.book file does not open

[Aina248603994ag5]

Hello,

I have a problem with Frame Maker. I can open the files .fm, but I cannot open the file .book. So I cannot refresh the TOC and the LEP and I cannot create the PDF because I only have the section separetely, I do not have the book. In the corresponding the book is created but when I open it, I does not appear.

Could you help me with that?

Thank you all!

[LinSims]

The book file may be corrupted. I'd try deleting the current book file and creating a new one.

[Aina248603994ag5]

When I create a new book file and I open it, it appears directly in the folder a .book.lck file and I cannot still open it. Do you know how to fix this problem?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Not sure what you mean when you say "When I create a new book file and I open it..." - you are creating it inside FM right? The lock file is to be expected if you've told FM to lock files in your Preferences - it's more used in places where multiple people may be wanting to edit the same docs as you at the same time; locking stops this from happening. But if you're a solo writer, then it doesn't make a lot of sense to have that turned on.
You've verified that you have enough rights to whatever location you're saving these files in, correct? 

[LinSims]

How are you creating the book file? For most of us, we open a file we know is in the book, then click File > New > Book. We then click Yes when Frame asks us if we want to add the file to the new book. Once that's done, we can save the book file with its new name and then add and rearrange FM files as needed.

I'm a little confused by your saying that you open the file, the .book.lck file appears and you "cannot still open it". The lock file only shows up when someone has the book file open and, as @Jeff_Coatsworth says, everyone also has their preferences set to lock the file when someone has it open. Sometimes FM doesn't delete the .lck file, though.

Try closing all your open FM files, then closing FM. If the .book.lck file is still present, delete it (and any other *.lck files) using Windows Explorer, then try opening the book file again using FM.

[Aina248603994ag5]

 If I follow this process nothing happens, the book is not created. It is like doing nothing. - We open a file we know is in the book, then click File > New > Book. We then click Yes when Frame asks us if we want to add the file to the new book. Once that's done, we can save the book file with its new name and then add and rearrange FM files as needed.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

OK, let's start with some basics - what exact point version of FM are you using?

Where are the doc files located? Do you have enough rights to that folder location?

Is there any source control involved?
Was this working fine before & now it doesn't? If so, what changed?

[Aina248603994ag5]

What exact point version of FM are you using? Version 16.0.4

Where are the doc files located? In the server of my company. I have never had an issue with the locations of the files. Yesterday, Frame Maker crashed and when I restarted the computer it was not working properly.

Do you have enough rights to that folder location? Yes, as I said in the previous question, I have never had an issue with this problem before.

Is there any source control involved? No.
Was this working fine before & now it doesn't? If so, what changed? Yes. Before it was working properly, I was able to open all the files and save them as a pdf and I was able to refresh the TOC and the LEP, now I cannot. Before on the left side of Frame Maker there was the tab group panel and now it is not, so I am not able to do the things I mentioned before.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Ok, so that sounds like you need to uninstall & reinstall FM on your machine.

[Aina248603994ag5]

I have already dit it this morning and it is still not working.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Did you install it as an Administrator? Did you apply any patches?

[Aina248603994ag5]

Yes, the IT department has installed it again. No patches applied.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Did they install it with Admin rights? Are you able to run it as an Admin?

[Aina248603994ag5]

I put my company mail and password but they install it with the admin credentials and the password credentials.

I think I cannot runi t as an Admin, but it has been installed like this.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

I think you (& your IT folks) need to talk to the FM folks directly - see https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/enterprise-support.other.html#framemaker for your Adobe Support options. I'd recommend using the tcssup@adobe.com e-mail address as it reaches a team dedicated to Technical Communication Suite products including FrameMaker.

[gyozo_0145]

Hi,

How could you solve this? I have the very same problem, i can access all files on the server through remote desktop, bit not the book one. Lck file is created and that is all, we stuck there. I guess this is either a bandwidth or graphic card issues. Before i had an other pc and it was working. Any idea?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

@gyozo_0145 - were you able to open this book file before? Did you use multiple monitors? Sometimes FM "forgets" where a file window should appear when going from mutiple monitors to one. There's a trick out there to get focus on the "out of view" window and get it back, but I'd have to go searching for it.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Check under your Window menu--Documents or Composite documents--after you (try) open the book.

[gyozo_0145]

I have a new PC, as the old one is broken. The new PC is much superior to the old Win7 system. I have only one monitor. After i enter RDS and start Framemaker, I try to open the .ebook file (regardless whether from inside Framemaker, or from outside), sometimes (very rarely) it opens up perfectly, but most of the time (eg 19 out of 20 times) only the hourglass is visible for several seconds then the hourglass stops and that is it. The lock file remains and nothing is opened. However whenever I try to open the .fm files, they work perfectly. I guess it has something to do with RDS settings, but could not figure it.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Are you remoting into a terminal server session and launching FM in it or connecting to your VPN and then launching FM locally and trying to open files on a remote server? I'm unsure of what you're doing exactly.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Just checking...

Was the .ebook reference a typo?

>>...start Framemaker, I try to open the .ebook file...

[gyozo_0145]

Yeah, i meant .book file. I open RDS, open Framemaker on the server and try to open the .book file, which resides also on the server.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

That's probably a license violation - FM is not intended to be installed on servers. Is there a reason why FM isn't installed on your new laptop and you're not working on the files locally?

[gyozo_0145]

I was not precise again, Framemaker is not actually installed on the server, but on a remote computer. Anyway both FM program and the necessary files are on a remote computer. I tried it again now and now I received an error 15084. (Framemaker has detected a serious problem). Any idea what settings has to be implemented, if one wants to open .book file on a remote computer?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

If you are remote desktopping into another machine that has FM installed on it & the files are local to it, there's nothing special that needs to be done. I think you've got a damaged .book file if trying to open it is throwing a hard error now. I would try creating a new book file and adding the component .fm files to it.