Change workflow to use FM and RH together?

[Terri Schultz]

Background: 
My department uses FrameMaker 11, unstructured, and RoboHelp 10.
We do user's manuals in FrameMaker (one version for the US and one version for 
the UK) as separate books; minimal use of variables and/or conditional text. 
These docs are made available to customers as PDFs. I've used FM for 15+ years 
and consider myself an average FM user, not a power user. I used to use 
variables at a previous job, but my current job/co-workers don't use 
variables/conditional text.
We do help files in RoboHelp, one help project for the US and one help project 
for the UK.
There are many smaller/ancillary documents done in FM, InDesign, and or Word. 
These docs are made available to customers as PDFs. I consider myself a 
beginner/basic RoboHelp user. I use RoboHelp, but it is mostly editing content 
and applying pre-existing styles, etc.
The powers-that-be don't see that the information is the same (or mostly the 
same) between the help and the docs (I am trying to convince them that this is 
the way it is). One issue that is *always* raised is that the docs have 
pictures/screenshots/images and the help doesn't. There are also discussions 
about using MindTouch to deliver information to customers; I don't know if that 
means that we would stop using FM and RH. 
Questions:
1. I know that we could (possibly) have one set of FM files that could be used 
to provide a US document and a UK document. I don't know *where* to start to 
make this happen. I don't have any authority to spend money and there is no 
budget to pay for consulting. I am looking for free advice/suggestions where to 
find out how to do this. 
2. I believe we could either use our FM files to create help, or use our help 
files to create docs.As with #1, I want to know where to learn how to do 
this.
I'm not looking for theory/big picture ideas. I need some nuts-and-bolts, 
how-to advice. At the very least, I want to show that we could gain some 
efficiency if we stop maintaining one set of FM source files for the US and 
another set for the UK.
I hope this makes sense. 
Thank you for any and all suggestions!
Terri

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Change workflow to use FM and RH together?

[Terri Schultz]

Background: 
My department uses FrameMaker 11, unstructured, and RoboHelp 10.
We do user's manuals in FrameMaker (one version for the US and one version for 
the UK) as separate books; minimal use of variables and/or conditional text. 
These docs are made available to customers as PDFs. I've used FM for 15+ years 
and consider myself an average FM user, not a power user. I used to use 
variables at a previous job, but my current job/co-workers don't use 
variables/conditional text.
We do help files in RoboHelp, one help project for the US and one help project 
for the UK.
There are many smaller/ancillary documents done in FM, InDesign, and or Word. 
These docs are made available to customers as PDFs. I consider myself a 
beginner/basic RoboHelp user. I use RoboHelp, but it is mostly editing content 
and applying pre-existing styles, etc.
The powers-that-be don't see that the information is the same (or mostly the 
same) between the help and the docs (I am trying to convince them that this is 
the way it is). One issue that is *always* raised is that the docs have 
pictures/screenshots/images and the help doesn't. There are also discussions 
about using MindTouch to deliver information to customers; I don't know if that 
means that we would stop using FM and RH. 
Questions:
1. I know that we could (possibly) have one set of FM files that could be used 
to provide a US document and a UK document. I don't know *where* to start to 
make this happen. I don't have any authority to spend money and there is no 
budget to pay for consulting. I am looking for free advice/suggestions where to 
find out how to do this. 
2. I believe we could either use our FM files to create help, or use our help 
files to create docs.As with #1, I want to know where to learn how to do 
this.
I'm not looking for theory/big picture ideas. I need some nuts-and-bolts, 
how-to advice. At the very least, I want to show that we could gain some 
efficiency if we stop maintaining one set of FM source files for the US and 
another set for the UK.
I hope this makes sense. 
Thank you for any and all suggestions!
Terri


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CUDSpan Utilites won't install (FM11, Win 7 Pro)

[Terri Schultz]

I'm hoping Chris Despopoulos sees this; I'm not sure how to contact him 
otherwise.
I am a long-time user of the CUDSpan utilities, and am trying to install them. 
FM11, Win 7 Pro.
My company upgraded to FM11; I did download the new FM11 versions of Chris' 
utilities.
I believe the .dlls must be installed in the plugins directory.However, it 
looks like FM11 has more than one of these.
On my system: Program Files\Adobe\AdobeFrameMaker11\fminit\Plugins  
  Program Files\AdobeFrameMaker11\plugins
The error message I see:   Cannot initialize API client 
c:\program files\adobe\adobeframemaker11\fminit\plugins\toc_breaker.dll
   Check for errors in the APIClients section of C:\Program 
Files\Adobe\Adobe Framemaker11\maker.ini,verify that the 
client program exists and make sure you has enough to swap space to run the 
desk.
Thanks in advance for you help.Terri  ___


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CUDSpan Utilites won't install (FM11, Win 7 Pro)

[Terri Schultz]

I'm hoping Chris Despopoulos sees this; I'm not sure how to contact him 
otherwise.
I am a long-time user of the CUDSpan utilities, and am trying to install them. 
FM11, Win 7 Pro.
My company upgraded to FM11; I did download the new FM11 versions of Chris' 
utilities.
I believe the .dlls must be installed in the "plugins" directory.However, it 
looks like FM11 has more than one of these.
On my system: Program Files\Adobe\AdobeFrameMaker11\fminit\Plugins  
  Program Files\AdobeFrameMaker11\plugins
The error message I see:   Cannot initialize API client 
c:\program files\adobe\adobeframemaker11\fminit\plugins\toc_breaker.dll
   Check for errors in the APIClients section of C:\Program 
Files\Adobe\Adobe Framemaker11\maker.ini,verify that the 
client program exists and make sure you has enough to swap space to run the 
desk.
Thanks in advance for you help.Terri  
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Tooltip text for hotspot doesn't show in PDF (FM 11, Windows 7)

[Terri Schultz]

I am posting this for a co-worker.In FrameMaker 11, I have set objects to 
be hotspots going to an external URL. When I generate a PDF, the hotspots work, 
but the tooltip text that I entered for each hotspot is not showing. Instead, 
when I hover over the hotspot, I see the URL. Is this a bug, or do I need to do 
something differently?
Thanks for any and all help!Terri 
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FM9: Cross refs lost when building a PDF

[Terri Schultz]

Hello, everyone:

Unstructured FM 9, Windows 7, Acrobat 9 Pro. All updates are installed.

I have a document with many cross-references (x-ref). Most x-refs are to 
paragraphs (normally headings). I also use x-refs to cross ref markers (not 
paragraphs). Normally the x-refs to markers are used when I refer to a specific 
step in the procedure (repeat from step 4, or if x, go to step 4). None of my 
co-workers use cross-refs to markers, they all x-ref to paragraphs.

In FM, the x-refs to markers work. However, when I build a .PDF, the x-refs to 
markers don't work, but all the x-refs to paragraphs do work. We are not sure 
how long this has been happening; I check for broken x-refs in FM, before I 
build the PDF. I don't check every x-ref in the PDF. A co-worker duplicated the 
problem when he ran a test using both types of x-refs.

Short term, I will replace all x-refs to markers with x-refs to paragraphs. I'd 
like to know why this is failing, and if there is anything I can do to make it 
work. Creating x-refs to numbered procedure step paragraphs is very 
time-consuming; we have hundreds, if not thousands, of numbered steps, in the 
docs we work with.

Thank you for your help!

Terri
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FM9: Cross refs lost when building a PDF

[Terri Schultz]

Hello, everyone:

Unstructured FM 9, Windows 7, Acrobat 9 Pro. All updates are installed.

I have a document with many cross-references (x-ref). Most x-refs are to 
paragraphs (normally headings). I also use x-refs to cross ref markers (not 
paragraphs). Normally the x-refs to markers are used when I refer to a specific 
step in the procedure (repeat from step 4, or if x, go to step 4). None of my 
co-workers use cross-refs to markers, they all x-ref to paragraphs.

In FM, the x-refs to markers work. However, when I build a .PDF, the x-refs to 
markers don't work, but all the x-refs to paragraphs do work. We are not sure 
how long this has been happening; I check for broken x-refs in FM, before I 
build the PDF. I don't check every x-ref in the PDF. A co-worker duplicated the 
problem when he ran a test using both types of x-refs.

Short term, I will replace all x-refs to markers with x-refs to paragraphs. I'd 
like to know why this is failing, and if there is anything I can do to make it 
work. Creating x-refs to numbered procedure step paragraphs is very 
time-consuming; we have hundreds, if not thousands, of numbered steps, in the 
docs we work with.

Thank you for your help!

Terri

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RE: hard coded path names for imported graphics and x-refs

[Terri Schultz]

Sorry for my mistakes, everyone.
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hard coded path names for imported graphics and x-refs

[Terri Schultz]

Sorry for my mistakes, everyone.

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hard coded path names for imported graphics and x-refs

[Terri Schultz]

Meg:

Chris Despopoulos has several handy (and free!) FrameMaker Utilities, one of 
which is Archive, which will collect all of the (properly) linked graphics in 
an FM book/file.

Here is the website:

http://www.cudspan.net/

I highly recommend Archive, TOC Breaker, and PGF Override. I use them almost 
every day, and have done so for years.
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hard coded path names for imported graphics and x-refs

[Terri Schultz]

Meg:

Chris Despopoulos has several handy (and free!) FrameMaker Utilities, one of 
which is Archive, which will collect all of the (properly) linked graphics in 
an FM book/file.

Here is the website:

http://www.cudspan.net/

I highly recommend Archive, TOC Breaker, and PGF Override. I use them almost 
every day, and have done so for years.

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Link a colored background to a section of text so it moves as the doc flow changes?

[Terri Schultz]

Unstructured FrameMaker 9 on Windows 
I have a document with a section of text. The section includes a header, 
followed by several paragraphs.
 
Is there a way that I can link a colored graphic to this section of text? 
Design requires a colored graphic behind this section. Pagination can change as 
content changes, but this section is always the last section in the document. 
Content of this section is fairly stable, so adjusting the size of the colored 
background would be a very occasional task.
 
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide!
 
Terri ___


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Link a colored background to a section of text so it moves as the doc flow changes?

[Terri Schultz]

Unstructured FrameMaker 9 on Windows 
I have a document with a section of text. The section includes a header, 
followed by several paragraphs.

Is there a way that I can link a colored graphic to this section of text? 
Design requires a colored graphic behind this section. Pagination can change as 
content changes, but this section is always the last section in the document. 
Content of this section is fairly stable, so adjusting the size of the colored 
background would be a very occasional task.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide!

Terri 
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Problem with sequence in the Table of Contents (tables and following text)

[Terri Schultz]

Running non-structured FM 7.2 on Windows XP.

My file has a table that flows over eight pages. The table has three columns. 

   Column 1: Report Name
   Column 2: General Description (Lots of text in this cell)
   Column 3: Notes (Lots of text in this cell)

The Report Names use a unique paragraph tag. This tag generates TOC entries for 
each report name.

The last two rows of the table flow to share a page with text. Each row has the 
Report Name paragraph tag for the TOC.

The first paragraph after the table is tagged Heading 1.

When I generate the TOC, all of the Report Names on pages 1-7 list in correct 
sequence.
The last two Report names (page 8) come after the page 8 Heading 1, even though 
they appear on the page above the Heading 1.

Everything is in Flow A. I can't find any table or paragraph overrides.

If I force the page 8 Heading 1 to a new page, the generated TOC sequence is 
correct.
If I really tweak the table so the last rows don't share a page with the 
following text, the generated TOC sequence is correct.

Thanks for any and all help! Terri ([EMAIL PROTECTED])


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Em and En Dashes in Index Entries, Bookmarks. Italic text in Running Heads

[Terri Schultz]

Hello!

This list is very useful and I have learned many new things. Thank you for 
sharing your knowledge!

My department runs FM 7.2 on Windows XP Professional. We print the FM files to 
.ps files and use Acrobat Distiller (Acrobat 7.1.0 Pro) to build pdfs.
We will be upgrading to the latest Acrobat in a few months.

Question 1:

Em and En dashes in text don't automatically carry over into index entries.  
Is there a way to fix this/keep it automatic, instead of manually correcting 
the index entry?

Question 2:

Em and En dashes in headers don't automatically carry over into the bookmarks 
in the pdfs.
Is there a way to fix this/keep it automatic?

Question 3:

We use a Heading1 paragraph tag to automatically insert text into a running 
head. If the Heading1 paragraph tag has text tagged with a character tag 
(Italic), it does not carry over into the running head. Is there a way to 
preserve the character tag formatting from the Heading1 to the running head?

Thank you very much for any and all help!





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Em and En Dashes in Index Entries, Bookmarks. Italic text in Running Heads

[Terri Schultz]

Hello!

This list is very useful and I have learned many new things. Thank you for 
sharing your knowledge!

My department runs FM 7.2 on Windows XP Professional. We print the FM files to 
.ps files and use Acrobat Distiller (Acrobat 7.1.0 Pro) to build pdfs.
We will be upgrading to the latest Acrobat in a few months.

Question 1:

Em and En dashes in text don't automatically carry over into index entries.  
Is there a way to fix this/keep it automatic, instead of manually correcting 
the index entry?

Question 2:

Em and En dashes in headers don't automatically carry over into the bookmarks 
in the pdfs.
Is there a way to fix this/keep it automatic?

Question 3:

We use a Heading1 paragraph tag to automatically insert text into a running 
head. If the Heading1 paragraph tag has text tagged with a character tag 
(Italic), it does not carry over into the running head. Is there a way to 
preserve the character tag formatting from the Heading1 to the running head?

Thank you very much for any and all help!





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RE: Fine tuning pagination

[Terri Schultz]

I would not try to do the signatures in Framemaker.

You can use a plug-in for Adobe Acrobat, Quite Imposing Plus 
(http://www.quite.com/) to do the imposition of a pdf before you send it to the 
printer.  I used the plug-in a lot for documents we sent to a Xerox Docutech. 

The plug in is a bit expensive, but we calculated that it paid for itself in a 
few jobs.  Manually laying out the pages for higher page counts is extremely 
difficult to do.

Hope this helps!

Terri

 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
 Subject: Fine tuning pagination
 Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:41:22 -0600
 
 Framers,
 
 I'm working on a book for a commercial publishing house that prints in
 16-page signatures. I've not done anything quite like this before.
 
 I need to get the book to fit into an exact multiple of 16 pages. I've done
 basic pagination control with my paragraph styles and with a page break
 paragraph style, but this calls for greater fine tuning.
 
 I'd appreciate advice, tips, whatever, on how to fine tune pagination to
 meet this need.
 
 Thanks in advance!
 
 ~
 Linda G. Gallagher
 TechCom Plus, LLC
 lindag at techcomplus dot com
 www.techcomplus.com
 303-450-9076 or 800-500-3144
 User guides, online help, FrameMaker and
 WebWorks ePublisher templates
 
 
 
 
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Fine tuning pagination

[Terri Schultz]

I would not try to do the signatures in Framemaker.

You can use a plug-in for Adobe Acrobat, Quite Imposing Plus 
(http://www.quite.com/) to do the imposition of a pdf before you send it to the 
printer.  I used the plug-in a lot for documents we sent to a Xerox Docutech. 

The plug in is a bit expensive, but we calculated that it paid for itself in a 
few jobs.  Manually laying out the pages for higher page counts is extremely 
difficult to do.

Hope this helps!

Terri

> From: lindag at techcomplus.com
> To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
> Subject: Fine tuning pagination
> Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:41:22 -0600
> 
> Framers,
> 
> I'm working on a book for a commercial publishing house that prints in
> 16-page signatures. I've not done anything quite like this before.
> 
> I need to get the book to fit into an exact multiple of 16 pages. I've done
> basic pagination control with my paragraph styles and with a page break
> paragraph style, but this calls for greater fine tuning.
> 
> I'd appreciate advice, tips, whatever, on how to fine tune pagination to
> meet this need.
> 
> Thanks in advance!
> 
> ~
> Linda G. Gallagher
> TechCom Plus, LLC
> lindag at techcomplus dot com
> www.techcomplus.com
> 303-450-9076 or 800-500-3144
> User guides, online help, FrameMaker and
> WebWorks ePublisher templates
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ___
> 
> 
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> 
> Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com.
> 
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
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