Product ReviewsOffice software
Adobe has spotted what it considers to be a massive gap in the market for the production of multiplatform technical documentation. With its new Technical Communication Suite (TCS) it aims to fill that gap, providing a modern, integrated and all-round platform at a bargain price. While online documentation is growing in importance, print remains universal, so DTP is at its core. But rather than the market-leading InDesign in this role, Adobe has chosen the relatively obscure FrameMaker (web ID: 137286), which is tailor-made for producing technical documentation. In particular, its use of tagging and a focus on single reflowing documents enables conditional handling. Along with the new Unicode support, this makes FrameMaker well-suited to publishing multiple language versions from a single source, as well as better suiting XML-based workflows. FrameMaker began life as print-only, but Adobe brings Acrobat into play here: by exporting documentation to PDF rather than paper, it's possible to provide universally accessible onscreen viewing and, crucially, cut out all print costs. To make the most of that, Adobe includes a copy of the top-of-the-range Adobe Acrobat 3D in the box. As well as adding impressive prepress and collaboration capabilities, it will also enable you to embed 3D files from a wide range of CAD and modelling apps, which can then be scaled and rotated within the free Adobe Reader application. This will be invaluable to some - hence, Acrobat 3D's ambitious £825 standalone pricing. The two other components in the TCS (both from the Macromedia acquisition) come into play for making the most of dedicated computer
With these advanced print- and screen-based features for producing XML, PDF, HTML and Flash in multiple localised outputs from a single source, the TCS does seem compelling - particularly as the price is well below half that of the combined standalones. But there are some important caveats. The TCS may be a modern publishing challenge, but its two main authoring applications, FrameMaker and RoboHelp, both feel dated and in dire need of serious development. The benefits of a fundamentally structured XML approach become apparent when it comes to scalability and integration, and the ability to take a single FrameMaker print-orientated publication and use it as the basis for both PDF documentation and online help is a great advance. But it's only the first step: while you can import FrameMaker files into RoboHelp, you can't do the reverse, and true round-tripping - where edits are automatically reflected across the whole suite - is even further off. Integration also needs to extend beyond the workflow to the apps themselves. Currently, it would be difficult to imagine a more disparate bunch of idiosyncratic programs. So when it occasionally feels as if you're using a 20-year-old Unix application, this isn't quite the modern, integrated, all-round suite that Adobe would have you believe. And it isn't necessarily a bargain either. All the standalones are overpriced to begin with, and there are relatively few users who produce print documentation, online help, computer-based training and 3D and, if you don't use a program, it's worth nothing to you. Having said this, Adobe is right that producing technical documentation is an important job worthy of a dedicated approach. Adobe is also undoubtedly the best company to provide such a solution, and these are the right tools to do it with. So the vision is good but, after years in the wilderness, it will take some serious long-term commitment and a lot more development effort to fully deliver on the TCS's potential. By Tom Arah
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