Which is better: strct or unstrct fm for docs 200 pages

Question

Background:
there is discussion in my department regarding merits of working in structured vs unstructured for large docs, say over 150 - 200 pages; specifically, a new set of docs for Project X is coming through that will be worked on mainly by people Not familiar with strct fm, which means definite ramp-up time
I've been working in strct fm for about a year however my docs are typically only about 60 pages long. I'm a proponent of working in structured fm however am not going to be on Project X
two of the Project X team are familiar with strct fm. They are strongly recommending staying in unstructured. Their reasons include ramp up time for new writers and issues regarding working with imported table content (assigning paragraph tags to each entry, etc.)
Would really like to hear experiences of people who use structured FM for long docs as I can only speak to ease of use in shorter-sized documents.
Would like to hear advisability of staying in unstructured or not...Please advise.
Thanks!

Answer 1

I routinely edit structured books that are several hundred pages long (and
set up applications for people in varying environments to do so). I have
edited single structured files as long as 1400+ pages. I use structured
FrameMaker for almost everything I write, even single-page letters.
Reasons often given for use of structure include:
1) Satisfying a requirement for XML delivery
2) Promoting consistency across a document set and within a document
3) Enforcing some of an organization's writing standards(such as requiring
an introductory paragraph before a figure or prohibiting lists with a
single item)
4) Allowing access to various XML tools
In addition, a properly designed structured environment simplifies many
every day editing tasks (some of which Van has already enumerated in this
thread). Some others are listed in
http://www.txstruct.com/papers/FrameUsers02.productivity.pdf.
Are the Project X writers already familiar with FrameMaker? If so, it
shouldn't take more than about a day for them to learn how to work with
structured documents. (Feel free to contact me off-list for information on
a self-study course on structured editing for users with are familiar with
the original FrameMaker user interface.)
The other concern you mention is assigning paragraph formats to cells in
imported tables. How are the tables created? How are they imported into
FrameMaker? Are they dynamically updated or is the content static once they
are inserted into the FrameMaker documents? Maintaining the formatting
within tables should be no more difficult in structured FrameMaker than it
is in unstructured FrameMaker. Formatting options may be specified in
attributes rather than paragraph/table formats, but the same table
capability is available in both user interfaces. Depending on how the
tables are created, in fact, using XML and XSLT along with a structured
environment may make it easier to move the data into FrameMaker.
         --Lynne
Lynne A. Price
Text Structure Consulting, Inc.
Specializing in structured FrameMaker consulting, application development,
and training
[email protected]            http://www.txstruct.com
voice/fax: [phone]      cell phone: [phone]