Re: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

2017-02-14 Thread Robert Lauriston 
That was a reasonable statement once upon a time, but there are more
and better alternatives.

On Tue, Feb 14, 2017 at 3:24 AM, Stamm, David  wrote:
> 2017-02-14-02T11:25Z
>
> "No one has ever heard me say that FrameMaker is perfect, but it is far 
> better than the alternative."
___

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

Re: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

2017-02-14 Thread Stamm, David 
2017-02-14-02T11:25Z

"No one has ever heard me say that FrameMaker is perfect, but it is far better 
than the alternative."

Dave Stamm
Information Engineer

-Original Message-
From: Framers 
[mailto:framers-bounces+david.stamm=gd-ms@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf 
Of Rick Quatro
Sent: 2017-02-10-Friday 08:54
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

Hi Framers,

 

I received this from a client earlier this week:

 

Rick,

 

We've been adding a lot of material to the ... Service Manual and today when 
... attempted to run a PDF it crashed the same way the ... Service Manual is 
crashing.

 

This is a huge problem for us. Our whole workflow is predicated upon FrameMaker 
working correctly with these large files. Have you had any luck finding out why 
the ... Service Manual is crashing?

 

Regards,

...

 

As you can image, this is very frustrating for me as a FrameMaker consultant, 
especially since I recommended that they use structured FrameMaker for their 
manuals. It is frustrating for my client because they have been asked to quote 
on another large set of manuals, but now they are afraid to move ahead with 
FrameMaker. I have tried to run the books with FrameMaker 2017, but this 
crashes also. I have reached out to some of my contacts at Adobe, but have 
heard nothing.

 

We need structured FrameMaker because custom HTML5 output is a requirement.
But to not be able to create PDFs from FrameMaker? This is very disappointing.

 

My suggestion for the next version of FrameMaker: go 64-bit and rewrite the 
print engine to make PDF generation faster and stable.

 

In the meantime, I will start looking at alternative solutions.

 

Rick

 

Rick Quatro

Carmen Publishing Inc.

r...@frameexpert.com

585-366-4017

 

 

___

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
___

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

Re: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

2017-02-10 Thread Craig Ede 
I'm forced to use FM8 nearly every day, and I really can't recommend that. The 
book handling is especially clumsy compared to the other versions I use 
(FM11,12,2015).


Craig



From: Framers <framers-bounces+craigede=hotmail@lists.frameusers.com> on 
behalf of Robert Lauriston <rob...@lauriston.com>
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2017 1:29 PM
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

Upgrade to FrameMaker 8?
___

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
FrameUsers.com - The Adobe FrameMaker Online Reference 
Site<http://www.frameusers.com/>
www.frameusers.com
Adobe FrameMaker software is a template-based authoring and publishing solution 
for unstructured, structured, and XML/DITA content. There is a large and loyal 
...


Archives located at http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
framers - 
mail-archive.com<http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/>
www.mail-archive.com
Messages by Thread [Framers] White space in tables Rick Quatro. Re: [Framers] 
White space in tables Urszula Witherell; Re: [Framers] White space in tables 
Rick Quatro


Subscribe and unsubscribe at 
http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
Framers Info Page - 
FrameUsers.com<http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com>
lists.frameusers.com
About the Framers email list. The purpose of this list is to share information 
about using Adobe Framemaker. We welcome experienced users, newcomers, and 
people ...


Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com
___

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

Re: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

2017-02-10 Thread Robert Lauriston 
Upgrade to FrameMaker 8?
___

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

Re: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

2017-02-10 Thread Yves Barbion 
Yes, I'm afraid you're the only one, Alan. I've just tested Help > About
FrameMaker and this works for me. ;-)

@Rick: does FrameMaker crash consistently in a given chapter or on a given
page? Maybe there's a vector graphic on that page which does not have the
fonts embedded (used to be one of those old problems)? And have you tried
to select RGB instead of CMYK in the *PDF Setup *dialog?

For me, this is one of those weird things in Frame: If there is a problem
in the PDF file, say random text missing
​ on some pages, Adobe Support's advice was to select RGB instead of CMY​K.
Usually, this solved the problem indeed, but what if I wanted to create a
CMYK PDF file with ALL of my text in there? And how are different color
models related to missing text? This problem still seems to be there in Fm
2017 because next to the CMYK option in the PDF Setup dialog, I read the
ominous message: "Recommended to choose RGB option for Right-to-Left
document". That's a nice warning but... how do I create a CMYK RTL PDF
(nice acronym stack ;-)) then?

Still, I like FrameMaker's flexibility to format DITA-structured content
and generate pretty nice PDFs (with some help from DITA-FMx, of course ;-)):

http://flowtime.be/DITA/PDFs/index.html


Cheers

Yves Barbion
www.flowtime.be








On 10 February 2017 at 15:42, Alan Houser  wrote:

> This issue has frustrated me for some time. The FrameMaker app appears to
> be a whack-a-mole of unhandled exceptions. Am I the only one who gets an
> immediate crash on "Help>About FrameMaker" in FrameMaker 2017?
>
> Still, for FrameMaker's "sweet spot" (desktop publishing of large PDFs,
> which many orgs will continue to require into the foreseeable future), I
> don't see many good alternatives.
>
> One recurring issue among my clients ... FrameMaker is rather intolerant
> of network latency. This usually shows up when saving FM files to a network
> drive, but may be an issue when generating PDF. I also see PDF failures
> relating to graphic file corruption. I know you're aware of these issues,
> but thought I would mention them.
>
> -Alan
>
>
>
> On 2/10/17 8:54 AM, Rick Quatro wrote:
>
>> Hi Framers,
>>
>>
>> I received this from a client earlier this week:
>>
>>
>> Rick,
>>
>>
>> We've been adding a lot of material to the ... Service Manual and today
>> when
>> ... attempted to run a PDF it crashed the same way the ... Service Manual
>> is
>> crashing.
>>
>>
>> This is a huge problem for us. Our whole workflow is predicated upon
>> FrameMaker working correctly with these large files. Have you had any luck
>> finding out why the ... Service Manual is crashing?
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> ...
>>
>>
>> As you can image, this is very frustrating for me as a FrameMaker
>> consultant, especially since I recommended that they use structured
>> FrameMaker for their manuals. It is frustrating for my client because they
>> have been asked to quote on another large set of manuals, but now they are
>> afraid to move ahead with FrameMaker. I have tried to run the books with
>> FrameMaker 2017, but this crashes also. I have reached out to some of my
>> contacts at Adobe, but have heard nothing.
>>
>>
>> We need structured FrameMaker because custom HTML5 output is a
>> requirement.
>> But to not be able to create PDFs from FrameMaker? This is very
>> disappointing.
>>
>>
>> My suggestion for the next version of FrameMaker: go 64-bit and rewrite
>> the
>> print engine to make PDF generation faster and stable.
>>
>>
>> In the meantime, I will start looking at alternative solutions.
>>
>>
>> Rick
>>
>>
>> Rick Quatro
>>
>> Carmen Publishing Inc.
>>
>> r...@frameexpert.com
>>
>> 585-366-4017
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> Alan Houser
> Group Wellesley, Inc.
> Consultant and Trainer, Technical Publishing
> arh on Twitter
> 412-450-0532
>
>
> ___
>
> 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/fr
> amers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> Subscribe and unsubscribe at http://lists.frameusers.com/li
> stinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> Send administrative questions to listad...@frameusers.com
>
___

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

Re: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

2017-02-10 Thread Stamm, David 
2017-02-10-05T14:50Z

Rick -

I can't remember the last time FrameMaker crashed when I would " . . . run a 
PDF . . .."

The last time FrameMaker crashed for me, it was again pointed out that 
FrameMaker sometimes crashes when files are on a server on a local area network 
rather than on the C:\.  My employer requires files to be on a server so that 
they get backed up.  That's one possible cause with which I have to live.

Others might be:

   1.  interference from an anti-viral computer program

   2.  lag or collisions on the local or wide-area network

   3.  folders in the navigational path and files with names that are more than 
eight letters long and contain spaces, special characters, numbers, or some 
combination of them.  If I remember correctly, it was from Shlomo Perets that I 
learned that in its deepest heart, FrameMaker still has UNIX code.  
Infrequently, and irregularly, FrameMaker might fail for no apparent reason 
whatsoever.  If so, then simplify names and "flatten" the organization of 
folders.

Regards and good luck,
Dave Stamm
Information Engineer

-Original Message-
From: Framers 
[mailto:framers-bounces+david.stamm=gd-ms@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf 
Of Rick Quatro
Sent: 2017-02-10-Friday 08:54
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

Hi Framers,

 

I received this from a client earlier this week:

 

Rick,

 

We've been adding a lot of material to the ... Service Manual and today when 
... attempted to run a PDF it crashed the same way the ... Service Manual is 
crashing.

 

This is a huge problem for us. Our whole workflow is predicated upon FrameMaker 
working correctly with these large files. Have you had any luck finding out why 
the ... Service Manual is crashing?

 

Regards,

...

 

As you can image, this is very frustrating for me as a FrameMaker consultant, 
especially since I recommended that they use structured FrameMaker for their 
manuals. It is frustrating for my client because they have been asked to quote 
on another large set of manuals, but now they are afraid to move ahead with 
FrameMaker. I have tried to run the books with FrameMaker 2017, but this 
crashes also. I have reached out to some of my contacts at Adobe, but have 
heard nothing.

 

We need structured FrameMaker because custom HTML5 output is a requirement.
But to not be able to create PDFs from FrameMaker? This is very disappointing.

 

My suggestion for the next version of FrameMaker: go 64-bit and rewrite the 
print engine to make PDF generation faster and stable.

 

In the meantime, I will start looking at alternative solutions.

 

Rick

 

Rick Quatro

Carmen Publishing Inc.

r...@frameexpert.com

585-366-4017

 

 

___

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
___

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

Re: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

2017-02-10 Thread Alan Houser 
This issue has frustrated me for some time. The FrameMaker app appears 
to be a whack-a-mole of unhandled exceptions. Am I the only one who gets 
an immediate crash on "Help>About FrameMaker" in FrameMaker 2017?


Still, for FrameMaker's "sweet spot" (desktop publishing of large PDFs, 
which many orgs will continue to require into the foreseeable future), I 
don't see many good alternatives.


One recurring issue among my clients ... FrameMaker is rather intolerant 
of network latency. This usually shows up when saving FM files to a 
network drive, but may be an issue when generating PDF. I also see PDF 
failures relating to graphic file corruption. I know you're aware of 
these issues, but thought I would mention them.


-Alan


On 2/10/17 8:54 AM, Rick Quatro wrote:

Hi Framers,

  


I received this from a client earlier this week:

  


Rick,

  


We've been adding a lot of material to the ... Service Manual and today when
... attempted to run a PDF it crashed the same way the ... Service Manual is
crashing.

  


This is a huge problem for us. Our whole workflow is predicated upon
FrameMaker working correctly with these large files. Have you had any luck
finding out why the ... Service Manual is crashing?

  


Regards,

...

  


As you can image, this is very frustrating for me as a FrameMaker
consultant, especially since I recommended that they use structured
FrameMaker for their manuals. It is frustrating for my client because they
have been asked to quote on another large set of manuals, but now they are
afraid to move ahead with FrameMaker. I have tried to run the books with
FrameMaker 2017, but this crashes also. I have reached out to some of my
contacts at Adobe, but have heard nothing.

  


We need structured FrameMaker because custom HTML5 output is a requirement.
But to not be able to create PDFs from FrameMaker? This is very
disappointing.

  


My suggestion for the next version of FrameMaker: go 64-bit and rewrite the
print engine to make PDF generation faster and stable.

  


In the meantime, I will start looking at alternative solutions.

  


Rick

  


Rick Quatro

Carmen Publishing Inc.

r...@frameexpert.com

585-366-4017

  


--
Alan Houser
Group Wellesley, Inc.
Consultant and Trainer, Technical Publishing
arh on Twitter
412-450-0532

___

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

Re: [Framers] What do you say when FrameMaker disappoints?

2017-02-10 Thread Steve Rickaby 
Rick, it strikes me that it is not so much FrameMaker that is disappointing, 
but Adobe support. If this is a 'straightforward' software bug, equipped with 
the problem document and development environment Adobe Support ought to be able 
to work out what the problem is and run out a patch in short measure. Proper 
practise with complex commercial applications is to maintain an instrumented 
development environment for every version of a product that can back-trace a 
crash and zero in on a specific bug quickly.

If Adobe does *not* do the above, then I share your feelings.

-- 
Steve [ex-software developer]
___

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