[Closed] FrameMaker 7.x/8 Feature Requests

OK...if one has a "hat-shaped cake" does that mean there were rumors of an OSX version? The only rumors I heard were that there would be an update, but Adobe no longer cares about the Mac and will not update for that platform.

The ONLY feature I request continues to be an OSX version.

If Adobe fails to create a new Mac version, why don't they just put the source up on SourceForge and let some developers go wild.

I'd like "shrinkwrap graphic" to have a menu item and keystroke shortcut, not only esc-m-p. I use it all the time, and it's awkward to explain to others "the feature you need isn't on a menu, but here's what you do..."

I'd like the keyboard shortcuts on Windows to be closer to those on the Mac. The bug (in Frame 6 Windows, the only version I have access to) where control-down takes you to the END of the paragraph rather than the beginning of the next paragraph makes it impossible to scroll through paragraph by paragraph. The lack of a proper "screen down" is also irritating.

I'd like tabs fixed so that tables of contents can be designed where the page number is to the right of the paragraph's right margin. This could be done way back in Frame 3. Or, make it possible to generate the table of contents as a "table", where this effect could be fudged by putting the page numbers in their own column.

The bug involving 2-column pages and "widow/orphan" controls, where occasionally the second-to-last text line in the right column ends up at the bottom of the left column NEEDS to be fixed. I've been embarrassed by this one too many times, and the only explanation I can give to the client is the incompetence of Adobe.

I'd like the option to have FrameMaker not hyphenate words it doesn't know. This would avoid incorrect hyphenations (including people's names) -- and the user could spot badly-spaced lines and add words to the dictionary with hyphenation points as needed.

With the common typesetting problem of URLs, I'd like to have not only breaking and nonbreaking versions of spaces and hyphens (as there are now), but also slashes and periods. (If I allow line breaks after periods I get better flow of URLs, but then I also get line breaks in decimal numbers which is unacceptable).

I'd like equations better integrated into the document -- ideally allowing tabs and font information from the current paragraph. And allowing the use of Greek characters from OpenType fonts that have them would finally overcome the lack of a bold version of the Symbol font.

I'd like tables to be able to float to the top and/or bottom of a page. Their control of spacing from text is so much better than that of frames, I much prefer to use them for holding figures, but the way they float and how they break two-column pages when NOT at the top and bottom is nonstandard and awkward.

--Rodney Sauer

Okay,

Am at the FrameUsers conference, in West Palm Beach, Florida. For the first time, am meeting gurus like Dov Isaacs, Shlomo Perets, the FM product manager, Karl Matthews, wow and does that list go on ... I am learning as much from the attendees as the presenters.

So, the news is that Adobe is telling of a FM 7 upgrade, a point release (it wasn't announced as "7.1" but that's a good bet). There's more to that ... However, it looks very much like I'll be needing a hat-shaped cake ....

Cheers,

Sean

When using the Apply Master Pages function. Add the ability to use None or a custom Master Page when no paragraph tags are present. Would make blank pages easy to handle.

Table Headers. When a table has a header with text in it and a table format is applied which specifies no table header, the header text is deleted. When applying different table formats it would be helpful if the header just became "hidden" when a no header table format is applied.

I don't know whether this is FM or Acrobat, but that's the same company, so here goes. The FM7 pdfing capability is great, but I do wish FM could check into whether the file is open in Acrobat a little sooner. I do sometimes leave the pdf open, then when I generate a new one, I have to wait until it prints to the Distiller before I get the message, close the existing one, dumb, dumb.

Bring the paragraph designer (and maybe some others as well, I'm just commenting on this one) into the Windows world: specifically, if I want to change font size or spacing, FM now highlights the area, but instead of replacing it when I type in a new value as seems to be common in Windows, FM now adds the new value, and I must manually delete the old value, or end up with some horrendous point or spacing value.

FM7, fully patched, W2000, also patched.

More informative color definition error messages.

I'm converting someone else's work into new templates. The original book reports "inconsistent color definitions" when compiled. I can easily clear this message by opening one chapter file from the book, then importing color definitions from that file into the other files in the book. The error message then goes away.

It would be nice, however, to have FrameMaker provide some clearer explanation of what "inconsistencies" exist in the color definitions. The current one-line error messages clearly come from a bygone age when storing error message strings was thought to consume too much "precious" RAM. I think in today's world of multi-giga-byte systems, these messages (indeed all FrameMaker error messages) could be safely expanded so as to be more informative...

Cheers & thanks,
Riley

** Mac OS X Native ** -- Frame would join the rest of the adobe suite, and i would never have to launch Classic or kluge it again. (At the veeeery least, a patch such as the one issued for Acro 5 so it would run under X)

Oh -- and the pesky Control-L screen redraw issue that's been around since F4 would be great to have fixed. :)

A Heading Structure window that will enable me to grab a heading and/or sub-headings and move to another area in a chapter.

Spell check in the body and master pages at the same time.

Better viewing of eps files in a frame. When I import an Illustrator eps I cannot see a clear drawing.

A glossary feature that allows you to add a description and then create a glossary chapter automatically.

VB macros