Two questions about images in FrameMaker

Report · Apr 04, 2015

I'm still new to FM and I am trying to understand how FM deals with images.

I love the fact that FM lets me select the dpi for an image. That's great. What I would love to know...

1. If I insert (by reference) an image which is 300 dpi, its poorly rendered in FM. It is blurry... I suspect FM is doing this for speed? Is there a way to tell FM to render the image at the right resolution?

2. When placing the image, I would love to use keyboard keys to nudge the image a bit to the left or to the right. Using the arrow keys does nothing. Any suggestion?

3. Suppose the image is referencing the file c:\xyz\image.gif. Suppose I change this image using an external program. Will FM pick-up on the change on its own and update the image in my document?

[Message moved from Feature Requests by moderator]

Report · Apr 04, 2015

1. FM's dpi settings are really more of a ppi and map the pixels to specify the size required. The quality of the image depends upon the file format. If it's EPS, then all you will see is the preview image. What is the "right" resolution for an image anyway?

2. Hold down the Alt key to nudge with the arrows.

3. FM reads all external files anew every time the document is opened up. This is one of the reasons that importing by reference is the recommended route.

Report · Apr 04, 2015

See also:

Images from Ilustrator blurry when saved as PDF

Images are not clear in pdf output

Report · Apr 13, 2015

Thanks Arnis and Bob,

The images are 300 dpi and that's the dpi I am selecting in FM. The image is clear in FM but it is edge's are not smooth. It seems to me that FM does not do anti-aliasing when showing gif or jpg images? Does this make sense?

The good news though is that these images are crisp and clear in the generated pdf as well as the generated mobi and pub files.

So, it looks like it is a display function within FM and I don't know if there is an option to tell FM to do a better job at displaying these images?

Report · Apr 13, 2015

Keep in mind that FM is the layout tool and [usually] NOT the final viewing tool for your content. FM just displays the images as quickly and efficiently as possible, so on high-res monitors you may not see an optimum representation. With EPS files, it only shows the low-res preview image rather than trying to render the content.

So, there's really nothing more that you can do in FM to see a better representation within the application.