Philip Sharman's FrameMaker Resources

FrameScript Resources

FrameMaker versus Microsoft Word et. al.

Creating PDF files

Upgrading From FrameMaker 5 to FrameMaker 6

1. "(If necessary): Clean any older version Acrobat [Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader] programs from your system via the uninstaller.
2. Install Adobe Type Manager Light (except on Windows 2000), downloadable from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/atmwin.htm (choose your language). ATM is necessary if and only if you use ANY Type 1 or OpenType fonts and either you are not running Windows 2000 or you are running Windows 2000 and are using Type 1 Multiple Master fonts. I would strongly recommend its use, but make sure you download ATM Light 4.1.1 from Adobe's web site at the above URL. The version on the FrameMaker 6 CDROM (4.1) has a severe problem. Windows 2000 has the necessary font rasterization built in, except for Type 1 Multiple Master fonts as noted above. ATM Deluxe 4.1 provides the services of ATM Light 4.1.1 PLUS font management services for Type 1, TrueType, and OpenType fonts.
3. Install the Adobe PS driver via the Universal PostScript Driver Installer 1.0.2 [UPDATE - 1.0.4 is now available], downloadable from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/pdrvwin.htm . This will give you AdobePS [4.5.1] under Windows'9x or Windows Me, AdobePS [5.2] under Windows NT 4, or an updated PSCRIPT[5.2] driver under Windows 2000. If you don't have any "real" PostScript printers attached to your system, create a "dummy" printer driver instance using the Generic PostScript PPD (this is provided in the installer) and assign it to local port "FILE". This is necessary to get the Acrobat 4.05a installer to properly generate the Acrobat Distiller Printer instance.
4. Install Acrobat 4.05a from the CD. When this is done and after you reboot (Windows'9x and Me only), you can delete the "dummy" printer you created in step three.
5. Install "Update 2" for Acrobat 4.05, downloadable from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/85f6.htm .
6. Install FrameMaker (or FrameMaker+SGML) 6. Cancel out of the location screen for installing Acrobat Distiller or you will ruin your Acrobat installation. Similarly, cancel out of the driver installation screen. You already have the most recent driver.
7. Install the FrameMaker 6 update, downloadable from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/8582.htm or the FrameMaker+SGML 6 update downloadable from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/8576.htm .
8. Unzip the Updated User Guide PDFs (in fmmanual.zip) after downloading them from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/8656.htm to "X:\Program Files\Adobe\FrameMaker6.0\OnlineManuals" where "X" is the volume you installed FrameMaker 6 (or similar directory for FrameMaker+SGML).
9. When done, pour yourself a stiff drink."

Notes

• For more information on installing Adobe PostScript drivers, see Volume 1 - Issue 3 of InFrame magazine.
• How can you tell what version of the printer driver you have installed? Thanks to Colleen Smith for this:

  "From the control panel, select printers, then select the printer instance for Acrobat Distiller. From the File menu, select Properties, then select the Device Settings tab. Click on the About Adobe PostScript Printer Driver button. The printer driver information is there."

  
  [Update: On Windows 2000, do what post suggests as far as you can, but then (since there is no 'About Adobe PostScript Printer Driver' button on the Device Settings tab) right-click the printer name at the top of tree and choose 'About'.]
• Adobe Acrobat Updates:
  • Even if you aren't upgrading to FrameMaker 6, you can still get "Adobe Acrobat 4.0 to 4.0.5 Update" from Adobe. You can't download this. You have to get Adobe to send you the CD. It's free if you already have Acrobat.
  • Note that "4.0.5" is also called "4.0.5a" and is also called "4.0.6". They are all the same thing. (Sigh.)
  • More info is at: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/6052.htm
  • Before installing Acrobat 4.0.5, uninstall your old installation of Adobe Acrobat 4 first. (Don't just try to install it over the old installation. Apparently that doesn't work properly.)
  • Look on the Adobe web site for the latest update. Get it and install it.
    At the time of writing:
    • The latest updater for Windows is "Acrobat 4.05 Update 2 for Windows" available from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/85f6.htm . After applying Acrobat 4.05 Update 2, the Acrobat version will display as Acrobat "4.05c".
    • The latest updater for Macintosh is "Acrobat 4.05 Update 1" available from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/601e.htm .
  • Don't install Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader on the same machine. Use one or the other.

Web Sites

• FrameUsers.Com

  "The largest and most comprehensive FrameMaker Reference Site on the Internet"

  http://www.FrameUsers.com

• MicroType

  A must-visit. Handy lists of keyboard shortcuts (Windows and cross-platform), tips on converting to PDF, and more. (Look under "Resources".)

  http://www.microtype.com/

• "FrameMaker 4 Commands - generic and Macintosh-specific"

  http://www.wehi.edu.au/~wilkins/Goodies/frame.html

  Update: This link appears to be dead now. Sigh.

• Adobe
  • Adobe's home page

    http://www.adobe.com

  • Updates and other downloadable files

    http://www.adobe.com/supportservice/custsupport/download.html

  • Support database

    http://www.adobe.com/supportservice/custsupport/database.html

  • Sign up for Adobe's free Technical Announcements By Email service.

    http://www.adobe.com/supportservice/custsupport/emaillist.html .

  • Free templates

    "This series brings over 150 professionally designed templates to Adobe FrameMaker users - all for free. The templates range from technical manuals to cookbooks to Web sites. You also get over 30 custom table formats, multi-purpose borders, plus special features such as guide lines and tables of contents."

    http://www.adobe.com/products/framemaker/tempseries/main.html

• MIT's On-line tutorial

  Note that MIT uses Frame on UNIX, so if you're running it on a PC or Mac, you'll have to do some "translating" to end up with the same results.

  http://web.mit.edu/olh/Frame/

• MIT's "Answers To Some Common Questions About FrameMaker"

  http://web.mit.edu/answers/frame/

• Handy Tips
  • "How to deal with inter-column rules in FrameMaker. The rules are drawn on the master pages and can be 'masked out' on the body pages."

    http://hem1.passagen.se/framers/colrules/index.html

  • "The different ways icons can be placed to the left of a paragraph (in the left margin). This is useful for highlighting warnings, etc."

    http://hem1.passagen.se/framers/icontpl/index.html

  • At last! Someone has clearly explained how to handle that damned "unavailable fonts" message!

    http://w1.133.telia.com/~u13304072/framers/fonts/unavailable.html

• German Frame-Users site.

  http://www.frame-user.de

Misc.

• Find Unused Graphics

  A freeware tool to help determine what graphics are not being used.

  http://members.home.net/philip.sharman/graphix/graphix.htm

• InFrame

  An electronic magazine

  http://www.inframe-mag.com/

• FrameScript

  A tool for automating FrameMaker. (Windows version available. Mac beta version also available.)

  Some resources can by found on my FrameScript Resources page.

• BookLooker

  A useful (and free!) tool to do book-wide searches. (Windows only.)

  Available from FrameUsers -> Power Tools -> CudSpan

• XtraBookUtils

  A useful ($5) tool. Available for Macintosh, Sun-Solaris, Win95/NT.

  "A utility that lets the user manipulate settings of all the documents in a book. In addition to this XtraBookUtils lets you manipulate external cross references and references to imported graphics. With this utility you can for example turn off all change bars in all the documents in the book with one (small) action, or change all imported graphics to reference a high resolution version."

  It also makes it easy to rename files in a book (hooray!)

  Available from http://www.bache.com/sgml.html

• Dan Emory's White Paper on Converting Word to Frame files in PDF and ZIP formats.

  Frame and Word PDF (124K PDF).

  Frame and Word ZIPped PDF (76K ZIP).

News Groups

• news://lists.raycomm.com/techwr-l
• comp.text.frame
• comp.text.desktop
• comp.text.sgml
• comp.text

Mailing Lists

• Framers - FrameMaker Discussion List

  The best source of FrameMaker information and help.

  http://www.FrameUsers.com/listserve.shtml

  You can search the list here:

  http://www.egroups.com/list/framers/

  or here

  http://www.pik-potsdam.de/waisdata/framers/

• TECHWR-L

  "The Official TECHWR-L, the Web site supporting the TECHWR-L listserv list. TECHWR-L is an unmoderated discussion forum for technical communication topics. If you're a technical writer, editor, indexer, teacher, student, or just someone interested in technical communication topics, join the list and benefit from over 3600 subscribers' expertise, education, and experience."

  http://lists.raycomm.com/techwhirl/index.html

  news://lists.raycomm.com/techwr-l

• Acrobat Talk

  Devoted to Adobe Acrobat.

  http://www.FrameUsers.com/otherlists.shtml#acrobat

Books

• Adobe FrameMaker 5.5 Classroom in a Book .
• Mastering FrameMaker 5 is now being reprinted. See http://www.FrameUsers.com/masteringframemaker.shtml

  There is also a revision that covers FrameMaker 6. See www.twelfthnight.com/

FAQs

• FAQ from comp.text.frame ( Sadly, this FAQ is out of date and no longer being maintained, but it is still useful.)

  ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/frame/faq/part1

  ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/frame/faq/part2

  or

  http://familiar.sph.umich.edu/faq/files/frame/faq/part1

  http://familiar.sph.umich.edu/faq/files/frame/faq/part2

• A more up to date FAQ, from FrameUsers.com

  http://www.FrameUsers.com/framefaq.shtml

• FAQ from comp.text.sgml

  http://familiar.sph.umich.edu/faq/files/text/sgml-faq

  http://www.infosys.utas.edu.au/info/sgmlfaq.txt

  ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/text/sgml-faq

• FAQ from comp.text.desktop

  http://familiar.sph.umich.edu/faq/files/dtp/resources

• FAQ from comp.text

  ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/text-faq

  http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/text-faq/faq.html

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