pdf bookmarks scrambled

[_Thomas_Huffman_]

FM 7.2
Distiller 8.12

When I create a pdf from the FM original, the bookmarks come out scrambled. The TOC in Frame looks fine. I created a test book with some dummy files and its bookmarks came out OK, which suggests the problem is with the original FM book file, and not either app.

Any ideas? I have never seen this before.

[Shlomo Perets]

Incorrect bookmark order typically occurs when a FrameMaker file has multiple flows (eg the chapter title is in a separate flow), or when some of the content is in disconnected pages.

Shlomo Perets

MicroType, FrameMaker/Acrobat training & consulting
http://www.microtype.com

"Improve Your FrameMaker Skills" live web-based training sessions, starting October 16

[_Thomas_Huffman_]

No, they are all in the same flow. What appears to be happening is that the second-level headings are being shifted downwards into the heading one hierarchy below where they should be.

This is really weird.

[_Thomas_Huffman_]

Shlomo:

OK, you were right. I said they were all in the same flow because I had done nothing to create a new flow. But when I looked more closely, I had put the chapter titles in text boxes and these boxes were not connected to the main flow of the rest of the chapter.

When I manually fixed this by selecting the title text boxes and the main flow and then clicking Format, Customize Layout, Connect Text Frames it fixed the problem.

FrameMaker is a rewarding but difficult application. I have been using it for 10 years and this is the first time I ran across this problem.

Thanks for your help.

[peter minneapolis]

Hi, Thomas:

While there's a lot to FrameMaker, it is logical, and often FM provides tools to analyze the logic of behaviors that seem incorrect.

For example, you can quickly identify all the content in the text flow that contains the insertion point, by choosing Edit > Select All, and scrolling through the document to see what is highlighted and what isn't. To display as many document pages as possible in one view, use View > Options > Page Scrolling > Variable, maximize the document window and zoom out to 25%. Anything that's not highlighted is not in the selected flow - it may be in another body page flow, or it may be on a master page.

In a sense, the TOC' behavior correctly analyzed the document's multiple-flow construction.

HTH

Regards,

Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices