Latest FrameMaker Facilitates XML Use

Adobe Systems Inc. this week will ship FrameMaker 7.0, a new version of its enterprise authoring and publishing solution.

According to the San Jose, Calif., company, the new version makes XML easier to use for nondevelopers. FrameMaker has long been a structured authoring tool for SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), and the new version adds XML authoring and publishing.

FrameMaker 7.0 uses a WYSIWYG interface to create XML, said Adobe officials. Typically, tools for XML content creation are engineering tools, not those a person with little or no engineering experience can use, officials said.

In addition, FrameMaker 7.0 takes advantage of Adobes network publishing platform and will let content creators distribute content to multiple platforms, including print, the Web and personal digital assistants. There also is the server version, which is targeted at enterprise customers. FrameMaker 7.0 also includes tighter integration with Adobes other products, including Acrobat.

Evan Olson, online products developer at Fujitsu Network Communications Inc., in Richardson, Texas, has used FrameMaker for eight years and FrameMaker+SGML for five.

"When we converted to SGML, we were able to apply [FrameMakers] template-driven approach not only to document formats but also to the internal structure of our documents," Olson said. "With the launch of FrameMaker 7.0, Adobe has merged the two products, enabling all FrameMaker users to take advantage of what we have enjoyed for the past five years."

The desktop Mac OS and Windows versions of FrameMaker 7.0 will sell for $799, the Windows and Unix server versions for $7,999.