Odd cross-ref substitution 7.2
I do actually work with Text Symbols showing except, as you do, for a Print preview. (I suppose it's possible that I couldn't resist an edit in this mode, however.) The cross-reference markers tend to overlap the first character in a heading and I find it very difficult to believe that I selected the section and text under it, but missed the marker. Though it must have happened as a fluke of cursor positioning. But even with the text symbols showing, this would have been difficult to see, a marker that overlaps a character jumping to the next heading. I do have a larger issue, though with the symbols. Sometimes I find it very difficult to tell what they are doing there. The upside down T is conditional text. The right-side up T is a cross-reference marker. (I forget about the index.) But other than that, aren't there some additional functions of markers in which the same symbol can be used for different things? How do you distinguish? There was a document that I couldn't identify what purpose particular markers served. The writer decided, then, to delete all the markers in the document. I couldn't believe it (even more that he reported no problems with cross-references afterward.) In short, is there a way to select a marker and find out what it is doing? David Kuhn Technical Writer, PBG +1.972.9.776.1956 (desk) +1.972.54.307.8987 (mobile) AMDOCS > CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS INNOVATION -Original Message- From: Combs, Richard [mailto:richard.co...@polycom.com] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 5:26 PM To: David Kuhn; framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: RE: Odd cross-ref substitution 7.2 David Kuhn wrote: > I removed a heading which was the link destination of several > cross-references. > > When I searched for broken cross-references, none were found. > > Instead the cross-reference retained it's old label (expected) but > linked to a nearby heading instead. > > This is obviously dangerous. > > Any ideas about what could cause this and how to prevent it? By "nearby," you mean adjacent, right? Rick explained about the marker, but permit me to make a larger point. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that the reason you didn't know about the marker is because you work with View > Text Symbols turned off. Many Framers seem to work that way. *That*, IMHO, is obviously dangerous. It's far too easy to delete something you didn't intend to -- or, as in your case, fail to delete something you did intend to. I can't _imagine_ editing without being able to see everything I'm editing (x-ref markers, index markers, pilcrows, etc). The only time I turn off Text Symbols and Borders (with one click, thanks to my Microtype-enhanced toolbar) is when I want to see how the page will look when printed/PDFed. "It's my opinion and it's very true." ;-) Richard Richard G. Combs Senior Technical Writer Polycom, Inc. richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom 303-223-5111 -- rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom 303-777-0436 -- This message and the information contained herein is proprietary and confidential and subject to the Amdocs policy statement, you may review at http://www.amdocs.com/email_disclaimer.asp
Odd cross-ref substitution 7.2
On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:49:19 +0300, "David Kuhn" wrote: >I do have a larger issue, though with the symbols. >Sometimes I find it very difficult to tell what they are doing there. >The upside down T is conditional text. >The right-side up T is a cross-reference marker. Nope! *All* the right-side-up T's are markers. If you have two in a row, the T's are superimposed, so you can never see how many you really have. To avoid this, some folks make a point of separating markers by at least one printable char, so you may get something like this: MyT HeTadTinTgT Conditional text markers display like any other marker type. The upside-down T's are *anchors*, like for a ship. ;-) They appear where you have inserted a table or an anchored frame; the table or image itself may well be elsewhere on the page, or even on the next page. But if you select the anchor, you'll see the corresponding table or image selected. Anchors overlap like markers, so you may want to use the same trick as for markers to keep them separated. The reason they overlap, BTW, is because Frame needs to keep the line breaks and positioning accurate to the printed doc; if the markers and anchors took up space, the rendering would be thrown off. HTH! -- Jeremy H. Griffith, at Omni Systems Inc. http://www.omsys.com/
Reference graphic to Character format
On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:59:14 -0400, "Grinnell Larry-ELG001" wrote: >Need to repurpose your content for HTML or other like formats. Custom >(vector) fonts don't work in a rasterized online world. You need to find >a way to substitute back in either a vector-based graphic which can be >auto-scaled in products like ePublisher or even FrameMaker's very flawed >Save-As-HTML function, or substitute a raster file (JPEG) for each >occurrence of a custom font character. We are looking at several very >expensive solutions to permit us to offer HTML and similar deliverables >(you don't want to know what we do and how much we currently spend to >convert a document to HTML). You don't need an expensive solution for that. Mif2Go, at $295 per seat, lets you map any character in any font, or group of fonts, to a graphic, or indeed to any HTML or XML code you please. See the User's Guide, par. 20.5.6, "Mapping characters in a special font", for the details. For example: [MacroFonts] ; Frame font name = section to use for mapping chars in that font Wingdings = WingChars [WingChars] ; char n maps to a square bullet, char p to a graphic: n = x25a0 p = You can download the free unlimited demo version of Mif2Go, and the User's Guide in numerous formats, from: http://www.omsys.com/dcl/download.htm HTH! -- Jeremy H. Griffith, at Omni Systems Inc. http://www.omsys.com/
FM8 HTML output
Kevin and I presented that 2-day session together...the FM to RH details were on my day (day 2) I give a 2-day class on the process, but actually do more initial setup for clients to refine mappings & get the CSS in order. RJ, Kevin, me. Those are the only resources the 3 of us know of right now...anyone else out there? -Matt Sullivan -Original Message- From: Charlie Kyle [mailto:charlie.k...@attachmate.com] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 4:29 PM To: Matt Sullivan; Combs, Richard; bruce.macarthur at vsea.com; framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: RE: FM8 HTML output I am in the midst of hooking up a FM8 book to RH7. I'm following the instructions from RJ Jacquez demo at https://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/_a295153/p13101233/ This seems to be the only source of information from Adobe on how to do this. I'm importing the book by reference into an existing RH7 project and then going thru a reiterative process to fine tune stuff like style maps and xref styles. I was completely baffled by how get the FM TOC and Index associated with the Help project. As I was writing this email, I remembered a presentation by Kevin Siegal that I downloaded from the STC 2008 Conference web site. In there, I just found out that the TOC and Index have to be assigned to a RH layout. Caution! Small Digression: This process is reminding me of when I used to try to play Dungeons and Dragons from a VAX command line prompt. This was BI (Before Internet) when we had more time for such things and Games weren't part of the GNP :-) Does anyone know of a source for some information about hooking up FM8 books to RH7? Thanks, Charlie Kyle -Original Message- From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Matt Sullivan Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 2:29 PM To: 'Combs, Richard'; bruce.macarthur at vsea.com; framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: RE: FM8 HTML output If, along with FM, you have a need to keep Acrobat, Captivate or RoboHelp licenses current then the TCS is hard to beat. Along with the 4 apps is extra integration beyond HTM or Help outputs. Put Flash movies & simulations along with working 3D models into FM and output to the needed PDF or Help format. TCS 1.x is a bit finicky in setup and can have a 5-10 hour learning curve on the first project, but has a huge return on investment after setup. Currently there are only a few folks who can help with support outside Adobe. If you need help, let me know. If anyone else out there is working at a high level in this, let me (& Adobe) know and we can trade notes. -Matt Sullivan
FM8 HTML output
I am in the midst of hooking up a FM8 book to RH7. I'm following the instructions from RJ Jacquez demo at https://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/_a295153/p13101233/ This seems to be the only source of information from Adobe on how to do this. I'm importing the book by reference into an existing RH7 project and then going thru a reiterative process to fine tune stuff like style maps and xref styles. I was completely baffled by how get the FM TOC and Index associated with the Help project. As I was writing this email, I remembered a presentation by Kevin Siegal that I downloaded from the STC 2008 Conference web site. In there, I just found out that the TOC and Index have to be assigned to a RH layout. Caution! Small Digression: This process is reminding me of when I used to try to play Dungeons and Dragons from a VAX command line prompt. This was BI (Before Internet) when we had more time for such things and Games weren't part of the GNP :-) Does anyone know of a source for some information about hooking up FM8 books to RH7? Thanks, Charlie Kyle -Original Message- From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Matt Sullivan Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 2:29 PM To: 'Combs, Richard'; bruce.macarthur at vsea.com; framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: RE: FM8 HTML output If, along with FM, you have a need to keep Acrobat, Captivate or RoboHelp licenses current then the TCS is hard to beat. Along with the 4 apps is extra integration beyond HTM or Help outputs. Put Flash movies & simulations along with working 3D models into FM and output to the needed PDF or Help format. TCS 1.x is a bit finicky in setup and can have a 5-10 hour learning curve on the first project, but has a huge return on investment after setup. Currently there are only a few folks who can help with support outside Adobe. If you need help, let me know. If anyone else out there is working at a high level in this, let me (& Adobe) know and we can trade notes. -Matt Sullivan
CORRECTION Re: InDesign as a replacement for Framemaker
Ooops! I just caught a typo, an omission that reverses the meaning. It's embedded in the body below, marked with * >Thanks Peter! You're welcome. > i'll take some time to go over this carefully, but this will be a great help > to me! > cheers > Mulholland On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 4:32 PM, Peter Gold wrote: On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 1:51 PM, mulholland4 wrote: > Hi Peter, > I sent an email to Art and received a very good reply which I think answers > all of my questions (I have pasted them in the lower section of this email.) > My original reason for asking about InDesign as a replacement for > Framemaker was that I have been asked by a new manager to dispose of > Framemaker and transfer all writing tasks, 700 page User Guides, and various > other docs to InDesign. The problem I am worried about is that we use a lot > of cross references throughout the chapters and books and have a large > fairly comprehensive Index. I reviewed the DTP Tools Cross-Reference plug-in for InDesign CS2 and CS3 for InDesign Magazine around last December's issue. You'd have to buy the issue to see the whole review, but very briefly: It's on par with FM's cross-reference ability, and in some ways a little better. There's also a free cross-reference script that creates page-number-only references, and a commercial cross-reference tool from Virginia Systems that I didn't test. > I also use conditional text to output several > versions of the same doc. Can this be done in InDesign? ID CS3 has no conditional text, and I'm not aware of a third-party tool that offers it. The usual workaround is to create the different versions of content on different layers, and show or hide them as needed. It's not a good solution for content, product, or audience variations in a single language, because you really are maintaining multiple copies of the common content, and have to be careful to avoid introducing unwanted differences when editing. This is much the same effort as maintaining one separate file for each version. For multiple languages, where all content, or at least all text content, is translated in each variation, layers can work. Text wrap (FM's Text Runaround object property) is smart about working through layers, so showing/hiding different language layers with careful planning may simplify handling graphics in each language) and, BTW, ID wraps text around all sides of an object if you want, not just three sides as FM does. However, another approach is to use ID's XML ability to filter marked-up XML content. Mostly XML is being used with ID for variable-data publishing, and other automated production. There's no dedicated DITA support in ID. > And what about > generating a help system for InDesign, is it possible? There's no tightly-bound partner for help from ID, though again its XML export is one way to implement help coupled with other third-party tools. RTF export may be another possibility. I haven't heard anyone claim to be doing this. Yet. > > I believe that Art answered all of these questions, but feel free to make > any other comments or suggestions. > > Thanks for the help > Mulholand > > Here are Art's comments: > << I've moved books & files from FM to InDesign CS3, and unless there's > something else going on that the manager didn't share with you or you > didn't present in your email, this is going to be a Bad Idea of large > tarbaby proportions... > > InDesign is great for short docs, or even books, that require a lot of > individual formatting and exceptions to the base template or master > pages. It was designed as a PageMaker replacement, and it fulfills > that role very nicely. It's a nice program. > > Frame was designed to handle large books, multiple documents, and doc > sets that basically use the same type or set of page layouts in order > to produce a uniform look and feel. Essentially the 700 page User > Guide scenario that you present. ID has running header/footer variables, user-defined variables, master pages (even master pages based on other master pages), multiple numbering streams (1.1.1.1, and 1,A,ii,b, etc) for lists, figure captions, etc, as FM has. Page and chapter numbering, footnotes, and across-file numbering in books, are the same, but ID also can make multi-page spreads with appropriate page numbers on left and right (or on spreads of as many as ten pages) - FM can't. This isn't a common need in technical docs, so it's not a biggie. ID CS3 books are better than FM's in some ways, the same in some others, and worse in a few others. ID book files are lists of files, and instructions for processing them, like FM books. FM's cool feature of showing filename or first paragraph content in the book list is a good tool that ID lacks, but ID's Pages panel (like PageMaker's, if you know PM) shows thumbnail views of the pages in the current file, as well as identifying the master pages used on each page; you can identify chapter-opener page thumbnails easily, which is most
Total Page Count on Title Page
I'm sorry -- I didn't comprehend what I was reading in your initial message. Mondays Look at the Rick Quatro's BookPageCount plugin. (www.frameexpert.com) Art Art Campbell art.campbell at gmail.com "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52 Vincent and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson No disclaimers apply. DoD 358 On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 3:31 PM, Hales-Crotchett, Nicole wrote: > Seems to only capture the number of pages in that file, not the total > page count of the book. > > -Original Message- > From: Art Campbell [mailto:art.campbell at gmail.com] > Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 12:16 PM > To: Hales-Crotchett, Nicole > Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com > Subject: Re: Total Page Count on Title Page > > On the last page of the book, create a unique tag. > > Where you want the last page count/number to display, insert a > cross-ref to the tag, using the Page building block. > Update the book > > Art > > > Art Campbell art.campbell at gmail.com > "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52 Vincent > and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson > No disclaimers apply. > DoD 358 > > > > On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 2:24 PM, Hales-Crotchett, Nicole > wrote: >> Hi all, >> >> >> >> My manager requested that I add a total page count on the title page > for >> a book and I'm running into a hitch. FM help file shows a way to do > this >> with consecutive numbering for each chapter, but we use modified >> MIL-Spec here - i.e., each page number consists of a chapter and the >> page number, and restarts for each chapter. Any suggestions? I'm using >> Frame 7.1 if that matters. >> >> >> >> -Nicole >> >
InDesign as a replacement for Framemaker
On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 1:51 PM, mulholland4 wrote: > Hi Peter, > I sent an email to Art and received a very good reply which I think answers > all of my questions (I have pasted them in the lower section of this email.) > My original reason for asking about InDesign as a replacement for > Framemaker was that I have been asked by a new manager to dispose of > Framemaker and transfer all writing tasks, 700 page User Guides, and various > other docs to InDesign. The problem I am worried about is that we use a lot > of cross references throughout the chapters and books and have a large > fairly comprehensive Index. I reviewed the DTP Tools Cross-Reference plug-in for InDesign CS2 and CS3 for InDesign Magazine around last December's issue. You'd have to buy the issue to see the whole review, but very briefly: It's on par with FM's cross-reference ability, and in some ways a little better. There's also a free cross-reference script that creates page-number-only references, and a commercial cross-reference tool from Virginia Systems that I didn't test. > I also use conditional text to output several > versions of the same doc. Can this be done in InDesign? ID CS3 has no conditional text, and I'm not aware of a third-party tool that offers it. The usual workaround is to create the different versions of content on different layers, and show or hide them as needed. It's not a good solution for content, product, or audience variations in a single language, because you really are maintaining multiple copies of the common content, and have to be careful to avoid introducing unwanted differences when editing. This is much the same effort as maintaining one separate file for each version. For multiple languages, where all content, or at least all text content, is translated in each variation, layers can work. Text wrap (FM's Text Runaround object property) is smart about working through layers, so showing/hiding different language layers with careful planning may simplify handling graphics in each language) and, BTW, ID wraps text around all sides of an object if you want, not just three sides as FM does. However, another approach is to use ID's XML ability to filter marked-up XML content. Mostly XML is being used with ID for variable-data publishing, and other automated production. There's no dedicated DITA support in ID. > And what about > generating a help system for InDesign, is it possible? There's no tightly-bound partner for help from ID, though again its XML export is one way to implement help coupled with other third-party tools. RTF export may be another possibility. I haven't heard anyone claim to be doing this. Yet. > > I believe that Art answered all of these questions, but feel free to make > any other comments or suggestions. > > Thanks for the help > Mulholand > > Here are Art's comments: > << I've moved books & files from FM to InDesign CS3, and unless there's > something else going on that the manager didn't share with you or you > didn't present in your email, this is going to be a Bad Idea of large > tarbaby proportions... > > InDesign is great for short docs, or even books, that require a lot of > individual formatting and exceptions to the base template or master > pages. It was designed as a PageMaker replacement, and it fulfills > that role very nicely. It's a nice program. > > Frame was designed to handle large books, multiple documents, and doc > sets that basically use the same type or set of page layouts in order > to produce a uniform look and feel. Essentially the 700 page User > Guide scenario that you present. ID has running header/footer variables, user-defined variables, master pages (even master pages based on other master pages), multiple numbering streams (1.1.1.1, and 1,A,ii,b, etc) for lists, figure captions, etc, as FM has. Page and chapter numbering, footnotes, and across-file numbering in books, are the same, but ID also can make multi-page spreads with appropriate page numbers on left and right (or on spreads of as many as ten pages) - FM can't. This isn't a common need in technical docs, so it's not a biggie. ID CS3 books are better than FM's in some ways, the same in some others, and worse in a few others. ID book files are lists of files, and instructions for processing them, like FM books. FM's cool feature of showing filename or first paragraph content in the book list is a good tool that ID lacks, but ID's Pages panel (like PageMaker's, if you know PM) shows thumbnail views of the pages in the current file, as well as identifying the master pages used on each page; you can identify chapter-opener page thumbnails easily, which is mostly what showing the first paragraph feature does. You can rearrange ID pages by drag and drop (which isn't a good thing to do with one single long text flow, but is useful for page-by-page layouts that need frequent rearranging). > > You can do the conversion (maybe -- depends on the input) by using a > third party plug in, or
Total Page Count on Title Page
On the last page of the book, create a unique tag. Where you want the last page count/number to display, insert a cross-ref to the tag, using the Page building block. Update the book Art Art Campbell art.campbell at gmail.com "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52 Vincent and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson No disclaimers apply. DoD 358 On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 2:24 PM, Hales-Crotchett, Nicole wrote: > Hi all, > > > > My manager requested that I add a total page count on the title page for > a book and I'm running into a hitch. FM help file shows a way to do this > with consecutive numbering for each chapter, but we use modified > MIL-Spec here - i.e., each page number consists of a chapter and the > page number, and restarts for each chapter. Any suggestions? I'm using > Frame 7.1 if that matters. > > > > -Nicole >
InDesign as a replacement for Framemaker
Hi Peter, I sent an email to Art and received a very good reply which I think answers all of my questions (I have pasted them in the lower section of this email.) My original reason for asking about InDesign as a replacement for Framemaker was that I have been asked by a new manager to dispose of Framemaker and transfer all writing tasks, 700 page User Guides, and various other docs to InDesign. The problem I am worried about is that we use a lot of cross references throughout the chapters and books and have a large fairly comprehensive Index. I also use conditional text to output several versions of the same doc. Can this be done in InDesign? And what about generating a help system for InDesign, is it possible? I believe that Art answered all of these questions, but feel free to make any other comments or suggestions. Thanks for the help Mulholand Here are Art's comments: << I've moved books & files from FM to InDesign CS3, and unless there's something else going on that the manager didn't share with you or you didn't present in your email, this is going to be a Bad Idea of large tarbaby proportions... InDesign is great for short docs, or even books, that require a lot of individual formatting and exceptions to the base template or master pages. It was designed as a PageMaker replacement, and it fulfills that role very nicely. It's a nice program. Frame was designed to handle large books, multiple documents, and doc sets that basically use the same type or set of page layouts in order to produce a uniform look and feel. Essentially the 700 page User Guide scenario that you present. You can do the conversion (maybe -- depends on the input) by using a third party plug in, or by writing out FM files as RTF and importing them into ID. And you're unlikely to be able to bring in graphics transparently. But you're going to lose lots of functionality that's going to be made up by vastly increasing man hours. You mentioned a few: conditional text, inter-book cross refs, decent indexing, especially indexing that spans books or volumes, and the ability to go to online help. Some of this may have changed since I last had to do this about 6 months ago, but it'd only change because a third party brought out a better ID plug in. Which would cost money and be another company to deal with for support and updates and integration. Unless you guys have money and manpower to burn, I'd try to find out the reasoning behind the proposed switch before you try to implement There's a chance that the manager is way behind the times and still listening to the FM is dead rumors... which were bogus a few years or so ago and are more so now. FM is Adobe's XML editor choice, and they're pouring resources into it. >From what you've mentioned, implementing the Tech Comm Suite would be a better solution than ID. >> Fin
InDesign as a replacement for Framemaker
Yes, we all specialize... And of all the "A" personalities I know (including myself) we're all indispensable and unique. If you are documenting or teaching-FM If you are selling or worried about how it looks on a frame on the wall-ID -Original Message- From: Alan Litchfield [mailto:a...@alphabyte.co.nz] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 2:43 PM To: Matt Sullivan Cc: peter at knowhowpro.com; 'framers' Subject: Re: InDesign as a replacement for Framemaker Neither ;) Education, policy and government planning documentation. Remember there are many types of documentation to which FM is applied beyond tech writing and marketing. Cheers Alan On 16/09/2008, at 9:31 AM, Matt Sullivan wrote: > If the material is tech in nature, leave it in Frame!!! > > If the material is marketing collateral, (fully) enjoy the flex and > sophisticated typography that ID will give you. > > -Matt > > -Original Message- > From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com > [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Alan > Litchfield > Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 2:18 PM > To: peter at knowhowpro.com > Cc: framers > Subject: Re: InDesign as a replacement for Framemaker > > Gotta say, after Peter's run through, that I am considering trying out > CS3 on an existing project that is mostly gnarly tables, cross > references, and list and index markers. > > While it sounds great that ID is now able to perform most core > functions it is with concern that some are only available with the > addition of plug-ins. How will this affect backward compatibility for > old and archived files? > > The backward compatibility in FM is one of its greatest strengths, for > instance I have in the last couple of days been doing stuff with FM > files I have not seen for 8 years. FM has no problem with working with > these but I doubt that ID+various plug-ins would behave as nicely. One > of the great pleasures of flicking QuarkXPress off the system was also > saying good bye to the incessant problems I had with Xtensions' > missing warnings, I would not want to put myself back into that > situation with ID. On the other extreme, that is why I also produce a > fair amount in LaTeX - for the fact that if all else fails, it is only > text but ID is not. > > Cheers > Alan > > -- > Alan Litchfield MBus(Hons), MNZCS > AlphaByte > PO Box 1941, Auckland, NZ. 1140 > http://www.alphabyte.co.nz > > > > > ___ > > > You are currently subscribed to Framers as matt at grafixtraining.com. > > Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com > or visit > http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/matt%40grafixtraining.co > m > > Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit > http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info. -- Alan Litchfield MBus(Hons), MNZCS AlphaByte PO Box 1941, Auckland, NZ. 1140 http://www.alphabyte.co.nz
InDesign as a replacement for Framemaker
If the material is tech in nature, leave it in Frame!!! If the material is marketing collateral, (fully) enjoy the flex and sophisticated typography that ID will give you. -Matt -Original Message- From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Alan Litchfield Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 2:18 PM To: peter at knowhowpro.com Cc: framers Subject: Re: InDesign as a replacement for Framemaker Gotta say, after Peter's run through, that I am considering trying out CS3 on an existing project that is mostly gnarly tables, cross references, and list and index markers. While it sounds great that ID is now able to perform most core functions it is with concern that some are only available with the addition of plug-ins. How will this affect backward compatibility for old and archived files? The backward compatibility in FM is one of its greatest strengths, for instance I have in the last couple of days been doing stuff with FM files I have not seen for 8 years. FM has no problem with working with these but I doubt that ID+various plug-ins would behave as nicely. One of the great pleasures of flicking QuarkXPress off the system was also saying good bye to the incessant problems I had with Xtensions' missing warnings, I would not want to put myself back into that situation with ID. On the other extreme, that is why I also produce a fair amount in LaTeX - for the fact that if all else fails, it is only text but ID is not. Cheers Alan -- Alan Litchfield MBus(Hons), MNZCS AlphaByte PO Box 1941, Auckland, NZ. 1140 http://www.alphabyte.co.nz ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as matt at grafixtraining.com. Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/matt%40grafixtraining.co m Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
Odd cross-ref substitution 7.2
Generally I sing the praises about how much more stable Frame's cross-references are than Word. I just had a really odd occurrence, though, which I need to understand. I removed a heading which was the link destination of several cross-references. When I searched for broken cross-references, none were found. Instead the cross-reference retained it's old label (expected) but linked to a nearby heading instead. This is obviously dangerous. Any ideas about what could cause this and how to prevent it? David Kuhn Technical Writer, PBG +1.972.9.776.1956 (desk) +1.972.54.307.8987 (mobile) AMDOCS > CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS INNOVATION This message and the information contained herein is proprietary and confidential and subject to the Amdocs policy statement, you may review at http://www.amdocs.com/email_disclaimer.asp
FM8 HTML output
If, along with FM, you have a need to keep Acrobat, Captivate or RoboHelp licenses current then the TCS is hard to beat. Along with the 4 apps is extra integration beyond HTM or Help outputs. Put Flash movies & simulations along with working 3D models into FM and output to the needed PDF or Help format. TCS 1.x is a bit finicky in setup and can have a 5-10 hour learning curve on the first project, but has a huge return on investment after setup. Currently there are only a few folks who can help with support outside Adobe. If you need help, let me know. If anyone else out there is working at a high level in this, let me (& Adobe) know and we can trade notes. -Matt Sullivan -Original Message- From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Combs, Richard Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2008 1:53 PM To: bruce.macarthur at vsea.com; framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: RE: FM8 HTML output bruce.macarthur at vsea.com wrote: > Hello All, > I am new to the Framers group. > I develop the templates for the tech pubs group at my work. I have spent a > lot of time creating and maintaining templates and macros for WebWorks. > Several of our writers need to upgrade FM. I can't purchase FM7.2. This > would require the writers to upgrade to FM8. I purchased an upgrade to FM8 > and can't figure out how to generate the HTML (or XML) outputs that would > look like what I produced with WebWorks. Since FM8 does not come with WW > standard, we would have to purchase a WW seat from Quadralay at great > expense. This forces us to make a decision on whether to stay with FM or > change to another application. > > Is there a way to import templates and macros from WW? > Is there a way to define the HTML / XML page layout to include the banners > and navigation that WW created? OK, I've got bad news, worse news, and then better news for you. :-) Bad: WebWorks Publisher is long dead. You'd have to switch to its replacement, ePublisher Pro. Worse: ePublisher Pro is very different from WWP -- an xml-based solution with a non-trivial learning curve. Your WWP macro language skills don't transfer. Old WWP licenses no longer qualify for an upgrade price. And it costs an arm and a leg. Better: If you have to buy new FM licenses anyway, you should seriously consider the Adobe Technical Communication Suite instead. It includes versions of FM and RoboHelp that are tightly integrated (or so I'm told; we're still looking into it here, but are likely to upgrade to the suite soon). IMHO, YMMV, etc. Richard Richard G. Combs Senior Technical Writer Polycom, Inc. richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom 303-223-5111 -- rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom 303-777-0436 -- ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as matt at grafixtraining.com. Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/matt%40grafixtraining.co m Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
Odd cross-ref substitution 7.2
Hi David, One small tip that may be helpful: when you triple-click a paragraph, you are sure to select the entire paragraph, including any markers that it may contain. If you hold down the shift key and click any additional paragraphs, you will be selecting entire paragraphs as well. Rick Quatro Carmen Publishing Inc 585-659-8267 www.frameexpert.com > The cross-reference markers tend to overlap the first character in a > heading and I find it very difficult to believe that I selected the > section and text under it, but missed the marker. Though it must have > happened as a fluke of cursor positioning.
Total Page Count on Title Page
Art Campbell wrote: > On the last page of the book, create a unique tag. > > Where you want the last page count/number to display, insert a > cross-ref to the tag, using the Page building block. > Update the book Nope. Nicole said this is a folio-numbered book (chapter-page). If by Page building block, you mean <$pagenum>, that will just give you the number of the last page in the last file -- "4" if it's a 4-page index. If you're thinking of an xref format named Page, in a folio-numbered book that's probably defined as <$chapnum>-<$pagenum> -- maybe "IX-4" for that index. For a quick solution, David's idea of adding it in Acrobat will work. Or, heck, use Acrobat to determine the page count, then add it in FM and re-PDF. A longer-term, more extensible solution probably involves a script or plugin. In fact, I vaguely recall there being a FrameScript script to do this, but don't have time to track it down at the moment. HTH! Richard Richard G. Combs Senior Technical Writer Polycom, Inc. richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom 303-223-5111 -- rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom 303-777-0436 --
Total Page Count on Title Page
Great tip, thanks! -Original Message- From: Charlie Kyle [mailto:charlie.k...@attachmate.com] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 1:06 PM To: Hales-Crotchett, Nicole Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: RE: Total Page Count on Title Page Here a shortcut for the PDF if you have Acrobat Professional. In FM put some placeholder text on the cover such as Page count: 999. Open the PDF in Professional, select Tools \ Advanced Editing \ Touchup Text Tool, and change 999 to the correct page count. Sometimes there are problems with fonts, but its worth a shot. Charlie Kyle
Total Page Count on Title Page
Here a shortcut for the PDF if you have Acrobat Professional. In FM put some placeholder text on the cover such as Page count: 999. Open the PDF in Professional, select Tools \ Advanced Editing \ Touchup Text Tool, and change 999 to the correct page count. Sometimes there are problems with fonts, but its worth a shot. Charlie Kyle -Original Message- From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Hales-Crotchett, Nicole Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 12:52 PM To: Combs, Richard; Art Campbell Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: RE: Total Page Count on Title Page Thanks Richard, yes, this helps. I'll be going the PDF route most likely. Cheers, Nicole -Original Message- From: Combs, Richard [mailto:richard.co...@polycom.com] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 12:43 PM To: Art Campbell; Hales-Crotchett, Nicole Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: RE: Total Page Count on Title Page Art Campbell wrote: > On the last page of the book, create a unique tag. > > Where you want the last page count/number to display, insert a > cross-ref to the tag, using the Page building block. > Update the book Nope. Nicole said this is a folio-numbered book (chapter-page). If by Page building block, you mean <$pagenum>, that will just give you the number of the last page in the last file -- "4" if it's a 4-page index. If you're thinking of an xref format named Page, in a folio-numbered book that's probably defined as <$chapnum>-<$pagenum> -- maybe "IX-4" for that index. For a quick solution, David's idea of adding it in Acrobat will work. Or, heck, use Acrobat to determine the page count, then add it in FM and re-PDF. A longer-term, more extensible solution probably involves a script or plugin. In fact, I vaguely recall there being a FrameScript script to do this, but don't have time to track it down at the moment. HTH! Richard Richard G. Combs Senior Technical Writer Polycom, Inc. richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom 303-223-5111 -- rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom 303-777-0436 -- ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as charlie.kyle at attachmate.com. Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/charlie.kyle%40attac hmate.com Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
Total Page Count on Title Page
Thanks Richard, yes, this helps. I'll be going the PDF route most likely. Cheers, Nicole -Original Message- From: Combs, Richard [mailto:richard.co...@polycom.com] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 12:43 PM To: Art Campbell; Hales-Crotchett, Nicole Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: RE: Total Page Count on Title Page Art Campbell wrote: > On the last page of the book, create a unique tag. > > Where you want the last page count/number to display, insert a > cross-ref to the tag, using the Page building block. > Update the book Nope. Nicole said this is a folio-numbered book (chapter-page). If by Page building block, you mean <$pagenum>, that will just give you the number of the last page in the last file -- "4" if it's a 4-page index. If you're thinking of an xref format named Page, in a folio-numbered book that's probably defined as <$chapnum>-<$pagenum> -- maybe "IX-4" for that index. For a quick solution, David's idea of adding it in Acrobat will work. Or, heck, use Acrobat to determine the page count, then add it in FM and re-PDF. A longer-term, more extensible solution probably involves a script or plugin. In fact, I vaguely recall there being a FrameScript script to do this, but don't have time to track it down at the moment. HTH! Richard Richard G. Combs Senior Technical Writer Polycom, Inc. richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom 303-223-5111 -- rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom 303-777-0436 --
SOLVED Re: Acrobat displays only B/W
Art Campbell wrote: > Have you checked your video card drivers lately, to make sure they're > up to date? > > Art > > Art Campbell art.campbell at gmail.com > "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52 Vincent > and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson > No disclaimers apply. > DoD 358 > > > > 2008/9/15 Stuart Rogers : >> Win XP SP2 >> Acrobat Pro 6.0 >> Dell Precision 360, Pentium 4, 3 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM, 14GB free disk space >> on C: drive >> >> All of a sudden my Acrobat Pro 6 has lost the ability to display colour. >> All PDFs I open, whether created on my PC or downloaded from other >> sources (and known to be colour documents), display in black and white >> only. Printing these docs from Acrobat works fine -- colour as expected. >> >> Cold or warm reboot does not help. >> >> Have I accidentally hit a keyboard shortcut that turned off colour? Any >> other ideas? I looked through all the Preferences, but I don't see >> anything that looks likely. Other than that, I don't know where to >> start :-( >> >> Thanks for any suggestions... >> Thanks Art, I tried your suggestion and indeed found a newer driver, but that did not fix the problem. Then I tried Detect and Repair from the Help menu, and that did not fix the problem. However, it made me pull out my installation CD, and while the "repair" was being carried out, I glanced idly through the Getting Started Guide. And there I saw a mention of Preflight and CMYK separations (stuff I never use), and I thought hm, maybe I'm somehow seeing just the K separation??? Turns out that at some point I had attempted a Redo command by using Control-Y -- the opposite of Control-Z in most applications, but NOT in Acrobat. Control-Y toggles "Proof Colors" and when you turn it ON, your colours go OFF. Really intuitive, Adobe, thanks ;-) Seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses once again, -- Stuart Rogers Technical Communicator Phoenix Geophysics Limited Toronto, ON, Canada +1 (416) 491-7340 x 325 srogers phoenix-geophysics com "The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink." ? George Orwell
Total Page Count on Title Page
Nicole, You are right. I totally missed that. ? If you are delivering PDFs, you could put a footer on the PDF that includes the total page count. ? I just tried it and the only limitation is you can put the current page number or current page number of x pages, where x is the total page count of the PDF, i.e., Page 1 of 104 or 1/104. There are three different variants, 1/104, Page 1 of 104, or 1 of 104. ? This is using Acrobat Professional 8.1.2. ? --- On Mon, 9/15/08, Hales-Crotchett, Nicole wrote: From: Hales-Crotchett, Nicole Subject: RE: Total Page Count on Title Page To: dspreadb at yahoo.com, framers at lists.frameusers.com Date: Monday, September 15, 2008, 1:58 PM Hi David, ? Tried that ? it only reflects a page count for that individual file, not for the entire book. ? -Nicole ? From: David Spreadbury [mailto:dspre...@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 11:45 AM To: framers at lists.frameusers.com; Hales-Crotchett, Nicole Subject: Re: Total Page Count on Title Page ? Nicole, I haven't done it, but, according to the book, the Page Count variable (<$lastpagenum>), without the parens, should work. ? Try putting that in your footer, or wherever on the cover, and see what it gives you. ? You should be able to put it anywhere, except on a Master Page. --- On Mon, 9/15/08, Hales-Crotchett, Nicole wrote: ? ?
Total Page Count on Title Page
Hi David, Tried that - it only reflects a page count for that individual file, not for the entire book. -Nicole From: David Spreadbury [mailto:dspre...@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 11:45 AM To: framers at lists.frameusers.com; Hales-Crotchett, Nicole Subject: Re: Total Page Count on Title Page Nicole, I haven't done it, but, according to the book, the Page Count variable (<$lastpagenum>), without the parens, should work. Try putting that in your footer, or wherever on the cover, and see what it gives you. You should be able to put it anywhere, except on a Master Page. --- On Mon, 9/15/08, Hales-Crotchett, Nicole wrote:
Total Page Count on Title Page
Nicole, I haven't done it, but, according to the book, the Page Count variable (<$lastpagenum>), without the parens, should work. ? Try putting that in your footer, or wherever on the cover, and see what it gives you. ? You should be able to put it anywhere, except on a Master Page. --- On Mon, 9/15/08, Hales-Crotchett, Nicole wrote: From: Hales-Crotchett, Nicole Subject: Total Page Count on Title Page To: framers at lists.frameusers.com Date: Monday, September 15, 2008, 1:24 PM Hi all, My manager requested that I add a total page count on the title page for a book and I'm running into a hitch. FM help file shows a way to do this with consecutive numbering for each chapter, but we use modified MIL-Spec here - i.e., each page number consists of a chapter and the page number, and restarts for each chapter. Any suggestions? I'm using Frame 7.1 if that matters. -Nicole ___ You are currently subscribed to Framers as dspreadb at yahoo.com. Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/dspreadb%40yahoo.com Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
Total Page Count on Title Page
Hi all, My manager requested that I add a total page count on the title page for a book and I'm running into a hitch. FM help file shows a way to do this with consecutive numbering for each chapter, but we use modified MIL-Spec here - i.e., each page number consists of a chapter and the page number, and restarts for each chapter. Any suggestions? I'm using Frame 7.1 if that matters. -Nicole
Odd cross-ref substitution 7.2
This discussion got me thinking. It would be fairly easy to write a FrameScript plugin that detects whether or not you are about to kill off a marker when you delete or replace text. A dialog box could give you the option of deleting or keeping the marker. I think I'm going to take a crack at coding that and will post it on my web site in a week or so, along with the other freely-available scripts posted there. Best regards, Martin Martin R. Smith www.golehtek.com
Acrobat displays only B/W
Win XP SP2 Acrobat Pro 6.0 Dell Precision 360, Pentium 4, 3 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM, 14GB free disk space on C: drive All of a sudden my Acrobat Pro 6 has lost the ability to display colour. All PDFs I open, whether created on my PC or downloaded from other sources (and known to be colour documents), display in black and white only. Printing these docs from Acrobat works fine -- colour as expected. Cold or warm reboot does not help. Have I accidentally hit a keyboard shortcut that turned off colour? Any other ideas? I looked through all the Preferences, but I don't see anything that looks likely. Other than that, I don't know where to start :-( Thanks for any suggestions... -- Stuart Rogers Technical Communicator Phoenix Geophysics Limited Toronto, ON, Canada +1 (416) 491-7340 x 325 srogers phoenix-geophysics com "The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink." ? George Orwell
Reference graphic to Character format
I've used custom fonts developed by my organization, originally in Fontographer and now Asia FontStudio (owned by FontLab, who also now owns Fontographer--being marketed as an entry-level product), and want to say it's a very slippery slope. One one hand, the custom fonts make it really easy for the writers to place inline graphics in their documents, and as long as they have been properly authored, they work great with our printers. We've been doing this for about 18 years, and it is really a great solution for print/PDF oriented content. We like the solution so much that we have developed almost 250 of these custom fonts. The slippery slope factor comes in when you: 1. Have to deal with the huge quantity of fonts you have to install in your system, bogging it down and making a naturally unstable environment (Windows) even more unstable. 2. Have to manage all these custom fonts in a structured publishing environment (like Structured FrameMaker)where each new font requires editing of the DTD and EDD. 3. Need to repurpose your content for HTML or other like formats. Custom (vector) fonts don't work in a rasterized online world. You need to find a way to substitute back in either a vector-based graphic which can be auto-scaled in products like ePublisher or even FrameMaker's very flawed Save-As-HTML function, or substitute a raster file (JPEG) for each occurrence of a custom font character. We are looking at several very expensive solutions to permit us to offer HTML and similar deliverables (you don't want to know what we do and how much we currently spend to convert a document to HTML). Larry Grinnell 954.723.8914 - Message: 27 Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:13:03 -0700 From: "Matt Sullivan" Subject: RE: Reference graphic to Character format To: "'Robert Rogge'" , "'Framer's List'" Message-ID: <20080912211302.CA9311CAC147 at smtp-b.omnis.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" A common solution would be to create a font (Fontographer, etc.) that contains your graphics assigned to individual characters. Use the appropriate letter, apply the character format, and you are done. (assuming you can output the font wherever needed...) -Matt Sullivan GRAFIX Training, Inc. 714 960 6840
SOLVED Re: Acrobat displays only B/W
Yikes - as a frequent user of Windows shortcut keys, I really appreciate knowing that. Thanks! -Original Message- Turns out that at some point I had attempted a Redo command by using Control-Y -- the opposite of Control-Z in most applications, but NOT in Acrobat. Control-Y toggles "Proof Colors" and when you turn it ON, your colours go OFF. Really intuitive, Adobe, thanks ;-) Seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses once again, -- Stuart Rogers Technical Communicator Phoenix Geophysics Limited Toronto, ON, Canada +1 (416) 491-7340 x 325 _ Lea Rush Software and Documentation Specialist Astoria-Pacific International PO Box 830 Clackamas OR 97015 PH: 800-657-3010 FAX: 503-655-7367
Acrobat displays only B/W
Stuart, Ironically, Acrobat has never had any "black and white display mode." Congratulations, you've invented a new feature for an old product. However, Acrobat does have an "accessibility" display feature (although I don't recall how many versions back that went - Acrobat 6 is over 5 years old now - current version is Acrobat 9). CTRL-K and then go for the accessibility pane or if there isn't one, wander through the various preferences to see if you somehow toggled the accessibility display feature on. This feature allows customization of Acrobat's display screen for users with vision problems and one or more of those modes could be monochromatic. Let us know if that was it. - Dov > -Original Message- > From: Stuart Rogers > Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 8:07 AM > > Win XP SP2 > Acrobat Pro 6.0 > Dell Precision 360, Pentium 4, 3 GHz, 1.5 GB RAM, 14GB free disk space > on C: drive > > All of a sudden my Acrobat Pro 6 has lost the ability to display colour. > All PDFs I open, whether created on my PC or downloaded from other > sources (and known to be colour documents), display in black and white > only. Printing these docs from Acrobat works fine -- colour as expected. > > Cold or warm reboot does not help. > > Have I accidentally hit a keyboard shortcut that turned off colour? Any > other ideas? I looked through all the Preferences, but I don't see > anything that looks likely. Other than that, I don't know where to > start :-( > > Thanks for any suggestions... > > -- > Stuart Rogers
Odd cross-ref substitution 7.2
David Kuhn wrote: > In short, is there a way to select a marker and find out what it is > doing? You can select one just like a single character, but it's a bit trickier, and there may be multiple markers "on top of each other." So do it this way: 1) Open the Marker dialog (Special > Marker). 2) In the document, put the cursor somewhere before the marker(s) in which you're interested. 3) Open the Find/Change dialog, set Find to Any Marker, and click Find. The first marker found is selected, and the Marker dialog shows you the Marker Type and Marker Text. 4) Click Find again to advance to the next marker. Rinse and repeat. HTH! Richard Richard G. Combs Senior Technical Writer Polycom, Inc. richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom 303-223-5111 -- rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom 303-777-0436 --
Odd cross-ref substitution 7.2
David Kuhn wrote: > I removed a heading which was the link destination of several > cross-references. > > When I searched for broken cross-references, none were found. > > Instead the cross-reference retained it's old label (expected) but > linked to a nearby heading instead. > > This is obviously dangerous. > > Any ideas about what could cause this and how to prevent it? By "nearby," you mean adjacent, right? Rick explained about the marker, but permit me to make a larger point. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that the reason you didn't know about the marker is because you work with View > Text Symbols turned off. Many Framers seem to work that way. *That*, IMHO, is obviously dangerous. It's far too easy to delete something you didn't intend to -- or, as in your case, fail to delete something you did intend to. I can't _imagine_ editing without being able to see everything I'm editing (x-ref markers, index markers, pilcrows, etc). The only time I turn off Text Symbols and Borders (with one click, thanks to my Microtype-enhanced toolbar) is when I want to see how the page will look when printed/PDFed. "It's my opinion and it's very true." ;-) Richard Richard G. Combs Senior Technical Writer Polycom, Inc. richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom 303-223-5111 -- rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom 303-777-0436 --
Odd cross-ref substitution 7.2
Hi David, I assume you are working with unstructured FrameMaker. Apparently, when you removed the heading, you did not remove the Cross-Ref marker that was in the heading paragraph. The marker ended up in the hearby heading. Thus, the cross-reference was not unresolved, but still pointed to that marker. Rick Quatro Carmen Publishing Inc 585-659-8267 www.frameexpert.com > Generally I sing the praises about how much more stable Frame's > cross-references are than Word. > > I just had a really odd occurrence, though, which I need to understand. > > I removed a heading which was the link destination of several > cross-references. > > When I searched for broken cross-references, none were found. > > Instead the cross-reference retained it's old label (expected) but > linked to a nearby heading instead. > > This is obviously dangerous. > > Any ideas about what could cause this and how to prevent it? > > David Kuhn > Technical Writer, PBG > > +1.972.9.776.1956 (desk) > +1.972.54.307.8987 (mobile) > > AMDOCS > CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE SYSTEMS INNOVATION