[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 · Dec 07, 2006

After a book is completed and saved, there are times that a PDF needs to be generated, say for a commercial printer or one for a CD without registration marks, to do this one must reopen the book and its files. Since this book is saved in SourceSafe, it these files are date coded, however, if one generates a PDF using "Save Book As" and then exits the book he is forced to either "Save" or to close each file down one at a time then the book. Although one may consider this a minor request, when you have 60 or more files in a book, closing one at a times is an issue. It's enough that Adobe forces you to decide to either save all open files or close each one sepaeately when you open "all files", one should not have to save again when creating a PDF. Nice to change the way the Save Book As to PDF works.

Report · Dec 07, 2006

Have you considered using several watched folders? After printing a PostScript file to one watched folder whose settings create the print/press version, you can move the the file to the In folder of a watched folder that's set to distill a user-viewable version. It's possible to create a Windows/DOS batch file that could check the Out folder of a watched folder for the presence of the .ps file, then move it to the next In folder in the workflow.

HTH
________________
Regards,

Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices

Report · Dec 08, 2006

I agree fully with you idea. I would like to see that as well. I work with documents that require various symbols and there is not an easy way to insert what I need.

Dave

Report · Dec 10, 2006

I would like a bookmark feature that would allow me to tag a couple of places in a document, and then using a key-stroke, quickly jump to the next marker in the flow. This is for editing when you have to work on multiple places of a document and need to switch back and forth.

Multiple views (windows) of the same document would be nice to.

Report · Dec 11, 2006

Hi, Mike:

Have you tried:

* creating a user-defined variable, inserting it as a place-marker, and searching for the first one, then searching for the next with the Find Again key?

* creating and inserting a user-defined marker and generating a list of markers with hypertext links, then tiling the marker list and document windows and using Ctrl+Alt)Click on the hyperlinks to navigate?

HTH
________________
Regards,

Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices

Report · Dec 11, 2006

Hey Peter,

Those are tiresome hacks. I use Crimson Editor for all of my text editing. It has a bookmark feature that I use extensively when editing comments in code. Press F2 to cycle through the list very fast and efficiently. I turn on the bookmark for a few iterations, and then off when done. But thanks for the suggestion!

-- Mike

(Has it really been 20 years now? Woof!)

Report · Dec 11, 2006

Just to add to Mike's comment regarding Crimson that for my serious text editing I like the open source editor jEdit: http://www.jedit.org/

Don't forget to check out jEdit's many plug-in extensions...

Cheers & hope this helps,
Riley

Report · Dec 11, 2006

> Multiple views (windows) of the same document would be nice to.

Yes, it would! This is very high on my personal list of requests.

Cheers, Rebecca

Report · Jan 29, 2007

I'm not sure how to do that. How does one "set the <$volnum> to use text instead of the numbers"? Is it possible to edit a building block?

Jim

Report · Jan 29, 2007

Not sure what you are wanting to do but here are two methods for using text in place of a volume number (I do not recommend the second option):

OPTION #1

On the menu bar, click Format, point to Document, and then click Numbering.
Click the Volume tab.
In the Format drop-down box, click TEXT.
In the Volume box, type the text you want to use.
Click Set.

OPTION #2

On the menu bar, click View, and then click Master Pages.
Place your cursor in the header or footer text box.
On the menu bar, click Special, and then click Variable.
In the Variables dialog box, click to select the Volume Number variable, and then click Edit Definition.
In the Definition box, replace <$volnum> with whatever text you want to use
Click Edit.
Click Done.

Report · Feb 06, 2007

A way to lock the book files from geeting re-arranged. Simple request but you can't believe what it happens more than once when you keep FrameMaker files open on a server that is updated or files pushed.

Report · Mar 08, 2007

1. An updated interface more like that of Adobe Photoshop.
2. More consistency across interface windows like Conditional Text, Paragraph Style, Character Style.
3. Ability to natively output more formats.
4. Allow structured framemaker to become a generalized XML/RDF-based document management tool.
5. Consider an extension or separate product like Microsoft Sharepoint for publishing to online CMSs.
6. Enhanced drawing tools.
7. UNIX/X-Windows support for multiple platforms.

Great product. It should live on into the 22nd century and is well-poised to handle the "new era" of structure-based documentation.

Report · Mar 08, 2007

The ability to use older versions of WebWorks!

Report · Mar 08, 2007

Julee, that's a Quadralay issue not a FrameMaker one. Currently, FM 7.2 can use WebWorks Publisher 8, which is 4 years old or so, and WWeP 9, the latest version.

Report · Mar 09, 2007

I asked for feedback from my writing group and got these recommendations in response:

- The ability to create default settings for an activity (for example, configuring default settings for find/replace).
- A way of stopping a Frame process if it's taking too long. Pressing Esc (as recommended in the help) doesn't always work.
- A book-wide word count as well as per file.
- An easily accessible, on-line quick reference with, for example, key-stroke information (the current on-line guide is head and shoulders better than the older ones, I should add).
- A key-stroke command for "repeat last". Similar to Microsoft Word's F4.
- Better handling of imported tables. There always seems to be a bug or two if you want to edit them later. (Yes, I have the plug-in for this but it should be nice not to need it.)

Report · Mar 09, 2007

Actually, Quadralay told me that it was a FrameMaker issue. In fact, I was able to monkey around with my ini files to get it to work but it was a big hassle.

I use WebWorks 7 because 8 and 9 took some important functionality away from me. I'll gladly switch if Q will give me the functionality that I need back (the ability to add META tags to my output by way of markers in FrameMaker).

Report · Mar 09, 2007

Hi Julee,

WebWorks Publisher SE is an Adobe product. The full version of WebWorks Publisher is a Quadralay one.

Cheers.

Report · Mar 11, 2007

> a keystroke for "repeat last"

There are already at least two I use often: Esc, j, j for "repeat paragraph style" and Esc, c, c for "repeat character style"

Report · Mar 12, 2007

Thanks Shawn. I realize that. I've pleaded with Quadralay and they have told me their hands were tied because it was an Adobe issue. I believe Quadralay because I was able to fix it by editing my FrameMaker ini file.

Report · Mar 12, 2007

Niels,

a keystroke for "repeat last" -

It's nice that Frame includes the ability to repeat para. and char. styles, but I'll bet the writer wants more (as I do). What people want is the ability to repeat almost any last command -- with one keyboard shortcut (e.g., Ctrl+Y or F4), like a certain word processing app. that most forum members detest. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater; this functionality is very useful.

Report · Mar 21, 2007

(currently Using Frame-7.1 in Windows)

1) Make dialog resize useful (i.e. actually display more information)
- Cross Reference dialog
- Markers dialog
- Variable dialog
- Update Unresolved Cross-References dialog

2) Add simple show/hide control for all displayed diaglogs (like Photoshop does using Tab key)

3) Add incremental text search without use of dialog/mouse

4) Sort the list of files displayed in Window->More Windows dialog
- By date
- By file name
(you know, like a useful file browser)

5) Add hide/show of the path/ porion of file names displayed in Window->More Windows dialog

6) Add persistence for ALL diaglogs: screen location and size. Record every time the dialog or Frame is closed

7) Support Conditional Text on entire table column (like rows)

8) Open mulitple views into the same file, or split the window

9) Add a method for purging unused formats, XRefs, Colors, etc. from all files in a book

10) Fix some bugs
- Ctrl-Alt on links get lost, stop working (weekly)
- Double-click on file in a Book file fails to change focus to the file (weekly)
- Sometimes double-click on a file in Explorer fails to open the file in Frame (rare)
- Frame dialog resize is mostly useless (see above)

11) Allow multiple selected files to be drag/drop from Explorer into Frame

Report · Mar 22, 2007

I have two requests (well.. one second and a request)

1) If the 'find/replace' dialog is invoked, set the default find string to whatever is currently selected in the body text (if there is one).

2) PLEASE LET US SPLIT THE WINDOW... or even better, let us open multiple 'views' into the same file.

Steve

Report · Mar 22, 2007

Die, EDD, die.

Report · Mar 22, 2007

Native FM interface to connect with external JSR-283, iECM-ready resources (e.g. arbitrary platform-neutral DMSs).

Report · Mar 30, 2007

I absolutely agree and second message #466 above: Please update the Equation Editor!

Use LaTeX as your gold standard for appearance.

I've been frustrated for many versions on the clipping that shrinkwrapping does to the diacritical marks, and the strange placement given to some of these marks, as documented in #466. Manually editing and microadjusting don't work for me, when I'm cranking out a technical paper comprising dozens if not hundreds of equations.