Skill in Word is useful, but since most word processors are so similar, it is not that difficult to migrate from one to another. Desktop publishing The industry standard desktop publishing application right now is Adobe FrameMaker. Companies that use the MAC may require Quark. The main reason for moving to desktop publishing programs is not to employ fancy design, such as is used in magazines. Rather it is to create large documents that include pictures and graphics.
Large documents become to cumbersome with a word processor.
An additional part of desktop publishing concerns distribution. Adobe Acrobat is the standard means of distributing documents on disk or online. It is not difficult to use, but many companies desire knowledge of the application. Both require knowledge of Word. Online help requires different writing skills than needed to write a user manual.