Design Science is no longer selling MathFlow, is there another way to use MathML in FrameMaker?

[Lynne A. Price]

FrameMaker 2022 help (in Home > Structured authoring > Author structured content > Create equations using MathML) provides a link supposedly to information about MathFlow. It now displays info.wiris.com/mathflow-info, which explains that MathFlow has been replaced by MathType. The 30 day temporary license to MathFlow is still available, but attempting to convert that to a permanent license attempts to bring up a web page that doesn't exist.

Attempting to purchase MathType directly does not list a FrameMaker version.

Is there an available way to use MathML in FrameMaker?

   --Lynne

[Bob_Niland]

In case you're tempted to open a new Tracker, this seems to have been a problem for some time: FRMAKER-11189

[Lynne A. Price]

Bob, 

  Yes, I'm aware of  FRMAKER-11189.

[frameexpert]

Good riddance. The MathFlow interface for FrameMaker was terrible. And to charge extra for it wasn't good either. They should make a FrameMaker equation to MathXML converter so you could still use FrameMaker's native equation editor.

[Lynne A. Price]

I do not need to edit equations. I am trying to open and format existing XML that contains MathML equations.

          --Lynne

[Bob_Niland]

Lynne: I am trying to open and format existing XML that contains MathML equations.

And that's the problem: older FMs could create content that newer FMs now can't support. This is inconsistent with historical FM customer expectations.

Rick: They should make a FrameMaker equation to MathXML converter so you could still use FrameMaker's native equation editor.

I suspect many users would be happy if FMeq would just generate SVG in the output. But it does seem to still be using overlay fonts, so that, plus lack of MathML semantics, is one of the roadblocks to FM ever supporting PDF/A-1b & 2b.

I suspect that what to do about FMeq was given hard look at least a couple of times: once at the Unicode boundary {FM8}, where it may or may not have gotten some encoding tweaks, when MathFlow trial was bundled, and perhaps at PDFL.

There are a number of object types that can be imported to an FM doc, for which no native editor is included: raster, video, 3D, EPS/SVG. Equations would seem to be in need of a clear Adobe posture statement (and a suggested work-around for docs now bearing MathFlow MathML). I have no authoring/stewardship suggestions, for as FRMAKER-11189 indicates, the very first time I tried to use MathML in FM, it was already broken.

[Lynne A. Price]

I have heard from TCS support (tcssup@adobe.com) that MathType is under consideration for a future FrameMaker update but a date is not yet available.

       --Lynne