Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Tammy Van Boening]

You can collaborate with all writers using Quadralay's new CloudDraft tool
and it doesn't even require that your collaborators have Framemaker.  

TVB

Tammy Van Boening
Owner/Principal
Spectrum Writing, LLC
www.spectrumwritingllc.com
TammyVB  *AT*  spectrumwritingllc  *DOT*  com
-Original Message-
From: Framers
[mailto:framers-bounces+tammyvb=spectrumwritingllc@lists.frameusers.com]
On Behalf Of Robert Lauriston
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2016 1:05 PM
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY
BIG FILE for an entire book

That's a good point. For multiple writers to work on the same document, it
needs to be split into multiple files.

Though in that case you might better migrate from FrameMaker to something
that was designed for collaboration.

On Tue, Nov 8, 2016 at 10:00 AM, Craig, Alison <acr...@bkultrasound.com>
wrote:
>... you can share files between authors this way as well. ...
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Robert Lauriston]

That's a good point. For multiple writers to work on the same
document, it needs to be split into multiple files.

Though in that case you might better migrate from FrameMaker to
something that was designed for collaboration.

On Tue, Nov 8, 2016 at 10:00 AM, Craig, Alison  wrote:
>... you can share files between authors this way as well. ...
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Craig, Alison]

I definitely agree with Rick. And you can share files between authors this way 
as well.

Separate FM chapters also lend themselves to the production of "sub-set" 
publications.

We produce a small manual with only the basics required by Medical Device 
Regulatory regimes in various countries and we translate that. Then we have an 
"extended" user manual that has many more bells and whistles (100 pages vs 400 
pages) and does not require translation.

Also, for a Service Manual we produce a standard PDF as well a version with an 
individual PDF per chapter. This allows Service to disseminate only the 
required (and controlled) chapter to handle a service call.


Alison Craig
Technical Documentation Specialist
acr...@bkultrasound.com<mailto:acr...@bkultrasound.com> | 
bkultrasound.com

From: Framers 
[mailto:framers-bounces+acraig=bkultrasound@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf 
Of Rick Quatro
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2016 10:55 AM
To: 'Lin Sims'; 'Frame Users'
Subject: Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG 
FILE for an entire book

Hi Lin,

No question in my mind: Separate files for each chapter, mainly because it
easier to author, reorganize, and maintain separate FrameMaker documents.
FrameMaker books work quite well for organizing documents. Please let me
know if you have any questions or comments.

Rick

Rick Quatro
Carmen Publishing Inc.
r...@frameexpert.com<mailto:r...@frameexpert.com>
585-366-4017



-Original Message-
From: Framers
[mailto:framers-bounces+rick=rickquatro@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf
Of Lin Sims
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2016 1:46 PM
To: Frame Users
Subject: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG
FILE for an entire book

Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but I
thought I'd toss this out there anyway.

We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages loaded
with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used to
single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA, my
non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).

--
Lin Sims
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Rick Quatro]

PS:
The only time FrameMaker did not work well was when I imported a multiterm 
database export file (as xml via structured application). 
I had to split up the original xml into 3 parts, and although this was only 
text, it took FrameMaker more than one hour to open one of the parts (as the 
resulting file had several thousand pages). So, although it was fun to set up 
the application and the DTD for it, I had to give up the idea of using 
FrameMaker for editing this file... 

Best regards -- Tino H. Haida 

Hi Tino,

A good solution may have been to use XSLT to split the xml into separate 
FrameMaker documents so that you didn't have to deal with such a large file. 
Perhaps you could split on each letter of the alphabet. If you need any XSLT 
help, please let me know. Thank you.

Best regards,
Rick

Rick Quatro
Carmen Publishing Inc.
r...@frameexpert.com
585-366-4017




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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Heiko Haida]

Hi Lin, 

we are producing multi-lingual FM books out of an XML-CMS, so we do not
have to handle the FM files for editorial purposes. 

I prefer the single file (per language), because we often had problems
with the left/right pagination rules and special left/right masterpages
for the start of the chapter.
You have to be so careful with the book override and the single file
setup when there are so many files involved (e.g. 12 languages à 6
chapters = 72 files), and it was annoying to check each PDF to the last
page for pagination errors. 

Later on, we started to reduce the page amount dramatically (to one
third or even one sixth of the original size) by using smaller font
sizes and multi-column layouts. For this, it was very helpful to have a
single file, because a "chapter" within one language can then start on
the same page (or column) as the preceding chapter. (The emphasis was
not so much on the chapters but on the different languages.) 
Of course, the FM book will still contain one FM chapter per language. 

About ressource problems: 
Our largest mono-lingual document has almost 400 pages as one file, this
works well. 

PS:
The only time FrameMaker did not work well was when I imported a
multiterm database export file (as xml via structured application). 
I had to split up the original xml into 3 parts, and although this was
only text, it took FrameMaker more than one hour to open one of the
parts (as the resulting file had several thousand pages). So, although
it was fun to set up the application and the DTD for it, I had to give
up the idea of using FrameMaker for editing this file... 

Best regards -- Tino H. Haida 

 Lin Sims:

> Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
> discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but I
> thought I'd toss this out there anyway.
> 
> We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages loaded
> with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used to
> single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA, my
> non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[louisek]

Hi Lin,

FWIW, I vote for separate chapter files too. I prefer the generated TOC and 
Index book files, instead of generating standalone files and pasting them in 
manually.

Louise

 

- Original Message -
From: "Lin Sims" <ljsims...@gmail.com>
To: "Ken Poshedly" <poshe...@bellsouth.net>, "Steve Rickaby" 
<srick...@wordmongers.demon.co.uk>, "Rick Quatro" <r...@rickquatro.com>
Cc: "Frame Users" <framers@lists.frameusers.com>
Sent: Monday, November 7, 2016 1:13:31 PM
Subject: Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG 
FILE for an entire book

 I think I touched a nerve.

Yeah, my personal inclination is one chapter per file, unless we're talking
a really short document of less than 20 pages. Nice to know that I'm not
alone; however, I'm really looking for reasons why using a chapter per file
is better than using one file for an entire book (or vice-versa, I know
there are people out there who do it that way).

Manageability and stability are both good points, especially since Frame
has become somewhat less stable since Adobe took it over (still far, far
better than Word). And fighting the design model is also an excellent point.

(And, Ken, even though I'm not working in DITA, I do try to organize my
documents in a structured fashion. Consistency of language and order of
information presentation go a long way towards that.)

On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 2:02 PM, Ken Poshedly <poshe...@bellsouth.net> wrote:

> Lin,
>
> We also use unstructured FM11.0 to produce files that are distilled down
> to pdf files for hard copy printing (and maybe distribution on CD, but not
> so much).
>
> As such, we compile separate chapter files then assemble them into a final
> book in FM.
>
> Much more manageable that way (at least for us). A former so-called tech
> writer here (who wound up being our not-so-loved manager before finally
> being let go) forced FM to do what he wanted it to do, with humongous files
> resulting that crashed and burned at least half the time. A normal chapter
> file might be 3 or 4 mb, but his sometimes got into the gigabyte range.
> Didn't care, didn't change, and caused the rest of us lots of problems when
> trying to open his files or even p-a-g-e through them (it took maybe an
> hour to work one's way through a 50 or 60-page file). We're now much better
> off, referencing and not embedding our graphics. Hint: take any photo
> produced with a digital camera from its 60 x 60 inch (or whatever) original
> size and resample it down to maybe 8 x 10 and oh, how life in tech
> pubs-land is so much better.
>
> So in the end, don't do the whole book as one file. Use chapters as
> separate files (even with all the stuff you mentioned), then combine them
> into one book afterwards.
>
> And yes, while the rest of the world goes on to DITA, etc, we continue to
> "bring up the rear".
>
> -- Ken in Atlanta
>
>
> On Monday, November 7, 2016 1:46 PM, Lin Sims <ljsims...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
> discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but I
> thought I'd toss this out there anyway.
>
> We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages loaded
> with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used to
> single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA, my
> non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).
>
> --
> Lin Sims
> ___
>
> This message is from the Framers mailing list
>
> Send messages to framers@lists.frameusers.com
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>
>
>


-- 
Lin Sims
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Robert Lauriston]

I thought you were talking about separate .fm files for ease of
generating separate PDFs.

Otherwise, individual .fm files for each chapter seem to me like a
relic of the days when computers didn't have enough memory to handle a
whole book.

If you have to embed the graphics, that might be a special case for
multiple .fm files.

On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 12:42 PM, Lin Sims  wrote:
> The book PDFs usually run in the 3-10MB range. Individual chapters in FM
> format can run up to 30MB or more. And as Rick said, we're talking about a
> single FM file per chapter in a book, then generating a single PDF for the
> book, not separate PDFs for each chapter.
>
> (I wish we could reference images, but we've got an "interesting" hybrid
> setup that also involves a content management system, and the unstructured
> FM users have to embed the graphics.)
>
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 2:43 PM, Robert Lauriston 
> wrote:
>>
>> I always do one file, unless it gets so big that there are download
>> problems. Then everything can be cross-referenced. You can have
>> cross-PDF links, but they're more problematic. As a user, I always
>> find it frustrating when large documents are split up.
>>
>> How big is the file if you generate one big PDF for the book?
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 10:46 AM, Lin Sims  wrote:
>> > Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
>> > discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but I
>> > thought I'd toss this out there anyway.
>> >
>> > We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages
>> > loaded
>> > with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used to
>> > single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA, my
>> > non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Lin Sims]

The book PDFs usually run in the 3-10MB range. Individual chapters in FM
format can run up to 30MB or more. And as Rick said, we're talking about a
single FM file per chapter in a book, then generating a single PDF for the
book, not separate PDFs for each chapter.

(I wish we could reference images, but we've got an "interesting" hybrid
setup that also involves a content management system, and the unstructured
FM users have to embed the graphics.)



On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 2:43 PM, Robert Lauriston 
wrote:

> I always do one file, unless it gets so big that there are download
> problems. Then everything can be cross-referenced. You can have
> cross-PDF links, but they're more problematic. As a user, I always
> find it frustrating when large documents are split up.
>
> How big is the file if you generate one big PDF for the book?
>
> On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 10:46 AM, Lin Sims  wrote:
> > Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
> > discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but I
> > thought I'd toss this out there anyway.
> >
> > We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages
> loaded
> > with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used to
> > single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA, my
> > non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).
> ___
>
> This message is from the Framers mailing list
>
> Send messages to framers@lists.frameusers.com
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-- 
Lin Sims
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Rick Quatro]

The issue is not a single PDF versus separate PDFs for each chapter. The
issue is separate FrameMaker files for each chapter. With separate chapters
managed in a FrameMaker book, you still create a single PDF for your output.

-Original Message-
From: Framers
[mailto:framers-bounces+rick=rickquatro@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf
Of Robert Lauriston
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2016 2:44 PM
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY
BIG FILE for an entire book

I always do one file, unless it gets so big that there are download
problems. Then everything can be cross-referenced. You can have cross-PDF
links, but they're more problematic. As a user, I always find it frustrating
when large documents are split up.

How big is the file if you generate one big PDF for the book?

On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 10:46 AM, Lin Sims <ljsims...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been 
> discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but 
> I thought I'd toss this out there anyway.
>
> We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages 
> loaded with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be 
> used to single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about 
> DITA, my non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[grant]

   Here is another vote for a separate file per chapter.  Also make your
   images references and resize them (120ppi and less than your page width
   is a good rule of thumb).

   Grant

   Happy user of Frame since 1990.

 On November 7, 2016 at 11:54 AM Rick Quatro 
 wrote:
 Hi Lin,
 No question in my mind: Separate files for each chapter, mainly
 because it
 easier to author, reorganize, and maintain separate FrameMaker
 documents.
 FrameMaker books work quite well for organizing documents. Please
 let me
 know if you have any questions or comments.
 Rick
 Rick Quatro
 Carmen Publishing Inc.
 r...@frameexpert.com
 585-366-4017
 -Original Message-
 From: Framers
 [mailto:framers-bounces+rick=rickquatro@lists.frameusers.com] On
 Behalf
 Of Lin Sims
 Sent: Monday, November 07, 2016 1:46 PM
 To: Frame Users
 Subject: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one
 REALLY BIG
 FILE for an entire book
 Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
 discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those,
 but I
 thought I'd toss this out there anyway.
 We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages
 loaded
 with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used
 to
 single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA,
 my
 non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).
 --
 Lin Sims
 ___
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Robert Lauriston]

I always do one file, unless it gets so big that there are download
problems. Then everything can be cross-referenced. You can have
cross-PDF links, but they're more problematic. As a user, I always
find it frustrating when large documents are split up.

How big is the file if you generate one big PDF for the book?

On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 10:46 AM, Lin Sims  wrote:
> Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
> discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but I
> thought I'd toss this out there anyway.
>
> We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages loaded
> with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used to
> single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA, my
> non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).
___

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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Steve Rickaby]

Going public on this...

I think the question is, what would be the advantages of putting multiple 
chapters in a single document? FrameMaker has supported the 'book' concept 
almost from the get-go: why on earth would you not want to use it?

(I am ever-open to suggestions ;-)

-- 
Steve 
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Ed Nodland]

Also beneficial for multiple editors working on the same book in different
chapters and configuration control when one chapter is changed often and
others rarely change. I also have other elements such as large tables that
are maintained externally or commonly used content managed as external
entities so that changing common content in one place results in a
consistent change across the entire publication.  But that's getting into
structure of some sort.

Ed


On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 11:13 AM, Lin Sims  wrote:

>  I think I touched a nerve.
>
> Yeah, my personal inclination is one chapter per file, unless we're talking
> a really short document of less than 20 pages. Nice to know that I'm not
> alone; however, I'm really looking for reasons why using a chapter per file
> is better than using one file for an entire book (or vice-versa, I know
> there are people out there who do it that way).
>
> Manageability and stability are both good points, especially since Frame
> has become somewhat less stable since Adobe took it over (still far, far
> better than Word). And fighting the design model is also an excellent
> point.
>
> (And, Ken, even though I'm not working in DITA, I do try to organize my
> documents in a structured fashion. Consistency of language and order of
> information presentation go a long way towards that.)
>
> On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 2:02 PM, Ken Poshedly 
> wrote:
>
> > Lin,
> >
> > We also use unstructured FM11.0 to produce files that are distilled down
> > to pdf files for hard copy printing (and maybe distribution on CD, but
> not
> > so much).
> >
> > As such, we compile separate chapter files then assemble them into a
> final
> > book in FM.
> >
> > Much more manageable that way (at least for us). A former so-called tech
> > writer here (who wound up being our not-so-loved manager before finally
> > being let go) forced FM to do what he wanted it to do, with humongous
> files
> > resulting that crashed and burned at least half the time. A normal
> chapter
> > file might be 3 or 4 mb, but his sometimes got into the gigabyte range.
> > Didn't care, didn't change, and caused the rest of us lots of problems
> when
> > trying to open his files or even p-a-g-e through them (it took maybe an
> > hour to work one's way through a 50 or 60-page file). We're now much
> better
> > off, referencing and not embedding our graphics. Hint: take any photo
> > produced with a digital camera from its 60 x 60 inch (or whatever)
> original
> > size and resample it down to maybe 8 x 10 and oh, how life in tech
> > pubs-land is so much better.
> >
> > So in the end, don't do the whole book as one file. Use chapters as
> > separate files (even with all the stuff you mentioned), then combine them
> > into one book afterwards.
> >
> > And yes, while the rest of the world goes on to DITA, etc, we continue to
> > "bring up the rear".
> >
> > -- Ken in Atlanta
> >
> >
> > On Monday, November 7, 2016 1:46 PM, Lin Sims 
> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
> > discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but I
> > thought I'd toss this out there anyway.
> >
> > We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages
> loaded
> > with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used to
> > single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA, my
> > non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).
> >
> > --
> > Lin Sims
> > ___
> >
> > This message is from the Framers mailing list
> >
> > Send messages to framers@lists.frameusers.com
> > Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
> > Archives located at http://www.mail-archive.com/
> > framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> > Subscribe and unsubscribe at http://lists.frameusers.com/
> > listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> > Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Lin Sims
> ___
>
> This message is from the Framers mailing list
>
> Send messages to framers@lists.frameusers.com
> Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
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> Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com
>
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Lin Sims]

 I think I touched a nerve.

Yeah, my personal inclination is one chapter per file, unless we're talking
a really short document of less than 20 pages. Nice to know that I'm not
alone; however, I'm really looking for reasons why using a chapter per file
is better than using one file for an entire book (or vice-versa, I know
there are people out there who do it that way).

Manageability and stability are both good points, especially since Frame
has become somewhat less stable since Adobe took it over (still far, far
better than Word). And fighting the design model is also an excellent point.

(And, Ken, even though I'm not working in DITA, I do try to organize my
documents in a structured fashion. Consistency of language and order of
information presentation go a long way towards that.)

On Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 2:02 PM, Ken Poshedly  wrote:

> Lin,
>
> We also use unstructured FM11.0 to produce files that are distilled down
> to pdf files for hard copy printing (and maybe distribution on CD, but not
> so much).
>
> As such, we compile separate chapter files then assemble them into a final
> book in FM.
>
> Much more manageable that way (at least for us). A former so-called tech
> writer here (who wound up being our not-so-loved manager before finally
> being let go) forced FM to do what he wanted it to do, with humongous files
> resulting that crashed and burned at least half the time. A normal chapter
> file might be 3 or 4 mb, but his sometimes got into the gigabyte range.
> Didn't care, didn't change, and caused the rest of us lots of problems when
> trying to open his files or even p-a-g-e through them (it took maybe an
> hour to work one's way through a 50 or 60-page file). We're now much better
> off, referencing and not embedding our graphics. Hint: take any photo
> produced with a digital camera from its 60 x 60 inch (or whatever) original
> size and resample it down to maybe 8 x 10 and oh, how life in tech
> pubs-land is so much better.
>
> So in the end, don't do the whole book as one file. Use chapters as
> separate files (even with all the stuff you mentioned), then combine them
> into one book afterwards.
>
> And yes, while the rest of the world goes on to DITA, etc, we continue to
> "bring up the rear".
>
> -- Ken in Atlanta
>
>
> On Monday, November 7, 2016 1:46 PM, Lin Sims  wrote:
>
>
> Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
> discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but I
> thought I'd toss this out there anyway.
>
> We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages loaded
> with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used to
> single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA, my
> non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).
>
> --
> Lin Sims
> ___
>
> This message is from the Framers mailing list
>
> Send messages to framers@lists.frameusers.com
> Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
> Archives located at http://www.mail-archive.com/
> framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> Subscribe and unsubscribe at http://lists.frameusers.com/
> listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com
>
>
>


-- 
Lin Sims
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Ken Poshedly]

Lin,

We also use unstructured FM11.0 to produce files that are distilled down to pdf 
files for hard copy printing (and maybe distribution on CD, but not so much).
As such, we compile separate chapter files then assemble them into a final book 
in FM.
Much more manageable that way (at least for us). A former so-called tech writer 
here (who wound up being our not-so-loved manager before finally being let go) 
forced FM to do what he wanted it to do, with humongous files resulting that 
crashed and burned at least half the time. A normal chapter file might be 3 or 
4 mb, but his sometimes got into the gigabyte range. Didn't care, didn't 
change, and caused the rest of us lots of problems when trying to open his 
files or even p-a-g-e through them (it took maybe an hour to work one's way 
through a 50 or 60-page file). We're now much better off, referencing and not 
embedding our graphics. Hint: take any photo produced with a digital camera 
from its 60 x 60 inch (or whatever) original size and resample it down to maybe 
8 x 10 and oh, how life in tech pubs-land is so much better.

So in the end, don't do the whole book as one file. Use chapters as separate 
files (even with all the stuff you mentioned), then combine them into one book 
afterwards.

And yes, while the rest of the world goes on to DITA, etc, we continue to 
"bring up the rear".
-- Ken in Atlanta 

On Monday, November 7, 2016 1:46 PM, Lin Sims  wrote:
 

 Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but I
thought I'd toss this out there anyway.

We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages loaded
with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used to
single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA, my
non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).

-- 
Lin Sims
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Re: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG FILE for an entire book

[Rick Quatro]

Hi Lin,

No question in my mind: Separate files for each chapter, mainly because it
easier to author, reorganize, and maintain separate FrameMaker documents.
FrameMaker books work quite well for organizing documents. Please let me
know if you have any questions or comments.

Rick

Rick Quatro
Carmen Publishing Inc.
r...@frameexpert.com
585-366-4017



-Original Message-
From: Framers
[mailto:framers-bounces+rick=rickquatro@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf
Of Lin Sims
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2016 1:46 PM
To: Frame Users
Subject: [Framers] Pros/Cons: Separate file per chapter, or one REALLY BIG
FILE for an entire book

Pretty much what it says in the title. I'm guessing there have been
discussions about this in the past, and I plan to look for those, but I
thought I'd toss this out there anyway.

We're talking chapters that can run a couple hundred (or more) pages loaded
with tables, graphics, and conditional text so that they can be used to
single-source multiple documents (no, don't talk to me about DITA, my
non-tech-writing boss wants it in unstructured).

--
Lin Sims
___

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