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Question

FrameMaker's functionality missing in the InDesign...

Forum|Forum|9 months ago
May 3, 2025
4 replies
889 views

Looking for people using both programs - to pick their brains 😉

What kind of functionality would you like to see in the InDesign?

Please either post here or privately.

TIA

Feature request

frameexpert

Community Expert

FrameMaker has anchored frames that can contain multiple images, callouts, etc. As far as I know, InDesign doesn't have anchored frames that allow you to have multiple objects in it. Is that still correct?

Robert at ID-TaskerAuthor

Legend

FrameMaker has anchored frames that can contain multiple images, callouts, etc. As far as I know, InDesign doesn't have anchored frames that allow you to have multiple objects in it. Is that still correct?

By @frameexpert

You can group your objects and then "Paste Into".

Or you can "Paste Into" a single object into a Rectangle / Oval as well.

That was available long time ago.

Group is kind of like any other graphic object.

F

FrameMaker-dk

Community Expert

My main gripe with InDesign is mainly speed and the lack of fast book handling. InDesign is slow when the number of pages rise. And the book feature is a mess. That said, I sure wish FM had some of the good features of InDesign like guidelines, better color management, better font support and better print engine.

Bjørn Smalbro - FrameMaker.dk

frameexpert

Community Expert

I agree. Give me a pasteboard, ruler guides, configurable paragraph rules and paragraph shading.

Robert at ID-TaskerAuthor

Legend

I agree. Give me a pasteboard, ruler guides, configurable paragraph rules and paragraph shading.

By @frameexpert

If only scripting through VB would be possible in FM...

Matt-Tech Comm Tools

Community Expert

I wonder if you'd get better results asking this question in the Id forum, where folks are looking for things Id doesn't do (or do well)

For myself, I like Fm's ability to manage content across VLB (Very Large Books) and InDesign's ability to microdesign a specific page.

-Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

Robert at ID-TaskerAuthor

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I wonder if you'd get better results asking this question in the Id forum, where folks are looking for things Id doesn't do (or do well)

[...]

By @Matt-Tech Comm Tools

Yeah, I'm already there 😉 but was hoping to get more ideas.

[...]

For myself, I like Fm's ability to manage content across VLB (Very Large Books) [...]

Could you please elaborate? I'm not FM user.

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

More of Frame's Book features (been asking for years...).

Per-document pagination in a book (not one setting for all documents).

Variables that can break across lines.

Ability to add partial Character styles to variables, x-refs, etc.

Multiple indices.

I'm sure there's more. I'll edit or add as I think of them. (Not at my main computer.)

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

Robert at ID-TaskerAuthor

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[...]

Variables that can break across lines.

[...]

By @Dave Creamer of IDEAS

That's pretty much done 😉 will work even in the free version of my tool - but will require a bit of extra clicking 😉

Variable -> to text -> back to Variable.

Plus ability to use only part of the contents of the variable - e.g. only part of the File Name.

Plus auto applying dedicated Para / CharStyle - so different "locations" can be easily found and processed.

Next step - full management on the document level - editing, creating, importing, etc.

So there is only one step to auto-updating bunch of documents based on the new File Name - with automatic PDF generation and upload.

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