Mac lover seeks technical writing software solution.

January 27, 2008 7:21 PM

I am changing careers at the moment and am looking to get into technical writing possibly. Of the software that are industry standards (FrameMaker, RoboHelp) it all seems to run only on windows. I have a pre-intel Mac but would still love to get my feet wet, any suggestions?

Having grown up with technology I can pick up software programs quickly. I am already familiar with other standards like Office, Corel, or Paintshop, but want to be at least passingly familiar enough with these other programs. Additionally, I need to create work samples to get a job.

What programs would you all recommend to me?

Thank you for your help.

posted by munchingzombie to Technology (4 answers total)

If you can grab a copy of Virtual PC, you can run Windows programs. As far as a native solution goes, Docbook is popular for CS technical writing (O'reilly books), as is LaTeX. Those two are not the same as FrameMaker though.
posted by fleeba at 8:03 PM on January 27, 2008

It would be definitely be a good idea to have knowledge of Framemaker on your resumé. Older versions of Framemaker for the mac do come up on Ebay from time to time, although upgrading from there to the latest version is shockingly expensive. Can you get a student discount? It might also be worth joining a Frame or tech writers list and asking if anyone has a spare license they want to sell.
posted by ceri richard at 2:22 AM on January 28, 2008

Since you're on a PPC Mac, you could always just find a copy of FrameMaker 7.0 and run it in Classic, assuming you're comfortable with the (il)legalities...
posted by russm at 3:25 AM on January 28, 2008

Response by poster: Thank you all for your feedback. I will look for FrameMaker 7 somewhere (I will neither confirm nor deny which method I acquired it with).
posted by munchingzombie at 11:16 AM on January 28, 2008