Adobe FrameMaker 6.0 Classroom in a Book

One major caveat: This is definitely a beginner's guide. If you want to delve into more intermediate / advanced topics (e.g. best practices for converting Word or HTML docs to Framemaker), this book will *not* take you there.


Not all it's quacked uo to be   April 17, 2001
 10 out of 18 found this review helpful

I bought this book because it was the only FrameMaker 6 book on the market at the time.

The back of the book reads "The fastest, easist, most comphrehensive way to master Adobe FrameMaker 6.0"

You will not master FrameMaker using this book. You will learn the basics, that is all.

I am disenchanted with this book and FrameMaker 6.0


An elevator for a steep learning curve   April 9, 2001
 30 out of 33 found this review helpful

Adobe FrameMaker is a high-end product for desktop-publishing professionals and as such does not have a large customer base. If you need to create and design your own books, look no further. You probably have heard that this program has a very steep learning curve. Once you master the mysteries of this complicated and convoluted program, book design will be very easy and time-consuming. The problem is - where to start.

Adobe provides a very detailed manual in the product box. I am a first-time user, and although I understood the first few chapters I read, I was still unable to begin working on the second edition of my book (the first one was typed and set in MS Word). The point is - the USER GUIDE, or the enclosed manual is very detailed - it describes and explains every possible setting. Thus, it's more appropriate function is a FrameMaker encyclopedia, and not the "guide" for starters. This is only good, because there are too many programs out there whose manuals are too general. They are just bare overviews, and usually you have to buy a separate "Bible" textbook.

So, you have all documentation you will ever need - included in the program shrink-wrapped box. In order to learn the basics, it's best to purchase some introductory book. Adobe's "Classroom in a Book" provides this very important introduction which in the format of hand-guided lessons will let you go up that curve in a leisurable way of your own.

I finished reading the book in one day, performing all lessons included on the CD. Tell you what - I am ready. Not only I know the "basic basics", but I KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR in the User Guide documentation.

Adobe "classroom" books are high-quality texts that are used for ACE training (Adobe certified expert). If you want to be an ACE, I do not need to convince you to buy this book. If you want to get quick, but good hands-on the best desktop-publishing product on earth, look no more. It's here.


Very weak update from the 5.5 version of the same book   February 7, 2001
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

While the book itself is fine, it is a very weak update from the earlier version of the same book. Almost none of the new FM 6.0 features are even mentioned. With the exception of slightly updating the chapter about creating books, the rest of the content is virtually, pitifully unchanged. There is no mention of spell checking or find and replace across several chapters, new icons in the book window, the tabs in the PDF dialog box, the ability to easily open subsequent chapters in a book, fixing errors in cross-referenced docs, the ability to rename chapters without disrupting book links, greater compatibility with other software formats, greater flexiblity in display settings, or new table enhancements. It seems the only new feature the authors felt was worth mentioning is the ability to drag and drop chapters in a book window. What a waste of paper! If you have the green Classroom in a Book for FrameMaker 5.x, don't bother to buy this virtual duplicate of it. You won't learn about any new features in FrameMaker 6.0 from this book (except drag-n-drop). If you're new to using FrameMaker, find another book to learn about the new features in FrameMaker 6.0. This one is still stuck in version 5.x. Can I give it zero stars?


Very weak update from the 5.5 version of the same book   February 7, 2001
 29 out of 30 found this review helpful

While the book itself is fine, it is a very weak update from the earlier version of the same book. Almost none of the new FM 6.0 features are even mentioned. With the exception of slightly updating the chapter about creating books, the rest of the content is virtually, pitifully unchanged. There is no mention of spell checking or find and replace across several chapters, new icons in the book window, the tabs in the PDF dialog box, the ability to easily open subsequent chapters in a book, fixing errors in cross-referenced docs, the ability to rename chapters without disrupting book links, greater compatibility with other software formats, greater flexiblity in display settings, or new table enhancements. It seems the only new feature the authors felt was worth mentioning is the ability to drag and drop chapters in a book window. What a waste of paper! If you have the green Classroom in a Book for FrameMaker 5.x, don't bother to buy this virtual duplicate of it. You won't learn about any new features in FrameMaker 6.0 from this book (except drag-n-drop). If you're new to using FrameMaker, find another book to learn about the new features in FrameMaker 6.0. This one is still stuck in version 5.x. Can I give it zero stars?