FrameMaker (v7.2 to 11): Change workflow to use FM and RH together

Problem

My department uses FrameMaker 11, unstructured, and RoboHelp 10.

We do user’s manuals in FrameMaker (one version for the US and one version for the UK) as separate books; minimal use of variables and/or conditional text. These docs are made available to customers as PDFs. I’ve used FM for 15+ years and consider myself an average FM user, not a power user. I used to use variables at a previous job, but my current job/co-workers don’t use variables/conditional text.

We do help files in RoboHelp, one help project for the US and one help project for the UK.

The powers-that-be don’t see that the *information *is the same (or mostly the same) between the help and the docs (I am trying to convince them that this is the way it is). One issue that is *always* raised is that the docs have pictures/screenshots/images and the help doesn’t. There are also discussions about using MindTouch to deliver information to customers; I don’t know if that means that we would stop using FM and RH.

Questions:

1. I know that we could (possibly) have one set of FM files that could be used to provide a US document and a UK document. I don’t know *where* to start to make this happen. I don’t have any authority to spend money and there is no budget to pay for consulting. I am looking for free advice/suggestions where to find out *how *to do this.
2. I believe we could either use our FM files to create help, or use our help files to create docs. As with #1, I want to know where to learn *how*to do this.

I’m not looking for theory/big picture ideas. I need some nuts-and-bolts, how-to advice. At the very least, I want to show that we could gain some efficiency if we stop maintaining one set of FM source files for the US and another set for the UK.

I hope this makes sense.

Solution

Here is an idea/steps how you can achieve this.

Firstly, if there is a scope for content within Framemaker to be updated at various stages, go for Link option for bringing in book/documents from Framemaker (for Both UK & US English) to RoboHelp. *(File– Link–Framemaker documents)*

*1#* One way is after linking your documents and converting all your FrameMaker documents into topics within Robohelp. Create 2 Conditional Built tag an apply them on US and UK English separately from Project manager and while generating your output, Select the CBT for which you want to generate the help.

Alternately, you can apply Conditional Text to your English US/UK Content

within Framemaker and directly publish it from there (File — Publish). You might require to create two different TOC for English US/UK content

*2# *Yes, you can create Help using FM Files, that is a standard workflow.

But the opposite is not a feasible solution.

As you have been working on FM for quite some time, I’ll share some steps to implement this from Rh End:

1. Create (or Open Existing) Robohelp project
2. Go to File– Link–FrameMaker document and browse- your FM (US) Book and select open. (Repeat the same for English UK book)
3. This would Link your Book under Project Manager
4. Make a right click to Book and Select Generate (You should repeat this step whenever there is any modification at Framemaker’s end
5. Now create and apply the CBT (UK and US) to your Topics within Project Manager (Drag and Drop them over any topic to apply it)
6. Generate your Help, say Webhelp, under Webhelp properties, Exclude the UK CBT from output.

I hope I have not confused you further. 🙂

Note: Linking only works if you’ve got the Technical Communications Suite (TCS); otherwise Importing is your only option of getting FM content into RH.

FrameMaker (v7.2 to 11): FrameMaker to Confulence

Problem

To much manual work in moving FM files to Confluence

Solution

FrameMaker > MIF2Go > Word works great, I’ve used it for a variety of projects.

Unfortunately Word > Confluence has some major bugs that require a lot of cleanup.

FrameMaker > MIF2Go > XHTML > Confluence might be faster depending on the content and formatting.
Click here.

FrameMaker (v7.2 to 11): Font issues

Problem

I have 2 documents, 1 is the resultant PDF from a Framemaker file recreating a source document, the other is from the source document itself. The fonts are the same on both documents (10pt TNR), so why do they come out looking so small in the frame document?
Frame font is TNR 10pt, 0% Spread, 100% Stretch, 12 pt Line Spacing. PDF was generated via save-as PDF command, High Quality Print setting in both frame and distiller.
What should I do differently to make the PDF from Framemaker match the source?

Solution

Neither one of them appears to be Times New Roman. So check to be sure you are using the font that you think you are. Also, make sure that Adobe PDF is set as your default printer when working in FM, or the PDF output may not match what you see in FM. The print driver can affect the fonts available.

The free SetPrint utility will set Adobe PDF as the default printer, without altering the default for any other Windows programs. (http://sundorne.com/**FrameMaker/Freeware/setPrint.**htmhttp://sundorne.com/FrameMaker/Freeware/setPrint.htm)

Make sure your font is actually installed on your computer. If you have a printer besides Adobe PDF set as the default in FM, then FM can see and use its “printer resident” fonts– that is, fonts that are hard-wired inside the printer and available for printing _on that printer_, but not necessarily installed on the computer where they would be available to embed in a PDF. If the font isn’t actually installed on the computer–usually in the \windows\fonts folder– the PDF will be forced to substitute with something else.

Make sure your font is set to embed in the PDF. If you have Acrobat, you use Acrobat Distiller to do this, editing the appropriate settings file.

The High Quality Print settings file has all fonts set to embed, unless someone altered it.

You also might trying printing to the Adobe PDF virtual printer, rather than using Save as PDF. You didn’t mention which FrameMaker version you have, but Save as PDF was highly unreliable in older versions– so much so that all the gurus warned to avoid it.
Anyway, those are some starting places to look.

FrameMaker (v7.2 to 11): Table anchor locations

Problem

I’ve been struggling to get a table anchor to be at the bottom of one page and the table to start at the next. This is something that seems to really be important to my client. I understand that I can tell the table to start at the top of a page, but then the anchor ends up on a blank page all by itself. I’ve tried to set the anchor format to keep it with the previous paragraph, but rather than the anchor moving back to the previous page, it will pull the last line of text from the previous page to the top of next page with the anchor. I’ve also tried setting negative space at the top of my table, but the anchor still takes up a little bit of space and my client will notice this. I’m thinking there must be something simple here that I am missing. Thanks for any help.

Solution

To get the table flush with the top of the text frame on the page, follow this procedure: http://frameautomation.com/2010/09/14/lining-up-a-table-across-columns/

FrameMaker (v7.2 to 11): Standard vs High Quality Print options under the PDF Setup in FM and Distiller

Problem

I”m writing today to query others about the Standard versus High Quality Print options under the PDF Setup in Adobe FrameMaker and Distiller.
The various PDF job options are being evaluated internally. In particular (and what I’m asking about now), in PDF Setup –> Settings –> PDF Job Options, some use “Standard,” while others use “High Quality Print” (same setting in Distiller). Based on what I have been told, there is no reason (benefit) to using High Quality Print (versus Standard) even in docs that use more screenshots and/or pictures, and my understanding is that High Quality Print results in a larger file size. (I have been using High Quality Print for years.)
My question is whether using Standard (instead of High Quality Print) results in any detrimental effect.
For reference, here is some information from Adobe:
Standard . For desktop printers or digital copiers, published on CD or sent to client as publishing proof . Uses compression/downsampling to reduce file size . Embeds subsets of fonts, converts colors to sRGB, prints medium resolution, windows font subsets not embedded by default . Opened in Acrobat and Reader 6.0 and later High Quality Print . Quality printing on desktop printers and proofing devices . Downsamples color and grayscale images to 300ppi and monochrome to 1200ppi . Embeds subsets of fonts, leaves colors unchanged, does not flatted transparency . Opened in Acrobat and Reader 5.0 and later
For what it’s worth, I am using Adobe FrameMaker 9 and 10 and Distiller 8.
Any feedback on what others have found while using High Quality Print versus Standard would be greatly appreciated.

Solution

There are definitely differences between Standard and High Quality Print options. For starters, Standard does NOT embed all fonts. If you use Distiller to check the settings of the .joboptions files, you’ll see that Standard embeds most fonts, but NOT those that are commonly installed on computers– such as Arial, Times New Roman, etc. It marks those as NEVER embed. This may or may not cause reformatting of the PDF on the viewing end (due to different font versions on the user’s computer) or complete font substitution (due to uninstalled fonts on the user end). If you don’t embed all fonts, you take a risk that your document won’t look the same on every computer– which is the purpose of PDF.

Standard also downsamples graphics to 150 dpi(ppi), where High Quality Print downsamples to 300 dpi. 300 dpi is usually what you want for printing press. 150 dpi is usually OK for desktop printer– though many use 300 dpi there, too. 150 dpi is actually higher resolution than necessary for Web viewing– where 72 or 96 ppi is more common. So it’s increasing the image data by up to 4.34x to make an unnecessarily large file for the Web. Still the 150 dpi higher resolution lets a user zoom into a PDF for a better view of a photo. (And 300 ppi would let the user zoom in even more for a clearer image.)

So, the option you want to choose depends on the purpose of your output and whether you want users to be able to zoom in for a better view. If the output is going to printing press, you want High Quality Print, but if it’s only for screen or desktop printer, Standard may be okay. Or Smallest File Size may be an even better choice for Web display.

Also, there is a very old presentation by the most informed PDF guru I’ve ever encountered; I think the tables that begin on page 68 are still valid, though: http://www.planetpdf.com/planetpdf/pdfs/pdf2k/01W/isaacs_reliablepdfcreation.pdf

FrameMaker (v7.2 to 11): Convert from unstructured Frame to DITA

Problem

Does anyone know of any consultants or companies that will convert a company from unstructured Frame to DITA, using structured Frame. Meaning, create conversion tables, DTDs, EDDs, etc.

Solution

Might also want to look at this: http://ig5authoringtools.com/ditatoo-dita-cms-is-now-tightly-integrated-with-framemaker-11/

Don’t know more about it than the info on the web site, but it looks interesting.

FrameMaker (v7.2 to 11): One of my FM11 files has become Read-only

Problem

Hi, guys…one of the files in my book (it has about 400 files) has become read only. I don’t know how it happened.

When I open the file and try to select content, the frame gets selected. As far as I know, it is (or was) Flow A.

Solution 1

This symptom sounds like you’ve selected the arrow (top right in the Graphic Tools panel) instead of Smart Select (top left in the Graphic Tools).

Normally, if a file is set to read-only in FrameMaker, the symptoms are missing menu items (you can’t save or edit, and the only menus shown are File, Edit, Navigation, Window, Help). To unlock a file, type Esc Flk (note the uppercase F, lowercase L, lowercase K). But I’ve just tried this, and in a locked file I can’t select the text frame at all.

Solution 2

I accidentally made a file “view-only” by misusing some shortcut but Thomas Michanek had a handy tip that saved the day. Caveat: it wasn’t FM 11, but more like 7 — I don’t know if that would make a difference…

Anyway, here’s what he suggested that worked for me:

1. Press and release Esc
2. Press and release Shift+f
3. Press and release lower-case l
4. Press and release lower-case k

FrameMaker (v7.2 to 11): Eclipse Help from Frame books

Problem

Has anyone tried generating Eclipse help directly from Frame books?

Solution

Mif2Go supports that. If you mean using native Frame HTML export, no, not without many hours of work cleaning up problems and creating the files it doesn’t make.

One of the User’s Guide versions on the mif2go.com. Web site is in Eclipse Help, made directly from a Frame book in a few minutes of processing time.

(Setup takes a bit longer. 😉

If you want more information about developing documentation for Eclipse UA, you can join this discussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eclipse_tw/messages/101

FrameMaker (v7.2 to 11): Bookmark Setup and Section Variables

 

Problem

How to set up Bookmark and Section Variables

Solution

I followed a couple of recent threads: Bookmarks and Section variables, and offer the following information based on painful experience on these topics.

Bookmarks in Books:

You can choose Paragraphs (or Elements if you have structured files)

As mentioned in the thread, settings chosen during Save As PDF do not stick.

The Magic is in the first file in the book and in the book itself. Other files can have different tags, but ALL desired bookmark tags must be in the first file.

Import Paragraphs from the first file into the book to be sure that they are available in both.

Select all files in the book, including the top level book entry.

Then, from the menu: Format > Document > PDF Setup… make your selections and click Set.

Be sure and save the book.

You have now permanently saved your settings in this book and in all the files in this book.

In a related thread, a user was having trouble NOT selecting a undesired paragraph as a bookmark. This happens for paragraphs that are used somewhere in the body pages, but are NOT in the paragraph catalog. We had this trouble when adding a text column with a paragraph tag during publishing operations. Even though we were using elements, this stray tag destroyed the PDF bookmarks. The twisted logic is simple. If the paragraph is not in the catalog, you can?t deselect it. But by default, Frame selects it for you. To fix, add the errant tags to the paragraph catalog and set up your book as discussed above. De-select the new entries during setup and you are good to go.

Note: If you are using elements, you must still choose paragraphs and follow the full procedure above, including the save, for the setting to take. You cannot just choose and switch back to elements. After the save you can reselect elements and save again.

Elements used for bookmarks follow similar specifications. ALL elements desired for bookmarks must be in the first book file and in the book EDD. In addition, the bookmark hierarchy directly mirrors the element hierarchy. You cannot choose the hierarchical relationship during setup as you can for paragraphs. Setup is otherwise the same as for paragraphs.

Section and Sub-section variables

These were a much welcomed addition for us, but the Frame folks decided to hook them to the new book hierarchy, rendering them mostly worthless for our purposes. From the thread I sense that others are confused and frustrated as well.

From the book, open the numbering dialog and you see that Section and Sub-section are grayed out. Create a folder (not group), add a file to the folder, open numbering, and you see Section available, but Chapter and Sub-section are grayed out. Add a folder at this 2nd level, add a file and Sub-section becomes available, but Chapter and Section are not. We cannot use hierarchical books due to processing operations, so we are not happy.

Adobe: Can you hear us now? Disconnect the variables from the books please.

FrameMaker (v7.2 to 11): Create a punctuation space in FM

Problem

I thought there was a way to insert a space that’s the width of punctuation, such as a period or comma (similar to Esc spacebar m for em space, Esc spacebar t for thin space, etc.). I found the Unicode for it is x2008. I’ve tried (and had other people) try this, holding down Alt and typing 2008 on the numeric keypad. We get a character that looks like a long equal sign with a vertical line through it.

Solution 1

First, if you haven’t already, you need to turn on the unicode keypad. It’s turned off in Windows by default. Use regedit to find the key “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method”. Right-click on it, choose New and then String to create a new string called “EnableHexNumpad” with a value of “1”. (Don’t type the quotes.) REBOOT. Don’t forget to reboot!

Now, you will be able to type unicode characters by holding down the left-alt key and simultaneously pressing the plus sign on the keypad, and then (while still holding down the left-alt key) enter the unicode character. Then release the left-alt key. (Note that the right-alt key does not work for this.)

So, for your example you would hold down your Left-Alt key, and then (simultaneously) on the numeric pad:

press +

press 2

press 0

press 0

press 8

and then release the Alt key. Some Unicode characters have the hex letters a to f in them. Simply enter them from the main keyboard (while still holding down the Left-Alt key).

PLEASE NOTE that the punctuation space that you want to enter will ONLY appear if the font you are using contains it as a defined character. (Most fonts do not.)

Solution 2

There’s also this, which I haven’t tested: http://www.fileformat.info/tool/unicodeinput/index.htm and this, which I have used a fair amount: http://www.babelstone.co.uk/Software/BabelMap.html

BabelMap is useful because it does show the existence (or not) of particular glyphs in a font. FM’s character palette lies to you, by substituting from a different font when it encounters glyphs lacking in the font you’re using. And it doesn’t bother telling you about the substitution.

Solution 3

Number space: Esc+<space>+1

Em space: Esc+<space>+m

En space: Esc+<space>+n

Thin space: Esc+<space>+t

You probably want thin space

Solution 4

The other space is the non-breaking space, which is a fixed space, and which (if you are converting to HTML, stays a non-breaking space ( ).

Ctrl+space to enter

\ (backslash-space) to search/replace.