If you need to do some heavy writing quickly, there is nothing better than FrameMaker. Yes, I'm one of those FrameMaker snobs who would rather eat crushed glass than use Microsoft Word. I will be pecking away with FrameMaker forty years from now if necessary while everybody else is using their cerebral implants to directly transcribe their brain waves.
If you have no idea what FrameMaker is, you may want to skip the rest of this article or risk fatal boredom.
I was thinking about software design this week. Actually, for the past few months I've been involved with several software design projects for my clients. My clients ask me to provide them with Word files and I just can't bring myself to do it. I hate using Word for the simple fact that I still want to control how my documents come out. Word does not like being kicked out of the driver's seat. In fact, ousting Word from the driver's seat makes Word angry and bitter and it will proceed to destroy your document just before your precious deadline. Anyway, as I was writing the software requirements for my client using FrameMaker, it occurred to me that FrameMaker may not be around in the next few years. It's getting long in the tooth and its market is slowing drying up as Word comes pre-installed on cellular phones and tennis shoes.
Because FrameMaker is so reliable and hardly gives me trouble, I don't worry when I use it. I open it up, open a template, and write until I give out. Then I create a PDF, print my book, and send it off for review. I spend a lot of time fighting Word. Word will open up that damn clip art manager when I only want to insert a simple file. Sometimes, my numbered steps will reset with no fair warning. I can't have complex numbering (like in software requirements when I need to number headings and paragraphs). In fact, this numbering problem is so bad that many attorneys still use Word Perfect (yes, that old thing) because NASA can send rovers to Mars easier than a paralegal can set up a legal document in Word. And forget it if you have a document that exceeds a hundred pages; that's like trying to pull a ski boat with a Radio Flyer.
So why am I writing this? I don't know. I've been using FrameMaker heavily for many years and only use Word to view documents that others send me. I think maybe I'm fed up with software that sucks. Word is the mayor of Suckville; it's full of useless features that hardly work. As I design software for my clients, I try to ensure that each feature is useful and completely functional. Word is one of those experiments where somebody with low self-esteem was trying to please everybody and ended up pissing off everybody. It's like a hodge-podge of afterthoughts and good intentions.
I'm hoping my software doesn't end up that way. It probably won't since as I write up the specifications, I'm using a rock-solid template in FrameMaker and that inspires me.
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