[Closed] FrameMaker 7.x/8 Feature Requests

Transparency

Having FrameMaker support Transparency of graphics (or of just some graphics: gifs) would allow a higher caliber of graphic design in our documents.

There seems like a natural Adobe tie-in - Every other Adobe product I use has this.
thx,
Carl

Put the online books back in the Help menu.

Ive been using Frame since v2.0 for Unix (1990). Since version 4 (1995), Ive been asking for a method to allow control over certain aspects of a template and documents based on that template. For example, if multiple authors are working on the same documents, how do we ensure all the documents look the same? I think the solution is to allow the template developer to lock-down certain aspects and possibly disable certain features. For example, some of the paragraph tags, character tags, and master pages could be locked-down, and possibly the template developer could disable the Paragraph, Character, and/or Table Designers, if desired.

Adobe could allow the author to see locked-down and unlocked tags, but tags that are not available to the author could be put into a window that can only be viewed by the template developer (e.g., authorization based on a password). This would give large documentation groups more control over the documents they publish.

At this time, I only have two ways to resolve this problem, and one I cant remember how I did it:
1. Reapply the template to every document and select While Updating, Remove Other Format/Layout Overrides.
2. The second method has something to do with holding down a key while opening or creating a MIF file. Whatever I did, the outcome produced a file that let me know all of the tags, overrides, etc. in a document. Can someone refresh my memory and tell me how this is done?

Either one of these methods require someone to police each document before its published. There has to be a simpler way to control documents. Does anyone have other ideas?

BTW, in my days at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), we had very defined templates in which the author batched their print job against and then it would produce a postscript file based on the template the author chose. The author couldnt alter the template, but could alter the layout slightly by adding code to their document, although if it went against department standards, prior to release, it would be noticed by Release Engineering, who would modify the document/code to comply with company standards. The result: all docs looked the same. And since we had editors, something rarely done in the Atlanta area, we could have multiple authors write the manual (typically done at DEC) since a good editor can align writing styles to make it seem as though one author wrote the entire manual.

Thanks,
Chris Mack
Documentation Project Manager
The Coca-Cola Company
Atlanta, GA.

Sean,

This is in response to your posting regarding tracking down missing fonts..

This too has driven me crazy in the past. Until Adobe has a solution, I would suggest closing Framemaker, open the maker.ini file, change the default font(s) to something not used, like Impact, save and close the maker.ini file, and then re-open the Framemaker file. If its not obvious which text now uses the new font, search the document for that font. Ive found it in places one usually doesnt look (e.g., a paragraph anchor, paragraph that has no text and is only used for extra space, etc.).

Good Luck,
Chris Mack

How about alphabetizing the variable names in a list of them, such as, for example, when setting up headers and footers on master pages.

I found a use for multiple undo! When blowing through a book using spell chucker it'd be nice to have a few more than one level of undo to fix my itchy trigger finger. LOL!

Cheers,

Sean

Table Designer enhancements:

* include header row setup in designer instead of upon insert only - that way we can set up table styles with header rows and styles without them.

* When you apply a table style to an existing table, it should wipe out all other formatting (ruling, shading, etc.) and apply its own (does not do this, at least not in v.6, and I don't recall tables being touched for v.7)

I'd like an easy way to collapse and expand palettes/dialogs -- the same way it can be done in other Adobe programs. I especially miss being able to expand/collapse in FrameMaker 7 as I usually have a file open plus the Structure view and the Elements catalog. Also please, we need a Zoom tool. I really miss being able to marquee zoom.

Another one.

I'd like an option under the Paragraph Designer's Commands that would copy some/all of the current paragraph(s) formatting information to the paragraph(s) themselves--a way to generate handy template development info without having to type it all out.

Example: Select three heading paragraphs; click "Command --> Echo Settings --> All Settings..." in the Paragraph Designer; another dialog opens up listing All Settings of the Paragraph Designer, showing a checkbox by each; I check "paragraph tag," "size," "weight," "space below," "line spacing," etc...; then I click OK and the text of those 3 selected heading paragraphs now displays whatever settings I chose to echo:

Tag Heading1, size 14pt, weight Bold, space above 10 pt, line spacing 14 pt

Tag Heading2, size 10pt,....

I want a way to save my window and dialog-box configurations and a way to switch between them easily when I change from one sort of FM task to another. Save profiles of things like which designers are open, how large/where the current document window is, window/dialog locations, zoom options, page scrolling, etc. I would have one setup for working with templates, one for writing, one for typing equations, one for working with a book, etc.

As long as I'm wishing about the interface...

1. I'd like to be able to have a "view master page" windowpane and a "view body page" windowpane open at the same time (same document) for rapid, back-and-forth-between-the-two work;
2. Resize capability on the designer dialogs--or at least a choice between a few built-in designer configurations (tall-and-narrow, long-and-narrow, as-is);
3. A way to dock the designer dialogs to that grey space to the right of the QuickAccess Bar and the Formatting Bar--so that grey space would would show the Paragraph Designer's tabs, say, and clicking a tab would pop-down the relevant dialog;
4. A way to exclude certain text symbols when I "View Text Symbols" (don't show tabs, say);
5. A view option to grey out all items that have been imported by reference, so FM just shows the path\filename of the imported files;
6. When the FrameMaker Console decides it needs to open (font troubles), it should open by default as a minimized window within FrameMaker, not as the equivalent of a separate program on the Windows Taskbar;
7. Speaking of minimized windows within FrameMaker--it would be handy to be able to resize them so the entire path\filename of minimized window is visible (or, at least, to offer option of not displaying a minimized file's path).
8. Purely aesthetic: I sometimes wish I could change the lowest-level background color to something a bit cheerier.