how FrameMaker reads structapps.fm

Report · Oct 14, 2010

Hi all,

I have tested and retested this, and still am unclear as to how the structapps.fm file is read, and which one is used. There are three of them, as you all know:

Structure/structapps.fm
Structure/xml/<yourapplication>/app/structapps.fm
Users/name/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/FrameMaker/<yourVersion>/structapps.fm

The latter path, of course, depends on your platform, gut it's the one that is either created if it does not yet exist, or opened when you do Structure Tools | Edit Application Definitions.

I know that #2 is not used by Frame, and I'm not sure why it's even shipped when it seems to just be a duplicate of the original, default #1. But how and when does Frame use either #1 or #3? I have done some testing on this, but have not yet come up w/ consistent results. For instance, I observed that changes made to #3 through the Read Applications Definitions within Frame are then written to #1 -- but I have also seen that not happen.

So here are my questions:

Which does does Frame use at launch?
If you edit #3, what causes the changes to be written to #1, if anything?
Anything else about how these files co-exist and are used by Frame.

Thanks for your help,

Shelley

Report · Oct 15, 2010

Hello Shelley,

if you use the structapps.fm for the first time on your computer - opening an xml file, creating a new one or opening the structapps to edit them - then the

1. Structure/structapps.fm is taken and copied to

3. Users/name/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/FrameMaker/<yourVersion>/structapps.fm

The only structapps.fm that is used when you are working with FM should be the one from

3. Users/name/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/FrameMaker/<yourVersion>/structapps.fm

What I'm not sure about at the moment is what the

2. Structure/xml/<yourapplication>/app/structapps.fm

is for.

Maybe some "backup".

Regards,

Anna

Report · Oct 15, 2010

Actually .. I believe (98% sure) that after the initial copy from #1 to #3 is done, on all subsequent initializations, FM first reads the apps from #1, then the apps from #3. Any apps defined in #3 that override those in #1 are used, otherwise the two lists are merged and all apps are available to the user.

You can see what's going on if you delete all of the app definitions in #3, then add one that is not in #1. If you restart FM and open an XML file, you'll see all of the apps defined in both files available to use on the file.

...scott