New to FM 9 and want to update finished documents that are in pdf form

[vinnydonato]

I'm using FrameMaker 9 and would like to know the easiest way to update finished documents that are saved in pdf form.  I am new to FM and need to update text, tables, illustrations, etc. in existing documents.

What I have are the .fm files and .book documents that the .pdfs were made from.  Reading through the user's guide, it looks like I should edit individual .fm files, swap them into the 'book', and save the book as a pdf.  Is it that simple?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Pretty much - you'll probably want to edit the .fm files and then update the book that they belong to (for ToC & Index purposes if you've got them). There's no need to swap in any files that were already part of an existing book unless you've create new ones or renamed the existing ones. Then you would have to add them to a book. It's easier to print to PDF rather than saving as PDF - just print to the Adobe PDF virtual printer instance.

[vinnydonato]

I made updates in some of the .fm files and saved them, but I can't save the book to a pdf becuse of 'Book Error Report' that says a file I never touched was created with a previous version of FM and can't be opened.  I opened each file because it says they will be converted to a version I can use, and it worked except for the 'Body.fm' which can't find all of its links - resulting in blanks in my finished pdf, (the Missing File box appears, and if there is a file name I click on 'Update Document To Use New Path' but some of them I have to skip - how do I know where all the links to other files are?).  Also, I get a dialog box that says that 'The selected PDF Job Option does not exist in the current installation.  Either create this Job Option or select an available Job Option. Continue?' Continuing does not help.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

So take this one step at a time - book errors, then PDF issue:

First you need to fix up your book error. Is the problem a missing file reference or bad cross-refs? There should be hyperlinks to the offending docs and the part that's wrong about them. The upgrading part isn't a big deal - FM was doing that behind the scenes all along until it ran into one that it couldn't find. Was the book moved from its original location? That's a big no no unless you take precautions to move/fix all the things it's looking for. If you don't know what file it's missing (or it just could be a path that's now changed), you can try saving the .fm file as MIF - MIF files can be opened in Notepad (or a cool freebie tool called MIFBrowse) and edited. Search for the filename & see what's wrong with the path FM thinks it should be at.

[vinnydonato]

I've discovered that the missing files will be found when I work with the 'Book', they don't have to be present in the specific .fm file I'm changing.

I may have stumbled on a way to make this work...

The steps I took:

open all .fm files in the Book so they are converted to a usable version>skip files when I open a specific .fm>make changes>click Save, close all .fm files, clicking Save for each>select 'Update Book'>File-save to PDF-click 'set'>if "No job option..." appears click 'Continue'.  I opened the PDF and it was good.

Am I missing something or does this look OK for my future edits?

.

[Jeff_Coatsworth · Accepted solution]

Think so - once files are upgraded to FM9 and saved, they won't hassle you again.

Hint: When working with a number of files inside (or outside) a book, you can hold down the Shift key and the Files menu will change to have "Open All," "Save All," and "Close All" commands.

[AxialInfo]

Before you get started, be sure to check that you have the latest update(s) to FM9:

Updates - Adobe - FrameMaker : For Windows

Note that FM updates aren't cumulative so you need to install each one individually, either by downloading or by using "Check for Updates" from the FM menu.

If you have the full Adobe Acrobat program (i.e. not just the reduced feature Distiller Add-on that can optionally be installed with the FM install) then you should also check for updates to it.

[AxialInfo]

vinny, one more thing -- and forgive me for stating the obvious, but .... please be absolutely sure you have a safe backup of all your original FM files and any related graphics, so that if things go boom you'll be able to recover without too much effort -- do not rely solely on FM's backups, especially if you're new to FM, there are just too many ways for stuff to get mangled without realizing it.

There are some good Getting Started tutorials here on the Adobe website, as well as on http://www.scriptorium.com and many other excellent FM training providers.

Most of what is shown for FM10 on the Adobe site would be applicable to ver 9, there are not many differences.

http://www.adobe.com/support/framemaker/