Inserting Images into FrameMaker at true size

[jbarkerhill]

Hi, 

I'm having some issues with inserting images into FrameMaker. 

The default behavior when I click Insert > Image is that the image is blown up to fill the full width of the page. 

However, my images also contain text callouts, and I don't want FM to autoscale the images because it messes up my text size so that it's inconsistent across images. 

The best workaround I've found is, in my graphics programs (Adobe Illustrator and SolidWorks Composer), to control the image export so the image has exactly the width of an 8.5 x 11 page. This way, FM's autoscaling behavior doesn't distort the text size. 

With Adobe Illustrator, when I export my JPG I'm checking the option "Use Artboard" which exports the image using the full 8.5 x 11 artboard white space. 

Then in FM I resize the graphics frame to crop out the extra vertical white space, as the image pastes in with white space of a full 8.5 x 11 page. 

An annoyance though is that in the outputted PDF, when I click an image, the blue highlight box still shows the full 8.5 x 11 page. So this means that FM is not truly cropping the image, but just hiding the white space. It doesn't seem to cause a problem but it just irks me. 

Has anyone else found a reliable method to insert images at their true size and avoid FM's autoscaling behavior?

Thanks

[Winfried Reng]

Hi,

Yes. I have the very same problem. Therefore I do not add call-outs in my graphics application. In FrameMaker I add text frames with a specific paragraph format, so that the call-outs all have the same formatting.

The same with any numbered labels or lines from call-outs to the graphics. Only in FrameMaker.

Best regards

Winfried

[jbarkerhill]

Hi, 

Thanks for the response. 

What do you do for the callout lines. Is there are any way to add a "glow" effect when the line crosses an image? 

My graphics have complex text callouts. So adding the callouts in FM wouldn't be idal. 

My method seems to be working for graphics exported from SolidWorks Composer. I can set a "crop" box and define the image to have exactly the width of 8.5 x 11 page, as well as crop vertically at edges of image. 

It's mostly from Illustrator that I'm getting the annoyance of FM leaving in the "artifact" whitespace of the full artboard, and not truly cropping the image when I resize the graphics frame. I guess I'm just going to accept this annoyance. 

[jbarkerhill]

Update:

I figured out a potential method to get the cropping right. 

Add a last step in the process of taking the image into Photoshop and cropping it there. 

I don't really like putting a raster image through unecessary processing. But having the image the in PDF with a full page selection box when clicked doesn't look good. When I crop the image in PS before inserting into FM, the selection box in the PDF is the proper size. 

TBD if this method works and doesn't degrade the image quality 

[jbarkerhill · Accepted solution]

It seems like my updated method works. If anything the resoultion looks better after cropping in Photoshop and exporting at max resolution. 

So the processing chain to take an image from Illustrator into FrameMaker and maintain true image size is:

1. Insert image, text, callouts in Illustrator,

2. Export, and check the box "Use Artboards".

3. Open the exported image in PhotoShop and crop the image to the vertical edges of the image, while maintaining original width. 

4. Insert into FrameMaker. 

And now the image has the width of 8.5 x 11 artboard, but the correct vertical cropping from cropping in Photoshop. 

[Winfried Reng]

When you have detailed vector drawings, I would not import into Photoshop and export from there. The quality is worse. Most reliable is still EPS.

[Winfried Reng]

To get this glow effect I create an additional thicker white line below the black call-out line and group both. Then I resize and move this group as needed.

[jbarkerhill]

Thanks for the advice on the two line method. I might try that. 

Well, my images are high resolution raster. So taking them through Photoshop doesn't seem to degrade the quality. If anything it seems to improve the resolution. 

My workflow might not work for some people. But if someone has FrameMaker as well as the rest of the Adobe Suite then the image processing chain might work for them.