Is Framemaker 2017 backward compatible with Framemaker 2015 source

[Tejas Dandekar]

I have a set of documents in fm created in version 2015 by various authors.

I will be updating them in Framemaker version 2017.

Will there be compatibility/output issues when generating a PDF?

Any suggestions if I should go with Framemaker 2017 or install Framemaker 2015 to update the sources?

[Bob_Niland · Accepted solution]

Your FM2017 can open any .fm, .book or .mif file from any prior version of FM. There are some considerations for versions prior to FM8 and FM6, but FM2015 should be transparent. PDF gen should be trouble-free.

If what you need is to save your work so that FM2015 can open it, avoid using any new features in FM2017, and Save-As to FM2015 format. Most (perhaps all) versions of FM can save as binary (.fm and .book) to current version or one version back.

For optimal stewardship, also save as MIF. Any prior version of FM can then open the document (although any newer features are lost). This is often useful for sending documents out for translation, where you don't know what version the service has.