... Illustrator also puts in private data as PostScript comments ... Thanks for the background info. This makes it all the more surprising that any apps would be sensitive to Illustrator EPS version. I would expect them to completely ignore comments unless the app was coded to look for specific private data. All that should really matter is PostScript Level, and maybe preview image encoding. I ran some tests to explore FM7 sensitivity to later AI EPS versions, and have nothing to report as yet, largely because I ended up spending time rediscovering an old Windows FM problem that surprisingly doesn't seem to be mentioned in the Framemaker forum archives. A similar issue is mentioned in other forums, such as Lightroom, so it's possible that it arises from some common Adobe DLL. The problem: Windows Frame can't print to PostScript if the (.fm) document file name or parent file path contain a comma. Unix Frame, which is what I use daily, doesn't have this problem, which is why I forgot about it. On Windows, FM7 throws a "can't print some images" dialog, and quits. I see that the problem was not fixed in FM8 or 9. Can't say about 10. On Windows FM9, Frame no longer throws an error dialog. It just silently generates a zero-length .ps file. ... View more

There is no such concept of EPS version 9 and EPS version 10?  What exactly are you referring to? The version of FrameMaker? A version  of Illustrator? The format of EPS itself has not changed in any way  whatsoever since the advent of PostScript language level 3 in 1996! Illustrator Save As > EPS > EPS Format Options Compatibility: [Version 9] The Illustrator 10 version I run at home has "version" options from 3.0 to 10. The CS5 I use at work has "versions" above 10. That the "version" is Illustrator (and not EPS) is not stated in the dialog. The Help narrative makes the distinction a bit clearer, and also makes it apparent that some other applications are sensitive to this EPS "version", and gives only a couple of examples of what down-selecting might do to the EPS content. Does there exist a list or table of what these AI versions do? ... View more

We use unstructured FrameMaker 9 and sometimes use text insets that include tables. Disclaimer: I only use plaintext insets, because every time I've tried .fm insets, I've run into non-starter limitations (like autonumber sequence merging, not). Some musings ... You are insetting from another .fm or .mif file that contains tables. Was that .fm file created with the same version of Frame? If not, and you open the inset.fm and re-save in the same version, what then happens? And what happens if you copy the table from the inset and paste it into the host document? It looks fine in FrameMaker but when we PDF, using Save as PDF, the horizontal lines go away. Is there a conflict between the Ruling Styles between the host document and the inset? Compare in Table > Custom Ruling and Shading [Edit Ruling Style] Apart from that, what happens with Print-to-PDF? And if you have Distiller available, what happens with Print-to-Ps and then Distill? _______ I presume that Frame no longer includes Distiller, as in days of yore. So to obtain Distiller, you need TCS, CS or the full Acrobat product. The full Acrobat product is worth having. Apart from the extra control of Distilling, we use the post-processing of Acrobat Pro extensively. You'd be amazed at how much metadata pollutes a typical PDF, and some of it contains data you might consider sensitive. ... View more

How is this EPS created and with what settings? ...  FM9 was released January 2009 and Illustrator 14/CS4 was current then. I concur. What EPS version is selected when saving or exporting from the EPS generating ap? I'm still using EPS version 9 for all my work, because I haven't taken the time to qualify later versions with Frame 7.1. This practice resulted from a previous experience where the then-current version of Illustrator was generating EPS that was incompatible with the then-current version of Frame. Another possibility is a problem in the EPS itself, such as an Operator that affects the global state, or presence of a Showpage in the EPS. ________ So what do EPS versions 10 and later bring to the table? I'm guessing OpenType and full  Unicode support, which I don't need yet. ... View more

Go to www.brightrpathsolutions.com. -- Ron 404 If that's actually (no "r" after "bright"): http://www.brightpathsolutions.com there doesn't seem to be anything regarding special characters there (any more?). ... View more

... or make it work only on the numberpad.  what's wrong with the numbers on the keyboard? Alt+Numpad is a Windows UI feature, and not a Frame UI feature (and didn't work on Unix for that reason). Ask Mr.Bill why he restricted Alt to working only with the numpad keys (probably because Alt+topline keys had other uses). Historically, the number entered was merely the position of the glyph in the (8 bit) code page. There is a new method for Unicode, which has rather more than 256 glyphs per font. Don't give up just yet. Many laptops have an embedded numpad mapped onto QWERTY keys. If I ever knew, I've long since forgotten what keystrokes enable that emulation. You might check your laptop documentation. It might be as simple as finding a NumLock key, or some Fn sequence. When the QWERTY keys are in numpad emulation, I'd expect the Alt sequences to work. ... View more

OS? 32- or 64-bit, SP level? What Frame version? Rendering to PDF how? And is this, from two weeks ago, your problem? Spaces missing between words in text when saving doc to pdf http://forums.adobe.com/thread/830743?tstart=0 ... View more

I noticed that some of the special character keystrokes have changed. Urk. And the hex codes appear to have changed too. I would have thought that Adobe would have remapped them for Unicode (if that's the problem), but apparently not. I don't know the FM9 mapping for multiply, but I do have a separate tip. I only ever type special characters (or more usually, hex codes), into create Variable dialogs. Multiply, for example, would be: Name: char.symbol.multiply Definition: <Symbol>\xb4<Default ¶ Font> ... where Character Format "Symbol" already exists, and it is: Family: Symbol Pair Kern everything else As-Is. In addition to saving the bother of looking up key sequences or hex codes more than once per document, doing special characters as Variables also: eliminates the annoyance of subsequent characters being in the alternate font, and eliminates false positive spell check errors ______ Looking less forward to FM9 or 10 every day ... ... View more

What operating system (presumably Windows) version? 32 or 64-bits? What Service Pack. Is this actually Microsoft Wingdings, or Zapf Dingbats? Where did the font files come from? I see traffic in this forum related to an MS hotfix for a PostScript rendering problem, and an Adobe font cache problem, that might be related to your issue. ... View more

Go to your backup. Re-apply the current edits from the .recover. I might add that when a crash occurs, do not necessarily just re-open the .fm file, as one of the first things that happens is your .backup.fm gets overwritten, and it may be your only hope. Taking the options of "open recover" or "open autosave" instead is slightly less dangerous, as your working file name is now "auto.fm" or "recover.fm", so the original ".fm" and ."backup.fm" are left as is unless you save-as them. On crash, I routinely make copies of all .fm and .book files that were open, and all .backup, .auto and .recover. Fortunately, it appears that Frame does saves as save-as-temp : delete-original : rename-temp. So, if a Save crashes, the .fm you were trying to save as usually is left as it was after the previous successful save. ______ Good thing disk space is cheap ... ... View more

Again, the problem has absolutely nothing to do with material added  since the last save. I'm talking about formatting that has existed for  quite some time. These are the things that are now being lost. I didn't mean to imply that. Indeed, the new material is usually well preserved in a .recover file. But entire paragraphs dozens of pages laters are now reduced to a %^&*_-. Go to your backup. Re-apply the current edits from the .recover. I've also seen Frame crash while doing absolutely nothing - while sitting there reading something in another window. Chances are Frame was not actually idle, had just initiated an auto-save, and failed. ... View more

... Frame 10 has a charming habit of losing formatting when it crashes. Frame has always had that "feature". The only thing that is usually safe to open after a crash is your previously saved .fm file, or a .backup file. If Frame managed to create a .recover, open it separately, and only use it copy back the latest local edits. Go no longer between saves than you care to re-create. Be advised that Frame can sometime crash DURING save. Check the timestamp on the .fm file in question to see if it is now questionable. I primarily use FM7.1 on Unix, and it crashes a lot, due apparently to some degenerate intersection of our odd page layout and massively networked document files. Sometimes I get a .recover, usually not. Sometimes I get a crash message on the console (usually 7103). Sometimes the crash crashes, so we routinely have a non-writeable "core" directory in every document dir, to prevent time-consuming creation of useless huge core dump files. Sometimes Frame just winks out without a trace. In addition to managing any damage to the .fm file, it is not uncommon for the crash to screw up the page numbering declared in the .book file for all .fm files in the book (open or not), that are after the .fm file that crashed. Easy to fix, but wierd. Each document directory here has, among other subdirectories, one which is used to store working/backup/recover files after crashes. Because Frame crashes can be due to latent corruption in the .fm file, you can be editing a book and discover way late that major sections have turned to garbage. Having archives helps. ... View more

I can't speak directly to 7.2, but based on another recent thread, 7.0 and 7,1 may install on Win7, but the PostScript driver won't. So you won't be able to generate PS or PDF output. I suspect that using the XP32 emulation environment in Win7 can't work around this, either. You'll need a more recent PS driver, such as the one included in a Win7-compatible version of the full Acrobat product. If the above isn't a showstopper, you then have to address the run-time license problem. I have no idea what steps Adobe uses to re-issue your codeword for the new install. Without it, you only get demo mode. ... View more

You might want to edit that post to remove the redundant text and extra whitespace. The original table is in Excel - and it has to be broken up, no way it can possibly fit on one page. If it can open in LibreOffice/OpenOffice Calc, you can export Selections to PDF trivially. ... the rows are now columns, and the columns are now rows ... Most spreadsheets can do that fairly simply. ... View more

When I try to resize the text frame, it doesn't take the underlyng text lines with it. That suggests that the text is not ordinary text in the text frame's flow. Are you by any chance using the graphics text tool to enter the text? ... View more

I can't seem to resize the text frame. Can't seem to right justify the text. Did you turn off run-around on all underlying images? If not, your control over the superimposed text frames is limited, and text can vanish from sight entirely, as Frame tries to run it around. I use text framelets routinely on images, and the text in them is subject to the full controls afforded normal body text (including Flow, if you care to assign a tag). I use a unique pgf format that is centered. It is usually preceded by a shim format (4 pts high) pgf to provide some spacing to the top edge of the text frame. As needed, the frame can then be filled with a solid color (usually white), and the text easily centered in the frame. ... View more

... screen capture of a table ... The ideal way to bring external tables into Frame is via PDF or EPS, saved or exported from the originating app, and NOT via screenshot. Although these imported objects will have coarse preview images, the rendered images retain the full vector precision of the borders, and the text remains text (including font embedding as needed). Don't use PDF import in Frame 6 or 7. It's unstable. Either convert the PDF to EPS in Illustrator, or "print" to file, with the EPS option selected deep in Mr.Bill's menus. If you tell us what the originating app is, we can probably provide more tips. I routinely bring LibreOffice/OpenOffice, Excel and Wingz spreadsheets into Frame with fabulous results, and have some tips for optimizing that process. ... View more

I agree with the other responders who point out that the fuzzies are being introduced by subsampling and/or compression happening during save to PDF or during Distill. See also the earlier thread: Best practices for importing .png screen shots into FrameMaker 9? http://forums.adobe.com/thread/826266?tstart=0 ... View more

You CAN apply character tags to Text line content. And now it works. It didn't when I tried it before posting my earilier response. You're a miracle worker. ... View more

Also check: is the default printer a PostScript or PDF printer? Whenever you see a property name in FM that's "-ed", i.e. Bolded or Obliqued, ... When rendering to PS, Frame can perform some font transforms that are not available with other PDLs. When my default printer is PCL, for example, I commonly see "Oblique" become a not-found. I'm also wondering if there's a Unicode problem here. _______ You'd be amazed at how Frame limits itself when the currently defined printer is a daisywheel. ... View more

I ended up doing what I guess you usually do, typing a new name in the Character Tag field of the designer and clicking Apply. Glad to hear that it worked; however ... Normally I would click the down arrow next to Commands but it hasn't been working for me lately. Even after exiting Frame and re-starting? I see dialogs go bonkers occasionally on FM7.1/Solaris/SPARC, and when I do (if I don't also lose total control of Frame), I save my work and re-start Frame, because I know its internal data structures have been corrupted, and a crash is just a matter of time and keystrokes. If you are seeing this after restart, and after reboot, something else may be afoot, and is likely not your friend. ... View more

If all you are creating is a callout, then you are better off using the Text Line tool from the Graphics Toolbar. ... as long as you're content with the disadvantages of that, including but not necessarily limited to: can't apply Paragraph tags at all can't apply Character tags (can apply formats, but they are untagged) can't insert Markers (or otherwise Xref that text) can't insert text defined by Variables can't really handle multi-line callouts (they become multiple objects) graphics text won't run-around Generally, it will serve you to work out a text framelet once, and then keep a master copy on a Reference page. Copy into body pages as needed. ______ And yes, Frame is weak on callouts. The default image run-around behaviour, however, is downright obstructionist for a "tech comm" tool. ... View more

... create a new character tag in the designer ... As always, what: version of Frame, operating system (32- or 64-bits), and in this case: Classic or Structured Frame UI? In unstructured Frame, just typing in/over a new name in the Character Tag: box presumes you want to auto-create a new format, and then provides options for Catalog and Apply. Structured Frame might well restrict this based on the rules imposed by your document architect. _______ I don't think I've ever used the Commands menu to create a format. ... View more

How is runaround properties going to help me enter text into a text frame that is on top of a png? If run-around is on on a graphical object, and the text frame is entirely within the extents of the graphic, you can create the text frame, but do virtually nothing with it. You can't select text in it. You can't enter text. You might be able to find existing text in it, but wouldn't be able to edit it other than via the find/replace menu. Frame has been like this since it first got run-around, and RA is on by default on new imports. I'm guessing that FM10 works the same as FM7 in this regard. I'm willing to be mistaken. It could be something else. But give run-around-off a try. ... View more

Select the PNG. Graphics > Run Around Properties <*> Don't Run Around [ Set ] ______ I would agree: "Don't" should have been the default. Doubtless too late now. And I hear there's an app for that. ... View more

I am using Frame 7.2, Windows 7, 64-bit ... This may not be a compatible configuration, but I've not tried it, so I'll defer to the rest of the community's experience. It could well be that Frame runs, but the printer driver either won't install or won't run. There may be some installation log files to examine. If Frame otherwise runs on Win7/64, all you really need is an Adobe Postscript driver for Win7/64 and adistill.ppd . Buying a later version of the full Acrobat product would provide that driver (as well as the benefits of full Acrobat). Await further responses before buying anything. ... View more

What version of Windows, and if XP or later, 32- or 64-bit? What version of Frame? What product installed Distiller.exe: Frame, Acrobat or CS? What version of Acrobat or CS, if appropriate. Typical installations create at least an Adobe Postscript driver, using adistill.ppd and a "port" of type FILE: I've set these up the hard way many times, but it shouldn't be necessary on XP or later. Commonly, there is also an Adobe Acrobat PDF psuedo-printer, which allows printing directly to PDF, with limitations compared to printing to .ps and then distilling to .pdf. ... View more

To type text in an equation with the same properties that are used for function names, type a double quotation mark. Or use the Equations palette: [ Symbols ]  [ Start String ] and [ End String ] Curiously, the entered text strings don't seem to get automatically tagged with Character Format "EquationVariables", and even if you apply that tag to them, it doesn't stick. Whatever settings or overrides EquationVariables presently has get applied, but the tag itself apparently doesn't. Select such a string with the Character Designer up, and nothing is shown. Update the definition of EquationVariables, and the strings in existing equations don't change. Indeed, I can't quickly determine what default typeface the equation editor is using. Highlighting the text, and pulling down the Format > Font menu, nothing is checked. So you can set up EquationVariables as a convenient tool to apply what amounts to a local override format in equations strings, but apply it you must, to every string. And don't shortcut by selecting an entire equation, and applying a character format. When I just tried that, it changed a multiply "x" to a Yen. _______ FM 7.0p578 Win XP32/SP3 ... View more

Not tested or necessarily fully thought out ... Put some unique invisible text on each blank page. (I use pfg fmt "Blank" and map in Master Page "Blank" this way.) On the previous page, enter a pgf (also invisible text) of say, name "Forward". The content of Forward is just an Xref to pgf Blank on the following Blank page, by <$Pagenum> Edit System Variable "Running H/F 12" (or other) to: <$paratext[Forward]> It has the text for the blank page number. Use that running h/f in your point page footer construct. _______ ... now if we could do more math in variable expressions ... ... View more

Hate setting them? Or hate using them once set up? I created the templates for what we use over 2 years ago. We only open the TOC.fm files now to import header/footer/copyright variables. Basically, they run on automagic, and require less attention than anything but the mostly content-free back cover file. ______ But yes, the first time, for a first timer, is umm, challenging. ... View more