communication (Rocky Mountain Chapter) and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the University of Houston. He began his career in broadcast news as a reporter for the NBC television affiliate in Houston, Texas.
K
evin Siegel
Founder & President, IconLogic, Inc.
Twitter: @Kevin_Siegel
Kevin has written more than 100 step-by-step computer training books including Essentials of RoboDemo 5, Essentials of Adobe RoboHelp 9, Essentials of Adobe RoboHelp 8, Essentials of Adobe RoboHelp 7. Kevin spent five years in the U.S. Coast Guard as an award-winning photojournalist and has more than two decades experience as a print publisher, technical writer, instructional designer and eLearning developer. He is a certified technical trainer, has been a classroom instructor for more than 20 years and is a frequent speaker at trade shows and conventions. Kevin holds multiple certifications from companies such as Adobe and the CompTIA.
S
cott Prentice
Founder & President, Leximation
Twitter: @saprentice
Scott is a specialist in online documentation development and efficient publishing processes. He has spent 19+ years as a technical publications application developer, overlapping with 8 years as a technical writer of user and developer documentation. Extensive design experience gives Scott the ability to creatively solve unique problems on short notice. His specialties include custom web application development, online document interface design, and authoring productivity enhancements. He is also adept at creating innovative solutions that facilitate content localization into many languages.
W
illam van Weelden
Technical Writer, Centric IT Solutions
Twitter: @WvWeelden
William is a technical writer and a part time Philosophy student at the University of Utrecht. He creates help, demonstrations and commercial documentation using a variety of tools, including Captivate, FrameMaker and RoboHelp. You can visit him at www.wvanweelden.eu
Adobe Bloggers
A
nkur Jain
Product Manager (Technical Communication Suite, RoboHelp, and RoboHelp Server )
Twitter: @ankurjain8
Ankur is responsible for Adobe’s business strategy, product roadmap, and partner and customer relationships for his Technical Communication products. He is a popular speaker at technical communication conferences around the globe. Prior to Adobe, Ankur worked as a Senior Product Manager at Trilogy, where he specialized in solving industry’s toughest problems and delivering business value through relentless innovation and technology-powered business services. Earlier in his consulting role, he served over a half dozen clients in the US and the UK on various strategic initiatives. Ankur holds an MBA and enjoys traveling.
K
apil Verma
Senior Product Manager (FrameMaker, FrameMaker Server)
Twitter: @KapilVermaAdobe
Kapil is responsible for the overall FrameMaker product strategy and roadmap, partner ecosystem management, and customer relationships. Prior to Adobe, he worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co., where he served Fortune 500 technology and telecomm corporations on a variety of strategic topics. Earlier, he worked at Capital One in Virginia, where he developed and shaped marketing strategy.
M
axwell Hoffmann
Product Evangelist
Twitter: @maxwellhoffmann
Maxwell has continually worked with FrameMaker software in several capacities for over 20 years. He has provided hands-on sales and customer training to over 1,200 people in North America, Europe, Australia and South America. Maxwell spent the last 15 years in the translation industry, where he managed consulting, DITA/XML migration and multilingual publishing production with FrameMaker, RoboHelp and the most common competitive products. A prolific blogger and white paper author, Maxwell has been a frequent featured speaker at conferences relating to technical communications. He was designated an Adobe Community Expert in 2007 and a 2011 inductee to the Adobe Community Professional program as a recognized expert in FrameMaker. Maxwell has also been designated one of the Top 25 Most Influential Content Strategists for 2010 by MindTouch and LavaCon.
Parth Mukherjee
Product Marketing Manager
Twitter: @parthsm
Parth manages marketing activities for the technical communication products. In his capacity he manages marketing strategy, investments, lead generation and partner relationships. Parth also manages social media and web content for the business. In this capacity, he creates as well as manages web content and technical documentation for Adobe products. Parth holds an MBA in Marketing and has been a branding expert in the consulting services space before joining Adobe.
T
om Aldous
Director – Business Development and Evangelism
Twitter: @tmaldous
Tom leads the business development activities for Adobe’s technical communication tools. Before joining Adobe in January 2011, he worked for over 20 years as a managing partner and consultant at an Adobe business partner company called Integrated Technologies, Inc. (InTech). While at InTech, Tom successfully implemented large-scale XML solutions at several Fortune 500 companies.
