Table sorting has accuracy issues
Hi Listers, I've been experiencing problems in sorting a table alphabetically, with a strong desire to have the sort ignore spaces. FM 8.0 Windows XP with SP 2 I have a long 1-column table. Each cell has two paragraphs in it: Gloss term Glossary definition. Some examples that I have found problematic include: bar code A system of symbols used to identify data through length, position, size, or thickness of lines or symbols. Bar codes are normally read and printed by a machine. bar An element of a controller window that groups several buttons. Examples: function bar, status bar, subsystem bar. [I prefer "bar" to precede "bar code".] carriage lock The latch that prevents the carriage arm from being pulled to the service position. carriage rail The component of the carriage that has a carriage arm and umbilical support. See also carriage arm, umbilical support. carriage-return A character in data that forces all following text to the next line. carriage The module of a printing system that holds a printhead in position over the web, provides for printhead movement across the web, provides for printhead adjustment of skew, height, and with-stream position, and allows cross-stream printhead movement between print position and service position. See also print tower. [I prefer the order to be carriage carriage-return carriage lock carriage rail ] I tried rearranging the index sorting instructions in the reference page, without effect on the table sort. I also entered a space in the Ignore characters line there. <$symbols><$numerics><$alphabetics> --[]() Any ideas or experience from anybody welcome! Tom Kohn p.s. Perhaps as a side issue, perhaps not: When I open the file fresh and sort the table, many many items are waaay out of order. If I sort again, the order is good, but still with the problems noted in the body of my message. Thomas G (Tom) Kohn | Technical Editor | GCG WW Versamark Engineering Services | Eastman Kodak Company | 3000 Research Blvd | Dayton, OH 45420-4003 | tom.kohn at kodak.com | +01 937-259-3210 Office | +01 937-271-1484 Mobile | +01 937-259-3784 Fax | www.graphics.kodak.com
hyperlinks to files, to directories (also, reference work on hyperlinks in FM)
Hello, I've looked through many postings related to hyperlinks, without luck. I have a couple questions related to inserting hyperlinks to open a directory and to open a PDF file. My system: FrameMaker 8.0p277 Windows XP, SP2 1. I don't well follow the FrameMaker help information on which hypertext command to use for opening a PDF or a Windows Explorer directory. I've tried two: Go to URL (message URL \\shared\techpubs2\Graphics\Conversion) -- works well for most directories, but not all--see 3. Open document (openlink [many variations on the network location]) -- doesn't work, apparently 2. The use of forward slash and backslash has a bearing, I know. But I don't observe a consistent response to one or the other. I guess that it's also related to the hypertext command I use, or the one I should use. The \ works well for most of the Go to URL uses. 3. One use of Go to URL includes parameters that are changed to another value when I select Edit Hypertext Marker. Original: message URL \\shared\techpubs2\processes\graphic_naming Changed to: message URL \\shared\techpubs2\processes?raphic_naming 4. I have yet to find the right command and parameter set for opening a PDF at a known location. 5. The FrameMaker help is woefully inadequate. I infer that FM supports only a small portion of the possible hypertext command set. (Correct?) I infer that the translation from FrameMaker to PDF also limits the functionality of hypertext. (Correct?) But does anyone have a better resource for understanding what hypertext is available and how it can be exploited? Thanks, Tom Thomas G (Tom) Kohn | Technical Editor | GCG WW Versamark Engineering Services | Eastman Kodak Company | 3000 Research Blvd | Dayton, OH 45420-4003 | tom.kohn at kodak.com | +01 937-259-3210 Office | +01 937-271-1484 Mobile | +01 937-259-3784 Fax | www.graphics.kodak.com
Still no Hebrew/Arabic?
Hello Richard and List- Entering text in a right-to-left language is not a function of FrameMaker, but of Windows. Most settings for the language are made in Start > Control Panel > Regional and Language Options 1. Set all numeric, date, time, and language settings for the region (note almost all Arabic-speaking countries have different settings available). 2. Under the Languages tab, select "Install files for complex script and right-to-left languages". 3. If you have non-US keyboards or other text entry devices, select Details (still under the Languages tab) and add the services installed on your computer. * 4. If your text does not use Unicode, under the Advanced tab, select the code page conversion tables. * Note it is possible to use a US keyboard, although you need to learn the keyboard layout that will usurp the US layout when you have the right-to-left language invoked. Now in FrameMaker or any other software, set the Format > Font and/or Paragraph Designer > Default Font for displaying the right-to-left language in the Paragraph Styles for the language. By displaying Windows Language bar, you can easily switch from one language format or keyboard layout to another. Caveats: !I've experienced some bugs in the Language bar or multiple availability of keyboard layouts, where the keyboard layout occasionally switches without warning--though this may be from use of some function-key usages. !Microsoft has incompletely supported Farsi, though they claim that their support is fully implemented. Two important letters are inaccessible. The same may be true for Hebrew and some Indic languages. It appears that more "purely" Arabic languages are fully supported. !I haven't experimented with using Unicode for text entry. Thomas G (Tom) Kohn | Technical Editor | GCG WW Versamark Engineering Services | Eastman Kodak Company | 3000 Research Blvd | Dayton, OH 45420-4003 | tom.kohn at kodak.com | +01 937-259-3210 Office | +01 937-271-1484 Mobile | +01 937-259-3784 Fax | www.graphics.kodak.com
long target names in xref dialog
With my installation of Frame 8.0p277, I tried using the modified module fmdlg.dll from http://www.daube.ch/docu/fmaker36.html#4 without success: FM 8 crashes --consistently-- when I select an image (imported by cross-reference into a graphics frame), and select Graphics > Object Properties. I did use several other dialogs that were indeed made wider to accomodate longer file names. However, the consistent crashes were unacceptable, and I reverted to the original fmdlg.dll. Here's hoping that a version 8 dll comes soon. I don't trust my abilities in using Resouce Hacker or similar tools, though the advice to make a copy of fmdlg.dll before making edits should avoid catastrophe... Thomas G (Tom) Kohn | Technical Editor | GCG WW Versamark Engineering Services | Eastman Kodak Company | 3000 Research Blvd | Dayton, OH 45420-4003 | tom.kohn at kodak.com | +01 937-259-3210 Office | +01 937-271-1484 Mobile | +01 937-259-3784 Fax | www.graphics.kodak.com Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:26:28 -0500 From: "Laurie Little" Subject: RE: long target names in xref dialog To: "'Stuart Rogers'" Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com Message-ID: <061B2C1FA3F941DDA5143147615AC948 at wordstw.com> Content-Type: text/plain;charset="Windows-1252" Thanks Stuart - I've received two offline suggestions along these lines and am looking at it right now! Thanks for all the on- and off-line responses! Laurie -Original Message- From: Stuart Rogers [mailto:srog...@phoenix-geophysics.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 2:18 PM To: Laurie Little Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: Re: long target names in xref dialog Laurie Little wrote: > We have a document that is set up with the H1s as the menu path name (so as > to facilitate auto-population of online help). > > Some of these paths are quite long, with the result that the targets listed > in the cross-reference dialog are indistinguishable because many start the > same way, and the dialog box is not resizable. > > We have identified a few workarounds for this, including manually creating > distinct cross-reference markers in the text, or (less desirable for this > project) changing the structure of the H1s. > > Does anyone have any other ideas? > Thanks, > You could use a Resource Editor like http://angusj.com/resourcehacker/ to resize your x-ref_main dialog box to accommodate longer names. Make a backup of fmdlg.dll in Program Files > Adobe > Framemaker > fminit before you mess with it though! HTH,
Correcting unresolved cross-references collaboratively
Are there problems in expecting several writers to work collaboratively on resolving cross-references in a large book? Our project is a set of books made from topic-based, unstructured files. We're in final composition state. Our publication specialist has a master frame.book file, which contains 250+ files. On generating, she gets a listing of --say 10-- unresolved cross-references (UCRs), presented in the error log file as hotlinks to the faulty source. It's the writers' responsibility to correct the UCRs, at their own computers. (An aside: Typically, the publication specialist keeps all files open during this process, except for the files that were reported with UCRs. --Because of the time involved in closing and opening the files for the book.-- As the writers start their work, the publication specialist closes specific files that have the target references.) Writers search for UCRs to correct in the file(s) that were listed as containing UCRs, since the generated error log can't be shared from one computer to another. Some writers have noticed that they find additional, different UCRs when they do this. I'm beginning to believe that UCR information is written in some temp file on the user's hard drive, and this allows different listings of UCRs to be reported. Any assistance or ideas out there? Thomas G (Tom) Kohn | Technical Editor | GCG WW Versamark Engineering Services | Eastman Kodak Company | 3000 Research Blvd | Dayton, OH 45420-4003 | tom.kohn at kodak.com | +01 937-259-3210 Office | +01 937-271-1484 Mobile | +01 937-259-3784 Fax | www.graphics.kodak.com
Framers Digest, Vol 31, Issue 10
Hello Anneke, Is the problem stemming from an incorrect sort order imported from Windows? Is the problem an unfamiliarity with the target language? Is your question more about how to use FrameMaker functions best to make the sort more efficient? For the last possibility, I've read advice to convert the text of the index into a table, sort the table using FM functions, and then reconvert the table to text. (It sounds simple, but that's just the overview to the work.) Tom Kohn -- Message: 7 Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 13:04:18 +0200 From: "Anneke von den Hoff" Subject: sortorder Turkish To: Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain;charset="US-ASCII" Hello Framers, I have a client that needs FrameMaker documents in Turkish. I am now trying to create a correctly sorted index, but I have difficulties with this. Is there anyone who has done this before, or someone who can advise in any way?? Any help would be appreciated. Kind regards Anneke Von den Hoff
