Importing from FrameMaker

I'm planning on creating a help system from existing
FrameMaker files. I've read the RH help file for advice, but the
final output still doesn't look right. In particular, RoboHelp
messes up bullited and numbered lists. The #s aren't wrong, but the
spacing and alignment are off. Any advice on importing FrameMaker
documents into RH5/6 would greatly be appreciated. I don't want to
have to convert to Word.
Also, I saw an Adobe webpage that mentions Adobe is planning
better integration between its technical publication software -
i.e. FrameMaker. Does anyone have any further information on this?
I'd love to see better FrameMaker support distributed in a RH
update.
Thanks in advance - Nick

Hi all
As this thread is dealing with FrameMaker, I'm moving it into the FrameMaker Integration forum.
If you are watching it via E-Mail (the default setting) there should be nothing you need to do. You will still see notifications of any activity.
Cheers... Rick

Similar Messages

How can I get all of my graphics to import from FrameMaker?

I am evaluating Robohelp HTML version 9, which I'm considering using for single-sourcing FrameMaker 7.1 files.
I imported my FrameMaker files, and only 2 out of 75 graphics were imported.
The results window shows that all FM files were imported successfully.
However, in the Project Manager, only these two files appear.
The graphics are BMPs, the same as all the other graphics.
Everything about them seems to be the same as all the other graphics.
So I prepared a TEST FrameMaker file. I placed the two graphics that had imported successfully first, along with a selection of the other graphics. Guess what? All of the graphics imported successfully into RH.
Feeling optimistic, I imported my FrameMaker project into RH again, using the same TEST RH project. Guess what? Only the two original graphics appeared and no others.
Can anyone help me solve this mystery?
Thanks so much!

Sounds like an issue with an individual graphic, not with the process itself. If the 2 successful graphics are the first or last in your project, I'd start testing by importing the graphics in closest proximity...otherwise you may have to import in batches to find the offending file.
If you have a graphic in a format other than that of the "successful" graphics, you may want to test that format in particular.
One thing to consider: As I'm sure you know, any missing resources (fonts, graphics, xrefs) and any errors in updating your book will keep FrameMaker from operating smoothly. If you are sending FM info elsewhere (PDF, HTML, Help) then these subtle deficiencies can cause problems with info sent out of FM as well. "Fix" your FM files and you might solve seemingly unrelated issues elsewhere.
*Note: You mentioned you're testing single sourcing...FM7 files will require import to RoboHelp. With an eval copy of TCS3, you'd be able to create a link to FM10 files, allowing you update the RH9 via the FM10 files. It is a similar process, but by linking, you'll eliminate the importing and/or post processing of the HTML and significantly reduce the time needed to update your RH content.
Also, when purchasing Adobe product, consider Suite purchases and maintenance contracts...I save tons of USD by doing this. See the math at http://blogs.roundpeg.com/2009/12/strategies-for-purchasing-adobe-software/
-Matt

Format of variable imported from FrameMaker file

When I import my FrameMaker files into RoboHelp, at least one of the variable formats changes. That is, a variable format containing a superscript character gets removed when imported into RoboHelp. Is there a way to fix this variable format in RoboHelp or do I have to convert this variable format to text in FrameMaker before importing into RoboHelp.
I am using the Technical Communicator Suite: FrameMaker 8.0 and RoboHelp 7
Thanks

I created a test project and imported one chapter.
The results of the superscript were the same, that is, no superscript: C3 instead of C3. However, there is an exception to this behavior. If there is a cross reference, the cross reference retains the superscript.

FAQ: Creating PDF Files from FrameMaker v.6 & earlier Documents -- Why you should not use "save as PDF"! -- Windows & MacOS Only!

An issue that has come up over and over again on several FrameMaker and Acrobat/PDF email lists as well on the corresponding Adobe User-to-User forums is that of creation of PDF files. FrameMaker 5.5.6 and 6 have what looks like a convenient feature that is supposed to allow you to create PDF files via simply saving the document as a PDF file. I have gone on record as advising end-users not to use this approach for reliable creation of PDF files from FrameMaker documents under Windows and MacOS with FrameMaker 6 and earlier. Why do I most vociferously offer this advice and why doesn't the problem get fixed? And how SHOULD you create PDF files from FrameMaker?
GOOD NEWS
I will start with the good news. The "next major version" of FrameMaker will indeed have "save as PDF" re-implemented in a manner that it will be as reliable as printing to the "Acrobat Distiller" printer instance under Windows or the "Create Adobe PDF" desktop printer under MacOS. I am personally working with the FrameMaker development organization to make sure this really happens and is fully and properly tested and debugged! Furthermore, this next major revision of FrameMaker, unlike FrameMaker 6, will come with a Distiller installer that will properly install the "Acrobat Distiller" printer instance under Windows and the "Create Adobe PDF" desktop printer on the Macintosh (of course assuring that the latest PostScript driver is also automatically and correctly installed).
DON'T USE "SAVE AS PDF"
But what's wrong with "save as PDF" as currently implemented?
The following are some of the SYMPTOMS reported over the last few years by FrameMaker users that were traced back to use of "save as PDF" under FrameMaker:
(1) No PDF file is produced at all, possibly with a log file showing not-readily apparent PostScript errors during distillation.
(2) The PDF file "loses" color in images. All or some images (raster, bitmap images, NOT vector artwork) appear in the PDF file in grayscale.
(3) The resultant PDF file is on the wrong paper size, i.e., the document's logical page size does not match the output page size as seen in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.
(4) Some or all text in the resultant PDF file is blotchy looking or overly bold.
(5) Some or all text in the resultant PDF file cannot be searched or indexed.
(6) Some or all text in the resultant PDF file appears in Courier or in some other substitution font.
(7) Interword or intercharacter spacing is a bit irregular in the resultant PDF file.
(8) Content is missing in the margin areas of the page, i.e. you cannot do full-page bleeds.
(9) Some or all page content is missing (other than margin areas).
(10) Relatively inefficient PDF is generated.
If this list by itself isn't enough for you, please note that some of these symptoms are very subtle and may escape attention when the PDF is first viewed or printed. Oftimes, it is when one attempts to manipulate the PDF file in Acrobat or repurpose its content or even view or print on a system other than the one on which the PDF file was created, that some of these symptoms make themselves obnoxiously visible (or invisible in some cases I won't make any bad jokes here about graphic examples!).
It is important to understand that FrameMaker does NOT have its own native ability to create PDF. Any and all PDF created from FrameMaker documents is actually done by creating PostScript via the PostScript driver and having the Acrobat Distiller create PDF from that PostScript. The only exception to this is creation of PDF via the Acrobat PDFWriter driver, which is likewise not recommended (see below).
In order for "save as PDF" to work correctly, FrameMaker must do the equivalent of calling Printer Setup and selecting the "Acrobat Distiller" printer instance under Windows or the "Create Adobe PDF" desktop printer under MacOS followed by setting the driver's options correctly for paper size, page range, etc., followed by sending the proper commands to the driver to create PostScript.
Contrary to popular belief, PostScript as generated by the Windows and MacOS PostScript drivers is VERY device-dependent. The information in the PPD file associated with a printer driver instance provides critical parameters for generation of PostScript including:
Whether the printer supports color (Acrobat Distiller does)
What PostScript language level is supported (Acrobat Distiller 4.x and Acrobat Distiller 5.x are both PostScript language level 3)
Whether native TrueType support is available (Acrobat supports native TrueType as Type 42 fonts)
Available binary communications (Acrobat Distiller supports pure binary and ASCII, but NOT TCP, TBCP, or PJL)
Resident fonts (Acrobat Distiller doesn't really have resident fonts)
Available paper sizes and custom paper size availability (Acrobat Distiller supports a wide range of predefined sizes and continually variable "custom" sizes up to 200" by 200")
Margins / printable areas (for PDF and the Acrobat Distiller, there are no margins in which imaging is not permitted)
Device resolution (Acrobat Distiller can be set to any value from 72 to 4000 dpi; as a convenience, the Acrobat Distiller PPD provides a series of values for use by the driver. Since there is no inherent "resolution" of a PDF file, this parameter is used only for purposes of allowing PostScript programs that query for such a value to be satisfied and for the driver to be able to communicate this value to the operating system and/or application as required.)
Paper handling (totally irrelevant to Acrobat Distiller if input or output tray selection via "setpagedevice" is found in the PostScript stream, it is ignored by Acrobat Distiller)
Thus, if the wrong printer driver instance is selected (i.e., it isn't associated with the Acrobat Distiller PPD file) or that driver instance is improperly configured, improper PostScript will result and one or more of the symptoms described above can occur. As currently implemented, FrameMaker depending upon version will not necessarily choose the correct printer driver instance and/or correctly parameterize the print job via driver setup options. In fact, FrameMaker 5,5,6 might even try to generate PDF via calling a PCL driver, FAX driver, or even a non-PostScript inkjet printer!
DON'T USE PDFWRITER
The Acrobat PDFWriter is a relic of older versions of Acrobat. In fact, it is no longer installed by default in the "easy install" or the "typical install" of Acrobat 5. It hasn't really be updated since Acrobat 3 and only supports PDF 1.2. It is a GDI (Windows) / QuickDraw (MacOS) driver that directly generates PDF without any intermediary PostScript. Since it is not a PostScript printer driver, applications cannot pass through EPS graphics and/or PDFMark information (used for a wide variety of purposes by FrameMaker). For EPS graphics, most applications will send the low resolution TIFF (or PICT) EPS header in lieu of the PostScript text, if they send anything at all, to the driver. Forget about links, structure, or any other PDF "goodies." Expect that PDFWriter will fully "bite the dust" in the next major version of Acrobat.
SO HOW DO I GENERATE PDF FILES FROM FRAMEMAKER 6 & EARLIER?
The ONLY method that is really reliable for producing PDF files with FrameMaker 6 and earlier requires the generation of PostScript via a properly set printer driver instance associated with the Acrobat Distiller PPD and distillation of the resultant PostScript by Acrobat Distiller.
Case 1: FrameMaker and the Full Acrobat 4.05 or Acrobat 5.0x Products
PDF file from a "chapter" -- print directly to the Acrobat Distiller printer instance (Windows) or the Create Adobe PDF desktop printer (MacOS) already installed by Acrobat. If you check the "Acrobat data" option, then make sure to UNcheck the "print to file" option that gets set at the same time. As a result, the driver will automatically send the generated PostScript to the Distiller for you and delete the intermediate PostScript when done.
PDF file from a "book" -- print directly to the Acrobat Distiller printer instance with the "print to file" option checked (Windows) or the Virtual Printer desktop printer (MacOS) associated with the Distiller PPD (see details below under Case 2/MacOS). You will need to manually process the resultant PostScript file through the Distiller (or use a "watched folder" arrangement).
In both the above sub-cases, the default driver options generally will be OK, but check on paper size and communication protocol (Use pure binary, not ASCII, for optimal performance AND no CTRL-D characters under Windows. Make sure to set Level 3 only and Binary under MacOS. Font inclusion "All" for Acrobat 4.05 and "None" for Acrobat 5 under MacOS.). With Acrobat 4.05, make sure you preset the Distiller to use the joboptions you want. With Acrobat 5, you can set this on a job-by-job basis via the driver printer setup interface (or print dialog on MacOS).
Case 2: FrameMaker 6 and the Bundled Acrobat 4.05 Distiller
Windows -- Create a new printer driver instance using the latest version of the Adobe Universal PostScript Driver Installer, downloadable from Adobe's web site AND the Acrobat Distiller PPD file (located in the XTRAS subdirectory of the Distiller directory). This driver instance should be set to print to the local port named "FILE:". Name this driver instance as "Acrobat Distiller". The default driver options generally will be OK, but check on paper size and communication protocol (use pure binary, not ASCII, for optimal performance AND no CTRL-D characters). Make sure you preset the Distiller to use the joboptions you want. Print directly to this Acrobat Distiller printer instance. Make sure that the "print to file" option is checked. You will need to manually process the resultant PostScript file through the Distiller (or use a "watched folder" arrangement).
MacOS -- Install the latest version of AdobePS 8.7.x, downloadable from Adobe's web site. In FrameMaker, go to Page Setup and select the "Virtual Printer" and go to the "Virtual Printer" window pane. Select the Acrobat Distiller PPD file (located in the XTRAS subfolder of the Distiller folder). Print directly to the "Virtual Printer" (Make sure to set Level 3 only, Binary, and font inclusion "All".). Make sure you preset the Distiller to use the joboptions you want. You will need to manually process the resultant PostScript file through the Distiller (or use a "watched folder" arrangement).
Case 3: Acrobat 3
Acrobat 3 is not officially supported for the latest OS versions and I personally would no longer recommend its use for generation of PDF files given that Acrobat 5.0.5 is the current version of Acrobat.
- Dov

You're asking a lot of ancient Acrobat to work with an Office that never existed when it was made. "Just updated my office suite" is a massive change, and Window 8 didn't exist at that time either...

Pdf created from FrameMaker book using FDK is of bigger size

Hi,
I am new to FrameMaker, when trying to generate a pdf document from a FrameMaker book using FDK, the size of the pdf file created is big when compared to the pdf created using “Save As PDF” from FrameMaker. I have tried setting Named Destinations to false and also “PDF Job Options” to “Smallest File Size”.
Below is the code we use to create a pdf file using FDK
//Open the frame book to process document by document
bookId = OpenFile(strFile);
/* Get docId in order to set Acrobat Bookmark levels */
docId = F_ApiGetId(FV_SessionId, FV_SessionId, FP_FirstOpenDoc);
F_ApiSetInt(FV_SessionId,bookId,FP_PDFBookmark,True);
F_ApiSetInt(FV_SessionId,bookId,FP_PDFJobOption,6);
/* Sets "Body" to the highest Acrobat Bookmark level. */
pgfId = F_ApiGetNamedObject(docId, FO_PgfFmt, StringT("Body"));
F_ApiSetInt(docId, pgfId, FP_AcrobatLevel, 1);
F_ApiSimpleSave(docId, name, False);
/* Sets the save parameters so as to save as PDF and allow user to name file.*/
params = F_ApiGetSaveDefaultParams();
i = F_ApiGetPropIndex(&params, FS_FileType);
params.val[i].propVal.u.ival = FV_SaveFmtPdf;
i = F_ApiGetPropIndex(&params, FP_PDFAllNamedDestinations);
params.val[i].propVal.u.ival = (IntT)False;
i = F_ApiGetPropIndex(&params, FP_PDFJobOption);
params.val[i].propVal.u.sval = F_StrCopyString ((StringT)"Smallest File Size");
/* Saves the book and all its components to one PDF file */
int_SaveID = F_ApiSave(bookId, StringT(strTargetFile), &params, &returnParams);
/* Close the open files.*/
F_ApiDeallocatePropVals(&params);
F_ApiDeallocatePropVals(returnParams);
CloseFile(bookId);
Can anyone suggest a way to reduce the size of the pdf file
Thanks,
Neeraja

Are these duplicates side-by-side (e.g. A and then A again) or one after another (A, B, C... and then A, B, C...)?
If they're one set after another, FM picks up the list of paratags to include in the bookmarks list from the first file in the book, so if this doesn' contain everything, it might help to import the additional formats into that one. Then clear/remove the exisiting bookmarks and only add back the Titles and Heading1 bookmarks (check that the TOC ones remain in the Don't include list).

From FrameMaker to InDesign

Hi,
I am new to this forum, and I am new to InDesign. I have actually never used InDesign, but I have many years of experience with FrameMaker.
My situation is that many of my clients are interested in switching from FrameMaker to InDesigen, which means that the various applications I have developed for converting text into FrameMaker must now be changed to fit InDesign instead. I have been reading on the web about importing text into InDesign, but quite frankly I am not at all sure how to go about doing this, or if it is at all possible.
With FrameMaker I develop applications in VB, which converts text from whatever format (xml, databases, ascii text files, etc.) into FrameMaker's MIF-format. These MIF-files contains all information needed for the publications, and they are simply read into frameMaker like any proprietary file, and there you have it. I do have an SDK for FrameMaker, but I don't use that for creating documents, as it is both slow and cumbersome to use.
Is it possible to do something similar with InDesign?
I need a way of converting which is very dynamic. I don't have a fixed template for every page, as no pages are identical. It is typically a flow of text with images, tables, lists, etc. which are presented on the page as they come. I need to be able to mark words for indexes, make lists of contents, make cross references between pages, scale images, use new master pages according to contents, and otherwise be able to format the text in any way that you would be able to do directly within InDesign.
I would prefer my convertions to end up in files which can simply be opened (or imported) into InDesign without the user having to do further work (like handling templates or importing text into one chapter at a time). If it can be done in a separatate application without using an SDK, I would like that too, as they usually turns out to be slow. A typical publication would contain 500+ pages, several thousand images and tables, so I would prefer a method that doesn't require hours or days of data crunching (with FrameMaker it takes a couple of minutes to make such a complete 500+ pages publication.)
Any advice is welcome. Even telling me that it would be stupid to switch from FrameMaker to InDesign, because I really don't see the point myself, but if my clients want it, then I do what I can to help them. But talking them out of it could also be a solution. :-)

FrankB62 wrote:
Hi,
I am new to this forum, and I am new to InDesign. I have actually never used InDesign, but I have many years of experience with FrameMaker.
My situation is that many of my clients are interested in switching from FrameMaker to InDesigen, which means that the various applications I have developed for converting text into FrameMaker must now be changed to fit InDesign instead. I have been reading on the web about importing text into InDesign, but quite frankly I am not at all sure how to go about doing this, or if it is at all possible.
With FrameMaker I develop applications in VB, which converts text from whatever format (xml, databases, ascii text files, etc.) into FrameMaker's MIF-format. These MIF-files contains all information needed for the publications, and they are simply read into frameMaker like any proprietary file, and there you have it. I do have an SDK for FrameMaker, but I don't use that for creating documents, as it is both slow and cumbersome to use.
Is it possible to do something similar with InDesign?
I need a way of converting which is very dynamic. I don't have a fixed template for every page, as no pages are identical. It is typically a flow of text with images, tables, lists, etc. which are presented on the page as they come. I need to be able to mark words for indexes, make lists of contents, make cross references between pages, scale images, use new master pages according to contents, and otherwise be able to format the text in any way that you would be able to do directly within InDesign.
I would prefer my convertions to end up in files which can simply be opened (or imported) into InDesign without the user having to do further work (like handling templates or importing text into one chapter at a time). If it can be done in a separatate application without using an SDK, I would like that too, as they usually turns out to be slow. A typical publication would contain 500+ pages, several thousand images and tables, so I would prefer a method that doesn't require hours or days of data crunching (with FrameMaker it takes a couple of minutes to make such a complete 500+ pages publication.)
Any advice is welcome. Even telling me that it would be stupid to switch from FrameMaker to InDesign, because I really don't see the point myself, but if my clients want it, then I do what I can to help them. But talking them out of it could also be a solution. :-)
If clients ask you to switch their work from FrameMaker to InDesign, and after discussing it thoroughly, you and they agree that it's a good idea, then go for it! If you both agree that there's value, good, and if you both agree that it's not appropriate, good, too. Perhaps it's not appropriate at the present time, but perhaps reviewing the decision periodically, after you've both had time to research and experiment with InDesign and have some experience with converting old content, and have compared working in InDesign with converted content, and developing new content, you'll be better able to decide.
Search Google for terms like "converting FrameMaker to InDesign," "FrameMaker vs InDesign," "compare FrameMaker and InDesign," "InDesign scripting," "InDesign and XML," "importing FrameMaker into InDesign," and similar terms, without quotes, for links to a wealth of discussions. You'll find many of my earlier posts on this subject. I often mention DTP Tools' (www.dtptools.com) commercial InDesign plug-in, MIF Filter, as one solution to consider. I have no connection to the company other than having used the product some, and having reviewed it for InDesign Magazine a couple of years ago. You can use the product free as much as you like, to see how well it works on your files. You can't save or print the conversions without purchasing a package of page-conversion credits; it works like a phone card. Depending on your designs and layouts, it may or may not suit your projects.
Here's one from today on this forum: http://forums.adobe.com/message/3206944#3206944
InDesign has a strong scripting capability, using applescript, vb, and/or javascript. It also has a useful XML import ability, but not round-trip like FrameMaker.
The projects you describe sound more like InDesign-type page layout designs, than the usual FrameMaker single-flow documents, so perhaps InDesign would be suitable, especially if you and your clients find FrameMaker isn't completely satisfying. Be sure to look at FrameMaker 9 closely before leaving it - if you've been a long-time FrameMaker user and developer, you may have overlooked some of the newest features.
HTH
Regards,
Peter
Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices
Message was edited by: peter at knowhowpro

Glossary from FrameMaker not appearing in RoboHelp output

We are using FrameMaker 10 and RoboHelp 9.
We have user guides in FrameMaker that we want to publish to WebHelp from within FrameMaker. The user guides in FrameMaker all have a glossary in its own chapter at the end of the guide.
In FrameMaker, with the user guide book file open/selected, we select File > Publish.
The Publish Settings window appears.
We select WebHelp, and specify an ISF file that breaks chapters down into individual HTML files by heading level, then click Publish.
RoboHelp opens and publishes the content from the user guide to WebHelp, then RoboHelp closes.
We navigate to the folder that contains the WebHelp files, and launch it.
There is a glossary node at the bottom of the TOC in the WebHelp, but it is always empty.
Can someone please explain how to get RoboHelp to include the glossary content from the Glossary chapter in the user guide when it publishes from FrameMaker to WebHelp? We were hoping that the handoff from FM to RH was seamless, but apparently it is not.
Thank you!
Tim

Hi Tim –
I am using a different process for single-sourcing our documentation in the TCS – FrameMaker 10 and Robohelp 9. I am creating the files in FrameMaker as book files, with TOCs, Glossaries, and Indexes. I am also conditionalizing some text for online and some for print. However, my workflow, based on a lot of research and watching tutorials, is to link the FrameMaker files in a RH9 project. Then, I use Robohelp to apply the .isf file settings, a FrameMaker template to use for conversion of things like cross-reference formats, a RH master page for the online help, the customized Webhelp skin I want to use, and to do any other small tweaks as necessary since the conversion process is about 90% seamless but not perfect.
I found that when linking the files (rather than importing, which is a static process), I also get “empty” default TOCs, Glossaries, and Indexes. The solution that I found is:
1.       After generating html topics from my linked FramMaker book files, I right-click on the book file in the Project Manager pod and select Properties.
2.       On the Contents tab of the “FrameMaker Document Settings” panel, I check all 3 boxes to “convert FrameMaker” TOC, Glossary, and Index files. For the TOC, I navigate to the FrameMaker TOC file of my book.
3.       I select the radio buttons to “Create new associated” TOC, Glossary, and Index and RH insists I name them, so I name them Contents, Glossary, and Index.
4.       Then, click OK to close this window.
5.       Back to the Project Manager pod, I right-click my new TOC, Glossary, and Index files (one at a time) and select the option to set these as the Default ones.
6.       I then have the option to right-click and delete the old (empty) ones (for simplicity’s sake). Everything is then right with my help files.
Yes, this is a lot of steps. It’s the only workflow I’ve found that produces the result I want (Webhelp versions of my FrameMaker generated files that contain all entries at the correct levels, and are automated). FWIW, I couldn’t find documentation on this process anywhere. I found it through trial and error and hair-pulling :o)
HTH!
Virginia Morgan | Technical Writer
TAKE Solutions, Inc.
O 512.735.4316 | M 512.426.8323
[email protected]

Best methods for creating e-books from FrameMaker 10 (TCS 3.5)

I would like to know your thoughts on which of the following methods is the best, and easiest, way to create e-books from FrameMaker. I will most likely be using Calibre to do the file conversion.
(1) Using File > Publish > ePub to create an ePub file, which can then be imported into Calibre.
(2) Using the File > Save Book As > HTM command (which creates a separate HTML file for each FM file), editing the HTML files in RoboHelp (or another HTML editing tool), then importing all of the HTML files into Calibre.
Note that when I published to HTML from FM, it appears that only an output file was created from RoboHelp, as I could not find any HTML files were actually created. Is that the case, or was I just not looking for the HTML files in the right place?
If anyone has any other recommendations, please let me know! Thanks!

I linked the FrameMaker book to RoboHelp, then generated an ePub file from RoboHelp, and have a couple of issues.
(1) When I open the ePub file in Calibre and Adobe Digital Editions, there is no contents section within the book. The only contents is the contents in the navigation bar. How do I generate a contents to appear in the front of the ebook, or do I have to create that manually in RH? I did specify the settings in RH to convert the FM contents.
(2) The ePub file looks much better in Calibre than Adobe Digital Editions. Should I be concerned about this? Which viewer should I rely on?

Keep getting "renderable text" error when I need to OCR PDF's from FrameMaker.

My solution has been to individually extract all those pages, then open them up in Photoshop, flatten them and
widen the canvas size to standard 8.5 x 11.
But that's a little tedious and time-consuming and you have to delete the original page from your document, after
importing the OCR-friendly page.
Is there a printer definition, or something you can set up when you're generating your PDF's in the first place,
that will get rid of that annoying "renderable text" error?

Ok...
I don’t know how it happens but after I save my work in FrameMaker or MS Word, and print
to PDF for the final output, there are often pages with text in them that isn’t recognizable,
or that can’t be found with a CTRL+F search.
That is a serious issue, and one we might be able to help you with, but really, quite separate from the issue here. It's too late to try and fix this once it is a PDF.
What is it that’s lost when OCR is run?
Quality. Small file size. Tags (which might be required legally). Almost everything except the basic text, and that might also be lost given that OCR is not guaranteed to work. This is NOT the right way to solve your problem.
The translator doesn’t have any Adobe products except Reader, so I’m limited to Acrobat
to show her how the words and pictures are laid out on a page.
In order for her to copy and paste that text – or search it, to find all of the places where the
same word might be used – I need to make sure every word is there for her to grab.
I have heard of translators trying to work with PDFs, and few that succeed. You can reasonably expect a transation service to support FrameMaker. But if they don't I recommend you extract the text from FrameMaker to a simple Word or text file. They should be fine using the PDF as a visual reference, and having the text to translate, and for you to flow back into the original layout. (Again, something I'd expect a full service translation to do themselves, but there are advantages to keeping control too).
Those were the 2 pages that gave the ‘renderable text’ error. Don’t ask me why or how, they
look like all the other pages in that document. Except Acrobat thinks they’re scanned graphics,
that’s how they present when you wave the cursor around in them, hunting for text.
Renderable text is just text. It means that somewhere on that page there is text. Surely there is layout, page numbers, whatever from FrameMaker on the pages. If not, we really need to look at your production methods - back to the first point.

Some paragraph tags are not printing when document is printed from Framemaker 10.

So this is really odd. I have a situation where I have a document that I am developing in Framemaker 10 several different paragraph tags are intermittently not printing when the document is physically printed. When I go to print the document from Framemaker 10 to a physical piece of paper some tags are printing partially or not at all. What makes this stranger to me is that when I print the document to a PDF, all of the content and tags show up in the PDF. Then when I try to physically print from the PDF, the tags do no print from that document as well.
Typically the tags that are not printing are those that have been bolded, but are across several different tags. Also the problem is sometimes only to the first line of a tag, where if the tag carries over to a second line in the document, the text on the second line prints. Another quirky instance that shows up is where the text a line will print only parts of the text. The document uses the same type font for the entire document, Helvetica 55 Roman. The font size varies and the coloring varies as well, but this issue is happening for all sizes and colors.
I'm not sure what additional information is important here, but if you need additional information please request it and I will supply it to the best of my ability. I'm a content developer with an intermediate amount of experience with Framemaker.

I'm not sure if this is the same problem, and you didn't mention your
OS, but there was a widespread problem with dropped text in PDF with
Windows XP. A hotfix was issued to fix it. If on Windows XP, you should
install it:
http://blogs.adobe.com/techcomm/2008/07/hotfix_for_framemaker_1.html
Also, you mentioned that it was "bolded" text that tended to have the
problem. Bolded text is artificially bold and does not use actual bold
fonts. (If I recall, text is double printed at a slight offset to give
the appearance of a bold font.) So there is no bold font to embed. Be
sure you install and use an actual bold font, rather than using the
bolded characteristic, or you could see problems.
This is a stretch, but you also mentioned that some of the problem
sections have colored text. Check the printer properties of your Adobe
PDF virtual printer to make sure someone didn't reassign the driver (on
the Advanced tab). It should be set to use the Adobe PDF Converter
driver (or Acrobat Distiller in older Acrobat versions). Years ago,
people sometimes changed this setting to use other drivers for various
reasons, not realizing that they limited themselves to the capabilities
of that driver. So, if they chose an HP LaserJet PostScript driver, for
example, their documents might no longer be able to be 11"x17" or
color-- because the printer couldn't handle it. The driver was limited
to 8.5"x14" and black-and-white. Perhaps there is a driver set that is
choking on the colored text-- though I would think it would merely
convert it to B&W.
Okay, I've grasped at enough straws.

Loosing document from FrameMaker book

When I import/link a FM book, one document does not get generated as topic. RoboHelp does display the chapter icon under the link in the Project manager, and also indicates the status (green, yellow needs update..) but no topic is present there.
Is there any specific content that prevents the importing/linking process?

RoboHelp does not generate a topic for a particular FM file if the topic to be generated does not have any content. In other words, blank topics are not generated by RoboHelp during conversion from FrameMaker. Please make sure that the chapter has some content to be converted to RoboHelp topic.

Is there a way to export data from Framemaker 7.0 to InDesign CS3 for the MAC

I am asking this question for our Advertising department so I am not too close to the situation. Another company that is part of oujr platform designed their catalogs in Framermaker 7.0. We have Framemaker 6.0. The only reason we have it is to work with this other version of Framemaker 7.0. Our advertising people use InDesign CS3 for the Mac. Right now Advertising gives the person with Framermaker 7.0 changes to be made to their catalog. He exports the file as an IMF file and she pulls it into Framermaker 6.0.
We tried to upgrade from Framemaker 6.0 to 9.0, but that wasn't possible.
Ideally we would like to take a 600 page catalog created with Framemaker and convert it to InDesign.
We would also like to take the files created with Framemaker 7.0 and import them into InDesign.
Is there a way to do this?
Thanks in advance.
dh

You can convert FrameMaker MIF (interchange) files to InDesign with the dtptools.com MIF Filter plug-in for InDesign. The plug-in is free, because you have to pay for the pages you convert. The bigger bundle of pages you buy, the lower cost per page.
dtptools.com also has a really free plug-in for FrameMaker that converts .fm files to .mif, whole directories at a time.
The converted InDesign files usually look very close to the original FM files, but it's possible to create things in FM that fools the converter, so you'll need to look the conversions over carefully.
I reviewed MIF Filter in some detail in InDesign Magazine in a late 2007 issue.
You should be aware that InDesign CS3 is no longer sold, so you can't buy more copies for all your users to be working in the same release. While it's possible to exchange files between ID CS3 and CS4 there are some things that don't convert perfectly, so you'll still have to inspect closely. I believe the most-common issue is text reflow.
It's not clear if you intend never to go back to using FrameMaker for any of the catalog work, except perhaps for creating original text.
Without seeing an example of the catalog pages, it's impossible to recommend any useful strategies. You can post a screen shot to this forum by clicking the camera icon in the button bar above the reply entry area. Inserting with the camera puts the picture on the forum very quickly, vs. attaching the picture as a file (it takes hours or days.)
There may be other strategies for creating your catalog.
HTH
Regards,
Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices

Importing a FrameMaker book: a graphics problem

Hello poor Robohelp users ;-) I couldn't image that such a
seemingly trivial action as importing FrameMaker files into
Robohelp could be such a headache. I am using the latest version of
both products. When I import a FrameMaker book into Robohelp, the
following problem arises: pictures appear with a large left margin,
and what is more disturbing is that they can appear under the body
text itself (as a background). In addition, figure captions appear
above the figures instead of under them. Note that in the previous
version of Robohelp, such problem did not arise. Any ideas, boys
and girls? :-)
Thank you all in advance!
Nancy

Hi Nancy,
You don't mention what your settings are for your graphic
frames.
You may be able to solve some problems by resetting those.
For instance, if you are using Alignment: Center, you will
get a large left margin.
Try using Alignment: Left, and in the anchored frame itself,
add just the margin you want. (Make the anchored frame roomy enough
to include your margin.)
In my project, my FM anchored frame settings are:
Anchoring Position: Below Current Line
Alignment: Left
Width: 6.5
Height: adjusted per graphic
That works well for me.
As for your figure caption problems, how about some info
about your paragraph tag settings?
Hint: use a special tag devoted solely to hang your anchored
frames from, like, maybe "anchor graphic".
Don't attach your anchored frame to your figure
titles.

Arbortext(XML) import to Framemaker Error

I am trying to import XML files from Arbortext editor off of Documentum and I can not get them to import into FrameMaker without an "error in processing external entity reference." I am trying to get the files into FrameMaker so I can create an EDD using the DTD from XML file. Is there anyway to import the file or atleast save the DTD in arbortext to use in framemaker?

First you need to find the correct DTD - that is what is used to initate the EDD creation process...
When exporting a document from Documentum (using the export menu choice), Documentum normally will export all the files to the local file system in the location that you specify. It fixes up all the references so that they are local file system references and also fixes up the Doctype to point to a local copy of the DTD. The DTD and any other associated files (generally the entity files) that it references are typically downloaded to a folder in the same location that you exported the files to using the name of the repository. So if your repository name was "repo1" then you would have a folder in your export location called repo1 that has the DTD and other files. You can look at the doctype of the file that you exported and verify the location.
That is the DTD that you need to import into Frame to begin your EDD construction process.
It is possible that your DTD is not imported or correct in Documentum. If you are currently using Arbortext to edit the files, then it is possible that Arbortext is using the public identifier to locate a separate copy of the DTD using its catalogs. In this case the DTD will be in the Arbortext installation tree or if your IT has set a public shared doctypes folder it could be somewhere else.
I know this is clear as mud but it depends a lot on your system infrastructure setup.
First look in the Documentum export folder and see if that is the DTD you expect. If not, then look in the doctypes folder for Arbortext and see if the DTD you expect is there. Then if that fails see if your IT has pointed your Arbortext to a shared folder somewhere.
Good luck - Jim

When I try to print a drawing imported from my ipad iphoto crops it. Is there any way to stop this?

When I try to print a drawing imported from my ipad iphoto crops it. Is there any way to stop this?

Usual cause: printing at the wrong aspect ratio for the image - trying to print 5 x 3 in the shape of a 6 x 4 for instance.
Regards
TD

Importing from FrameMaker

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