Change control FM

In an earlier position, with no CMS or even chance of getting one, I was looking after regulatory documentation with at least four updates a year plus the requirement to be able to regenerate earlier versions. The sensible approach was a rank of binders with print-outs … but the FM code also included conditions such as new_2002_v3 or del_2025_v1. I used these to generate an almost automatic change-log for each new version, as well as keeping the older content safely locked away in the files.

Applying conditions by hand also suited me because I have never, ever, in any environment, just turned on Track changes and let the software do its worst :-} I'll turn it on when I know I'm sure about the change I want to track, then turn it off again while I'm thinking; also, I'll aim to have readable chunks marked even if this means duplication.

Hi,

Yes, FrameMaker has two features for this:

With Track Text Edits FrameMaker marks all new or deleted text. Even when you delete a table, the table is marked as deleted.

Track Text Edits does not mark single deleted columns or rows.

You can also search for these edits with some buttons in the Track Text Edits toolbar.

And there are Automatic Change Bars. This is a character formatting property which FrameMaker can assign automatically. Default is a red bar in the margin. Not as striking and exact as Track Text Edits.

You can also search for this character formatting property.

Best regards

Winfried