[Closed] FrameMaker 7.x/8 Feature Requests

Report · Aug 19, 2002

Time to start entering these. If you are unsure about whether FM has the feature yet, please do some research and figure it out before posting.

Please don't post requests for assistance in here, either.

Cheers,

Sean

Report · Oct 24, 2006

An improved Variables dialog box that stays open. I use variables a lot for things like product names, trademark names, etc. This enables me to change all occurrences of a variable to another font, color, etc. in one place. I know there's a key sequence to open the box, although I have trouble remembering what it is. In any case, this is no simpler than using the menus.

So, every time I want to insert a variable, I have to call up the variables box. Then, I have to find the right variable. And, annoyingly, when I finally find and insert the desired variable, the box goes away.

I should have the option to leave the box open, like a paragraph catalog or a conditional text box.

And, while I'm at it, the variables box could be made easier to use. For example, a variable-name input box that positions you to the list of variables as you type would save time finding the right one. The dialog box could be resizable, too, so if you have a lot of variables, you could increase the display window size.

Report · Oct 25, 2006

T:

Take a look at Leximation's BookVars plug-in:

http://www.leximation.com/tools/info/bookvars.php

You can download and experiment with a trial version to see if it helps you manage FrameMaker variables at the book level

Cheers & hope this helps,
Riley

Report · Nov 07, 2006

Full support for eastern European languages.

Report · Nov 07, 2006

That's already been addressed to a workable degree in the FM7.2p158 patch.

From the readme file:

*****************

#1199273
CodePoint Correction:

We have added support for few missing characters on Cyrillic, Central European and Baltic Codepages for Windows.

Following is the list of characters added with their corresponding shortcuts.
Character with Code CodePage ANSI Code
Shortcut Standard Name
Hex Unicode Code

0403 Ѓ \xa1 Windows1251(Cyrillic) 0129
Control+q ! CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER GJE
040F Џ \xde Windows1251(Cyrillic ) 0143
Control+q ^ CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER DZHE
0452 ђ \xdf Windows1251(Cyrillic) 0144
Control+q _ CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER DJE
045C ќ \xfd Windows1251(Cyrillic) 0157
Control+q } CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER KJE
0179 Ź \xde Windows 1250(Central Europe) 0143
Control+q ^ LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH ACUTE
0165 ť \xfd Windows 1250(Central Europe) 0157
Control+q } LATIN SMALL LETTER T WITH CARON
00B8 ¸ \xde Windows 1257(Baltic) 0143
Control+q ^ CEDILLA
00AF ¯ \xfd Windows 1257(Baltic) 0157
Control+q } MACRON

You can also type the characters in a document by using their ANSI number:
1. Press Num Lock to make the numeric keypad active.
2. Hold down the Alt key while typing the ANSI number (including the leading zero) using the keys on the numeric keypad.

You need to use an appropriate font to display these characters correctly. For using characters from, lets say, Cyrillic code page, you needs to use the corresponding cyrillic font, e.g., Times New Roman CYR.

Please note that we havent added full support for these codepages. We have just enabled these codepoints. You can enter these characters in a document and use them only for display/print and pdf creation. You however still cant use these characters for pdf bookmarks or save as HTML or save as XML. These codepoints are also not supported with WebWorks Publisher Standard Edition 8.0 and for RTF Import/Export. You cant copy/paste these characters to/from other applications. Also, there is no dictionary or spell-check support for the languages supported by these code pages.

Report · Nov 08, 2006

I would really like shading behind text without having to use tables. This has become a need because I suddenly have to share work from a template that has shaded headings to one that doesn't.

I guess I'll have to play with frame above and negative space settings, but a simple shading feature would be hugely better!

Rebecca

Report · Nov 08, 2006

Flesch Readability Index and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Index Tools

Report · Nov 08, 2006

FWIW, Rick Quatro has developed a plug-in that does this. Contact info
via http://www.frameexpert.com

Report · Nov 14, 2006

How about having the book feature with the scrolling capabilities of Acrobat, but with the added ability to edit as you scroll?

Report · Nov 21, 2006

Would like to have the option to be able to allow \\ for a path name in as a hypertext option thus a vaild link in a PDF and WebWorks. Currently one can use "Go to URL //..." but if enter "Go to URL \\.." the \\ becomes // and does not result in the same address within a network. Example needed as a link when added in the address of browser is \\adobe\test.

Report · Nov 21, 2006

Sherman, No need. FM doesn't change the string that you enter in the marker. When using the "message URL" marker (Goto URL from the hypertext), your entries are passed through verbatim to the postscript as the URI (uniform resource identifier) for the /ANN pdfmark. If you examine the intermediate postscript file, you'll find that FM properly takes a "\\adobe\test" and enters it as "\\\\adobe\\test" in the URI portion. The double backslash is the escaped version of a backslash required for proper parsing (otherwise a single backslash will treat adjacent characters as some special symbols). The problem is at the Acrobat end interpreting this string. If no Base URL is supplied for the document, Acrobat assumes file:///<drive>|<folder>/\\adobe\test, where the drive and folders are the location of the open pdf file. However, if you enter a "file:///" for the Base URL of the document, then the links are correctly interpreted as "\\adobe\test". You can automatically add the base URL using the /PUT pdfmark operator, e.g. [ {Catalog} << /URI << /Base (file:///) >> >> /PUT pdfmark Hint: you put that command in a postscript text frame on your first page. Sorry, but I don't know what the supplied Webworks does with the FM hypertext, as I never use this particular tool.

Report · Nov 29, 2006

It would be nice to be able to set an autonumber counter to the value of an attribute, in an EDD. e.g.:
Autonumber format: <$chapnum><n = $attribute[number:section]>
This would make it easy to have non-contiguous numbering controlled by attributes.

Report · Nov 29, 2006

EDD access to the remaining properties in the Table Designer and everything in Table | Row Format would complete table support in EDDs. This is particularly pertinent to round-tripping XML: formatting properties could be stored as attributes on table elements.

Report · Nov 30, 2006

When you use Save As PDF and already have the PDF open, the save fails. That's after 8 mouse clicks or a fair few key presses and drives me batty every time I forget to close the PDF.

It'd be much more helpful if it gave a dialog box saying "Close PDF. Yes/No".

Cheers, Rebecca

Report · Nov 30, 2006

Rebecca,

Riley's correct. It is an Acrobat issue - Distiller can't overwrite a
file that Acrobat has open. The FM "Save As PDF" function always
invokes the Distiller - it's just done silently in the background.

Report · Nov 30, 2006

Rebecca:

I agree -- it's especially annoying after a somewhat length PDF generation cycle to receive this message.

I wonder, though, if the functionality you suggest wouldn't need to be implemented in Distiller rather than FrameMaker; methinks it's Distiller (albeit Distiller invoked from within FrameMaker) complaining that it can't work with a file that's been marked in use by another application(?)

Cheers, thanks & hope this helps,
Riley

Report · Dec 01, 2006

- Linux port
- Saved workspaces between sessions
- "Save As..." OpenDocument Format
- Import ODF documents

Report · Dec 01, 2006

I like Todd's ideas -- add my name to that request...

Report · Dec 01, 2006

Remember the Linux port was beta tested for FrameMaker 5.5.6 and Adobe concluded there was no marketing reason to develop the product. And, since, the Macintosh version of FrameMaker has been discontinued. I would wager there are more people on Macintosh computers willing to pay for FrameMaker than there are on Linux.

Cheers,

Sean

Report · Dec 02, 2006

I haven't tracked it closely for a while now, but have encountered multiple reports that some FrameMaker users are happily using the Wine open source emulator (http://www.winehq.com/) to run FrameMaker under Linux...

Cheers,
RBV

Report · Dec 02, 2006

I'm still waiting for my OSX version. With Intel Macs you would think it wouldn't be that hard to port it now.

Report · Dec 04, 2006

Raman,

I don't think changing the processor's makes a big difference. In fact
when OS X came along it was possible to write a Carbonized version of
Frame 7, now with the intel macs, I don't think that is possible, a
whole new version would need to be written from the ground up. Which
is not exactly a bad idea even under Windows :-Q

I'm using Frame 7.2 under parallels running Windows XP. Its not that
much different than running under Classic, except that I don't have
the Mac version of Frame with all of the keyboard shortcuts and other
Mac advantages that I prefer.

It is not a bad setup, I get to run Frame and Agent (NewReader) on my
Mac and nearly everything else on the Macside. I have MSIE for Windows
when I REALLY need it, Authorware 7, and soon Captivate 2.

Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer to have a true Mac version of Frame,
but at this stage I'd settle for getting all of the features and bug
fixes we have been asking for since Frame 3.0.2 on the Mac. It appears
that Adobe has XML/SGML blinders on where Frame is concerrned.

Mike

Report · Dec 02, 2006

Raman: http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.2cd0cc9a. In case you missed it (sorry).

Report · Dec 02, 2006

Linux desktops have come a looooooong way in the years since that beta flopped. I don't know if there'd be a market for a Linux version - given that OpenOffice is free - but it's certainly a different market now, so here's hoping.

In the meanwhile, I echo the request for reading and writing to ODF!

Cheers, Rebecca

Report · Dec 04, 2006

Mike-

Several of the new programs that Adobe is coming out with (at least on labs) are Intel only. Talking with some of the developers at MAX a few months ago it seems a lot of the windows library stuff they use (I'm not much of a low level coder) can be quickly compiled to run on the MacIntels, but not PPC.

In any event, InDesign will continue to evolve, and once the canned FM for the Mac I stopped writing long documents :)

Report · Dec 04, 2006

Raman wrote:

> I stopped writing long documents

I wish I could. I just made the mistake of creating multiple versions
of a document in Word hoping that other people would take over the
documents. It would have been perfect for the Conditional Text feature
in Frame. Now I'm stuck with 8 versions of the same basic document,
that will be a b*tch to maintain.

Frame is just too handy at what it does. Nothing comes close. However,
I do wish they would look at our feature requests seriously when it
comes to one of the next versions. I'm patient. I'll be happy if they
give us a serious look by Frame 10.

Mike