Which are the best books to learn FrameMaker?

[SirPaladin]

I'm a Programmer/Technical Writer that has been self-taught in all my languages and software applications. It looks like the next one I have to master for a job will be Adobe FrameMaker. I know there are hundreds of books out there for that, but I know not all books are created equal! I was hoping someone might be able to recommend one or two books based on their experience with them. It would be especially helpful if they taught from beginner through advanced. Here are some of the tools I've used, if it helps to know my knowledge base. Most of the technical writing I've done has been in RoboHELP, MS Word, Word Perfect and MS Publisher. The programming jobs I've done have been in Visual Basic, C/C++, PERL, Clarion, and HTML. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[skywriter]

Paladin,<br>
did you find a desirable book?<br>
<br>
Seem to be an abundance for Framemaker - vanilla, but NO<br>
third party books for +SGML. I'm doing a teach-yourself on the +SGML and am tempted to write the book when I feel accomplished. The templates, EDDs and DTDs are the challenge. and the personal copy of software in $2,000 from Adobe - with no distributors on less than 10 licenses....<br>
<br>
Experience with 3rd party books make Que corp's books an excellent choice, and the Dummies series does a nice job of overview and intro -but lacks the serious GUTS of a lot of things...<br>
<br>
---skywriter

 

[jhar]

I used seat 'o pants and the user manual, but my advice is to let go of many things you know about word and word perfect. Frame lives in a different world.

 

[phil25000]

Paladin<br><br>I've been using FrameMaker for 5 years and have not found a good book, not even the Adobe FrameMaker (ex Frame Technology) books. It is a very complex product and I can say that I probably don't know a third of it. Having said that, let me say that the simplest usage of FrameMaker makes any Microsoft application look like the stone age. I have written several scores of books and hundreds of documents with Frame and have struggled at times, but the books have always been well received. My advice is to read whatever is handy and try to use each feature as you come across it. If you can get an existing document and dissect it, you'll learn much also. FrameMaker isn't hard, it's just very complex and as a Microsoft user, you'll have to get used to doing business a different way. Look at the FrameMaker books and remember that they were done with FrameMaker and you can do as well or better. I once participated in a poll of technical writers as to what they preferred: FrameMaker or Microsoft Word. Out of 400, 399 chose FrameMaker and the one who didn't was required to work in Word. Have fun.<br><br>Phil25000 <p>Phil Parsons<br><a href=mailtoparsons@ecrm.com>pparsons@ecrm.com</a><br><a href= > </a><br>I'm particularly interested in the use of all kinds of pictorial matter in technical books. I have been attempting to put 3D to good use with our on-line manuals and want to bring existing CAD drawings into Extreme 3D. That's why I'm here.

 

[djl]

When I started using FM 9 months ago, several people recommended the &quot;Classroom in a Book.&quot; It was quite helpful for learning, and I still use it for a reference sometimes, because it is more results-oriented than the user manual. You can find the book on the Adobe site.

 

[djl]

p.s.<br>Another book that is supposed to be good is &quot;Mastering FrameMaker 5.&quot;<br><br>Here is the ordering info:<br>Print-On-Demand Reprints<br><br>How to Order<br>------------<br>Cost:&nbsp;&nbsp;$50.00 US per book<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;+ 5.00 postage/handling per order (US and Canada)<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Please email me for prices on orders of 10 or more.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I'll have more information on postage for other<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;destinations shortly.<br>Make check or money order out to &quot;Thomas Neuburger&quot;.<br>Send your payment, email address or phone number, and<br>&quot;ship to&quot; location to:<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thomas Neuburger<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8127 NW Hazeltine Street<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Portland OR 97229<br><br>Books will be sent First Class Mail unless requested otherwise.<br><br>If you email me that your order is coming, I'll watch for it.<br>This will also help to size future print runs.<br><br>I hope soon to make copies available via the Web, and<br>also through Amazon. I'll send more information on<br>these avenues as I have it.<br><br>Again, many thanks!<br><br>Tom Neuburger<br>

 

[SirPaladin]

Thanks for the suggestions. My question had been posted last year, and that contract went very well. Turned out that it is easy enough to teach yourself Framemaker even with only the original documentation that ships with it. The key to learning Framemaker is understanding master style sheets, both at the Paragraph level and the Font level. Through experimentation, once you develop an overall look for your document that you're comfortable with, it's easy to then apply that to subsequent documents. In fact, in a matter of minutes you can reformat an entire book with a totally different look, including TOC and Index. This is especially helpful if your document is both to be printed, or converted to PDF (with Adobe Acrobat) for electronic distribution. The reason being, what looks good in print is not necessarily the best if displayed on a screen.

 

[WR1TER]

I went through the Adobe Framemaker Classroom In A Book very slowly. I took my time intentionally. I found it helpful in familiarizing myself with the product. I think the best thing is to get busy using it and get on forums such as this one and the framers list. That way, when you run into a problem, people who have been through it can help you if you don't have coworkers that can.