Structured Framemaker, FDK and XML Blog

A good look at XMLMind, a pure XML-oriented editor in Java that’s even available in a free edition. Suitable for editing small and large XML documents. The article is written from the perspective of a Mac users, since the Macintosh OS/X crowd has no real way to run Framemaker at all.  WYSYWIG support, DocBook-friendliness, etc..

 

http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2007/06/20/getting-productive-with-xmlmind.html

We hung on, running old FrameMaker versions in Apple’s Classic OS emulation mode (which works only on older PowerPC hardware). Happily, an alternative has emerged based on the DocBook XML format, an open standard for representing technical documentation. There is a growing tool chain for this format, with a family of editors and processors that can format output as HTML or for print.

One editor stands out from the pack. The XMLmind XML Editor (XXE for short) is a great general-purpose XML editor, but has surprisingly powerful support for working with DocBook materials in an author-friendly way. We were introduced to it by the Tools group at O’Reilly, and once we got the hang of it, started feeling hopeful and enthusiastic about the future of technical writing software again. While it’s not perfect, it’s a lot better than we expected, and seems to be growing fast….

We’ve also seen XMLMind embedded in other products such as Siberlogic’s CMS offerings. I won’t say it’ll beat Framemaker with a stick, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction, and benefits from being truly XML-oriented, rather than having structured document support grafted on as an afterthought.