Will FM 2017 and FM 2015 co-exist?

[whlotus]

I have a Framemaker subscription, and have been using FM 2015.

What is the best way to upgrade to FM 2017? I found this page:

https://helpx.adobe.com/framemaker/kb/how-to-upgrade-your-adobe-framemaker-subscription.html

However, it advises to uninstall the previous version of FM. I don't want to do that if possible. Can they co-exist?

I need to test our documents in the new version before committing to it.

Also, is there a better way for subscribers to download the upgrade than the link above?

Thanks.

[Matt S - Tech Comm Tools · Accepted solution]

Yes, I was a FrameMaker 2017 early adopter, and have run Fm 2015 and Fm 2017 (and Fm 12) on the same system without issue.

Having updated Fm 8 files for my Fm 11 book, and then using those same files to produce my Fm 2015 and 2017 FrameMaker reference books, I am confident that you will not have conversion issues in moving from Fm 2015 to Fm 2017.

This year I also updated Fm 5.0 (or earlier) materials to produce 2 workbooks on use of Structured Fm 2017.

Again, no issues in accessing, using, or output of the files. There were (obviously) lots of changes to the content in each of the workbooks to account for new and modified features and interface.

-Matt

[Barb Binder]

Hi whlotus:

Also, is there a better way for subscribers to download the upgrade than the link above?

You can download the free 30-day FrameMaker 2017 trial here: Adobe FrameMaker (2017 release)-Free Trial.

However, it advises to uninstall the previous version of FM. I don't want to do that if possible. Can they co-exist?

I also have both Fm 2015 and Fm 2017 installed with no issues. But remember that when you open a document in 2017 it will convert to that format. If you want to go back to 2015 when the trial expires, you will need to save those files as .MIF so that 2015 can open them, or better yet, work on copies of the original files until you are sure you want to stay with 2017.

~Barb

[whlotus]

Matt and Barb,

Thanks so much for your replies. That gives me the courage to move forward!

[Barb Binder]

Great! And here’s a last tip: when you can’t find the command you are looking for, look in the Insert menu. 

~Barb

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Another tip for trials - install the trial on a non-production machine & only use a copy of your docs to play around with.

[pulkitn]

You can also take advantage of newer UI and (F7 )command search in FM2017