Adobe Using FrameMaker 11 Frame Maker 11.0 Instruction Manual En

User Manual: adobe FrameMaker - 11.0 - Instruction Manual Free User Guide for Adobe FrameMaker Software, Manual

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ADOBE® FRAMEMAKER® 11

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Last updated 7/27/2012

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Contents
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Activation and registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Help and support

...................................................................................................... 2

Services, downloads, and extras
What’s new

........................................................................................ 4

........................................................................................................... 5

Chapter 2: FrameMaker Basics
User interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Accessibility features in FrameMaker

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Opening, saving, and closing documents

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Chapter 3: Templates and Page Layout
XML view, Author view, and WYSIWYG view
Templates
Formats

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Master pages and reference pages
Page layouts

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Multiflow documents

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Variables

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Templates

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Line numbers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Create documents

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Chapter 4: Text
Adding and editing text

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Working with elements in structured documents
Search for items
Check spelling

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Use the Thesaurus

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Multiple Undo/Redo
Equations

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Working with multiple languages

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Chapter 5: Tables
About tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Insert, move, or remove a table
Text and graphics in tables
Formatting tables

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Table position and spacing
Chapter 6: Graphics
Graphics and objects

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Using color in text and objects
Anchored frames

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

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Hotspots

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Object Styles

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Using RoboScreenCapture

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Chapter 7: Dynamic Documents
Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Hypertext and view-only documents

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Hypertext commands

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Create hypertext links

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Create ways to start, open, and close applications
Test and troubleshoot hypertext documents
Add hypertext links to generated files
Cross-references

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Chapter 8: Books and Long Documents
About books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Create books

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Managing books

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Generate and update books

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Tables of contents or other lists
Creating indexes

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

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Formatting lists and indexes

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Footnotes and endnotes

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Conditional documents

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

Troubleshooting books

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Chapter 9: Working with Documents
Importing and linking files
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Embedding objects

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3D object part links

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394

Interactive Links for 3D/Multimedia Objects
Export text and graphics

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Smart paste hypertext and MS® Word contents as structured content
Managing files using WebDAV

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404

Chapter 10: Editing Content
Identify changes by tracking edited text
Track changes at book or map level
Identify revised text with change bars
Compare versions to view changes
Determine word and character count
Import PDF comments

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409

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Roundtripping tables, equations, and anchored frames
Direct OLE support in XML

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Chapter 11: Structured Authoring
Introduction to structured authoring

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Migrating from unstructured FrameMaker to XML

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Converting unstructured files to structured documents
XML with FrameMaker
Error console

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Filter By Attribute
Banner text
XPath

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

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Chapter 12: Structured Authoring Using DITA
Why DITA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
DITA support in FrameMaker
DITA options
DITA topics

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468

DITA maps and bookmaps

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471

DITA content references (conrefs)
DITA cross-references and links
Find References

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

Assign IDs to elements

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

Conditional processing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486

Automating conversion of base files to specialized files

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489

Chapter 13: Generating Output
Publishing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Publishing the current document
Generating PDFs

Authoring for accessibility
Generating print output
Generating HTML

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510

Generating hypertext outputs using XSLT

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527

Chapter 14: Working with Content Management Systems
About the Documentum® and SharePoint connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Configure the connectors

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Connect to the content management system
Use the Repository Manager
Upload files and folders
Manage resources
Search files

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539

Add custom CMS attributes

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542

Chapter 15: Scripting in FrameMaker
What is scripting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Why use scripting?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544

Getting started with scripting

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544

Chapter 16: Keyboard Shortcuts
About keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
Navigating through documents
Keys for screen modes

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550

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USING FRAMEMAKER 11
Contents

Keys for views

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551

Dialog boxes

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551

Keys for selection

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

Menu commands

Tables

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

Book commands

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

Keys for finding and changing
Documents

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571

Document design

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573

Document utilities

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574

Text formatting

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576

Character and Paragraph Designers
Text

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579

Track Text Edit
Editing text

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583

Entering special characters
Function keys

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585

Keys for drawing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585

Keys for editing objects
Keys for adding color

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589

Keys for equations

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590

Filter By Attribute

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603

Hierarchical element insert

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604

Markers and variables

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604

Working with structure

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604

Element menu

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606

Other useful shortcuts

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606

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Chapter 1: Getting Started
Adobe FrameMaker is an automated multi-channel and multi-device publishing solution. FrameMaker enables
publication departments accomplish multichannel publication tasks.
Before you begin working with your software, take a few moments to read an overview of activation and the many
resources available to you. You have access to instructional videos, plug-ins, templates, user communities, seminars,
tutorials, RSS feeds, and much more.
Resources
Before you begin working with FrameMaker, take a few moments to read an overview of activation and the many
resources available to you. In addition to the links below, you have access to instructional videos, plug-ins, templates,
user communities, seminars, tutorials, RSS feeds, and much more online.

• “Activation and registration” on page 1
• Adobe TV instructional videos for FrameMaker
• Adobe FrameMaker discussion forum
• Framers -- An email list for FrameMaker discussions

Activation and registration
To review complete system requirements and Adobe Recommendations for your Adobe® FrameMaker® 11 software,
see the FrameMaker product page at www.adobe.com/products/framemaker.

Install the software
1 Close any Adobe applications open on your computer.
2 Insert the installation disc into your disk drive, and follow the onscreen instructions.

Help with installation
For help with installation issues, see the Installation Support Center at www.adobe.com/go/learn_fm_install_en.

License activation
During the installation process, your Adobe software contacts an Adobe server to complete the license activation
process. No personal data is transmitted. For more information on product activation, visit the Adobe website at
www.adobe.com/go/activation.

Register
Register your product to receive complimentary installation support, notifications of updates, and other services.
❖ To register, follow the onscreen instructions in the Registration dialog box, which appears when you first start the

software.

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Getting Started

If you postpone registration, you can register at any time by choosing Help > Registration.

Help and support
Visit the Adobe Support website at www.adobe.com/support/framemaker to access documentation, along with
tutorials and troubleshooting information. You can also access customer support information from this page.
Online Help also includes a link to the complete, updated PDF version of Help.

Adobe Community Help
Adobe Community Help is an integrated environment on Adobe.com that gives you access to community-generated
content moderated by Adobe and industry experts. Think of Community Help as collections of related items rather
than books. Adobe continually curates and adds to these collections.
Bookmark the FrameMaker Help hub page to find the best content on the web about FrameMaker, including these
resources:

• Videos, tutorials, tips and techniques, blogs, articles, and examples for designers and developers.
• Complete online Help, which is updated regularly.
• All other content on Adobe.com, including knowledgebase articles, downloads and updates, Adobe Developer
Connection, and more.
Viewing online Help content
• When you launch Help from within the product, your default web browser (Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome,
Firefox, etc.) will launch with the product Help content displayed.

• You can then use your browser’s native functionality to search, bookmark, comment, or rate the content.
Downloading offline Help content
• The first time you launch Help from within the product, Adobe Help Manager launches in the background and
checks for the availability of new or updated content.
Adobe Help Manager is an AIR-based content installation utility that downloads offline help content and notifies
you when new updates are available, ensuring that you always have the most up-to-date and accurate reference
information from Adobe.

• If no new content is available, the application will shut down until the next time you select Help.
• If new content is found, a small pop-up notification will be displayed on your desktop, usually in the lower-right
corner of your screen.

• When you click on the notification message, the Help Manager will launch and show you all of the help content
that is available for download in the Local Content preferences.

• You can select individual packages by highlighting the desired product or Help package title and clicking on the
Update button.

• To update all of the content that is available, select the ‘Download’ button on the General preferences pane. Note:
The total download size for all of the applicable content is displayed – large updates may take several minutes or
more to download.

• During this download, you may continue to browse and search Help content with your web browser.
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Getting Started

• If you prefer to have your Adobe applications use the local, installed Help files by default, select “Display local help
content only’ in the General preferences tab.

• Or you can simply choose to continue viewing online content and the Help Manager will automatically switch to
offline help if Internet access is no longer available.

Services, downloads, and extras
You can enhance your product by integrating various services, plug-ins, and extensions in your product. You can also
download samples and other assets and see various resources to get your work done.

Adobe Exchange
Visit the Adobe Exchange at www.adobe.com/go/exchange to download samples as well as plug-ins and extensions
from Adobe and third-party developers. The plug-ins and extensions can help you automate tasks, customize
workflows, create specialized professional effects, and more.

Adobe downloads
Visit www.adobe.com/go/downloads to find free updates, trials, and other useful software.

Adobe Labs
Adobe Labs at www.adobe.com/go/labs gives you the opportunity to experience and evaluate new and emerging
technologies and products from Adobe. At Adobe Labs, you have access to resources such as these:

• Prerelease software and technologies
• Code samples and best practices to accelerate your learning
• Early versions of product and technical documentation
• Forums, wiki-based content, and other collaborative resources to help you interact with like-minded users
Adobe Labs fosters a collaborative software development process. In this environment, customers quickly become
productive with new products and technologies. Adobe Labs is also a forum for early feedback. The Adobe
development teams use this feedback to create software that meets the needs and expectations of the community.

Adobe forums
To reach out to experts in the Adobe RoboHelp community, visit http://forums.adobe.com/community/framemaker.
If you comment on a Help page, the comment is automatically posted on the forum. The experts and other users can
respond to your comment.

Adobe TV
Visit Adobe TV at http://tv.adobe.com to view instructional and inspirational videos. The Technical Communications
channel features videos relevant for technical communicators. The videos on the FrameMaker channel help you get
started.

FrameMaker Developer Center
Visit FrameMaker Developer Center for articles written by internal and external RoboHelp users on various userrequested topics.

Previous FrameMaker Help
Download the documentation of older versions of FrameMaker from the FrameMaker Help hub page.

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USING FRAMEMAKER 11
Getting Started

Other resources
Online Help also includes a link to the complete, updated PDF version of Help.
Visit the Adobe Support website at www.adobe.com/support to learn about free and paid technical support options.
Visit the following resources to interact with the FrameMaker community.

• Adobe Forums: http://forums.adobe.com/community/framemaker
• Adobe Blogs: http://blogs.adobe.com/
• Adobe TV: http://tv.adobe.com/product/framemaker/

Adobe downloads
Visit www.adobe.com/go/downloads to find free updates, trials, and other useful software.

• Prerelease software and technologies
• Code samples and best practices to accelerate your learning
• Early versions of product and technical documentation
• Forums, wiki-based content, and other collaborative resources to Help you interact with like-minded users
Adobe Labs fosters a collaborative software development process. In this environment, customers quickly become
productive with new products and technologies. Adobe Labs is also a forum for early feedback. The Adobe
development teams use this feedback to create software that meets the needs and expectations of the community.

Adobe TV
Visit the technical communications channel on Adobe TV at http://tv.adobe.com/channel/technical-communication
for instructional videos on authoring.

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USING FRAMEMAKER 11
Getting Started

What’s new
Adobe® FrameMaker® 11 supports XPath and allows you to create and use XSLT expressions to publish hypertext
outputs from your structured content. Two new views, XML view and Author view, help you author and manage
structured content with ease. The new Error console helps you identify and correct errors in your structured content.
Structured authoring is more usable with hierarchical element insert and banner text to guide you about the contents
of various elements. Line numbers help you identify location of the content. Quick catalogs make locating and
inserting the right elements and formats easier. Rich media support is enhanced to include image hotspots, 3D object
part links, and interactive links to multimedia and 3D objects.

Enhancements to XML and DITA support
New views
In addition to the default WYSIWYG view, FrameMaker has two new views:
Author view
Author View is meant for structured documents only. Author View simplifies structured authoring by keeping out
unstructured-FrameMaker features, such as page numbers and formatting tools, not relevan for XML authors.

More Help topics
“Author view” on page 45
“XML view, Author view, and WYSIWYG view” on page 44
XML view
The XML view allows you to work with the plain XML code of your structured FrameMaker XML files. The sophisticated
XML code view automatically validates the structure and inserts the required attribute values and closing tags.

More Help topics
“XML view” on page 44
“XML view, Author view, and WYSIWYG view” on page 44
“XPath” on page 459
“Generating hypertext outputs using XSLT” on page 527

XPath expressions to locate XML nodes
You can use XPath syntax in the XML view to search through XML files for nodes or node sets. Using the XPath pod
or XPath toolbar, you can execute XPath queries on:

• current files
• all open files
• all the files in a folder
• or all the files in a ditamap\book

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More Help topics
“XPath” on page 459
“XML view” on page 44

Run XSLT from XML view
You can run XSL from XML View to create hypertext outputs from XML files. Further, you can create and save
reusable transformation scenarios in an XML file. The output is created using Xalan or SAXON parsers that get
installed on your machine with FrameMaker. You can choose the parser using which you create the output.

More Help topics
“Generating hypertext outputs using XSLT” on page 527

Hierarchical element insert in DITA

More Help topics
“Hierarchical element insert” on page 126
“Quick catalogs” on page 23

Guided structured authoring with banner text
Banner text in a FrameMaker file instructs you about what to enter in an element. You can control the instructional
text you want to display for each of the elements. Banner text is available for container type elements and is controlled
using the BannerText element. FrameMaker does not treat banner text as real content in the document. Banner text is
included in FM and MIF output, but is not included in XML output.

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“Banner text” on page 458

Configure and generate book output from ditamap
You can configure the generation of the output from a ditamap. You can generate two configurable, unstructured
outputs from a ditamap: Composite Document 11.0 and Book 11.0 with FM components.

More Help topics
“Create ditamap-to-book output” on page 493
“Generating hypertext outputs using XSLT” on page 527

Roundtripping OLE objects
FrameMaker now supports round-tripping OLE objects, such as Visio objects and PowerPoint presentations in XML.
An XML Processing Instruction is added to FrameMaker to handle the OLE object roundtripping.

More Help topics
“Direct OLE support in XML” on page 421

Assign IDs to elements
You can now assign IDs to multiple instances of an element in one go:

• Instances of an element across a FrameMaker file
• Instances of an element across topicrefs in a ditamap
• Instances of an element in all open files
You can also choose to assign IDs to the instances of the specializations of the selected element.

More Help topics
“Assign IDs to elements” on page 485

Smart paste
FrameMaker allows you to paste HTML, MS® Word, MS® Excel, and MS® Outlook content as DITA content. You can
also create and configure XSLs for other FrameMaker structured applications. Using XSL, FrameMaker identifies the
content while it is in the clipboard and structures it with the most appropriate hierarchy or sequence of elements. Then
you can use the smart paste command to paste it to FrameMaker as DITA content.

More Help topics
“Smart paste hypertext and MS® Word contents as structured content” on page 402

Error Console
The error console replaces the Error log, which was there in earlier FrameMaker versions. While opening a document,
the new FrameMaker Error console displays structural and other issues in a document, if any. The error console
displays location (line\char) of the error and a description of the error. This information helps you locate and
understand the error.

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More Help topics
“Error console” on page 448

Usability enhancements
FrameMaker brings several interface enhancements that simplify various tasks, and thus increasing productivity.

Identify and refer to content using line numbers
Line numbers help the author and reviewer identify particular lines for providing feedback. Line numbers are set at a
document level (for .fm and .mif files) and appear before each inserted line in a FrameMaker document.

Line numbers in an unstructured FrameMaker file

More Help topics
“Line numbers” on page 112

Quick catalog
Quick catalogs appear next to the instruction pointer for elements, paragraph formats, character formats, variables,
and conditional text when you use the appropriate keyboard shortcut.

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A paragraph formats quick catalog

More Help topics
“Quick catalogs” on page 23
“Hierarchical element insert” on page 126

Extended rich media support
Interactive multimedia links for 3D objects
FrameMaker 11 allows you to insert links to interactively control embedded U3D (Universal 3D), FLV file, and SWF
file in the PDF output.

More Help topics
“Interactive Links for 3D/Multimedia Objects” on page 395

Object styles
Object styles work similar to Paragraph and Character formats. You can save your frequently used object properties
as a style. You can apply these object styles to various objects, such as images, anchored frames, and text frames for
consistent size and appearance.

More Help topics
“Object Styles” on page 266

Hotspots
A hotspot is an active area in a document that you can link to different areas of the document, to another document,
or to a URL. With hotspots, you can add multiple links in different parts of a graphic without having to divide the
graphic into separate parts. For example, in a world map, you can create hotspots in each of the countries linking to
more information about that country.

More Help topics
“Hotspots” on page 263

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3D object part links
Various 3D-objects’ parts can be linked to textual objects within the same or in other documents. A use for adding 3D
object part links can be to link them to a description of each of the parts.

More Help topics
“3D object part links” on page 394

CMS integration enhancements
CMS connector framework
FrameMaker 11 extends the support to any standard content management system (CMS) through providing a set of
full-featured APIs\Extendscript. With CMS APIs\ExtendScript, you can implement additional authoring and content
management capabilities beyond the ones provided by the CMS. In addition, you can create your own user interface
or extend the existing user interface features.

Custom attributes in CMS
You can add the custom attributes in FrameMaker that exist on your Documentum® or Sharepoint CMS.

More Help topics
“Add custom CMS attributes” on page 542

FrameMaker Publishing Server enhancements
Kindle, multiscreen, epubs, and native mobile app publishing in FrameMaker Publishing
Server
FrameMaker Publishing Server can now publish three new formats: kindle, multiscreen, epubs, and native mobile app.

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Chapter 2: FrameMaker Basics
User interface
Basics
The Welcome screen
From the FrameMaker Welcome screen, you can perform the following tasks:

• Open recently accessed documents
• Create documents, books, CMS connections, and DITA maps in case of Structured FrameMaker
• Access FrameMaker templates
• Access FrameMaker Help and guides
• Access other resource pages and updates from Adobe

Workspace overview
A particular arrangement of elements, such as panels and pods that you use frequently while working on documents,
is called a workspace. You can dock, stack, minimize, or make these elements free-floating in your workspace. You can
select from several preset workspaces or create one of your own. Once you have arranged the panels and pods, you can
save the workspace settings for use later.
The FrameMaker interface has the following components.

• The Application bar across the top contains a workspace switcher, menus, and other application controls.
• The document window displays the file you’re working on. Document windows can be tabbed and, in certain cases,
grouped and docked.

• Panels help you monitor and modify your work. Examples include character, paragraph, and table designers; and
marker, variables, cross-references panels. You can minimize, group, stack, or dock panels.

• The status bar shows text formatting and pagination information for the current document.

Preferences dialog
The preferences dialog (Edit > Preferences) has the following settings:
General preferences
Use these preferences to specify settings, such as:

•

Product interface

• File saving, naming, and backup
• Handling of embedded objects

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B C D

J
K
L
M

F
N
G
H
I

General preferences
A. Select structured or unstructured interface B. Specify the diagonal size of your monitor C. Select to create a backup file when you save a file
for the first time D. Specify the number of minutes after which FrameMaker automatically saves the open file E. Select to display errors, if any,
when you open a file in FrameMaker F. Text size smaller than the one specified in this field is displayed as XXXX G. Select to automatically
lock and check-out a file when you download it H. Select to check in a file every time you save it I. Select to display learning resource links on
the bottom of the starter page J. Select the type of cross-platform file naming for FrameMaker to follow K. Select to add a FrameImage facet
to bitmap graphics imported by copying L. Select to prevent multiple people from opening the same file M. Select to remember missing font
names N. Select the file types to be embedded in the PDF

Interface preferences
Use this dialog box to specify whether FrameMaker should auto-collapse panels to icons or always open documents as tabs.

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B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J

Default interface properties
A. Select tooltip appearance type: Normal, Fast, or Hidden B. Switch between dark or light levels of UI brightness C. When disabled, you must
click on the panel tab/panel icon to collapse it. When enabled, just click on another panel or in the document to collapse a panel. D. Select to
hide all docked panels permanently E. Select to make FrameMaker application icon greyscale F. When you close panels they are hidden but
are still active in memory. Deselect this option to remove panels when you close them. To display them again, choose them from FrameMaker
menus. G. Select to open all documents as tabbed documents. Deselect to open document windows as floating windows. H. Floating document
windows display the document name only in the title bar. Deselect to display document name in title bar and tab bar. I. When you drag
document windows and place them together, they tend to form tabs in a single document window. Select this option to prevent document
tabbing. J. Opens composite documents as tabbed documents. Deselect to open composite document windows as floating windows.

Alerts
These settings control the display of warnings.

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A
B

Alerts
A. Select to show warnings on actions that clear the history B. Specify if you want the warning to appear once for a history clearning command
or every time you run that command C. Select when you want FrameMaker to display dialogs with alerts

Panels and Pods
The pod location criteria determine what should be displayed in the pod list area for an instance by way of identifying
its location in the document.

A
B

Panels and pods
A. In structured interface, you can specify either the paragraph styles or the element names. In unstructured FrameMaker, you can only specify
paragraph styles. B. Specify the first paragraph style (Paragraph style or element in Structured Framemaker) C. Specify the second paragraph
style (Paragraph style or element in Structured Framemaker)

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More Help topics
“Panels” on page 18
Documentum
Use these preferences to set up Documentum file versioning, specify DFS SDK path, and add custom CMS properties
to FrameMaker for Documentum.

C
D

Documentum CMS preferences
A. Specify how existing objects are overwritten and saved B. Enter the name of a custom attribute to add C. Select to show hidden objects
D. Select to show private cabinets E. Specify the path to DFS SDK

Sharepoint
Use these preferences to set up Sharepoint file versioning and add custom CMS properties to FrameMaker for
Sharepoint.

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Sharepoint preferences
A. Specify how existing objects are overwritten and saved B. Enter the name and type of a custom attribute to add

Dictionary
Use these preferences to specify Proximity or Hunspell dictionaries for Spelling, Hyphenation, and Thesaurus for
various languages.
Spelling options
Use these preferences to set up Spelling Checker.

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A
B

Spelling Options
A. Auto Spell check B. Select all that you want spell checker to find C. Select all that you want spell checker to ignore D. Click to get default
spelling options

XML
Use these preferences to set up syntax colors and other display options for XML content in FrameMaker.

A
B

C
D

XML preferences
A. Select the color preferences for various parts of XML syntax B. Select the font family for displaying the xml tags and content C. Select to
display line numbers in the document D. Select to word wrap

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Panels
Dock and undock panels
A dock is a collection of panels or panel groups displayed together in a vertical orientation. A dock is an arrangement
of non-floating panels. You dock and undock panels by moving them into and out of a dock.

Docking a panel to the right of the document window. The blue highlight indicates the drop zone on the dock.

Note: Docking is not the same as stacking. A stack is a collection of floating panels or panel groups, joined top to bottom.

• To dock a panel, drag it by its tab into the dock, at the top, bottom, or in between other panels.
• To dock a panel group, drag it by its title bar (the solid empty bar above the tabs) into the dock.
• To remove a panel or panel group, drag it out of the dock by its tab or title bar. You can drag it into another dock
or make it free-floating.

Move panels
As you move panels, blue highlighted drop zone areas appear where you can drop the panel. For example, move a panel
up or down in a dock by dragging it to the narrow blue drop zone above or below another panel. If you drag to an area
that is not a drop zone, the panel floats freely in the workspace.

• To move a panel, drag it by its tab.
• To move a panel group or a stack of floating panels, drag the title bar.

Manipulate panel groups
• To move a panel into a group, drag the panel’s tab to the highlighted drop zone at the top of the group.

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Adding a panel to a panel group

• To rearrange panels in a group, drag a panel’s tab to a new location in the group.
• To remove a panel from a group so that it floats freely, drag the panel by its tab outside the group.
• To move a group, drag the title bar (the area above the tabs).

Stack floating panels
When you drag a panel out of its dock but not into a drop zone, the panel floats freely. You can position the floating
panel anywhere in the workspace. You can stack floating panels or panel groups so that they move as a unit when you
drag the topmost title bar.

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You can collect floating panels and group them into a stack.

• To stack floating panels, drag a panel by its tab to the drop zone at the bottom of another panel.
• To change the stacking order, drag a panel up or down by its tab.
Note: Be sure to release the tab over the narrow drop zone between panels, rather than the broad drop zone in a title bar.

• To remove a panel or panel group from the stack, so that it floats by itself, drag it out by its tab or title bar.

Resize panels
• To minimize or maximize a panel, panel group, or stack of panels, double-click a tab. You can also single-click the
tab area (the empty space next to the tabs).

• To resize a panel, drag any side of the panel.

Manipulate panels collapsed to icons
You can collapse panels to icons to reduce clutter on the workspace. In some cases, panels are collapsed to icons in the
default workspace.

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Collapse panels to icons
A. Panel icons B. Panel icons expanded

• To collapse or expand all panel icons in a dock, click the double arrow at the top of the dock.
• To expand a single panel icon, click it.
• To resize panel icons so that you see only the icons (and not the labels), adjust the width of the dock until the text
disappears. To display the icon text again, make the dock wider.

• To collapse an expanded panel back to its icon, click its tab, its icon, or the double arrow in the panel’s title bar.
• To add a floating panel or panel group to an icon dock, drag it in by its tab or title bar. (Panels are automatically
collapsed to icons when added to an icon dock.)

• To move a panel icon (or panel icon group), drag the icon. You can drag panel icons up and down in the dock, or
into other docks (where they appear in the panel style of that dock). You can also drag panel icons outside the dock
(where they appear as floating, expanded panels).

Tabbed documents
When you open more than one file, the document windows are tabbed. You can open documents as floating windows
by clearing the Open Documents As Tabs option in the Interface Preferences dialog box.

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Documents appear as tabs in the document view.

However, when you add a generated file, such as a Table Of Content, the generated file appears minimized in the lower
left corner of your workspace. There are multiple ways in which you can organize floating and tabbed document
windows.

• To dock a document window in a group of document windows, drag the window into the group.
• To rearrange the order of tabbed document windows, drag a window’s tab to a new location in the group.
• To undock a document window from a group of windows, drag the window’s tab out of the group.
Note: When you minimize a floating document window, it covers a part of the FrameMaker status bar. You cannot
move the minimized window to a new location.

Tips on working with the new interface
Adjust the UI brightness Adjust the UI brightness by using the UI Brightness slider under > Interface.
Combine document windows To consolidate all document windows, floating, minimized, or docked, right-click the

tab bar of the docked document window and select Consolidate All To Here from the menu.
Float document windows Click Arrange Documents icon on the top Application bar and select Float All In Windows.
This arranges all the document windows as cascaded floating panels.
Tile documents Use the Arrange Documents icon to tile document windows vertically or horizontally. This is specially

useful for manually comparing documents and layering them side by side.
Bring hidden pods to the front Sometimes while working with floating document windows or when switching
workspaces, the pods may seem difficult to bring to the front.

• Undock the pods by dragging them out using the pod title bar.
• Dock all floating document windows. Right-click the docked tab bar and select Consolidate All To Here or drag
and dock the floating document windows.
Minimize pods to icons Right-click on the pods tab bar and select Collapse To Icons from the menu. This option is

available only if the pods are floating and not docked. To collapse docked pods, click anywhere in the tab bar.
Reopen the pods Choose View > Pods and click any pod name. The entire group of pods open at the bottom of the

workspace.
Reopen a panel Choose Windows and select Panels and select the panel you want to reopen.
Collapse all open panel groups to icons Right-click the tab bar of the panel group and select Collapse To Icons.
Exit the full screen mode Right-click outside the text frame in the document window and select Toggle Screen Mode.

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More Help topics
“Keys for screen modes” on page 550

Quick catalogs
Quick catalogs appear next to the instruction pointer for elements, paragraph formats, and character formats when
you use the appropriate keyboard shortcut.

A character formats quick catalog

Following are the keyboard shortcuts for the various pop-up menus and other actions related to elements:
Quick catalog/Action

Keyboard Shortcut

Elements quick catalog

Enter

Note: See Hierarchical element insert for more
details.

Wrap element

Ctrl+2

Change element

Ctrl+3

Insert conditional tags

Ctrl+4

Insert conditional tags

Ctrl+5

Insert attributes for an element

Ctrl+7

Character formats quick catalog

Ctrl+8

Paragraph formats quick catalog

Ctrl+9

Variables quick catalog

Ctrl+0

Ctrl+1

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Customize and manage workspaces
Default workspaces
You can choose from default workspaces or create custom workspaces and switch between them. The default
workspaces are designed so that you can quickly switch between workspaces according to what you want to
accomplish. For example, the Review workspace has review toolbars, commonly used pods, and panels prearranged to
help you review a document quickly.

• Authoring
• DITA Authoring (available only in Structured FrameMaker)
• Manage Content
• Manage Graphics
• Review
• Structured Authoring (available only in Structured FrameMaker)

Save a custom workspace
1 Configure the workspace the way you want it and choose Save Workspace from the workspace switcher on the

Application bar.
2 Type a name for the workspace and click OK.

FrameMaker remembers the last used workspace across sessions. If you were working in the Review workspace and
you close and relaunch FrameMaker, it loads the Review workspace.

Switch workspaces
❖ Select a workspace from the workspace switcher in the Application bar.

Use the workspace switcher to switch between workspaces designed for your workflow.

Reset a workspace
By saving the current configuration of panels as a named workspace, you can restore that workspace even if you move
or close a panel. The names of saved workspaces appear in the workspace switcher in the Application bar.
❖ Select the Reset Workspace option from the workspace switcher in the Application bar.

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Rename a custom workspace
1 Select Manage Workspace from the workspace switcher in the Application bar.
2 Select the workspace and click Rename.
3 Type a new name and click OK twice.

Delete a custom workspace
❖ Select Manage Workspace from the workspace switcher in the Application bar, select the workspace, and then click

Delete.

Interface view options
Display pages more quickly
❖ Do the following:

• Open the document by bypassing the update of imported graphics, cross-references, and text insets. (Opening
a document without updating references makes a document open faster but can slow down the display of
individual pages.)

• Turn off the display of graphics by choosing View > Options, deselecting the Graphics option, and clicking Set.
Important: If you deselect the Graphics option and generate a PDF, the graphics do not appear in the PDF.

• Display small text as gray bars by choosing File > Preferences > General, entering a point size in the Greek Screen
Text Smaller box, and clicking Set. Whenever text in your document is in a point size smaller than the size you
specified, it appears on the screen as a gray bar.

Change the preset display units
Some text boxes in dialog boxes require a unit of measurement (such as points or inches) for the value you enter. You
can specify the default units for font size and line spacing (font size units) and for other measurements (display units).
The default units of measurement appear after the values in the text boxes. If you enter a value without a unit of
measurement, FrameMaker uses the default unit.

• To change the preset units, make the appropriate window is active. Select View > Options. Select the values for
Display Units and Font Units, and then click Set.

• To enter different units in a box, make the appropriate window active. Enter an abbreviation for the unit along with
the numeric value. Use cm for centimeters, mm for millimeters, " or in for inches, pc, pi, or pica for picas, pt or
point for points, dd for didots, cc or cicero for ciceros, Q for Q units (refers to font size and line spacing for the
Japanese language only).
FrameMaker converts the entry to the preset display units when you click a command button in the dialog box. For
example, if your document display units are picas and you want to set a paragraph indent of 1 inch, enter 1" in the
First Indent box. When you click Apply, the measurement changes to the number of picas that corresponds to 1 inch.

Change the spacing of ruler or grid intervals
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Select View > Options. Select a new setting from the Rulers menu or the Grid menu, and click Set.

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Show or hide visual guides
You can show several of these visual guides in a document window:

• Borders around text frames, graphic frames, and imported objects
• Markers, paragraph returns, and other symbols in running text
• Rulers along the top and left side of the window
You can also show a grid of horizontal and vertical lines for drawing, resizing, and aligning graphics. All visual guides
are nonprinting, so you do not need to hide them when you print.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Do the following:

• To show or hide borders, select View > Borders.
• To show or hide the text symbols, select View > Text Symbols.
• To show or hide the rulers, select View > Rulers.
• To show or hide grid lines, select View > Grid Lines.
• To show the element boundaries, select View > Element Boundaries or Element Boundaries (As Tags) in
Structured FrameMaker. FrameMaker automatically toggles these two options.

Text symbols
Text symbol

Meaning
End of paragraph
End of flow and end of table cell
Tab
Anchored frame and table anchor
Marker
Forced return
Manual equation alignment point
Nonbreaking space
Discretionary hyphen
Suppress hyphenation

Display a subset of menu commands
You can display a subset of menu commands called quick menus. The quick menus do not have commands for
formatting text, editing some aspects of graphics, and inserting some objects such as markers and variables.
If you do not see the full set of menu commands, the quick menus is probably displayed.

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Note: If you’re using a structured document, your application developer can change the commands available in the
complete menus.

• To display quick menus, select View > Menus > Quick.
• To restore the complete menu, select View > Menus > Complete.
• To customize menus, add, move, or remove menus and commands as described in the online manual Customizing
FrameMaker on the Adobe website www.adobe.com/go/lr_FrameMaker_support_en.

Display a high-contrast workspace
FrameMaker uses system colors to draw window backgrounds, text, and other graphics. Users who have trouble
discerning colors or variations in contrast, or who have low visual acuity, can set high-contrast color schemes and
custom text and background colors. This setting makes the information in the user interface easier to view.
1 Open the Windows Control Panel, double-click Accessibility Options, and select the Display tab.
2 Change contrast globally or change the color theme, as follows:

• To change the appearance of all operating system windows at once, select the Use High Contrast option.
• To change the color theme, click Settings and select one of the High Contrast Appearance Scheme options.
Note: FrameMaker does not adjust colors of all items. Some of these include the background color, and the fill color of
graphic objects.

Use status bar controls
The FrameMaker status bar provides all the navigational controls, pagination information, and zoom controls.
A

Navigational controls on the status bar
A. First page B. Previous C. Go to page number D. Next E. Last page F. Go to line number G. Go to insertion point H. Zoom controls

Zoom in and out
• To magnify or decrease magnification, text, and objects, click the + (Increase Zoom) or - (Decrease Zoom) buttons
on the status bar. FrameMaker zooms in or out on the area of the page containing the insertion point or selection.
If the document doesn’t contain an insertion point or a selection, FrameMaker zooms in on the center of the page.

• To display text and objects at a particular magnification, select a percentage from the Zoom pop-up menu.
• To display the entire page in the current window, select Fit Page In Window from the Zoom pop-up menu.
• To fit the page or text frame to the window, select Fit Window To Page or Fit Window To Text Frame from the
Zoom pop-up menu. If the view options are set to display facing pages, the window is resized to accommodate two
pages side by side.

• To change the available zoom settings, click Set from the Zoom pop-up menu, select the percentage you want to
change and enter the new percentage. Enter any percentage from 25% to 1600%. Click Set. To return to the default
percentages, click Get Defaults.

• To make 100% zoom match the page size, select File > Preferences > General. For Monitor Size, specify the diagonal
size of your monitor, and then click OK. If screen-to-paper fidelity is not critical, leave Monitor Size set to Default,
which ensures cross-application compatibility.
Note: You can customize the default zoom settings. For information, see the online manual Customizing FrameMaker
on the Adobe website www.adobe.com/go/lr_FrameMaker_support_en.

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Turn pages and set scrolling
You can page through a document window using controls in the status bar.
You can also define how FrameMaker displays pages when you scroll up and down, left and right, or two pages at a time.
If the document you are paging through is part of an open book, FrameMaker sometimes displays an alert message
prompting you to choose to open the next or previous document in the book. For example, if you click Previous Page
on the first page of a document, clicking Yes in the alert message box opens the previous document in the book. The
last page of that document appears.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose View > Options.
3 Choose one of the following options from the Page Scrolling pop-up menu:

• To display pages from top to bottom (for example, page 2 below page 1), choose Vertical.
• To display pages from left to right (for example, page 2 to the right of page 1), choose Horizontal.
• To display pages two at a time, side by side, choose Facing Pages.
• To display as many pages as will fit in the window from left to right, choose Variable.
4 Click Set.

Go to another page
❖ Do one of the following:

• To go to the next page, click the Next Page button.
• To go to the previous page, click the Previous Page button.
• To go to the first page in the document, click the First Page button.
• To go to the last page in the document, click the Last Page button.
• To go to a specific page, click in the Page Number area and specify the page number you want to display.
• To go to a specific line number, click in the Line Number area and specify the line number you want to display.
• To go to the page containing the insertion point, click the Insertion Point button.
• To move quickly through the pages, scroll vertically.
In case of structured documents, click or select in the Structure View to display the corresponding page in the
document window. This is often the quickest way to go to the page you want.

Using toolbar shortcuts
You can access all commonly used commands from the following toolbars for use in structured or unstructured
documents. You can display a toolbar from the View > Toolbars menu.
Graphics Toolbar Provides all the shortcuts for graphic creation and edits.
Quick Access Bar Provides all the commands for opening and saving documents, editing text, graphics, and tables.
Text Formatting Provides all the text formatting commands, such as font styles.
Table Formatting Provides all the table editing commands, such as add rows, columns, merge cells, and text alignment

options for table cells.

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Paragraph Formatting Provides all the commands for formatting paragraphs, such as tab stops, text alignment,

spacing, as well as the paragraph tag list.
Object Alignment Provides commands to change sequence, alignment, and orientation of objects.
Object Properties Provides commands to group objects, change layer order, reshape, scale, and snap objects.
Track Text Edits Provides all the commands for tracking, accepting, and rejecting text edits.

You also have keyboard shortcuts for all commands accessible through the toolbars and menus. For a list of all the
keyboard shortcuts see “Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 548.

More Help topics
“Keyboard Shortcuts” on page 548

Using pods
About pods
These frequently used dialog boxes have an interface designed to simplify your work:

• Conditional text pod
• Cross-references pod
• Marker pod
• Fonts pod
• Insets pod
• Variables pod
• Reference pods
A

Explaining the pod interface
A. Select document B. Pod-specific toolbar buttons C. Search pod entries D. Arrow on column headers indicates sort order E. Pod list area.
F. Details of each instance include location. You can customize the location using Pods Location Criteria dialog box.

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About the pod list area
The Select pop-up displays a list of all open documents, including books and DITA maps. If you select All Open Docs,
the pod list area displays all the variables from all the open documents. If you select a specific open document, the pod
list area displays variables from the selected document even when you switch to other open documents. The pod list
area continues to display the list of instances from the selected document.
If you select the Current option, the pod list area displays the list of instances from the selected document. The list area
refreshes when you switch between open documents. However, when you switch between pods, you may need to click
the Refresh button.
If you select an open document

• Single-click an instance in the pod to display the corresponding instance in the document. For example, if you select
an image instance from the Insets pod, the corresponding image is also selected in the document view.

• Double-click an instance to do the following for each pod:
Conditional text pod Displays the Add/Edit Condition Tag panel for the selected condition.
Cross-references pod Displays the Cross-Reference panel for editing the selected cross-reference.
Markers pod Displays the Marker panel so that you can edit the selected marker definition.
Fonts pod Displays the Replace Font panel for selecting a replacement font.
Insets pod Displays the Object Properties panel for the selected inset.
Variables pod Adds the selected variable at the insertion point in the current document.
Reference pod Displays the results of the search for locations where a particular element is referenced. This pod is
only relevant for DITA documents.

• Click a column name to sort the data in the list area in ascending or descending order.

Setting pod location criteria
The pod location criteria determine what should be displayed in the pod list area for an instance by way of identifying
its location in the document.
For example, you can define two Paragraph tags that should be displayed as the location identifier for a marker.
FrameMaker searches backwards for the first match of the first Paragraph tag that you have specified and displays it
in the pod. Suppose you specify the first Paragraph tag as Topic_Title in the Location Criteria dialog box. FrameMaker
locates a marker and traverses backwards to display the first topic title in which the marker occurs. If you specify the
second Paragraph tag as Article_Name, then FrameMaker displays the exact article name to which the topic belongs.

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A
B
C

Pod location criteria
A. In structured interface, you can specify either the paragraph styles or the element names. In unstructured FrameMaker, you can only specify
paragraph styles. B. Specify the first paragraph style. C. Specify the second paragraph style.

1 Choose .
2 Select Panels and Pods.
3 Select Element Name if you want the pod to display the element names in which the instance is located.
4 Specify valid element names and click OK.

For example, select Paragraph Style and specify head 2 and head 3 in the Style 1 and Style 2 boxes. In the Markers pod,
for each instance of a marker, the first head 2 and head 3 it occurs under is displayed in the pod.

The Markers pod displays the setting for marker location
A. Marker is selected in the document view B. Paragraph styles that you specify in Pod Location Criteria C. Markers pod displays the first
head3 title and head2 title in which the marker occurs.

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Document window overview
The first time that you launch FrameMaker, it prompts you to select the product interface. Subsequently, it opens with
the last used interface.
All features of unstructured FrameMaker are available in the structured workspace, including the paragraph and
character catalogs for formatting documents. You can work on both structured and unstructured documents.

Contents and structure information

More Help topics
“About elements” on page 118

Document window
A document window appears when you open a structured or unstructured FrameMaker document. The window
shows the document text formatted, with graphics and other items in place, and everything laid out in a page design.
If more than one document is open, a document window appears for each one.
The document window is the only window available in the unstructured workspace. In the structured workspace, you
can also view element boundaries in the document window.

Structure View window
The Structure View window displays the underlying XML structure. The view uses bubbles to represent elements and
their relationship to one another. It also identifies errors in the document structure. In Structure View, you can insert,
select, expand, collapse, move, merge, or split elements. When you work with structured documents, you’ll use the
document window and the Structure View together. These windows help you organize elements in a valid structure.

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Both windows are editable, and anything you do in one is mirrored in the other. You can have the two views open side
by side, to keep track of both contents and structure. If you click or select in one view, an insertion point or selection
appears at the equivalent place in the other view. Any editing you do in one is reflected in the other. It’s easier to make
your changes in Structure View, where you can drag and drop bubbles to rearrange elements or select bubbles to edit
them in other ways. If you click or select in an unstructured flow in a document window, Structure View is empty.
❖ To display, choose Structure Tools > Structure View.

Elements catalog
The Elements catalog lists the elements you can use at the current location and provides commands for adding and
editing elements. It also displays other information about the current location, such as whether you can type text there.
The information in the Elements catalog comes from content rules in the definition for the current element.
The catalog is preset to show only the elements that are valid at the current location, though you can have it display
more elements if you want greater flexibility. The catalog is empty if you click or select in an unstructured flow, if the
document has no element definitions, or if no more elements are required at the current location.
❖ To display, click the Element Catalog button at the upper-right corner in the document window.

The Element Catalog uses the following symbols to identify whether an element is valid:
Heavy check mark The element is valid at the current location. If you insert the element, the current (parent) element

will be correct and complete up to this location.
Plus sign (+) The element is an inclusion (SGML only) in the current element and is valid at the current location. The
plus sign always appears next to a heavy check mark. Inclusions are valid only in SGML documents, so this sign does
not appear in XML documents.

Although inclusions are as valid as elements identified with just a heavy check mark, you might find it helpful to list
inclusions separately. If a document has many inclusions, it can be difficult to find other valid elements in the catalog.
Question mark (?) The element is a possible replacement for the element right after the insertion point or for the
selected elements. It is valid at the current location, but will make child elements after it invalid. If you insert an
element with a question mark, the current (parent) element will be complete and correct up to this location, but you’ll
have to correct errors after the new element.
Light check mark The element is valid later in the current element. If you insert one of these elements, the current
(parent) element will be correct but incomplete up to this location. You’ll have to go back and fill in missing child
elements.
No symbol If an element in the catalog has no symbol, it is not valid at the current location or later in the current
element. It may be valid earlier in the current element or outside the element.

The Element Catalog may also include the following indicators to provide other information about the current
location:
You can type text at this point.
The current element does not have a definition in the document. The element was probably pasted

from a document with different element definitions. (This does not appear when the catalog is set to display all
elements.)
The contents of the current element are invalid. (This does not appear when the catalog is set to display

all elements.)
You can use buttons in the Element Catalog to insert an empty element, wrap an element around contents, and change
the type of an existing element.

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Working with the Structure View
Expand or collapse structure
In the Structure View, you can expand or collapse elements, showing or hiding a detailed outline of your document.
(When elements are expanded or collapsed in Structure View, text in the document window does not change.)
An element is sometimes defined to have attributes, which provide supplemental information about the element. You
can also expand and collapse the attributes associated with an element.
Collapse elements to get a higher-level look at the document structure. Collapsed elements are also easier to move
around. It’s especially helpful to collapse long lists of items and procedures with many steps.

• To expand or collapse elements, click the plus (+) or minus (-) symbol on the left side of element bubbles.
• To expand or collapse attributes, click the plus (+) or minus (-) symbol on the right side of element bubbles.
• To expand or collapse all child elements or attributes, hold down Shift while you click a plus or minus sign.

View element boundaries in the document window
Element boundaries shown in the document window mark the beginning and end of each element. Working with
visible boundaries helps you see how the document content is divided into elements. Viewing the boundaries also
makes it easier to place an insertion point properly or to make the right selection.
For most elements, the boundaries appear as opening and closing brackets ( [ ] ) or as two boxes with an element tag.
For some elements (graphics, footnotes, markers, tables, and equations), the element location is marked only by one
box with a tag.
When elements are inside other elements, their brackets or tags nest to show the hierarchy.

• To surround each element with brackets, choose View > Element Boundaries.
• To surround each element with a text label, choose View > Element Boundaries (As Tags).
• If the book window is active, select View > Show Element Boundaries or View > Hide Element Boundaries.
• To hide element boundaries, choose View > Hide Element Boundaries or Element Boundaries (As Tags)
Note: The brackets and tags that mark element boundaries are characters that both print and occupy document space.
Hide them before printing to suppress them in print output. Also hide them to see the document layout unaltered by
element boundaries.

Expand and collapse elements in document window
If you are viewing element boundaries as tags in the document window, you can perform the following operations:

• Collapse all elements, even in the document view.
• Collapse a parent element to hide the child elements, without collapsing them.
• Collapse child elements, when collapsing the parent element.
• Collapse all elements to the same level, when collapsing an element.
• Select the element, by clicking the element tag.
• Toggle the collapsed state of an element, by double clicking the element tag.
• View expanded element structure, when any operation (for example, Find/Change) results in a selection, within a
collapsed element structure.

• Have the document view and structure view synchronized with respect to the collapsed state of the elements.

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Show and hide attributes for new elements
You can show or hide attributes for new elements in Structure View. The view can display all the attributes in the flow,
none of the attributes, or only required attributes or attributes that have a value. This setting applies to new elements
as you enter them.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Select View > Attribute Display Options, choose the display option you want, and click Set.

Change the scope of elements available in a structured document
When adding elements to a structured document, insert only elements that are valid at the current location. (Valid
elements have heavy check marks, heavy check marks and a plus sign, and question marks in the Element Catalog.) If
you add elements this way, you can work from the beginning of a document to the end and be sure that its structure
is valid at every point along the way.
Sometimes you want to work more loosely, and in these cases you can make more elements available. For example,
some draft documents must adhere strictly to a predefined structure but follow the structure only as a guideline. Or,
you can plan your document to conform to a structure without having all the information to complete it from start to
finish.
When more elements are available, the additional elements appear in the Element Catalog and are available if you
insert elements from the keyboard. You can also list inclusions after other valid elements in the catalog.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Select Element > Set Available Elements. You can also click Options in the Element Catalog.
3 Select one of the following options in the Show Tags For area:

• To show only elements that are valid for the current location, select Valid Elements For Working Start To Finish.
Use this option if you plan to go through a document from start to finish and fill in the elements in their correct
order and hierarchy.

• To show elements that are valid for the current location or later in the current element, select Valid Elements
For Working In Any Order. Use this setting if you plan to build a valid document but not necessarily by working
from start to finish. This is helpful if you don’t have all the information you need.

• To show elements allowed anywhere in the current element, select Elements Allowed Anywhere In Parent. Use
this setting if you want more flexibility for filling in elements. You can insert elements that are invalid and
correct the errors later.

• To show all elements defined for the document, select All Elements. Use this setting if you’re not building a valid
document, if you want flexibility and will correct errors later, if you’re wrapping elements around contents, or
if you want to see what’s available elsewhere in the document.

• To show a set of elements that you specify, select Customized List. Use this setting to work with a subset of the
elements, to display elements in a fixed order, or to work with a list that is static instead of context sensitive.
4 If you selected Customized List, click Edit and create or change a list of elements.

To move element tags between the Show and Don’t Show lists, use the arrow buttons or double-click the element
tags. Transfer all of the elements from one list to another by holding down Shift as you click an arrow button. Click
the Move Up and Move Down buttons to arrange the elements in the Show list in the order you want them to appear
in the Element Catalog. Click Set when the list is the way you want it.

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Note: A customized list of tags is always the same regardless of the location of the insertion point, so be careful to
include all the tags you need. The only indication of validity is a check mark next to a tag.
5 To list inclusions separately in the Element Catalog, turn on List After Other Valid Elements.

This groups the inclusions right after the other valid elements. Use this setting if you have a large number of
inclusions that you rarely need.
6 Click Set.

Accessibility features in FrameMaker
The FrameMaker software provides a number of features that improve access for visually impaired users. In particular, it:

• Provides support for high-contrast viewing for users with low visual acuity.
• Creates tagged Adobe PDF files when converting FrameMaker files to tagged PDF, making it easier for people who
use screen reader software to navigate a document in the proper reading order. For information on how to turn
your FrameMaker documents into tagged Adobe PDF files, see “Tagged PDF” on page 499.

• Supports assistive technology, such as screen reader software for the Windows® platform.
Screen readers let visually impaired users interact with the computer by interpreting what is happening on the screen
and sending that information to speech-synthesis devices. The screen reader will follow the logical structure of the
document. Screen readers can read FrameMaker documents viewed in FrameMaker, or tagged PDF documents
viewed in Adobe Acrobat® or Adobe Reader®. Refer to your screen reader documentation for information on
installation and use with documents viewed in FrameMaker or Acrobat.
For more information on accessibility in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe PDF documents, see the Acrobat online Help and
the Adobe website.
Launch the soft keyboard
1 From the Start menu, select Programs > Accessories > Accessibility > On-Screen Keyboard.
2 Click OK. You can then start using the onscreen keyboard.

More Help topics
“Display a high-contrast workspace” on page 27

Opening, saving, and closing documents
Open a document
In addition to FrameMaker documents, you can open text files, files in MIF (Maker Interchange Format), files in MML
(Maker Markup Language), and XML and SGML documents. If the required filter is installed, you can also open files
created in other applications, such as Microsoft® Word. Much of the file’s formatting is retained when you open the file.
To open files created using FrameMaker 7 or earlier, you must save them as MIF files.

Open a file
1 Select File > Open.

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2 Locate the document and click Open.

Opening a document usually updates graphics imported by reference, text insets, cross-references, and system
variables (if any exist). Recently opened files are listed at the bottom of the File menu.
Messages alerting you to possible issues with the file sometimes appear. You can click OK and resolve the problems
later.

Open a text file
Text-only files do not contain graphics or formatting information. When you open a text-only file, you are asked to
confirm that it is a text file.
1 Select File > Open, and open a .txt file. The Unknown File Type dialog box appears.
2 Select the Text option.
3 Click Convert.
4 Select one of the following options:

• To break the text into paragraphs only at blank lines, select Merge Lines Into Paragraphs. Use this option for a
paragraph-oriented text file, such as a file containing document text.

• To break the text into paragraphs at the end of each line, select Treat Each Line As A Paragraph. Use this option
for a line-oriented text file, such as a file containing computer code.

• To convert the text into a table, select the Convert Text To Table. Use this option if the content of your source
file is tabulated.
Select additional options in the Convert To Table dialog box, such as number of columns, cell separators, and
heading rows, to obtain the data in the appropriate tabular form.
5 Select the desired Encoding scheme. By default, the ANSI (Windows) encoding scheme is selected.
6 Click Read. The text appears in a document that is created from a special template. You can customize the template

so that documents created from text files are formatted differently.

Open a document in use
A lock file (*.lck) is created every time you open a document. This lock file prevents others from changing the file while
you work in it. A lock file is in the same folder as the original document and is removed when you close the document.
You can turn off file locking.
If you try to open a document that’s already open and if you have write permission to the document, a dialog box
displays the name of the document, who opened it last and when, and the computer on which it is open. You
sometimes see this dialog box after a system crash when you open a document you were last using.
❖ Open the file and do one of the following:

• If you want to look at the file but not change it, click Open For Viewing Only, and then click Continue. The
document appears in View Only format.

• If you want to edit a copy of the file, click Open Copy For Editing, and then click Continue. A copy of the file is
opened and when you save this file you are prompted to provide a new filename.

• If you want to edit the file and you know that no one else is using it, click Reset Lock And Open, and then click
Continue. Use this option after a system crash to edit a document that was open at the time of the crash.

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Open a document without updating references
A document opens more slowly if it contains many cross-references to other files, large imported graphics, or many text
insets. You can open a document faster by bypassing the update of imported graphics, cross-references, and text insets.
However, if you use this method to open documents, keep in mind that FrameMaker does not warn you about missing
items or unresolved cross-references. For this reason, it is best to occasionally open a document in the usual way.
1 Choose File > Open, and select the file you want to open.
2 Control-click Open.

After the file is open, FrameMaker imports and displays graphics as needed on a page-by-page basis. You can manually
update cross-references and text insets by using Edit > Update References. If the page display is too slow, reopen the
document in the usual way.
SGML, XML, MIF, and MML are all text formats, so they open as text in unstructured FrameMaker.
In the case of .xml or .mif files in structured FrameMaker, control-clicking the Open button opens them as text files.
You are prompted to specify the text reading options in the Reading Text File dialog box. Opening these files as text
lets you view or edit the markup.

Markup in an SGML file

Reopen a file after a system crash
If your system crashes, the file is saved automatically in the following situations:

• If you selected Automatic Save in the Preferences dialog box, autosave files (whose filename contains .auto) are
created at the specified interval. This file is deleted when you save and close a file.

• If your system becomes unstable, FrameMaker tries to create a recover file (filename contains .recover) with your
most recent changes.
An automatically saved copy of the file contains recent changes to the file.
1 Open the file you were working on last.
2 Do one of the following:

• If a recover file exists, open it when prompted and check whether your latest changes are there. If they are, save the
recover file with the same name as the document you were originally working on and then delete the recover file.

• If no recover file exists, open the autosave file when prompted and save it with the same name as the document
you were originally working on. The autosave file contains all the changes you made until the time of the last
automatic save. The amount of work lost depends on the time interval you set between saves and when your
system crashed.

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Troubleshooting unavailable fonts
You sometimes get an alert message that indicates the document you are opening uses unavailable fonts. Fonts can
become unavailable for a few reasons:

• The document was edited on a different system using fonts that are not installed on your system.
• A font is removed or has become damaged.
• The default printer for your system has changed.
If the Remember Missing Font Names option in the Preferences dialog box is selected, FrameMaker preserves the
names of unavailable fonts. Selecting this option causes the original fonts to reappear when you open the document
on a computer that has the fonts installed, even if you save the document with substitute fonts.
To fix the problem of missing fonts, consider the following options:
Check for damaged fonts Determine whether the fonts that are unavailable in FrameMaker are installed on your
system and available in another application. If another application can use fonts that FrameMaker cannot use, the fonts
may be damaged. Reinstall them using the original media. For more information on troubleshooting font problems,
isolating damaged fonts or a damaged fonts folder, or reinstalling PostScript fonts, see the Adobe website.
Remap unavailable fonts If you cannot install or reinstall the unavailable fonts, you may want to permanently remap

the unavailable fonts to available fonts, so that the alert message does not appear when you open the document. You
do this by deselecting the Remember Missing Font Names option in the Preferences dialog box before you open the
file. However, be aware that doing this causes you to lose the original font information referenced in the document.
Switch printers FrameMaker reads font information stored in the printer driver so that it can make fonts stored at the

printer available for use within FrameMaker. In some cases, changing the default printer can change one or more fonts
available in FrameMaker.
Obtain and install the missing fonts For example, if you and a co-worker are editing the same documents, and you

would like to use the same fonts as your co-worker, consider purchasing and installing copies of the fonts.

Add metadata to a document
FrameMaker includes built-in support for Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP). Metadata, or file information, is
descriptive information that can be searched and processed by a computer. Use it to provide information about the
contents of a document, and to preserve information about a document that will be opened in other Adobe
applications. If you export the file to PDF, much of this metadata will appear in Acrobat.
Metadata tags travel with the document and describe its content. By embedding them in your documents, you make
the documents easier to track, manage, and retrieve.
Note: Metadata in a book file sometimes overrides metadata in a document file. If your document is part of a book file,
open the book file and select the document before you add metadata.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose File > File Info.
3 Enter the desired information in the box next to any or all categories.
4 For Marked, choose Yes if the document is copyrighted, or No if the document is explicitly in the public domain.

Choose Unknown if you’re not sure.
5 Click Set.

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Save documents
You can save a document using its current name and location, or save a copy of the document using a different name
or location. You can save a document in several formats, including Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extensible
Markup Language (XML), and Portable Document Format (PDF).
When a document or a book has unsaved changes, an asterisk (*) appears in the Page Status area of the status bar.

An asterisk indicates unsaved changes.

More Help topics
“Adobe PDF” on page 492
“Import properties from a template” on page 390

Save a document
1 Do one of the following:

• To save changes in the current file, choose File > Save.
• To save the file in a different folder or with a different filename, choose File > Save As.
2 If you choose the Save As command, or if the file has never been saved, specify the new filename and location. If

you want to save the file in a different format, choose the format from the pop-up menu.
3 Click Save. If you choose Text Only format, specify how to treat the text and tables in the document.

Save a book
1 Do one of the following:

• To overwrite the current version on the disk, choose File > Save Book.
• To save the file in a different folder or using a different name, choose File > Save Book As.
2 If you choose the Save Book As command, or if the file has never been saved, specify the new filename and location.

Save all open documents
❖ Hold down Shift and choose File > Save All Open Files.

Return to the saved version of your document
❖ Choose File > Revert To Saved and click OK.

File formats you can save in
You can use the Save As command to save a file in the following formats:
Document 11 Saves the FrameMaker 11 document or book as a document or book that you can open and edit in

FrameMaker.
View Only 11.0 Produces a book or document that you can open but cannot edit. If you accidentally save a file in View
Only format, you can make it editable by pressing Esc Shift+f l (lowercase L) k. Then you can save the document or
book in Document or Book format.
Document 10.0 Saves the FrameMaker document or book as a document or book that you can open and edit in

FrameMaker.

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Note: To save a FrameMaker 11 document as a FrameMaker 9.0 or prior version’s document, save the document as a
MIF 7.0 document, open the MIF 7.0 document in FrameMaker 9.0 or prior, and Save the document as the relevant
FrameMaker 8.0 document.
MIF 11.0 Creates a text file containing FrameMaker 10 statements that describe all text and graphics. To avoid
overwriting your original document, save the MIF file under a different name. (For example, add a .mif extension to
the name.) For information on MIF, see the online manual MIF Reference.
MIF 7.0 Creates a text file containing FrameMaker 7.0 statements that describe all text and graphics. To avoid
overwriting your original document, save the MIF file under a different name. (For example, add a .mif extension to
the name.) For information on MIF, see the online manual MIF Reference.
Text Only Creates a text file without graphics or formatting information. To avoid overwriting your original

document, save the text file under a different name. (For example, add a .text extension to the name.)
PDF Creates a Portable Document Format (PDF) file that can be viewed in Adobe Acrobat® and other applications that
support PDF files.
SGML Creates an SGML file with the content, elements, and attributes from your document.
HTML Creates an HTML document that can be viewed on the World Wide Web. For information on adjusting the

mapping of paragraph and character tags to predefined HTML elements, see “Set up and adjust HTML mappings.”
Note: When you save a structured FrameMaker document as HTML, all attributes with the same name are mapped to
the same value, even if the attributes have different values for different elements. To use different values for these
attributes after exporting, use a text editor to edit the resulting file.
XML Creates an XML document that can be used for data exchange and viewed on the World Wide Web.
Microsoft RTF Create files in Rich Text Format 1.6 (RTF), which is supported by many word processors and can be
read by other applications. Most formatting is preserved as formats are usually converted to word-processing styles.

Note: You can use the Print command to save a PostScript® file.

More Help topics
“Create PostScript files” on page 509
“Using Save As to export to other formats” on page 399
“Set up and adjust HTML mappings” on page 516

Filename extensions for saved files
When you save a file for the first time in Windows, FrameMaker automatically adds these extensions: .fm for
documents, .book for book files, and .mif for MIF files. With these extensions, the files are recognized as FrameMaker
files by the Windows operating system.
If you don’t want these special extensions added to the filenames you assign, enclose the filenames in double quotation
marks. Windows doesn’t recognize a file without one of these extensions as a FrameMaker file, but you can still open
the file in FrameMaker.
If you assign an extension that’s registered by another application, such as .doc, the extension is not replaced by the
FrameMaker extension and you can still open the file in FrameMaker.

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Save documents in Text Only format
Saving a document in Text Only format creates a text file with the text encoding of your choice: ANSI (Windows), or
ASCII. (On Japanese-language systems, you can also use JIS, Shift-JIS, or EUC. On other Asian-language systems, you
can use encoding for the supported languages.) Only ordinary text—those in text frames and tables—is saved;
graphics, text in graphic callouts, footnotes, and formatting information are not saved. Reformat line lengths and
hyphenation as needed before saving the file.
If some characters are not available in the text encoding that you choose, those characters are replaced in the text file.
For example, when you save a document in Text Only format using ANSI (Windows) or ASCII encoding, spaces
(including thin, en, em, and numeric spaces) are converted to regular spaces.
1 Choose File > Save As.
2 Specify the filename and location, and choose Text Only format.
3 Click Save.
4 Do one of the following:

• To break each line into a separate paragraph, click At The End Of Each Line. This option maintains a file’s
original line breaks and blank lines. Use this option for a line-oriented file such as computer code.

• To merge adjacent lines into paragraphs and insert a carriage return only at blank lines, click Only Between
Paragraphs. Use this option for paragraph-oriented files, such as files containing document text.
5 If you want to save table text, select Include Text From Table Cells. Then do the following:

• Specify the order in which you want the table cells saved (row by row or column by column).
• Choose whether to separate cells with tabs or with carriage returns by choosing items from the pop-up menus.
6 If the text file will be used on a platform that uses a different text encoding, choose an appropriate encoding from

the Text Encoding pop-up menu, and then click Save.

More Help topics
“Control hyphenation” on page 146
“Indentation, alignment, and spacing” on page 59

Use Save As to export XML from unstructured documents
You can export both structured and unstructured files to XML. The mapping used to specify what element to create
for each paragraph tag in the source FrameMaker file is defined on a reference page. The export function creates an
XML file and a corresponding cascading style sheet (CSS), which can be used with the document.
1 Do one of the following:

• Select File > Save As XML.
• Select File > Save As and choose XML from the pop-up menu. Give the filename an extension of .xml.
2 Specify the file location.
3 Click Save.

Back up and save automatically
FrameMaker can back up and save your work automatically.
1 Choose .

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2 In General preferences, do the following:

• To create a backup file every time you save, select Automatic Backup On Save. This option creates a copy of the
file before your latest changes are saved. If a backup file exists, the new backup file overwrites it. (The filenames
of backup files contain .backup.)

• To create an autosave file at regular intervals, select Automatic Save and enter an interval (in minutes) in the
box. This causes a copy of the file to be saved periodically without your having to choose File > Save. (The
filenames of autosave files contain .auto.) When you save manually or revert to the last saved version with the
Revert To Saved command, the autosave file is deleted.
3 Click OK.

Close documents
You can close a document at any time. If you have unsaved changes, you’ll be asked whether you want to save the
changes. (A document with unsaved changes contains an asterisk in the Page Status area of its status bar.)
If imported graphics, text insets, cross-references, or system variables were updated when you opened your document,
the document is marked as changed (with an asterisk in the status bar) when it opens. Similarly, because printing a
document updates existing cross-references, printing a file sometimes causes a document to be marked as changed.
❖ Do one of the following:

• To close a document, choose File > Close.
• To close all open documents, hold down Shift and choose File > Close All Open Files.

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Chapter 3: Templates and Page Layout
XML view, Author view, and WYSIWYG view
FrameMaker has three views that help you author your content:

• XML view allows you to work with the plain XML code of your structured FrameMaker XML files.
• Author view simplifies structured authoring by keeping out unstructured FrameMaker features and features not
relevant for XML authors, such as page numbers.

• WYSIWYG view is classic FrameMaker, unstructured and structured. This view displays page breaks, headers and
footers, all keyboard shortcuts, and all menus.

XML view
The XML view allows you to work with the plain XML code of your structured FrameMaker XML files. In the XML
view, you can expand /collapse elements.

C
A

XML View
A. Collapsed elements in the XML view B. Errors console C. Tree view

FrameMaker indents the child elements by one tab space compared to their parent elements. Word wrap keeps the
content of the elements visible in the width of the window. The XML view supports Unicode. You can edit multilingual
content in the XML view. You can also copy/paste content from clipboard.

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When you edit/change references such as conrefs, links, and cross references in XML Code View, FrameMaker updates
them in the WSIWYG View also. XML view automatically validates the XML content with the DTD and helps you
ensure that the content is well formed at all times. While you are working in the XML view, FrameMaker automatically
inserts attribute values and close tags for the tags you insert in the file.
A Find/Change dialog in the XML view helps you search through the XML code. You can also use regular expressions
such as with ampersand and pipeline to search through text. XML code view also has support for XPath. You can build
and use XPath expressions to locate XML content. For more information on XPath, see XPath.
The following features can be accessed using the Code view only:

• “XPath” on page 459
• “Generating hypertext outputs using XSLT” on page 527

Errors console
The Errors console in the XML view describes the errors, if any, in the open XML files. The error console also displays
the filename of the error. To go to the file and location of the error, click an error row.
Display error pod
• To display the Error Pod, select View > Pod > Errors.

Tree view
XML View provides a tree-like outline that allows you to navigate and view the structure of your XML document. The
Up and Down arrow keys let you move up and down in the tree view. Left and Right arrow keys respectively allow you
to collapse and expand the elements.
Display tree view
• To display the tree view, select View > Outline.

Author view
The Author view provides a WYSIWYM (What You See Is What You Mean) view of your structured FrameMaker
documents. The WYSIWYM environment of structured FrameMaker simplifies structured authoring by keeping out
unstructured FrameMaker and features not relevant for XML authors.
The Author view includes the visual tools for structured authoring, such as the element tags, Structure View, Element
Catalog, Attributes editor.
The XML Author view does not have the following features that hold relevant only for unstructured FrameMaker
authoring:

• Page breaks (no pagination for up to 20 pages)
• Headers and footers
• Master pages
• Keyboard shortcuts and menus related to content formatting and unstructured workflows, which are not retained
when a document is saved as XML

• Menus not relevant to structured authoring
Using XML Author View, Structured FrameMaker you can concentrate on the structure and content of the document
rather than the appearance.

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WYSIWYG view
WYSIWYG is the classic FrameMaker view, which supports structured and unstructured authoring. The WYSIWYG
view has all the features of FrameMaker.

WYSIWYG unstructured view

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WYSIWYG structured view

The following can be managed using the WYSIWYG view only:

• “Templates” on page 48
• “Formats” on page 49
• “Master pages and reference pages” on page 68
• “Page layouts” on page 78
• “Multiflow documents” on page 88

Switch between the views
You can switch between the three views by clicking the relevant icon in the Application bar.
A

Icons of the three views in the Application bar
A. XML view B. Author view C. WYSIWYG view

Author view and XML view support only structured files. When you have unstructured files open and you switch from
WYSIWYG view to Author or XML view, FrameMaker does not display the unstructured files. When you quit
FrameMaker from Author view or XML view and there are unsaved unstructured files, FrameMaker alerts you.

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Templates
Multiple components make up a FrameMaker template. These components include paragraph formats, character
formats, master page layouts, reference pages, and cross-reference formats. Both unstructured and structured
templates require careful planning and upfront design before you create a template.

About unstructured templates
A template is a document that stores properties that are used in more than one place. You can create a document from
a template to give it all the template properties, or you can import specific properties from the template later.
Templates give your documents consistent layout and formatting.
Templates can store the following properties:

• Paragraph, character, and table formats that work with formatting information in the element definitions
• Page layouts that determine the number and position of columns on pages, and background items such as running
headers

• Reference pages that store repeatedly used graphics and formatting information
• Variables you use as placeholders for text that FrameMaker updates
• Formatting information for cross-references, equations, and conditional text
• Definitions for colors you can apply to text and objects
• Document-wide settings, including footnote properties, custom marker types, and feathering options for line
spacing

• Specifications for combined Japanese and Western fonts (on Japanese-language systems)

About structured templates
Structured FrameMaker comes with Structured Templates for letters, memos, faxes, envelopes, reports, outlines,
newsletters, books, FAQs, and single source books.
Structured templates can store the following properties:

• Element definitions that specify allowable contents, attributes, and formatting for elements
• Paragraphs and characters that work with formatting information in the element definitions
• Variables you use as placeholders for text that FrameMaker updates
• Formatting information for cross-references and conditional text
• Definitions for colors you can apply to text and objects
Note: If you’re working with structured files, an application developer can set up special documents that handle the
translation to and from the structured application. These documents can include a template that formats the structured
files in FrameMaker. This template is applied automatically when you import from the structured application.

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Formats
Paragraph formats
Paragraph formats contain settings for how the text looks and the format applies to the entire paragraph. Paragraph
formats are the basis of document formatting in unstructured FrameMaker documents though they can also be the
basis of document formatting in structured FrameMaker documents.

Paragraph Designer
The Paragraph Designer is used to create and manage paragraph formats.
A

Paragraph Designer
A. Basic properties B. Default font properties C. Pagination related properties D. Numbering lists E. Advanced properties F. Properties for
Asian text G. Table cell properties H. Paragraph tag list I. Edit the tab stop properties J. Commands menu

The Paragraph Catalog lists all the paragraph formats available for a document. To apply a paragraph tag, select the
text and select the tag from the Paragraph Catalog.

Paragraph Catalog

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Create a paragraph format
1 Click in a paragraph whose format is like the one you want to create. Be careful not to select multiple paragraphs

so that no properties are set to As Is.
2 Choose New Format from the Commands pop-up menu in the Paragraph Designer and enter a name for the new

format in the Tag box.
3 To later update the new format or copy it to other documents by using the File > Import > Formats command, select

Store In Catalog. Formats that aren’t stored in the catalog can be applied to other paragraphs only by copying and
pasting.
4 To apply the new format to the current paragraph, select Apply To Selection.
5 Click Create.
6 If you didn’t select Apply To Selection in step 4, choose the new format name from the Paragraph Tag pop-up menu.
7 Modify any of the properties you want.

Don’t set any property to As Is. Paragraph formats must have all properties specified.
8 Click Update All.

Character formats
Character tags allow you to format one or more characters or words inside a paragraph. By applying character tags,
you can quickly format text without overriding the properties of the entire paragraph. Creating character tags helps
maintain format consistency as well as apply format changes globally. Character tags also serve as building blocks for
other FrameMaker features, such as cross-reference formats or variables.

Character Designer
The Character Designer is used to create and manage character formats. All character formats are listed in the
character catalog.
A

E
C

Character Designer
A. Character tag list B. Font properties C. Set the language for the character tag D. Commands menu E. Tsume property F. Text background
color properties

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Select As Is for the properties that you want the paragraph tag to determine. For example, when creating an Italics
character tag, set all other properties to As Is and change just the Angle setting to Italic. The font, font size, style, and
other settings of the paragraph tag are preserved.
In FrameMaker, these PDF comments are imported with the highlighting retained due to the implementation of the
text background color feature.
Set the text background color from the character and paragraph designers.
The Character Catalog lists all the character formats available for a document. To apply a character tag, select the text
and select the tag from the Character Catalog.

Character Catalog

Create a character format
1 In the Character Designer, choose Set Window To As Is from the Commands pop-up menu. Properties set to As Is

do not change when you apply the character format. When set to As Is, text boxes are blank, check boxes are dim,
and pop-up menus display As Is.
2 Change only the properties you want to include in the character format.
3 Choose New Format from the Commands pop-up menu in the Character Designer, and enter a name for the new

format in the Tag box.
4 Select Store In Catalog.
5 To apply the new format to the current selection, select Apply To Selection.
6 Click Create.

Manage formats
FrameMaker provides features to manage various paragraph, character, and table formats from the respective
designers and catalogs.

Update formats
You can change format properties and then use them to redefine, or update, the stored formats and all the text in the
document tagged with them.
When you update a format, you can update all properties or just one group of properties. For example, you can change
the default font family for all formats in a document without changing any other properties.
Importing paragraph or character fonts is also possible through the File > Import > Formats command.

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Update a paragraph or character format
1 For paragraph format changes, indicate the scope of the changes you want to make by doing one of the following:

• To update one paragraph format or all paragraph formats in the document with a property group from a
paragraph, click in that paragraph or select consecutive paragraphs.

• To update more than one paragraph format but not all paragraph formats, select consecutive paragraphs that
use the formats you want to update.
2 Choose the appropriate designer.
3 Display the properties by doing one of the following:

• To display the properties of a paragraph including any overrides, click in the paragraph.
• To display properties of a format stored in the catalog, choose the format from the Paragraph Tag or Character
Tag pop-up menu.
4 Change any properties, and then click Update All. FrameMaker asks whether you want to remove overrides.

If you change properties in a designer and then decide against updating the format, you can cancel the operation and
reset the properties by clicking in text. You can also choose Reset Window From Selection from the Commands popup menu in the designer.
Update specific format properties or single property group
1 Choose one of the following:

• If you are updating specific properties, set Window to As Is; then change only properties you want to update.
• If you are updating a single property group of a paragraph format, choose Format > Paragraphs > Designer, and
delete the tag from the Paragraph Tag box if the box is not empty. Deleting the tag sets the box to As Is;
FrameMaker does not change the tags of the formats that you update. Then display the property group; change
the properties as needed.
2 Choose Global Update Options from the Commands pop-up menu.
3 Click the current property group in the Use Properties area.
4 Do one of the following:

• To update all formats in the document, click All Paragraphs And Catalog Entries or All Characters And Catalog
Entries.

• To update all paragraphs or characters in the selection and all paragraphs or characters with the same tags, click
All Matching Tags In Selection.

• To update formats with a specific tag, click All Tagged and choose a tag from the pop-up menu.
5 Click Update All in the Designer dialog box.

Rename or delete formats
When designing a template or importing a catalog from a template, you sometimes must rename or delete a format.
Deleting a format from a catalog does not affect any paragraphs or characters that have the same tag. The paragraphs
or characters simply have a tag that isn’t in the catalog.
1 Choose a designer, and choose the format to rename or delete from the Paragraph Tag or Character Tag pop-up

menu.
Do this even if the format you want is already displayed. This step ensures that the properties do not include any
format overrides or As Is settings.

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2 Do one of the following:

• To rename, enter a new name in the Paragraph Tag or Character Tag box and click Update All, and then OK.
• To delete a format, click Delete, and then Select the format in the scroll list and click Delete. Click Done.
• To delete all unused formats from a catalog, click Delete. Then click Delete until all formats have been removed,
and click Done. Choose File > Utilities > Create And Apply Formats, and then click Continue. Any paragraph
or character format used in the document is added back to the catalog.
To avoid creating paragraphs for every override in your document, import the formats from your template.
Importing formats from a template overrides any changes to paragraph and character tags and does not create
additional tags in your document.

Apply formats
Paragraph formats apply at paragraph level, character formats at character or word level, and table formats apply to
complete tables.

• Paragraph and table formats: Place the cursor inside the paragraph or the table, and select a format from the catalog.
• Character format: Select the text and click a format from the catalog.

Tips for creating new formats
When working from a stable template, you rarely have to create a format. If you’re designing a new template or if the
template you’re using is incomplete, you may have to create new formats. The easiest way to create a format is to
modify the properties of an existing format.
When you’re creating new formats, consider these suggestions:

• Use consistent naming conventions for similar kinds of paragraphs or text items within a paragraph, such as Head1
and Head2.

• To apply formats by using the keyboard, name the formats so that often-used ones are unique or alphabetically first
in their letter group, such as “H1 Head2” or “H2 Head2.”

• Give each format a name that’s easy to remember, recognize, and type. If you assign a tag based on its use and not
its appearance (for example, Emphasis rather than Italics), you can later change the format properties without
having to change the tag.

• Be aware of capitalization. Tags are case sensitive. Also, you sometimes want related tags to appear together in the
catalog, with names such as Body and BodyIndent.

• If you have many formats, precede them with a period to avoid excessive scrolling in the catalogs; an initial period
brings often-used formats to the top of the catalog. To force occasionally used formats to the bottom of the catalog,
precede them with a z or a tilde (~).

Specify formats for the paragraphs that follow
Well-designed templates often connect formats so that FrameMaker automatically applies a format to the paragraph
that follows the current one.
1 Click in the paragraph.
2 Display the Basic properties of the Paragraph Designer, and choose a tag from the Next Pgf Tag pop-up menu.

FrameMaker applies this tag when you press Return to create a paragraph.
3 Click Apply To Selection.

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Add graphics to paragraph formats
A paragraph format can include a line or other graphic that appears above or below a paragraph. Perhaps all top-level
headings in a document rest on a long thin line.
1 On a reference page, draw or import the graphic in a reference frame, or locate one already there that you want to

use.
2 Click in the paragraph you want to change. To place a line above or below several adjacent paragraphs, select all the

paragraphs.
3 Display the Advanced properties of the Paragraph Designer, and choose the name of a reference frame from the

Frame Above Pgf or from the Frame Below Pgf pop-up menu. All reference frames appear in the pop-up menus.
4 Click Apply To Selection.

Because the Frame Above Pgf and the Frame Below Pgf settings can’t place graphics to the right or left of a paragraph,
you can’t use these settings to place boxes around text. Box text by using a single-cell table with outside ruling.

Format catalog
FrameMaker offers enhanced features to manage and apply paragraph, character, and table formats. This is possible
from the respective catalog. A catalog shows all formats in the current document by default. You can set which formats
you want to see in the catalog. Catalogs also help in applying and managing the formats.
FrameMaker marks the used formats in a catalog. The unused formats are unmarked. This usage information is not
updated as soon as you apply the formats in the document. Clicking Refresh Catalog at the bottom of the catalog,
updates the usage information. The latest usage information is also updated when opening a document.
Note: Formats in use in the current document are marked in the catalog. Whereas the format applied to your current
selection is shown in the status bar

Display formats
You can configure the formats that are visible in a catalog and their order too.

• Open a (paragraph, character, or table) catalog and click Options.
• Select one of the following
• Show All, to see all available formats.
• Show used before unused, to see used formats before unused formats in the catalog.
• Show only used formats, to hide unused formats in the catalog, but retain them in the template.
• Show only unused formats, to hide used formats in the catalog, but retain them in the template.
• Delete all unused formats, to delete all unused formats from the template, without warning or confirmation.
• Customized List, to customize which formats you see and in what order you see them.
• Format being used in the current document are marked in the catalog. While editing the document, the usage status
might not get updated automatically. To refresh the list click Refresh Catalog.
Note: The display options you set are workspace properties and are applicable to FrameMaker documents opened on your
machine.

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Delete formats
Formats can be deleted from respective catalogs.

• Open the catalog if not already open.
• Paragraph catalog from Format > Paragraphs > Catalog.
• Character catalog from Format > Characters > Catalog.
• Table catalog from Table > Format > Catalog.
• Click Delete.
• In the Delete Formats from Catalog window, select a format and delete it.
• Click Done to delete formats from document or click Cancel to undo the operation.

Fonts
Replace fonts using the Fonts pod
You can use the Fonts pod to identify all the fonts used in an open document or all open documents. The pod list area
lists all the fonts used in a document. You can replace any font used in a document using the fonts pod including
missing fonts. The missing fonts are indicated by a red cross sign.
A

Fonts pod lists all the fonts used in open documents.
A. Select all open documents or currently open document. B. Display only missing fonts or all fonts used in a document. C. Replace font to
display the Replace Fonts panel. D. Refresh the list of fonts displayed in the pod list area. E. Missing fonts indicated by a red cross sign.

To replace a missing font:
1 Select a font from the list and click the Replace icon.
2 From the Replace Font panel, select the new font from the Replace With list box and click Apply.

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A
B

Replace fonts pod lists all the paragraphs in a document that use a selected font.
A. Name of the selected font. B. Replace With list box lists all the fonts installed on your system. C. Locations list displays all the paragraphs
in the document that use the selected font. D. Refresh the locations list. E. Go To Location takes you to the location in the document that
uses the selected font.

Manual font changes
Format changes you make using the Format menu commands take effect immediately.
When changing font properties, keep in mind the following:

• To remove other style properties, choose Plain.
• If you change the font properties of selected text, those properties are retained when you later update the properties
of the entire paragraph.

• You can change the font properties of text created with the Text Line tool as well as paragraph text.
• Do not use the Courier® font when Adobe Type Manager® is turned off or not installed. If you do use Courier
without ATM, FrameMaker products do not accurately display the Courier font.

• If a font has more than one weight—for example, Helvetica® Condensed Bold and Helvetica Condensed Black—the
Format > Style submenu lists only Bold. To choose other weights, use the Default Font properties of the Paragraph
Designer or use the Character Designer instead.

Font changes using the designers
To change the default font properties of an entire paragraph, use the Paragraph Designer. The font families and styles
available depend on which fonts are installed.
To change specific text within a paragraph, select the text and use the Character Designer.
You’ve probably seen many of the settings in other word processors, but a few can be new to you.
Numeric Underlining To use a single offset and thickness for an underline regardless of the character’s font or size,

choose Numeric Underlining. Regular and numeric underlining does not affect tab characters. If you want the tab
space to be underlined, format that tab stop so that it uses a nonbreaking space as a leader.

Numeric and regular underlining

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Change Bar To display a change bar next to text, select Change Bar.
Color To display the text in a different color, choose a color from the Color pop-up menu. If you define your own
colors, they appear in the pop-up menu.
Spread To add or subtract space between characters, enter a percentage for Spread. Spread—also called tracking—is
expressed as a percentage of an em space. Normal spread is 0%.

-10% spread (top), 0% spread (center), 10% spread (bottom)

Stretch To set the width of the character shapes, enter a percentage for Stretch.
Capitalization To display all characters in uppercase but use slightly smaller capital letters for text that was in

lowercase, choose Small Caps.
Using a designer to apply a capitalization style to text changes only the appearance of the text (for example, makes
lowercase text appear in uppercase letters). To permanently change the text itself, use the Capitalization dialog box to
replace selected text with text that is all uppercase, all lowercase, or initial caps.
Language To change the language associated with the text, choose from the Language pop-up menu. The language

you choose affects the text in system variables as well as both spell-checking and hyphenation. Also, changing the
language to None prevents the selected text from being spell-checked.
Pair Kern To adjust the space between two characters in the same word, select Pair Kern. The kerning pairs that have

been defined depend on the font.

Kerning pairs turned on and off

Tsume To move a Japanese character closer to the characters next to it, select Tsume. The amount of space a variable-

width character, such as a parenthesis, can move is determined by the metrics for that character.

Adjust superscripted, subscripted, and small cap text
Adjustments to the properties of subscript, superscript (including footnote references), and small cap text apply to all
such text in the document.
1 In the Text Options dialog box, specify a size, offset, and stretch percentage.

When calculating the size and offset, FrameMaker multiplies the percentage you enter by the point size of the
affected characters. For example, a 40% superscript offset value raises a 10-point character 4 points.
The stretch percentage is the amount that characters are condensed or expanded.
2 Click Apply.

Condense and expand characters
You can achieve some effects by stretching characters.

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Text unchanged (top) and condensed 75% (bottom)

1 Depending on whether you are changing the entire paragraph or specific text in the paragraph, choose one of the

following:

• Default Font from the Properties pop-up menu in the Paragraph Designer.
• Character Designer.
2 Enter a percentage in the Stretch box. A value of 100% means that the width of characters is as defined for the font.

A value less than 100% condenses the width; a value greater than 100% expands the width.
3 Click Apply To Selection.

In Japanese documents, use a stretch value greater than 100 to simulate heitai (horizontally stretched characters).
Use a stretch value less than 100 and increase the point size of text to simulate chotai (vertically stretched
characters).
You can also change the width of a text line by dragging to stretch the text.
❖ Select the text line you want to change, and then drag one of its handles until the text is stretched to the shape you

want. Dragging a corner handle changes the point size as well as the character width. You can also select a grouped
object that includes a text line.

Create or change combined fonts of Japanese and Western characters
In addition to containing the full Japanese syllabaria, Japanese fonts include a set of Western characters to facilitate
entering non-Japanese characters and numbers. You can define your own combined font—a font that uses a specified
Western font with a specified Japanese font.
If you’re working on a system that supports Japanese text and if combined fonts are included as part of a template, they
are available to you automatically. (The specified fonts must be installed.) If your system supports the typing of
Japanese text in documents and dialog boxes, combined fonts appear at the top of the font lists along with regular
Western and Japanese ones.
FrameMaker supports Japanese single-byte, half-width katakana characters in combined fonts. Changes to the
combined fonts apply to the entire document.
1 In the Combined Fonts dialog box, do one of the following:

• To create a new combined font, enter a name in the Combined Font Name box.
• To change a combined font, select its name from the Combined Fonts list.
2 Do the following:

• To specify the Japanese font, choose from the pop-up menu of font families in the Asian Text area.
• To specify the Western font, choose from the pop-up menu of font families in the Western Text area.
• To adjust the relative size and baseline offset of the Western text, enter values for Size and Offset. The size and
offset of the Western text are percentages of the Asian point size. Use a negative offset to move the text below
the baseline.

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3 Click Add or Change.
4 Click Done.

Note: You can turn off the Allow Bolded And Obliqued Styles setting in the Asian Text area of the Edit Combined Fonts
dialog box so that bolding or italicizing the Western font does not automatically enbold or italicize the Asian text.
❖ To copy a set of combined fonts, choose File > Import > Formats and select Combined Fonts.

Indentation, alignment, and spacing
Change paragraph alignment
The alignment property of a paragraph determines how the paragraph is positioned between the left and right indents,
not between the edges of the text column.
❖ Do one of the following:

• To use the ruler, drag the indent symbol to a new location on the ruler.
A
B

A. First indent B. Left indent C. Right indent

To align an indent with a ruler marking, turn on the snap grid (use Graphics > Snap). When you drag an indent
symbol, it snaps to locations corresponding to the snap grid.

• To use an indent value, display the Basic properties of the Paragraph Designer. Enter the indents you want in
the First, Left, and Right boxes, and then click Apply To Selection.

• Choose an alignment from the Alignment pop-up menu on the formatting bar or in the Basic properties of the
Paragraph Designer.
Note: If you use Shift+Enter or Shift+Return to insert a forced return within a fully justified paragraph, the line
that ends with the forced return is not justified.

Change tab stops
If you press Tab and the insertion point doesn’t move, a tab stop hasn’t been defined.
You can choose from four types of tab stops—left, center, right, and decimal.
A

Everest
Lhotse
K2

2.6794
293.1
18.36

A. Left tab stop B. Center tab stop C. Right tab stop D. Decimal tab stop

You can also specify a pattern of characters—a leader—to fill the space between a tab and the character following it.
Typically, a leader is a series of periods. Tab leaders are useful in tables of contents that have a wide gap between
columns.

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Change tabs in formatting bar
1 Display the Paragraph Format toolbar. Only the tab stops common to all the selected paragraphs appear on the top
ruler.
2 Do one of the following:

• To add a tab stop, click a tab stop symbol from Paragraph Format toolbar and click the desired position below
the top ruler.

• To move a tab stop, drag it to a new position.
To align tab stops with ruler markings, turn on the snap grid (Graphics > Snap). When you drag a tab symbol, it
snaps to locations corresponding to the snap grid.

• To add multiple tab stops at regular intervals, on the top ruler, double-click the existing tab stop that you want
to duplicate. Enter the interval between tabs in the Repeat Every box and click Edit.

• To change a tab stop, double-click it, enter a new tab position in the New Position box, and choose a different
alignment. The position is the distance from the left edge of the column to the tab stop. Then click Edit. You can
also drag a new tab stop on top of an existing one on the ruler to replace it.

• To delete a tab stop, drag it off the bottom of the top ruler.
• To delete all tab stops, double-click a tab stop and click Delete All.
Change tabs in Paragraph Designer
1 Display the Basic properties of the Paragraph Designer.
2 In the Tab Stops area, create, edit, or delete, choosing the appropriate settings.
3 Click Apply To Selection.

Define a leader or decimal tab character
1 Double-click the tab stop on the ruler.
2 Do one of the following:

• In the Leader area of the dialog box, click one of the predefined tab leaders or enter your own custom leader,
and then click Edit.

• To specify a decimal character—for example, a comma when you’re working with European decimals—enter
the decimal character in the Align On box in the Alignment area and click Edit.

Change paragraph and character spacing
Vertical spacing is the space between paragraphs and lines. Horizontal spacing is the space between words and
characters. Spacing properties go by different names in different contexts. The space between characters is often called
pair kerning; adjusting the letterspacing in a line is spread or tracking; the line spacing of a paragraph— measured from
the baseline of one line to the baseline of the next—includes its leading.
Adjust vertical spacing
When adjusting vertical spacing, keep in mind the following:

• If a paragraph falls at the top of a column, FrameMaker ignores the Space Above setting. If the paragraph falls at
the bottom of a column, FrameMaker ignores the Space Below setting.

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• When an anchored frame is positioned below the current line and its anchor symbol appears in the last line of a
paragraph, the space below the paragraph usually appears between the frame and the next paragraph. If the frame
is anchored in a straddle paragraph, the space below is discarded. If the frame is a straddle frame but is not anchored
in a straddle paragraph, the space below appears between the anchor symbol and the frame.

• In a multicolumn layout, you can also adjust vertical spacing in columns by vertically justifying, or feathering, the
text in them.
Several properties affect the vertical spacing of a paragraph: the space above the paragraph, the space below the
paragraph, and the line spacing.
1 Display the Basic properties of the Paragraph Designer and do one of the following:

• Specify values for Space Above and Space Below. The space between paragraphs is determined by the Space
Below setting of the first paragraph or the Space Above setting of the second paragraph, whichever is larger.

• Choose a type of line spacing from the Line Spacing pop-up menu, or enter a value in the box.
2 To allow extra space between lines to accommodate superscripts, subscripts, rubi text, and larger font sizes that

appear in the paragraph, turn off Fixed.
3 Click Apply To Selection.

Adjust horizontal spacing
As FrameMaker fills a line of text, it adjusts the space between characters according to kerning and tracking properties.
The spacing between words is based on the following values, which are stored as part of the paragraph format:

• The minimum spacing is the smallest space allowed between words.
• The maximum spacing is the largest space allowed between words before FrameMaker tries to hyphenate words or
add space between letters in justified paragraphs.

• The optimum spacing is what FrameMaker tries to achieve.
These values are expressed as a percentage of the standard space character for the default font of a paragraph. Values
below 100% create tighter word spacing with a more justified look; values above 100% create looser spacing, with a
more ragged right edge.
1 To adjust the space between words, click a paragraph or select several paragraphs whose spacing you want to

change.
2 Display the Advanced properties of the Paragraph Designer and specify the minimum, optimum, and maximum

space to allow between words.
3 Click Apply To Selection.

Note: Lines of text in a justified paragraph can have more than the maximum space between words if FrameMaker
can’t fit a word on a line and can’t hyphenate it. To avoid this, add extra space between characters in justified text by
choosing Allow Automatic Letter Spacing in the Word Spacing area.
4 To apply pair kerning or spread, in the Character Designer, choose Pair Kern option or fill in the Spread field.

Adjust spacing in Japanese documents
If your system supports the typing of Japanese text in documents and dialog boxes, you can adjust the following
spacing properties:

• Special group of properties in the Paragraph Designer that controls some aspects of Japanese character spacing.
• Size, spacing, and alignment of rubi text throughout a document.
• Spacing of variable-width Japanese characters through selection of the Tsume font property.

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Adjust the space around characters and punctuation
1 In the Paragraph Designer, display the Asian properties.
2 Do the following:

• To adjust the space between Japanese characters and Western ones, use the upper group of boxes; to adjust the
space between Japanese characters, use the lower group of boxes. Enter minimum, maximum, and optimum
percentages.

• To determine the space between characters and special punctuation characters (yakumono), choose from the
Punctuation pop-up menu. Squeeze As Necessary means that space around punctuation is reduced only when
special punctuation handling (kinsoku shori) occurs. Never Squeeze means that no space adjustment is made
around punctuation. Always Squeeze means that space is always reduced around punctuation.

• To achieve a monospaced look in Japanese text, choose Never Squeeze from the Punctuation pop-up menu and
turn off Tsume.
Adjust rubi text size, placement, and spacing
Rubi text is made up of small characters (usually kana) appearing above other text, called oyamoji. Your settings affect
rubi text throughout a document.
1 In the Format > Document > Rubi Properties dialog box, choose a value from the Size pop-up menu or enter a value

in the box. The value you enter can be a percentage of the point size of the underlying oyamoji, a point size, or any
other unit of measurement, including Q units.
2 Do the following:

• To let rubi text overhang non-oyamoji text, click Let Rubi Overhang Surrounding Hiragana.
• To remove preceding or trailing space when rubi text appears at the start or end of a line, click Align All
Characters At Line Boundaries.
3 Click an option in the Rubi Alignment For Japanese Oyamoji or the Rubi Alignment For Other Oyamoji area. The

illustrations in the dialog box show how rubi text is spaced and aligned when it’s above Japanese or non-Japanese
characters and when its length is less than or greater than the underlying text.
4 Click Set.

Lists and autonumbering
You create numbered and bulleted lists by using paragraph formats that have an autonumber format defined. As you
add autonumbered paragraphs to your document, FrameMaker numbers them appropriately and renumbers existing
autonumbered paragraphs if necessary.
Autonumbered paragraphs are numbered consecutively in a text flow. If your document contains several text flows,
autonumbered paragraphs in each flow are independent of the others.
You define autonumbering in the Numbering properties of the Paragraph Designer. An autonumber format does not
have to specify paragraph numbering. When used without building blocks, it is handy for inserting automatic text or
symbols. An autonumber format can include a series label, a counter, tabs, and any additional text you need.
Series label Series labels identify different types of autonumber series within the same text flow. For example, to

number figures independently of tables or headings, you specify a different series for each formatting item ((headings,
figures, and tables).
On the other hand, table and figure numbers must all be in the same series to be based on section numbers.

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Counter A counter is a placeholder (building block) that FrameMaker replaces with a number or letter in the

autonumber. For example, the counter increments the paragraph’s number by 1; if the paragraph is the second
in a series, FrameMaker replaces with the number 2. You can use multiple counters in a format.
You can also add chapter <$chapnum> and volume <$volnum> building blocks in a format.
Tabs, text, and punctuation An autonumber format can also include tabs, text, bullets, spaces, or punctuation.

Format text as numbered lists
Creating a numbered list sometimes involves formatting the first item in the list with a paragraph format that resets
the counter to 1, and then formatting the remaining items with a different format that increments the counter. For
example, perhaps you apply a Step1 format to the first item in a list and then StepNext to the rest. The template also
sometimes defines formats that let you apply a single format to all items in a numbered list.
1 Display the Numbering properties of the Paragraph Designer and enter a series label in the Autonumber Format

box if you need more than one autonumber series in the document.
A series label consists of any single printable character followed by a colon (for example, S:). If you use a series label,
it must appear at the beginning of the format.
2 Enter any text you want to have appear automatically with the autonumber format. You can enter tabs or counters

from the Building Blocks scroll list. When you select an item, it appears at the insertion point in the Autonumber
Format box.
3 Select a Character Format for the autonumber in the Character Format scroll list. If you don’t specify a format, the

autonumber appears in the paragraph’s default font.
4 Choose a position for the autonumber from the Position pop-up menu. Autonumbers at the end of paragraphs are

rare except in equation formats.
5 Click Apply To Selection.
6 If you inserted a tab (\t) in step 2, set a corresponding tab stop for the paragraph format.

Format text as bulleted lists
In addition to the regular bullet symbol found in all text fonts, you can use any character in any installed font, including
a dingbat font such as Zapf Dingbats®.
1 Click in a single paragraph or select adjacent paragraphs that you want to make into a bulleted list.
2 Display the Numbering properties of the Paragraph Designer and click the bullet and tab symbols (\b and \t) in the

Building Blocks scroll list.
3 Click Apply To Selection.
4 If you inserted a tab (\t) in step 1, set a corresponding tab stop for the paragraph format.

Specify a special bullet symbol
Before specifying a special bullet symbol, create a character format that uses the font of the bullet symbol you want to
use. For example, to use 9-point Zapf Dingbats, create a character format using that font. Give the format a descriptive
name such as BulletFont.
1 Display the Numbering properties of the Paragraph Designer and enter the character corresponding to the bullet

symbol you want in the Autonumber Format box.
For example, if you want a Zapf Dingbats square bullet, enter a lowercase n, which appears as ■ in that font. To find
the character that corresponds to the bullet symbol you want, see the character set for that font.

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2 Click the tab symbol (\t) in the Building Blocks scroll list or enter spaces.

Note: You sometimes must use special codes to enter characters such as nonbreaking spaces or em spaces.
3 In the Character Format scroll list, click the bullet character format that you created.
4 Click Apply To Selection.

Remove autonumbering or a bullet from a paragraph
1 Turn off Autonumber Format in the Numbering properties of the Paragraph Designer. Click the option twice to

turn off the setting; clicking it only once changes it to As Is.
2 Click Apply To Selection.

Counters in autonumber formats
A counter consists of angle brackets (< >) that surround a display style and an increment value. The Custom
Autonumbering feature supports the Unicode text encoding standard.
A B

A. Display style B. Increment value

To indicate the display style, use a counter with one of the following letters.
For this numbering style

Use

Numeric (1, 2, 3, …)

Lowercase Roman (i, ii, iii, iv, …)

Uppercase Roman (I, II, III, IV, …)

Lowercase alphabetic (a, b, c, …, aa)

Uppercase alphabetic (A, B, C, …, AA)

To indicate how an autonumber is incremented, use a counter with an increment value, as shown in the following
examples.
To

Use

Keep the value the same

Set the value to 1 or to any other number you enter after the equal sign

Increase the value of the counter by 1

Keep the value the same but not display it

Reset to zero (or any other number) but not display it

< =0>

By default, each counter is initially set to zero. The counter can maintain its current value, be incremented by 1, or be
reset to a different value. For example, use in the format that resets numbering to 1 at the beginning of a new
set of numbered steps.
To keep the value the same but not display it, place a blank space between the angle brackets. If you leave out the blank
space, the angle brackets appear as part of the autonumber format.

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Base autonumbering on book component numbers
You can insert <$volnum>, <$chapnum>, <$sectionnum>, or <$subsectionnum> building blocks in paragraph
formats. The book component numbers are determined by the settings in the Numbering Properties dialog box.
Example

Autonumber format

Volume 3

Volume <$volnum>

Chapter 3

Chapter <$chapnum>

The following table illustrates how you can combine the chapter building block with other building blocks:
Example

Autonumber format

Section 1.1

S:Section <$chapnum>.<=0>

Section 1.1.1

S:Section <$chapnum>..

Figure 1-1

F:Figure <$chapnum>-

Table 1-1

T:Table <$chapnum>-

Base autonumbering on section numbers
Table and figure numbers must all be in the same series for autonumbering in sections, as shown in the following table:
Section number

Figure number

Table number

Section 1

Figure 1-1

Table 1-1

1.1

Figure 1-2

Table 1-2

Section 2

Figure 2-1

Table 2-1

2.1

Figure 2-2

Table 2-2

1.2

2.2

To achieve this type of numbering, construct autonumber formats in a single series using the same series label for each
format. The following table shows possible autonumber formats. The formats are presented in a table so that you can
clearly see the position of each counter in the string. Counter position determines how the counter is incremented.
Paragraph format

Autonumber format

SectionTitle

H:Section

<$chapnum>

< =0>

Head1

<$chapnum>

FigureTitle

H:Figure

<$chapnum>

TableTitle

H:Table

<$chapnum>

Whenever a paragraph tagged SectionTitle occurs, the section number is incremented by 1, and the remaining counter
values are reset to zero. Each counter in the remaining formats refer to a different type of item, so they’re
incremented independently.
The < > counters keep FrameMaker from resetting values back to zero.

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Use multiple counters in an autonumber format
An autonumber format can contain more than one counter. For example, perhaps autonumbers for a series of section
and subsection titles each contain two counters.
These counters

In this format

Would appear as

<$chapnum>.

Head1

1.0

<$chapnum>.

Head2

1.1

<$chapnum>.

Head2

1.2

<$chapnum>.

Head1

2.0

The counters in each format are independent of each other. The position of a counter in the string determines how it’s
displayed and incremented. When incrementing a counter, FrameMaker bases its value on the corresponding counter
in the previous autonumber paragraph in the same flow.
The following example shows multiple counters in section titles and subtitles. The counter before the period is
incremented independently from the counter after the period.
Example

Autonumber format

Tag

1.0 Getting started

.\t

Head1

1.1 Installing

.\t

Head2

1.2 Backing up

.\t

Head2

..\t

Head3

.\t

Head2

1.2.1 Errors
1.3 Entering data

The following example demonstrates outline style autonumber formats.
Example

Autonumberformat

Tag

I Getting started

< =0>\t

Head1

A Installing

< >\t

Head2

B Backing up

< >\t

Head2

II Entering data

< =0>\t

Head1

A Opening a file

< >\t

Head2

B Saving a file

< >\t

Head2

The autonumber in the heading Opening a file is reset to A; the second counter in the previous paragraph’s format
resets the numbering to zero without displaying it, so increments the counter to 1 or A.
The < > counter in the Head2 format keeps the value of the first counter the same but doesn’t display it. If the < >
counter is not in that position, the in the Head2 format refers to the first counter (not the second), and
FrameMaker produces the following result:

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Incorrect outline style autonumber format

Reset a series
Some numbering series—such as a list of numbered steps—start at 1 every time they are used. You can reset such a
series in two ways.
The first example shows how to restart series numbering by using the building block for the first step in the
series, and then using for subsequent steps.
Example

Autonumber format

Tag

Step 1. Unpack it.

S:Step .\t

Step1

Step 2. Back it up.

S:Step .\t

StepNext

Step 3. Run setup.

S:Step .\t

StepNext

Step 1. Save your file.

S:Step .\t

Step1

The second example shows another way to reset the counter so that you don’t have to use a unique format to start a
numbered list. Instead, a paragraph that introduces the list uses a format that resets the counter.
Example

Autonumber format

Tag

To install the software:

S:< =0>

StepIntro

Step 1. Unpack it.

S:Step .\t

Step

Step 2. Back it up.

S:Step .\t

Step

Step 3. Run setup.

S:Step .\t

Step

The < =0> counter in the StepIntro format resets the S series to zero but doesn’t display the number.
If a counter is incremented, any omitted counters in the series to the right of it are reset to zero. For example, the
following autonumber formats are equivalent:
S:< =0>\t
S:\t

About Japanese numbering options
The following counters in autonumber formats are allowed in Japanese text and with Japanese fonts.

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Building block

Meaning

Fixed-width lowercase Roman alphabet

Fixed-width uppercase Roman alphabet

Fixed-width Arabic numbers

Standard kanji numbering, where doubledigit numbers are made up from the
traditional kanji characters for ten, one
hundred, and so on

Numbers used for street addresses, phone
numbers, postal codes, and so on, where
double-digit numbers are made up from the
kanji characters for zero through nine

Numbers used in financial or banking
contexts made up of old-style kanji numerals

Hiragana characters in the standard order

Katakana characters in the standard order

Hiragana characters in the literary order (rare)

Katakana characters in the literary order (rare)

Characters, in this order

Master pages and reference pages
About body, master, and reference pages
FrameMaker documents contain three types of pages that help you set up your page layout:

• Master pages specify the page layout and the background text for document pages (for example, page headers and
footers).

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• Reference pages can contain frequently used graphics, formatting information, hypertext commands, mappings for
HTML conversion, and boilerplate matter.

• Body pages show the background text and graphics from the corresponding master page and contain the document
content.

A. Master pages: first and right B. Body pages: first chapter page and right page C. Reference page

Master pages
FrameMaker uses master pages to keep track of a document’s page layout. A double-sided document contains at least
two master pages, one for left pages and one for right pages. A single-sided document uses the right master page only.
Documents can also contain custom master pages, which you can use for special types of pages. You can also create
layouts directly on body pages for one-time-only use.
If your page layout is complex, or if you need to create design components such as page headers and footers, work with
the components directly on the master pages. You can draw or import graphics—such as lines, boxes, or company
logos—anywhere on a master page, as well as type text on them. Graphics and text appear on the corresponding body
pages exactly as they appear on the master page, as part of the body page’s background.

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Master page and body page

Master pages can contain the following types of text frames:

• A template text frame contains a tagged text flow—a flow with a name. When you add a body page, the template
text frame is copied to the new body page. You then type the document’s text in this text frame on the body page.
You can type text in a template text frame on a master page, but the text does not appear on body pages.

• A background text frame contains an untagged text flow—a flow with no name. Its contents appear on
corresponding body pages, but you can edit them only on the master pages. Background text frames are typically
used for page headers and footers.
A

Master page
A. Untagged background text frame B. Template text frame

When you add text and illustrations to your document on body pages, FrameMaker adds body pages as necessary and
automatically uses the page layout from the left or right master page.

On body pages, you type in a text frame copied from the template text frame.

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Reference pages
You can use reference pages to store frequently used graphics that you want to position consistently throughout a
document, and then use the graphics on body pages where they are needed. If you place a graphic in a reference frame—
an unanchored graphic frame on a reference page—you can use the frame as a property of a paragraph format. For
example, to design a heading with a line below it, draw the line in a reference frame, and then include the reference
frame in the paragraph format of the heading.

Reference page and body page

Reference pages can also hold boilerplate material or clip art that you can copy and paste on body pages—for example,
symbols for cautions and notes. And specialized reference pages can contain hypertext commands, formatting
information for generated lists and indexes, definitions of custom math elements, and mappings for converting to
XML and HTML.
A document normally contains at least one reference page. You can add your own graphics to an existing reference
page, and you can create additional reference pages (up to 100).

Create custom master pages
Documents may need body pages with layouts that differ from those of the left and right master pages. For example,
you can create a different look for the first page of a document, or you can include a landscape page in a portrait
document. For such cases, you create custom master pages. (A document can contain up to 100 master pages.)
After you create the custom master page, change its column layout, and add background text and graphics. You then
assign the custom master page to one or more body pages.

Create a custom master page that is empty or based on another master page’s layout
1 Display the master page that you want to use as a basis for the new master page.
2 Choose Special > Add Master Page and enter a name for the new master page in the Name text box.
3 Do one of the following:

• To create a master page with a layout that matches the layout of an existing master page, choose the master page
from the Copy From Master Page pop-up menu.

• To create an empty master page, click Empty.
4 Click Add.

Create a custom master page based on a body page’s layout
1 Make the column layout changes you want on a body page.
2 With the body page displayed, choose Format > Page Layout > New Master Page.
3 Enter a name for the master page and click Create.

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More Help topics
“Assign master pages to body pages” on page 73

Reorder, rotate, or delete custom master pages
Reorder custom master pages
When you reorder custom master pages, the Right and Left master pages always remain at the beginning.
1 Open a master page, and then choose Format > Page Layout > Reorder Custom Master Pages.
2 Select a master page in the Custom Master Pages list, and click Move Up or Move Down to move the page

accordingly.
3 Click Set. If you were previously viewing a custom master page, note that a different master page may now be

visible.

Rotate a master page
You can create a custom master page that changes the orientation of a body page. For example, you can create a rotated
orientation for a body page with a wide table.

Right page uses a rotated master page.

1 On a new master page, set up any text frames and background text and graphics that you want to have the same

orientation (unrotated) as headers and footers on the other master pages.
2 Choose one of the Format > Customize Layout > Rotate Page commands. When FrameMaker rotates the page, part

of the page will probably be out of view. You can adjust the window size to see as much of the page as possible.
3 Create the text frames, background text, and background graphics that you want to display rotated.

You can type in rotated text frames, or you can unrotate the page to make typing faster. To unrotate a page, choose
Format > Customize Layout > Unrotate Page. When you’re finished, you can rotate the page again.

More Help topics
“Creating and modifying background text frames” on page 81

Rename or delete a custom master page
❖ Display the master page, and choose Special > Delete Page.

Note: You cannot rename the master pages named Left and Right, and you cannot delete the left or right master page or
any master page currently assigned to a body page.

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Assign master pages to body pages
You can assign a master page to a body page at any time. FrameMaker uses the template text frame from the master
page and displays background text and graphics.
You can also choose to assign no master page to a body page. Because it’s not associated with a master page, this type
of body page has no headers, footers, or other background text or graphics. (If the body page contains a text frame, the
text frame is unaffected.) For example, if each chapter in a book must contain an even number of pages, and if the last
page of a chapter contains no body text, you may not want that page to use a master page, so that it will be blank.

Assign a different master page
1 With a body page displayed, choose Format > Page Layout > Master Page Usage.
2 In the Use Master Page area, do one of the following:

• To assign the left or right master page, click Right (in a single-sided document) or Right/Left (in a double-sided
document).

• To assign a custom master page, choose the page name from the Custom pop-up menu.
• To assign no master page, choose None from the Custom pop-up menu.
3 In the Apply To area, do one of the following:

• To apply the change to the current body page, click Current.
• To apply the change to a range of pages, enter the starting and ending page numbers in the Pages text boxes.
• To apply the changes only to odd or even pages within a range, select Even or Odd.
• To apply the changes only to pages within a range that currently use a particular master page, choose a page from
the pop-up menu in the Apply To area.
4 Click Apply.

Note: If the master page contains a template text flow not found on the body page, FrameMaker adds the text frames that
contain that flow to the body page. If the body page contains a flow not found on the master page, FrameMaker leaves
the text frames that contain that flow unchanged. This action could result in overlapping text frames.

Assign a master page to pages with specified paragraph tags
You can assign master pages to body pages that contain specified paragraph tags. For example, you may want all pages
that include the Title paragraph tag to be formatted with a custom master page called First.
You map the paragraph tags to the master pages using the Reference Pages mapping table. When you choose the Apply
Master Pages command, the master page will be applied to the body pages on which the referenced paragraph tag
appears.

In this example, the First master page will be applied to body pages containing Title paragraph tags.

1 Choose View > Reference Pages.
2 Click the Next Page button until the five-column UnstructMasterPageMaps table appears.

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If the mapping table does not appear in the reference pages, choose Format > Page Layout > Apply Master Pages.
3 For Book Update (Yes Or No), type Yes or No to determine whether the specified master page is applied when you

choose Apply Master Pages from a book.
4 Edit the mapping table by doing the following:

• Under the Paragraph Tag Name column heading, type the name of the paragraph tag to which you want the
master page to be applied. This column is required for master pages to be applied. Spell the paragraph tag name
correctly, using the same capitalization that the paragraph tag uses.

• Under the Right-Handed Master Page column heading, type the name of the master page you want to apply.
This column is required for master pages to be applied. The specified master page is applied to all body pages,
including left-handed pages in double-sided documents on which the paragraph tags appear, unless you specify
a different master page under the Left-Handed Master Page column. Master page names are case-sensitive.

• Under the Left-Handed Master Page column heading, type the name of the master page that you want to apply
to the left-handed body pages on which the paragraph tags appear in double-sided documents. This column is
optional.

• Under the Range Indicator column heading, type Single to apply the master page only to the body page on which
each paragraph tag appears; type Span pages to apply the master page to the entire span of pages to which the
paragraph tag is applied; or type Until changed to apply the master page to all pages, until the next body page
with a different paragraph tag listed in the mapping table is encountered. If this cell is blank, master pages are
applied to single pages.

• Add notes to the Comments column. Text you type in this column does not affect how master pages are applied
in any way.

• To map additional master pages to paragraph tags, add and fill out additional table rows.
5 When you are done, choose View > Body Pages.
6 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
7 Choose Format > Page Layout > Apply Master Pages, and then click Yes to override manually applied master pages.

Adobe FrameMaker searches each body page for the first occurrence of any paragraph tag specified in the Master Page
Maps table. When it finds text containing the specified paragraph tag, it applies the specified master page.

Assign a master page to body pages of structured documents
To assign master pages to body pages containing elements in structured documents, you map the elements to the
master pages using the Reference Pages mapping table. When you choose Apply Master Pages, the master page is
applied to the body page on which the referenced element appears.
1 In Structured FrameMaker, choose View > Reference Pages.
2 Click the Next Page button until the eight-column StructMasterPageMaps table appears.

If you are working on a document created in a previous version of FrameMaker, choose Format > Page Layout >
Apply Master Pages, so that the mapping table appears in the reference pages.
3 To the right of Book Update (Yes Or No), type Yes or No to determine whether the specified master page is applied

when you choose Apply Master Pages from a book.

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4 Edit the mapping table by doing the following:

• Under the Element/Paragraph Tag Name column heading, type a valid prefix (E: for element tag, or P: for
paragraph tag), followed by the name of the element or paragraph tag to which you want the master page to be
applied. If no prefix is applied, an element tag is assumed. Spell the name correctly, using the same capitalization
that the element or paragraph tag uses. This column is required for master pages to be applied.

• Under the Right-Handed Master Page column heading, type the name of the master page you want to apply. The
specified master page is applied to all body pages, including left-handed pages in double-sided documents on
which the elements or paragraph tags appear, unless you specify a different master page under the Left-Handed
Master Page column. Master page names are case-sensitive. This column is required for master pages to be
applied.

• Under the Left-Handed Master Page column heading, type the name of the master page that you want to apply
to the left-handed body pages on which the elements or paragraph tags appear in double-sided documents. This
column is optional.

• Under Attribute Name, type a valid attribute name to further define the mapping context.
• Under Attribute Value, type a valid attribute value to further define the mapping context.
• Under Context, type a value for an element’s context label to further define the mapping context.
• Under the Range Indicator heading, type Single to apply the master page only to the body page on which each
element or paragraph tag appears; type Span pages to apply the master page to the entire span of pages to which
the element or paragraph tag is applied; or type Until changed to apply the master page to all pages until the
next body page with a different element or paragraph tag listed in the mapping table is encountered. If this cell
is blank, master pages are applied to single pages.

• Add notes to the Comments column. Text you type in this column does not affect how master pages are applied
in any way.

• To map additional master pages to elements or paragraph tags, add and fill out additional table rows.
5 Choose View > Body Pages.
6 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
7 Choose Format > Page Layout > Apply Master Pages, and then click Yes to override manually applied master pages.

FrameMaker searches each body page for the first occurrence of any element or paragraph tag specified in the Master Page
Maps table. When it finds text containing the specified element or paragraph tag, it applies the specified master page.

Display master pages
When working with master pages, you move back and forth between them and the body pages. When a master page
is visible, its name and the number of master pages in the document appear in the Page Status area of the status bar.

Page Status area of status bar

❖ Choose View > Master Pages. The master page used by the current body page appears, with the text frame and

column borders visible.

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View other master pages when a master page is visible
❖ Do one of the following:

• Click the Next Page or Previous Page button.
• Press the Page Up or Page Down key.
• Use the scroll bar.

Return to body pages while master pages are visible
❖ Choose View > Body Pages. The most recently displayed body page appears. If FrameMaker detects any layout

overrides on body pages, an alert message asks how you want to handle them.

More Help topics
“About layout overrides” on page 83

View, create, and delete reference pages
Display reference pages
❖ Choose View > Reference Pages. The name of the current reference page appears in the Page Status area of the status bar.

Page Status area

If the document doesn’t contain any reference pages, the Add Reference Page dialog box appears. Create the first
reference page by entering a page name and clicking Add.

View other reference pages when a reference page is visible
• Click the Next Page

or Previous Page

button.

• Press the Page Up or Page Down key.
• Use the scroll bar.

Create a reference page
1 Display reference pages and choose Special > Add Reference Page.
2 Enter a name for the reference page and click Add.

Return to body pages
❖ Choose View > Body Pages. The most recently displayed body page appears.

Rename or delete a reference page
You can rename a reference page—for example, to avoid overwriting the reference page when you import reference
pages from a template that contains a reference page with the same name.

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If you delete a reference page that contains a graphic used in a paragraph format, the graphic no longer appears in
paragraphs using that format. When this happens, the Frame Above or the Frame Below pop-up menu in the
of the Paragraph Designer is set to As Is for the paragraphs.
Advanced properties
❖ Display the reference page and do one of the following:

• To rename the page, click the page name in the status bar, and type the new name. Click Set.
• To delete the page, choose Special > Delete Page.

Use reference frames on reference pages
You can use a graphic as part of a paragraph format if you have placed the graphic in a reference frame on a reference page.

Graphics in reference frames

When you select a reference frame on a reference page, its name appears in the status bar after the word Frame.

Create a reference frame on a reference page
1 Click the Graphic Frame tool

on the Tools panel, and then drag to draw the frame. To draw a square frame,

Shift-drag.
2 Enter a name in the Name text box and click Set. Use a short, descriptive name you can recognize later when the

name appears in the Frame Above and the Frame Below pop-up menus in the Advanced properties
Paragraph Designer.

of the

3 Put a graphic in the frame. You can draw the graphic, import a graphic file, or combine drawn and imported

graphics.
4 Adjust the frame’s size and shape if necessary. When you use a reference frame above or below a paragraph on a

body page, the whole frame—not just the graphic inside it—appears on the body page. The height of the frame
affects the spacing of text above and below the frame.
5 Use the Text Line tool to type the frame’s name above the frame. Typing the name helps you identify the frame

when you view the reference page. It does not rename the reference frame.

Rename a reference frame
1 Select the reference frame and click the frame’s name in the status bar.
2 Enter the new name and click Set. You should also type the new name in the text line above the reference frame. If

you rename a reference frame used in a paragraph format, you need to update the format so that it uses the new
frame name.

Change other properties of a reference frame
❖ Select the frame and use either Graphics > Object Properties or the options on the Tools panel.

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Set up boilerplate graphics on reference pages
You can set up boilerplate graphics—for example, margin symbols—in anchored frames on a reference page. Then you
can copy the anchored frames to body pages. When you do this, the graphics appear correctly positioned in their
anchored frames.

You can copy and paste boilerplate graphics onto body pages.

You can also place graphics directly on reference pages and then copy and paste them anywhere on body pages.
1 Create a reference page with the same column layout as the body page on which you want to display the graphic.

This ensures that the graphic is positioned correctly when you copy it to body pages. To set up the column layout,
you can copy the text frame from a body page and paste it on the reference page.
On the reference page, set up the anchored frame exactly as you want it to appear on body pages.
2 Draw the graphic in the anchored frame, or paste or import it into the frame. You may want to add some text

outside the anchored frame to identify the graphic. For example, in the illustration, Caution Symbol identifies the
graphic.

Page layouts
You can make changes to a document’s basic page layout directly from a body page. FrameMaker automatically
updates both the left and right master pages, and updates the layout of any body pages that use those master pages. If
any of these body pages contain layout overrides, you are asked to confirm that you want to make the updates.
If your document uses another master page—for example, for the first page of the document—you must make any
layout changes on that master page.

Change page size
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Page Layout > Page Size.
3 Do one of the following:

• Choose a standard size from the Page Size pop-up menu. The correct dimensions appear in the Width and
Height text boxes.

• Enter dimensions in the Width and Height text boxes. Custom appears in the pop-up menu. The custom page
size you specify can be small, depending on the document’s margin settings, or as large as 216 inches by 216
inches (approximately 548 centimeters by 548 centimeters).
4 Click Set.

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Note: If the document contains custom master pages, FrameMaker prevents change to a page size that cannot
accommodate the text frames on those master pages.

Change pagination
You can change a single-sided document to double-sided documents or the reverse. When you set up a double-sided
document, you specify whether the first page is a left or a right page.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Page Layout > Pagination.
3 Select one of the options in the Pagination area. If you select Double Sided, also specify whether the first page is a

left or right page. If you are applying pagination in a book, you can choose Read from File to use the page side
specified in the file, or you can choose Next Available Side to avoid a blank page.
Depending on which option you selected, a blank page may be added to the previous file in the book so that the
document can start on the page you specified.
4 Click Set. If the document contains custom master pages or page layout overrides, an alert message asks how you

want to proceed.

Add or delete empty pages
You can specify that you want a document to have an even or odd number of pages. If necessary, FrameMaker adds a
blank page at the end of the document to achieve the correct pagination.
Conversely, a document may contain unwanted blank pages at the end, left there because you deleted or reworked text.
You can tell FrameMaker to delete these empty pages whenever you save or print the document.
FrameMaker deletes a blank page only if it uses the left or right master page, doesn’t contain the start of a flow, and
has no layout overrides. FrameMaker doesn’t delete a page if it contains an empty paragraph but is otherwise blank.
If you use the document window to change the pagination of a document that is part of a book, the settings may be
overridden when you update the book. You can make sure that the book pagination is correct by changing a
document’s setup from the book window.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Page Layout > Pagination.
3 From the Before Saving & Printing pop-up menu, choose an option and click Set.

If blank pages are not added or deleted as expected, make sure that all pages in the document are autoconnected.

More Help topics
“About layout overrides” on page 83

Change page margins and number of columns
The margin is the distance between the page edge and the text frame. For a single-sided document, you set margins for
the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the text frame. For a double-sided document, you set the top, bottom, inside,
and outside margins for a symmetrical look.

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To set up asymmetrical left and right margins, you change the text frames directly on the master pages. For example,
you could make the text frames on both the left and right pages appear on the right side of the page, leaving an area of
white space on the left.
You can divide a text frame into two or more equally spaced columns of equal widths. To create a multicolumn layout
with unequal column widths or gaps, use one text frame for each column of text and position the text frames one by
one. Draw the text frames or set up one text frame the way you want it and then duplicate it.
1 Place the insertion point in the main text flow or click in the page margin. If a book window is active, select the

documents you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Page Layout > Column Layout.

If the layout is asymmetrical (for example, with a different number of columns, or a different inside or outside
margin on the left and right master pages), an alert message asks whether you want to proceed. To retain the
asymmetry, change the layout directly on the master pages.
3 To change the margins, enter the values in the Margins area. The margins and the gap (space) between columns

determine the individual column width.
4 To change the number of columns or the gap between columns, enter new values in the Columns area.

All columns will be the same width and will be separated by a uniform gap.
5 Click Update Entire Flow. If the new column width is too narrow to accommodate some anchored frames or tables

in the document, an alert message asks whether you want to proceed. If you click OK, you can manually resize the
tables and frames.

More Help topics
“Changing page layout on specific pages” on page 83
“Add a template text frame on a master page” on page 84
“Adding text frames on body pages” on page 84

Headers, footers, and other background text
You set up headers and footers by displaying master pages and typing text in background text frames. The contents of
background text frames appear on body pages, but you can only edit them on master pages. The headers and footers
might include the page number, date, chapter number and title, section number and title, author, revision number,
and draft release (such as preliminary and final).

Header and footer text frames on master page

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You create and edit header and footer text as you do any other paragraph text. You can apply paragraph and character
formats, add and move tab stops, and add graphics such as a line above or below the text. In addition, you can add
system variables for information such as the page number or the current date, and you can change the size and
placement of the header and footer text frames. When you modify these text frames on a master page, FrameMaker
automatically updates any body pages that use that master page.
You can also add other background text on master pages. For example, in the FrameMaker fax template, the
informational headings are in a background text frame on the master page.

Background text frames
A. Informational headings in background text frames B. Template text frame

More Help topics
“Entering header or footer information” on page 82

Creating and modifying background text frames
When you create a new, blank document, FrameMaker creates background text frames for headers and footers on the
left and right master pages. To make it easy to add centered and right-aligned information in headers and footers,
FrameMaker automatically adds center and right tab stops at the center of the text frame and at the right margin. You
can draw background text frames for additional header and footer information or for other background text.
Note: You can create single lines of background text by using the Text Line tool, but you can’t apply paragraph formats
to the text or insert variables in it.
Add a background text frame on a master page
1 Draw the text frame by using the Text Frame tool.
2 In the Add New Text Frame dialog box, click Background Text and click Add. The new text frame, like all text

frames for background text on master pages, is untagged.
3 Double-click in the text frame to place the insertion point, and then insert the header, footer, or other background

text.
Resize or move a background text frame
1 Select the text frame by Control-clicking the text frame.
2 Do any of the following:

• To resize the text frame, drag a handle.
• To move the text frame, drag its border (not a handle).

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Entering header or footer information
You can create simple headers and footers by typing text in the header and footer text frames on the master pages. In
addition, you can specify items such as the current chapter and page numbers, the document’s total page count, and
the current date. FrameMaker displays a system variable in the header or footer on the master page and replaces it with
the correct value on each body page that uses that master page.
You can also create running headers and footers in which the text changes from page to page. In the following figure,
the running header contains the current section heading; the footer contains the page number and some text typed
directly into the background text frame.

Running headers and footers

To create running headers and footers, you insert running header/footer variables in background text frames on
master pages.
Enter text, page numbers, dates, and other information
1 On a master page, click in the header or footer where you want to add information.
2 Do any of the following:

• To insert static text, type the text.
• To insert system variables, access the Variables pod and double-click the variable name in the Variables scroll
list. You can insert any system variable, such as:
Numbering for book components Volume Number, Chapter Number, Section Number, or Sub Section

Number
Page numbers Current Page # or Page Count
Date information Current Date (Long), Current Date (Short), Modification Date (Long), Modification Date

(Short), Creation Date (Long), or Creation Date (Short)
Other variables Chapter Title Name, Filename (Long), Filename (Short), Table Continuation, or Table Sheet

• To insert user variables, access the Variables pod and double-click the variable name (if already defined) in the
Variables scroll list.
To add centered information in headers and footers, press Tab to move the insertion point to the centered tab stop.
To add right-aligned information, press Tab again to move the insertion point to the right-aligned tab stop.

More Help topics
“System variables” on page 94
“User variables” on page 96

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Changing page layout on specific pages
You can create an asymmetrical layout by adding or changing text frames directly on the master pages. For example,
you may want the left margin to be wider than the right on both left and right pages. Or you may want a single-column
layout on the left page and a two-column layout on the right. You can even create a layout that contains columns with
different widths or with different gaps by using several text frames on a page—one text frame for each column.

About layout overrides
When you make changes on a master page, FrameMaker automatically updates all body pages using that master page.
When you make layout changes on a body page (for example, by changing the number of columns, the gap between
columns, or the margins), you create an override to its master page’s layout. You can then do any of the following:

• Update the master page and all corresponding body pages with your changes.
• Create a master page based on the body page changes.
• Do neither of the above, leaving the override as a one-time-only page layout.

More Help topics
“Updating body and master page layouts” on page 84
“Create custom master pages” on page 71
“Creating one-time-only page layouts” on page 85

Change margins and column layout on specific pages
The following steps always produce either a single-column layout or a multicolumn layout with equal-width columns.
If you want to create a multicolumn layout with unequal column widths or gaps, use one text frame for each column,
and position the text frames one by one.
1 Select the text frame whose margins you want to change by Control-clicking the frame.
2 Choose Format > Customize Layout > Customize Text Frame.
3 Do the following:

• To change the margins, specify the new size and position in the Unrotated Size and Offset From areas. The
Offset From Top and Offset From Left options specify the top and left margins. The bottom and right margins
are then determined by the text frame’s width and height.

• To change the number of columns or the gap between columns, change the values in the Columns area.
4 Click Set.

Another way to change the margins is to select a text frame and then drag a resize handle. When you resize a
multicolumn text frame, the column widths change to fit within the text frame, but the column gap remains the same.

More Help topics
“Add a template text frame on a master page” on page 84
“Adding text frames on body pages” on page 84

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Add a template text frame on a master page
For a master page to contain unequal-width columns of text, or to set up the layout for a newsletter or other document
in which the articles don’t flow continuously from the first page to the last, you use multiple text frames—one for each
column. For example, for a page with two unequal-width columns, you would add a second template text frame. You
can add a template text frame by drawing it or by duplicating an existing one.
1 To draw the text frame, use the Place A Text Frame tool on the Graphics Toolbar. To draw more than one text

frame, draw them in the order you want them connected.
2 In the Add New Text Frame dialog box, click Template For Body Page Text Frame, and choose a tag from the Flow

Tag pop-up menu. Choose the current flow tag, unless you’re setting up a text frame for a different flow in a
multiflow document.
3 In the Columns area, specify the number of columns in the text frame and (if it’s more than 1) the gap between

adjacent columns. If you’re setting up a layout with unequal-width columns, set the number of columns to 1,
because you use a separate text frame for each column.
4 Click Add.
5 Move the text frame as needed.

To copy an existing text frame, select the frame, choose Edit > Copy, and then choose Edit > Paste. FrameMaker copies
the text frame, its contents, and its properties (including the flow tag).

Adding text frames on body pages
When you draw a text frame on a body page, you are prompted for the number of columns and the gap between them.
However, FrameMaker does not assign a flow tag and does not connect the text frame to existing text frames on the
page. To use the new text frame as part of the document’s text flow, connect it to the flow. If the new text frame is the
first one in the flow, also select Autoconnect so that new pages are automatically added as needed.

More Help topics
“Connect text frames” on page 91

Updating body and master page layouts
You can change template text frames on more than one master page and then update all corresponding body pages in
one step. However, if you make column layout changes on a body page, you must update the corresponding master
page before you can update the other body pages that use that master page.
Before FrameMaker updates body pages, it checks whether any body pages have column layouts that override their
master page. If any pages contain layout overrides, you specify whether to keep the overrides.
Update body pages with master page changes
1 After making layout changes on master pages, display body pages.
2 If FrameMaker displays an alert message, specify whether to keep or remove layout overrides, and then click

Continue. If you keep layout overrides, FrameMaker updates those body pages with the master page’s background
text and graphics, but does not update the template text frames.
Update a master page with body page changes
1 Choose Format > Page Layout > Update Column Layout. A message asks you to confirm the master page and body
pages that are to be updated.
2 Click Update.

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3 If FrameMaker displays an alert message, specify whether to keep or remove layout overrides on the pages being

updated, and then click Continue.

More Help topics
“About layout overrides” on page 83

Creating one-time-only page layouts
You may need to change the layout of only one body page in a document. For example, you can make a text frame
longer to fit one more line of text on the page, or shrink a text frame to make room for a graphic placed directly on the
body page. When you change the column layout of a body page without updating the master page, you create a layout
override.

More Help topics
“Change margins and column layout on specific pages” on page 83
“Adding text frames on body pages” on page 84

Align text across columns
Balance text across columns
In a layout that uses a multicolumn text frame, you can balance the text across columns that aren’t full of text—for
example, columns on partly empty pages that precede forced page breaks, and columns on the last page of a document.
You can balance text across columns throughout a text flow or in an individual text frame.

Balancing off and on

Balance text across columns throughout a text flow
1 If a document window is active, place the insertion point in the main text flow or click in the page margin. If a book
window is active, select the documents you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Page Layout > Column Layout.
3 Select Balance Columns and click Update Entire Flow.

Balance text across columns in a single text frame
❖ Click in the text frame and choose Format > Customize Layout > Customize Text Frame.
Select Balance Columns and click Set.

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Feather text to the bottom of text frames
When FrameMaker feathers text, it first adds space between paragraphs, up to a limit that you set. If more adjustment
is necessary, it adds space between lines, up to another limit that you set. FrameMaker does not feather the text in a
text frame in which text runs around graphics.

Before and after feathering

In a multicolumn text frame that contains straddles—paragraphs, tables, or anchored frames—FrameMaker adds
vertical space to align the last baselines of text in adjacent columns above each straddle.

Before and after feathering with straddling

When text is feathered, the display of pages may be slower. For this reason, you may want to feather text only after you
finish editing a document.
1 If a document window is active, place the insertion point in the main text flow. If a book window is active, select

the documents you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Page Layout > Line Layout.
3 Select Feather, and enter the maximum amount of space FrameMaker can add between lines (Maximum Interline

Padding) and between paragraphs (Maximum Inter-Pgf Padding).
FrameMaker will not exceed the padding limits you set. If it’s not possible to feather text in a column without
exceeding the limits, FrameMaker does not feather text in that column.
4 Click Update Flow.

Note: Feathering leaves room for the largest possible descender in the largest font size used in the line, even if no character
with such a descender actually appears. If the last line in a column seems too high, check to see whether the column
contains a nonprinting character (such as an anchor symbol) in a font that’s larger than that of the surrounding text.

Synchronizing baselines
When you synchronize (align) text in a flow, FrameMaker creates an invisible grid in each text frame and aligns the
baseline of the first line of each specified paragraph to the grid. FrameMaker also aligns the first line after an anchored
frame and tries to align the first line in each column.

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Note: If feathering and synchronization are both on for a flow, feathering takes precedence over synchronization.
However, the first lines in the columns are synchronized with each other.

Before and after synchronizing

Because headings in large fonts often appear at the tops of columns, you can specify a first-line synchronization limit.
This limit controls whether the baseline of a heading is placed on the first grid line when the heading falls at the top of
a column, even when the heading’s default font is larger than the grid can accommodate. To place the baseline of a
heading on the first grid line, FrameMaker lets the heading extend above the top of the column as shown in the
illustration. FrameMaker does not synchronize font sizes larger than the limit you set.
Synchronize baselines across columns
1 Check the paragraph formats of the paragraph types you want to synchronize to make sure they all have the same
default font size and line spacing. Fixed line spacing should be on.
2 Click in the flow you want to synchronize (or select the documents in the book that you want to affect) and choose

Format > Page Layout > Line Layout.
3 Select Baseline Synchronization and turn off Feather.
4 In the Synchronization area, enter the line spacing you want to use for the text frame grid in the Synchronize Pgf’s

With Line Spacing Of text box. Use the same line spacing as in the paragraphs you want to synchronize. Otherwise,
FrameMaker will not synchronize the paragraphs with the text frame grid.
5 In the First-Line Synchronization Limit text box, enter the largest font size to align at the top of a column. For

example, suppose the line spacing for body paragraphs is 12 points, the column grid is 12 points, and the headings
are 18 points. If you want the headings to be aligned when they appear at the top of a column, specify 18 as the firstline limit.
6 Click Update Flow. As no descenders appear above the first line in a column, the first grid line is offset from the top

of the column a distance equaling two-thirds of the specified line spacing.
Synchronize baselines in adjacent text frames
If the tops of adjacent text frames start at different positions on a page, you may need to adjust their tops to line up
their grids.
❖ Line up the grids by resizing adjacent text frames so that the distance between their tops is evenly divisible by the

grid. For example, if the grid is 12 points, you can start a text frame 144 points (12 times 12 points) from the top of
an adjacent text frame.

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PLATE BOUNDARIES

A. Grid spacing B. Distance evenly divisible by the grid

Use the snap grid to correctly position the text frames. To do so, specify a snap grid equal to the text frame grid.
Then resize the text frames until their tops snap to the grid.

Multiflow documents
A document can have separate text flows, each with its own text frame connections. For example, a bilingual document
may contain side-by-side translations of the same text.
When a text frame fills in a multiflow document, you can tell FrameMaker not to add a new page. That way, you can
add pages yourself and control the connections. Because each flow’s autonumbering is independent of the numbering
in other flows, you can maintain separately numbered lists, headings, and figure titles for each flow.

Set up a multiflow document
About text flows and flow tags
A text flow is a series of connected text frames through which the text flows in a document. Most documents have a
single text flow, from the first page to the last, in which FrameMaker handles the text frame connections automatically.
You make the text frame connections yourself only for documents in which you need to weave several text flows
together—for example, with a newsletter in which you need to continue a front-page article on the back page, skipping
over other articles on the intervening pages.
The current text frame’s flow tag appears in the Tag area of the status bar.

Tag area of status bar

Set up a side-by-side flow
You set up a document with side-by-side text flows by laying out and connecting the text frames on the master pages.
Because the text frame connections are the same throughout the document, you usually don’t need to make further
changes on the body pages.
1 Set up the flows on one of the master pages. Use a text frame for each flow and assign a different flow tag to each

text frame. Make sure that Autoconnect is on for each flow so that FrameMaker adds a new body page whenever
text reaches the end of one of the flows.

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Left and right master pages for a side-by-side flow

2 Repeat the previous step for the remaining master pages. All master pages should have the same flow tags.

Otherwise, FrameMaker will not alternate properly between the left and right master pages when adding body
pages.
Important: To create a new body page correctly when text reaches the bottom of a text frame, the appropriate left or
right master page must contain all of the flow tags on the current body page. If any flow tag is missing, FrameMaker
creates the new page with the current body page’s master page instead.
3 Update the body pages with the master page changes by displaying body pages.

More Help topics
“Add a template text frame on a master page” on page 84
“Change a flow’s tag or Autoconnect setting” on page 91

Set up a flow for a newsletter or magazine
You set up a newsletter or magazine that requires nonparallel, multiple flows by establishing a column layout on the
master pages. However, the master pages act only as the basic layout grid. You resize, delete, connect, and disconnect
the text frames on the body pages until they look right. This approach gives you the greatest flexibility in determining
the way text flows through the document.
Note: If you are creating a newsletter or magazine that has articles that flow consecutively from the first page to the last,
you do not need to use the techniques described here. Instead, you can use a single text flow. You can create special effects
by making text run around graphics, and by making paragraphs, tables, and frames straddle columns. For an example of
this technique, see the newsletter template provided with FrameMaker.
1 Decide on the number of columns, and place that number of single-column text frames on each master page. All of

the text frames should be in the same flow. You can use these text frames as the layout grid within which you’ll have
text flow.

First master page

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Left and right master pages with the same flow

2 Turn off Autoconnect so that FrameMaker will not automatically add pages.
3 Update body pages with the master page changes by displaying body pages.
4 On each body page, resize, disconnect, and connect text frames as necessary. Don’t update the master pages as you

make changes on the body pages.
5 To synchronize text baselines in the newsletter, make sure that the text frames are placed appropriately. If the

document contains several text flows, synchronize baselines for each flow.
6 Manually create new disconnected body pages as necessary.
7 Connect text frames between pages as necessary.

More Help topics
“Add a template text frame on a master page” on page 84

Control the flow of text
A flow’s basic properties are its Autoconnect setting and its flow tag. In a document with one flow or parallel flows,
Autoconnect is usually on to tell FrameMaker to add a new page whenever the flow’s text frames are full. The new page
takes the column layout of the appropriate master page (left or right), and the text frames on the new page are
automatically connected to the text frames on the original pages.
When working on a document with nonparallel, multiple flows, you usually turn off Autoconnect. This allows you to
add a new, disconnected body page wherever you want, and to control the connections between it and existing pages.
If Autoconnect is off, and if the flow contains more text than it can hold in its text frames, the text overflows at the end
of the last text frame in the flow. The bottom border of an overflowing text frame appears as a solid line when borders
are visible.

Overflowing text frame

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If you try to type in an overflowing text frame, you hear a beep. Overflowing text is not deleted; it is hidden from view.
As soon as you connect the overflowing text frame to another text frame, the hidden text reappears in the next text
frame.
If you need to assign a flow tag (for example, when creating side-by-side text flows), you can do so at any time. (In a
new, blank document, the main flow is tagged A.) You need to assign a tag only once for a flow. After that, connecting
a text frame to the flow assigns the tag to the text frame. If you change the flow tag or the Autoconnect setting in one
text frame in a flow, the change is made to the entire flow.

Change a flow’s tag or Autoconnect setting
You normally change flow tags and the Autoconnect setting on master pages. If two text frames are connected, you
must disconnect them before you can change one of their flow tags.
1 Click in a text frame in the flow.
2 Choose Format > Customize Layout > Customize Text Frame.
3 Enter a tag for the flow in the Flow Tag text box. You should keep flow tags short so that they do not obscure other

information in the Tag area of the status bar. You cannot assign a tag that is already used on the current page.
Note: If you want two text frames on a page to have the same flow tag, connect the text frames.
4 If you want FrameMaker to add a new page when you fill the last column on a page, select Autoconnect.
5 Click Set.

More Help topics
“Connect text frames” on page 91
“Disconnect text frames” on page 92

Add a new, disconnected page
In documents with one main flow or two parallel flows, you normally don’t add disconnected body pages; you let
FrameMaker add connected pages automatically when necessary. In a multiflow document in which Autoconnect is
off, or in other specialized documents, you can add new, disconnected body pages. When the text reaches the end of a
text frame, you add a new page and connect the text frames.
1 From a body page, choose Special > Add Disconnected Pages.
2 Choose the location and number of pages you want to add.
3 Choose a master page from the Use Master Page pop-up menu and click Add.

Delete disconnected pages
When you delete disconnected pages in a multiflow document, FrameMaker also deletes the pages’ contents.
1 Click in a page you want to delete and choose Special > Delete Pages.
2 Specify the first and last disconnected pages you want to delete and click Delete. If you want to delete only one page,

enter its page number in both text boxes.

Connect text frames
When two text frames are connected, the text flows from the end of the first text frame to the beginning of the second.
You can connect a text frame on a master page to any other text frame on the same master page, and you can connect
a text frame on a body page to any text frame on any body page. You can also connect a text frame in the middle of a flow.

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When you connect two text frames, FrameMaker assigns the first text frame’s flow tag to the second frame. If the first
text frame is untagged, the second frame’s tag is used. That way, all connected text frames belong to the same flow and
have the same tag. If the first text frame contains overflowing text, the text flows into the second frame when you make
the connection.
1 Select the two text frames in the order in which you want text to flow. To select the text frames, Control-click the

text frames.
If the text frames are on different pages, the first frame is deselected when you select the second one, but
FrameMaker keeps track of the first selection.
Note: To add a text frame to the middle of a flow, first select the text frame you want to add, and then select the frame
that should follow it.
2 Choose Format > Customize Layout > Connect Text Frames. If the first text frame you selected isn’t on a page that’s

currently visible, an alert message asks whether you want to connect to that frame.

Disconnect text frames
You disconnect text frames when you want to create separate flows—for example, to place an article in a specific
location in a newsletter, or to create a pull-quote. If you need to start a new flow in the middle of a column, you can
split the text frame that contains the column in two, and then disconnect the two text frames.
You can disconnect a text frame from the preceding text frame, the following one, or both. You can also remove a text
frame from the middle of a flow.
Disconnecting text frames does not affect existing text in the frames. To move text to a different text frame, cut and
paste it after disconnecting the frames.
Note: When you disconnect text frames on the same body page, FrameMaker creates separate flows with no flow tags.
When you disconnect text frames on different body pages, FrameMaker creates separate flows with the same flow tag. In
either case, if you’re creating a newsletter-type document where Autoconnect is off for each flow, the flow tags do not
matter. FrameMaker does not create new pages automatically and, thus, there is no need to make text frame connections.
1 Select the text frame you want to disconnect by Control-clicking the text frame.
2 Choose Format > Customize Layout, and then choose Disconnect Previous, Disconnect Next, or Disconnect Both.

Remove a text frame from the middle of a flow
1 Select the text frame immediately preceding the one you want to remove. To do this, Control-click the text frame.
2 Select the text frame immediately following the text frame you want to remove.
3 Choose Format > Customize Layout > Connect Text Frames. If the first text frame you selected isn’t on a page that’s

currently visible, an alert message asks whether you want to connect to that frame.

Split or unsplit text frames
You can split a text frame in two, and then disconnect the two text frames to start a new flow. For example, you may
want a new article with its own flow to start in the middle of a text frame.

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The second of three text frames is split, disconnected from the first text frame, and retagged.

Split text frames
1 Click in the line above where you want to split the text frame and choose Format > Customize Layout > Split Text
Frame. FrameMaker splits the text frame below the line that contains the insertion point, creating two separate but
connected text frames.
2 Select the bottom text frame by Control-clicking the text frame.
3 Disconnect the text frame from the previous one by choosing Format > Customize Layout > Disconnect Previous.

If the flow was tagged, FrameMaker removes the flow tag. If Autoconnect was on before you disconnected the text
frames, it is now off for both text frames.
4 Resize the text frames as necessary.

Unsplit text frames
• If you haven’t made any other changes since splitting the text frame, choose Edit > Undo.

• If you made another change but you have not yet disconnected the two text frames, delete the lower frame and then
resize the remaining text frame to the size of the original unsplit frame.

• If you have already disconnected the two frames, cut the text from the second text frame and paste it at the end of
the first text frame. Then delete the second text frame and resize the first one to the size of the original unsplit frame.
If you need to turn Autoconnect back on or reassign a flow tag for the text flow, use Format > Customize Layout >
Customize Text Frame.

Cross-reference a disconnected text frame
When an article in a newsletter or magazine continues from one page to another, you can use cross-references to tell
the reader where to turn to continue reading and to indicate where the end of the article is continued from.

Indicate where the flow continues, and where it is continued from.

1 Resize the two text frames to make room for the cross-references. Drag the bottom of the first text frame upward

and the top of the continuation text frame downward.

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2 Draw a small text frame below the text frame on the first page, and another above the text frame on the continuation

page. Don’t connect either text frame to any other text frame.
3 Insert a cross-reference in the empty text frame on the first page, referring to the continuation page of the article.
4 Insert a cross-reference in the empty text frame on the continuation page, referring to the first page of the article.

Tracking a text flow
In a document with many flows, it’s easy to lose sight of where a flow continues. You can zoom out to see more of a
text flow or move from one text frame in a flow to the next.
1 Zoom out to 25% and adjust the window size to see as many pages as necessary.
2 Click in the flow you want to check and choose Edit > Select All In Flow. The flow is highlighted, showing how it

traverses the pages of the document.
3 To move through a flow’s text flow’s text frames, do one of the following:

• To display the next connected text frame, click in the last line of a text frame and press the Down Arrow key.
• To display the preceding connected text frame, click in the first line of a text frame and press the Up Arrow key.

Variables
About variables
You can include text that frequently changes and appears often in your document as variables. Variables are also useful
for providing information that is updated automatically, such as the current date. In FrameMaker, you have system
variables and user variables. System variables are maintained by FrameMaker, such as current date or filename. User
variables are variables that you define in FrameMaker, such as company name or product name.

System variables
Each system variable has a name and a definition. Although you cannot rename system variables, you can edit their
definitions. A system variable definition can contain the following items:

• Building blocks for system information, such as the month, day, year, and filename
• Text characters, such as the comma and the spaces that appear in the date May 1, 2010
• Building blocks for character format changes
For example, the Table Sheet variable that appears in a table title as (Sheet 3 of 5) has the following definition.
A

A. Text you type B. Building blocks

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You can change the definition—the way the information is displayed—by adding, removing, or rearranging building
blocks and by editing the text in the definition. For example, you can change the format used to display the current
date.
The most common way to use system variables is in document templates as part of background text frames, such as
headers and footers. A background text frame is on a master page and doesn’t have a flow tag. For example, the Current
Page # and Running H/F variables can reside only in a background text frame on a master page. The values of these
variables appear on the corresponding body pages. You can use system variables to create running headers and footers
that contain chapter titles, section headings, or information that changes from page to page.

System variable names appear on master pages.

FrameMaker provides values on body pages.

The values of system variables inserted on master pages are updated automatically. However, if you place a system
variable on a body or reference page, the value is updated only when you open or print the file.
You can also manually update the value of the variable when the file is open. Access the Variables pod and click
Update.
Note: Variables and variable names support the Unicode text encoding standard.
Default values for system variables
System variable

Default definition (US English version)

Example of display

Current Page #

<$curpagenum>

Page Count

<$lastpagenum>

Current Date (Long)

<$monthname> <$daynum>, <$year>

October 11, 2010

Current Date (Short)

<$monthnum>/<$daynum>/<$shortyear>

10/11/10

Modification Date (Long)

<$monthname> <$daynum>, <$year>,
<$hour>:<$minute00> <$ampm>

September 24, 2011, 10:48 am

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System variable

Default definition (US English version)

Example of display

Modification Date (Short)

<$monthnum>/<$daynum>/<$shortyear>

9/24/11

Creation Date (Long)

<$monthname> <$daynum>, <$year>

July 1, 2010

Creation Date (Short)

<$monthnum>/<$daynum>/<$shortyear>

7/1/10

Filename (Long)

<$fullfilename>

c:\Memos\Staffing.fm

Filename (Short)

<$filename>

Staffing.fm

Table Continuation

(Continued)

Table Sheet

(Sheet <$tblsheetnum> of <$tblsheetcount>)

(Sheet 1 of 2)

Volume Number

<$volnum>

Chapter Number

<$chapnum>

Section Number

<$sectionnum>

Sub Section Number

<$subsectionnum>

Chapter Title Name

<$chaptertitlename>

Cyclonic storms

Running H/F 1

<$paratext[Title]>

The Turbulent Oceans

Running H/F 2

<$paratext[Heading1]>

Threat of Extinction

Running H/F 3

<$marker1>

Plate tectonics

Running H/F 4

<$marker2>

Volcanoes

Running H/F 5–12

<$paratext[paratag]>

Lava

Running H/F 13

<$marker3>

Lava

Running H/F 14

<$marker4>

Lava

Running H/F 15

<$marker5>

Lava

Running H/F 16

<$marker6>

Lava

Running H/F 17

<$marker7>

Lava

Running H/F 18

<$marker8>

Lava

You can use the <$chaptertitlename> variable to propagate the folder name in the template associated with the folder.

More Help topics
“Add a folder” on page 307

User variables
Each user variable has a name and a definition. A definition includes text and optional building blocks for the character
format of the text. For example, suppose you define a variable as follows:
The Earth Sciences
If the BookTitleFormat character format is defined as italics, this variable appears on the page as The Earth Sciences.
You can change the definition of any user variable, for example, when the book title changes. When you change the
definition, all occurrences of the variable in your document are updated to use the new definition.

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The standard templates don’t provide any user variables. If you’re using one of these templates, create your own user
variables. If you’re using a template created at your site, perhaps it already includes some user variables.

Valid variables in structured documents
You can add a system variable to a structured flow, with or without a special variable element. You do not use special
variable elements for user variables but insert them directly in elements defined for text.
The following building blocks in running header/footer variables are used in elements:
Building block

Meaning

<$elemtext[tag]>

The text (up to the first paragraph break), excluding its autonumber, but including any
prefix and suffix specified in the element definition.

<$elemtextonly[tag]>

The text (up to the first paragraph break), excluding its autonumber and any prefix and
suffix specified in the element definition.

<$elemtag[tag]>

The tag of the source element

<$elemparanum[tag]>

The entire autonumber of the first paragraph of the element.

<$elemparanumonly[tag]>

The autonumber counters of the first paragraph, including any characters between them.

<$attribute[AttributeName]>

The value of the attribute with the specified name (or, if no value is specified, the default
value)

<$attribute[AttributeName:ElementName]>

The value of the attribute of the specified element (example, structured book element)

Variables in FrameMaker are exported as entities, and usually the entity name is the same as the variable name.
However, if you create a variable whose name is not a valid XML or SGML name, the entity name is not the same as
the variable name.
Here are some examples of invalid names:

• A name with multibyte (Asian-language) characters.
• A name that includes anything other than alphanumeric characters, hyphens, or periods.
• A name containing more characters than the number specified by the value of NAMELEN in the XML or SGML
declarations for the particular application.

Working with variables
Variables pod
You can use the Variables pod to insert, edit, or delete system and user variables.

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Variables pod
A. Select the file B. Insert a variable in your document C. Create a new user variable D. Edit a variable definition E. Delete a user variable
F. Convert a variable to text G. Update all system variables H. Refresh the pod data I. Search for a variable J. System variables K. User
variables L. Variable format M. Document in which the variable exists

More Help topics
“Using pods” on page 29

Insert a variable
You can insert most system variables on a body, reference, or master page.
1 Access the Variables pod from View > Pods > Variables.
2 Click to place the insertion point where you want the variable to appear in the document. If you’re inserting the

Current Page # variable or a running header/footer variable, click in a background text frame on a master page.
3 Double-click a variable from the Variables pod to insert it in your document. Alternatively, click the Insert icon on

the pod toolbar.
The Variables pod contains the variables allowed at the insertion point in the document. For example, if the
insertion point is in a text frame on a body page, the scroll list doesn’t contain the Current Page # variable. If the
insertion point is in a text frame on a master page, then more variables are displayed in the Variables pod.
In most cases, the value of a variable inserted on a master page appears on both the master and the corresponding body
pages. However, if you insert the Current Page # variable, a number sign (#) appears on the master page, and the actual
page number appears on the body page. If you insert a running header/footer variable, the variable name appears on
the master page, and the value appears on the body page.

Insert variable elements in structured documents
You can use an element to insert a variable in a structured flow. You can also insert a variable directly in text, without
using a special variable element. For example, you can include the Chapter Title Name as part of a body element.
FrameMaker comes with a set of system variables. The format rules of a variable element determine which variable to
use with it. You cannot change a system variable element to use a different variable.

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The values of system variables you insert are updated when you open or print the document. You can also update
system variables manually. (System variables in headers or footers are updated when the page is redisplayed.)
1 Click where you want to insert the variable.
2 Select a system variable element in the Element Catalog and click Insert.
3 If the Attributes for the New Element dialog box appears, enter attribute values for the element and click Insert

Element.
The current value of the variable appears at the insertion point. A bubble for the variable appears in the Structure
View, with a text snippet that shows the beginning of the variable text.
4 To update all variables in the current document, click Update on the pod toolbar. To update variables in all open

documents, first select All Open Docs and then click Update on the pod toolbar.
If your application has user variables already defined, you can insert variable elements in your document. You can
insert a user variable directly in text, without using a variable element. Perhaps your application has user variables
already defined. You can define and maintain other user variables as needed. If the value of a user variable changes, it
is updated automatically wherever it occurs.

Edit or delete a variable occurrence
If a variable is added to a master or reference page, you cannot edit its occurrence in the body pages. In the master or
reference page, you can swap the variable with another variable or edit the variable definition. If you edit a variable
definition, then all occurrences of the variable in the document are updated.
Alternatively, you can convert a variable to editable text and then edit the text in the document. If you convert the
variable to text, however, the text is no longer updated when the variable definition changes.
You can delete variable occurrences from a body page but you cannot delete a variable included in the header or footer
of a master page from the body page. Also, backspacing the insertion point over a variable in the document doesn’t
delete the variable. You can remove or edit a variable in the following ways:

• To delete one occurrence of a variable:
1 Select the variable name from the Variables pod and click Edit.
2 From the Add/Edit Variables panel or the Edit System Variables panel, select the instance from the Location list

and click Delete.

• To copy or move a variable, select it and choose Edit > Copy, Edit > Cut, or Edit > Paste.
• To replace a variable, select the variable in the Document view, and then double-click a different variable in the
Variables pod.

• To delete a variable in a text inset, delete the variable in the source document.
Note: Deleting a variable definition converts all occurrences of the variable in your document to editable text.

Convert a variable to text
1 Select the variable, click Convert To Text from the Variables pod.
2 Do one of the following:

• To convert a single occurrence of a variable, click Selected Variable.
• To convert all occurrences of a particular variable, select the variable in the Variables Named scroll list. For
structured documents, you can also choose the variable element tag from the Variables With Element Tag popup menu.

• To convert all variables in the document, click All Variables.
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3 Click Convert.

Import variable definitions
❖ To import variable definitions from another document, choose File > Import > Formats.

Update variables across all files in a book
1 Update the variables in one document from the book.
2 Select all the remaining files in the book and choose File > Import > Formats.

Create a user variable
A user variable is useful for a product name that can change or for a long manual name that is difficult to type each
time. You can add a new variable and edit its definition from the Add/Edit Variable panel.

A
B

C
F
G
D

Add or edit existing user variable definitions from the Add/Edit Variable panel
A. Name of the new variable or variable selected in the Variables pod B. Specify or edit the format definition for the variable C. Select from the
list of building blocks to define the variable format D. Name of the file that contains the selected variable instance in the Variables pod
E. Location list displays the location of the selected variable in the document. It displays the page number and the headings under which it
appears F. Add a new user variable G. Edit the definition of a variable H. Highlights the selected variable in the Document view. Select an
instance from the Location list and click this button. I. Refreshes the data in the Location list J. Deletes the selected variable instance selected
in the Location list from the document.

If you don’t specify a character format in the variable definition, the variable uses the format at the insertion point. If
you change the character format for the variable, the change applies only to the variable, not to the text that follows.
1 Click Create New User Variable from the Variables pod.
2 Enter the name and definition of the variable. Use these guidelines:

• Variable names are case-sensitive.
• The complete definition, including typed text and character formats, can be up to 255 characters long.
• You cannot use system variable building blocks for user variables.
• To include an angle bracket in a variable definition as text, precede it with a backslash (\).

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• Enter a sequence of characters beginning with a backslash (\).
• To create a multiline variable such as multiline address, append \r for each line. Do not press Enter to insert a
line break.
3 To change the character format within the variable definition, do the following:

• To use a character format stored in the Character Catalog, place the insertion point in the Definition box where
you want to change the character format. Then click the character format in the Character Formats scroll list.
The scroll list includes all the formats in the Character Catalog of the current document.
Important: Don’t use a character format whose tag includes angle brackets.

• To return the character format to the paragraph default font at the end of the variable, place the insertion point
in the Definition box where you want to change the character format. Then click in the
Character Formats scroll list.
4 Click Add.
5 To add more user variables, repeat steps 3 through 5.

Edit a variable definition
You can edit both system variables and user variables. For a system variable, you can edit its format by changing its
building blocks in the Edit System Variable panel. To do so, select the system variable in the pod and click the Edit
button.

A
B

C
F
D

Edit system variable definitions from the Edit System Variable panel
A. Name of the variable selected in the Variables pod B. Displays the format definition for the variable C. Select from the list of building blocks
to define the variable format D. Displays the name of the file that contains the selected variable instance in the Variables pod E. Location list
displays the location of the selected variable in the document. It displays the page number and the headings under which it appears F. Edits the
definition of the selected variable G. Highlights the selected variable in the document. Select an instance from the Location list and click this
button. H. Refreshes the data in the Location list I. Deletes the selected variable instance selected in the Location list from the document.

If the variable is in a header or footer on a master page, redisplay a body page to see the updated definition.
For user variables, you can change the variable name and the variable format from the Add/Edit Variable panel.

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A
B

C
F
G
D

Note: If a variable is in a text inset that uses the source document formats, change the variable definition in the source
document.
1 Select the variable from the Variables pod and click Edit

2 Do one of the following:

• For user variables, edit the variable name or change its definition in the Add/Edit Variable panel and click Edit.
• For system variables, edit the definition and click Edit.
Insert a building block for system-supplied information or for a character format at the insertion point. Click
the building block in the Building Blocks scroll list. Only the building blocks appropriate for the variable appear
in the scroll list. For example, <$fullfilename> and <$filename> appear for the filename variables. All the
character formats in the Character Catalog appear at the bottom of the scroll list.
All instances of the variable in the document are updated with the new format.
Changing definitions of date and time variables
FrameMaker includes both long and short versions of variables for the current date, the date the document was last
modified, and the document creation date. FrameMaker provides the following building blocks for date and time
variables.

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Building block

What it displays

Example

<$second>

Seconds

8 or 32

<$second00>
<$minute>

08 or 32
Minutes

8 or 32

<$minute00>
<$hour>

08 or 32
Hours

8 or 12

<$hour01>

08 or 12

<$hour24>

08 or 22

<$ampm>

Morning or evening designation

am or pm

<$AMPM>
<$daynum>

A.M. or P.M.
Number of the day

8 or 28

<$daynum01>
<$dayname>

08 or 28
Name of the day

Monday

<$shortdayname>
<$monthnum>

Mon
Number of the month

8 or 12

<$monthnum01>
<$monthname>

08 or 12
Name of the month

August

<$shortmonthname>
<$year>

Aug
Year

1997

<$shortyear>

FrameMaker uses the language of the current paragraph to determine the language used in date and time variables.
For example, the current day name variable sometimes appears as Wednesday in an English paragraph but as Miercoles
in a Spanish paragraph. If you change the language of a paragraph, the system variables in the paragraph are updated
to use the new language.
If your system supports the typing of Japanese text in documents and dialog boxes, the following additional building
blocks are available for Japanese dates.
Building block

Example

<$daynumkanjikazu>
or
<$daynumkanjinumeric>

<$monthnumkanjikazu>
or
<$monthnumkanjinumeric>

<$imperialyear>

1 or 10

<$imperialyear01>

01 or 10

<$imperialyearspecialkanjikazu>
or

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Building block

Example

<$imperialyearspecialkanjinumeric>
or
<$imperialyearkanjikazu>
or
<$imperialyearkanjinumeric>
or
<$imperialera>

Japanese dates appear in a variable when the variable uses a Japanese font family and the Language property is set to
Nihongo.

Creating variables for running headers and footers
A running header/footer variable gives information about the contents of a page and can change from page to page.
Running header/footer variables can include the number and title of the current chapter, the name of the current firstlevel section, or the current page number.
You can also use the <$chapnum> , <$volnum>, <$sectionnum>, or <$subsectionnum> building blocks to add
chapter, volume, section, or sub-section numbers to headers and footers.

About running header/footer variables
Running headers and footers use common system variables and 12 system variables provided especially for running
headers and footers.
Running header/footer variables sometimes reference a paragraph with a particular tag—usually a title or heading
paragraph—or marker text. You can use these variables with their default definitions. You can also customize them by
changing the tag that appears in the variable definition.
You insert a running header/footer variable in a background text frame on a master page in the same way that you
insert variables elsewhere.
By default, the Running H/F 1 and Running H/F 2 variables use definitions that reference the Title and Heading 1
paragraph tags, respectively. The Running H/F 3 and Running H/F 4 variables use definitions that reference markers.
The Running H/F 5–12 variables use definitions that reference paragraph tags you specify. You can change these
default definitions either before or after you insert the variable.

Running headers and footers based on paragraph tags
The following table contains examples of running headers and footers that reference paragraph tags.
Running header/footer variable definition

Explanation

Examples of display

<$paratext[Head1]>

The text of the first paragraph that
FrameMaker finds with the tag Head1

Types of plate boundaries

<$paratext [Head1]>

The text of the first paragraph with the tag
Head1 (The text appears in the Header
character format—uppercase, italic letters.)

TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES

<$paranum[SectTitle]>

The complete autonumber of the first
paragraph with the tag SectTitle

Chapter 2

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Running header/footer variable definition

Explanation

Examples of display

<$paranumonly[SectTitle]>

The autonumber counters for the first
paragraph with the tag SectTitle

<$paratag[Chapter]>

The tag of the first paragraph with the tag
Chapter

Chapter

<$paratext[SectTitle, AppendixTitle]>

The text of the first paragraph with either the
SectTitle or AppendixTitle tag

PLATE TECTONICS

Displaying paragraph text, tags, or autonumbers
The most common use of running headers and footers is to show the text, autonumber, or tag of paragraphs with a
specified tag. For example, a running header perhaps shows the current section heading or chapter number.
FrameMaker searches each body page to find a paragraph with the specified tag. Then it places the paragraph text,
autonumber, or tag in the running header or footer for that page. If a page doesn’t contain a paragraph with the
specified tag, FrameMaker searches backward through the preceding pages and uses information from the first
appropriate paragraph it finds.
The following building blocks in running header/footer variables reference a paragraph tag.
Building block

What it displays

<$paratext[paratag]>

The paragraph text

<$paranum[paratag]>

The paragraph autonumber, including any text in the autonumber format

<$paranumonly[paratag]>

The paragraph autonumber counters, including any characters between them

<$paratag[paratag]>

The paragraph tag

Follow these guidelines for using paragraph tag building blocks:

• Don’t use a paragraph tag that includes brackets.
• Replace paratag in the building block with the tag of the paragraph for which you want to display information.
Don’t delete the brackets.

• You can include more than one paragraph tag in the [paratag] part of a building block. When you include multiple
paragraph tags, FrameMaker uses the first paragraph it finds with one of the tags. Separate the tags with commas,
as in the following example: <$paratext[Head1, Head2]>

Display text from a marker
If the text you want for a header or footer doesn’t appear in its own paragraph, you can show text associated with a
marker. For example, you can use a marker to show an abbreviated version of a title or to summarize the contents of
a page. When text symbols are visible, marker symbols indicate the location of markers.

Page header contains abbreviated heading.

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In this example, the marker in the heading contains the marker text Plate boundaries. A running header/footer variable
then displays the marker text in the page header.
You can use two marker types for running headers or footers: Header/Footer $1 and Header/Footer $2.
1 Insert a Running H/F variable in the header or footer on a master page. By default, the Running H/F 3 and Running

H/F 4 variables use definitions that look for markers.
2 Edit the definition of the variable to use a <$marker1> or <$marker2> building block. The <$marker1> building

block displays the text of a Header/Footer $1 marker. The <$marker2> building block displays the text of a
Header/Footer $2 marker.
3 Display a body page and click where you want to insert a marker.
4 Choose Special > Marker.
5 In the Marker dialog box, choose either Header/Footer $1 or Header/Footer $2 from the Marker Type pop-up

menu, enter the marker text, and click New Marker. When you enter the marker text, make sure that the spaces,
punctuation, and capitalization are as you want them.
Note: You can’t format marker text in the Marker Text box. To format the marker text, insert a character-format
building block before the marker building block in the system variable definition.

Display a condition tag
In a document that uses conditional text, you can show a condition tag that appears on the current page in the running
header or footer. A predefined variable is not included for this purpose. You can redefine any of the existing running
header and footer variables to use the condition tag building block. Unlike the system variables that reference a
paragraph or a marker, variables with the condition tag building block search only on the current page.
1 Insert a Running H/F variable in the header or footer on a master page.
2 Edit the definition of the variable to use the <$condtag [hitag, … ,lotag,nomatch]> building block.

Replace hitag, lotag, and the ellipsis with one or more condition tags you want FrameMaker to find. Replace
nomatch with the text you want to display if FrameMaker doesn’t find one of the tags in the definition. If you don’t
want to display any text when no match exists, enter a nonbreaking space (a backslash followed by a space) in place
of nomatch.
FrameMaker searches a page for the condition tags you specify. If it finds one of the tags, the tag appears in the running
header or footer. If it finds more than one tag, the tag that appears first in the definition appears as the value of the
variable.

Display the security level
If your document contains classified information, you can use condition tags in running headers or footers to display
the highest security level on a page.
1 Apply condition tags, such as Top Secret and Secret, to the classified information.
2 Set up headers or footers to include these tags on pages that contain classified information. For example, define the

building block as <$condtag[Top Secret,Secret,Unclassified]>. This building block displays Top Secret on pages
that contain both Top Secret and Secret information and Unclassified on pages that contain neither condition tag.

Create a dictionary-style header or footer
You can use dictionary-style headers or footers to show the range of information that appears on one body page or on
two facing body pages. Dictionary-style headers or footers appear frequently in documents such as dictionaries,
indexes, and glossaries.

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Headers show first entry on left and last on right.

1 Insert a different running header/footer variable in the header or footer of each of two facing master pages.
2 Edit the definition of the variable on the left master page to use the <$paratext[paratag]> building block. Replace

paratag with the paragraph tag of dictionary terms.
3 In the same way, edit the definition of the variable on the right master page to use the <$paratext[+,paratag]>

building block. The plus sign (+) tells FrameMaker to find the last paragraph on the page matching the tag rather
than the first paragraph.

Templates
When you set up a template, you lay out master pages, define and apply formats, and define special text, such as crossreference formats and variables.
For templates you create, set up a template folder that contains the related templates as well as a document that
describes the templates and how to use them.

Design the page layout
1 Create a document. You can start with either a custom new document or a copy of an existing document you plan

to modify.
To see how facing pages look as you design the page layout, display them side by side. Choose View > Options, and
then choose Facing Pages from the Page Scrolling pop-up menu. Make the document window larger and zoom out,
if necessary, to fit both pages in the window.
2 Define the column layout. If you started with a custom document, you have already specified the margins and the

number of columns. If you’re modifying an existing document, you may want to change the column layout.
3 Add and name any custom master pages you will need.
4 Enter background text and graphics on the master pages, including headers and footers.

If a running header or footer shows the text or an autonumber of a document paragraph, such as a chapter or
section title, it contains a Running H/F variable that refers to the paragraph. To set this up, determine the tag for
that paragraph.
5 Define the custom document properties, such as numbering and text options, and specify the view options.

Designing text formats
After designing the page layout, define how you want the text to be formatted:

• If your document will be opened or printed on computers other than your own, use fonts that are widely available.
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• Paragraph formats provide the foundation of text formatting, so set them up before setting up the character
formats.

• When creating a character format, set all the options in the Character Designer as As Is, and then specify only the
settings you want to change. This way, the format will work with any paragraph format.

• Use tags that express the purpose rather than the appearance of the text. For example, name a format for
emphasized text Emphasis rather than Bold. Then if you decide to change to italics for emphasized text, you can
redefine the Emphasis format without having to retag any text.

• Use names that are easily recognizable. For example, you might name the formats for numbered lists Step1 and
StepNext rather than st1 and stn. Or, if you want to use the keyboard to apply paragraph and character tags, consider
naming your tags st1 Step1 and stn StepNext. That way the tags and descriptions are quickly available from the
keyboard.

• If the template uses more than one series of autonumbers, add a series label to the format for each autonumber. For
example, define step autonumbers as S:, where S: is the series label.

• In paragraph formats, use either Space Above or Space Below consistently to add space above or below the
paragraph. (FrameMaker uses only the larger of the two values to determine the space between paragraphs.)

Standardizing graphics, frames, and tables
If the documents will contain graphics, frames, or tables, follow these guidelines to maintain consistency:

• Place standard items on a reference page. You can include graphics that users will need again and again—for
example, a symbol that calls attention to notes and cautions, or an anchored frame with a standard height and
width. Users can copy and paste these items as needed.

• Create a paragraph format for anchored frames to provide consistent spacing around graphics. For example, a
paragraph format named Frame could contain a Space Below setting of 20 points and a Line Spacing setting of zero.
Then, each frame could be anchored to a blank paragraph with the Frame tag. Alternatively, you can use single-cell
tables and their titles for graphics and their captions.

• If you will use text frames for graphic callouts, create a paragraph format for the callouts. If you will use text lines
for callouts, create a character format. (You can’t apply a paragraph format to a text line.)

• Choose a color model and redefine colors and color views if necessary.
• Prepare standard table formats. Not all the properties you set for tables can be imported into another document.
The width of text in actual tables varies greatly, as do other properties. So, regardless of how you prepare your tables,
users will probably need to adjust some of these properties themselves. Think of your tables as models for users to
start with.

Setting up numbering
The page numbering for new documents is set to Restart at 1. If you are building a template for continuous page numbering
in books, you may want to set the page numbering in the template to Continue Numbering From Previous Page In Book.
In addition, you may want to set the chapter numbering to Continue Numbering From Previous File In Book.

Define special text and fonts
You may need to do the following to set up special text items:

• Select a footnote numbering style and number format, and other footnote properties.
• Define formats for cross-references. Standardize as much of the cross-reference format as possible. For example, if
cross-references should always be introduced by see, include that word in the format definition.

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• Consider defining user variables for product names, document names, and other items that may change during the
course of the project.

• Define condition tags, condition indicators, and view settings for conditional text.
• Define custom marker types if you have to create specialized indexes.
• Define equation sizes and fonts if any documents will have equations.
• If your documents will contain Japanese-language text, define the combined fonts you want to use and set the
properties of rubi text.

Set up HTML options
If documents based on your templates will be converted to HTML, you will need to set up the mappings and
conversion macros that define how documents are converted.

• Set up the mappings from FrameMaker paragraph formats and character formats to HTML tags.
• Create the conversion macros that convert cross-reference formats to a form suitable for online documents.
• Create any other conversion macros you may need (for example, to place a logo at the top of every new web page,
or to define the title of the HTML document).

Create templates for generated files
When you generate a table of contents, an index, or another kind of generated file, if the folder that contains the source
document or book file contains a file whose name matches the generated filename, FrameMaker uses the formatting
of the existing file when generating the new one. In effect, the existing file serves as the new generated file’s template,
just as if you had imported formats from it. Use this feature to create generated file templates that contain page layouts,
paragraph and character formats, and the formatting information that appears on the reference page.
You can also update the formats in a generated file by importing formats from a template. However, you’ll probably
need to generate the file again after importing formats to see all the formatting.
1 Open the document or book file from which you want to generate the table of contents, index, or other file.
2 Generate the file.
3 Format the generated file. This formatted file is your template.
4 Save the generated file. Make sure that this generated file template is in the folder that contains the document or

book file that you will use to create a new generated file.

More Help topics
“Import formats from a template or document” on page 110

Create templates to change conditional text settings
If you often change the view of conditional documents in a book, you may find it helpful to have a template for each
view. You can then change the view of all the files in the book at the same time by importing the conditional text
settings from one of the templates into the book file.
If you want to change the view of a single document that contains conditional text, it is easier to change the document’s
Show/Hide settings.
1 Set up a basic template for the conditional document with all conditions and condition indicators visible. You’ll

import conditional text settings from this template before editing a document.

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2 Set up a template for each combination of conditions you want to view. Use these templates to view or print one

version of the document at a time. You can also use the template to change variable definitions that are unique to
a view.

Change templates for blank paper and text files
You can change the custom template for blank paper so that it contains the formats you want. The template can
contain the same formats as any other template, except for the page layout. The master page layout, number of
columns, and margins are determined when you create the blank paper documents.
You can also change the custom template that FrameMaker uses when you open text files.
Note: You can change the filename that FrameMaker looks for when it creates a blank paper document or opens a text
file.

Change the template for blank paper
1 Change a document so it contains the formats and settings you want. Leave existing master pages empty and do not

create custom master pages.
2 Remove all text frames from both the left and right master pages—even if a document is single-sided. (If the

document is single-sided, choose Format > Page Layout > Pagination, select Double Sided, and click Set. Then
select and delete the text frames on the master pages.)
3 Choose Special > Delete Pages and delete all body pages.
4 Save the document, using the Custom file in the FrameMaker fminit folder. (When you choose New >

Adobe FrameMaker document from the context menu in a folder or on the desktop, the Shellnew.fm file is used.)

Change the template for text files
1 Change a document so it contains the formats and settings you want. For example, you can place headers and

footers, a Paragraph Catalog, and master page graphics in the template document.
2 Delete all text on the body pages.
3 Click in the empty text frame on page 1, and tag it with the paragraph format you want all text in the document to

use. The default template uses the Body paragraph format.
4 Save the document, using the txttmplt file in the FrameMaker fminit folder.

Import formats from a template or document
You can import paragraph formats, table formats, variable definitions, and other properties from any document. You
can also retain or remove any format overrides in the document—for example, changes that were made to a paragraph
but not stored in the Paragraph Catalog.

Import formats
1 Open the document that contains the formats you want to import.
2 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to update.
3 In the document or book you’re updating, choose File > Import > Formats.

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4 Do one of the following:

• To import formats from a document, choose the document from the Import From Document pop-up menu.
The pop-up menu lists all open, saved documents.

• To reapply formats from the current document, choose Current from the Import From Document pop-up menu.
5 Select the Import and Update settings you want to apply to the current document. By default, all options are

selected. To deselect or select all options at once, click Deselect All or Select All. If you’re updating variable
definitions, cross-reference formats, or math definitions, and if any of these items use character formats, select
Character Formats so that the formats are added to the document.
6 To remove changes that you made to individual formats and didn’t save in a catalog, do the following:

• To remove page breaks that are not a part of a Paragraph Catalog format, select Manual Page Breaks.
• To remove paragraph, character, page layout, and table formatting overrides, select Other Format/Layout
Overrides.
7 Click Import.

More Help topics
“About layout overrides” on page 83

About import and update settings
When you import formatting information from a template, FrameMaker merges the information into the document
rather than completely replacing the information. For example, when you import paragraph formats, FrameMaker
adds the formats to the document’s Paragraph Catalog. If any formats have the same name in both documents, the
imported format overwrites the original format. Any formats that are not overwritten remain in the document.
Note: Format names are case-sensitive, so Body is not the same as body.
Paragraph formats The template’s Paragraph Catalog is merged into the document, and all formats in the catalog are
reapplied in the document. The template’s PDF bookmark settings are also copied into the document.
Character formats The template’s Character Catalog is merged into the document, and all formats in the catalog are
reapplied in the document.
Page layouts The template’s master pages are merged into the document, and body pages are updated with the master

page changes. If the template and the document both have a master page with the same name, the template’s master
page replaces the document’s. FrameMaker copies the change bar properties, all the settings in the Page Size and
Pagination dialog boxes, and most settings in the View Options dialog box.
Table formats The template’s Table Catalog and ruling styles are merged into the document, and all formats in the
catalog are reapplied in the document.
Color definitions The template’s color definitions and views are merged into the document.
Document properties The template’s custom marker types and footnote properties; the volume, chapter, page,

paragraph, footnote, and table footnote numbering styles in the Numbering Properties dialog box; the characters in
the Allow Line Breaks After setting in the Text Options dialog box; and the Feather settings in the Line Layout dialog
box are merged into the document. The PDF Setup settings (other than the bookmark settings) are also merged into
the document. On Japanese-language systems, the rubi properties and kumihan rules (Japanese-language typesetting
rules) are also merged into the document.
Reference pages All the template’s reference pages (except for FrameMath reference pages) are merged into the

document. If the template and the document both have a reference page with the same name, the template’s reference
page replaces the document’s. To import FrameMath reference pages, select Math Definitions.

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Variable definitions The template’s variable definitions are merged into the document.
Cross-reference formats The template’s cross-reference formats are merged into the document, and internal cross-

references are updated.
Conditional text settings The template’s condition tags and Show/Hide settings are merged into the document and

applied to conditional text.
Math definitions The template’s equation size and font settings, custom math element definitions, and FrameMath
reference pages are copied into the document. If a custom math element in the document is deleted when the reference
pages are merged, FrameMaker replaces the math element in equations with the name of the element enclosed by
question marks.
Combined fonts On Japanese-language systems, the specifications for combined Japanese and Western fonts are
merged into the document and applied to text that uses combined fonts.

Line numbers
Line numbers in FrameMaker files help you identify particular lines of content. Line numbers are set at a document
level (for a .fm file) and appear before each inserted line in a FrameMaker document.
While using line numbers and change bars, ensure that they do not overlap.

Line numbers and change bars displayed in a FrameMaker file

Insert line numbers
To insert line numbers, complete the following steps:
Note: You can also use the View > Line Numbers to display/hide line numbers.
1 Select Format > Document > Line Numbers.
2 In the line number properties dialog, select Show line numbers and specify the following:

a Width: Distance of line numbers from the column. The distance is relative to the columns that contain text.

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b Font: Font of the line numbers
c Size: Size of the line numbers
d Color: Color of the line numbers
e Restart at Each Page: Selecting this option restarts line numbers for each page

Some highlights of line numbers
1 Support for multicolumn and multiflow formats: For files with multicolumn formats, line numbers appear for text

in each of the columns. For multi-flow documents, the line numbers are calculated according to the text flows and
continue accordingly.
2 Recalculation: When you insert text within a paragraph with line numbers are enabled, the line numbers are

recalculated to accommodate the new text.
3 Document level property: Line numbers are a document level property, so you can enable/disable this feature for a

document (.fm file). Line numbers can be set at a document level to continue from previous page or restart at each page.
4 Text flows: For multi-flow documents, the line numbers follow the text flows and continue according to the text

flows.
5 XML documents: Line numbers do not persist in XML documents. However, you can enable line numbers in the

application template.
6 Printing: Line numbers are visible in the print and PDF created using Save As PDF.

Create documents
In FrameMaker, you can create either structured or unstructured documents. Structured documents are required for
working with SGML and XML formats.

Create an unstructured document
You can create an unstructured document from the WYSIWYG view.
1 Choose File > New > Document.
2 Specify the basic page layout:

• To create a standard one-column document, click Portrait or Landscape.
• To create a document with exactly the page size, margins, and number of columns you want, click Custom,
specify values and click Create.
Note: The Units setting controls the units that FrameMaker displays for measurements in your document. These units
appear in dialog boxes and in the document window’s status bar.
3 Save the document in the desired format.

More Help topics
“WYSIWYG view” on page 46
“Switch between the views” on page 47

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Create a document based on a structured application
If you want to create a structured document, make sure that you have an EDD and a structure application available.
You can use the EDD file and sample structure application included with FrameMaker in the Structure folder, or you
can create your own. For information on creating a structured application and EDD, see the online manual, Developing
Structured Applications with Adobe FrameMaker 9 on the Adobe website,
www.adobe.com/go/lr_FrameMaker_support_en.
1 Choose File > New > XML.
2 In the New XML dialog, choose one of the following:

• Structured Applications: Choose from DITA, S1000D, or any other structured applications set up on
FrameMaker on your computer.

• DITA: Choose to create a DITA topic, such as Task, Concept, or Reference.
• S1000D: Choose to create an S1000D module, such as Crew or IPD.
3 Save the document in the desired format.

Create an XML document based on a DTD
You can create a structured document based on the DTD. For the formatting of the document, you need to create an
EDD and do further work. For XML roundtripping, you need to create an XML application based on the DTD. For
information on creating a structured application and EDD, see the online manual, Developing Structured Applications
with Adobe FrameMaker 9 on the Adobe website, www.adobe.com/go/lr_FrameMaker_support_en.
1 Select File > New > XML.
2 In the New XML dialog, select other XML.
3 Select DTD Based XML and click OK.
4 Specify the following:
a Root Element: Specify the name of the root element.
b Public ID: Enter a public ID. A public ID in an XML document makes it portable to other computers.
c System ID: Specify the path to the relevant DTD. The System ID is the URL of the DTD relevant to an XML file.
5 Click OK.

FrameMaker makes the elements in the specified DTD available in the document. .

Create a blank XML document
You can create a blank XML document without a structured application or a DTD. An XML document without a DTD
allows you to create markup tags without having to define them first. XML aware programs can parse a well-formed
XML document even when it does not have an associated DTD.
1 Select File > New > XML.
2 In the New XML dialog, select Other XML.
3 Click Empty XML.
4 Click OK.

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Create a document from a template
FrameMaker comes with standard templates, or you can use any document as a template. If the document contains
text and graphics, you can delete them and then insert your own.
1 Choose File > New > Document.

Note: To create a structured document, work in Structured FrameMaker and choose a structured template.
2 Select a template or document, and click New. The new, untitled document contains the properties and content

from the template.
Note: To view information about the standard templates, choose File > New > Document, click Explore Standard
Templates, and select a template in the scroll list. After viewing the information, click Create to create an empty document
from the selected template, or click Show Sample to view a document that contains sample text and graphics.

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Chapter 4: Text
Adding and editing text
Add text and special characters
The insertion point marks where you enter or edit text. The location of the insertion point determines the paragraph
to which paragraph formatting commands are applied.
You can also insert special text items, such as cross-references, footnotes, variables, and markers from the Special
menu. When you click a special text item, such as a cross-reference, variable, or text inset, you select the entire item.
If you can’t place the insertion point in or next to text, consider these possible reasons:

• The text is background text that was typed on a master page. Display the master page that contains the text and
place the insertion point in the text on that page.

• The text was automatically generated, as with paragraph autonumbers, cross-references, or headers and footers.

More Help topics
“Change tab stops” on page 59
“Search for items” on page 137

Special characters
In addition to standard characters, you can type bullets, dashes, fixed-width spaces, mathematical symbols,
international characters, and other special characters.
Note: In FrameMaker, character (ALT) sequences are not implemented for Dingbats and Symbol fonts because Unicode
equivalents of codepage 1252 for these fonts are provided by default. The character (ALT) sequences are implemented for
the MakerRoman font family only.
For a list of characters in the Symbol and Zapf Dingbats fonts, a list of accented characters in the standard character
set, and information on inserting the Euro currency symbol, see the online manual FrameMaker Character Sets.
Some special characters are entered or displayed differently in dialog boxes. In Windows, you enter a sequence of
characters beginning with a backslash (\), these sequences are listed in “Dialog boxes” on page 551.
Tabs
Each time you press Tab, a tab symbol is embedded in the text. The symbol does not appear in the printed document,
but it is visible onscreen when text symbols are visible.
If the current paragraph has tab stops set, FrameMaker moves the insertion point and text one tab stop each time you
press Tab. If tab stops are not set, pressing Tab doesn’t move the insertion point and text. If you press Tab more times
than you have tab stops, the Tab symbols overlap. If you later add tab stops to the paragraph, FrameMaker positions
the text correctly at the tab stops.
FrameMaker uses tab stops that are absolute rather than relative. With relative tab stops, each time you press Tab, the
insertion point moves to the next available tab stop. With absolute tab stops, the nth tab on a line moves the insertion
point to the nth stop. If that tab stop is to the left of the insertion point, the insertion point does not move.

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Special spaces
When you press the spacebar, you insert a proportional space (whose width depends on the characters on either side
of it). You can also insert special fixed-width spaces—for example, to increase the space between two words. When you
type a special space between two words, the words always remain together on one line.
You can use the following types of special spaces:

• An em space is the same width as the point size of the font you use. For example, if you use a 10-point font, an em
space is 10 points wide.

• An en space is half the width of an em space.
• A numeric space is the same width as the font zero (0) character. All digits are typically the same width. This space
is useful for aligning numbers in a column without using tabs.

• A thin space is one-twelfth the width of an em space. A thin space is used to separate a number and the unit of
measure that follows it, or characters that appear too close together—such as ” /)”.

• A nonbreaking space is the same width as the default space width for the font.
When Smart Spaces is on, you can’t type more than one proportional space in a row. However, you can type multiple
fixed-width spaces.
Smart quotes
When Smart Quotes is on, FrameMaker uses a curved left or right quotation mark whenever you press the , , or
key. If you prefer straight quotation marks, turn off Smart Quotes.
Smart Quotes doesn’t apply to text in dialog boxes. For information on typing quotation marks and apostrophes in
dialog boxes, see the online manual FrameMaker Character Sets.
1 To set smart specials, in the book window, select the documents you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Document > Text Options.
3 Change the Smart Spaces or Smart Quotes option and click Apply.

When you select Smart Quotes, FrameMaker doesn’t change any quotation marks that are already in the document.
To find straight quotation marks and apostrophes, and change them to curved quotation marks and apostrophes, use
the Spelling Checker or the Find/Change command.

Copy, move, and delete text
Pasted text retains its character format properties. If the pasted text contains paragraph symbols , the paragraph
format associated with each paragraph is also pasted. Otherwise, the pasted text takes the paragraph format of the
paragraph in which it is pasted.
You copy text more quickly if you bypass the clipboard, which is possible only if the original text and the new location
are visible and exist in the same document. You must use the clipboard to copy and paste text from one document to
another.
Note: Text pasted into a new document retains the character and paragraph tags that were assigned to it in the original
document. If the text has no equivalent tag in the current document, an asterisk appears next to the tag name in the status
bar when the cursor is within the pasted text.
❖ To copy text without using the clipboard, place the insertion point where you want to insert the copied text, hold

down Alt, and select the text you want to copy.

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Drag and drop text
FrameMaker allows you to drag and drop text. You can drag and drop text across various FrameMaker documents and
across other applications that support the drag and drop feature.
In addition, FrameMaker allows you to drag and drop elements.

• To copy an element, hold the CTRL key while dropping the element in its new location.
• If you drop an element in an invalid location, the cursor changes to a ‘?’ to indicate that the location is invalid.
You can also drag and drop rows and columns of a table.

• In a table, to move a whole row or column, select the column or row, and hold the ALT key while dropping it to the
new location.

• In a table, to copy a whole row or column, select the column or row, and hold the CTRL and ALT keys together
while dropping it to the new location.
Note: If you do not hold the ALT key while dragging columns or rows, only the contents of the columns and rows are
copied.

Working with elements in structured documents
About elements
The basic unit of information in structured documents is called an element. Elements hold other elements, text,
graphics, tables, cross-references, and markers.
You can add elements to a document to build its structure, and you can edit existing elements in many ways.
If you create a FrameMaker document by opening a structured file, you do not need to add elements to it. The
document already contains elements. You can edit the document’s elements, and add more elements.
To build a document’s structure, you can either add elements to the document and then fill in the contents, or select
existing contents and wrap them in elements.
A structured document has element definitions stored in its Element Catalog. These definitions describe the allowable
contents for each type of element the document can have. They sometimes specify attributes and formatting for the
elements. If all the elements in a document have contents and attributes that meet these specifications, the document
is valid.
Valid contents for elements
An element’s definition has content rules that determine what the element can contain. For example, perhaps the
definition of a Section element specifies that a Section must begin with a Head element, then must have a Para element,
and then can have any combination of Para, Figure, and other Section elements. A Para element sometimes allows text
and CrossRef elements, in any order.
The Element Catalog indicates valid elements for the current location with a heavy check mark. It shows that text is
allowed with the tag.

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Two classes of elements
Elements fall into two basic classes determined by their allowable contents:

• A container element can hold text, other elements, or both. Container elements, such as heads and paragraphs, build
the document’s structure.

• An object element is a single object—a marker, cross-reference, system variable, equation, or anchored frame. You
cannot type in these elements or add child elements to them.
Section
Head
Para

CrossRef

A. Containers have round-cornered bubbles. B. Object elements have square-cornered bubbles.

A container element can be defined to remain empty. For example, perhaps a table cell is empty as part of a table’s
design. If an element contains only spaces or nonprintable characters such as tabs, its text snippet in the Structure View
is .
Attributes for elements
An element can have attributes, which provide information about the element that is not part of the element’s contents.
Your document uses attributes for several purposes:

• To control the formatting of an element. For example, perhaps a Type attribute in a List element has two possible
values—Bulleted and Numbered.
List
Type

= Numbered

ListItem

1. when a door panel has been

ListItem

2. when a damaged door panel

9.2.2.1 When to Install Door Panels
Install door panels under the following conditions:
1. when a door panel has been removed to be repaired or unjammed
2. when a damaged door panel is being replaced with a new one

Attributes can provide formatting information.

• To record descriptive information about an element, such as level of classification. An attribute value can even
trigger a custom routine that hides the element when the document is displayed.

• To store source and destination information for elements, typically for cross-referencing. A Section element
sometimes has an ID attribute that stores a unique value. A cross-reference element that points to the Section stores
the same value in a Reference attribute, to maintain the connection between the elements.
You typically enter and edit the values for attributes, unless the attributes are defined to be read-only. Crossreference IDs are often read-only and are generated by FrameMaker.

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Import element definitions
If you’re not sure whether a document has element definitions, open the Element Catalog and click in a text flow. If
you see elements in the catalog, the document has definitions. You sometimes must select the All Elements option to
get elements to appear. Select Element > Set Available Elements for the All Elements option.
If you are using a structured template, then element definitions are usually defined in it. However, sometimes your
application developer may provide you with an EDD or DTD that you can directly import into your documents.
1 Open the template, EDD, or DTD with the element definitions. The template, EDD, or DTD must be named and

saved.
2 Create a blank document or open the document or book that you want to update. If a book window is active, select

the documents you want to update.
3 In the document or book you’re updating, choose File > Import > Element Definitions.
4 Choose the template, EDD, or DTD from the Import From Document pop-up menu. The pop-up menu lists all

open and named documents.
5 To remove special formatting and book-related changes in the document, do the following:

• To remove format rule overrides, select While Updating, Remove Format Rule Overrides. Use this setting if you
have made text or paragraph formatting changes to elements and now want to return to the formatting
described in the EDD or DTD.

• To remove element information derived from a book file, select While Updating, Remove Information Inherited
From Book. Use this setting if the document used to be included in a book but is now a stand-alone document.
6 Click Import. FrameMaker adds the element definitions to the document’s Element Catalog, replacing existing

definitions.

Insert elements
To add an element to a document, you either insert an empty element and enter contents, or wrap an element around
existing contents. Before you can begin, your document must have element definitions in its Element Catalog.
If you haven’t yet fully planned your document, consider inserting just the high-level elements, such as Section and
Head elements, and then use this structure as an outline for developing the document.
You can also enter all the elements in their correct order and hierarchy as you go, or concentrate on contents rather
than on structure, and then validate later to correct errors.
The Element Catalog shows the elements that are available at the current location. You can change the scope of
elements available—for example, to show elements that are not valid at the current location. Ask your application
developer for a summary of what each element can contain.
If you have turned on element boundaries, then once you insert or wrap an element, a pair of element boundaries
appears in the document window, and a new bubble appears in the Structure View.

Section

9.1.1 [[Chapter Ove
9.1.1.1 [[Procedu
[This chapter descr
AstroLiner T440B

Head
Para
Para

[ ]]

Empty element boundaries (left) and bubble for the new element (right)

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Insert an element using the Element Catalog
1 If the document does not have element definitions, import the definitions from a structured template, EDD, or a

DTD.
2 Specify the scope of elements available.
3 Click where you want to insert the element. If you’re inserting it between other elements, work in the Structure

View rather than the document window.
4 Select an element tag in the Element Catalog, and click Insert. If only one element appears in the catalog, you can

click Insert without selecting it.
You can also double-click an element tag to insert the element.
Note: The Element Catalog always displays only those elements that are valid at the insertion point.
5 If the Attributes For New Element dialog box appears, enter attribute values for the element and click Insert

Element.
This dialog box appears only if the element has attributes and if an option is set in the New Element Options dialog
box to prompt for attribute values when you insert new elements.
6 If you insert a table, a marker, a graphic, or a cross-reference, provide more information about the element in the

dialog box that appears.
7 Add content to the elements. You can add content as you insert elements, or after you build the structure of your

document.

Press Return to insert elements
In many cases, pressing Return inserts an element automatically. Whenever you press Return, FrameMaker checks the
current element’s definition for the following conditions—in the following order—and sometimes inserts a child
element:
One valid element If only one child element is valid at the current location, pressing Return adds that element. For
example, after you add a Section, perhaps a Head is the only element permitted next. You can also use this technique
to create repeating elements, such as body paragraphs and list items.
More than one valid element If more than one child element is valid, pressing Return highlights the Tag area to

prompt you for an element tag. Type until the tag you want appears, and then press Return to insert the element.
End of an element If the insertion point is at the end of an element and no more child elements are valid, pressing

Return looks for valid elements in ancestors after this location. If a valid element is found, the insertion point moves
to the ancestor and the element is inserted (if only one is valid) or the Tag area is highlighted (if more than one element
is valid).
Other conditions If none of the preceding conditions are true, pressing Return causes a beep and no element is

inserted.

Set options for inserting new elements
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose Element > New Element Options.
3 Specify how you want to be prompted for attribute values when you add new elements:

• To enter all possible attribute values as you add elements, select Always Prompt For Attribute Values.
• To enter only required attribute values as you add elements, select Prompt For Required Attribute Values.

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• To enter attribute values after adding elements, select Do Not Prompt For Attribute Values.
4 To allow FrameMaker to insert child elements automatically for new elements, select Allow Automatic Insertion

Of Children.
5 Click Set.

To speed up the process of adding new elements, select the Do Not Prompt For Attribute Values and Allow Automatic
Insertion Of Children options.

Add text in a structured document
Place the insertion point anywhere inside a text frame in a document window. An insertion point also appears at the
corresponding place in the Structure View. To place the insertion point in the middle of text, use the document
window rather than the Structure View. When placing the insertion point at the beginning or end of an element, or
between elements, click in the Structure View.
The Element Catalog describes what the current element can contain. You can enter text whenever appears
in the catalog.
1 Place the insertion point:

• To place at the beginning or end of text, click to the left or right in the first or second half of the text snippet.
After you click, a line on the left or right side of the triangle insertion point indicates that the point is at the
beginning or end of text.

• To place between two elements, click to the right of the vertical line connecting the elements, between the two
bubbles.
Section
Head

9.1.1.1 Procedures in Th...

Para

This chapter describes m...

Insertion point between two elements

2 Begin typing. Don’t press Return unless you want to insert a new element, or begin a new paragraph in an

unstructured flow.

Edit elements
You can edit a document’s structure in many ways—including changing an element to a different type, rearranging
elements, and splitting and merging elements.
After editing one part of a document, sometimes you edit the document further to correct content errors. For example,
if you split a Section element in two, you sometimes need to add a Head element for the new second Section. Use the
Structure View as a guide for finding errors as you work, or validate the document when you’re finished.

Change elements
You can change an existing element to another element of the same type. For example, you sometimes want to convert
a Para element into a Note element, or a series of Para elements into ListItem elements that you can include within a
List element.
However, not all elements can be converted to other elements. For example, if you change a Para element containing
text to a Marker element containing the same text, the name of the element changes, but the text is not converted to
marker text.

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Note: If you want to change contents to a table, use Table > Convert To Table to convert text rather than changing an
element.
Changing elements to another type
1 Select the element. You can select more than one element, even if the elements do not have the same tag. All the
elements are changed to the new type of element. However, the elements’ children are not changed, but they
sometimes become invalid because the parent changed.
2 Select an element tag in the Element Catalog and click Change. Sometimes attributes in the element become invalid

and need to be corrected.

Merge elements
You can merge two or more elements into a single element. Merging places the contents of the second element
(including any child elements) at the end of the first element.
Section

Section

Head

Para

Para
Head

Section

Para

Head

List

Merging two Sections, before and after

You sometimes must edit the document after merging elements.
Note: If you want to combine table cells, use Table > Straddle rather than merging the cells. You cannot combine other
table parts.
1 Select the elements you want to merge. The elements can be of different types, but they must be siblings and next

to each other in their parent element.
2 Choose Element > Merge.

Merging retains the attributes for the first element only.

Split an element
You can split an element into two elements that have the same tag and are at the same level. For example, perhaps you
split a Section element in two.
Section

Section

Head

Para

Para
List

Section
Para
List

Splitting a Section, before and after

You sometimes must edit the document after splitting an element. In the example above, after splitting you would add
a Head for the new second Section.

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Note: You cannot split an element that is a table part (such as a row or cell).
1 Click where you want to split the element. The contents after the insertion point go in the new second element.
2 Choose Element > Split.

Splitting sometimes results in two elements with identical attributes. However, if the original attribute had a Unique
ID attribute, the second element loses its ID value.

Wrap elements around existing content
You can add structure to content already in a document by wrapping a new element around the content. The content
can be any part of a document, including other elements. The element’s content is formatted as specified in the
element’s format rules.
Note: You cannot wrap content in elements that are for parts of tables (such as rows or cells), but you can wrap text or
other elements that are within a cell or a table title element. If you want to convert text and elements to a table, use Table
> Convert To Table rather than wrapping.
After wrapping an element, you sometimes must edit the document to correct structure errors. For example, if you
wrap Para elements in a Section element that requires a Head element, you’ll need to insert the Head element.
Wrap an element using the Element Catalog
1 Select the contents you want to wrap in an element. If you’re selecting text, use the document window. If you’re
selecting entire elements, use the Structure View.
2 Select an element tag in the Element Catalog, and click Wrap.
3 If the Attributes For New Element dialog box appears, enter attribute values for the element and click Insert

Element.
This dialog box appears only if the element has attributes and if an option is set in the New Element Options dialog
box to prompt for attribute values when you insert elements.
Wrap elements throughout a document
1 In the document window, wrap text ranges, system variables, and other items that are inside paragraphs. Don’t
worry about errors you see in the Structure View. You’ll correct many of these errors when you wrap the lowest
levels in parent elements. You can correct the other errors when you’re finished.
2 Wrap paragraphs, headings, and other paragraph-level items in their elements.
3 In the Structure View, wrap the elements you have so far in parent elements, such as Section and List.

Wrapping helps in manually providing a structure to an existing unstructured document. When you wrap the first
element in the document, the Structure View immediately changes to show a default invalid structure, as follows:

• A highest-level element is added with the tag NoName, unless you begin by wrapping the contents in a valid
highest-level element. NoName is a placeholder for your valid highest-level element.

• All tables become structured and are given default element tags, such as TABLE and ROW.
• Objects become elements with default tags such as CROSSREF, GRAPHIC, and EQUATION.
• Footnotes become FOOTNOTE.
• Rubi text becomes RUBI and RUBIGRP elements.
Note: Variables and markers do not become structured object elements.
You can correct the structure of the document when you’re finished wrapping elements.

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If your application developer has set up a conversion table for the document, you can apply the table to wrap elements
throughout the document all at one time. This is much faster than wrapping text manually.

Unwrapping the contents of elements
Unwrapping deletes an element but leaves its contents in the same place in the document. You usually unwrap
elements as part of a larger editing process. For example, if you plan to convert ListItem elements into Para elements,
sometimes you must unwrap the parent List element first. Then use Edit > Find/Change to convert the ListItem
elements to Para elements.
Para

Para
ListItem

List
ListItem

ListItem

Unwrapping ListItems, before and after

You sometimes must edit the document after unwrapping an element. For this example, you would change the
ListItem elements to valid elements or rewrap them.
Note: You cannot unwrap an element that is a table part (such as a row or cell).
1 Select the element with the contents you want to unwrap.
2 Choose Element > Unwrap.

Move or copy elements
You can move an element to another location in a document by dragging its bubble in the Structure View. When you
move or copy an element, its contents, including descendants, all move along with it. This does not affect the contents
of the clipboard.
If you’re moving an element that has many descendants, collapse the element first.
You can also move or copy an element by cutting or copying it to the clipboard and pasting, even across documents.
If you paste an element from another document, sometimes the element is not defined in your document. If you don’t
plan to add a definition for the element, change the element to a valid one. You cannot cut and paste elements in a
book file.
❖ Do one of the following:

• To move an element, drag the bubble to the location you want.
• To copy an element, hold down Alt and drag the bubble to the location.
As you drag the bubble to copy, the pointer changes to a hollow, stacked up-and-down arrowhead, and a horizontal
arrow moves to indicate where the copy goes if you release the mouse button.
As you drag the bubble to move, the pointer changes to a solid up-and-down arrowhead, and an arrow moves to
indicate where the bubble goes if you release the mouse button.
If the element is valid in the location where the arrow points, a check mark or question mark appears in the bubble.

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Nudge an element one place
❖ Drag the element’s bubble slightly to one side or up or down. As you drag a small distance, the pointer changes to

a single arrow. (If you drag too far, the arrow changes to an up-and-down arrowhead.)
Section

Section

Head

Para

List
Para

Para
List

Nudging a List one place, before and after

When you release, the element moves one place in the indicated direction, as follows:

• Moving an element up places it right above the sibling right before it. Moving an element down places it below
the sibling after it.

• Moving an element to the left makes it a sibling of its parent. Moving an element to the right makes it a child of
the sibling before it.

Hierarchical element insert
Using the Elements quick catalog, you can select and insert multiple levels of elements. When you select an element in
the quick catalog, FrameMaker displays the elements available within the selected element.
Hit Enter and use the pointer or the arrow keys (or the pointer) to select a hierarchy of elements that you want to insert.
When you hit Enter, if there is only one valid element at the pointer’s position, FrameMaker inserts the element.
Use the following keys to navigate through the hierarchy of elements in quick catalogs:
Key\Key action

Type of navigation\action

Place cursor in an element and hit Enter

Display the quick catalog

Right arrow

Display the elements available within the selected element

Left arrow

Hide one level hierarchy of elements

tab

scroll down

shift+tab

scroll up

Alphabets\combination of alphabets

Type an alphabet or combination of alphabets to select an element. For
example, press B to select Body and Type T,O to go to Topic.

The list of elements in the quick catalog appears according to the settings in the Set Available Elements dialog. If Show
Element Descriptive Tags is selected, the element tool tips in the catalog display the element descriptions.
Hierarchical element insert takes care of auto insertions for the last selected element in the hierarchy, as specified in
the EDD. If there are auto insertion rules in place for elements apart from the last element, they are ignored.

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Hierarchical element insert
A. Select a hierarchy of elements B. Elements get inserted as a group

Select and edit text
Select text in flow
❖ To select all the text in a flow, click in the flow and choose Edit > Select All In Flow.

Select text in structured document window
You can select entire elements and any part of the document contents in a document window. A corresponding
selection also appears in the Structure View.
If an element has contents, you can select all or part of the contents without selecting the element itself. If an element
consists of a single object, such as a graphic or a cross-reference, select the entire element.
When you select an entire element, its contents are selected along with it.
Work with element boundaries showing, so that you can see the beginning and end of each element. After selecting,
check the status bar for the correct tag name of the selection parent element. The tag name appears following the “E:”
text.
❖ To select text in an element, do one of the following:

• To select text without selecting the whole element, drag through the range of text. Be careful not to drag across
an element boundary. If you do, you select the entire element.

• To select one element, drag from anywhere inside the element to outside one of its element boundaries.
• To select more than one elements, drag through the elements. FrameMaker selects each element as you drag
across one of its boundaries.

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Select element content in Structure View
You can select entire elements or the element contents in the Structure View. A corresponding selection also appears
in the document window.
If an element has contents, you can select all of the contents without selecting the element itself. If an element is a single
object, such as a graphic or a cross-reference, you select the entire element. (Elements that are allowed contents have
round-cornered bubbles; elements that are a single object have square-cornered bubbles.)
When you select an entire element, its contents are selected along with it.
❖ To select element content, do one of the following

• To select an element, click the middle of its bubble.
• To select more than one element, click the first bubble and then Shift-click the other bubbles. You can also drag
to the right of the vertical line connecting the elements. Start above the first element you want to select, and drag
down to the last element you want to select.

• To select contents of an element without descendants but not select the entire element, double-click the text
snippet.

• To select the contents of an element with descendants but not select the entire element, double-click to the right
of the vertical line connecting the first level of descendants.

Remove elements
You can remove any element, with or without its contents. For example, you sometimes want to delete a Section
element and its contents, or delete the Section but leave the contents in place, so you can place them in a different
element.
For elements that are defined to contain text or other elements, you can also delete the contents and leave the empty
element in the document. For elements that are single objects without contents, you must delete the entire element.

• To remove an element and its contents, select the element and press Delete.
• To remove an element but not its content, select the element and choose Element > Unwrap. FrameMaker
reformats the contents based on the new context, if necessary.

• To remove the contents of an element but not the element itself, select the contents and press Delete.
• To remove an element and its contents and replace it with another element, select the element. Then select the
replacement element in the Element Catalog, and click Insert. A new empty element replaces the selected element
and its contents.

• To remove all elements from a document to base it on paragraph and character formats, choose Special > Remove
Structure From Flow. If the document has additional structured flows, repeat this command for each flow.
FrameMaker removes all elements from the current text flow. If the formatting was created or modified by format
change lists in the element catalog, the removed elements become format overrides in the document.
Note: To create named formats for each removed element variation and save them in the catalog, use the Create And
Apply Formats command.

Assign attribute values
Attributes store supplementary information about an element that does not appear with the contents of the document.
You can see attributes and their values in the Structure View.

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Chapter
ID =
DraftVersion = Alpha Draft
XRefLabel =

Title
ChapNumber
ChapName

Attributes in the Structure View

An attribute’s definition specifies the type of values that are acceptable (such as text or numeric) and sometimes
includes a list of possible values or a numeric range.
The definition also determines whether the value is optional, required, or read only. It sometimes provides a default
value. You can assign values to an attribute if the attribute is not read only.
If an attribute’s current value does not conform to the specifications in its definition, the attribute is invalid.
Note: FrameMaker can provide the values for ID and ID Reference attributes used in cross-referencing. (These attributes
are often defined to be read only.)

Enter attribute values as you insert elements
You enter some attribute values as you insert elements, particularly for required attributes and attributes that affect
formatting. Optional attributes can perhaps wait for a later pass.
Some font property values used in an element definition document (EDD) require that you use specific units. For
example, if the Offset Horizontal value is set as a percentage of an em space, typing 5pt creates an offset of 5 em spaces
instead of 5 points.
Do not use multibyte (Asian-language) characters when entering attribute values. Sometimes these characters are not
exported to SGML correctly because multibyte characters are not supported in the SGML workflow.
Note: Attribute names support the Unicode text-encoding standard.
1 Make sure you are prompted for attribute values when you insert elements.
2 Insert the element. If attributes are defined for the element, the Attributes For New Element dialog box appears,

listing all the attributes (except read-only ones) defined for the element.
3 For each attribute value to provide, select the attribute in the Attribute Name scroll list, enter the value in the

Attribute Value box, and click Set Value. If an attribute is required, you must enter a value for the element to be
valid.
If an attribute has a set of predefined values, choose from the Attribute Value pop-up menu rather than entering a
value.
The value you can enter, such as text or a number, is determined by the attribute’s type.
A description of the selected attribute (its type, whether a value is required, and so on) appears in the dialog box
below the Attribute Value area.
4 Click Insert Element.

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Enter or edit attribute values for elements already in a document
To change an attribute name rather than a value, use Edit > Find/Change. Sometimes this is necessary if you imported
element definitions that use different attribute names with identical meanings, such as Security instead of
SecurityLevel. The new attribute name must be defined for the element.
1 Select the element with the attribute value you want to change.

You can select more than one element of the same type, and apply the change to all. The elements must be
contiguous. For example, if several Para elements in a row have a Security attribute, you can change the value of
that attribute for all the Para elements at one time.
2 Double-click an attribute name or value in the Structure View to display the Attributes dialog box.

Alternatively, access the Attributes modal panel from Elements > Edit Attributes.
3 For each attribute value to enter or edit, select the attribute in the Attribute Name scroll list, enter the value in the

Attribute Value box, and click Set Value.
If an attribute has a set of predefined values, choose from the Attribute Value pop-up menu rather than entering a
value.
4 Click Done.

Types of attributes
An attribute’s type determines the kind of values that are allowed in the attribute. For example, the value version 1 is
not valid for an attribute defined as an integer, but the value 1 is valid. Numeric types (such as integer or real number)
can also be limited to a predefined range by their attribute definition.
Choice An attribute with a list of predefined values.
ID Reference An attribute with a value that is a Unique ID value from another element. It is typically used for element-

based cross-references.
ID References An attribute with a value of one or more Unique ID values from another element. (Sometimes the
developer specifies this attribute if you’re exporting to a structured application that uses multiple values for source
information.)
Integer An attribute with a whole number value (no decimal parts). Examples of valid integers are 22, -22, and +322.
An integer can be defined to fall within a range.
Integers An attribute with a value of one or more integers. Enter each number on a separate line in the Attribute Value box.
Real An attribute with a real number value, with or without a decimal part (the value can also be expressed in scientific

notation). Examples of valid real numbers are 2, 22.4, -0.22, and 2.3e-1. A real number can be defined to fall within a
range.
Reals An attribute with a value of one or more real numbers. Enter each number on a separate line in the Attribute

Value box.
String An attribute with a value of a series of characters (text).
Strings An attribute with a value of one or more strings. Enter each string on a separate line in the Attribute Value box.
Unique ID An attribute with a value of a unique text string. An element can have only one ID attribute (which can be
of type Unique ID or Unique IDs). All ID values must be unique in the document or book. An element with a
Unique ID attribute can be the source for an element-based cross-reference.

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Unique IDs An attribute with a value of one or more unique text strings. Enter each string on a separate line in the

Attribute Value box. (Sometimes the developer specifies this attribute if you’re exporting to a structured application
that uses multiple values for source information.)

Copy attribute values
You can use the clipboard to copy and paste attribute values from one element to another. If you paste values to an
element that does not have corresponding attributes defined, the attributes are invalid. To preserve element-based
cross-references, an ID attribute value is not pasted.
If you copy an attribute from another document, the attribute sometimes is not defined in the current document.
1 Select the element with the attribute values you want to copy, and choose Edit > Copy Special > Attribute Values.

All attribute values associated with the element are copied to the clipboard.
2 Select a different element and choose Edit > Paste.
3 (Optional) To delete an undefined attribute copied from another document, select the element with the undefined

attribute, open the Attributes dialog box, select the attribute, and click Delete Attribute. In the next dialog box that
appears, remove the attribute for the current element or for all elements that have the attribute.

Find and edit elements and attributes
You search for elements and attributes in a structured document to keep track of them or to make changes to them
quickly. Searching is especially useful when you want to apply the same change to more than one occurrence of an
element or attribute.
You can also search for many other items in FrameMaker, including strings of text, specific formatting, unresolved
cross-references, and objects (such as anchored frames) that are not elements.
Note: The Find/Change feature supports the Unicode text-encoding standard.

Search for element tags, attribute names, or attribute values
You can search for an element tag, attribute name, and attribute value either separately or in combination. For
example, you can search for an element tagged List to find each List element, or perhaps you limit the search to find
only List elements that have a Security attribute set to Classified.
1 Choose Edit > Find/Change.
2 Choose Element from the Find pop-up menu.
3 Select the options you want in the Find Element dialog box.

The settings can be used in many combinations. These are a few examples:

• To find any element, leave all three boxes empty.
• To find a specific element, type an element tag but leave the Attribute Name and Attribute Value boxes empty.
• To find any element with a specific attribute, type an attribute name but leave the Element Tag and Attribute
Value boxes empty.

• To find any element with a specific attribute value, type an attribute value but leave the Element Tag and
Attribute Name boxes empty.

• To find a specific combination of element and attribute, type an element tag and choose an attribute name.
• To find a specific combination of element and attribute value, type an element tag and choose an attribute name
and an attribute value. (If the attribute type is Choice, type the value.)

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• To find a specific element with an attribute that has no value, type an element tag, choose an attribute name, and
choose from the Attribute Value pop-up menu.
Leave a box empty if you do not want to restrict the search. An empty box has the same effect as searching for any
element, or choosing either or .
4 Click Set.
5 In the Find/Change dialog box, select Consider Case, Whole Word, Use Wildcards, or Find Backward.
6 Click Find.

Note: After searching the main flow, FrameMaker looks at other text frames and text lines. Because a search is flow by
flow, it sometimes appears to jump around the document.

Change elements or attributes you find
After you find an element, attribute, or attribute value, you can change it to another element, attribute, or value. For
example, you can quickly and globally change the value of a SecurityLevel attribute from Declassified to Top Secret.
When changing items in a document, you can change each occurrence of the item as it is found or have FrameMaker
automatically make the change throughout the document.
After pasting material from another document or importing new element definitions, use the Find/Change command
to clean up your document. For example, pasting a table from an unstructured document gives the table and its parts
default, invalid element tags. You can use Find/Change to change CELL elements, for example, to TableCell elements.
1 Choose Edit > Find/Change.
2 In the Find/Change dialog box, choose Element from the Find pop-up menu.
3 Select the options you want in the Find Element dialog box, and click Set. Then choose an option from the Change

pop-up menu in the Find/Change dialog box, and type the replacement tag or value.
The Find Element dialog box and the Change pop-up menu work together. These are a few examples of
combinations you can use:

• To change one element to another, type an element tag in the Find Element dialog box but leave Attribute Name
and Attribute Value empty. Then choose Element Tag To in the Change pop-up menu and type an element tag.

• To change one attribute to another, type an attribute name but leave Element Tag and Attribute Value empty.
Then choose Attribute Name To and type an attribute name that is defined for this element.

• To change one attribute value to another, type an attribute value but leave Attribute Name and Attribute Value
empty. Then choose Attribute Value To and type a value.

• To change an attribute with a specific name to a certain value, type an attribute name but leave Element Tag and
Attribute Value empty. Then choose Attribute Value To and type a value.

• To change a specific element with a specific attribute value to another element, type an element tag and choose
an attribute name and attribute value. Then choose Element Tag To in the Change pop-up menu and type an
element tag.

• To remove an attribute value, type an attribute value but leave Element Tag and Attribute Name empty. Then
choose Attribute Value To and leave the Choose box empty.
If you try to make a change that is not allowed—for example, if you try to remove an element tag—an alert message
appears explaining the problem.
4 Click Find.

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5 When FrameMaker finds the element or attribute, do one of the following:

• To make the change but not continue searching for other occurrences of the item, click Change.
• To make the change and continue searching for other occurrences, click Change & Find.
• To change all occurrences of the item, specify all occurrences in the document or only occurrences in the current
selection and click Change All.

Find and correct errors in document structure
An error in a structured flow can be a structure problem, such as an element in an invalid location, or an invalid
attribute, such as an attribute with a missing required value. In Structure View, when a collapsed element has invalid
content in its structure, the plus sign on the left of the element name is red.
You can also validate a document to find errors. After you know where the errors are located, use the Element Catalog
and the Structure View as guides to help you correct them.
If you’ve made any formatting changes to text in elements, the elements perhaps do not conform to their format rules.

Use the Structure View to find errors
When an element doesn’t conform to content rules and attribute descriptions in the document’s element definitions,
the Structure View identifies the error for you.
Missing elements If an element is missing one or more child elements required by the element definitions, a small red
hole appears on the vertical line where the child element should be.
Section
Para

At least one required child element is missing.

Elements at an invalid location If an element is at a location not allowed by the content rules, the vertical line next to
it is broken from the position of that element to the end of the parent element.
ListItem
Para
ListItem

The Para element is invalid at this location.

Undefined elements If an element is not defined for the document, its bubble is red. This sometimes happens if you

have pasted the element from another document.
Invalid attributes If an attribute has an invalid value or is not defined for the document, it appears with a red x to the
left of the attribute name and its value is red.
Chapter
x DraftVersion = Alpha Draft
XRefLabel =

The DraftVersion attribute is invalid.

Attributes missing a required value If an attribute does not have a value, appears to the right of the

attribute name. If the attribute requires a value, is red and a red hole appears to the left of it.

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Chapter
DraftVersion = Alpha Draft
XRefLabel =

The XRefLabel attribute is missing a required value.

Validate a document
When FrameMaker validates a document, it searches for elements that do not conform to content and attribute rules
in the document’s element definitions. If FrameMaker finds an error, it selects the element and describes the error.
You can validate an entire document, the current flow, or the current element. If you validate the current element,
FrameMaker does not check the descendants of the element’s child elements. For example, if you validate the Section
element below, FrameMaker makes sure that the Head element, the two Para elements, and the List element are valid,
but does not check the List Item elements in List.
Section
Head
Para

When a door

Para

When a floor

List
ListItem
ListItem

Only the section’s child elements are validated.

If the document has conditional text, only the versions that are showing are validated.
You can also validate an entire book including all its files, only the book file, or only the current element in the book file.
1 Choose Element > Validate.
2 Select Entire Document, Entire Book, Current Flow, or Current Element to specify the scope of the validation.
3 To exclude missing elements or attribute values from the search, select Ignore Missing Elements or Ignore Missing

Attribute Values.
If these settings are selected, FrameMaker does not look for places where a required child element or a required
attribute value is missing. Consider selecting these if you are not trying to build a complete document yet.
4 Click Start Validating.

FrameMaker starts checking at the beginning of the current element. If you’re validating only the current element,
it checks the element with the insertion point or the selected element. If more than one element is selected, it checks
the first element in the selection.
5 If FrameMaker finds an error, click Start Validating again when you’re ready to continue validating.

The top of the Element Validation dialog box shows the tag of the element and a brief message about the problem.
You can correct the error, ignore it, or click Allow As Special Case. If you mark it as a special case, FrameMaker
won’t identify the error the next time you validate the document.
6 Repeat step 5 until FrameMaker does not find any more errors.

When FrameMaker reaches the end of the document, it returns to the beginning and continues validating. When
FrameMaker reaches the end of a flow, it continues to the next one.

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Note: When validating a book, FrameMaker tells you if a file in the book has invalid content, but for a more detailed
evaluation, you must open and validate the file.
Validation of the elements in an EDD includes attributes in if-then clauses. For example, suppose that the possible
values of an attribute are A or B or C, and a context rule says If [attrval = "D"]. This is flagged as an error and
reported as an invalid structure when the element definitions are imported.
Similarly, if an element’s text formatting rules or prefix/suffix rules use attribute names in the context specifications,
the attribute name and case must match the attribute definition in the element’s definition.
If an attribute’s value is changed to the same value it previously had, the action is not flagged as a change. This enhances
performance by eliminating unnecessary value checking.

Clear all special cases
1 Choose Element > Validate.
2 Click Clear Special Cases. FrameMaker clears the special cases in the document, the flow, or the element—

whichever scope is selected in the dialog box.

Validation error messages
The following error messages can appear at the top of the Element Validation dialog box. (In the descriptions, tag
represents an element tag, name represents an attribute name, and value represents an attribute value.)
Current flow is unstructured The current flow does not have elements in it.
Element is undefined The element is not defined in the document. You perhaps copied this element from another

document.
Missing element before tag At least one required element is missing before the specified element.
More contents required at end At least one more child element is required at the end of the current element.
No current element There is no insertion point or selection. (This message appears when the scope is set to Current

Element.)
No current flow There is no insertion point or selection. (This message appears when the scope is set to Current Flow.)
Not highest-level element The element is not permitted at the highest level in the document.
not permitted in this element The element contains text, but text is not allowed.
not valid at this position The element is allowed to have text but not at this location.
The name attribute refers to an undefined ID value The attribute is an ID Reference and refers to a Unique ID value

that doesn’t exist in the document (or in the book, if you’re validating a book).
The name attribute is undefined for this element The definition of this element does not include a name attribute.
This element should be a type The element is the wrong type, where type can be graphic, marker, cross-reference,

equation, or system variable. For example, a cross-reference element sometimes consists of text instead of a crossreference.
Value must be a type for name attribute The attribute value is the wrong type for the attribute.
Value for name attribute must be in the range from n to n The attribute’s numeric value is out of the specified range.
Value for name attribute is not one of the allowed choices The attribute’s value must match a value from the pop-up

menu of valid choices.
Value for name attribute must be unique A Unique ID value must be unique for all elements in the document or book.

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Value required for name attribute The attribute does not have a required value.
tag excluded in this element The tag element is not allowed because of an exclusion rule for the parent or one of its

ancestors.
tag not permitted in this element The tag element is not allowed anywhere in the parent element.
tag not valid at this position The tag element is allowed in the parent element but not at the current location.

Correct errors in elements
After you have identified errors in elements and attributes, use the Element Catalog and Structure View as guides for
correcting them:

• To correct an element in an invalid location, move the element to a valid location, or change it to an element that
is valid for its current location.
You can select an invalid element, or if you’re validating, FrameMaker selects the element for you. When the
element is selected, the Element Catalog shows which elements are valid at that location.

li or ListItem is valid at this location.

• To correct an element with invalid contents (with the text snippet ), change it to an
element that allows those contents.

• To correct a structure with a missing child element, insert the required element.
You can click where an element is missing, or if you’re validating, FrameMaker places the insertion point there for
you. When the insertion point is at the location of the missing element, the Element Catalog shows which elements
are valid at that location.

Title is required at this location.

• To correct an invalid attribute value, change the value to one that is valid for the attribute.
• To remove an undefined attribute, select the element with the undefined attribute, open the Attributes dialog box,
select the attribute, and click Delete Attribute. In the next dialog box that appears, remove the attribute for the
current element or for all elements that have the attribute.

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• To resolve a cross-reference with an invalid ID, select the cross-reference, choose Special > Cross-Reference, and
change to a source that has a valid ID.

Search for items
Searching documents and books
If you are searching in a document (Edit > Find/Change), FrameMaker begins searching at the insertion point and
continues through the document. It searches only pages of the type the insertion point is on—for example, only body,
master, or reference pages. When FrameMaker reaches the end of the document, it continues the search at the
beginning. After searching the main text flow, it searches other text in the document. Because FrameMaker searches
flow by flow rather than page by page, it sometimes appears to jump around within the document while searching.
If you are searching throughout a book, FrameMaker begins searching from the active document, or from the first
document of the book if the book window is active, and continues searching until all documents in the book have been
searched. If a document cannot be opened, the document is skipped and a message appears in the Book Error Log.
Note: When you are searching through a book, bookmap, or DITA map, you cannot search the master or reference pages.
In addition to text, you can search for any of the following items in a selection, in a document, or throughout an entire
book. You can also search in a map from the Resource Manager view.
Text formats and tags Character format properties, or specific paragraph or character tags. In structured

FrameMaker, Element appears right after text, so you can search for element tag, attribute name, attribute value, or
simultaneously for all three.
Markers Any markers, regardless of their marker types, markers of a specific type, or markers that contain specified text.
Cross-references Any cross-references, regardless of their formats, cross-references that use a specific format, or

unresolved cross-references—cross-references that FrameMaker is unable to update. When an unresolved crossreference is found, the marker text of the cross-reference appears in the Find box.
Text insets Any text imported by reference. You can also search for unresolved text insets—insets that cannot be
updated from their sources. However, you can’t search for graphics subscribers or OLE linked objects. (To list OLE
links, choose Edit > Links.)
Variables Any variables, regardless of their variable names, or specific variables.
Rubi Any rubi text, when Japanese fonts are installed on your system.
Anchored frames Frame that contains graphics and helps you locate them. Graphics placed in non-anchored frames

are not found.
Footnotes Any text or table footnotes.
Tables Any tables regardless of their table format tags, or tables with a specific tag.
Conditional text Any conditional text, regardless of its condition tags, text with specific condition tags, or

unconditional text. FrameMaker cannot find conditional table rows or hidden conditional text.
Automatic hyphen Words that are hyphenated automatically.
Text and character format on the clipboard Text that matches the clipboard text, capitalization, and character

formatting.

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Searching for Unicode text
FrameMaker uses the UTF-8 encoding format. Therefore, every character in a .fm or XML document containing
Unicode-encoded text uses multiple bytes. As a result, only the string entered in the Find field is used to perform the
search operation.
Searching in a range is applicable only to Unicode characters, and users can search for any character that belongs to
the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP). Unicode code points can also be used for performing search and replace
operations. For example, you can provide \uXXXX as the input to locate a character that has code point XXXX. Thus,
to search for letter “A” whose code point is u+0041, you can specify \u0041 in the Find/Change dialog box.
A code point is any value in the Unicode codespace, which is a range of integers from 0 to 10FFFF16. This particular
range is defined for the codespace in the Unicode standard only. Other character-encoding standards sometimes use
other codespaces.
You can also use wildcard characters while searching for Unicode text.
Note: In Asian documents with multibyte characters, the bracket characters [ ] do not work as wildcards.

Replacing items
When changing items, keep the following in mind:

• If you choose Change or Change & Find when no text is selected in the document, FrameMaker inserts or applies
the replacement item at the insertion point.

• The Clone Case option in the Find/Change dialog box maintains the capitalization in the source text. For example,
if you select Clone Case and type tea in the Find box and coffee in the Change box, FrameMaker replaces tea with
coffee and Tea with Coffee.

• You can type any text, including special characters not found on the keyboard—for example, em spaces and
paragraph symbols.

• You can’t change marker text by using the Find/Change dialog box. If FrameMaker finds the marker text you
specify, and if you type different text in the Change box and click Change, FrameMaker replaces the marker—not
the marker text—with the text in the Change box. To change marker text, use the Special > Marker command.

Search for backslashes and wildcard characters
You can enter any characters in the Find/Change box. However, the following characters require special treatment:

• For backslashes, specify two backslashes (\\) in the box. A single backslash usually indicates a special character.
• For wildcard characters used as ordinary characters, when the Use Wildcards option is selected, precede the
wildcard character with a backslash in the box.

More Help topics
“Typing in dialog boxes” on page 551

Search for character format properties
1 Copy the text with the character format you want to find. FrameMaker uses only the first 126 characters copied into

the clipboard.
2 Select Edit > Find/Change. In the Find/Change dialog box, choose Text & Character Formats In Clipboard from

the Find pop-up menu. Don’t type the text you want to find in the Find box.
3 Click Find.

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To prevent FrameMaker from applying a property to found text, set the property to As Is.
After making some changes in the Change To Character Format dialog box, you can reset the dialog box to match the
format of the current text by pressing Ctrl+Shift+F9.

Search for special characters and nonprinting symbols
You can search for any text, including single characters, phrases, and special characters that aren’t on your keyboard.
You’ll need to type the backslash sequence.
For example, you could find empty paragraphs by searching for \P\p (beginning of paragraph followed by end of
paragraph).
You can use most of these sequences for both searching and replacing—for example, replacing a forced return symbol
with an end-of-paragraph symbol. However, you cannot replace with the end-of-flow, start-of-paragraph, start-ofword, or end-of-word sequence.

More Help topics
“Typing in dialog boxes” on page 551

Search for markers
FrameMaker uses markers for cross-references, indexes, and other purposes. It can find any type of marker or just the
indicates a marker.
marker type you specify. When text symbols are visible, a symbol
FrameMaker can also find markers with specific marker text.
1 In the Find/Change dialog box, do one of the following:

• To find any marker in the document, choose Any Marker from the Find pop-up menu, and leave the Find box
blank.

• To find a specific type of marker, choose Marker Of Type from the Find pop-up menu, and enter the marker
type in the Find box.

• To find a marker with specific text, choose Marker Text from the Find pop-up menu, and enter the marker text
in the Find box.
2 Click Find. If the Marker dialog box is open (Special > Marker), the marker text for the found marker appears there.

Important: If you want to replace the text in a found marker, use the Marker dialog box to edit the marker text. If you
use the Find/Change dialog box, you’ll replace the marker rather than the marker text.

Search for conditional text
You can search for visible text that has specific condition tags. When FrameMaker finds visible conditional text, it
selects all adjacent text that uses these condition tags.
FrameMaker cannot find conditional table rows.
1 Make sure that the text with the condition tags you want to find is visible.
2 In the Find/Change dialog box, choose Conditional Text from the Find pop-up menu.
3 Do the following:

• To find text with a particular condition tag, move the condition tag to the In list.
• To find text that doesn’t have a particular condition tag, move the tag to the Not In scroll list.

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• If you don’t care whether found text has a particular tag, move the tag to the As Is scroll list.
• To find all conditional text, move all tags to the As Is scroll list.
• To find unconditional text, select Unconditional.
Note: To move a condition tag between scroll lists, select the tag and click an arrow, or double-click the tag. To move
all tags from one scroll list to another, select a tag in the list and Shift-click an arrow.
4 Click Set, and then click Find.

Troubleshoot a search
If you don’t find the item even though you’re sure it is there, check the Find/Change dialog box for the following
possible problems:

• Text spelling.
• Number and type of spaces.
• Search options.
• Hidden conditional text.
• Insertion point on master page when searching a master page.
• Selection of Book option when searching entire book.

Check spelling
FrameMaker dictionaries
FrameMaker automatically creates a personal dictionary for you and a document dictionary for each of your
documents. You can use either the Spelling Checker or Auto Spell Check options, to add or delete words in these
dictionaries, or you can manage the dictionaries directly. When you work with a dictionary directly, you can examine
and edit its contents or merge it with another dictionary. You can create multiple personal dictionaries and then use
them one at a time.
If you make changes either to a personal or to a document dictionary, mark all paragraphs for rechecking before you
spell-check the document again.
You perform many of the following tasks in the Dictionary Functions dialog box.

About FrameMaker dictionaries
The FrameMaker Spelling Checker uses several dictionaries to check text for spelling errors. When you spell-check a
document, FrameMaker compares each word in it with the words in the following dictionaries:

• The main dictionary contains words found in a standard dictionary. You can’t add words to or delete words from
this dictionary.

• The default site dictionary contains some technical terms. You can add words common to your site or workgroup—
for example, the company name and product names. The site dictionary is normally in the site.dict file in the
FrameMaker dict folder.

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• Your personal dictionary contains words you use often. Because FrameMaker uses this dictionary whenever you
spell-check any document, use this dictionary for words that are neither document-specific nor site-specific (for
example, your name). You can add or delete words. You can also create several personal dictionaries and switch
between them.

• The document dictionary contains words that are acceptable in a particular document. FrameMaker uses this
dictionary regardless of who is editing the document. You can add words to or delete words from it. Unlike the
other dictionaries, the document dictionary is part of the document rather than a separate file.
You have editorial control over your document, personal, and site dictionaries. You can choose different dictionaries,
merge one dictionary into another, and edit and delete dictionaries.
Dictionaries for other languages
In FrameMaker, the dictionaries, hyphenation, and Thesaurus are Unicode enabled.
FrameMaker provides dictionary and hyphenation support for the following languages: Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian,
Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Nynorsk,
Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.
Note: By default, dictionaries of all languages supported in FrameMaker are installed.
FrameMaker provides full authoring support (without dictionaries and hyphenation) for Japanese, Korean,
Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.
In addition, full authoring support (including language rules, dictionary, hyphenation, and thesaurus) is extended for
US English, French, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Swiss German, Canadian French, and
British English.

Choose Dictionary Functions dialog box
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active.
2 Choose Edit > Spelling Checker.
3 Click Dictionaries.

Delete the contents of the document dictionary
❖ Choose Clear from the Document Dictionary pop-up menu and click OK.

Locate a personal dictionary
❖ To find the name of the personal dictionary, choose Edit > Spelling Checker, and then click Dictionaries.

Import dictionary entries
1 Select Edit > Spelling Checker and click Dictionaries.
2 Select Import Dictionary from the Personal Dictionary pop-up menu and click OK.
3 Locate or specify the name of the file that contains the personal dictionary you want to use and click Use.

Check the spelling of a document without using the personal dictionary
❖ Choose Set To None from the Personal Dictionary pop-up menu and click OK.

Copy the contents of a dictionary to a file
1 Choose Write To File from the Personal Dictionary or Document Dictionary pop-up menu and click OK.

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2 Specify the file to which you want to copy the dictionary contents. You can edit this file and then use it as a new

dictionary.
If a book window is active when you choose this command, the document dictionaries are copied to a single file.

Merge the contents of a dictionary with the current personal or document dictionary
1 Choose Merge From File from the Personal Dictionary or Document Dictionary pop-up menu and click OK.
2 Specify the file you want to merge with the current dictionary.

You can use the Merge From File command to merge a single dictionary into multiple book files so that all the files in
your book share the same dictionary.

Create another personal dictionary
1 Place words, with a hyphen at each hyphenation point, in a document. Type as the first line in the document:

2 When you save the file, choose Text Only format and click Save. Then click Only Between Paragraphs and click Save.

Change site dictionaries
You can specify a different site dictionary for each of several projects. You can also edit your site dictionary directly.
If FrameMaker is used across a network at your site, a system administrator probably manages the site dictionary.
❖ Specify the dictionary in the maker.ini file.

Note: Use caution when editing an ini file.

Edit dictionary files
1 If you’re editing a personal or document dictionary, use FrameMaker to write the dictionary contents to a file.
2 Edit the file. If you use FrameMaker to edit a dictionary, be sure to do the following:

• When you open the file, select Treat Each Line As A Paragraph in the Reading Text File dialog box and click Read.
• When you save the file, choose Text Only format and click Save. Then click Only Between Paragraphs and click Save.
3 Merge the dictionary file with another dictionary. If you removed words from the dictionary, delete the original

dictionary before merging the file. Otherwise, the deleted words remain in the dictionary.
Add unknown words to a dictionary
If your document contains many correctly spelled words that FrameMaker questions, expedite spell-checking by
adding the words to a dictionary in a separate operation before you begin to spell-check.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active.
2 Choose Edit > Spelling Checker.
3 Click Dictionaries.
4 Click Write All Unknown Words To File and click OK.
5 Specify a filename for the dictionary file, and click OK or Save. The resulting dictionary file doesn’t include typing

errors such as repeated words, capitalization errors, or extra spaces.
6 Edit the dictionary file with a text editor or with FrameMaker. Delete any words you don’t want to add to your

dictionary, such as misspelled words.
7 In the Spelling Checker dialog box, click Dictionaries.

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8 Choose Merge From File from the Personal Dictionary or Document Dictionary pop-up menu, and click OK. If

you expect the words to appear in several documents, merge the words with a personal dictionary, or merge them
into all the files in a book.
9 Name and save the dictionary file.

Note: To add a few words to a dictionary, you can select Learn Word from right click menu. Above method is help if you
have many words highlighted by red squiggly line.
Add hyphenated compound words to personal dictionary
A document sometimes contains hyphenated compound words. By default, FrameMaker spell-checks each word in a
hyphenated compound word rather than checking the hyphenated compound word as a whole. For example, when
spell-checking the word heavy-duty, FrameMaker checks heavy and then checks duty. By changing the default settings,
you can spell-check hyphenated compound words as single words, and you can add hyphenated compound words to
your personal dictionary.
1 Choose Edit > Spelling Checker and click Options.
2 Select Unusual Hyphenation and click Set.
3 In the Word box in the Spelling Checker dialog box, enter the hyphenated compound word you want to add to your

personal dictionary. Include a hyphen at the beginning of the compound word, and type a backslash (\) before each
hyphen that connects words.
For example, to add the word heavy-duty, type -heavy\-duty.
4 Click Learn.

Spelling and typing errors
When correcting errors, keep in mind the following:

• If FrameMaker questions something that you don’t consider to be a typing error, you can turn off the option to find
that type of potential error. For example, you can stop FrameMaker from questioning the use of straight quotation
marks.

• If FrameMaker adds a word that contains uppercase letters to a personal or document dictionary, when Unusual
Capitalization is selected in the Spelling Checker Options dialog box, it considers any other capitalization of the
word a spelling mistake. For example, if FrameMaker learns Trinidad, it questions the spelling oftrinidad. However,
if it learns trinidad, in all lowercase letters, it does not question any type of capitalization of the word.

• FrameMaker does not spell-check superscript and subscript text or manually micropositioned text, such as text
with a manual baseline shift).

• To correct a typing error (for example, repeated words such as and and), make sure that the correctly typed text is
in the Correction box and click Correct. FrameMaker lists only one suggestion for mistyped text. If the suggestion
is not correct, you can enter the correct text in the Correction box, or type it directly in the document window.

Spell-check a document, book, or map
The Spelling Checker checks for repeated words, unusual hyphenation or capitalization, punctuation errors, straight
quotation marks (when curved must be used), and extra spaces. You can spell-check the current page, the open
document, the entire book, bookmap or DITA map, or selected files within the book. However, the spell check only
checks on pages of the type you are viewing, for example, master pages or body pages.

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FrameMaker begins spell-checking from the active document or from the first document of the book if the book
window is active. It continues spell-checking until all documents in the book have been checked. If a document cannot
be opened, the document is skipped and a message appears in the Book Error Log. When spell-checking throughout a
book, you cannot spell-check master or reference pages.
An alert message prompts you to save the document before continuing with the next document. When the last
document in the book has been checked, a Spelling OK or Finished checking spelling message appears.
To check the spelling in specific documents of a book or map, you can select them in the resource manager view, and
then choose Selection to spell-check only those files, books, or maps if you decide to spell-check the entire book or map.
FrameMaker draws a red squiggly line under words, to indicate spelling mistakes—words not present in the dictionary.
A green squiggly line under the word indicates a punctuation mistake. To correct, right click on a highlighted word
and select the desired option.
Note: For the words highlighted in green, the options to add to dictionary are not applicable, and hence are not available.
In FrameMaker, Auto Spell Check feature is enabled by default. If for some reason you disabled it, you can enable it
again by going to File > Preferences > General. This option spell checks the open file as soon as it is turned on.
When you spell-check throughout a book or map, words added to your personal dictionary are applied to all
documents. Words added to the document dictionary are used only in the current document, not in any other
document in the book. When the Spelling Checker finds a questionable word, it suggests the most likely correction
along with some other possibilities.
❖ In the document, choose Edit > Spelling Checker and click Start Checking.

Note: Auto spell check is session specific and not document specific. If the same document is opened on a different
machine, settings for Auto spell checker might differ.

Correct spelling errors automatically
You can have FrameMaker automatically correct future occurrences of a misspelled word or typing error.
FrameMaker keeps track of the errors to correct automatically until you exit or until you instruct FrameMaker to stop
making the corrections.
Before changing a particular misspelling or typing error automatically, verify the changes to make. If you use the
Automatic Correction option when correcting a repeated word, FrameMaker corrects every repeated word even
though some are correct (such as had had). Similarly, if thst is a misspelling of both test and that, you don’t want to
change it automatically to either word.
1 Choose Edit > Spelling Checker and click Start Checking.
2 When FrameMaker questions a word or typing error, select and click Correct.

Spell-check text insets
❖ Open the inset source file and check the spelling there.

Change Spelling Checker options
When you spell-check a document, FrameMaker also checks for errors that don’t involve spelling—for example,
repeated words, extra or misplaced spaces, or unusual capitalization. You can specify the kinds of typing errors to
check.

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You can also limit the spell-check so that FrameMaker overlooks certain types of words. For example, perhaps you
want to overlook words that contain numbers.
1 Choose Edit > Spelling Checker and click Options.
2 Do the following:

• In the Find area, specify the kinds of typing errors you want to find. For example, select Unusual Capitalization
if you want to find words with uppercase letters in inappropriate locations (for example, GReen).

• In the Ignore area, specify the kinds of words you want to overlook. For example, select Words With Digits if
you want to ignore words that contain numbers.
Keep in mind that the more words FrameMaker overlooks, the greater the possibility that your document
contains mistakes. For example, if you choose to ignore words containing a period, you also skip over a sentence
that begins without a space after the preceding period.

• If you change the Spelling Checker options and then want to reset the default options, click Get Defaults. If you
exit FrameMaker without resetting the default options, your current settings become the default options.
3 Click Set.

Recheck after changing Spelling Checker options
FrameMaker ordinarily rechecks only paragraphs that have been edited since the prior check. If you change options
after spell-checking a document, consider running the Spelling Checker again after instructing FrameMaker to mark
all paragraphs for rechecking.

Assign text to be ignored by Spelling Checker
To ignore certain text, change its Language property to None. For example, perhaps you don’t want to spell-check
paragraphs of computer code.
When you set the language of text to None, FrameMaker no longer provides hyphenation for it.

Check spelling in different languages
All text is assigned a language. When you spell-check, FrameMaker uses the main dictionary of the language assigned
to the text. You can change the language used to spell-check text by changing the language assigned to the text. You
can also add Unicode (UTF-8)-encoded words to user and personal dictionaries in FrameMaker.
The FrameMaker CD contains dictionaries for all supported languages. However, the default installation contains only
one dictionary in a single language.
❖ To change the language of text in a document, use the Language property in the Default Font properties of the

Paragraph Designer to change the language of one of the following:

• A single paragraph, or all the paragraphs in a document.
• A range of text within a paragraph, or the language of a text line.
Note the following about Asian-language documents:

• In an Asian-language document, some special characters are not displayed in the Spelling Checker as they are in a
Western-language document. For example, a backslash is displayed as a yen symbol, and a nonbreaking hyphen is
displayed as a blank.

• In an Asian-language document that contains Roman text, make sure that you turn off the Straight Quotes option
in the Spelling Checker dialog box so that the Spelling Checker does not stop on properly spelled words.

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More Help topics
“Font changes using the designers” on page 56

Control hyphenation
When you add a word to a personal dictionary, FrameMaker suggests hyphenation points. You can change them
before adding the word. You can also specify that a word is always or never hyphenated. For example, you can
hyphenate heavy duty wherever it appears but never hyphenate your company name.
After making hyphenation changes, rehyphenate the document.
For strict control over hyphenation (for example, before printing the final draft of a book), consider searching your
document for all hyphens that FrameMaker has inserted automatically. Choose Automatic Hyphen from the Find
pop-up menu in the Find/Change dialog box.

Change word hyphenation
1 Show the hyphenation points of the word.
2 Adjust the hyphenation and click Learn. You can add and delete hyphens as necessary.

Prevent FrameMaker from hyphenating a word
1 Enter the word in the Correction box.
2 Click Show Hyphenation.
3 Remove all hyphens from the word.
4 Insert a hyphen at the beginning of the word.
5 Click Learn.

Rehyphenate an entire document
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active.
2 Choose Edit > Spelling Checker.
3 Click Dictionaries.
4 Select Rehyphenate Document and click OK. This option works for an open document.

In case of a book file, select Rehyphenate All Files In Book and then click OK.

Use the Thesaurus
Look up words in the Thesaurus
Use the Thesaurus to look up synonyms, related words, and antonyms for words you specify. The Thesaurus lets you
improve on a word already in a document or search for the right word to insert.
You can look up any one of the words from the first pass and display its synonyms, related words, and antonyms.
FrameMaker keeps a history of the last 10 words you looked up.
If more information is available than fits, you can use the arrow buttons at the bottom of the dialog box to view the
additional information. FrameMaker displays the synonyms, antonyms, and related words with capitalization that
matches the capitalization of the word you looked up.

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You can look up words in the following ways:

• To look up a word visible in the document window, select the word and choose Edit > Thesaurus.
• To look up a word not visible in the document window, make sure that no text is selected, then choose Edit >
Thesaurus. Enter the word and click Look Up.

• To look up a phrase, make sure that no text is selected and choose Edit > Thesaurus. Enter the phrase, including
any hyphens, in the Thesaurus Look Up dialog box, and click Look Up
Note: If you try to specify a phrase by selecting it in the document window, FrameMaker looks up only the first selected word.

• To look up a synonym, a related word, or an antonym displayed in the Thesaurus dialog box, click the word.
Synonyms, related words, and antonyms are shown in bold.

• To look up a word again, choose the word from the Word pop-up menu in the Thesaurus dialog box.

Choose a language for the Thesaurus
FrameMaker uses the language of the current text. If a word isn’t selected or the insertion point isn’t in a paragraph,
FrameMaker uses the language of the interface you chose when you installed FrameMaker. You can override the
default language in new documents by creating your own template for custom new documents.
The Thesaurus for a language is installed along with the dictionary for that language.

Specify a different language when looking up a word
1 Click Look Up in the Thesaurus dialog box.
2 Enter the word you want to look up, choose a language, and click Look Up.

Insert a word from the Thesaurus into the document
1 Do one of the following:

• To add the word, place an insertion point in the document.
• To replace a word in the document, select the word.
2 Control-click the word in the Thesaurus dialog box and click Replace.

More Help topics
“Check spelling” on page 140

Multiple Undo/Redo
You can undo or redo multiple actions in FrameMaker. For example, saving a .fm file as a .mif file does not clear the
history. However some actions cannot be undone and you are prompted to confirm the action. For example, deleting
a blank page from a document cannot be undone.

Undo and Redo commands
A Redo icon
appears in the toolbar, next to the Undo icon
action in the current document.

. Click this button to redo the most recently undone

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A Redo command also appears in the Edit menu and in context menus, under the Undo command, showing the most
recent redoable command in the current document.

The Edit menu displays the last command as well as the last command that has been undone.

If no action is available for Undo or Redo in the current document, the corresponding menu options and toolbar
buttons are unavailable (dimmed).
The History command opens the command History panel, which allows you to undo or redo an action other than the
most recent one, along with all of the subsequent actions.

Document-level command history
FrameMaker maintains a history of undoable commands, so that you can select one or more recent commands to undo
or redo.
The command history is available through the Edit menu and context menus. The command history is kept separately
for each document, so undoing or redoing an operation in one document does not change the undo capability of
another open document.
Cursor movement and object selection actions are not undoable, but when a previous state is restored, it includes the
original cursor location and object selection state.
Commands that affect an external file (such as Spelling Checker commands that update the user dictionary) cannot be
undone.

Repeat Last Operation
FrameMaker features a powerful Repeat Last Operation feature that makes it easy for you to repeat the previous
operation, when working on a FrameMaker document.
Repeat Last Operation can be performed on a document at the following locations:

• The current insertion point
• The current text selection
• The current object selection
To perform the Repeat operation, select Edit > Repeat [operation/object name] from the FrameMaker menu.
In addition, you can view the history buffer by selecting Edit > History from the FrameMaker menu.
Click once on an entry in the buffer to perform it. Click once more on the entry to undo the operation.
Repeat Last Operation can be performed for the following actions on the document:

• Typing: Repeat Last Operation history buffer remembers the last chunk of characters that were typed. The typing
sequence is broken when:

• The user clicks in the document.

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• The user switches between tabbed documents.
• Paste: Repeat Last Operation can repeat the last paste operation at the current cursor location for both text and
graphic objects in the clipboard. The list of graphic objects that can be pasted with Repeat Last Operation, are as
follows: Aframe, Arc, Ellipse, Group, Inset, Line, Math, Polygon, Polyline, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle,
TextFrame, TextLine, Unanchored Frame.
Note: The copy operation is not repeatable.

• Delete: Repeat Last Operation can repeat deletion of both text as well as graphical objects.
Note: If you delete multiple characters and then use Repeat Last Operation, only a single character is deleted.
Note: Character deletion and object deletion operations are interchangeable. If you delete a character and then
perform a Repeat Last Operation on a graphic object, the graphic object is also deleted.

• Apply Character Format Changes: Repeat Last Operation can reapply the properties of the last applied character
format to the new text selection.

• Apply Paragraph Format Changes: Repeat Last Operation can reapply the properties of the last applied paragraph
format to the new paragraph selection.

• Insert Graphic Objects: Repeat Last Operation can reinsert the last inserted graphic object at the current cursor
location. This operation works across documents.
The list of graphic objects that can be inserted are as follows:
Aframe, Arc, Ellipse, Group, Inset, Line, Math, Polygon, Polyline, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, TextFrame,
TextLine, Unanchored Frame.

• Insert Table: You can use Repeat Last Operation to reinsert the last inserted table at the current cursor location.
• Set Object Properties: When you apply the Repeat Last Operation command to set object properties, FrameMaker
applies the last specified object properties to the new object.

• Set Text Properties: Repeat Last Operation can repeat the last selected text property such as Plain, Bold, Italic,
Underline and Justify to the currently selected text or paragraph.

• Insert Footnote/Anchored Frame: You can use the Repeat Last Operation command to insert a previously inserted
Footnote/Anchored Frame at the current cursor position.

• Find/Change: When you apply the Repeat Last Operation command to the Find/Change procedure, FrameMaker
performs the last Find/Change operation on any further occurrences of the specified text.

• Apply Conditional Text: Repeat Last Operation can repeat the last applied conditional tag to the currently selected text.
The shortcut key for the Repeat Last Operation action is F6. Repeat Last Operation is session-specific and not
document specific.
Repeat Last Operation actions can be turned off by editing maker.ini. Edit the following entries:

• RepeatTypingEnabled: By default this entry is set to ON. Set this entry to OFF to disable the repeat typing
operation.

• RepeatEnabled: By default this entry is set to ON. Set this entry to OFF to disable the repeat last operation actions.
Note: Use caution when editing an ini file.

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History panel
The Edit > Undo and Redo menus show the most recent command, but a complete command history is available in
the History panel, available from Edit > History. This panel allows you to select an action to undo or redo. The
command history is shown only for the active document.
In the History panel, the most recent command is highlighted. Commands listed above the most recent are undoable.
Commands listed below the most recent are redoable, and are marked with an asterisk (*).

The History panel shows a list of commands that have been performed as well as those that have been undone.

You can undo and redo actions only in the order in which they were originally performed. When you select a
command to undo, all later commands (which have been affected by the selected action) are also undone. FrameMaker
also moves the selected command and all succeeding commands to the Redo list. Similarly, redoing a command moves
it and subsequent commands back to the Undo list.

Equations
About equations
Placing and displaying equations
You can place an equation inline with paragraph text or display it in a paragraph of its own. In either case, FrameMaker
creates an anchored frame for the equation. You can position an equation with other objects in an existing graphic
frame, to annotate a graphic, for example. The graphic frames that contain equations can be either anchored or
unanchored.

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Suppose that x = x 0 and y = y 0

y – y0 2
x – x0 2
------------------- + -------------------- = 1
a2
b2

x–2 2
y–4 2
------------------ + ----------------- = 1
16
9

A. Inline B. Display C. In a graphic with other objects

Inline and display equations in structured documents
An equation element provides a frame with an equation object into which you can enter mathematical expressions.
Like an anchored frame for graphics, an equation frame is anchored to a specific location in text.
You can insert an equation element inline with paragraph text or in a separate display paragraph.

Suppose that the axes of an ellipse lie
along the lines x = x0. The ellipse is
represented by the following equation.
B

2
(2 )
y–y
x–x
0
0
---------------------- + --------------------------- = 1
b2
a2

A. Inline equation B. Display equation

An equation element appears in the document structure where it is anchored to text, regardless of the equation
position on the page. In the Structure View, a square-cornered bubble with the snippet indicates an
equation element. The equation itself is not part of the structure.
Para
Inline Eq

Para

Equation element

If you export to SGML or XML, FrameMaker writes the equation to a separate graphics file (CGM format). Then
FrameMaker adds an entity reference to it from your SGML or XML file.
You can change the file format for equations using a read/write rule. If you change the file format to MIF, FrameMaker
keeps a track of equations and their respective file names. Saving the equation multiple times, still saves it to its one
file, instead of creating multiple files as in FrameMaker 9.
For example:

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New behavior

Old behavior

Equation 1 is saved in file say eq1.mif

Editing the FrameMaker content and subsequently saving
the file, saves equation 1 to the same eq1.mif.

Editing the FrameMaker content and subsequently saving the file,
creates a new file say eq2.mif for the same equation 1.

FrameMaker does NOT create new files on every save for the FrameMaker creates new files on every save for the same equation.
same equation.

Equations in graphic frames in structured documents
You can also place an equation in an anchored frame that’s already inserted for graphics. Do this to combine the
equation with graphic objects. If the anchored frame is an element, the element is part of the document structure.
However, the frame contents, including the equation, do not appear in the structure.
An equation in an anchored frame with graphics sometimes produces unwanted results if you export to SGML or
XML. In general, if you plan to export to SGML or XML, place only one object in a frame.

Equations panel overview
The Equations panel contains the commands to create and change equations. It also contains the symbols, operators,
functions, and other math elements you insert in equations. To display the panel, click the Equations button at the
upper-right in the document window.

A. The Equations pop-up menu appears on every page. B. This part of the panel changes from page to page. C. The names of the pages appear
here, with the current page highlighted.

The Equations panel contains nine pages of math elements and commands. To display a page, click its name at the top
of the panel.
Symbols Greek characters, atomic symbols, diacritical marks, and strings.
Operators Roots, powers, signs, subscripts, superscripts, and logic symbols.
Large Sums, products, integrals, intersections, and unions.
Delimiters Parentheses, brackets, curly brackets, and substitution.
Relations Equal, less than, greater than, similar to, subset of, superset of, and proportional to.
Calculus Integrals, derivatives, partial derivatives, gradients, and limits.
Matrices Matrices and matrix commands.
Functions Trigonometric, hyperbolic, and logarithmic functions; commands for evaluating expressions; and

commands for creating and applying rules.
Positioning Controls to adjust the position of an expression and the spacing around it, commands to specify
alignment, and commands to set and clear manual line breaks.

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Create equations
To create an equation, insert an equation object in the document and then insert math elements in the equation.
When working with an equation, zoom in until it’s easy to read.

Create an inline equation
1 Click in text where you want to insert the equation. If the text is in a rotated text frame, unrotate the frame first by

selecting the rotated text frame and pressing Esc g 0 (zero).
2 Choose Special > Equations, or click the Equations button

at the right side of the document window.

3 On the Equations panel, choose one of the New Equation commands from the Equations pop-up menu. Small,

Medium, and Large specify the font sizes used in the new equation.
A new equation object appears as a question mark in a frame anchored below the line with the insertion point. The
first math element that you insert replaces the question mark prompt.
Suppose that the axes of an ellipse lie along
the line ¶

New inline equation

4 Insert the math elements in the equation by typing the elements or by clicking items on the Equations panel.
Suppose that the axes of an ellipse lie along
the line ¶

x = x0

Inserted elements

5 Choose Shrink-Wrap Equation from the Equations pop-up menu. This option shrinks the frame around the

equation and places the equation in the line of text at the anchor symbol.
Suppose that the axes of an ellipse lie along
the line x = x ¶
0

Shrink-wrapped inline equation

6 If the equation seems too close to the text on either side, insert a space before or after the frame. FrameMaker treats

the frame that contains an inline equation as a character and doesn’t provide extra space around it.

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7 If the equation is too tall for the line, open up more space above or below the line. Use the Line Spacing pop-up

menu on the formatting bar to turn off fixed line spacing.

Create an equation in a paragraph of its own (a display equation)
1 Click in an empty paragraph.
2 Apply a paragraph format from the Paragraph Catalog, or set up your own format. The paragraph format

determines the alignment, vertical spacing, and any autonumber for the paragraph that contains the equation.
If you created the document from a book or report template, use the Equation paragraph format. You can also copy
this format to your document, but you’ll probably want to make some changes (for example, to the Default Font
and Spacing properties).
3 Click the Equations button

at the right side of the document window.

4 On the Equations panel, choose one of the New Equation commands from the Equations pop-up menu. Small,

Medium, and Large specify the font sizes used in the new equation.
A new equation object appears as a question mark in a frame anchored below the empty paragraph. The first math
element you insert replaces the question mark prompt.
The ellipse is represented by the following
equation:¶
¶

New equation in anchored frame

5 Insert the math elements in the equation by typing the elements or by clicking items on the Equations panel.
The ellipse is represented by the following
equation:¶
¶
2

y – y0 2
x – x0
-------------------- + -------------------= 1
2
2
b
a
Inserted elements

6 Choose Shrink-Wrap Equation from the Equations pop-up menu. This option shrinks the frame around the

equation and places the equation in the empty paragraph.

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The ellipse is represented by the following
equation:
2

y – y0
x – x0
-------------------+ -------------------= 1 ¶
2
2
b
a

Shrink-wrapped equation in its own paragraph

Create an equation in a graphic frame with other objects
1 Click the Equations button

at the right side of the document window.

2 Select a graphic frame or an object in a graphic frame.
3 On the Equations panel, choose one of the New Equation commands from the Equations pop-up menu. Small,

Medium, and Large specify the font sizes used in the new equation.
A new equation object appears as a question mark inside the frame. The first math element you insert replaces the
question mark prompt.
Its horizontal axis is 12 units long. Its vertical
axis is 7 units long. ¶

New equation object

4 Insert the math elements in the equation by typing the elements or by clicking items on the Equations panel.
5 To place the equation exactly where you want it, first select it by Control-clicking the equation.
6 Move the equation by doing one of the following:

• Drag it with the mouse.
• Move it with the arrow keys.
• Position it precisely with the Graphics > Object Properties command.

More Help topics
“Move an object” on page 232
“Create equations in structured documents using elements” on page 184

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Insert math elements
An equation contains expressions made up of math elements—characters, text strings, operators, and other
mathematical elements from the Equations panel.

x – a2 + y – b 2 = Radius2
D

A. Alphanumeric character B. Text string C. Expression D. Operator

After you create an equation object, insert math elements in it by typing them or by clicking them on the Equations
panel. The Equations panel can be closed when you insert an item from the keyboard.
Note: Math equations support the Unicode text-encoding standard.
About the scope of operations
When you insert a math element in an equation, FrameMaker adjusts the mathematical syntax. The result depends on
the scope of operation—the selection or the location of the insertion point. For example, when you insert x in a fraction,
the result depends on whether the numerator, the denominator, or the entire fraction is selected.
If you multiply by x

The result is

2y + 7
--------------4

2y + 7x
-----------------4

2y + 7
--------------4

( 2y + 7)x
---------------------4

2y + 7
--------------4
2y + 7
--------------4

2y + 7
--------------4

2y + 7
--------------- x
4

In the first example, only the 7 is multiplied by x. In the second example, FrameMaker adds parentheses to show that
the entire expression 2y + 7 is multiplied by x. In the last example, the entire fraction is multiplied by x. The size of the
insertion point in the first and last examples indicates the scope.
Many mistakes in equations result from an incorrect scope of operation—having too little or too much selected when
inserting an element. Be careful to select the range you want before inserting an element.

Insert a math element
1 Select an expression or place the insertion point in an equation.
2 Do any of the following:

• To insert a math element by using the Equations panel, click the element.
• To insert an alphanumeric character or a symbol that appears on the keyboard, type it. You can type
parentheses, brackets, plus signs, equal signs, and so on. If you type an open parenthesis, FrameMaker inserts
the closing parenthesis.

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• To insert an element by typing a backslash sequence, type a backslash ( \ ) and the string that identifies the
element, and then press Return. For example, to insert the symbol for infinity

, type \infty and press Return.

• Insert a custom math element.
If an element needs one or more operands, a question mark prompt appears for each operand; otherwise, an
insertion point appears. To move from one operand to another, press Tab.

Insert a text string
A text string is a series of characters that is interpreted as a unit. Unlike characters that make up an expression, the
characters in a text string don’t usually appear in italics and aren’t multiplied together.

one electron volt = 1.60

10 – 19 joule

A. Text strings

Text strings have no mathematical meaning in FrameMaker. For example, evaluation commands can evaluate the
function tan but not the string “tan”.
1 On the Symbols page of the Equations panel, click Start String. Two double quotation marks ( " " ) appear. You can

also type an apostrophe ( ' ) or a double quotation mark (") to start the string.
2 Type the text of the string. The quotation marks disappear, and the text appears as you type. To insert a straight

apostrophe or straight double quotation mark as part of the string, hold down Control while pressing the key.
3 Click End String on the Symbols page or press Return.

Insert, add, or edit a horizontal or vertical list of expressions
An equation object usually contains one equation or expression. You can set up a horizontal or vertical list in which
several expressions are contained in the same object. When you select a list, all the expressions in the list are selected
as one object.

2xy
y = x–3

3ab
2

= x 2 – 6x + 9

A. Horizontal list B. Vertical list aligned on equal signs

FrameMaker aligns the expressions in the list automatically. When you move the list, all the expressions maintain their
relative positions.
1 Select the expression you want to be the first item in the list or to add to a list.
2 On the Operators page of the Equations panel, click the horizontal list element

or vertical list element . To
add a math element, type the elements or click items on the Equations panel. A horizontal or vertical list appears.
The selected expression appears as the first item in the list. A second item appears in the list as a question mark
prompt.

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Before clicking

After clicking

abc

?
abc

c
?

In the first example, a horizontal list is inserted. In the second example, a vertical list is inserted, and the selected
expression becomes the first item in the list. In the last example, a vertical list is inserted as part of a larger expression.

Insert symbols
The Symbols page on the Equations panel contains the Greek alphabet, other symbols, and diacritical marks.
The Symbols page doesn’t include Greek letters that have Roman-alphabet equivalents, such as the uppercase alpha
on the Symbols page.
(A). The following examples show the result of clicking
Before clicking

y+7

After clicking

y+7

y+7
Diacritical marks appear on the element to the left of the insertion point or on the selected expression. Click the dot
or prime button once for each dot or prime diacritical mark you want to insert.
Note: To interpret and mathematically manipulate a summation, product, or partial differential element, insert the
element from the Large page or Calculus page. Do not insert from the Symbols page. Elements from the Symbols page are
not evaluated.

Insert operators
The Operators page on the Equations panel contains commonly used operators, roots, powers, signs, subscripts,
superscripts, and logic symbols.
If an expression is selected when you insert the operator, the expression becomes the first operand. The following
or the division operator on the Operators page.
examples show the result of clicking the plus sign
Before clicking

After clicking

2x + ?

2 (x + ? )

3xy

xy
-3 ---?

You can represent the division operator as a slash (/), a horizontal bar

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FrameMaker can evaluate exponents mathematically, but not superscripts.

x3 + x + 2 = y 2

A. Superscript B. Exponent

Insert large elements
The Large page on the Equations panel contains sums, products, integrals, intersections, and unions.
If an expression is selected when you insert a large element, the expression becomes the first operand. The following
on the Large page.
examples show the result of clicking the summation symbol
Before clicking

After clicking

You can add an operand after inserting a math element from the Large page.

Insert delimiters
The Delimiters page contains delimiters such as parentheses, brackets, and curly brackets.
If an expression is selected when you insert a pair of delimiters, the expression is placed inside the delimiters. The
following examples show the result of clicking the parentheses on the Delimiters page.
Before clicking

After clicking

2x( ? )

2x
You can also represent parentheses as brackets ([ ]) or curly brackets ({ }).

Insert relations
The Relations page contains relation symbols such as =, <, >,

, and

All relation symbols—except the binary equal sign
—apply to the character to the left or right of the insertion
point or to the selection. When you insert a relation symbol between multiplied elements, it applies to the elements on
either side of the insertion point.
Binary equal signs
appear to the right of the current expression (as shown in the second example). When the
insertion point or selection is in a subscript or superscript, the equal sign appears in the subscript or superscript.

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Before clicking

After clicking

abc

abc =

2x + 3y

2x + 3y = ?

2xp + 3y

2xp = ? + 3y

Insert a binary equal sign at the insertion point
❖ Press Esc m =
Before clicking

After clicking

a
-b

a
----------------(b = ? )

Insert calculus elements
The Calculus page contains integrals, derivatives, partial derivatives, gradients, and the limit function.
If an expression is selected when you insert the calculus element, the expression becomes the first operand. The
following examples show the result of clicking the integral symbol on the Calculus page.
Before clicking

After clicking

?
2

x dx

x dx
You can change the position of operands and add operands.

Insert matrices
The Matrices page contains elements for matrices ranging in size from 1 by 1 to 3 by 3. After creating a matrix, you
can add rows and columns.
If an expression is selected when you insert the matrix element, the expression becomes the first cell in the matrix.
Before clicking

After clicking

3x ? ?
? ?

3 x?
? ?

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Insert functions
The Functions page contains trigonometric, hyperbolic, and logarithmic functions, and also the sign, limit, and
general functions.
FrameMaker places functions at the insertion point or at the selection. When an expression is selected, the expression
and
. The following
becomes the argument of the function—except for the limit and general functions
examples show the result of clicking the sin function on the Functions page.
Before clicking

After clicking

sin ?
sin

Insert a custom math element
In addition to inserting math elements that are built in FrameMaker, you can insert custom math elements that have
been defined for a document.
Custom math elements have no mathematical meaning in FrameMaker. For example, a custom math element for an
operator is treated as an operator in an equation. However, FrameMaker cannot evaluate it.
1 On the Equations panel, choose Insert Math Element from the Equations pop-up menu.
2 Select the element name and click Insert.

Shrinkwrap or unwrap an equation
Shrinkwrapping an equation shrinks the surrounding anchored frame so that it’s large enough for the equation. The
operation changes the frame anchoring position to At Insertion Point, and places the insertion point after the frame.
A circle whose center is at the origin and
whose radius is r is represented by the
equation ¶

x2 + y2 = r2

Before shrinkwrapping

A circle whose center is at the origin and
whose radius is r is represented by the
equation x2 + y 2 = r 2 ¶

After shrinkwrapping

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Shrinkwrap an equation when you finish working with it so that the equation takes minimal space and aligns with the
baseline of the surrounding text. Unwrap an equation to enlarge the anchored frame for easy editing.
1 Click in the equation or select its frame.
2 On the Equations panel, choose Shrink-Wrap Equation or Unwrap Equation from the Equations pop-up menu.

The edges of a shrinkwrapped equation sometimes do not appear onscreen. They do appear in the printed
document.

Edit equations
You can edit an equation as you edit text—adding, changing, rearranging, and removing math elements, and cutting,
copying, and pasting them. As you edit an equation, the syntax of the equation is adjusted as necessary.
You can change a matrix—add or delete rows and columns, delete brackets, and change row height and column width.
You can also choose among several representations for some math elements such as parentheses. You can add
operands to others such as integrals and summations.
If your equation is shrinkwrapped, unwrap the equation before editing it. This makes the anchored frame full-sized
again, giving you more room to work.
Note: To edit a rotated equation, first restore the equation or text frame to its unrotated position by pressing Esc g 0 (zero).

Extend a selection using the keyboard
❖ Press the spacebar. The selection expands to include the next higher expression. The following example shows the

result of pressing the spacebar repeatedly.
Original selection

– b b – 4 ac
x = -----------------------------2a
Pressed once

– b b – 4 ac
x = ------------------------------2a
Pressed twice

– b b – 4 ac
x = -----------------------------2a

Change the selection
❖ Do one of the following:

• To change the selection to the next subexpression on the right, press the Right Arrow key.
• To change the selection to the next subexpression on the left, press the Left Arrow key.
• To change the selection to the next question mark prompt, press Tab.

Replace or delete a math element or equation
1 Select the element you want to delete and press Delete. A question mark prompt replaces the element.
2 Do one of the following:

• To replace the element, click the Equations panel or type to insert the replacement.

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• To delete the element, press Delete again. FrameMaker removes any elements that are no longer necessary—for
example, a plus sign or parentheses.

• Control-click the equation to select the equation, and press Delete.

Remove delimiters
After entering or editing an equation, you sometimes end up with extra delimiters—parentheses, curly brackets, and
brackets. You can remove extra delimiters. If you later use evaluation commands, FrameMaker evaluates the equation
as if the delimiters are still present.

• To remove all delimiters, select the expression. On the Delimiters page of the Equations panel, click Remove
Parentheses.
Before clicking

After clicking

2ab

(2a(b))

• To remove one delimiter, place the insertion point to the right of the delimiter and press Delete. If the delimiter has
a mate, such as the left parenthesis between a and b in the example, the mate is also removed.
Before

After

2a ( b )

2ab

Toggle an element format
You can represent some math elements in more than one way. For example, delimiters can appear as
Division can appear as
,
, or .

, or

1 Select the entire element.
2 On the Operators, Large, Delimiters, or Calculus page of the Equations panel, click Toggle Format. The command

is the same on all four pages and operates on any element with multiple formats. Click more than once to get the
format you want in some cases.

Add an operand to a math element
Radical symbols, gradient symbols, and logarithms can have one or two operands. Integrals and other symbols on the
Large and Calculus pages can have one, two, or three operands.
The ellipse is represented by the following
equation¶
2

( x – x0 ) ( y – y0 )
-------------------- + -------------------= 1
2
2
b
a

Operands

You can add operands to these elements without starting over.
1 Click or select anywhere in the expression with the element.

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2 Click Add Operand on the Large or Calculus page. A question mark prompt appears where you specify the new

operand.

Change matrices
You can change the number of rows or columns in a matrix and add or remove brackets around the matrix. You can
allow the column width to vary from column to column, depending on the contents, or specify that all columns are
equal width. Similarly, you can allow the row height to vary from row to row.
You can also transpose a matrix and perform matrix algebra.

• To add a row or column to a matrix, place the insertion point in the matrix. On the Matrices page of the Equations
panel, choose Add Row or Add Column from the Matrix Commands pop-up menu.
Before Add Column

After Add Column

a b ?c
c d?

ab
c d

Add Row adds a row at the bottom. Add Column adds a column at the far right.

• To delete a row or column from a matrix, select the row or column and press Delete.
• To add or remove brackets around a matrix, select the entire matrix. On the Matrices page of the Equations panel,
click Add/Remove Brackets.

• To change the row height or column width in a matrix, select the matrix. On the Matrices page of the Equations
panel, choose All Equal or Proportional from the Matrix Row Height or Matrix Column Width pop-up menu.

x+3
-----------y

y–2

x+3
------------ x
y
x y–2

Equal row heights (left) and Proportional row heights (right)

If you choose Proportional, each row is tall enough to hold the tallest cell in the row. Each column is wide enough to
hold the widest cell in the column. If you choose All Equal, each row is tall enough to hold the tallest cell in the entire
matrix. Each column is wide enough to hold the widest cell in the entire matrix.

Create and define math elements
If you need a math element that doesn’t appear on the Equations panel, you can create a custom element—for example,
. However, FrameMaker cannot evaluate custom math elements mathematically.
a new operator such as
To display a built-in element on the panel differently in your document, you can redefine the element. For example,
you can redefine the asin (inverse sine) function so it appears as sin–1. You can redefine the appearance of a built-in
element, but you can’t change its type.
You can also import math element definitions from another document.
Custom math element definitions are stored on one or more reference pages whose name begins with FrameMath.
Each definition is a text line in an unanchored graphic frame whose name is the element name.

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A
B

A. Graphic frame B. Text line

More Help topics
“Add text to graphics” on page 228
“Use reference frames on reference pages” on page 77
“Change equation fonts throughout a document” on page 173

Math element types
A math element type indicates how the element behaves in relation to other elements around it. For example, a plus
sign (+) has the type infix, which means that it has two operands, one to the left and one to the right.
You can define custom math elements of the following types.
Type

Example

Number of operands

Atom

None

Delimiter

One

Function

sin

Infix

Large

One, to the right of the element

Two, to the left and the right of the element
Up to three, above, below, and to the right of the element

x2
1
Limit

Prefix

1
lim ----2
x
x
–

Up to two, below and to the right of the element

One, to the left of the element

Postfix

One, to the right of the element

Vertical list

Two, one above the other (The text line that defines a custom vertical list is
used as a separator between list items.)

You cannot define custom math elements of the following types.

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Type

Example

Derivative

d
dx
Diacritical mark
Horizontal list

x+y

Matrix

Root

Script

Substitution

Vertical division bar

x=3

Define a custom math element or change a built-in math element definition
1 Choose View > Reference Pages and display a FrameMath reference page.

If the document doesn’t contain a FrameMath reference page, display a reference page and then choose Special >
Add Reference Page. Name the new page FrameMath1. Capitalize the letters F and M as shown.
2 Use the Graphic Frame tool to draw an unanchored graphic frame on the page.
3 In the Frame Name dialog box, enter a name for the math element. If you are redefining a built-in element, enter

that element name.
4 Use the Text Line tool to add a text line in the graphic frame.
5 Create the math element in the text line using the following guidelines:

• You can type any characters in the text line, and you can change the character format. You can also move the
characters by using micropositioning shortcuts.

• For all math elements except delimiters, the text line represents just the mathematical symbol, not the operands.
When you later insert the element in an equation, FrameMaker places the operands in the appropriate places,
based on the type of math element. For example, a large element, such as a summation or an integral sign, has
up to three operands—one above, one below, and one to the right of the symbol.

• A custom delimiter can contain only one operand, even though some built-in delimiters contain two or three.
To indicate the location of the operand, insert a space in the text line. If you do not insert a space in the text line,
FrameMaker places the operand between two copies of the delimiter.

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( ]
B

A. Characters in delimiter. B. Space indicates the operand.

• FrameMaker uses the first text line in the frame for the custom math element. Make sure that only one text line
exists in the frame.
6 Select the graphic frame.
7 On the Equations panel, choose Add Definition To Catalog from the Equations pop-up menu.
8 If you’re defining a custom math element, choose an element type from the pop-up menu, and click Add.

Find the name of a math element
1 Place the insertion point in an equation.
2 On the Equations panel, choose Insert Math Element from the Equations pop-up menu.
3 Turn off Show Custom Only, and then scroll through the element names to find the one you want.
4 Click Cancel.

Change or delete a custom math element definition
1 Display the FrameMath reference page that contains the math element by doing one of the following:

• If the custom math element appears in an equation, select the element, and choose Update Definition from the
Equations pop-up menu on the Equations panel. Then click Go To Frame.

• If you haven’t inserted the custom math element into an equation, choose View > Reference Pages. Then display
the FrameMath reference page you want.
2 Do one of the following:

• Edit the text line that defines the math element. When you display a body page again, FrameMaker uses the
modified definition, and shrinkwraps the equations again.

• Delete the graphic frame. If the element appears in an equation, FrameMaker displays the element name,
surrounded by question marks, instead of the element.

Position math elements in an equation
FrameMaker positions math elements according to their mathematical meaning in an equation. Sometimes you want
to microposition elements—reposition them so they’re closer to or farther from other elements in the equation.

2k – 7
k=1

2k – 7

k=1

Before and after micropositioning

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You can also control the amount of white space on each side of an element.

A+ B

A +

A+ B

A. Default spacing B. Space added to the left and right C. Space removed from the left and right

❖ On the Positioning page of the Equations panel, do one of the following:

• To position a selected expression, click a Micropositioning arrow. Click as many times as necessary. (Each click
moves an expression one pixel on the screen.) Zoom in for greater precision.

Micropositioning arrows

• To remove micropositioning, click the button at the center of the Microposition area

• To inspect the position offsets and adjust them numerically, click Position Settings. The exact offsets appear in
the Microposition Offset area of the Math Element Position Settings dialog box. To adjust the position, enter
values in the Microposition Offset area and click Set.

• To adjust white space, click a plus sign (+) to add white space or a minus sign (–) to remove it. Click as many
times as necessary. Each click adds or subtracts one pixel of space. Zoom in for greater precision.
Note: To change the spacing around a math element of type infix, prefix, postfix, or delimiter, adjust the space around
the adjacent math elements instead. For example, to add space on either side of the plus sign in the expression a+b,
select a. Add space to the right. Then select b. Add space to the left.

• To adjust spacing values, click Position Settings. The exact spacing appears in the Spacing area of the Math
Element Position Settings dialog box. To adjust the spacing values, enter values in the Spacing area, and click
.
Set. To restore the default spacing values, click the button at the center of the Spacing area

Adjust the spacing values for a math element wherever it appears
You can update some math element definitions—infix, prefix, postfix, large, scripts, and the division bar—with new
spacing. When you do, FrameMaker adjusts the spacing around the element wherever it appears in the document and
rewraps the equations.
You can also change the spread—the space between characters—uniformly in all small, medium, and large equations.
1 After you adjust the spacing around the element in an equation, select the element.
2 On the Equations panel, choose Update Definition from the Equations pop-up menu.
3 Do one of the following:

• To update the spacing for the element throughout the document, click Update.

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• To reset the spacing to the default, click Get Default.

Set line breaks and align equations
You can control equation breaks across lines and alignment of the lines in a multiline equation, or of the items in a list
or matrix. You can also align several equations with one another, even if they appear in different anchored frames.

2a + 3b – c
3a – b
2b + c
2a – 3b + 7c – 2

=
=
=
=

2x + 1
4x
3x – 7
2x + 4

Aligned along left side of equal signs

You can manipulate equation objects as you do other objects. You can automatically and manually align items in a
vertical list and lines in a multiline equation. Manual alignment points override automatic alignment.

C = 2 r =

A =

C = 2 r =
A =

d
r2

Aligned on left side and at manual alignment point

You can align the items in a horizontal list along their tops, bottoms, or baselines.

x+y

k=1

Baseline-aligned

You can also align the cells in each row of a matrix along their tops, bottoms, or baselines. You can align the cells in
each column at the right, left, or center, or along equal signs.

x+y

xx – 1
B

Aligned along:
A. Baselines B. Centers

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More Help topics
“Copy and arrange objects” on page 232
“Insert, add, or edit a horizontal or vertical list of expressions” on page 157

Change equation line breaking
When an equation breaks across lines, the entire equation remains in a single anchored frame. You can set where an
equation breaks across lines automatically. When you change the line-break width, the equation is reformatted to the
new width.

( x + 1 ) 4 = x 4 + 4x 3 + 6x 2 + 4x + 1

Original equation

( x + 1 ) 4 = x 4 + 4x 3
+ 6x 2 + 4x + 1
Equation set to break at 1.25"

You can also force a line break at a specific location in the equation. However, don’t use manual line breaks to create
separate equations. Instead, insert a vertical list of expressions.
You can change line breaking in these ways:

• To change the automatic line break width, click in the equation or select any part of it. Choose Graphics > Object
Properties. Edit the value in the Automatic Line Break After box, and click Set. The value is preset to the width of
the equation frame.

• To insert a manual line break, click where you want the equation to break into two lines. On the Positioning page
of the Equations panel, choose Set Manual from the Line Breaking pop-up menu. A line-break symbol appears at
the insertion point when text symbols are visible.

( x + 1 ) 8 = x 8 + 8x 7 + 28x 6 + 56x 5 +
70x 4 + 56x 3 + 28x 2 + 8x + 1
Manual line break

• To remove a manual line break, select the part of the equation that contains the line-break symbol. On the
Positioning page of the Equations panel, choose Clear Manual from the Line Breaking pop-up menu.

Align display equations
The format of the paragraph that contains the equation controls the alignment (left, center, or right) of a display
equation.

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The ellipse is represented by the following
equation¶
2

( x – x0 )
( y – y0 )
+ -------------------= 1¶
-------------------2
2
b
a
Paragraph alignment set to Center

1 Click in the paragraph that contains the equation (not in the equation itself).
2 Choose the alignment from the Alignment pop-up menu in the formatting bar or in the Paragraph Designer.

Set automatic alignment for a vertical list or multiline equation
1 Click in the equation or list.
2 On the Positioning page of the Equations panel, choose an item from the Left/Right pop-up menu. When you

choose Left Of = or Right Of =, the lines are aligned along one side of an equal sign. A line with no equal sign is
aligned along its left side.
Set a manual alignment point for a multiline equation or for an item in a vertical list
1 Do one of the following:

• Click in the first line of a multiline equation where you want subsequent lines to align.
• Click in a vertical list item where you want the item to align with the rest of the list.
2 On the Positioning page of the Equations panel, choose Set Manual from the Left/Right pop-up menu. A manual

alignment symbol appears at the insertion point when text symbols are visible. Subsequent lines of a multiline
equation are left aligned with the manual alignment point. A vertical list item aligns with other items in the list at
the manual alignment point.

Clear a manual alignment point
1 Select the part of the equation that contains the manual alignment point.
2 On the Positioning page of Equations panel, choose Clear Manual from the Left/Right pop-up menu. You can also

clear a manual alignment point by setting another.

Align items in a horizontal list
1 Click in the list.
2 On the Positioning page of the Equations panel, choose an item from the Up/Down pop-up menu.

Align cells in a matrix
1 Click in the matrix.
2 On the Positioning page of the Equations panel, choose an item from the Up/Down pop-up menu or from the

Left/Right pop-up menu. The Left/Right and Up/Down commands affect the whole matrix. To align individual
cells, use micropositioning.

Check alignment settings for a horizontal or vertical list, or for a matrix
1 Do one of the following to select the entire list or matrix:

• Drag through the list or matrix.
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• Place the insertion point in the matrix and press the spacebar repeatedly.
2 On the Positioning Page of the Equations panel, click Position Settings.

Left-, center-, or right-align equations in a frame
You can align several equation objects with one another in a graphic frame, just as you align other objects. You can
also align several equation objects along a manual alignment point, even when they’re in separate graphic frames.

x+2

= x 2 + 4x + 4

x + 3 x – 2 = x2 + x – 6

Equations aligned at manual alignment points

FrameMaker maintains the alignment of the equation objects as you edit the equations. For example, if two equations
are left aligned, the left alignment is maintained as the equations expand or shrink.
1 Select the equations to align by Control-clicking the first equation; Control+Shift-click the other equations.

Make sure that the last equation you select is the one you want to align with.
2 Choose Graphics > Align.
3 Select the left/right alignment you want, and click Align.

Align equations along a point
1 Set the manual alignment point in one of the equations to align.

If you don’t set a manual alignment point, FrameMaker aligns an equation on the left.
2 Click in the equation and choose Graphics > Object Properties.
3 Choose Manual from the Alignment pop-up menu and specify the location of the alignment point within the frame

in the Alignment Point Offset area. The left offset is the distance from the left edge of the frame to the manual
alignment point.
Specifying the top offset precisely is unnecessary. You can move the equation up or down later, just as you do any
other object.
4 Click Set.
5 Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each equation you want to align. Use the same distance from the left edge for each

equation, but change the top offset to position the equation vertically in the frame. If the equations you’re aligning
are in different anchored frames, make sure that the left edges align with one another.

Change font settings in equations
A document contains font settings that apply to all equations in it. These settings determine the font sizes and spacing
for small, medium, and large equations. They also determine the character format used for Greek characters and for
symbols, functions, numbers, strings, and variables.
You can change the preset size of an entire equation. You can also change the character format of individual math
elements—for example, to use color or a special font.

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You can also change the font sizes and character formats used for all equations in a document.

Change the character format in individual equations
You can’t change the spread, stretch, superscript, subscript, underline, overline, strikethrough, change bar, or pair
kerning properties for any element. You also can’t change the font family for individual Greek characters and symbols
and for some operators.

• To change the preset size or color of an equation, click in the equation, choose Graphics > Object Properties, and
do one of the following:

• To change the equation size, choose a size from the Size pop-up menu, and click Set. If the equation is
shrinkwrapped, FrameMaker rewraps it.

• To change the equation color, choose a color from the Color pop-up menu, and click Set.
• To change character format, select the element or expression, and change as you do for text.
• To create a superscript or subscript, insert the appropriate operator.
• To change the spread of characters, microposition them by using the positioning page of the Equations panel.
• To place a line over or under an expression, use the diacritical marks on the Symbols page of the Equations panel.

Change equation fonts throughout a document
You can change the font size and spacing for all small, medium, and large equations in a document. When you make
global font changes, FrameMaker reformats and rewraps all shrinkwrapped equations in the document.
Greek characters and symbols in equations normally appear in the Symbol font. You can use fonts such as
Mathematical Pi and Universal Greek if these fonts are installed on your system.
Functions, numbers, and strings normally appear in Times New Roman or Times. Variables normally appear in italic.
You can change the character format of each of these kinds of elements. For example, you can display all elements in
Helvetica, with functions in italic and variables in bold.
Note: Don’t delete formats from the Character Catalog if you’re using them to specify the character format of math
elements. If you delete these character formats, all equations in the document are reformatted using the default font.
Use Equation Sizes from the Equations pop-up menu on the Equations panel for the following change:

• To change equation fonts throughout the document, do one of the following:
• Specify the font sizes and spread, and click Set. Spread is expressed as a percentage of the font size. Positive
spread values cause wider spacing around elements; negative values cause narrower spacing.

• Click Get Defaults.
• To change the font for Greek characters and symbols, choose one of the available fonts from the Math Symbols
pop-up menu, and click Set.

• To change the character format for functions, numbers, strings, and variables, first create the character format you
want. Then choose the character format from the Functions, Numbers, Strings, or Variables pop-up menu, and
click Set. FrameMaker displays the format you created in the pop-up menus.

Evaluating equations
After you create an expression or equation, you can transform it by changing its mathematical representation. For
example, you can multiply polynomials, factor terms, simplify expressions, and combine fractions.

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Original selection

Expanded

Multiplied out

Multiplied out again

y=(x+4)3
y=(x+4)(x+4)(x+4)
y = (x + 4 ) (x 2+ 8 x + 1 6 )
y = x 3+ 1 2 x 2+ 4 8 x + 6 4

You can also evaluate equations by substituting values and performing computations.
Original selection

Expanded

3
x=1

x=3

Value substituted

27 – 1

Result computed

– x3

x=1

Transform or evaluate an expression
1 Select the expression, or part of it.
2 Choose a command on the Matrices or Functions page of the Equations panel. For example, select an expression

and then choose Multiply Out from the Multiplication pop-up menu on the Functions page.
3 To transform or evaluate an expression, use the commands on the Matrix Commands pop-up menu of the Matrices

page and the commands on the six pop-up menus of the Functions page.

More Help topics
“Change matrices” on page 164

Matrix Commands pop-up menu
Matrix Transpose Transposes the rows and columns of a selected matrix.
Selected matrix

After transposing

Matrix Algebra Performs matrix multiplication and addition, and evaluates dot and cross products in a selected

matrix.

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Selected matrix (or matrices)

After matrix algebra

After performing matrix algebra, you can use the Simplify command to combine like terms.

Addition pop-up menu
Add Fractions Adds selected fractions, expressing the result as a single fraction. This command also combines like

terms.
Selected fraction

After adding

2bx + 3ay
----------------------by
If the selected expression contains the sum of more than two fractions, Add Fractions adds only the first two. Use this
command repeatedly to combine all the fractions.
Selected expression

2x 3a 2a
----- + ----- – ----y
b 3b

Added once

Added twice

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Order Sum Arranges polynomials in decreasing powers of a selected variable.
Before ordering

After ordering

Order Sum Reverse Arranges polynomials in increasing powers of a selected variable. In the following example, you
select an x—any x—before choosing Order Sum Reverse.
Before ordering

After ordering

Multiplication pop-up menu
Use the Multiplication pop-up menu on the Functions page to factor terms, multiply out expressions, and distribute
multiplication and division over addition.
Factor Factors a selected term out of a product.
Before factoring

After factoring

Factor Some Factors a selected term from only those terms that contain it.
Before factoring

After factoring

Multiply Out Simplifies the selected expression, distributes multiplication over addition, and expands a selected term
raised to a positive integral power.
Selected expression

After multiplying

(a–3)(2a+4)

2a 2 – 2a – 12

( a + 2 b )2

a 2 + 4ab + 4b 2

The Simplify command also simplifies the selected expression.
Multiply Out Once Multiplies the first pair of factors on the left side of a selected expression.
Selected expression

After multiplying

a ( b + c ) ( 2a )

ab ( 2 a ) + ac ( 2 a )

If you use this command several times, the results appear in a different form.

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Distribute Performs a variety of operations depending on the expression you select, as shown in the following

examples:

• Distributes division over addition.
Selected expression

After distributing

a+b
-----------c

a b
-- + -c c

Use the Add Fractions command to perform the reverse operation.

• Distributes multiplication over addition.
Selected expression

After distributing

a( b + c)

ab + ac

Use the Factor command to perform the reverse operation.

• Transforms products and quotients involving radicals and exponents into a single expression raised to a power.
Selected expression

After distributing

(a 3/2 b ) 2

Use the Simplify command to perform the reverse operation.
Distribute Over Equality Performs the same operation on both sides of an equal sign.
Selected expression

After distributing

Division pop-up menu
Long Division Performs long division in a fraction that contains a polynomial numerator and denominator.

In the following example, you select an x—any x—before choosing Long Division. You select an x in the fraction of
the first result and choose Long Division again to obtain the second result.

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Before dividing

x 2 + 2x + 1
-------------------------x+1

Divided once

1x + 1
x + -------------x+1

Divided twice

x+1

Remove Division Converts division to multiplication in a selected expression by changing positive exponents in a

denominator to negative and negative exponents in a denominator to positive.
Selected expression

After removing division

x
---y2

xy– 2

c
b + -d
----------x

( b + cd – 1 )x – 1

To convert negative exponents to division operators, use the Remove Negative Powers command.
Remove Division 1 Level Converts division to multiplication, as Remove Division does, but applies only to the first

level of operators.
Selected expression

After removing division

x
---y2

xy– 2

c
b + -d
----------x

c
b + -- x – 1
d

To convert the first level of negative exponents into division operators, use the Remove Negative Powers 1 Level
command.
Remove Negative Powers Converts negative exponents to positive in a selected expression by replacing multiplication

with division and division with multiplication.
Selected expression

After removing negative powers

xy– 2

x
---y2

( b + c d – 1) x – 1

c
b + -d
----------x

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Remove Negative Powers 1 Level Converts negative exponents to positive, as Remove Negative Powers does, but

applies only to the first level. If the selected expression has no negative exponents at the first level, this command has
no effect.
Selected expression

After removing negative powers

( b + c – 1 )– 2

1
----------------------( b + c –1 ) 2

xy– 2

xy– 2 (no effect)

Evaluation pop-up menu
Number Crunch Changes integers to floating-point numbers in a selected expression and then evaluates the

expression.
Selected expression

After number crunch

3
sin ----2

–1

–3

log 2e 2 –1

2.6230813

e2 + 7

29.380205

Use the Show All Digits command to show up to 15 decimal places in a floating-point number.
Number Crunch displays NaN (Not a Number) for operations that result in undefined values. It displays Infinity for
operations that result in a value too large to calculate. Small numbers can sometimes be evaluated to zero.
Selected expression

After number crunch

1 1
-- – -0 0

NaN

1
-0

Infinity

Show All Digits Shows the full internal accuracy of a floating-point number.
Selected number

After showing all digits

3.1415927 …

3.1415926535897

Evaluate Evaluates the selected expression. The operations performed depend on the type of expression selected, as

shown in the following examples:

• Rewrites an expression raised to a power less than 20 as a product.

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Selected expression

After evaluating

aaa

• Computes the factorial of an integer. If the result is too large to calculate, the result appears as Infinity.
Selected expression

After evaluating

120

• Computes the determinant of a 1-by-1 or 2-by-2 matrix.
Selected expression

After evaluating

ad – bc

ab
c d
• Extracts a term from a sum or product.
Selected expression

After evaluating

x=1

x=2

• Evaluates a substitution just as the Evaluate Substitution command does.
• Rewrites an Evaluate Between operator as a difference.
Selected expression

After evaluating

8
x=6

x=8

– x2

x=6

• Rewrites the logarithm of a product as a sum of logarithms and rewrites a logarithm of a power as a product.
Selected expression

After evaluating

log 2 + log x + log y

log a n

n log a

• Rewrites a logarithm to a base in terms of natural logarithms.
Selected expression

After evaluating

log 2x

log x
--------log 2

• Rewrites a choice function in terms of factorials.

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Selected expression

After evaluating

x
y

x!
y! (x – y)!

Evaluate Substitution Performs a specified substitution and then simplifies the expression. When an Evaluate

Between operator is selected, this command rewrites the expression as a difference.
Selected expression

After evaluating

6
x=1

sin ( 2x )

x=6

– x2

x=1

x=p

Evaluate Integrals Rewrites a selected integral with a polynomial integrand. This command converts a definite
integral into an indefinite integral evaluated between the upper and lower bounds. Use Evaluate Integrals several times
to integrate a polynomial fully.
Selected expression

x 2 dx
1
Evaluated once

Evaluated twice

( dx )x 2

x3
---3

3
x=1

Evaluate Derivatives Evaluates a selected derivative, applying the chain rule to complex expressions when necessary.
This command evaluates a partial derivative only when all dependencies are explicitly written.

This command treats elements in a total derivative as if they depended on the variable of differentiation. Use the
Evaluate command to expand an nth derivative before using Evaluate Derivatives to evaluate it.
Before

After

d
3
2
dx ( 3 x –2x –3)

9 x2 – 4 x

sec xy tan xy

(xy2sec2xy+ytanxy)tanxytanxysecxytanxy

Evaluate Derivatives 1 Level Evaluates only the first level of a selected derivative.
Before

After

d
(3x 3 +2x 2 +3)
dx

d 3 d 2 d
3x + 2x + 3
dx
dx
dx

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Rules pop-up menu
Use the Rules pop-up menu on the Functions page to store and apply rules that transform expressions.
For example, use Enter Rule to store a rule such as a = a + 3. Then use Apply Rule to substitute a + 3 for a in another
expression.
Enter Rule Stores a rule for substituting one expression for another. Select the expression you want to store as a rule
before you choose Enter Rule. You can store only one rule at a time.
Designate Dummy Designates a selected term to be a dummy variable. Use a dummy variable in a rule to substitute

the expression on the right side of the rule for any variable, not just the variable explicitly named on the left. A dummy
variable appears in boldface. For example, if you designate x in the rule x = a 2– as a dummy variable, you can
substitute a 2– or x for any variable in an expression.
Select the term you want to be a dummy variable before you choose Designate Dummy. Then use the Apply Rule
command to replace a selected expression with the expression assigned to the dummy variable.
Apply Rule Substitutes one term or set of terms for another in a selected expression, using the rule stored with the
Enter Rule command.
Rule entered

a = a+3

Selected expression

a 2 – 2ab + b 2

After rule is applied

( a + 3 )2– 2 b ( a + 3 ) + b 2

Before you apply a rule that contains a dummy variable, select the term you want the variable to replace. In the
following example, x is the dummy variable in the rule.
Rule entered

Before rule is applied

a 2 – 2ab + b 2

After rule is applied

a 2 – 2ab + y 2

Other Rewrites pop-up menu
Simplify Simplifies the selected expression. To evaluate fractions that involve infinity or division by zero, use the

Number Crunch command instead of Simplify.
The operations performed depend on the type of expression selected, as shown in the following examples:

• Performs integer arithmetic.

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Selected expression

After simplifying

c+0

1 2
-- + -3 5

11
---15

When the result is too large to calculate, it appears as Infinity.

• Groups terms in a sum or product.
Selected expression

After simplifying

2ab + 3ab

5ab

ab(ac)

a 2 bc

a x a 2x + 3

a 3x + 3

• Divides out common factors in a fraction.
Selected expression

After simplifying

( ab ) 2
------------a2 b

2x 3 y 2
-------------6xy5

x2 y –3
-----------3

Use the Remove Negative Powers command to remove negative powers from the result.

• Interprets the complex number i, represented by the Greek letter iota .
Selected expression

After simplifying

– ab

a b

• Distributes exponentiation across multiplication and division.
Selected expression

After simplifying

( xy ) 2

x2 y2

x
y

x2
----y2

Simplifying

x produces

rather than

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Simplify Some Simplifies the selected expression, as the Simplify command does, but does not multiply fractions.
Selected expression

After simplifying

km
km
8 ------ + 4 -----hr
hr

km
12 ------hr

Isolate Term Isolates a selected expression on one side of the equal sign. This command does not combine terms or

solve for the selected expression.
Selected expression

After isolating term

x3 + x + 2 = 0

x = ( – x – 2 )1/3

b x + by = c

c – by
x = -----------b

log x = z

x = ez

Expand First Term Expands the first term of a selected summation or product.
Selected expression

After expanding

x3
x=2

x3 + 8
x=3
5

( x3 – 2 )
x=2

x3 – 2

6
x=3

Expand All Terms Expands all terms of a selected summation or product.
Selected expression

After expanding

8 + 27 + 64

x=2
5

x3 – 2

6(25)62(123)

x=2

Create equations in structured documents using elements
You create an equation by inserting an equation element and then entering the mathematical expressions for the
equation. To insert an element, you can use the Element Catalog. You can also use a New Equation command from
the Equations pop-up menu in the Equations panel.
Note: The term “math element” refers to part of an expression, such as an operator. It is not a structural element.

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You can use any equation element for both inline and display equations. Some documents also have a paragraph
element defined that provides formatting properties for the display equations.
The format rules for an equation element suggest a set of font sizes for the equation: Small, Medium, or Large. You can
change to a different set of font sizes. This change is not considered a format rule override. If you remove format rule
overrides in the document, the equation does not return to its original font size.

Create an inline equation using an element
1 Click in text where you want to insert the equation. If the text is in a rotated text frame, unrotate the frame first by

pressing Esc g 0 (zero).
2 Select an equation element in the Element Catalog and click Insert.

The first math item that you enter replaces the question mark prompt of the new equation object.

Suppose that the axes of an ellipse lie
along the line

New equation object

3 Enter the equation by typing numerals and other items or by clicking items on the Equations panel.
4 Choose Shrink-Wrap Equation from the Equations pop-up menu in the panel.

Suppose that the axes of an ellipse lie
along the line. x = x0 ¶

Shrink-wrapped frame around an inline equation

5 If the equation seems too close to the text on either side, insert a space before or after the frame. FrameMaker treats

a frame that contains an inline equation as a character and doesn’t provide extra space around it.
If an inline equation is too tall for its line, perhaps turn off fixed line spacing for that paragraph.

Create a display equation using an element
1 If your document has a paragraph element defined for formatting display equations, click where you want the

equation paragraph. Select the paragraph element in the Element Catalog, and click Insert.
This element sometimes defines space above and below the equation, alignment in the text column, and an
autonumbered caption.
2 Click in an empty paragraph element where you want to insert the equation.
3 Select an equation element in the Element Catalog, and click Insert.

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2a ( b )
New equation object

4 Enter the equation.
5 Choose Shrink-Wrap Equation from the Equations pop-up menu.
The ellipse is represented by the following
equation¶
2

( x – x0 ) ( y – y0 )
-------------------- + -------------------= 1
2
2
b
a

Shrink-wrapped frame around a display equation

6 If no equation element is available at the location that you want, perhaps you can use an invalid element. Do one

of the following:

• To use an element that is valid in another part of the document, insert the element in a valid location and then
move it. You can also use the All Elements setting to make the element available everywhere and then insert the
element where you want it.

• To insert an invalid equation element with the default tag EQUATION, choose a New Equation command from
the Equations pop-up menu in the Equations panel. The element has a default tag if no defined equation
elements are available.
After inserting the element, talk to your developer about making the element valid at this location.

Create an equation in an anchored frame element
1 Select an anchored frame or a graphic object in the frame.
2 Choose a New Equation command from the Equations pop-up menu in the panel.

The first math item you enter replaces the question mark prompt of the new equation object. The equation does
not appear in the document structure.

n=1

Axn

New equation object in a frame with graphic objects

3 Enter the equation.

More Help topics
“Equations panel overview” on page 152
“Change the scope of elements available in a structured document” on page 35
“Create equations” on page 153

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Working with multiple languages
About Unicode
Unicode is an industry standard that allows computers to represent text in most of the world's languages in a consistent
way. It is implemented by different character encodings, such as UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32. FrameMaker supports
all three encodings but stores files in UTF-8. If you import files encoded in UTF-16 or UTF-32, FrameMaker
automatically converts them to UTF-8.
In text processing, Unicode provides a unique number or code point for each character in a language. The Unicode
standard does not specify the typeface or the visual rendering of each character. This is handled through Unicode fonts
that may include visual renderings for thousands of Unicode characters thereby providing a single typeface across
multilingual documents.

Enable Unicode
The Unicode standard is a character coding system designed to support the worldwide interchange, processing, and
display of text in any language or character set. Unicode encoding allows you to create documents containing
characters from any number of character sets, and allows sharing of documents between different geographic or
linguistic regions.
FrameMaker supports Unicode text encoding for creating, editing, saving, and publishing documents in multiple
languages and for creating multilingual documents. Unicode text is supported in FrameMaker markers, catalog
entries, and dialogs. PDF export supports Unicode text, bookmarks, tags, and comments. You can import or copy
Unicode content from other applications.
Unicode assigns a unique number to every single character, no matter which language or type of computer you use.
Portable Letters and numbers do not change when you move the file from one workstation to another. Adding a
foreign language to a document doesn’t cause confusion, because foreign characters have their own designations that
don’t interfere with the encoding from other languages in the same projects.
Robust Because Unicode-compliant fonts offer a larger number of potential characters, specialty type characters are
readily available.
Flexible With Unicode support, substituting a typeface in a project does not result in substituted characters. With a
Unicode-compliant font, a g is a g no matter which typeface is used.

All of these things make it possible for a French company to do work for a client in Korea and hand the job off to a
partner in the United States without having to struggle with the text. The writer or designer must enable the correct
language in the operating system, load the foreign-language font, and continue the project.
1 To enable your computer to author content in languages other than English, start your computer in the UTF-8

locale.
2 To enable the dictionaries or open the thesaurus, select the desired language from the Input Method Editor (IME)

Language bar.
3 Start typing the content in the selected language.

Certain features support Unicode, such as find and change, markers, hypertext, and catalog entries. You can export to
PDF with Unicode bookmarks, tags, comments, and so on. You can import or export Unicode content from other
applications. Additional dictionaries help you author content in more languages.

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More Help topics
“Working with multiple languages” on page 187

Adding multilingual text in documents
There are multiple ways to input characters in Unicode in a document. You could configure the regional language or
locale settings on your computer to add the required languages for keyboard input. You could also configure and use
a soft keyboard layout provided by third-party plug-ins.
Keyboard layouts cannot have simple key combinations for all characters and so FrameMaker provides two alternative
input methods that allow access to the entire range of Unicode characters. One is the Hex palette which allows you to
specify the code point in any of the three UTF encodings. The other is through a character map, which is a visual table
listing all Unicode characters available in the selected font.
The Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows Vista® operating systems have regional and language
settings. Use these settings to add additional languages for keyboard input. These languages and speech settings appear
in the Language bar on the desktop. After you select a language and set up a localized keyboard, you can start typing
the required text in the document. The keyboard layouts are defined by Microsoft.
You can type words in the selected language or input appropriate Unicode characters.

Set up input languages
1 On your computer, open the Control Panel and double-click the Regional And Language Options icon. The

Regional And Language Options dialog box appears.
2 Click the Languages tab.
3 Click the Details button. The Text Services And Input Languages dialog box appears.
4 In the Settings tab, click the Add button. The Add Input Language dialog box appears.
5 Select a language from the Input Language list.
6 Click OK. The selected language is included in the Installed Services list.
7 Select the desired language in the Default Input Language list.
8 Click Apply and click OK to save the settings and close the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box.
9 Click the Regional Options tab, and then choose the language you selected in the Default Input Language list.
10 Click Apply and then click OK to save the settings and close the Regional And Language Options dialog box. The

Language bar or the Input Method Editor (IME) appears in the system tray of your computer.
11 Open FrameMaker, and then type the content. The text appears in the selected language.

Note: If you change the language in the Default Input Language list and the Regional Options tab, the language selected
in the Language bar is also updated automatically.

Using third-party keyboard layout software
Several third-party keyboard layout software applications are available for different languages in Windows. When
these layouts are activated, FrameMaker starts receiving input according to the keyboard mappings set by the thirdparty software. FrameMaker does not alter any of the key definitions.

Using the Character palette
The character palette lists all the Unicode characters in the three character sets.

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Character palette
A. Select the font B. Scroll for the character in the selected font

1 Place the cursor where you want to insert the character in your document.
2 Select File > Utilities > Character Palette.
3 Select the font that supports the language you want to type in. The character palette displays the characters available

in the selected font.
4 Click the box containing the character that you want to insert. Use the scroll bar to scan the character palette if

needed.
Each character's code point in UTF-32, UTF-16, and UTF-8 is displayed at the bottom of the character palette.
5 If the character inserted in your document does not match what you selected, ensure that the font in the document

is the same as the font selected in the character palette.
6 Click outside the character palette to dismiss it.

Using the Hex Input palette
The Hex Input palette allows you to add a Unicode character in your document by specifying its code point.
A

Hex Input palette
A. Typing area. B. View area. C. Click UTF-32 to change the default encoding. D. Click the arrows to browse the symbols.

1 Place the cursor where you want to insert the character in your document.
2 Select File > Utilities > Hex Input to display the Hex Input palette.

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3 Type the Unicode number of the character you want to insert. The corresponding character is displayed on the

right.
4 To toggle between Unicode character sets, click UTF 32.
5 If you cannot find the character you want to insert, either click the arrow keys to search sequentially or click the

character to display the Character palette.
Also, ensure that you have selected the appropriate font from the Character palette. The character for the same hex
value changes depending on the font that you select.
6 Click outside the Hex Input to dismiss it.

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Chapter 5: Tables
About tables
Tables formats
Table formats contain settings for how the table looks. To create a table, the format and looks of the table needs to be
defined, for example, border width, shading, heading, table and title.
The format of a table determines its appearance. The format includes the following types of properties:

• Properties set in the Table Designer, such as table position, cell margins, regular ruling and shading, and whether
it has a title.

• Three types of default properties: the number of body, heading, and footing rows; the number of columns; and
paragraph formats for the title, heading, footing, and body cells of each column. All three are supplied when you
first insert a table. Changing the default properties of a format does not change the appearance of tables using that
format, but it changes how a new, empty table looks when you insert it.
A new table is always created starting from the formats, which exist in the document. Similar to paragraph and
character formats, table formats are the starting point for new tables, as well as, building blocks for new table formats.
After you insert a table, you can perform extensive custom formatting, such as straddling or rotating cells, or applying
special ruling or shading to selected cells. Custom formatting is not stored as part of the table format. For this reason,
custom formatting is retained when you change or reapply a table format.
Right-click a table to display a context menu for tables. Or use the QuickAccess bar to perform common tasks for
tables.
When you insert a table, it’s anchored at the insertion point. A table anchor symbol
symbols are visible.
A
B

A. Table title B. Table heading C. Table body D. Table footing

More Help topics
“Using toolbar shortcuts” on page 28

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Working with tables in structured documents
Structured tables work in much the same way as unstructured tables. The table element definition determines the
table’s structure. When you insert the table, at least some row and cell elements are inserted along with it, ready for
you to provide the contents.
Elements for structured tables and table parts
A table and its parts (such as title, rows, and cells) are each represented in an element. You can see and work with these
elements in the Structure view.
Table
TableTitle
TableHead
TableRow
TableCell
TableCell
TableCell
TableRow
TableRow
TableBody

Table and table part elements

When you insert a table element, some of the table parts are inserted automatically. You can use the Element Catalog
as a guide for building the rest of the table. If you add more table parts, they can also have an initial structure; for
example, a new row element contains cell elements. The content rules for table and table-part elements define an initial
structure for that element.
A table can also have cells that are defined to remain empty. No valid elements can be inserted in these cells, and you
cannot type in them. An empty cell element’s tag describes the use of the cell—look for names such as BlankHeader or
SpacerCell.
How structured tables are formatted
The appearance of a structured table is determined by its table format, various settings in the Table menu, and
paragraph formats for text.
Table formats A table format controls the spacing, indentation, and alignment of a table in a column, the start position
on a page, the location of the title, default margins for cells, the direction of autonumbering in cells, and default ruling
and shading. A document stores table formats in a Table Catalog.

The format rules for a table element suggest a particular table format. You can apply a different format to the table at
any time and the change is not considered a format rule override. (Changing the table format makes a table invalid,
though, if the format adds a title and the table’s content rules don’t allow one.)
Table menu commands The Table menu has commands for rotating and straddling cells, changing cell height and

page breaks, adding rows and columns, and applying custom ruling and shading to cells. These settings take
precedence over the table format for particular cells.
You can use any of the Table menu commands in a structured table. The commands are not format rule overrides and,
except for Add Rows And Columns, do not affect the structure of the table.
Paragraph formats Paragraph formats define fonts, line spacing, and other properties for text in the cells and the title.
Table-part elements can specify paragraph formats.

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DITA support for tables
DITA topics support two types of tables. The element uses the OASIS Exchange Table Model (formerly
known as the CALS table model). The OASIS table supports the spanning of multiple rows or columns for special
layout or organizational needs, and provides a wide variety of controls over the display properties of the data and even
the table structure itself.
The element organizes arbitrarily complex relationships of tabular information. This standard table markup
allows column or row spanning and table captions or descriptions. An optional title allowed inside the table element
provides a caption to describe the table.
The DITA table is based on the OASIS Exchange Table Model, augmented with DITA attributes that enable it for
specialization, conref, and other DITA processing. In addition, the table includes a desc element, which enables table
description that is parallel with figure description.
In DITA tables, in place of the expanse attribute used by other DITA elements, the pgwide attribute is used to conform
to the OASIS Exchange Table Model. This attribute has a similar semantic (1=page width; 0=resize to galley or
column).
Note: The scale attribute represents a stylistic markup property that is maintained (for now) in tables for legacy purposes.
External style sheets should enable less dependency on this attribute. You should use the scale attribute judiciously in your
topics.
The other table structure in DITA is called . As the name implies, it is structurally less complex than
the OASIS table, and can be used as a simple, regular table for which close control of formatting is not as important.
The main advantage of simpletable is for describing lists of data with regular headings, such as telephone directory
listings, display adapter configuration data, or API properties.

Insert, move, or remove a table
Insert a table
When you insert a new, empty table, you select a format for the table. Table formats are stored in a catalog, as are
paragraph and character formats. You can apply a different format to any paragraph in any cell, and you can modify
the format of any paragraph.
1 Click in the line of text to which you want to anchor the table. You can insert a table anywhere except in a footnote.
2 Choose Table > Insert Table.
3 Select a format for the table. If the format you need is not in the list, you can import the format from another

document.
4 If necessary, enter a different number of rows or columns in the text boxes.
5 Click Insert. An anchor symbol

appears at the insertion point when text symbols are visible. (Deleting the

symbol deletes the table.)
Note: In multicolumn page layouts, the table can straddle columns, and its position is sometimes affected by straddle
paragraphs.

Insert a table element (structured documents)
A table is anchored to a specific location in text. As you edit the text, the table moves in the document along with the
appears at the table’s anchor location in the document window.
text. An anchor symbol

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When you insert a table, you specify where to anchor it. For example, you can anchor a table in a Para element (as a
child element to the Para) or you can anchor it in a Section element (as a sibling to Para and other elements in the
section). It depends on how the elements are defined for your document.
1 Click where you want to insert the table.
2 Select a table element in the Element Catalog, and click Insert.

Note: To add other table-part elements to the table, use the Element Catalog as a guide.
3 To change the table format, select a format in the scroll list. The table element can have a format preselected, but

you can change the format and it is not considered a format rule override.
Consult your developer before changing a table format. Your element catalog can have a separate element defined
for each format you’ll need.
4 If necessary, change the number of rows and columns. Changing these numbers sometimes makes the table invalid.
5 Click Insert. FrameMaker inserts an anchor symbol

at the insertion point and a table with predefined
descendant elements. The Structure view has bubbles for the new elements.

6 If the Attributes for New Element dialog box appears, enter attribute values for the table element and click Insert

Element.
Select cells in the table and then right-click to display a context menu for working with the cells. You can also use
the QuickAccess bar as a quick way to apply table commands.
If no table element is available at the location you want, you can use an invalid element. After inserting the table, talk
to your developer about making it valid at this location.

Use an invalid table element
• To use a table that is valid in another part of the document, either insert the table in a valid location and then move
it, or use the All Elements setting to make the table available everywhere and then insert the table where you want it.

• To insert an invalid table with default tags, choose Table > Insert Table and choose TABLE from the Element Tag
pop-up menu. (This option appears in the menu if the document has no defined table elements.) The table and table
parts have default tags, such as TABLE, HEADING, and ROW. After replacing the table with a valid table, change
the table parts to valid elements.
Changing an invalid table with default tags to a valid table can be a laborious process. It’s best to work with tables
that are defined.

More Help topics
“Change the scope of elements available in a structured document” on page 35

Nest a table in a table cell
1 Click in the cell in which you want to nest a table.
2 Do one of the following:

• Choose Special > Anchored Frame.
• For unstructured documents, this command creates an anchored frame that’s anchored below the current
line. Try to set the width and height of the frame to be slightly larger than the width and height of the table
you want to insert.

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• For structured documents, this command inserts an element. Choose a frame element from the Element Tag
pop-up menu in the Anchored Frame panel.

• (Structured documents) Select a graphic element for empty anchored frames in the Element Catalog, and click
New Frame.
3 If the anchored frame is wider than the cell, resize the column.
4 Use the Text Frame tool on the Tools panel to draw a text frame in the anchored frame.
5 Click in the text frame and choose Table > Insert Table.

Important: If you export a document to SGML or XML, you can lose the contents of anchored frames in it because they
are not part of the main structured flow. Work with your application developer if you plan to export to SGML or XML to
avoid losing data in the nested table.

More Help topics
“Anchored frames” on page 251
“Resize columns and rows” on page 210

Copy, move, or remove a table
If you copy or move an unstructured table to a structured flow, the table is given a basic structure with default elements
named TABLE, HEADING, ROW, and so on. If you copy or move a structured table to an unstructured flow, the table
structure may no longer be valid.
1 Control-triple-click a cell to select the entire table or click the table bubble in the Structure view.
2 Do one of the following:

• To copy the table, choose Edit > Copy.
• To move the table, choose Edit > Cut. If a dialog box appears, click Remove Cells From Table, and click Cut.
Then click where you want to move the table, and choose Edit > Paste. See the Element Catalog before pasting
to ensure that you paste the table at a valid location.

• To remove the table (without changing the contents of the clipboard), press Delete.
You can also drag a table bubble in the Structure view to move the table, or Alt-drag the bubble to copy the table.

Text and graphics in tables
You format text in a table cell just as you format paragraphs in a regular column of text—for example, with paragraph
or character formats.
Each table cell can contain text and anchored frames. (Anchored frames, in turn, can contain graphics or other tables.)
As you type text or insert an anchored frame in a cell, the cell height expands as needed.
In addition to typing text in a table, you can also insert cross-references, table footnotes, variables, and markers. The
tab character is the only character you have to enter in a special way in a table cell.
You can copy, cut, and paste the contents of cells just as you do text and graphics in any other part of a document.
Special system variables let you specify continuation text in the titles or heading rows of multipage tables.

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For structured documents, you can type text in the current cell when the indicator appears in the Element
Catalog. You can also insert footnotes, cross-references, and other text-related elements in the cell. Use the Element
Catalog as a guide.

Select text or cells in tables
More Help topics
“Navigating through tables” on page 567

Place the insertion point in a table cell
❖ Click in the cell, or click to the left of the cell’s text snippet in the Structure view.

Select the contents of a cell
❖ Click in the cell and press Esc t h a, or double-click the cell’s bubble in the Structure view. You can also triple-click

a cell’s contents if it contains just one paragraph.

Select a single cell
• Control-click the cell.
• (Structured documents) Drag across the cell’s boundary and back, or click the cell’s bubble in the Structure view.

Select multiple cells
• Drag across all the cells, and then Shift-double-click or Shift-click (structured documents) the last cell in the
selection.

• To select an entire row, press Esc t h r, or drag across the cells in the row, or click the row’s bubble in the Structure view.
If you click between table-part elements (such as between two rows) in the Structure view, the insertion point
appears in the Structure view but not in the document window. A contiguous selection of cells in the document
window doesn’t always appear as contiguous bubbles in the Structure view.

• To select an entire column, press Esc t h c, or drag from a heading cell into the first body cell.
• To select the entire table, press Esc t h t.

Add or remove a table title
A table title appears above or below a table and is repeated on all pages of a multipage table. Whether a table has a title
and how it’s formatted is defined in the table format.
When you insert a table with a title, an empty text frame appears for the title. If the title format has been defined to
include an autonumber, the autonumber text appears.

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Title centered below (left), autonumbered title left-aligned above (right)

For structured documents, a table’s element definition sometimes specifies whether the table must have a title. You can
add a title to any table, but check in the Structure view to be sure that the title is not invalid in the table. The title
element is always the first child element of a structured table, regardless of whether the title appears above or below
the table.
1 Click in the table and choose Table > Format > Table Designer.
2 In the Format properties of the Table Designer, choose an option from the Title pop-up menu.
3 Specify the gap between the table and the title in the Gap box.
4 Click Apply. If the title has been defined to be autonumbered, the number (such as Table 1) appears in the title cell.

You enter the text of the title yourself.
To display the title only on the first page of a multipage table, set the title position to No Title and use a body
paragraph as the title. To prevent the title from becoming separated from the table, make sure that the anchor symbol
is in the title text and that the table’s Start property is set to Anywhere.

More Help topics
“Edit a variable definition” on page 101

Add “continuation” text
In a multipage table, you can include special “continuation” text in the title or in heading or footing rows. Your
document can have variable elements defined for this purpose, such as one that displays (continued) and another that
tells the number of sheets in the table.
A

A. and C. Table Sheet variable B. Table Continuation variable

1 On the first page of the table, click in the title or in the heading or footing where you want to insert the variable or

variable element.

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2 Do one of the following:

• Double-click either the Table Continuation variable or the Table Sheet variable from the Variables pod.
• (Structured documents) Select a variable element for continuation text in the Element Catalog, and click Insert.
On the first page of the table, the variable appears as a nonbreaking space
displays its text—for example, (continued).

. On subsequent pages, the variable

Place graphics in table cells
Place a graphic
You can adapt these instructions to position the anchored frame differently or to insert a graphic in a cell that also
contains text.
Note: Avoid using cropped anchored frames in heading or footing cells of a table. Such frames are not always cropped
when that cell repeats on subsequent pages.
1 Click in a paragraph in the cell where you want to place the graphic.
2 Do one of the following:

• To create an anchored frame where you can draw, use Special > Anchored Frame to create an anchored frame
that’s anchored at the insertion point.

• To create an anchored frame for an imported graphic, use File > Import > File to import the graphic.
3 If the anchored frame is wider than the cell, resize the column.

To resize a column to match its contents, place the insertion point in the cell that has the desired length of text and
press Esc t w.
4 If necessary, choose Graphics > Align to center the graphic in the frame.

Place a graphic in a structured document
If your table cells allow graphic elements, you can draw or import graphics in the cells. A new graphic element can be
either an empty anchored frame that you can draw in or an anchored frame with an imported graphic.
1 Click where you want to place the graphic in the cell.
2 Select a graphic element in the Element Catalog and click Insert. The element’s definition determines which dialog

box appears.
3 Do one of the following:

• If the Anchored Frame dialog box appears, choose At Insertion Point from the Anchoring Position pop-up
menu, and click New Frame.

• If the Import File dialog box appears, select the file to import, and click Import.
An anchored frame appears in the cell, and a bubble with the text snippet GRAPHIC appears in the Structure view.
4 If the anchored frame is wider than the cell, resize the column.

To resize a column to match its contents, select the column and press Esc t w.
5 If necessary, choose Graphics > Align to center the graphic in the frame.

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More Help topics
“Anchored frames” on page 251
“Resize columns and rows” on page 210

Convert between text and tables
You can convert text that’s already in your document to a table, or you can convert text in a text file as you open or
import the file. In a structured document, the text is wrapped into a structure of table and table-part elements.
After converting text to a table, you can edit the table, removing blank cells or recombining text that was split into two
or more cells. In most cases, you can edit the table directly in the document. However, if you converted text that was
imported by reference, you must edit the text in the original file.
You can convert any table to text within FrameMaker, or you can copy the table as text to another application. You
can also convert all the tables in a document at one time.
In structured documents, when you convert tables to text, all the table and table-part elements, except for the cells, are
unwrapped. Change the cells to other elements or make other changes to correct the structure of the document.

Convert text to a table
1 Select the text you want to convert.
2 Choose Table > Convert To Table.
3 If you’re working in a structured document, choose a table element from the Element Tag pop-up menu.
4 Select a format for the table.

Note: In a structured document, the table element may have a format preselected, but you can change the format and
it is not considered a format rule override.
5 Specify how you want to convert paragraphs by doing one of the following:

• To convert text that uses tabs to separate information, click Tabs.
• To convert text that uses spaces to separate information, click Spaces and then enter the minimum number of
spaces that indicate a separate cell.

• To convert text that uses other characters to separate information, click Other and then type the characters that
can be used to separate cells.

• To convert each paragraph (such as those in a bulleted list) to a cell, click A Cell and then enter the number of
columns you want in the table.
6 In the Heading Rows box, enter the number of heading rows you want in the new table. If the paragraphs you’re

converting don’t include headings and you want to fill in the headings later, select Leave Heading Rows Empty.
7 Click Convert.

Note: When working with structured documents, the Structure view has bubbles for the new elements. If the Attributes
for New Element dialog box appears, enter attribute values for the table element and click Insert Element.

Convert a text file to a table as you open the file
1 Choose File > Open, and select the text file you want to open.
2 If the Unknown File Type dialog box appears, select Text, and then click Convert.
3 Click Convert To Table, and then click Read.
4 Follow the instructions for converting text to a table, starting from step 3.

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Convert a text file to a table as you import the file
1 Click where you want to import the file.
2 Choose File > Import > File, and select the text file you want to import and the import method.
3 Click Convert To Table and then click Import.
4 Follow the instructions for converting text to a table, starting from step 3.

If you want to merge a text file into an existing table, import the text file and convert it to a table. Then copy the rows
and paste them into the existing table.

Touch up a table after conversion
• To combine text that is split across two or more rows, cut and paste the text from the lower cells into the upper cell,
and delete the extra rows.
To quickly combine text in adjacent cells, select the cells, choose Table > Straddle, and then choose Table >
Unstraddle. Then you can delete empty rows or columns.

• To fix half-empty columns, cut and paste the text into the correct locations, and delete the extra columns.
• To fix major errors, you can return to the original text (choose Edit > Undo if necessary), edit the text (for example,
by deleting extra tabs and forced returns), and then convert the text to a table again.

Convert a table to text within FrameMaker
1 Click in the table you want to convert to text.
2 Choose Table > Convert To Paragraphs.
3 Click Row By Row or Column By Column, and click Convert.
A

Table converted to text
A. Row by row B. Column by column

Copy a table to another application as text
1 Copy the table to the clipboard.
2 In another application, choose Edit > Paste. The table is pasted, row by row, with tabs separating table cells, and a

paragraph return at the end of each row.

Convert all tables in a document to text
❖ Save the document in Text Only format, and specify how you want the tables converted.

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More Help topics
“Nest a table in a table cell” on page 194
“Import unformatted text” on page 375

Run text around a table
Text does not run around a table that’s anchored directly in a column of text. You can, however, run text around a table
in an anchored frame or in a text frame that’s disconnected from the main flow. (For structured documents, check to
see if your developer has set up this application this way.)
A table in an anchored frame moves with the text it’s anchored to. A table in a disconnected text frame remains in place
on a page while other text flows around it. The table does not autonumber with tables in the main flow.
Important: The contents of an anchored frame or a disconnected text frame are not part of a document’s main structured
flow, so they are not normally exported to SGML. If you plan to export to SGML, work with your application developer
to avoid losing data in the table.

Table in an anchored frame and a table in a disconnected text frame

Run text around a table in an anchored frame
1 Use Special > Anchored Frame to create an anchored frame with an anchoring position of Run into Paragraph.
2 Draw a text frame in the anchored frame and then place the table in it.

Run text around a table in an anchored frame (structured documents)
1 Click in text where you want to anchor the table.
2 Select a graphic element for an empty anchored frame in the Element Catalog, and click Insert.

You can also use Special > Anchored Frame to insert an element. Choose a frame element from the Element Tag
pop-up menu in the Anchored Frame panel.
3 Choose Run Into Paragraph from the Anchoring Position pop-up menu, set the width and height of the frame, and

click New Frame. Try to set the size of the frame to be slightly larger than the size of the table.
4 Draw a text frame in the anchored frame. Select View > Toolbars > Graphics Toolbar and click the Place A Text

Frame

tool. Drag to draw the frame, and click Set in the dialog box that appears.

5 Click in the text frame and use Table > Insert Table to insert an unstructured table.

Run text around a table that remains stationary on the page
1 Draw a text frame directly on a page and drag it where you want it. This type of text frame is not connected to the

main flow.
2 Choose Graphics > Runaround Properties, click Run Around Bounding Box, and click Set.

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3 Do one of the following:

• For unstructured documents, insert a table in the text frame.
• For structured documents, click in the text frame and choose Table > Insert Table.

Position and autonumber text within cells
When you insert a table, its cell margins—the distance between the cell edge and the cell text frame—are determined
by the table format. The indent properties of text in the cell, which are measured from the cell margins, are part of the
text’s paragraph format.

A
B

A. Left cell margins B. Paragraph’s left indent

Set default cell margins
1 Click in the table you want to change and choose Table > Format > Table Designer.
2 In the Basic properties of the Table Designer, enter the values for the top, bottom, left, and right margins in the

Default Cell Margins area.
3 Click Apply To Selection.

If you want text to look vertically centered, make the top margin larger than the bottom margin. For example, make
the top margin 5 points and the bottom margin 3 points.

Customize cell margins or text alignment
When you change cell margins or text alignment and later apply a different format to the table, the changes are not
overwritten by the new table format’s default settings.
Because cell margins and text alignment are part of a paragraph format, they aren’t normally stored as part of the Table
Catalog format. However, the paragraph formats of the first title paragraph and the first paragraph in the heading,
body, and footing rows of each column are stored. You can customize the alignment of any of these paragraphs and
then store the table format in the catalog. Future tables using that table format will have the custom settings as their
defaults.
Customize cell margins
1 Click in the first paragraph of the cell whose margins you want to customize.
2 Choose Format > Paragraphs > Designer to display the Paragraph Designer.
3 Choose Table Cell from the Properties pop-up menu.
4 In the Cell Margin area, specify the margins you want to customize by doing one of the following:

• To create a margin relative to the default cell margin, choose From Table Format, Plus from the pop-up menu
and then enter a value.

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• To create a fixed margin measured from the edge of the cell, choose Custom from the pop-up menu and then
enter a value.
5 Click Apply To Selection.

Customize the vertical alignment of text in a cell
1 Click in the cell you want to customize.
2 Choose Format > Paragraphs > Designer to display the Paragraph Designer.
3 Choose Table Cell from the Properties pop-up menu and then choose Top, Middle, or Bottom from the Cell

Vertical Alignment pop-up menu.
4 Click Apply To Selection.

Note: The vertical alignment that you apply to a cell will persist even when you apply a different table format from the
Table Designer.

Specify the direction of autonumbering in a table
When you insert a table, the table format determines the direction of autonumbering within cells—either across rows
or down columns. This property also sets the direction of autonumbering for table footnotes.
1 Click in the table you want to change, and choose Table > Format > Table Designer.
2 In the Basic properties of the Table Designer, choose Row First or Column First from the Numbering pop-up menu.
3 Click Apply To Selection.

Formatting tables
Table Designer
You can use the Table Designer and Table menu commands to change the look of tables and create new table formats,
and to change formats globally throughout a document.
Using the Table Designer, you can change the table’s indents, cell margins, spacing, alignment, ruling, and shading.
You can also adjust the title position, numbering, and the start position of the table. The space above and below a table,
and the table’s alignment and indentation, are determined by the table format. You can control other positioning
properties—straddling and text runaround—on a table-by-table basis.
The Table Designer includes several commands for creating, changing, and overriding table formats. The designer
contains several groups of properties, displaying one at a time. It’s shown here displaying the Basic group of table
properties.

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Table Designer
A. Click to change Format properties. B. Click to change Ruling properties. C. Click to change Shading properties. D. Choose from the Table
Tag pop-up menu to display the stored properties for a selected format. E. Update all table formats that have the same tag, including the format
stored in the Table Catalog. F. Apply all properties in all property groups to the current table’s format.

From the Table Tag field of the Table Designer, you choose a table format and then a property group. From the lower
half of the Table Designer, you change the table’s properties. After making changes, click Apply to change the table’s
appearance. Click Apply All, to change the definition of the format and globally change appearances of all tables using
this format.
When you use the Table Designer to make a formatting change that doesn’t match the table’s predefined format, the
change is a format override. Overrides are lost if you reapply the predefined format to the table. Changes made with
the Table menu commands are not lost.
To remove all format overrides from a table, put the cursor in the table and click the desired table format from table
catalog.

More Help topics
“Manage formats” on page 51
“Format catalog” on page 54
“Table position and spacing” on page 212

Table catalog
Table catalog works just like the paragraph or character catalogs. Commands to format tables, the Table Designer, and
the table Catalog can be accessed from Table > Format.
Apply or change table format
• Do one of the following

• Place the cursor inside the table.
• Select one of more cells of the table.
• If the table catalog is not open, then click Table > Format > Catalog.

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• Click the desired format in the catalog.

Create, edit, and delete table formats
You can rename or delete a table format when designing a template. You can also rename a table format if you want
to copy an entire catalog from a template and don’t want a format to be overwritten.
Deleting a format from a catalog does not affect any tables that have the same tag—the tables simply have a format that
isn’t stored in the catalog. If you want to change the format of these tables, you can then retag them.

More Help topics
“Rows and columns” on page 209
“Table position and spacing” on page 212
“Add or remove a table title” on page 196
“Ruling and shading” on page 208
“About tables” on page 191
“Working with tables in structured documents” on page 192

Create a table format
1 Click in a table that has a format like the one you want to create. (The more similar it is to the format you’re

defining, the fewer changes you’ll have to make.)
2 Set up the rows and columns by adding or deleting body, heading, and footing rows and adjusting columns as

necessary.
3 Use the Table Designer to modify any of the table’s properties.

Don’t set any property to As Is. Table formats must have all properties specified. (An alert message warns you if not
all settings are specified so you can go back and change any As Is properties.)
4 Use the Paragraph Designer to create or change any of the following paragraph formats, which are stored as part of

a table format: the paragraph formats of the first title paragraph, and the first paragraph in the heading, body, and
footing rows of each column.
5 When the table looks the way you want, choose New Format from the Commands pop-up menu in the Table

Designer.
6 Enter a name for the new format in the Tag box.
7 To store the format in the Table Catalog, select Store In Catalog.
8 To apply the new format to the current table, select Apply To Selection.
9 Click Create.

Rename a table format
1 Click in a table whose format you want to rename.
2 In the Table Designer, choose the tag you want to change from the Table Tag pop-up menu.

Make sure that you perform this step even though it means choosing the same tag as the one currently displayed.
Choosing a tag from the pop-up menu ensures that the stored format properties—not overrides—are displayed.
3 Type a new name in the Table Tag box, and click Update All.

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4 Click OK.

Delete a table format
1 In the Table Designer, choose Delete Format from the Commands pop-up menu.
2 Select the format in the scroll list and click Delete. You can delete additional formats if you want to.
3 Click Done.

Apply a different format to a table
When you apply a different table format, only the properties associated with table formats change in the table. That is,
any customizations you’ve made to the table—the column widths, the number of rows and columns, and the settings
from the Table menu—are not affected.
The format rules for a table element suggest a particular table format, but you can apply a different format, either when
you insert the table or later, and the change is not considered a format rule override. If you remove format rule
overrides in the document, the table will not return to its original format. If a structured document does not have a
format that meets your needs, see your developer about redefining a format or creating a new one.
Important: If a new table format adds a title to the table and the table’s content rules do not allow a title, the title is
invalid.

Table with old (left) and new (right) formats; custom rotated cells retained

1 Click in the table.
2 Choose Table > Format > Table Designer.
3 Choose the format from the Table Tag pop-up menu, and click Apply To Selection.

Apply a format to several tables
You can apply a format to all tables in the document, to all tables with tags (format names) that occur in a selection,
or to all tables that have a particular tag. For example, you could apply Format B to all tables currently tagged Format A.
1 Select the tables by doing one of the following:

• To apply a format to all tables in the document, click in any table.
• To apply a format to several tables, but not all tables, in the document, select consecutive tables or table elements.
(To select multiple tables, you must select their anchor symbols.)
2 Choose Table > Format > Table Designer.
3 Choose the format you want to apply from the Table Tag pop-up menu, and choose Global Update Options from

the Commands pop-up menu.

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4 Choose the tables you want to reformat by doing one of the following:

• To retag all tables in the document, click All Tables And Catalog Entries.
• To retag the tables in the selection and all tables with the same tags as these tables, click All Matching Tags In
Selection.

• To retag all tables with a specific tag, choose a tag from the pop-up menu.
5 Click All Properties in the Use Properties area, and click Update.

Redefine table formats
To change a table format, you change a table’s properties and then change the corresponding catalog format to match
the table.
The properties applied to the catalog format include those set in the Table Designer and the defaults not set in the Table
Designer—for example, the default paragraph formats. In addition, properties set in the Table Designer (but not
default properties that aren’t changed in the Table Designer) are applied to existing tables in the document that have
the same tag.
If you change properties in the Table Designer and then decide you don’t want to update the format, you can cancel
the operation and reset the properties by simply clicking in text. You can also choose Reset Window from Selection
from the Commands pop-up menu in the Table Designer.
Redefine a table format
1 Click in a table whose format you want to redefine, and choose Table > Format > Table Designer. If the table you
click in has format overrides, these overrides—not the catalog format’s definition—appear in the Table Designer.
2 If you want to base the changed format on the catalog format, without any overrides, choose the format tag from

the Table Tag pop-up menu, even if the tag you want is already displayed in the Table Tag box.
3 Do the following:

• Use the Table Designer to change any of the settings for the Basic, Ruling, or Shading properties.
• Change any of the default properties, such as the number of rows and columns, widths of columns, and the
paragraph format of the title and of the first paragraph of each column. These properties are supplied when you
first insert a new, empty table.
4 Click Update All. If any of the tables being updated contain format overrides, an alert message asks whether you

want to remove them.

Change properties in several table formats
You can change specified properties of several table formats at the same time. For example, you can change all table
formats from centered to left-aligned.
1 Select the tables whose formats you want to redefine by doing one of the following:

• To redefine one table format or all table formats in the document, click in any table.
• To redefine several table formats, but not all formats in the document, select consecutive tables whose formats
you want to redefine. (To select multiple tables, select their anchor symbols.)
2 In the Table Designer, display the group of properties from which you want to apply one or two properties.
3 (Structured documents) Delete the tag from the Table Tag box if the box isn’t empty. Deleting the tag sets the box

to As Is, which keeps FrameMaker from changing the tags of the formats that you update.
4 Change the properties as needed.

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5 Choose Global Update Options from the Commands pop-up menu.
6 Choose the table formats you want to apply the properties to.
7 Click the current property group in the Use Properties area and click Update. If any of the tables being updated

contain format overrides, an alert message asks whether you want to remove them.
FrameMaker applies the properties to the Table Catalog formats you specified and to all tables in the document with
the same tags.

Ruling and shading
When you insert a table, its regular ruling and shading are determined by the table format. You can use the Table
Designer to change a format’s ruling or shading properties for particular tables that use the format.
Custom ruling and shading aren’t limited to entire rows or columns and aren’t part of the table format. If you
customize the ruling or shading of a table and later apply a different format to the table, the custom ruling or shading
is not overwritten by the new format.

Set up regular ruling or shading
1 Click in the table you want to change and choose Table > Format > Table Designer.
2 Do one or more of the following:

• In the Ruling properties of the Table Designer, specify the ruling for columns, body rows, heading and footing
rows, and outside edges.

• In the Shading properties of the Table Designer, specify the shading for heading and footing rows and for body
rows or columns.
3 Click Apply To Selection.

Create, change, or delete ruling styles
You can create additional ruling styles (such as Double, Thick, or Thin line styles), and edit or delete existing ones. If
you edit a ruling style, the change applies to both the regular and custom ruling that use that style.
When editing ruling styles, zooming in to a high percentage lets you see slight differences in line thickness.

Create or change a ruling style
1 Choose Table > Format > Custom Ruling & Shading.
2 Select a style in the scroll list that you want to edit or, if you’re creating a style, select one like the style you want to

create.
3 Click Edit Ruling Style.
4 Enter the width, and choose a color and pen pattern for the style.
5 Click Single or Double to specify single or double lines. If you click Double, specify a value for the gap separating

the lines.
6 If you’re creating a style, type a name in the Name box, and click Set.

Delete a ruling style
1 Choose Table > Format > Custom Ruling & Shading.
2 Select the style you want to delete.

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3 Click Edit Ruling Style and click Delete. If the style was used for a table’s regular ruling, the occurrences of the style

use no ruling. If the style was used for custom ruling, the table’s regular ruling is restored.

Create or remove custom ruling or shading
A table’s custom shading is not stored as part of the format. Wherever the regular and custom settings are in conflict,
the custom settings prevail.
1 Select the cells, rows, or columns that you want to customize.
2 Choose Table > Format > Custom Ruling & Shading.
3 Do one of the following:

• Specify a fill percentage and color for the shading.
• Select a custom ruling style. The scroll list shows the document’s predefined ruling styles.
• Choose From Table to remove custom shading.
4 To prevent inadvertent changes, turn off Custom Cell Ruling or Custom Cell Shading and click Apply.

Display a cell’s ruling and shading settings
1 Select the cells, rows, or columns that have the ruling and shading properties you want to see.
2 Choose Table > Custom Ruling & Shading, and click Show Current Settings.

In the dialog box, Mixed means that the selected cells use more than one custom ruling style, fill, or color. From Table
means that the selected cells use the regular ruling or shading set in the Table Designer.

Rows and columns
You can easily add, delete, copy, move, or resize rows and columns, either by using the clipboard or by dragging. Sort
rows and columns by numbers or letters. You can sort by date or time, as long as the information is entered in the table
as text.

Add or delete a row or column
Note: For structured documents, adding rows or columns can make the structure of the table invalid. For example, a table
set up to contain only three columns will be invalid if you add a fourth. It’s best to use the Element Catalog for adding
heading or footing rows, because tables are often defined to have a specific number of these rows.
Add a row below the current one
❖ Press Control+Enter. The new row has the same properties as the previous row.
Add a row using the Element Catalog (structured documents)
❖ Click where you want to add the row in the Structure view, select a row element in the Element Catalog, and click
Insert.
Add a row or column
1 Click in a table cell next to where you want to add the row or column.
2 Choose Table > Add Rows Or Columns, and specify the number of rows or columns you want to add and where

you want to insert them.
3 Click Add.

The new rows or columns have the same properties as the current row or column.

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Delete a row or column
1 Select the rows or columns you want to delete, making sure that you select entire rows or columns. (If you don’t,
the contents of the selected cells are deleted without a prompt for a decision.)
2 Press Delete, click Remove Cells From Table, and click Clear.

Copy or move rows or columns
The cells on the clipboard replace the current rows or columns according to the following rules:

• If the number of rows or columns on the clipboard is equal to the number of selected rows or columns, they are
replaced exactly.

• If the number on the clipboard is greater than the number you select to replace, only the number of rows or columns
that fit are pasted.

• If the number on the clipboard is less than the number you select to replace, the clipboard contents are repeated so
that they fill the rows or columns.
To split a table, cut rows or columns from a table and paste them where you want to make a new table. To combine
two tables, cut the rows and columns from one table and paste them into another.
Coping or moving rows or columns
1 Select the rows or columns, and do one of the following:

• If you are copying them, choose Edit > Copy.
• If you are moving them, choose Edit > Cut, click Remove Cells from Table, and then click Cut.
2 Click next to where you want to insert the rows or columns, and choose Edit > Paste. You can insert them next to

the current row or column, or you can replace the current row or column.
You can also drag a row’s bubble in the Structure view to move the row, or Alt-drag the bubble to copy the row.

Resize columns and rows
Resize a column by dragging
• To change a column width, select a cell in that column and drag its handle until the column is the size you want.
Select several columns to resize them together.

• To move the border between two columns so one column grows wider and the other narrower, Alt-drag a selection
handle. The overall width of the table doesn’t change.
To align the column border with the snap grid, choose Graphics > Snap before you change the width.

Specify a precise column width
1 Select cells in the columns you want to resize (if you’re resizing a single column, just click in it), and choose Table
> Resize Columns.
2 Do one of the following:

• To specify a value for the width, click To Width and enter the value.
• To set the width to a percentage of the original width, click By Scaling and enter a percentage.
• To make the column the same width as another column in the table, click To Width of Column Number and
enter the column number.

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• To make the widths equal parts of a total, click To Equal Widths Totalling and enter the total width.
• To specify a total width while still keeping the columns’ proportions the same, click By Scaling to Widths
Totalling and enter the total width.

• To set the width to match the widest paragraph or frame in the selected cells, click To Width Of Selected Cells’
Contents and enter a maximum width.
3 Click Resize.

Copy and paste a column width
1 Click in the column whose width you want to copy.
2 Choose Edit > Copy Special > Table Column Width.
3 Click in the column you want to change and choose Edit > Paste. Only the column width is pasted; the contents of

the cells remain unchanged.
Adjust the height of a row
The height of a row changes automatically to fit the cell’s contents, but you can increase the height further if you want.
Note: When working with a structured document, adjusting the height of a row does not affect the structure of the table,
and it is not a format rule override.
1 Click in the row that has the height you want to increase, and choose Table > Row Format.
2 Enter values for the minimum and maximum row height and then click Set.

Make all rows the same height
1 Determine the height of the tallest row in a table: Hold down Alt+Shift while drawing a selection border around the
row.
2 Note the height, which appears in the status bar.
3 Select the entire table, and choose Table > Row Format.
4 Specify this value for the minimum row height and click Set.

Sort columns and rows
When sorting by numbers, currency symbols are ignored, but negative signs are recognized. For example, -9 or (9)
sorts before 9 in an ascending sort. The comma and decimal separators displayed in numbers are treated according to
the Regional options set for numbers and currencies on your system.
Text always comes after numbers in a sort. Text strings in tables are sorted based on the default system locale.
You can sort by date or time as long as you enter it as text, use a consistent format, and include leading zeros. For
example, if you’re using dd/mm/yy and hh:mm:ss formats, enter 04/12/2017 or 09:30:25.
1 Save your document, so that you can revert to your last saved version if the sort gives unexpected results.
2 Make sure the table contains no hidden conditional rows in the table (use Special > Conditional Text).
3 Do one of the following:

• To sort all columns or all rows in a table, click anywhere in the table.
• To sort only certain rows, select cells in the rows you want to sort.
4 Choose Table > Sort.
5 If you’re sorting all rows or all columns, click Select All Body Rows.

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6 Do any of the following:

• To sort the rows of the table, click Row Sort. If the rows contain heading or footing cells as well as body cells,
only the body cells are sorted.

• To sort the columns of the table, click Column Sort.
• To sort uppercase letters apart from lowercase letters, select Consider Case.
7 Choose a primary sort key by selecting from the Sort By box and clicking Ascending Sort or Descending Sort.

You can sort straddle cells as long as they don’t extend past a row or column that you’re using as a sort key. (Use
Table > Unstraddle and try again.)
8 Optionally, choose a second and third sort key from the Then By areas.
9 Click Sort.

Note: Adobe FrameMaker correctly sorts numbers preceded by the special symbols ()+-,. and $. However, combining
several of these symbols in a cell sometimes adversely affects sorting. For example, a table cell containing -2 will fall
correctly between -1 and -3, but a cell containing -2+3 will not (Frame interprets the sequence as -23).
Note: The Table sorting feature supports the Unicode text encoding standard.

Table position and spacing
Specify table position and spacing
Normally, a table appears below the line of text containing the anchor symbol. However, you can force a table to start
at the top of a page or column, or you can let the table float.
If a text column where a floating table is anchored is too small to contain the table, a floating table moves to the first
text column that can contain it. However, the line of text containing the table’s anchor symbol does not move. If the
table moves to the next text column, text fills the space below the line containing the anchor symbol.
The space between a table and the paragraph above it is determined by the table’s space above setting or the paragraph’s
space below setting, whichever is larger. The space between a table and the paragraph below it is determined by the
table’s space below setting or the paragraph’s space above setting, whichever is larger. When the table is at the top or
bottom of a column, the above or below setting is ignored.
1 Click in the table you want to change, and choose Table > Table Designer.
2 In the Basic properties of the Table Designer, do one or more of the following:

• Enter indent values in the Left and Right boxes.
• Enter spacing values in the Above and Below boxes.
• Specify alignment from the Alignment pop-up menu.
• Specify placement from the Start pop-up menu.
3 Click Apply to Selection.

If you want a table to start at the top of a page with no text preceding it, anchor it on the previous page and set the
table to float. If you want it to always float, make its orphan setting a large number such as 200.
If the anchor symbol for a top-of-column table appears below a paragraph that straddles columns, the table appears in
the next column but just below the straddle paragraph, instead of at the top of the column.

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A top-of-column table anchored below a straddle

More Help topics
“Set the minimum number of rows on a page or in a column” on page 216

Straddle or unstraddle tables and cells
Tables can straddle columns in multicolumn layouts, and their positions are sometimes affected by straddle
paragraphs. Straddling does not affect the structure of a table and is not a format rule override.

Straddle a table
❖ Do one of the following:

• Anchor the table in a straddle paragraph. A table anchored in a straddle paragraph, whatever the table’s width,
always straddles the full width of the text frame.

• In case of structured documents, anchor the table in a paragraph element that’s formatted to straddle the
columns. If the table is wide enough, it straddles the full column width. If it is not wide enough, the plane of the
table nevertheless straddles the full width.

A table anchored in a straddle paragraph

• Extend the table width into a second column of the body area. If you want the table to straddle both the sidehead area and the body area, extend it into the side-head area as well.

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Straddling all columns and straddling side-head area

Unstraddle a table
• To unstraddle a table that’s anchored in a straddle paragraph or paragraph element, move the anchor to a
nonstraddle paragraph or nonstraddle element.

• To unstraddle a table that’s anchored in an unstraddled paragraph or paragraph element, resize the column widths
of the table to fit in the text column.

Straddle or unstraddle cells
If you straddle cells that have contents, the contents of those cells also merge, creating a separate paragraph for each
merged cell.
❖ Do one of the following:

• Select the cells you want to straddle, and choose Table > Straddle.
• Select the cells you want to unstraddle, and choose Table > Unstraddle. The contents of the straddle cell appear
in the upper left new cell, not back in the original cells.
Important: The contents of an anchored frame or a disconnected text frame are not part of a document’s main
structured flow, so they are not normally exported to SGML. If you plan to export to SGML, work with your
application developer to avoid losing data in the table.

More Help topics
“Rows and columns” on page 209
“Resize columns and rows” on page 210

Rotate cells and tables
When you rotate a cell in a table, you can type in it just as you do in any other cell.
You can also rotate an entire table by placing the table in an anchored frame that is rotated. (For structured documents,
check with your developer to see if the application is set up for rotated tables.) A rotated table can be in an anchored
frame on a page of unrotated text or on a rotated page (one that uses a rotated master page). Place the table on a rotated
page instead of rotating the table itself if you want background items (such as headers or footers) or body text to be
rotated with the table. You cannot edit a table in a rotated page.
Rotating a cell or a page with a table does not affect the structure of a table, and it is not a format rule override.
Note: For structured documents, a rotated table in an anchored frame is not part of a document’s main structured flow
and is not normally exported to SGML. If you plan to export to SGML, consider rotating the page rather than just the
table. If you must rotate just the table, work with your application developer to avoid losing data in the table.

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Table on a rotated page (left), rotated table on a regular page (right)

Rotated cells

More Help topics
“Rotate a master page” on page 72
“Assign master pages to body pages” on page 73
“Resize columns and rows” on page 210
“Create anchored frames” on page 251
“Add text to graphics” on page 228
“Insert, move, or remove a table” on page 193

Rotate cells
1 Select the cells you want to rotate, and choose Graphics > Rotate.
2 Specify the orientation you want for the cells and click Rotate.

As you type in a rotated cell, the cell height increases and the text doesn’t wrap. You can limit the height of rotated
cells so that text wraps when it reaches the limit.

Insert a rotated table in a page of unrotated text
1 Insert an anchored frame, and draw a text frame in it.
2 Insert the table in the text frame.
3 Select the text frame, choose Graphics > Rotate, and rotate the text frame counterclockwise. You can adjust the size

of the text frame or the anchored frame to view the entire table.

Insert a rotated table in a page of unrotated text (structured documents)
1 Click in the text where you want to anchor the table.
2 Select a graphic element for empty anchored frames in the Element Catalog and click Insert.

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3 Choose Below Current Line from the Anchoring Position pop-up menu, set the width and height of the frame, and

Frame tool

in the Tools panel. Drag to draw the frame and click Set in the dialog box that appears.

5 Click in the text frame and use Table > Insert Table to insert an unstructured table.
6 Choose Graphics > Rotate and rotate the text frame. You can adjust the size of the text frame or the anchored frame

to view the entire table.

Create a rotated table on a page with other rotated text
❖ Create a rotated master page and apply it to the body page where the table appears.

If document editing causes the table to move to a different page, you’ll need to reapply master pages.

Edit a rotated table
❖ Unrotate the text frame, edit the table, and then rotate it back when you’re finished.

Insert page breaks in a table
If all the rows of a table don’t fit in a text column, some of the rows move to the next page or column. You can control
how the table breaks between pages or columns. For example, you can set the minimum number of rows that can
appear on a page or column, or specify that two rows always appear together on the same page or column. You can
also force a break at any row in a table.
When you insert a table, the minimum number of rows in a column or on a page is determined by the table format.
You can change this number in the Table Designer.
Keeping two rows together and forcing a page break are not part of the table format; they are custom settings, which
you make on a case-by-case basis. If you apply a different format to the table, these settings are not overwritten.

Set the minimum number of rows on a page or in a column
If a table doesn’t fit on one page or in one column, the location of the page break is based on the number of orphan
rows allowed for the table. The orphan row property determines the minimum number of body rows that must be kept
together on a page or in a column.
Note: When working with structured documents, changes to page breaks do not affect the structure of a table and are not
format rule overrides.
1 Click in the table you want to change, and choose Table > Table Designer.
2 In the Basic properties of the Table Designer, enter the number of rows in the Orphan Rows box. The number can

range from 1 and 255.
3 Click Apply to Selection.

Specifying a large orphan row setting, such as 99, prevents a table from breaking across columns or pages.

Keep rows together
1 Select the row you want to keep together with the next or previous row, and choose Table > Row Format.
2 In the Keep With area, choose Next Row or Previous Row, and click Set.

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Add or remove a page break in a table
Just as you can have a table or paragraph always start at the top of a page or column, you can do the same with a specific
row in a table. Later, you can remove the page break if you want to.
1 Click in the row you want to change, and choose Table > Row Format.
2 Do one of the following:

• To force the row to the top of the next column, choose Top Of Column or one of the Top Of Page options from
the Start Row pop-up menu.

• To remove a page break, choose Anywhere from the Start Row pop-up menu.
3 Click Set.

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Chapter 6: Graphics
Graphics and objects
About graphics and objects
Working with illustrations
In FrameMaker, you can draw rectangles, ovals, and polygons, as well as straight and curved lines. You can create
complex illustrations by combining several objects, and include text in illustrations. You can also specify object
properties (such as fill pattern, line width, and color), and resize, reshape, rotate, and rearrange objects.
You can place illustrations directly on the page, in anchored graphic frames that move with the text, or in unanchored
graphic frames that crop the edges of the illustration.

• Text frames control placement of the document text.
• Graphic frames, which can be anchored or unanchored control the position and appearance of graphics.
• Anchored frames hold graphics related to specific text and move along with the text as you edit it.
• Unanchored frames are used to crop graphics that stay in the same place on the page. You can also use unanchored
frames to hold reference art. You draw unanchored graphic frames with the Graphic Frame tool on the Tools panel.
Note: Graphics placed in unanchored frames are not exported to HTML, Microsoft Word, or RTF.
If you want the graphic to appear at a specific location on a page (for example, for a logo or a bleed tab), draw or
import the graphic directly on the page. If you need to crop a graphic or include it as reference art on a reference
page, you place it in an unanchored graphic frame.
A
B

NEW

A. Graphic drawn on page B. Text line C. Anchored frame D. Text frame for document text

You can use text frames along with graphics—for example, as callouts or captions. You can also use text frames in
anchored frames to create effects such as sidebars. For single lines of text in graphics, you can also use the Text Line
tool.

Tools palette overview
You use the dockable Tools panel to select drawing tools and to apply properties. To display the Tools panel, choose
Graphics > Tools or View > Toolbars > Graphics Toolbar.

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Graphics toolbar
A. Selection tools B. Drawing tools C. Drawing properties D. Hotspot mode

About paths
An object’s path is an imaginary line through the center of the object’s border. The path appears as an outline when
you draw an object.
A

A. Border B. Path

FrameMaker uses the path to position objects. For example, when you use the Align command to align objects, the
objects are aligned along their paths, not along the outside of their borders. When the snap grid is on as you draw,
FrameMaker aligns the path with the snap grid.

Objects are aligned along their paths.

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About graphic elements in structured documents
When working with structured documents, you use special elements to place graphics. A graphic element provides an
anchored frame for holding graphic objects. The frame is anchored to a specific location in text. As you edit the text,
the frame and its contents move in the document along with the text. The element appears in the document’s structure,
but the graphic or equation itself is not part of the structure.
A new graphic element is either an empty anchored frame or an anchored frame with an imported graphic. When you
insert the element, its format rules determine whether you see a dialog box for setting up a frame or for importing a
graphic file:

• For an element that is an empty anchored frame, you specify the size of the frame, its anchoring position, and some
formatting properties such as alignment. You can fill in the frame by drawing, pasting, or importing graphic objects
in it.

• For an element that is a frame with an imported graphic, you specify the file to import. The graphic appears below
the line with the anchor symbol, in a frame large enough for it.
After you’ve inserted a graphic element, you can place different contents in the frame, resize the frame, change the
anchoring position, and edit the frame in other ways. These changes are not considered to be format rule overrides.

More Help topics
“Create anchored frames” on page 251
“Multiple Undo/Redo” on page 147
“Anchored frames” on page 251
“Crop or mask graphics” on page 239
“Use reference frames on reference pages” on page 77
“Add text to graphics” on page 228

Draw objects
When you draw an object, the pointer is a cross-hair . After you draw, the pointer normally changes back to an
arrow so you can select objects, or to an I-beam so you can select or type text. To draw another object, you usually
have to click a drawing tool again.
When you draw an object directly on a page, it doesn’t move with the text, although text can run around the object. If
you want the object to be “anchored” to surrounding text (that is, to move as you edit the text), you can draw the object
in an anchored frame, or draw it on a page and then move it into an anchored frame.
When you draw an object, it uses the drawing properties that are selected on the Tools panel. The object is also selected,
to make changing these properties easier.

More Help topics
“Apply and change drawing properties” on page 224
“Use gravity and grids to align objects” on page 234
“Resize and reshape objects” on page 241

Draw a straight line
1 Click the Line tool

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2 Click at the start and end of the line. You can also drag from the beginning to the end of the line. To draw a

horizontal or vertical line, or a line at a 45-degree angle, Shift-click, or Shift-drag.
To draw several lines that touch one another, use the Polyline tool to draw several connected lines as a single object.
You can also use the Line tool to draw the lines and then use the Gravity feature to make sure that they touch one
another.

Draw a polyline or polygon
1 Click the Polyline tool

or the Polygon tool

2 Click at each vertex in turn. To draw a horizontal or vertical segment, or a segment at a 45-degree angle, Shift-click.
3 Double-click at the last vertex.

Click at each vertex and then double-click to end.

Draw an arc
1 Click the Arc tool

2 Put the pointer where you want to start the arc and drag along the path of the arc. To draw a circular arc, Shift-drag.

Drag and then release.

If the arc isn’t the shape you want (for example, if it’s concave rather than convex), don’t release the mouse button.
Drag the cross back to the starting point and draw the arc again, dragging along the path you want the arc to trace.
Initially, the angle of the arc will be 90 degrees.

Draw a freehand curve
1 Click the Adobe FreeHand tool

2 Place the pointer where you want to start the freehand curve, and drag along the path of the curve. The snap grid

is ignored for all but the first point of a freehand curve; however, you may want the snap grid to be off when you
draw the curve.

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Drag and then release.

When you release the mouse button, FrameMaker approximates a curve along the path you drew and displays reshape
handles and control points so you can reshape the curve.
For more precise control over the shape of a freehand curve, create a curve by drawing polylines or polygons and then
smoothing them.

Draw a rectangle, a rounded rectangle, or an oval
1 Click the Rectangle tool

, the Oval tool

, or the Rounded Rectangle tool

2 Drag diagonally across the area in which you want the object to appear. To draw a square or circle, Shift-drag.

Drag and then release.

To draw a border around a graphic, draw a rectangle with a fill pattern of None around the graphic.

Draw a regular polygon
1 Draw a circle or square that is slightly larger than the regular polygon you want to create. If you draw a rectangle

or an oval, the polygon you create won’t be regular.
2 Select the object and choose Graphics > Set # Sides.
3 Specify the number of sides and the start angle of the polygon, and click Set.
0º

0º

90º

45º
90º

Original object and regular polygon, with number of sides = 3 and start angle = 45°

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Draw several objects of the same type without clicking the tool each time
❖ Do one of the following:

• For all objects except text lines, Shift-click the tool. To stop using the tool, click another drawing tool or one of
the selection tools

on the Tools panel.

• For text lines, press Return at the end of a text line and continue typing.

Select objects
You can select objects that are on the same page or in the same graphic frame. When you select a graphic frame, any
selected objects are deselected. When an object is selected, handles appear around it.
Smart Select tool
Allows you to place an insertion point or select text when the pointer is over text, and to select
objects when the pointer is over an object. When the Smart Select tool is active, the pointer changes shape as you move
it—to an I-beam over text or to a hollow arrow over objects. In general, use the Smart Select tool as you work.

Use the Select Object tool when you’re working with text lines and text frames as objects—for
example, when you want to move or resize a text frame. When you click in text with the Select Object tool active, you
select the text line or text frame as an object rather than put an insertion point in the text.

Object Select tool

Note: After you draw an object, FrameMaker reverts to the Smart Select tool. If you want to keep the Select Object tool
active after drawing an object, Shift-click the tool on the Tools panel.

More Help topics
“Keys for selection” on page 554

Select an object or multiple objects
❖ Do one of the following:

• To select one object, click it. If the object is transparent—that is, if it has a fill pattern of None—click its border.
When you click overlapping objects, FrameMaker selects the object in the foreground.

• To select several objects, point outside the objects and drag diagonally to draw a selection border around them.
All objects you want to select must be completely within the selection border.

Negative
Electrons

Drag to select several objects.

Note: If you move the object rather than draw a selection border (because the pointer was over an object),
immediately choose Edit > Undo. Then press Shift-drag to draw a selection border.

• To select all objects in a graphic frame, select the frame or any object in the frame, and then choose Edit > Select
All in Frame.

• To select all objects on a page, click outside any objects or text on the page and choose Edit > Select All on Page.

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Deselect objects
❖ Do one of the following:

• To deselect an object, click outside the object.
•

To deselect one of several selected objects, Shift-click the object (not a handle). You can also Control-click the
object.

• To deselect all selected objects, drag-and-drop the page away from any objects.
• To deselect several objects in the same area, point outside all the objects and Shift-drag diagonally to draw a
selection border around the objects. When you release the mouse button, all objects that are completely within
the selection border are deselected. If any objects within the selection border were not selected when you began
dragging, they are selected.

Apply and change drawing properties
An object’s drawing properties include the fill pattern, pen pattern, line width, line ends, color, and whether the line is
solid or dashed. You change drawing properties from pop-up menus on the Tools panel.

Pop-up menus on the Tools panel

You can change drawing properties before you draw an object, or you can select objects that you’ve already drawn and
then change their properties. After you change a property, it becomes the current property—that is, it will be applied
to any object you draw. For example, if you choose a line width of 1 point, this is applied to all newly drawn objects
until you choose another line width or exit FrameMaker.
You can make objects look alike by applying one object’s properties to another object.
You can also change the colors in the Color pop-up menu and customize the following choices that appear on the Tools
panel:

• The values assigned to the line widths that appear in the Line Widths pop-up menu.

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• The Line end style, which determines the appearance of any line ends that don’t have an arrowhead.
• The pattern that FrameMaker uses when you choose the dashed line style from the Line Styles pop-up menu. (The
pattern that appears in the pop-up menu doesn’t change, but FrameMaker uses the new pattern.)
The new line width settings remain until you change them. The other new settings remain until you change them or
exit FrameMaker.
None of the changes described here are applied automatically to existing objects. However, you can apply the new
settings to both new and existing objects.
Note: Dashed line pattern and polylines may appear solid on screen and in print if the lines are especially thick and
contain acute angles or have round or projecting caps. To make the lines print correctly, change the Line Ends Options
setting to Butt, use a smaller line width, or redraw the object using separate lines.

More Help topics
“Change line width settings” on page 226
“Work with color in objects” on page 247
“Fonts” on page 55

Apply a fill pattern or pen pattern to a selected object
❖ Choose the pattern from the Fill Pattern pop-up menu

or Pen Pattern pop-up menu

. You can fill any objects

except lines, text lines, and equations.

A
B

A. Pen pattern B. Fill pattern

The eight gray fill and pen patterns have the following percentages: 100, 90, 70, 50, 30, 10, 3, and 0 (no ink, typically
white).
To make an object transparent (so objects in back of it show through), choose a fill pattern of None. If you don’t
want the object to have a border, choose a pen pattern of None. To see the border of an object that uses both a pen
and a fill pattern of None, choose View > Borders.

Choose a line width for a line or an object’s border
❖ Choose a width from the Line Widths pop-up menu

. You can change the line width of any object except text

lines.

Change the ends of an arc, a line, a polyline, or a freehand curve
❖ Choose the line end from the Set Line End Style pop-up menu

. You can use no arrowhead or place an

arrowhead at the beginning, at the end, or at both ends.

Make a line or object’s borders solid or dashed
❖ Choose a solid or dashed style from the Dashed Line Pattern pop-up menu

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Inspect an object’s drawing properties or apply them to other objects
1 Select the object that has the properties you want to inspect or copy.
2 Hold down Shift and choose Graphics > Pick Up Object Properties. The properties of the selected object become

the current properties on the Tools panel. Any object you draw picks up those properties.
3 To apply the properties to existing objects, select the objects you want to change. In the Tools panel, click the

current drawing properties you want to apply to the selected objects.

Current drawing properties

Change line width settings
1 Choose Set from the Line Width pop-up menu on the Tools panel.
2 Do one of the following:

• To change the line widths, enter the new line widths and click Set. You can enter the values in any order. When
you click Set, the line widths are sorted from smallest to largest. The widths that appear in the pop-up menu
don’t change.

• To revert to the line widths you had when you started FrameMaker, click Get Defaults.

Change the line end style
1 Choose Set from the Set Line End Style pop-up menu on the Tools panel.
2 Select a line end style and click Set.

A. Butt B. Round C. Projecting

Change the dashed line style
1 Choose Set from the Set Dashed Line Pattern pop-up menu on the Tools panel.
2 Click one of the patterns and click Set.

You can also create custom dashed line pattern.

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To create a dotted line that uses round dots, use a dashed line pattern of short dashes with a round line cap.

Change the arrow style
You can choose from among several preset arrow styles. Arrow styles are determined by their base angle, tip angle, and
length.

C
B

A. Base angle B. Tip angle C. Length

None of the changes described here are applied automatically to existing objects. However, you can apply the new
arrow style to both new and existing objects.
1 Choose Set from the Set Line End Style pop-up menu on the Tools panel.
2 Do one of the following:

• Click a preset arrow style and click Set.
• Fill in a custom base angle, tip angle, length, and style, and then click Set. You can use the following values for
the custom options.
Option

Values

Base Angle

Between 10 and 175 degrees (and at least 5 degrees greater than the tip angle)

Tip Angle

Between 5 and 85 degrees

Length

Between 0 and 255 points

Style
Filled
Hollow
Stick

FrameMaker ignores the Base Angle option when you use Stick. The length you specify applies to objects that have
a line width of 1 point. When you use a thicker line width, the arrowhead is longer.
The following table contains sample custom arrows and their settings.
Arrow

Base Angle

Tip Angle

Length

70 degrees

30 degrees

10 points

80 degrees

30 degrees

10 points

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Arrow

Base Angle

Tip Angle

Length

70 degrees

15 degrees

10 points

70 degrees

30 degrees

5 points

120 degrees

30 degrees

5 points

Add text to graphics
You can add single lines of text or text frames to a graphic.

Replace all batteries at the same
time. We recommend not mixing
similar size batteries with varying
charges. Remove batteries from
device if it will not be used for an
extended period of time. DO NOT try
to recharge this battery.

D-size

A. Text line B. Text frame

A text line is a single line of text that FrameMaker treats independently from other text. Text lines grow or shrink in
length as you edit them, but they don’t wrap to the next line. You typically use text lines for single-line callouts and for
text you want to resize in the same way that you resize other objects.
You can assign character formats and a spell-checking language to text lines. However, text lines can’t have paragraph
formats, and they can’t contain anchored frames, markers, variables, cross-references, or conditional text.
Unlike a text line, a text frame can contain more than one line of text. You use text frames for multiline callouts,
paragraphs of text, and any other text you want FrameMaker to wrap automatically from line to line. When graphics
overlap text in a text frame, you can run the text around the graphics.
When you resize a text frame created with the Text Frame tool
, the font size remains the same. However, when
you resize a text line created with the Text Line tool
, the font height and width change proportionally.

More Help topics
“Resize and reshape objects” on page 241
“Font changes using the designers” on page 56
“Indentation, alignment, and spacing” on page 59

Add a text line to a graphic
1 Click the Text Line tool

. The pointer changes to a crossed I-beam when you move it to the document
window. The small horizontal line across the pointer indicates the baseline position of the text.

2 Click in the document to place an insertion point, and then type the text. FrameMaker uses the last character format

you typed or selected in the document.
The text line is left aligned on its alignment point (where you clicked).
❖ To create several text lines, press Return at the end of one text line to create another. You can then select the text

lines independently and move them as needed.

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To change the character format of text in a text line, use the font commands on the Format menu or the Character
Designer. To change the font of several text lines at the same time, select the text lines as objects and change their
format.

Add a text frame
1 Click the Text Frame tool

2 Drag diagonally where you want to add the text frame.
3 Specify the number of columns and the gap between them, and then click Set.
4 Double-click in the text frame to place an insertion point in it, and then type the text.

Fix text frames that overflow
When the text you type overflows the text frame, the insertion point moves below the bottom of the frame and the new
text doesn’t appear. The bottom border of the text frame appears as a solid line when borders are visible.
An electron is an
elementary particle
consisting of a
charge of negative
electricity equal to
about 1 .602 X 1 0—1 9
coulomb and having
a mass w hen at rest
of about 9.1 07 X 1 0—28
gram or 1 /1 837 that

Overflowing text frame

You can enlarge the frame so the text fits, or you can connect the flow of the text frame to another frame (see
“Disconnect text frames” on page 92). You can also decrease the font size of the text.
1 Control-click the text frame to select it.
2 Drag a handle to enlarge the frame.

Create reverse text in a text frame
You can create reverse text (text that appears in a light color on a dark background) for special emphasis. The reverse
text can be in a text frame or a text line.
1 Set the desired fill pattern and color of the text frame.
2 Set the text frame’s pen pattern to None.
3 Change the color of the text with the Character Designer or the Paragraph Designer.
4 If necessary, change the indentation and alignment of the text with the Paragraph Designer.

Create a reverse text line over an object
1 Draw an object to act as the background for the text. Generally, it’s best to use a nearly black fill pattern for the

object.
2 Outside the background object, add a text line and type its text.
3 Control-click the text line to select it.
4 Move the text line so part of it disappears into the background object.

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Electrons
Electrons

Draw object and text line and then move line part of the way.

5 Choose a light color from the Color pop-up menu on the Tools panel. The text appears partially cut out of the

background object.
If the text doesn’t appear in front of the object, choose Graphics > Bring to Front. If you still have trouble, make
sure that the current color view of the document shows the text line’s color as Cutout.
6 Move the text line so all its letters appear cut out of the background object.

Electrons

Choose a light color and then move the text line all the way.

Add a title to an illustration
You can include a text line or text frame in a graphic as a title. You can also use a paragraph above or below an anchored
frame as a title for the frame’s graphic. However, you may find it easier to use table commands instead.

D, C,AA and AAA size batteries

Single-cell table with table title below

You can also use multicell tables to achieve various effects with graphics and text. For example, the next example is a
two-cell table. The first cell contains several autonumbered paragraphs; the second cell contains the figure.
1. Electrons enter a battery at the
positive electrode.
2. A piece of steel draws negatively
charged electrons toward it.
3. The electrons are negatively
charged and push one another
through the steel and out the
bottom of the battery beginning
the energy circuit.

One-row table containing two cells

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Use the guidelines provided here for setting up the paragraph formats, table formats, and anchored frames you’ll need
if you want to use single-cell tables and their titles for illustrations and their captions.
1 Use the Table > Insert Table command to create a single-cell table wide enough for your figure.
2 Use the Table > Table Designer command to specify the location of the title (see “Add or remove a table title” on

page 196).
3 Type the text of the title.
4 Format the table title.
5 Store the format for the table title in the Paragraph Catalog (see “Create a paragraph format” on page 50).
6 Change the cell’s paragraph format to turn off fixed line spacing so that the size of an anchored frame can affect the

paragraph’s line spacing.
7 Create an anchored frame in the cell, anchored at the insertion point (see “Create anchored frames” on page 251).

If necessary, the cell grows vertically to accommodate the frame’s height.
8 Put the graphic in the anchored frame and resize the frame.
9 If the frame is wider than the cell, change the column’s width. You can select the table cell and drag a handle to

change the width, or you can use the Table > Resize Columns command (see “Resize columns and rows” on
page 210).
10 Store the table format in the Table Catalog (see “Create, edit, and delete table formats” on page 205).
11 The next time you add a table for a figure and its title, either use the Table > Insert Table command or copy and

paste the table.

Run text around graphics
You can make the text in a text frame run around a graphic that overlaps the text. (However, text will not run around
a text line or an equation.) When a graphic is placed directly on a page or in an unanchored frame, the text can follow
the contours of the graphic, or it can align vertically at the edge of an imaginary box bounding the graphic.
An electron is an
elementary particle
consisting of a
charge of
negative
electricity
equal to
about
1.602 X 10—19
coulomb and
having a mass

An electron is an
elementary particle
consisting
of a charge
of negative
electricity
equal to
about
1.602 X 10—19
coulomb
and having a mass

Text run around contour and run around bounding box

You can also run text around anchored frames—for example, to set a small graphic or a drop cap at the beginning of
a paragraph.
When text in a text frame runs around a graphic, FrameMaker does not feather text in that frame.
1 Draw or place the graphic on a page. When you place the graphic on a master page, it appears as a background

graphic on all associated body pages. You can then make the text on all the associated body pages run around the
graphic.
Make sure that you click in the page margin before importing or pasting the graphic. Otherwise, the document
contains an insertion point, which will cause the graphic to be placed in an anchored frame.

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2 Select the graphic. If the graphic is made up of several objects, select all the objects.
3 If you want to run text around the contour of an imported graphic, make sure the graphic is behind the text frame.

To do so, select the graphic and choose Graphics > Send to Back.
4 If the graphic’s runaround properties aren’t set as you want them, choose Graphics > Runaround Properties, and

do one of the following:

• To make text run around the graphic, click a runaround style and enter a gap.
• To prevent text from running around the graphic, click Don’t Run Around.
Note: If the Style setting is As Is when you display the Runaround Properties dialog box, you selected several graphics
that have different runaround properties.
5 Click Set.

If the settings don’t produce exactly the results you want, add an object (with a pen and fill pattern of None) near the
graphic to create the desired contour for the text to run around.

More Help topics
“Anchored frames run into paragraph text” on page 257
“Feather text to the bottom of text frames” on page 86

Copy and arrange objects
Cut, copy, or paste an object by using the clipboard
1 Select the object and choose Edit > Cut, or Edit > Copy.
2 Do one of the following:

• To paste the object on a page, click in the margin of the page.
• To paste the object in an existing graphic frame, click the frame’s border to select the frame.
• To paste the object in text, click in the text where you want to paste the object.
3 Choose Edit > Paste. When you paste the object in a graphic frame or on a page that is the same size as the one from

which you copied or cut the object, FrameMaker puts the object in the same relative location. Otherwise,
FrameMaker centers the object.
When you paste an object into text, FrameMaker creates an anchored frame to hold the object, and centers the object
appears at the insertion point when text symbols are visible.
in the frame. An anchor symbol

Copy an object by dragging
1 Select the object.
2 Point on the object (not on a handle), and Alt-drag the duplicate of the object, or right-drag the object and then

choose Copy Here from the menu. To constrain the duplicate’s movement to either a horizontal or vertical
direction, hold down Shift while you drag.

Delete an object
❖ Select the object and press Delete.

Move an object
1 Select the object.

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2 Do one of the following:

• Drag in the direction you want to move the object.
• To move the object horizontally or vertically, Shift-drag.
• To move an object into a graphic frame, drag it until the pointer is in the frame.
• To move an object out of a graphic frame, drag it until the pointer is outside the frame. As you drag, the frame’s
border may temporarily crop the object.
When you drag the object, the status bar shows the distance from the upper-left corner of the object to the
upper-left corner of the page (or frame, if the object is in a graphic frame). When rulers are visible, lines in the
rulers show you the object’s position. If the snap grid is on, objects snap to the invisible grid as you drag them.
If your screen does not redraw properly when moving an object, press Ctrl+l (lowercase L) to redraw the screen.

• To move an object in small increments, hold down Alt and press an arrow key to move 1 point, or hold down
Alt+Shift and press an arrow key to move 6 points. However, do not use an arrow key on the numeric keypad.
The preceding distances assume a 100% zoom setting. The actual distance moved depends on the current zoom
setting, so you can do finer work when you’re zoomed in closer. For example, at 200% zoom, the distance is
halved. At 50% zoom, the distance is doubled.

• To specify the exact position of an object, select the object, choose Graphics > Object Properties, do one of the
following and apply the changes:

• For all objects except text lines and equations, specify the offset from the top and left edges of the page or
graphic frame in the Offset From area.
A
B

A. Offset from left B. Offset from top

• For text lines and equations, specify the offset in the Alignment Point Offset area.
A
B

Electrons

Left-aligned text line
A. Offset from left B. Offset from top

Change the stacking order of objects
When you draw or paste an object, FrameMaker places it in front of all other objects on the page or in a graphic frame.
You can control how objects overlap by putting them in front of or in back of other objects.

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Circle in front and circle in back

❖ Select one of the objects and do one of the following:

• To put an object in front of other objects, choose Graphics > Bring to Front.
• To put an object in back of other objects, choose Graphics > Send to Back.
To create a drop shadow, stack two objects and offset them slightly.

Use gravity and grids to align objects
You can align objects (except graphic frames) with one another along either a horizontal line (by specifying
top/bottom alignment) or a vertical line (by specifying left/right alignment.
1 Select the objects and choose Graphics > Align. To align a single object in a graphic frame or on a page—for

example, along the left side of a graphic frame—select only the object you want to align.
2 Choose the alignment you want and click Align. To align objects in only one direction, set the other direction to As Is.

FrameMaker aligns the objects—along their paths—with the last object you select. For example, “Top Align” aligns
selected objects with the last selected object and is not necessarily the object that is currently highest in the anchored
frame.
If you selected objects by dragging a selection border, FrameMaker aligns the objects with the object in the foreground.
Objects have gravity along their paths and at their corners. Rectangles and ovals also have gravity at their centers. Some
points on an object exert a greater pull than others. For example, the corners of a triangle attract the pointer more than
its sides do.
With Gravity on, an object attracts the pointer as you draw, resize, or reshape a nearby object. Gravity has no effect
when you move objects.
Gravity extends the same distance on the screen regardless of the zoom setting. When you zoom in, objects and the
space between them appear larger, so you can drag a handle or draw closer to an object without the object attracting
the pointer.
Use gravity to align objects
It’s easier to make objects touch when you use the Gravity feature. If Gravity and Snap are both selected in the Graphics
menu, gravity takes precedence.
1 If Gravity isn’t already on, choose Graphics > Gravity.
2 Drag a handle of an object, or draw an object, close to the object to which you want to connect. As you drag, the

handle jumps so the two objects touch each other.

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Gravity ensures perfect alignment.

Align objects on a grid
The visible grid appears as horizontal and vertical lines onscreen, but not on the printed page. A graphic frame
contains its own visible grid, which begins at the upper-left corner of the frame.
The invisible snap grid attracts objects to it. As you draw, rotate, resize, or drag objects (and when you drag indent and
tab stop symbols on the ruler), they snap to the invisible grid.
Note: If Snap and Gravity are both selected in the Graphics menu, gravity takes precedence.

• To show or hide the visible grid, choose View > Grid Lines. If the visible grid doesn’t appear in a text frame, change
the frame’s fill pattern to None.

• To turn the snap grid on or off, choose Graphics > Snap.
• To change the grid spacing, choose View > Options, and do any of the following, and then click Set:
• To set the space between lines in the visible grid, choose the spacing from the Grid Lines pop-up menu.
• To set the interval for the snap grid, enter the interval in the Grid Spacing text box.
• To set the snap interval for rotating objects, enter the number of degrees in the Snap Rotate text box.
If you intend to use the grids together, make the visible grid spacing a multiple of the snap grid interval. For example,
if the snap grid spacing is 0.125 inch, you could make the visible grid spacing 0.125 inch, 0.25 inch, or 0.5 inch.

Align text lines
When you create a text line, it is left aligned on its alignment point (where you clicked). You can change the alignment
to centered or right aligned. FrameMaker then maintains the text line’s alignment when you insert text.
1 Select the text line and choose Graphics > Object Properties.
2 Choose a new alignment from the Alignment pop-up menu and click Align.

Distribute objects
You can move objects—distribute them—so they have an equal amount of space between them. You can distribute
objects horizontally and vertically.

Objects before and after distributing (with zero edge gap)

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Equidistant centers and equidistant edges

If you specify the exact space between the objects (the edge gap), FrameMaker moves all objects except the one at the
left or top. If you specify that the objects’ centers or edges should be equidistant, FrameMaker leaves the left and right,
or top and bottom, objects where they are and moves the others.
1 Select the objects and choose Graphics > Distribute.
2 Choose the spacing you want and click Distribute. To distribute objects in only one direction, set the other direction

to As Is.
When you specify a large edge gap, objects may move off the page and disappear from sight. If they do, immediately
choose Edit > Undo.

Make lines intersect cleanly
Lines intersect cleanly when they are the same thickness, meet at right angles, and use a projecting cap; lines don’t
intersect cleanly when they use a projecting cap but don’t intersect at right angles. Notice the different intersections
created by using the three line cap styles.

A. Projecting B. Butt C. Round

❖ Do one of the following:

• If the lines don’t meet at a right angle, try a round cap for both lines.
• If the lines aren’t the same thickness, try a butt cap for the thinner line when the lines meet at their endpoints
and for the stem of a T when they meet in a T.
For information on changing the line cap style, see “Change the line end style” on page 226.

More Help topics
“Apply and change drawing properties” on page 224

Group and ungroup objects
When several objects (except graphic frames) are part of the same graphic, you can group the objects. You can then
edit and arrange them as a single object.

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You can combine a group of objects with other objects to form an even larger group. Because FrameMaker groups and
ungroups objects hierarchically, the first set of grouped objects is maintained as a set when you group other objects
with it.

• To group objects, select the objects and choose Graphics > Group. One set of handles appears around the group.

Objects selected and then grouped

• To ungroup objects, select the group and choose Graphics > Ungroup. Handles appear on each object in the group.
When a group has been grouped with other objects, you must choose Ungroup more than once to ungroup all
objects.

Join lines and curves
You can create complex outlines by joining individual lines, polylines, arcs, and smoothed polylines that were created
with FrameMaker drawing tools. Joining creates a single continuous curve. You can then change the new curve’s
properties, such as its line width, pen and fill patterns, and color.

Objects drawn, and then positioned and selected

Objects joined, and then fill pattern added

1 Position the objects so that their endpoints touch. The ends of the lines or curves must be within 1 point of each

other and the objects cannot be grouped. If necessary, choose Graphics > Gravity and zoom in.
2 Select the objects and choose Graphics > Join. The new curve takes on the properties of the last object selected

before joining—for example, the object’s line width, pen pattern, or color. (In the preceding illustration, the last
object selected before joining was the arc.)
Note: If you join lines or curves by mistake, immediately choose Edit > Undo. Joining creates a single continuous object
that cannot be “unjoined” at a later time in the way that grouped objects can be ungrouped.

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Flip and rotate objects
You can create a mirror image of an object by flipping it up and down or left and right.
You can rotate all objects (except equations and graphic frames) any number of degrees. You can rotate graphic frames
and equations in 90-degree increments.
All objects (except equations and text lines) rotate around their centers.
Equations and text lines rotate around their alignment points.
You may find it easier to edit objects—for example, to align and distribute them—in their unrotated position. After
you edit an object, you can rerotate the object to restore it to its rotated position.
Note: If you rotate an imported PICT image or a page containing an imported PICT image, the image may print poorly.
To improve printing, convert the image to TIFF or EPS and reimport the image.

More Help topics
“Distribute objects” on page 235

Flip an object
❖ Select the object and choose Graphics > Flip Left/Right or Graphics > Flip Up/Down. If the object contains text, the

text isn’t flipped. For example, the text in a flipped text line doesn’t appear flipped, but the alignment point of the
text line is flipped.

A. Original B. Flipped up/down C. Flipped left/right

Create a symmetrical object
1 Draw one half of the object and copy it.

Draw and then make a copy.

2 Flip the copy and move it until it touches the original.

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Flip and then move.

Rather than move the duplicate to the original, you can use the Distribute command with an edge gap of zero to ensure
exact alignment of the objects.

Rotate objects by dragging
1 Select the object.
2 Hold down Alt and drag a handle.

When the snap grid is on, the object snaps to multiples of the angle specified in the View Options dialog box. To
constrain the rotation to 45-degree increments, also hold down Shift while you drag.

Rotate an object precisely
❖ Select an object and do one of the following:

• To rotate from the object’s current position, choose Graphics > Rotate, specify the direction and amount of
rotation, and click Rotate. If you rotate several ungrouped objects in this way, each object rotates around its
center.
Note: This method also works for equations and graphic frames.

• To rotate the object’s by a certain degree, choose Graphics > Object Properties, enter the angle of rotation and
click Set.

Crop or mask graphics
When you want to crop the edges of a graphic, place the graphic in an anchored or unanchored graphic frame. An
anchored graphic frame moves with the surrounding text. An unanchored graphic frame stays wherever you place it
on a page, even when the text around it moves as the result of editing.

Uncropped and cropped graphics in graphic frames

When you want to mask an area of a graphic, particularly if the part you want to mask is in the middle of a graphic,
you can cover the area with nonbordered objects.

More Help topics
“Create anchored frames” on page 251

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Crop the edges of a graphic frame
1 Do one of the following to create a graphic frame:

• To create an unanchored frame, click the Graphic Frame tool

on the Tools panel and then drag to draw the

frame. To draw a square frame, Shift-drag.

• To create an anchored frame, use Special > Anchored Frame.
2 Do one of the following to put the graphic in the frame:

• Drag the graphic into the frame.
• Select the graphic, choose Edit > Copy or Edit > Cut, select the frame border, and then choose Edit > Paste.
3 Resize the frame around the graphic.

Mask an area within a graphic frame
❖ Put graphic objects (such as rectangles and polygons) with a white fill and pen pattern in front of the parts you want

to mask.

Measure object size and position
As you arrange and resize objects in an illustration, you may want to know an object’s dimensions and exact position.
The size of an object is the size of the rectangle that encloses its path. The position is the distance from the top and left
edges of the page or graphic frame.

Object size and object position

Measure an object
❖ Do one of the following:

• Select the object and choose Graphics > Object Properties. The width and height of the object appear in the Size
area of the Object Properties dialog box.

• With Snap off, select the object, point on one of its handles, and hold down the mouse button. The dimensions
appear in the status bar. If you move the mouse by mistake and resize the object, immediately choose Edit > Undo.

View the position of an object
1 Select the object.
2 Choose Graphics > Object Properties. For all objects except equations and text lines, the distance from the upper

left corner of the page or graphic frame to the object’s topmost and left-most point appears in the Offset From area.
For equations and text lines, the distance from the upper left corner of the page or graphic frame to the alignment
point at the baseline of the text line or equation appears in the Alignment Point Offset From area.

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View the position of an object as you move it
❖ Look in the status bar. The distance between the object and the upper-left corner of the page or graphic frame

appears in the status bar. When rulers are visible, guidelines in the rulers also show the position of the object.

Measure any distance on the page
1 Point where you want to start measuring.
2 Shift+Control-drag to force a selection border to appear, but don’t release the mouse button.
3 When the selection border encompasses the area you want to measure, look in the status bar for the dimensions.

W: 13 pt

h: 35 pt

Dimensions appear in the status bar.

In the example, the important dimension is the height (35 points between the bases of the triangles).

Resize and reshape objects
As you refine a graphic, you can change the size and shape of objects. Reshaping possibilities are unlimited. For
example, you can add a corner to a polyline or polygon, move a corner to change its shape, and smooth a polyline to
create a freehand curve.

Original polygon and then with corner added

Corner moved and then smoothed

You can resize all objects, including text lines. When you resize a text frame created with the Text Frame tool , the
text remains the same size. When you resize a text line created with the Text Line tool
, the font height and width
change proportionally.

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Before and after resizing a text line (not a text frame)

You can change the shape of lines, polylines, polygons, curves, and arcs as follows:

• Reshape a line, polyline, or polygon by moving its corners one at a time. You can also add and remove corners.
• Reshape a curve by changing the position of its reshape handles (which define the curve and control its location)
and its control points (which adjust the curvature). You can also add and remove reshape handles to change the
number of points that define the curve.

B
A

A. Reshape handle B. Control point

• You reshape an arc by dragging its endpoints or by changing the percentage of a circle that the arc represents.

Resize an object by dragging
❖ Select the object and do one of the following:

• To change either the width or the height, drag a side handle.
• To change both the width and the height, drag a corner handle.
• To increase or decrease the dimensions proportionally, Shift-drag a corner handle.
The object’s dimensions appear in the status bar as you drag.

Resize an object precisely
1 Select the object and choose Graphics > Scale.
2 Do one of the following:

• To increase or decrease the height and width proportionally, enter a scale factor and click Scale. The scale factor
is always relative to the object’s current size (100% means no change).

• To specify the exact dimensions you want, enter the dimensions and click Scale. The dimensions shown when
you display the dialog box are the object’s current (unrotated) dimensions.

Resize imported graphics
You can resize imported graphics back to the original size. You can also change the size of imported bitmap graphics.
Resize your imported graphics back to 100%
1 Select the object and choose Graphics > Object Properties.

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2 For Scaling Percent, type100%, and click Set.

Change the size of bitmap graphics
Changing the dpi value or the scaling factor changes the size of a bitmap graphic.
❖ Do one of the following:

• Select the bitmap, choose Graphics > Object Properties, and click Set dpi.
• Select the bitmap, choose Graphics > Scale, and specify a scale factor.
• Shift-drag a corner handle of the bitmap. Holding down Shift while you drag maintains the proportions of the
graphic.
Note: If the graphic is a TIFF file (or other format that uses dpi settings), scaling must be done through the Object
Properties to ensure that the dpi value is not lost when scaled using the Scale dialog.

Move a corner of a polyline or polygon
1 Select the object and choose Graphics > Reshape. Reshape handles appear on the object, replacing the selection

handles.
2 Drag a handle. To move the handle horizontally or vertically, Shift-drag.

Add or remove a corner or reshape handle
1 Select the line, polyline, polygon, or curve, and choose Graphics > Reshape.
2 Control-click where you want to add a reshape handle (or corner), or Control-click the handle you want to remove.

Reshape a curve
1 Select the curve and choose Graphics > Reshape. Reshape handles appear at the locations that define the curve.

Control points also appear around one of the handles.
2 If the control points aren’t the ones you want, click the handle where you want to change the curve. Control points

appear around the handle that you click—the two control points that correspond to the handle and the next closest
one on each side of the handle.
3 Drag a handle to change the position of the curve at the handle, or drag or rotate a control point to change the

curvature. When you begin to drag, a lever appears that touches the curve at the handle. You can achieve different
effects by dragging along the lever or by rotating it.

Choose Reshape and drag handle.

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Drag a control point.

As you drag a reshape handle, the control points move as well, so the result is a smooth curve. As you drag a control
point, the curvature changes on both sides of the handle, so the result is also a smooth curve.
Crimp a curve
1 Select the curve and choose Graphics > Reshape.
2 If the control points aren’t the ones you want, click the reshape handle where you want to change the curve.
3 Drag a handle or control point with the right mouse button.

Crimping a curve.

Reshape an arc
1 Select the arc and choose Graphics > Reshape. Reshape handles appear on the object, replacing the selection
handles.
2 Drag a handle. As you drag, the start and end angle of the arc and the percentage of a circle that the arc represents

appear in the status bar.

Arc: 270 - 306 10%

Arc: 270 - 27 32.5%

Drag to reshape an arc.

Reshape an arc precisely
1 Select the arc and choose Graphics > Object Properties.
2 Enter a new Start Angle and End Angle, and click Set.

Change the corner radius of a rounded rectangle
You can define the curvature of the corners of a rounded rectangle by specifying the radius of an imaginary circle
drawn in the corner of a rectangle. The longer the radius, the more curved the corners.

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Radius (r) = .125" and radius (r) = .25"

When you specify a corner radius, you also change the current drawing properties. New rounded rectangles you draw
have this corner radius until you change it with the Object Properties command or until you exit FrameMaker.
1 Select a rounded rectangle and choose Graphics > Object Properties.
2 Enter the corner radius and click Set. The largest meaningful radius is one-half the length of the shortest rectangle

side. For example, if the rectangle is 2 inches by 4 inches, the largest meaningful radius is 1 inch (one-half of 2
inches).

Smooth and unsmooth objects
You can smooth polylines, polygons, rectangles, and rounded rectangles. When you smooth a polyline, polygon, or
rectangle, you change its angles to smooth curves. When you unsmooth a curve, you restore its angles.

Before and after smoothing

Each time you smooth a rounded rectangle, you increase the curvature of its corners (its corner radius).
❖ Do one of the following:

• To smooth an object, select the object and choose Graphics > Smooth. After smoothing a polygon or polyline,
reshape handles and control points appear so you can reshape the curve

• To unsmooth an object, select the object and choose Graphics > Unsmooth. If you later smooth the object, its
shape is sometimes different from the original.

Using color in text and objects

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About color and color models
Before you begin
Applying color to frames and objects is a common publishing task, whether you are publishing in print or exporting
to the web. FrameMaker provides color libraries to choose from colors defined by a color vendor. You define and
modify colors by adjusting the color model you’re using or by choosing a predefined ink from a color library based on
the color model.
Before applying color to your documents, prepare in these ways:
Identify the output format of your document The final output of your color document can greatly affect color

decisions:

• For online output, use the RGB or HLS color models. Your guide to correct color is how your documents look on
your monitor.

• For desktop printing, use the CMYK model to define your colors and test them on the printer you’ll be using.
• For commercial printing, use colors from a library supported by your commercial printer. Don’t rely on the
onscreen versions of library colors; use a swatch book.
Learn the limits of the medium Become familiar with the range of colors available on your monitor or printer. For
example, a system set to display 256 colors cannot display tints below 16% accurately in FrameMaker.

By default, FrameMaker publishes CMYK values when printing or saving as Adobe PDF. If you opt to use RGB values
while saving as a PDF, FrameMaker converts colour values to RGB and creates separations in equivalent RGB values.
EPS graphics, however, are separated according to the color values specified within the EPS graphic itself.
FrameMaker retains the color values specified within Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) graphic objects, including CMYK
colors, RGB colors, grayscale, spot colors, device-independent colors (such as CIE L*a*b color). The graphical
information within an EPS file is passed directly into the output PostScript stream, bypassing any Windows GDI
processing. EPS graphic objects can be created from text, vector graphics, or images of any type supported by Adobe
PostScript. This capability allows EPS graphics to be saved or exported from many Adobe applications, as well as other
third-party application programs.

Color models
When you use a color model to define colors, you manually adjust its components, such as the amount of pure red or
the amount of saturation.
You can choose from three color models: CMYK, RGB, and HLS.
CMYK Use the CMYK model to create color separations for four-color process printing. Colors are created by
combining cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) inks. In color separation, each color component is printed on a
separate plate, in a different concentration, depending on the desired color.
RGB Use the RGB model to create colors that are viewed on a monitor (for example, for online documentation).

Colors are created by combining red, green, and blue (RGB) light.
HLS Use the HLS model if you are familiar with color wheels. This model is most like the one artists use to mix colors

and is often used in software color pickers. Colors are created by adjusting hue, lightness, and saturation (HLS). Hue
controls the amount of red, green, yellow, blue, and so on. Lightness controls the lightness or darkness of a color.
Saturation controls the amount of gray in the color.

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Manage color libraries
When you use a color matching system—a color library—you choose from colors defined by a color vendor.
Commercial printers can precisely match the formula represented in a vendor swatch book.
Every color from a library is defined as either a spot color or a process color. A spot color is printed on a printing press
with premixed inks by using a single printing plate. A process color is printed on a press by overlapping dots of cyan,
magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) on separate plates.
Before choosing a color from a color library, ask your commercial printer for a list of supported libraries. For best
results, choose colors from a swatch book, rather than relying on the onscreen representation of the color.
FrameMaker includes these libraries:
Crayon Adobe developed the Crayon library to provide access to common RGB colors using everyday names in

alphabetical order. Do not use Crayon colors as spot colors.
DIC The DIC Color Guide provides spot colors. It is used mostly in Japan.
FOCOLTONE The FOCOLTONE® Color System provides 860 process (CMYK) colors.
Grays The Grays library, developed by Adobe, provides both process and spot shades of gray in 1% increments.
MUNSELL The Munsell System provides colors defined on the RGB model.
Online The Online color library provides 216 “web-safe” colors that have a consistent appearance on all platforms
when viewed with a web browser.
PANTONE Most of the libraries in the PANTONE® MATCHING SYSTEM are for spot colors. Only the two PANTONE

process libraries are for selecting process colors. Separate PANTONE libraries are available for colors that are printed
on coated and uncoated paper. The PANTONE ProSim Euro library uses color definitions that match the printing
systems prevalent in Europe.
TOYO The TOYO Color Finder provides over 1000 colors based on the most common printing inks in Japan.
TRUMATCH The TRUMATCH® 4-Color Selector provides over 2000 process colors that cover the CMYK visible color

spectrum in even steps.

View color definitions in a color library
❖ Choose View > Color > Definitions, choose a library from the Color Libraries pop-up menu, and then click About.

Add a color library for use in FrameMaker
You can add any library file formatted in the ASCII Color Format (.acf), version 2.1 or earlier, or in the Binary Color
Format (.bcf), version 2.0. You can’t use FrameMaker to save a .bcf library file.
❖ Place the library file into the Fminit\Color folder and restart FrameMaker.

Work with color in objects
The method you use to apply a color or a lightened version of a color (a tint) depends on the current selection. Any
entry in a Color pop-up menu can be applied to FrameMaker text or objects. FrameMaker supplies a set of 16 standard
colors that you can add to.
You can apply two types of tints:

• Color-level tints are tints you define and name by using View > Color > Definitions.
• Object-level tints are tints you apply to an object that lighten the original color of the object by a specified
percentage.

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Note: You can’t colorize TIFF files.

More Help topics
“Font changes using the designers” on page 56

Apply a color or tint to text or an object using formatting features
1 Select the text or object to color or tint.
2 Apply color to paragraphs, selected text, graphics, text lines, and equations using the appropriate formatting

feature. Features include paragraph or character catalog or designer, or the Tint and Color pop-up menus on the
Tools panel. The following table shows what features to use for tasks that vary:
To apply color or tint to

Use

A text frame

The Fill pop-up menu on the Tools panel to change the frame fill pattern from None.
Then use the Color pop-up menu or the Tint pop-up menu to assign a color

Cells in a table

The Color pop-up menu in the Custom Ruling and Shading dialog box, or in the Table
Designer

Change bars

The Color pop-up menu in the Change Bar Properties dialog box

Conditional text

The Color pop-up menu and the New Color button in the Edit Condition Tag dialog box

All drawn objects and text

The Color pop-up menu in the Tools panel (hold down Shift+Alt and choose a color).

Apply a tint to an object using a fill pattern
1 Select the object you want to tint.
2 Choose one of the first eight fill patterns from the Fill pop-up menu on the Tools panel. The fill patterns apply the

following percentages to the current color of the object.
Fill Pattern

Tint Percentage
100%

90%

70%

50%

30%

10%

0% (color of paper)

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Define and modify colors and tints
You create or modify colors and tints by adjusting the color components in the color model or by choosing a
predefined ink from a color library. New colors and tints appear in all Color pop-up menus and scroll lists.
You can also use the New Color button in the Add Condition Tag and Edit Condition Tag dialog boxes to select unique
colors for condition tags. Unique colors let you distinguish one tag from another.
You can’t change the 16 standard colors, except for their Print As and overprint properties. However, you can define
your own colors using lowercase versions of these names (black, blue, and so on). The Crayon library has its own
versions of these colors, which you can use or redefine under another name.
All define procedures require the appropriate document window or book window to be active and View > Color >
Definitions, selected.
1 Do one of the following:

• To define a new color, enter a new name in the Name box.
• To modify an existing color (or base color), choose its name from the pop-up menu to the right of the Name
box. You can also type its name until the color definition appears.
2 Specify how to print the color by choosing one of these options from the Print As pop-up menu:
Tint A tint is always displayed and printed in the same manner and on the same plate as its base color. The base

color also determines the color components.
Spot Defines a spot color.
Process Defines a color printed with CMYK inks.
Don’t Print Defines a color that is not printed.

3 To change the color model, choose from the Model pop-up menu. (Base color determines the color model of the

tint.)
4 Adjust the color components by dragging the sliders or entering values. If you’re defining a tint, choose a color from

the Base Color pop-up menu and set the percentage. To reset any changes you’ve made, click the Current color box.
Note: Perhaps your monitor cannot accurately display the color or tint that you define. For example, a tint value of
less than 10% of the base color probably does not display accurately onscreen, or on some printers.
5 To make this color print on top of other colors when printing separations, choose Overprint from the Overprint

pop-up menu.
6 To create a color, click Add (or click the New color box); to modify the current color, click Change.
7 Define or modify additional colors as needed, and then click Done.

Define a color from a color library
1 Choose a library from the Color Libraries pop-up menu.
2 Choose a color from the library of predefined colors. If you know the name, you can quickly scroll to it by starting

to type its name.
3 Click Done. The color you choose appears as the Ink Name in the Color Definitions dialog box.

Note: Colors from color libraries often have a preferred color model and type. When you choose a color, the color
model or type sometimes changes automatically. Ordinarily, do not change these settings or the color definitions of a
library color. If you do, the Ink Name disappears and the color no longer matches the formula defined by the vendor.
To restore the original definition, choose the color again from the library and click Change.

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4 To make this color print on top of other colors when printing separations, choose Overprint from the Overprint

pop-up menu and click Add.
5 Define additional colors as needed, and then click Done.

If you want to use the operating system color picker to define a color, choose Common Color Picker. You use these
color pickers just as you do in other applications.
Delete a color or tint
1 Choose a color or tint from the Name pop-up menu. (You can’t delete the basic 16 colors.)
2 Click Delete. If the color is in use, an alert message asks whether you want to change items that use this color to

black. If you delete the base color of a tint, the tint becomes a percentage of black.
3 Repeat the process to delete more colors. When you’re finished, click Done.

Note: Color definition names support the Unicode text encoding standard.

Assign a color to an object
1 Choose the color from the Color menu.
2 To use a tint of the color, choose a tint value from the tint menu. If the value you want doesn’t appear on the menu,

choose Other from the menu, enter a tint value, and click Set.
If an object isn’t visible after you assign it a color, make sure that the color isn’t in the Invisible scroll list in the Define
Color Views dialog box for the current view.
You can also assign the same color to all objects in a document.
Note: To control whether an object overprints or knocks out objects beneath it, use the Overprint pop-up menu. For
information, see “Knock out and overprint colors” on page 505.

Set up and display color views
A color view specifies which colors are visible. For example, if your document uses black and a spot color, one view
could display both colors and another view could display only the spot color.

Both colors visible and only one color visible

For each view you set up, specify which colors you want to display, which to display as cutouts, and which not to
display at all. Cutouts display as white when overlapping different colored objects.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose View > Color > Views.
3 Select a view number and move the color names to the appropriate scroll lists. Tints do not appear in this dialog

box; they appear along with the color they were based on.

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To move a color, select it and click an arrow, or double-click it. To move all colors, select a color and Shift-click an
arrow. To reset any changes you’ve made, click Get Default.
Leave View 1 unmodified, with all colors (except white) in the Normal scroll list. When you draw an object in a
color that is invisible in the current view, FrameMaker automatically switches to View 1.
4 Repeat step 3 for each view you want to set up, and then click Set. The currently selected view is displayed.

Anchored frames
More Help topics
“Display master pages” on page 75

About anchored frames
You often want to keep an illustration with particular document text. In FrameMaker, you do this by putting the
illustration in a graphic frame anchored to the text—an anchored frame. When you edit the text, the frame and its
contents move along with the text automatically.
You can use an anchored frame for an illustration in a column of text—below the line that contains the anchor symbol
, or at the top or bottom of the column. You can use an anchored frame for small graphics that appear in line with
paragraph text or for art that appears between columns or in the page margin.
You can also use an anchored frame to achieve special effects such as positioning an anchored frame in the top corner
of a paragraph with the paragraph text running around the graphic.

C
A

D
B

A. Graphic in the top corner of a paragraph B. Illustration in a column of text C. Margin art D. Small graphic in a line of text

If you want an illustration to stay at a specific place on the page—for example, as a logo on letterhead stationery—don’t
use an anchored frame. Instead, draw, paste, or import the illustration directly onto a body or master page without
placing an insertion point in the text. Then move the illustration to the desired position.
By default, an anchored frame has no pen or fill pattern, which makes it invisible on the page unless borders are visible.

Create anchored frames
An anchored frame is created automatically when you paste or import a graphic at an insertion point. You can keep
the properties assigned to the frame, or you can change them.

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When you create an anchored frame using the Special > Anchored Frame command, you specify the location of the
frame and its size and position. You can also specify other properties that depend on the frame’s position. For example,
when the frame is placed in the line at the insertion point, you can specify its distance from the baseline of the text.
When the frame is placed in a column of text, you can specify its alignment. You can change any of the properties,
including the frame’s position, at any time.
When you create an anchored frame, you can use Object Properties to set unique tags to your anchor. These tags
simply create a structure for the layout of your document. You can uniquely define an element for your frame that
maps to tags in PDF format.
When you tag your document, you name each document property. Using tags allows you to easily change the
appearance of your document without changing the content.

Create an anchored frame automatically
❖ Do one of the following:

• Paste an object into text at the insertion point by cutting or copying the object, clicking in text where you want
to insert the anchor symbol, and choosing Edit > Paste.

• Import a graphic into text by clicking in text, choosing File > Import > File, and selecting the graphic file you
want to import. You can also import a graphic in other ways, depending on the platform. (See “Import and link
methods” on page 370.
The pasted or imported object appears in an anchored frame that is centered below the current line. After the frame
is created, you can change its properties.

Create an anchored frame with specific options
1 Click in text where you want to place the anchor symbol and choose Special > Anchored Frame. You can create an

anchored frame in a text frame or in a table cell, but not in a text line.
2 Choose the frame’s anchoring position and specify its properties. The properties that appear in the Anchored

Frame dialog box depend on the anchoring position.
3 Click New Frame. An anchor symbol

appears at the insertion point when text symbols are visible.

Inline anchored frames
To position an anchored frame in line with paragraph text—for example, to hold a small graphic such as a picture of
a keycap—choose the At Insertion Point anchoring position in the Anchored Frame dialog box. When you put a space
on either side of the anchored frame, the frame moves along from one line to another as you edit the document, as if
it were a word (rather than being attached to the preceding or following word).
You can adjust the frame’s position up or down relative to the baseline of text by dragging the frame or by specifying
a value for the Distance above Baseline option in the Anchored Frame dialog box. A value of zero aligns the bottom of
the frame with the baseline of the text. A positive number moves the frame up; a negative number moves it down.

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Zero distance and negative distance

If the frame obscures text in the line above or below, turn off fixed line spacing to allow the line height to change with
the contents of the line.

Fixed line spacing on and off

To shrink an anchored frame to the dimensions of its contents and place it in the line at the anchor symbol, select the
frame or an object in the frame and press Esc m p. To enlarge a frame and place it below the line that contains the
anchor symbol, select the frame or an object in it and press Esc m e.

More Help topics
“Adjust horizontal spacing” on page 61

Anchored frames in a column of text
To position an anchored frame in a column of text, choose the Below Current Line, At Top of Column, or At Bottom
of Column anchoring position in the Anchored Frame dialog box.

Below current line and at top of column

An anchored frame positioned at the top or bottom of the column moves only when its anchor symbol moves to
another column.

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Important: To place an anchored frame below a line that contains a run-in head, place the anchor symbol in the body
paragraph, not in the run-in head. Otherwise, the anchored frame obscures the text below the run-in head.
When you choose the Below Current Line, At Top of Column, or At Bottom of Column anchoring position, you can
set the following properties.
Horizontal alignment Choose the frame’s horizontal alignment from the Alignment pop-up menu. You can align the

frame at the left, center, or right. In a double-sided document, you can also align the anchored frame closer to or farther
from the binding edge.

Farther from binding

Cropping To prevent a wide frame from extending beyond the edge of the column, use the Cropped option.

Cropped off and on

Floating Use the Floating option to let the frame float to the next column that can hold it if the frame and its anchor

symbol won’t fit in the same column.

Floating off and on

When Floating is off, both the frame and anchor symbol move to the first column that can hold them. White space
remains at the bottom of the column. When Floating is on, the anchor symbol doesn’t move, but the frame floats to
the next column that can hold it. Text from the next column fills the space between the anchor symbol and the frame.

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Anchored frames in multicolumn layouts
An anchored frame in a multicolumn text frame can straddle columns, and its position may be affected by straddle
paragraphs.
In a straddle paragraph When a frame is anchored in a straddle paragraph, the frame straddles columns just as the

paragraph does.
Wider than a column An uncropped anchored frame that extends into a second column of the body area straddles
columns in the body area. A frame that extends into the side-head area straddles the side-head area as well.

Straddling side-head area and all columns, and straddling only columns

A cropped anchored frame straddles columns only when it’s anchored in a straddle paragraph.
At top or bottom of column When the anchor symbol for a top-of-column anchored frame appears below a straddle
paragraph, the frame appears in the column just below the straddle paragraph rather than at the top of the column.

Anchored at top of column and at bottom

A bottom-of-column anchored frame is positioned similarly when the anchor symbol appears above a straddle
paragraph.
You can force the anchored frame to appear at the top or bottom of the column (above or below a straddle paragraph)
by making the frame straddle the columns. To do so, turn off Cropped in the Anchored Frame dialog box and resize
the anchored frame until it extends into another column.

Anchored frames outside a column of text
To position an anchored frame outside a column of text, choose the Outside Column anchoring position in the
Anchored Frame dialog box. For information on positioning an anchored frame so it always appears in the page
margin, even in a multicolumn document.
When you choose the Outside Column anchoring position, you can set the following properties.
Side of column You can position the anchored frame at the left or right side of the column, or along the side that’s
closer to or farther from the edge of the page.

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Anchored at left and at right

For a double-sided document, you can also position the frame closer to or farther from the binding edge.

Farther from binding

Distance above baseline You can adjust the frame’s position up and down relative to the baseline of text by dragging

the frame or by specifying a value for the Distance above Baseline option in the Anchored Frame dialog box. A value
of zero aligns the bottom of the frame with the baseline of the text. A positive number moves the frame up; a negative
number moves it down.

Zero distance and negative distance above baseline

You can’t position the anchored frame above the top or below the bottom of the text frame. If the setting would place
the anchored frame above or below the text frame, FrameMaker puts it as high or as low as possible. If you later edit
the text so that the anchor symbol moves away from the top or bottom of the text frame, FrameMaker adjusts the
anchored frame’s position.
Distance from column You can adjust the frame’s position left and right relative to the edge of the column by dragging
the frame or by specifying a value for the Distance from Column option in the Anchored Frame dialog box. A value of
zero aligns the edge of the frame with the edge of the column. A positive number moves the frame away from the
column; a negative number moves it into the column.

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Zero distance and positive distance from column

The distance is always relative to the edge of the column, so the frame may appear between columns on a multicolumn
page. You can change the page margins and column layout to widen the gap between columns to make room for the
frame. Or, if you’re working in a structured document, see your developer to widen the gap between columns to make
room for the frame.

More Help topics
“Change page margins and number of columns” on page 79
“Change margins and column layout on specific pages” on page 83

Anchored frames in the page margins
To position an anchored frame so it always appears in the margin (even in a multicolumn layout), choose the Outside
Text Frame anchoring position in the Anchored Frame dialog box. You can then specify the options described in the
previous section. However, the distances you specify are from the edge of the text frame, which may differ from the
edge of the text column on multicolumn pages.

Closer to page edge and farther from page edge

In a single-column layout, the Outside Text Frame option has the same effect as the Outside Column option.

Anchored frames run into paragraph text
To position an anchored frame in the top corner of a paragraph (with the paragraph text in that column running
around the frame), choose the Run into Paragraph anchoring position in the Anchored Frame dialog box. For
example, you can set a small graphic or a drop cap at the beginning of a paragraph.
When the anchored frame is taller than the paragraph, the text from subsequent paragraphs runs around the frame
unless the paragraph that contains the anchor symbol is a straddle paragraph.

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Frame spanning paragraphs and in a straddle paragraph

When you choose the Run into Paragraph anchoring position, you can set the following properties:
Alignment You can align the anchored frame on the left or right side of the paragraph. For a double-sided document,

you can also choose Side Closer to Binding or Side Farther from Binding.

Closer to binding

The frame is aligned with the paragraph’s left indent when it appears at the left side of the paragraph, and with the right
indent when it appears at the right side. When the paragraph has a first-line indent, the anchored frame does not
change the position of the indent.

Graphic extending beyond first-line indent

Larger first-line indent

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When you want to preserve a first-line indent, make the first-line indent setting for the paragraph larger than the width
of the anchored frame. Or, if you’re working with a structured document, see your developer about making the firstline indent setting for the paragraph larger than the width of the frame.
Gap You can specify the gap between the anchored frame and the paragraph text that runs around it.

More Help topics
“Indentation, alignment, and spacing” on page 59

Insert anchored frames in structured documents
In a structured document, a graphic element provides an anchored frame for holding graphic objects. The frame is
anchored to a specific location in text. As you edit the text, the frame and its contents move in the document along
with the text.
When inserting a graphic element, you specify where you want to anchor the element’s frame. For example, you might
anchor the frame in a Para element (and the graphic will be a child element to the Para), or you might anchor it in a
Section element (as a sibling to Para and other elements in the Section). It depends on how the elements are defined for
your document. The formatting properties you set are independent of the element’s format rules, not overrides to them.
In the document window, an anchor symbol
appears at the anchor location in text when View > Text Symbols is
turned on. The frame can appear in various positions on the page—including in-line with text, next to or below a
paragraph, or in a page margin. You specify an anchoring position relative to the anchor symbol.

Several positions for anchored frames

A graphic element appears in the document’s structure where it is anchored to text, regardless of the frame’s position
on the page. In the Structure View, the element is represented by a square-cornered bubble with the snippet
.
Para
Figure

Para

Graphic element

Insert an anchored frame element
1 Click where you want to anchor the frame.
2 Select an anchored frame element in the Element Catalog and click Insert.

You can also use Special > Anchored Frame to insert an element. If more than one frame element is available,
choose the one you want from the Element Tag pop-up menu in the Anchored Frame panel.

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3 Choose the frame’s anchoring position and specify its size and formatting properties. The properties that appear in

the dialog box depend on the anchoring position you choose. See “Inline anchored frames” on page 252 for details.
4 Click New Frame. The anchored frame appears in the document window, with an anchor symbol

at the
insertion point when View > Text Symbols is turned on. A bubble with the text snippet appears in
the Structure View.

If no anchored frame element is available at the location you want, you might use an invalid element. After inserting
the element, talk to your developer about making the element valid at this location.
Use an invalid anchored frame element
❖ Do one of the following:

• To use an element that is valid in another part of the document, either insert the element in a valid location and
then move it, or use the All Elements setting to make the element available everywhere, and then insert the
element where you want it.

• To insert an invalid anchored frame element with a default tag, choose Special > Anchored Frame, and choose
GRAPHIC from the Element Tag pop-up menu. (This option appears in the menu if no defined frame elements
are available.)

Fill and edit anchored frames
You can draw graphics in an anchored frame, drag or paste graphics from another part of the document. Or, import
or paste graphics from another document or application. Use these methods to place graphics and text in unanchored
graphic frames and in anchored frames.
You can position a graphic in an anchored frame and then use a text frame or text line inside the anchored frame for
the figure title. However, you might find it easier to position and number the title consistently if you put the figure in
a single-cell table and then set up the table title as a figure title.
An anchored frame’s contents are clipped when they extend into or beyond the frame’s border. Display the frames
border by clicking it (if the border isn’t visible, choose View > Borders).
A

Original

B
Bitmap

Outline

A. Frame border B. Cropped graphic C. Cropped callout

You can change the size of an anchored frame, its anchoring position, and the properties you set when you created the
frame. When working with a structured document, these changes do not affect the structure of the document and are
independent of the element’s format rules.
You can also manipulate anchored frames as you do other objects. For example, you can change a frame’s drawing
properties (such as pen width), and you can duplicate, delete, move, or resize it.

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More Help topics
“Add a title to an illustration” on page 230
“Add text to graphics” on page 228
“Draw objects” on page 220
“Resize and reshape objects” on page 241
“Flip and rotate objects” on page 238
“Move an object” on page 232

Filling anchored frames in structured documents
In a structured document, you can draw graphics in an anchored frame, drag, or paste graphics from another part of
the document, or import or paste graphics from another document or application. Although the graphic element is
part of the document’s structure, the contents you put in the frame are not.
You can even use an anchored frame to hold text, such as text in a sidebar. To do this, draw a text frame in the anchored
frame. Keep in mind, though, that the text is not part of the document’s structure.
A frame’s contents are preserved when you export to XML or SGML. FrameMaker writes the contents to a separate
file and adds an entity reference to it from your XML or SGML file.
Important: To prepare for export to XML or SGML, put only one graphic in each frame for the best results. If your
graphics are bitmaps, do not use a display bit depth of 1 bit or 24 bits; reset your display to 8 bits. Ask your application
developer for other advice to be sure your frames’ contents will be fully preserved.
After filling a frame with graphics, you can edit the graphics in many ways—for example, by changing line widths,
applying fill colors, and aligning, stacking, or grouping several objects.

Put graphics or text in a graphic frame
❖ Do one of the following:

• To draw a graphic or add text, use one of the tools on the Tools panel.
Important: Be sure to start drawing the object inside the frame. Otherwise, the object is placed on the page and not
in the frame.

• To move a graphic into a frame, drag the graphic until the pointer is within the frame’s borders. The object
jumps into the frame when you drag across the frame’s border.

• To paste a graphic into a frame from the Clipboard, select the frame and choose Edit > Paste.
• To import a graphic into a frame, select the frame and choose File > Import > File. You can also import a graphic
in other ways, depending on the platform.
Note: If a graphic looks as though it’s in the anchored frame, but it doesn’t move with the frame as you edit the
surrounding text, the graphic is probably in front of the frame rather than in the frame—perhaps because you pasted
it on the page rather than in the frame. Drag the graphic away from the frame and then drag it back into the frame.

Prevent an anchored frame from clipping its contents
❖ Do one of the following:

• If there’s room outside the anchored frame, make the frame larger.
• If there’s room inside the anchored frame, move the object away from the edge of the frame.

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• If the contents are clipped only by the width of the border, use the Tools panel to make the anchored frame’s
border narrower or to change the pen pattern to None (see “Apply and change drawing properties” on
page 224).

• If a frame and its contents are clipped by the edge of a column of text, choose Special > Anchored Frame, turn
off Cropped, and then click Edit Frame.

Change a frame’s anchoring position and drawing properties
❖ Select the frame and do one of the following: choose Special > Anchored Frame.

• To change the frame’s anchoring position, choose Special > Anchored Frame. Change the settings and click Edit
Frame.

• To change the drawing properties, Select the frame and use the Tools panel to specify the properties you want.
For example, you can change a frame’s pen pattern to make the frame’s border printable or change its fill pattern
to shade the interior of the frame.

Resize an anchored frame
❖ Do one of the following:

• To resize the frame quickly but approximately, select the frame and drag one of its handles. The size appears in
the status bar as you drag.

• To resize the frame precisely, select the frame and specify its size with the Graphics > Object Properties,
Graphics > Scale, or Special > Anchored Frame command.

• To resize an anchored frame to fit the object in the frame, press Esc M P.
• To resize a graphic within an anchored frame, select the object and drag one of its handles, or choose Graphics
> Scale and enter the dimensions.

Copy, move, or delete an anchored frame
Copy or move an anchored frame by using copy and paste
1 Select the frame and choose Edit > Copy or Edit > Cut. You don’t need to select the anchor symbol.
2 Click in text where you want to insert the frame and choose Edit > Paste. The anchor symbol appears at the

insertion point when text symbols are visible. When working with a structured document, look at the Element
Catalog before pasting to verify that the location is valid for graphic elements.
In some cases (for example, when a frame is positioned at the top or bottom of a column), the frame does not change
position even though the anchor symbol moves. If you find it difficult to reposition a frame anchored to the outside of
a rotated text frame or column, unrotate the text frame, position the anchored frame, and then rerotate the text frame.
If you’re working with a structured document, you can also drag a frame’s bubble in the Structure View to move the
frame or Alt-drag the bubble to copy the frame.
Move an anchored frame without moving its anchor symbol
❖ Do one of the following:

• For quick but approximate repositioning, drag the frame.
• For more precise repositioning, move the frame in small increments with the arrow keys.

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• For greatest precision, specify the location of the frame with the Special > Anchored Frame command.
Some anchored frames cannot be moved without moving their anchor symbols. However, you can move a frame
vertically when it’s anchored at the insertion point, outside the column of text, or outside the text frame. When a
frame is anchored outside the column or text frame, you can’t move it above the top or below the bottom of the text
frame.
Note: When you move a frame into a column, the text in the column doesn’t adjust to accommodate the frame. Use
the Run into Paragraph anchoring position to move the frame completely inside the column and to run the text around
the frame automatically. You can also change the paragraph indents to make room for the frame.
Move a frame’s anchor symbol
1 Select the frame. You don’t need to select the anchor symbol.
2 Choose Edit > Cut, click in text where you want to insert the anchor symbol, and choose Edit > Paste. The anchor

symbol appears at the insertion point when text symbols are visible.
In some cases—for example, when the frame is positioned at the top or bottom of a column of text—the frame may
not change position even though the anchor symbol moves.
Delete an anchored frame
❖ Select the frame and press Delete.

Add object attributes for tagged PDF
If you plan to export your document to a tagged PDF or to XML, you can include object attribute information for your
anchored frames.
Alt text is different from graphics or standard text. Alt text is typically used for describing an image so that screen
readers can read it aloud. Actual text is for reading aloud the actual text, as in the case of a drop cap. For example, if
the author is using a drop cap for the letter A in the word “Adobe” but still wants the screen readers to read the word
as “Adobe” and not as “dobe,” this can be done by filling in actual text. The attribute will be saved to alt text and actual
text in tagged PDF and XML.
When you provide alternate text attribute on an anchored frame, the corresponding figure elements in PDF and
graphic elements in XML get an “alt text” attribute. Actual Text attribute is processed only for tagged PDF. XML export
ignores this attribute.
Note: Object attributes support the Unicode text encoding standard.
1 Select the frame and choose Graphics > Object Properties.
2 Click Object Attributes.
3 In the Text Attributes section, add your alt text and actual text, and then click Set.

Note: Screen readers may ignore actual text when alt text is present.

Hotspots
A hotspot is an active area in a document that you can link to different areas of the document, to another document,
or to a URL. You can apply hotspots to the following objects:
1 Graphic objects
2 Images

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3 Anchored frame
4 Graphics frame
5 Text frame
6 Text line
7 Equations

FrameMaker supports the following shapes for hotspots:
1 Line
2 Arc
3 Polyline
4 Freehand curve
5 Rectangle
6 Rounded rectangle
7 Oval
8 Polygon

You can create hotspots in graphic objects and link them to textual objects in the same or other documents. You can
superimpose an invisible hotspot over an image to link to any relevant text or detail in the document.
With hotspots, you can add multiple links in different parts of a graphic without having to divide the graphic into
separate parts. For example, in a world map, you can create hotspots in each of the countries linking to more
information about that country within a document, in other documents, or at a web address.
Hotspots are supported everywhere in the FrameMaker documents, including the master pages. A use case for
hotspots on master page is a clickable logo for every page of the document that takes the user to a URL.
Hotspots look like other graphic objects. In edit mode, you can select the hotspots and edit the hotspot properties. In
view mode, when you hover the mouse over the hotspot, the cursor changes to indicate active, clickable area.
You can link a hotspot in one document to another. PDFs support only rectangular hotspots. Hotspots of any other
shape are converted to rectangular hotspots when you create the PDFs. Other outputs, such as HTML support hotspots
of other shapes such as oval. If you want to scale, rotate, and translate hotspots with the anchor frame, group the
hotspots with the anchor frame. While saving XML, FrameMaker saves the graphic containing the hotspots in a MIF
file. While opening the XML file again, FrameMaker brings back the hotspot information into the FrameMaker file
from the MIF file. Some other output types that support hotspots are: HTML, Webhelp, FlashHelp, Airhelp, and
Multiscreen output.
The hotspot pod displays the available hotspots in a document or all open documents. Using the hotspots pod, you can
edit/delete/delink the existing hotspots.

Create hotspots using hotspot properties
1 Insert a hypertext marker of type Named Destination. Apart from a Named Destination marker, you can link

hotspots to URLs.
2 Right-click an object and in the pop-up menu, select Hotspot Properties.
3 In the Create Hotspot dialog, do one of the following:
a Specify the target document for the link. FrameMaker displays the available markers (Specify Named

Destination command instance) in the selected document. Select the appropriate instance.

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b Enter the target URL. The URL length is limited to 1011 bytes. 1011 bytes can contain 1011 single-byte

characters, such as for English, or 506 double-byte characters, such as for Greek.
4 Specify a tool tip. Maximum tool tip length is 1023 bytes. 1023 bytes can contain 1023 single-byte characters, such

as for English, or 511 double-byte characters, such as for Greek. Tool tip is optional.
5 Click Save.

You can now test the link by holding Ctrl+Alt keys and clicking the hotspot. You can generate PDF or other
outputs.

Create hotspots using graphics toolbar
1 In the Graphics toolbar, click HotSpot Mode (

2 Create any graphics object.

FrameMaker launches the Hotspot dialog.
3 In the HotSpot dialog, do one of the following:
a Specify the target document for the link. FrameMaker displays the available markers (Specify Named

Destination command instance) in the selected document. Select the appropriate instance.
b Enter the target URL. The URL length is limited to 1011 bytes. 1011 bytes can contain 1011 single-byte

as for English, or 511 double-byte characters, such as for Greek. Tool tip is optional.
5 Click Save.

You can now test the link by holding Ctrl+Alt keys and clicking the hotspot. You can generate PDF or other
outputs.

Delink a hotspot
You can delink a hotspot to remove the hotspot information from graphic object.

• In the Hotspot pod, select the hotspot entry and click Delink.
Or
Select a hotspot and then from the Graphics menu, select Delink Hotspot.
Or
Right click a hotspot and then from the pop-up menu select Delink Hotspot.

Create hotspots in vector graphics
You can create multiple hotspots in vector graphics, such as a CGM file, imported in a FrameMaker document. The
various parts of the CGM graphic can be made different hotspots.

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Object Styles
You can save your frequently used object properties as a style. You can apply these object styles to various objects, such
as images, anchored frames, and text frames for consistent size and appearance. For example, you can create and apply
an object style to all the anchored frames in a document, or across documents, to make them of the same size.
Object styles include the following properties:

• Position and size (width, height, top, left, and angle)
• Fill (fill pattern, tint, and color)
• Stroke (line and arrow style, line width, pen pattern)
• Text line (alignment)
• Text frame (flow properties and column properties)
• Anchored frame (anchoring position and related properties)
• Graphics (scaling and resolution)
• Equation (alignment, size, and automatic line breaks)
• Runaround type and width
Object styles are relevant for the following objects in FrameMaker:

• Images
• Anchored frame
• Graphic objects
• Text frame
• Text line
• Equations

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Object style designer

B
E

A. List of object properties B. Reset all properties to default C. Refresh object style properties D. Select an object style name E. Update all
F. Apply

Object style catalog

A
B

C
D
E

A. Object style names B. Check mark indicates that style is applied in the current document C. Delete a style from the document D. Options
to display the styles in the catalog E. Refresh the list of styles displayed in the catalog

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Create an object style
1 Select Graphics > Object style designer.

Object Designer appears with all the property values blank.
2 In the Object Designer Dialog, type a name for the object style.
3 Edit the property values and click Save.

Create an object style from an object’s properties
1 Select the object based on which you want to create an object style.
2 Select Graphics > Object Style Designer.

Object Style Designer displays the properties relevant to the selected object and populates the values of these
properties from the selected object.
3 In the Object Designer Dialog, type a name for the object style.
4 Edit the property values, if necessary, and click Save.

Apply an object style
1 Select Graphics > Object Style Catalog.
2 Select one or more objects on which you want to apply the style.
3 In the Object Style Catalog, click the name of an object style to apply.

Import object formats from another document
1 Select File > Import > Formats.
2 In the Import Formats dialog, select Object Styles.
3 Select Import.

Using RoboScreenCapture
RoboScreenCapture is a screen capture tool that can be used for capturing and editing images. You can use these
images in your help systems like online tutorials, manuals, training handouts, presentations, marketing materials, and
web pages.
Integration of FrameMaker with RoboScreenCapture helps you do the following:

• Open RoboScreenCapture from FrameMaker.
• Insert images created in RoboScreenCapture into FrameMaker.
• Edit images imported by reference into FrameMaker using RoboScreenCapture. You can use the right-click option
Edit with RoboScreenCapture for an image to launch and edit the image in RoboScreenCapture.
Changes made to the image are reflected in FrameMaker after the image is saved and closed in RoboScreenCapture.
Note: This option is available only for image formats supported by RoboScreenCapture.

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You can use RoboScreen Capture to perform the following tasks:

• Capture screens in 10 modes, including Adobe FreeHand, Virtual Screen, and Multi-Region
• Capture screens using a drop-down menu, assign your own keyboard shortcuts, and even control
RoboScreenCapture with voice commands

• Capture difficult-to-grab screens such as DirectX, Direct3D, 3Dfx, Voodoo, and Glide mode games
• Capture more than is visible on the screen, such as long Web pages
• Edit images
• Save your screen capture in over 20 image formats
• Automatically save screen captures to image files
• Quickly add image stamps, frames, drop shadows, and more
• Change image colors, flip or rotate images, and crop images to a smaller size
• Add identifying stamps to each screen capture, such as a company name or logo
• Call-out specific areas of your capture with shapes, shadow effects, and more.

Capturing and inserting images
You can use RoboScreenCapture from FrameMaker to capture a screenshot from an application running on your
computer, and save it in RoboScreenCapture. You can then import the file into an open FrameMaker document.
1 Open the FrameMaker document into which you want to insert images.
2 Select File > Launch RoboScreenCapture. The RoboScreenCapture application opens.
3 From RoboScreenCapture, capture a screenshot of the desired application using the various options in the Capture menu.
4 Save the file, and close RoboScreenCapture.
5 In Adobe FrameMaker, select File > Import > File. The Import dialog box appears.
6 Select the file created in RoboScreenCapture.
7 Select Import by Reference from the Import dialog box.
8 Click Import.

Editing imported images
You can use RoboScreenCapture to edit images inserted by reference into FrameMaker documents.
1 Open FrameMaker.
2 Select File > Open, and open a document with the image you want to edit.
3 Select the image you want to edit.
4 Right-click the image, and select Edit With RoboScreenCapture. The RoboScreenCapture application opens with

the image open for editing.
5 Edit the image.
6 Select File > Save.
7 Select File > Exit to close the RoboScreenCapture application.

The edited image is updated in FrameMaker and is ready for use in the document.

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Markers
FrameMaker markers provide you multiple ways in which you can mark your documents. You can choose from predefined markers, such as Author, Comment, Conditional Text, ContextString, Cross-Ref, Equation, Glossary; or
create custom markers.
The Markers pod makes it easier to work with and troubleshoot hundreds of markers in a long document or book files.
You can display all the markers in the current document, all open documents, selected file, or a book.

Add a marker
For example, to add a marker of Comment type:
1 Place the cursor in the document where you want to insert a comment.
2 Choose View > Pods > Markers to display the Markers pod if not already open.
3 Click the Insert icon.
4 Choose Comment from the Marker type box.
5 Type your comment in the Marker Text text box and click New Marker.
6 Save document.

Note: You can enter a tab character in marker text by typing either \t or the hexadecimal code \x08. However, if you
generate a list of markers, only tabs entered as hexadecimal codes appear. If you generate an index of markers, only tabs
entered as \t appear.
To add a marker to a structured document:
1 Choose Special > Marker.
2 Select a marker element in the Element Catalog and click Insert.
3 Choose a marker type from the pop-up menu. You can use any predefined marker type except Conditional Text.

You can also define your own marker types.
Note: For structured documents, consult your developer before changing a marker type. Your document may have a
separate element defined for each marker type you’ll need.
4 If the Attributes for New Element dialog box appears, enter attribute values for the marker element and click Insert

Element.
If no marker element is available at the location you want, you might use an invalid element. After inserting the
element, talk to your developer about making the element valid at this location.

Generate a list of markers
For example, to generate a list of all your Comment markers:
1 Select Special > List Of > Markers to display the Set Up List of Markers dialog box.
2 Select the Comment marker type from the right pop-up menu and click the left arrow to transfer it into the Include

Markers of Type list on the left.

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3 Check the Create Hypertext links checkbox.
4 Click the Set button. All your Comment type markers are listed in a separate window.

Delete a marker
❖ Select the marker from the Markers pod and click the Delete icon. The marker is deleted from the document.

Create a custom marker
You can also define custom markers for single-sourcing or automation. For example, you can use custom markers to
mark text that can be extracted into a separate reference guide. You can mark graphic objects that require special
processing, such as conversion from one format to another. You can then use a script to automatically extract all those
graphics marked with the custom marker for further processing.
1 Choose View > Pods > Markers.
2 Click the Insert Icon.
3 From the Marker Type combo box, select Edit.
4 Type a name for the custom marker in the Edit Custom Marker Type box.
5 Click Add and click Done. The new Marker type is added to the list of markers.

Add a custom marker to your document
1 From the Markers pod, click Insert.
2 Select the custom marker type.
3 Type the marker text and click New Marker. A custom marker gets added to your document.

Hypertext and view-only documents
Distributing hypertext documents
You can distribute hypertext documents online as part of an online system. Readers can page through the contents
sequentially or explore at random, following the links you provide. Create a simple online system from documents that
you print (including a table of contents and index that contain hypertext links). Create a more elaborate online
environment that contains extensive navigation aids such as document maps and navigation buttons.
When you set up an online system, you create a series of hypertext documents. In each document, you designate active
areas. An active area contains a hypertext command that instructs FrameMaker how to respond when a reader clicks it.
For example, readers click in a list to learn about a specific item, click part of a graphic for a more detailed drawing of
that part, or click in an index for information about the indexed term. They can choose a topic from a pop-up menu,
or click buttons to navigate through a document.
When creating documents for online distribution, follow these guidelines:

• Write several short documents rather than one long one. A long document takes longer to open.
• Keep all the documents that make up the system together in one folder. A single folder filename specifications for
imported graphics and for hypertext commands.

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• To distribute the documents as FrameMaker files, use fonts that are readily available. Perhaps use fonts such as
Times and Helvetica because these fonts are available on most computers and on all PostScript printers.
You can save a hypertext document in Portable Document Format (PDF) or in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
for distribution on the World Wide Web or on an intranet.
You can also distribute your hypertext documents to readers in View Only 9.0 format. Readers can use FrameMaker
to open, read, search, and print such documents and they can use the embedded hypertext links. They can’t edit the
documents, however.

More Help topics
“Generating HTML” on page 510
“Generating PDFs” on page 492

View-only documents and books
You distribute online documents and books in View Only format. Readers can view, search, copy, and print—but not
edit—a view-only document or book using FrameMaker.
Readers see the contents of a view-only document exactly as it appeared when you made it view-only. Before changing
a document to View Only format, use the View menu to turn off the display of the grid, the ruler, text symbols, and
borders. To display a view-only document without the menu bar or scroll bars, see the online manual MIF Reference.

Save a document in View Only format
1 Choose File > Save As.
2 Specify View Only format and click Save.

To switch several documents between View Only format and Document format, select the files in the book and press
Esc Shift+f l (lowercase L) k. Choose the option, and click Continue.

Save a book in View Only format
1 In the book window, choose File > Save Book As.
2 Specify View Only format and click Save.

When a view-only book is open, you can click

and

to toggle between displaying filenames and text.

Change a document to View Only format without saving it
❖ Choose Special > Hypertext and click Make View-Only.

Change a view-only document to Document format
❖ Do one of the following:

• If the Hypertext panel is open, click Make Editable.
• Press Esc Shift+f l (lowercase L) k. This keystroke also works for a book.

Make a view-only book editable or an editable book view-only
1 In the book window, select any documents that you want to change from view-only to Document format.
2 Press Esc Shift+f l (lowercase L) k.
3 To make the selected files editable, click the option. To make the selected files view-only, deselect the option.

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4 Click Continue.

Navigate to specific pages in view-only documents
You can display pages in view-only documents by following links in the documents, by using controls in the document
window, or by using menu commands.
❖ Do one of the following:

• Click any active area whose hypertext command jumps to a different location.
• Click the page buttons in the status bar.
• Use the scroll bar or the Page Up and Page Down keys.
• Use the commands on the Navigation menu.
• Right-click anywhere in the document window and choose a command from the context menu.
If you customized your view-only window environment as described in the online manual MIF Reference,
sometimes some viewing methods are not available.

Jump backward or forward to links
You can jump back to previous links and then jump forward again. Press Esc+V, Shift+N to jump forward. You can
jump forward only if you have previously jumped backward.
❖ Do one of the following to jump backward:

• Click an active area with a Jump Back or Jump Back & Fit to Page command.
• Choose Navigation > Go Back.
• Right-click anywhere in the document window and choose Go Back from the context menu.

Open a new window
If a link is set to display a document in the active window, you can force FrameMaker to open a new window instead.
❖ Shift-click an active area. FrameMaker doesn’t open a new window unless the link is to a different document.

Menu commands available in view-only documents
Some FrameMaker commands are available in view-only documents. For example, copy text and graphics from a
view-only document and paste them in an editable document, search for text and paragraph tags, and print.
View-only document windows use four FrameMaker menus: File, Edit, Navigation, and Window. To use some menu
commands, place an insertion point. For other menu commands, such as Edit > Copy, select items. View-only book
windows use three FrameMaker menus: File, Edit, and Windows.
If you customize your view-only window environment, sometimes commands are not available.

Set up hypertext active areas
A reader navigates through a hypertext system by clicking active areas. An active area can be a range of text, a graphic,
or a part of a graphic containing hypertext commands. You can set up active areas on body pages. You can also set
them up on master pages so they appear in the same location on all body pages. For example, you can set up
navigational buttons on master pages. When a reader clicks an active area, the hypertext command of the area is
executed.

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More Help topics
“Hypertext commands” on page 276

Prepare text areas
A text area can be a word, a phrase, or an entire paragraph. If the reader clicks in a text area that contains a hypertext
command, FrameMaker finds the hypertext command, highlights the area, and performs the command.
❖ Do one of the following:

• To designate a word or a phrase as an active area, select the text and change its character format. Changing the
character format defines the boundaries of the text area. Most formatting differences are recognized. Only pair
kerning, spread, stretch, change bars, language, and case are ignored.
To designate a word or phrase as an active area without changing its appearance, use a character format that
sets all properties to As Is.

• To designate an entire paragraph as an active area, make sure that the paragraph contains no character format
changes. If the paragraph contains only one hypertext command and no character format changes, FrameMaker
highlights the entire paragraph. It then performs the command when a reader clicks anywhere in the paragraph.

• To designate several adjacent words or phrases in a text string as active areas, use the same character format for
the entire text string. Then insert the various hypertext commands. FrameMaker divides the text into active
areas based on the locations of the markers. When a reader clicks in the text, FrameMaker determines the active
area and executes the correct hypertext command.

Markers divide text into active areas.

Highlighting markers in view-only documents
When you click an active area in a view-only document, FrameMaker doesn’t usually select the cross-reference marker
or the hypertext marker that identifies the linked information. (If the document is in FrameMaker Document format,
the marker is selected.) You can use MIF to specify that the markers are selected.

Prepare graphics
Graphics provide visual cues for hypertext actions. Readers can click an icon to display information on a topic, or an
arrow to display the next page.
An active area over a graphic can contain a hypertext command that jumps to another location. It can also contain a
command that divides the graphic into a matrix of hypertext commands.
Note: If you’re preparing documents for distribution in HTML, use active areas over anchored graphics to create image
maps. Unanchored graphics on master and body pages aren’t converted to HTML.
1 Draw a text frame that covers the entire graphic you want to make active. Later, you place a hypertext command in

the text frame.
Make sure that the graphic is not set to have text run around it.
2 Set the text frame fill and pen patterns to None. This action makes the text frame transparent so that readers see the

graphic behind the frame.

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3 Choose Graphics > Bring To Front to place the text frame in front of the graphic, if it isn’t already there. Unless you

placed the graphic on the page after drawing the text frame, the text frame is already in front of the graphic.

Prepare the same area on multiple pages
You can create an area that appears in the same location on more than one page. Set up the area on a master page and
insert the hypertext command there. For example, you can create buttons on master pages that readers can click body
pages to display the next or previous page.

Navigation buttons on master page appear on body pages.

You can override active master page graphics on individual body pages if you want to send the reader somewhere else.
For example, create a Next Page button with an override on the last body page of each document because the document
has no more next pages to display.

Have an active area appear on more than one page
❖ Set up the area on a master page rather than on a body page. The active area appears in the background of

corresponding body pages. When the reader clicks that area on a body page, the hypertext command on the master
page is activated.
When you draw the text frame on a master page, FrameMaker asks whether you want to create a template frame or
a background frame. Place text frames for active areas in background (untagged) text frames.

Override a master page command on an individual body page
❖ Do one of the following:

• Place a graphic or a different hypertext command over the area on the body page. For example, you can create
an inactive, shaded button covering the Next Page button on the last body page of each document.

Graphics on body pages can override master page commands.

• Place a text frame that contains its own hypertext command over the graphic on the body page.

More Help topics
“Add text to graphics” on page 228
“Run text around graphics” on page 231

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Hypertext commands
Hypertext commands let your readers navigate through the view-only documents. If you’re distributing the
documents in View Only 9.0 format, hypertext commands can also display alerts, close documents, exit FrameMaker,
and start other applications.
Many hypertext commands can contain a path. In a path, a slash (/) separates folder levels.
If your hypertext documents are used on several platforms, use filenames that are valid on all the platforms.
Note: A hypertext command that contains a single-character filename sometimes does not work.
Relative path FrameMaker searches for a relative path beginning in the folder that contains the current document. To
go up one folder level, use two periods (..). For example, suppose a hypertext command refers to a document named
Trombone that is stored in a folder named Brass. If the Brass folder is in the same folder as the current document, use
the path Brass/Trombone.

If the Brass folder is at the same level as the folder that contains the current document, use ../Brass/Trombone.
Absolute path FrameMaker searches for an absolute path beginning at the top of the file system. The absolute path
begins with the drive letter specifier, a colon, and a slash.

For example, suppose a hypertext command refers to a document named Trombone in a folder named Brass. If the
Brass folder is at the top level of drive letter E, use the path E:/Brass/Trombone.
Absolute paths are not recognized across platforms, so always use relative paths if your hypertext documents are
viewed on multiple platforms.

Insert, edit, and delete hypertext commands
You use a marker to insert a hypertext command in a prepared area. After you insert a command and save the
document in View Only format, the area becomes active. When a reader clicks an active area, FrameMaker highlights
the area and executes the command.

Hypertext command marker

After inserting a hypertext command, you can test the command without saving the document in View Only format.
Note: To insert a hypertext command in a text inset, insert the command in the text inset source document.
Insert a hypertext command
1 Click in a prepared area where you want to insert a hypertext command. You can insert hypertext commands in
text frames but not in text lines (graphic objects created with the Text Line drawing tool). To prevent extra spacing
in the hypertext command when exporting, insert your markers at the beginning or end of a word.
2 Choose Special > Hypertext and select a hypertext command from the Command pop-up menu. The syntax for the

command appears below the pop-up menu, and the command name appears in the box.
3 Enter parameters in the box as needed (for example, a filename and linkname).

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Hypertext commands must always appear in lowercase. The parameters can be uppercase or lowercase, but they are
case-sensitive. The entire command can be up to 255 characters long. (Each character in a Japanese font counts as
two characters.)
Note: If you enter a filename parameter for a file that isn’t in the same folder as the current document, specify a path
to the document.
4 If you want FrameMaker to validate the command when you insert it, select Validate Command upon Insertion.
5 Click New Hypertext Marker. FrameMaker checks the syntax in the box. If Validate Command upon Insertion is

selected, FrameMaker also validates the command. For example, FrameMaker validates a Jump to Named
Destination command by verifying that the destination link exists in the specified document.
If FrameMaker finds an error, an alert message describes it, but the command is still inserted in a marker of type
appears at the insertion point when text symbols are visible.
Hypertext. A marker symbol
Note: Hypertext markers support the Unicode text encoding standard.
Edit a hypertext command
1 If the document is in View Only format, do one of the following to change it to Document format:

• If the Hypertext panel is open, click Make Editable.
• Press Esc Shift+f l (lowercase L) k.
2 Choose Special > Hypertext if the Hypertext panel isn’t open.
3 Select the marker that contains the command you want to edit. To select a marker in an otherwise empty text frame,

double-click anywhere in the frame. You can also use the Find command to find and select hypertext markers. The
hypertext command appears in the Hypertext panel.
If no other markers appear near the marker you want to edit, drag through the marker to display its hypertext
command in the Hypertext panel.
4 Edit the command in the box, and click Edit Hypertext Marker. Even if text around the marker is selected, only the

command in the marker is affected.
5 If you want to return the document to View Only format, do one of the following:

• Click Make View Only in the Hypertext panel.
• Press Esc Shift+f l (lowercase L) k.
Delete a hypertext command
❖ Select the marker that contains the command and press Delete. To select a marker in an otherwise empty text frame,
double-click anywhere in the frame. You can also use the Find command to find and select hypertext markers.

Hypertext commands supported in FrameMaker
FrameMaker supports the following hypertext commands.
Alert Displays an alert message.
Alert With Title Displays an alert message with a user-defined title.
Specify Named Destination Marks the location that is displayed when either a Jump to Named Destination or an Open
Document command is executed
Jump To Named Destination Displays the location in the current or a different document that contains a
corresponding destination link). The page is displayed in the active window.

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Jump To Named Destination & Fit To Page Displays the location in the current or a different document that contains

a corresponding destination link. Then resizes the window to fit the document page displayed.
Jump To First Page Displays the first page of the current or a different document. The page is displayed in the active

window.
Jump To Last Page Displays the last page of the current or a different document. The page is displayed in the active

window.
Go To URL Launches browser and displays the specified web page.
Jump To Page Number Displays a specific page in the current or a different document. The page is displayed in the

active window.
Jump To Previous Page Displays the previous page of the current document. The page is displayed in the active

window.
Jump To Next Page Displays the next page of the current document. The page is displayed in the active window.
Jump Back Displays the last location the reader viewed. The page is displayed in the active window.
Jump Back & Fit To Page Displays the last location the reader viewed and then resizes the window to fit the document

page displayed.
Open Document Displays the page that contains the corresponding Specify Named Destination command. The page

appears in a new window (leaving the active window open) only if the page is in a different document.
Open Document & Fit To Page Displays the page that contains the corresponding Specify Named Destination
command and then resizes the new window to fit the document page displayed. The page appears in a new window
(leaving the active window open) only if the page is in a different document.
Open Document As New Opens a document as a new, unnamed document. The document displays in a new window,
leaving the active window open.
Open Document At First/Last Page Displays the first or last page. The page appears in a new window (leaving the active
window open) only if the page is in a different document.
Open Document At Page Number Displays a specific page. The page appears in a new window (leaving the active

window open) only if the page is in a different document.
Pop-up menu Displays a pop-up menu of items, each containing a hypertext command.
Button Matrix Allows the user to choose from a matrix of items that execute hypertext commands.
Message Client Communicates with other applications. Also creates a link to a URL on the World Wide Web or an

intranet for use in documents that are later converted to HTML.
Close Current Window Removes the active window from the screen.
Close All Hypertext Windows Removes all view-only windows from the screen.
Exit Application Exits the FrameMaker application.

Create a button matrix
You can create a button matrix of equal-sized cells that correspond to hypertext commands. When a reader clicks a
cell in a hypertext document, FrameMaker highlights the cell and executes the corresponding hypertext command. For
example, the button matrix could be a group of musical instruments.

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A button matrix with three cells

If the reader clicks one of the instruments, FrameMaker highlights the area around the instrument and executes the
corresponding hypertext command.

Possible contents for text frame on reference page

Note: You can use the Hypertext panel as an aid in identifying the syntax of the commands to type. Type the commands
directly in the text frame. Don’t use the Hypertext panel to insert a hypertext marker.
1 Place the graphic in your document. Choose an appropriate graphic for setting up a matrix of equal-sized cells.
2 Prepare the graphic to be an active area by drawing a single text frame around the entire graphic.
3 Click in the text frame to place the insertion point.
4 Insert a Button Matrix command in the text frame (leaving the frame otherwise empty). This command uses the

following syntax:
matrix rows columns flowname

In this example, rows and columns are the numbers of rows and columns in the matrix, and flowname is the flow
tag of a text frame you’ll create on a reference page. The flowname cannot contain embedded spaces.
For the example shown earlier, with two rows and three columns, and with the corresponding hypertext commands
in a reference page text frame whose flow tag is InstrumentTypes, the command would be as follows:
matrix 1 3 InstrumentTypes

5 Draw a text frame on a reference page and assign a flow tag that matches the flowname in the Button Matrix

command.
6 Click in the text frame to place the insertion point, and then type one hypertext command in each paragraph in the

text frame. The commands correspond to the items in the first row of the matrix, from left to right, followed by the
second row, and so on. Each command must fit on one line. You can resize the text frame if necessary.

More Help topics
“Control the flow of text” on page 90

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Create pop-up menus
Your hypertext document can display a pop-up menu from which readers can choose an item that links to related
information. The pop-up menu can, in turn, contain one level of submenus.

Hypertext pop-up menu and submenu

Create a pop-up menu of hypertext commands
1 Create the graphic button that the reader clicks to display the pop-up menu.
2 Prepare the graphic to be an active area by drawing a single text frame around the entire graphic.
3 Insert a Pop-up Menu command in the text frame (leaving the frame otherwise empty). This command uses the

following syntax:
popup flowname

In this example, flowname is the flow tag of a text frame you’ll create on a reference page. The flowname cannot
contain embedded spaces.
4 Draw a text frame on a reference page and assign a flow tag that matches the flowname in the Pop-up Menu

command.
5 Click in the text frame to place the insertion point, type the menu name in the flow, and press Return. (The first

item in the text frame is always considered the title of the pop-up menu.)
6 Type a menu item in each subsequent paragraph. The contents of each paragraph appears as a command in the

pop-up menu. If necessary, widen the text frame so that each item fits on a single line.
7 Insert a hypertext command in each line except the line that contains the menu name. For example, you can use a

Jump to Named Destination command to display related information. You can use an Alert command to provide
a short message to your readers or a Pop-up Menu command to display a submenu of items.

Text frame for sample hypertext pop-up menu

Note: You cannot open the pop-up menu until you insert at least one hypertext marker on the reference page.
Create a pop-up submenu of hypertext commands
1 Locate the text frame on the reference page that describes the pop-up menu for which you want to create a
submenu.
2 Insert a Popup Menu command in the line for which you want the submenu to appear. This command uses the

following syntax:

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popup flowname

In this example, flowname is the flow tag of a text frame you’ll create on a reference page. The flowname cannot
contain embedded spaces.
3 Create the submenu. Don’t use a Popup Menu command in the submenu, because you can’t create a submenu

within a submenu.

Text frame for sample hypertext pop-up submenu

More Help topics
“Create hypertext links” on page 284
“Add text to graphics” on page 228
“Control the flow of text” on page 90

Create alert messages
You can create a hypertext command to display an alert message that contains a title and a message. If you don’t specify
a title in the command, the alert message contains the default title “FrameMaker—Alert”.
You can also specify a default title for all hypertext alert messages in a document.
Create an alert message
❖ Insert one of the following hypertext commands:

• To display a hypertext alert message with the default title, insert an Alert command. This command uses the
following syntax:
alert message

• To display an alert message with a title other than the default, insert an Alert with Title command. This
command uses the following syntax:
alerttitle title :message

In this example, title is the title of the alert message and message is the text you want to display in the alert message.
The total number of characters in title and message cannot exceed 243 characters.
For example, the following command displays an alert message whose title is “Unavailable” and whose alert message
is “This document is currently under construction.”
alertitle Unavailable:This document is currently under construction

Specify a default title for alerts in a document
1 Draw a text frame on a reference page and assign the frame a flow tag of AlertTitle.
2 Type the default title in the text frame. For example, if “Not Available Online” appears in the flow, that title, not

“FrameMaker—Alert,” appears in the title bar of any alert message created with the Alert command.

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The default title also appears in the title bar of any alert message created with the Alert With Title command in the
following form, without a title:
alerttitle :message

More Help topics
“Add text to graphics” on page 228
“Control the flow of text” on page 90

Hypertext commands in HTML and PDF documents
In a document converted to HTML or PDF, some FrameMaker hypertext commands work in the same way that they
work in view-only FrameMaker documents. Others do not. The following table describes the differences.
Command

PDF

HTML

Alert, Alert with Title

Appears as a note, with no title

Does not work

Jump to Named Destination

Works as described

Jump to Named Destination & Fit to Page

Works as described, but doesn’t fit to
page

Works as described, but doesn’t fit
to page

Jump to First Page, Jump to Last Page, Jump to Page Number, Works as described
Jump to Previous Page, Jump to Next Page

Does not work

Jump Back, Jump Back & Fit to Page

Does not work

Open Document

Works as described

Open Document & Fit to Page, Open Document as New, Open Works as described, but doesn’t fit to
Document at First Page, Open Document at Last Page, Open page or open a separate window
Document at Page Number

Works as described, but doesn’t fit
to page or open a separate
window

Pop-up menu

Does not work

Button Matrix

Does not work

Works as described, if the text
frame containing the command is
in an anchored frame in the main
text flow

Message URL

Works when PDF is opened in browser;
however, the link sometimes does not
work in Acrobat

Works as described

Message Client

Does not work

Close current window, Close All Hypertext Windows, Exit
Application

Does not work

Use hypertext commands to retrace link navigation
You can create hypertext commands that allow readers to retrace the links they followed in a document window.
(FrameMaker maintains a stack of the last 255 links in each window.) For example, perhaps you use these commands
on master pages to create a navigation aid that lets readers retrace their steps.
❖ Insert a Jump Back command. This command uses the following syntax:

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previouslink filename:linkname

In this example, filename and linkname define the location FrameMaker displays when the stack is empty. If the
stack is empty and if you haven’t provided a filename and linkname, FrameMaker leaves the current page displayed.
If the linked information is in a document whose page size differs from the current document, display the
information in a window that is resized to fit the page. Use the Jump Back & Fit to Page command.

More Help topics
“Add links to URLs” on page 514
“Create links to new documents” on page 286
“Create links to specific topics” on page 284
“View-only documents and books” on page 272
“Create links that simulate a TOC” on page 514

Insert hypertext command elements in structured documents
A hypertext document is the same as any other FrameMaker document except that it is saved in View Only 9.0 format
so that readers cannot edit it. The document can have structure, and you can use elements to embed hypertext
commands in the active areas. But the structure does not have any effect on how the reader works with the finished
document.
When working with structured documents, insert a hypertext command using an element. In all other respects, you
set up a hypertext document as described for structured documents the same as unstructured documents.
1 Click in an area that has been prepared for hypertext.
2 Select a hypertext element in the Element Catalog and click Insert.
3 If the Attributes For New Element dialog box appears, enter attribute values for the element and click Insert

Element.
4 Choose a hypertext command from the Command pop-up menu. The syntax for the command appears below the

pop-up menu, and the command name appears in the box.
5 Enter parameters in the box (for example, a filename and linkname).

Hypertext commands must be in lowercase. The parameters can be in uppercase or lowercase, but they are case
sensitive. The entire command can be up to 255 characters long.
Note: If you enter a filename parameter for a file that isn’t in the same folder as the current document, specify a path
to the document.
6 If you want FrameMaker to check for errors in the command, select Validate Command upon Insertion.
7 Click New Hypertext Marker. If text symbols are showing, a marker symbol

appears in the document window.
A bubble for the marker appears in the Structure View, with a text snippet that shows the hypertext command.
FrameMaker checks the syntax for errors. If Validate Command upon Insertion is selected, it also checks the
command. For example, if the command is Jump To Named Destination, FrameMaker verifies that the destination
link exists in the specified document. If it finds an error, an alert message describes the error but the command is
still inserted.

More Help topics
“Hypertext commands” on page 276

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Create hypertext links
You can create links to information in different locations in the same document or in different documents. For
example, you can create links that jump to specific topics or pages, and you can use FrameMaker cross-references as
links. You can also allow your readers to retrace their jumps.
If your documents are distributed in PDF or HTML, some of these commands do not work.

Create links to specific topics
You can create a link from one location in a hypertext document to a topic in another location. You use one command
to specify the topic you want to display, and you use another to mark the spot on the linked page.
A

A. Specify the topic to display. B. Mark the topic.

FrameMaker can display the linked information in the same window or in a new window (leaving the active window
open).

Identify a linked topic
❖ Insert a Specify Named Destination command. This command uses the following syntax:
newlink linkname

In this example, linkname is a word or phrase that identifies the destination. A linkname with a trailing space differs
from a linkname without a trailing space. Also, the linkname is case sensitive; French Horn is not the same as french horn.
A

A. Jump to Named Destination command: gotolink trombone B. Specify Named Destination command: newlink trombone

Note: If you omit the Specify Named Destination command, the Jump To Named Destination and Open Document
commands do not work when clicked unless they reference a filename. In that case, the other file opens, showing the
first page.

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Create a link to a specific topic
❖ Insert one of the following hypertext commands:

• To display the linked information in the same window, insert a Jump to Named Destination command. This
command uses the following syntax:
gotolink filename:linkname

• To display the linked information in a different window, insert an Open Document command. (The
information appears in a new window only if it’s in a different document.) This command uses the following
syntax:
openlink filename:linkname

In this example, filename is the name of the document \to display, and linkname is the descriptive word or
phrase that you used in the corresponding Specify Named Destination command.
If the linked information is in a document whose page size differs from the current document, display the
information in a window that is resized to fit the page. Use the Jump To Named Destination & Fit To Page
command or the Open Document & FitTo Page command.

Create links to pages
You can create a link to the first, last, previous, or next page in the same document or in a different document. You
can also create a link to a specific page number.
You can create navigation aids for your readers by creating links to the next and previous pages on the master pages
of a document.
❖ Insert one of the following hypertext commands:

• To display the linked page in the same window, insert a Jump to Page Number, Jump to First Page, or Jump to
Last Page command. The commands use the following syntax:
gotopage filename:pagenumber
gotopage filename:firstpage
gotopage filename:lastpage

• To display the linked page in a different window, insert an Open Document At Page Number, Open Document
At First Page, or Open Document At Last Page command. The page appears in a new window only if the page
is in a different document.) These commands use the following syntax:
openpage filename:pagenumber
openpage filename:firstpage
openpage filename:lastpage

Note: When you insert a hypertext command to display a specific page number, use the actual page number in the
document. For example, if the destination document MyDoc uses Roman numerals for page numbers and begins on
page v, the command to display the third page is openpage MyDoc:vii.

• To display the next or previous page of the current document, insert a Jump To Previous Page or Jump To Next
Page command. (If the first page of the document is already displayed, Jump To Previous Page has no effect. If
the last page of the document is displayed, Jump To Next Page has no effect.) These commands use the following
syntax:

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previouspage
nextpage

In these examples, filename is the name of the document to display, and pagenumber is the number of the page
to display. When the page to display is in the current document, don’t include the filename and colon. The
following table contains examples of the commands.
Command

Effect

gotopage 8

Displays, in the same window, page 8 of the current document

openpage Trombone:8

Displays, in a different window, page 8 of the document Trombone in the
current folder

Create links to new documents
You can create a link to another document and have FrameMaker open the document in another window as a new,
unnamed document. For example, you can create an online system for your site document templates.
❖ Follow the instructions to insert an Open Document As New command. This command uses the following syntax:
opennew filename

In this example, filename is the name of the document you want to use as a template.

Create links to web pages
You can create a link to a web page on the Internet or a company intranet.
❖ Insert a Go To URL command. This command uses the following syntax:
message URL address

In this example, address is the name of the URL you want to jump to, such as http://www.adobe.com.

Creating links using cross-references
You use FrameMaker cross-references as hypertext links. When the reader clicks a cross-reference in a view-only
document, FrameMaker jumps to the source information. If a cross-reference is present in the same text area as a
hypertext command, the cross-reference takes precedence over the hypertext command.
You can use MIF to specify that cross-references are inactive in your hypertext document. You can also specify that
clicking an active cross-reference always causes FrameMaker to open a new window.

More Help topics
“Hypertext commands in HTML and PDF documents” on page 282
“Insert hypertext command elements in structured documents” on page 283

Create ways to start, open, and close applications
You can use hypertext commands to start other applications. For example, a reader can start a database application
from a view-only document to retrieve and display data.
The hypertext commands for closing files and exiting FrameMaker work in the same way as the commands on the File menu.

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If a reader executes a command to close a file that contains unsaved changes, FrameMaker prompts the reader to save
the document before closing.
In addition, you can create hypertext commands that link to a Universal Resource Locator (URL) when the document
is converted to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

Create a way to start another application
❖ Insert a Message Client. This command uses the following syntax:
message system application path,windowstate

message winexec application path,windowstate

In these examples, application is the application filename, path is an optional command line parameter, and
windowstate specifies the state of the window that is opened. The possible windowstate values are listed in this table.
State

Definition

SW_HIDE

Hides the window and activates another window

SW_MAXIMIZE

Maximizes the specified window

SW_MINIMIZE

Minimizes the specified window and activates the next window in the
Alt+Tab order

SW_RESTORE

Activates and displays the window (If the window is minimized or
maximized, Windows restores it to its original size and position.)

SW_SHOW

Activates the window and displays it in its current size and position

SW_SHOWDEFAULT

Sets the show state based on the SW_ flag specified in the STARTUPINFO
structure passed to the CreateProcess function by the program that
started the application

SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED

Activates the window and displays it as a maximized window

SW_SHOWMINIMIZED

Activates the window and displays it as a minimized window

SW_SHOWMINNOACTIVE

Displays the window as a minimized window (The active window
remains active.)

SW_SHOWNA

Displays the window in its current state (The active window remains
active.)

SW_SHOWNOACTIVATE

Displays a window in its most recent size and position (The active
window remains active.)

SW_SHOWNORMAL

Activates and displays a window (If the window is minimized or
maximized, Windows restores it to its original size and position.)

If you omit the windowstate value, the window state is set to SW_SHOWNORMAL. For more information on
window states, see the documentation for the Windows software development kit.
For example, to start PaintBrush and open the Ship.pcx file on drive letter C in a minimized window, you would
use the following command:
message system pbrush.exe C:/Ship.pcx, SW_MINIMIZE

Create a way to open a file or another application
❖ Insert a Message Client command. This command uses the following syntax:

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message openfile path

In this example, path is the path to the file, application, or AppleScript script.
For example, consider the Tuba.eps file located in the Graphics folder on the drive named HardDrive. To start the
application that created the Tuba.eps file and to open the file, use the following command:
message openfile /HardDrive/Graphics/Tuba.eps

To run the DocReport script (located in the Scripts folder on the drive named HardDrive), use the following
command:
message openfile /HardDrive/Scripts/DocReport

Create a way to close or exit documents
❖ Insert one of the following hypertext commands:

• To create a way to close the current view-only document, insert a Close active window command. This
command uses the following syntax:
quit

• To create a way to close all open view-only documents, insert a Close All Hypertext Windows command. The
Close All Hypertext Windows command also closes view-only documents that have already been closed to an
icon. This command uses the following syntax:
quitall

• To create a way to exit FrameMaker, insert an Exit command. This command uses the following syntax:
exit

More Help topics
“Create links to web pages” on page 286
“Hypertext commands” on page 276

Test and troubleshoot hypertext documents
After writing the document and inserting hypertext commands, test the commands. To speed up testing of hypertext
commands, execute commands without first changing a document to View Only format. Also force the destination of
a hypertext jump to appear in a separate window.
FrameMaker validates all the commands in a document.
Errors in hypertext commands or in their placement in the document, or formatting errors in active areas can cause
problems with the behavior of the commands. For example, an incorrect linkname prevents a hypertext command
from being executed correctly.
Some common hypertext problems and possible solutions:
Clicking an active area has no effect Check for the following possible problems:

• The document is not in View Only 9.0 format.
• If the active area is highlighted correctly when you click, a command sometimes contains a linkname that doesn’t
match the corresponding link at the destination.

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• If the active area isn’t highlighted when you click, sometimes the marker that contains the hypertext command is
not of type Hypertext.

• If the active area is over a graphic, sometimes the text frame containing the hypertext marker is not in front of the
graphic.
The jump goes to the wrong page Sometimes the command contains a correct filename but an incorrect linkname or

an invalid page number.
Only part of the active area is highlighted Check for the following possible problems:

• If you’re trying to make a range of text active, sometimes the text contains an extra hypertext marker or the
character format changes within the range of text.

• If you’re trying to make an entire empty text frame active, sometimes the frame contains an extra empty paragraph,
or extra characters or markers.
Items are missing from a pop-up menu The hypertext commands for missing menu commands are incorrect. If the

pop-up menu does not appear, no commands are correct.

Force the linked destination to appear in a different window
❖ If the document is view-only, Shift-click an active area. Otherwise, Control-Alt-Shift-click an active area.

Generate a list or index of hypertext markers
You can check the text of hypertext commands by generating a list or index of hypertext markers. The generated list
contains the text of all hypertext markers inserted on body pages and their page numbers.
❖ Use the Special > List Of > Markers or Special > Index Of > Markers command.

More Help topics
“Generating TOCs and other lists in structured documents” on page 324
“Generate indexes” on page 337
“Generate and update books” on page 318

Add hypertext links to generated files
When you generate an index or a list such as a table of contents, FrameMaker can insert hypertext links in the
generated file. These links can greatly enhance the usefulness of an online index or table of contents. When you click
a topic or page number in the generated file, the appropriate page in the linked document is displayed.
You can use generated hypertext documents for the following purposes:

• To distribute a generated table of contents or index in View Only format as a navigation tool for your online
documents.

• To debug documents. For example, when creating an index, generate the index with hypertext links. Then fix index
marker errors by jumping to the exact locations of the markers.
Generating a list of hypertext markers produces a list of markers drawn only from body pages. Hypertext markers on
master pages are not included.

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You can activate the hypertext commands in a generated document without changing the document to View Only
format.
❖ Do one of the following:

• From an individual FrameMaker document, select Create Hypertext Links when you use the File > Utilities >
Compare Documents command.

• When adding a generated file to a book, turn on Create Hypertext Links in the Set Up dialog box. If the
generated file is already created, select the generated file in the book window. Then choose the appropriate Set
Up command from the Edit menu.

Add linked thumbtabs to indexes
You can make a generated online index easier to navigate by adding thumbtabs. Readers click a thumbtab letter to
display the page in the index that contains entries starting with that letter.
1 Generate the index with hypertext links.
2 In the index, choose View > Master pages.
3 On a master page, use the Text Line tool to create the thumbtab letters and then draw a text frame over each

thumbtab letter.
4 Insert a Jump to Named Destination command in the text frame for each thumbtab letter. For example, in the text

frame over the thumbtab letter A, insert a Jump to Named Destination command with the syntax gotolink A. (Each
group title in the index already contains a corresponding Specify Named Destination command as a result of
generating the index with hypertext links.)
If the index contains a collapsed group title, such as PR,– insert a Jump To Named Destination command with the
same syntax for each of the thumbtab letters in the range. For example, insert gotolink P-R in the three text frames
for P, Q, R.
5 If the index uses more than one master page, copy the thumbtabs to the other master pages.
6 Save the index in View Only 9.0 format.

Control how source documents are displayed
When you click an active area in a generated hypertext document, FrameMaker opens a new window and displays the
correct page in the linked document. The linked marker or paragraph is highlighted and centered in the window. You
can change the display of the linked document—for example, to display the document in the active window.
1 Generate the hypertext document.
2 In the generated file, choose View > Reference Pages and display the reference page that contains the special flow

for the generated file.
The flow tag of the special flow is the same as the document suffix. For example, the special flow for a table of
contents is tagged TOC, and the special flow for an index is tagged IX. To determine a flow tag, click in the text
frame and look in the Tag area of the status bar.

Your flow tags are displayed in the tag area of the status bar.

3 In the special flow, find the paragraph that controls how the linked document is displayed.

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In a table of contents, the paragraph tag is ActiveTOC; in an index, it is named ActiveIX. The paragraph looks like
the following:
openObjectId <$relfilename>:<$ObjectType> <$ObjectId>
To determine a paragraph tag, click in the paragraph and look in the Tag area of the status bar.
4 Edit the paragraph so that it contains the display command you want.

In addition to the display commands, you can use the Message Client command to send messages to applications
that use the Application Program Interface (API).
5 Save the generated file, and then regenerate it.

Display commands for generated documents
When the reader clicks an active area in a generated hypertext document, FrameMaker displays the correct page in the
linked document. The following table lists some of the hypertext commands you can use to control how the linked
document is displayed. Type the commands exactly as shown. Use the <$relfilename> building block to create a
relative path from the generated file to the linked document. Use <$fullfilename> for a full path. The following
examples show only the <$relfilename> building block.
To display

Type

The linked marker or paragraph centered in the active window gotoObjectId <$relfilename>:<$ObjectType> <$ObjectId>
The linked marker or paragraph centered in the active window gotoObjectIdFitWin <$relfilename>:<$ObjectType> <$ObjectId>
resized to fit the page
The linked marker or paragraph centered in a new window

openObjectId <$relfilename>:<$ObjectType> <$ObjectId>

The linked marker or paragraph centered in a new window
resized to fit the page

openObjectIdFitWin <$relfilename>:<$ObjectType> <$ObjectId>

The page containing the linked marker or paragraph, with
nothing highlighted, in the active window

gotopage <$relfilename>:<$pagenumonly>

The page containing the linked marker or paragraph, with
nothing highlighted, in a new window

openpage <$relfilename>:<$pagenumonly>

An alert that displays the filename of the linked document

alert <$relfilename>

Overriding the generated file display command
You can specify how a specific document is displayed by overriding the display command contained in the ActiveTOC
or ActiveIX paragraph in the generated file. For example, sometimes you want a generated index that references several
files, including a glossary file, to display the glossary in one window and all the other files in another window.
1 Draw a text frame on a reference page in the linked document, and assign the frame the flow tag HypertextLinks.
2 Do one of the following:

• To display the document in the same window, type gotoObjectId
• To display the document in a different window, type openObjectId
3 Save the document and regenerate. When you click in the generated file, display the linked document using the

command specified in the HypertextLinks flow. Don’t use the command in the ActiveTOC or ActiveIX paragraph.

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Incorporating generated files into an online system
If you’re using a generated hypertext document as a debugging tool, the document is ready to use when you generate
it. If, however, the generated file is part of a hypertext online system, do the following before distributing the
documents to readers in View Only format:

• Set up links from the documents back to the generated file. You can use any of the hypertext commands. For
example, you can create an Index or Table of Contents button that jumps back to the generated file.

• Add active areas to the master pages of documents for navigating through the online system. For example, you can
create buttons for paging forward and backward.

• Add links to other parts of the online system in the source documents and in generated files.

More Help topics
“Generating TOCs and other lists in structured documents” on page 324
“Generate indexes” on page 337
“Test and troubleshoot hypertext documents” on page 288
“Compare versions to view changes” on page 415
“Add text to graphics” on page 228
“Create links to specific topics” on page 284

Cross-references
About cross-references
Cross-references in unstructured documents
FrameMaker provides two types of cross-references—to paragraphs and to specific spots within paragraphs. In both
cases, FrameMaker uses markers to keep track of the source of cross-references.
It is easier to create and maintain paragraph cross-references because FrameMaker automatically creates a marker on
the paragraph tag in the source files. In the case of spot cross-references, you have to first mark the spot with a marker
and then create a cross-reference to the marker.
Note: The Cross-reference feature supports the Unicode text encoding standard.

Cross reference markers
FrameMaker uses a marker (of type Cross-Ref) to keep track of the source of each cross-reference. If you move a
marker and then update cross-references, the marker’s new location is used to update the cross-reference.
For paragraph cross-references, the marker text contains a number assigned to the marker, the paragraph tag, and text
of the paragraph being cross-referenced. When you insert a paragraph cross-reference, a cross-reference marker is
inserted automatically at the beginning of the source paragraph if necessary. (The marker text is not updated, so the
tag and text sometimes don’t match the cross-reference.)
For spot cross-references, the marker text is the text you type when creating the marker on the source text. It is
important to mark the text in the source first so that it appears in the cross-reference panel at the time you create the
spot cross-reference.

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Cross-references in structured documents
When working with structured documents, FrameMaker keeps cross-references, variables, and footnotes up to date
for you. To add a cross-reference in FrameMaker, you normally use an element designed for that purpose. The crossreference element points to a location, or source, that can be in the same document or a different document. The source
is also normally an element, such as a Chapter, Section, Figure, or Table element.

An element-based cross-reference shows text from the source element.

If a cross-reference points to a source in an unstructured flow, the source can be either a whole paragraph or a marked
spot in text. It is also possible to point to a paragraph or a spot in a structured flow, but it’s best to point to another
element. (Cross-reference elements are often defined to be invalid if they point to anything other than an element.)
ID and ID Reference attributes in structured documents
FrameMaker uses attributes in cross-reference and source elements to maintain the connection between the two
elements. The source element has an ID attribute that stores a unique identifier in the document or book. The crossreference element has an ID Reference attribute that also stores the source’s identifier as a way of keeping track of what
the reference points to.
If you insert a cross-reference to a source that has an ID attribute but does not yet have a value for the attribute,
FrameMaker automatically provides the value.
An ID that FrameMaker generates is an eight-character string that conforms to the XML or SGML reference concrete
syntax.
FrameMaker tries to ensure that your IDs are unique in the following ways:

• When FrameMaker generates an ID, it is unique within the document. The ID is unique even within the book,
because documents in a book have different filenames and part of the generated IDs comes from the filename.

• If you enter an ID that is not unique, the ID is not accepted. FrameMaker does not test for whether an entered ID
is used in a different document in a book but you can validate the book to find duplicate IDs.

• If you paste a copy of an element with a duplicate ID, the pasted element loses its ID.
It is still possible for a document to have IDs that are not unique. For example, duplicate IDs occur if you show hidden
conditional text that contains an element with the same ID as another element. The duplicate IDs are identified as
invalid in the Structure View.
Chapter
x

DraftVersion = Alpha Draft
XRefLabel =

Invalid value

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An ID Reference attribute is sometimes defined to require a value. If an attribute requires a value but does not have
one, the cross-reference probably points to a paragraph or spot within text rather than an element. FrameMaker
identifies the attribute as invalid in the Structure View.
Chapter
DraftVersion = Alpha Draft
XRefLabel =

Missing a required value

Cross-reference pod overview
The cross-reference pod lists all the cross-references in the current document, selected document, or all open
documents. It allows you to add, edit, delete, or search for cross-references from a single panel. You can also filter
cross-references to view only external or unresolved cross-references. This helps to troubleshoot unresolved crossreferences across multiple open documents.
A

Cross-reference pod
A. Select the file. B. List all, external, or unresolved cross-references. C. Insert a cross-reference in a document. D. Edit a selected crossreference. E. Delete a selected cross-reference. F. Go to the location of the selected cross-reference in the document. G. Refresh pod data.
H. Search for a cross-reference.

Insert cross-references
Within a document, when you copy and paste text that contains a cross-reference marker, the marker is not duplicated.
The cross-reference still refers to the text in its original location.

Insert a paragraph cross-reference
Paragraph cross-references refer to a heading or some other text that occupies a whole paragraph.
1 If you’re cross-referencing another document, open that document. You must have write permission to the

document to add a cross-reference marker to it.
2 Click where you want to insert the cross-reference.

You can insert a cross-reference in text frames but not in text lines (graphic objects created with the Text Line
drawing tool).
3 Click the Add icon on the cross-references pod.
4 If you’re cross-referencing information in another document, choose the name of that document from the

Document pop-up menu in the cross-reference panel.
5 Choose Paragraphs from the Source Type pop-up menu. All the tags in the document’s Paragraph Catalog appear

in the Paragraphs Tags scroll list.
6 In the Paragraph Tags scroll list, select the tag of the paragraph you want to cross-reference. For example, if you’re

cross-referencing a paragraph tagged Head1, select Head1 in the Paragraph Tags scroll list. All Head1 paragraphs
then appear in the Paragraphs scroll list.

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7 In the Paragraphs scroll list, select the paragraph to cross-reference.
8 Choose the format of the cross-reference from the Format pop-up menu.
9 Click Insert. FrameMaker inserts a cross-reference at the insertion point in your document. In the source

document, FrameMaker adds a marker at the start of the paragraph being cross-referenced. FrameMaker inserts
a marker only if a cross-reference marker isn’t already there.
10 Save both the documents for the cross-reference to work correctly.

If the paragraph extends beyond the page on which it begins, the page number in the cross-reference, if included, is
that of the beginning page.

Insert a cross-reference to a paragraph in a text inset
If you insert a paragraph cross-reference to a text inset, the cross-reference marker is sometimes lost when the text
inset is updated. To prevent the marker from being lost, first insert a cross-reference to the paragraph in the text inset’s
source document.
1 Open the source of the inset by double-clicking the inset and then clicking Open Source from the Text Inset

Properties panel.
2 Insert a cross-reference to the paragraph anywhere in the source document.
3 Delete the cross-reference text. The marker remains.
4 Save the source document, and then in the document that contains the text inset, update the text inset by choosing

Edit > Update References.
5 Insert a spot cross-reference, this time in the document that contains the inset. The cross-reference uses the marker

in the updated inset.

Insert a cross-reference to a word or phrase
Spot cross-references refer to an individual word or phrase—a spot—in a paragraph. For example, use a spot crossreference if you have a paragraph that spans two pages and you want to refer to the text on the second page of your
reference.
1 Click where you want to insert the marker. For example, click at the start of a word, next to an anchored frame

symbol, or anywhere within a column of text.
2 Click the Add icon on the Markers panel.
3 Choose Cross-Ref from the Marker Type pop-up menu.
4 Enter an identifying word or phrase for the marker in the Marker Text box.

The marker text can be up to 255 unicode characters long.
For example, if you insert a marker where inertia is defined, you can enter Definition of inertia. This text appears
in the cross-reference panel to Help you identify the source. It doesn’t appear in the cross-reference itself.
5 Click New Marker. A marker symbol

appears at the insertion point when text symbols are visible.

6 Insert a spot cross-reference by choosing cross-reference Markers from the Source Type pop-up menu. Then select

the marker text in the cross-reference Markers scroll list, choose a cross-reference format, and click Insert.
The Markers pod displays the marker text of all markers including Cross-Refs. However, you can also generate a
list of all types of Cross-Ref markers from Special > List Of > References.

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Insert a cross-reference in a structured document
When inserting a cross-reference, you normally use a cross-reference element and point the reference to another
element. The source element can be an entire section or chapter, a table or graphic, a paragraph, or a location within
a paragraph (such as a definition).
FrameMaker uses attributes to maintain the connection between a cross-reference element and a source element. The
source element has an ID attribute with a value that uniquely identifies the location in the document. When you insert
a cross-reference to the source, the same value is stored in an IDRef attribute for the cross-reference element.
If you insert a cross-reference to a source that has an ID attribute but does not yet have a value for the attribute,
FrameMaker automatically provides the value.
Note: An element can be a source for cross-references only if it has a unique ID attribute. If you want to insert a crossreference to a source that does not have an ID attribute, ask your application developer to add the attribute to the source
element definition.
1 If the source element is in another document, open that document. If the source element does not have a value

assigned to its ID attribute, you must have write permission to the other document so that FrameMaker can provide
an ID.
2 Click where you want to insert the cross-reference element. You can insert a cross-reference in text frames but not

in text lines (graphic objects created with the Text Line drawing tool).
3 Select a cross-reference element in the Element Catalog and click Insert.

You can also use Special > cross-reference to insert an element. If more than one element is available, choose the
one you want from the Element Tag pop-up menu in the cross-reference panel.
4 If you’re cross-referencing information in another document, choose the name of that document from the

Document pop-up menu.
5 Choose Elements Listed in Order or Elements Listed by ID from the Source Type pop-up menu. The tags of all

elements for which an ID attribute is defined (in the source document’s element definitions) appear in the Element
Tags scroll list.
List elements by IDs if you provided the IDs and have used values that identify the elements’ contents. (If
FrameMaker provided the IDs, the values are random strings that are helpful in finding the element you want.)
6 Select the tag of the source element in the Element Tags scroll list. For example, if you’re cross-referencing a Section

element, select Section. All Section elements in the source document appear in the Elements scroll list.
Some elements use context labels to provide information about the element’s location in the structure. For example,
if Section elements can be nested within other Section elements, the labels can identify whether the elements are
first-, second-, or third-level sections.

Context labels

If an element uses context labels, a entry also appears in the scroll list for occurrences not described by
the labels. In the example, Section() represents Section elements that are at a fourth level or lower in the
document.
7 Select the element you want to cross-reference in the Elements scroll list.

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8 To change the cross-reference format, choose from the Format pop-up menu.

Note: Consult your developer before changing a cross-reference format.
9 Click Insert. FrameMaker places the cross-reference at the insertion point. A bubble for the reference appears in

the Structure View, with a text snippet that shows the first part of the text from the reference.
10 If the Attributes for New Element dialog box appears, enter attribute values for the cross-reference, and select Insert

Element.
If no cross-reference element is available at the location you want, you can use an invalid element. After inserting the
element, talk to your developer about making it valid at this location.

Use an invalid cross-reference element
❖ Do one of the following:

• To insert an invalid cross-reference element with a default tag, choose Special > cross-reference, and choose
CROSSREF from the Element Tag pop-up menu. (This option appears in the menu if no defined cross-reference
elements are available.)

Provide a value for an ID attribute
If the ID attributes are not read only, you can provide the IDs with values that are more meaningful. Give the source
elements their IDs before inserting cross-references to them.
❖ Enter an ID in the Attributes dialog box. You can use any combination of characters on your keyboard, up to 255

characters.
Keep in mind that the ID appears in the cross-reference panel and in the Structure View. Use a brief name that
you’ll remember or recognize later. For example, assign the ID value Art to an element for a chapter titled The Art
Department.
If you plan to export to XML or SGML, follow the naming rules for the syntax you’ll be using in XML or SGML.
Ask your developer for recommendations on name length and characters allowed.
You can also edit an ID (unless the attribute is defined to be read only), but any cross-references pointing to the
element will be unresolved.
If you change an element’s ID, you can update existing cross-references to the element. Search for elements that
have an ID Reference attribute with the old ID, and replace the old ID with the new one.

More Help topics
“Display the source of a cross-reference” on page 298
“Resolve cross-references” on page 303

Edit cross-references or display the source
If you want to edit the text of the cross-reference as you do regular text, you must convert it to text. After conversion,
the text can no longer be updated as a cross-reference.

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Convert a cross-reference to text
1 If you’re converting a single cross-reference, select it; otherwise, click in the document.
2 Choose Special > cross-reference.
3 Click Convert to Text.
4 Indicate the scope of cross-references to convert and click Convert.

Choose a different source or format for a cross-reference
1 Double-click the cross-reference. If the source is located in a different document, click OK to open the source

document.
2 Specify a source or format in the same way that you would when inserting a cross-reference, and then click Replace.

Display the source of a cross-reference
• Double-click the cross-reference, and then click Go to Source. FrameMaker displays the page that contains the
source of the cross-reference and places the insertion point at the beginning of the source paragraph.

• (Windows) Alt-Control-click the cross-reference.
Note: If the source is in a different document, hold down Shift while using one of the preceding shortcuts to open the
document without closing the current document.

Create and edit cross-reference formats
A cross-reference format defines the appearance of a cross-reference: its wording, the source information it shows,
and, optionally, any special text formatting. The building blocks of the format are replaced with source information and
are updated when necessary—for example, if the source page number changes.
A

A. Text that appears literally B. Building blocks.

FrameMaker templates include several cross-reference formats. You can change them or create others. If another
document contains the cross-reference formats you want, you can import them into your document. For structured
documents, ask your developer to create one or modify an existing format.
1 Choose Special > cross-reference.
2 Click Edit Format.
3 Type a name for the cross-reference format in the Name box. Format names are case-sensitive page and Page would

be different formats.
4 Do any of the following:

• To use text (such as See or on page) in a cross-reference format, click in the Definition box and enter the text.
• To include a building block that refers to source information, such as a page number, chapter number, or
heading text, click in the Definition box and then click the building block in the Building Blocks scroll list. The
building block appears at the insertion point.

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• To change the character format within the cross-reference, click in the Definition box and then click the
character format at the bottom of the Building Blocks scroll list. The building block appears at the insertion
point. To return to the default paragraph format before the end of the cross-reference, insert
in the definition.
5 Click Add and then click Done. The new cross-reference format appears in the Formats pop-up menu in the cross-

reference panel.

More Help topics
“Import formats from a template or document” on page 110
“Generate and update books” on page 318

Including text in a cross-reference
You can include specific characters or words in the cross-reference. In most cases, you simply enter the text in the
Definition box. But a few characters are entered or displayed differently.
For example, an angle bracket (< or >) in a cross-reference format ordinarily signals a building block. To include an
angle bracket as part of the text, precede it with a backslash (\).
Note: Some special characters are entered or displayed differently in dialog boxes. Enter a sequence of characters
beginning with a backslash (\); these sequences are listed in “Typing in dialog boxes” on page 551.

More Help topics
“Include book component numbers in headers or footers” on page 314

Including source information in cross references
You use building blocks to include information about the source of the cross-reference, such as its paragraph text (but
not the cross-reference marker text), paragraph autonumber, or volume, chapter, or page number. Building blocks for
source information appear in angle brackets ( < and > ) and begin with a dollar sign ($). The following building blocks
are grouped by the type of information they represent.
Source file
FrameMaker provides the following building blocks for referring to the source file.
Building block

Description

<$filename>

The name of the source document

<$fullfilename>

The full path of the source document

<$volnum>

The volume number of the document that includes the source paragraph

<$chapnum>

The chapter number of the document that includes the source paragraph

Source paragraph
FrameMaker provides the following building blocks for referring to the source paragraph.

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Building block

Description

<$pagenum>

The page number of the source paragraph

<$paratext>

The text of the source paragraph, excluding its autonumber (If the character format of
text in the source paragraph was changed by applying a Character Catalog format, the
font family, superscript, and subscript properties are preserved in the text of the crossreference.)

<$paratag>

The tag of the source paragraph

<$paranum>

The source paragraph’s entire autonumber, including any text in the autonumber
format

<$paranumonly>

The source paragraph’s autonumber counters, including any characters between them

Paragraph preceding the source paragraph
A cross-reference to a subsection often identifies the section that contains it. For example, this cross-reference to a
subheading identifies the main heading under which it is found: See “Types of Plate Boundaries” in “Plate Tectonics.”
In the example, Types of Plate Boundaries is the source paragraph, and Plate Tectonics is the main heading under which
the source paragraph appears.
In each of the building blocks, replace tag (in brackets) with the tag of the paragraph to which you want to refer, but
don’t delete the brackets. For example, if you want to refer to the text of the preceding paragraph tagged Head1, use
<$paratext[Head1]>.
Building block

Description

<$pagenum[tag]>

The page number of the preceding paragraph with the specified tag

<$paratext[tag]>

The text of the preceding paragraph with the specified tag, excluding its
autonumber (If the character format of text in the source paragraph was changed
by applying a Character Catalog format, the font family, superscript, and subscript
properties are preserved in the text of the cross-reference.)

<$paratag[tag]>

The tag of the preceding paragraph with the specified tag

<$paranum[tag]>

The entire autonumber of the preceding paragraph with the specified tag,
including any text in the autonumber format

<$paranumonly[tag]>

The autonumber counters of the preceding paragraph with the specified tag,
including any characters between them

Important: Don’t use a paragraph tag that includes brackets ([ ]).
Structured FrameMaker elements
Use the following building blocks to create cross-reference formats that refer to structured FrameMaker elements
Building block

Description

<$elempagenum>

The page number of the source element

<$elemtext>

The text of the source element (up to the first paragraph break), excluding its
autonumber, but including any prefix and suffix specified in the element definition

<$elemtextonly>

The text of the source element (up to the first paragraph break), excluding its
autonumber and any prefix and suffix specified in the element definition

<$elemtag>

The tag of the source element

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Building block

Description

<$elemparanum>

The entire autonumber of the source element’s first paragraph (or of the paragraph
containing the source element), including any text in the autonumber format

<$elemparanumonly>

The autonumber counters of the source element’s first paragraph (or of the paragraph
containing the source element), including any characters between the counters

<$attribute[name]>

The value of the attribute with the specified name (or, if no value is specified, the
default value)

Including character formats in cross-references
All formats in the document’s Character Catalog appear at the end of the Building Blocks scroll list. You insert them
as you do other building blocks.
If you don’t insert a character format in a cross-reference format, FrameMaker uses the font at the insertion point
when a cross-reference is inserted with that format. If you change the character format for the cross-reference, the
change applies only to the cross-reference, not to the text following it in the paragraph.
Don’t use a character tag that includes angle brackets (< >).

Examples of cross-reference formats
The first four examples in the following table include building blocks that refer to the source paragraph.
Example

Building block sequence

Chapter 4, “Climatic Effects.”

<$chapnum>, “<$paratext>.”

Section 2.3.4, Volcanoes.

Section <$paranumonly>, <$paratext>.

See Plate tectonics, next.

See <$paratext> , next.

Page 23

Page <$pagenum>

See “Magma” in “Volcanoes.”

See “<$paratext>” in “<$paratext[Head1]>.”

The last example includes a building block that refers to a paragraph preceding the source paragraph. In this example,
the cross-reference format could also be the following:
See “<$paratext>” in “<$paratext[Title, Head1]>.”
In this case, the cross-reference refers to either the chapter title (Title) or the section heading (Head1), whichever is
closer to the Magma source paragraph.
You can use the building block as a substitute for in cross-reference definitions.

Edit or delete a cross-reference format
When you change or delete cross-reference formats, the changes are reflected immediately in all cross-references that
use the affected formats.
You can change the format of cross-references in a text inset (text imported by reference) if the inset uses the formats
of the document into which it is imported. If the inset uses formats from the source document, change the formats in
the source document.
1 Choose Special > cross-reference, and click Edit Format.

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2 In the Formats scroll list, select the format you want to edit or delete, and do one of the following:

• Edit the definition. Click Change, and then click Done. If the Update cross-reference panel appears, indicate the
scope of cross-references to update, and then click Update.

• Click Delete, and then click Done. If cross-references in the document use the format, you are asked whether
you want to convert these cross-references to text.

Update and resolve cross-references
If you edit the source of a cross-reference or if the pagination of the source document changes, the cross-reference is
no longer accurate. You can update cross-references to be sure that they show correct information from the source.
You can use the cross-reference pod to display a list of all the unresolved cross-references in a document or book. You
can use this list to troubleshoot unresolved cross-references.
Normally, FrameMaker updates all cross-references when you open a document. It also updates all internal crossreferences and cross-references to open documents when you print a document. You can also update cross-references
manually. If the document contains unresolved cross-references—cross-references to sources that FrameMaker can’t
find—you’ll need to Help locate the sources.
FrameMaker does not update cross-references when opening a document in the following circumstances:

• When cross-references refer to information in hidden conditional text. Show the text that contains the sources of
the cross-references before updating the cross-references.

• When fonts or dictionaries are missing.
• When opening a document saved with an earlier version of FrameMaker.
• When opening a MIF file.

Suppress automatic updating of cross-references in a document or book
If a document contains many cross-references, you can improve its opening time by suppressing automatic updating
of the cross-references. After you suppress automatic updating, cross-references are updated only when you print or
when you manually give instructions to update. They are no longer updated when you open the document. However,
internal cross-references and cross-references to open documents are still updated automatically when you print.
1 Do one of the following

• To suppress updating in a document, choose Edit > Update References, choose Suppress Automatic Updating
Of All cross-references from the Commands pop-up menu. Select Suppress Automatic Updating Of All crossreferences and click Set.

• To suppress updating in a book window, choose Edit > Suppress Automatic Reference Updating, select Suppress
Automatic Updating, and then click Set.
2

Click Done.

Update cross-references manually
Update a document at any time while you edit it or any other documents that are sources for the cross-references.
1 Choose Edit > Update References.
2 Select All cross-reference and click Update. If FrameMaker can’t resolve all the cross-references, the Update

Unresolved cross-references dialog box appears.

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More Help topics
“Generate and update books” on page 318

Resolve cross-references
Occasionally, FrameMaker can’t update a cross-reference for the following reasons:

• The marker or source of the cross-reference has been moved to a different file, or the file itself has been moved or
renamed.

• The source has been deleted, or if the source is a paragraph or spot, the marker indicating the source has been
deleted.

• The file containing the marker is currently open by someone else on the network server.
• The value for the source element’s ID attribute or the cross-reference’s ID Reference attribute has been changed or
deleted. The ID value must be the same at both locations.
Resolve cross-references using the cross-references pod
You can view the list of all unresolved cross-references from the cross-references pod. The pod list area displays the
unresolved cross-reference, format of the cross-reference, document name, page number, source document, and the
source type. All unresolved cross-references are indicated by a red cross symbol. You can select any cross-reference
from the pod list area and the cross-reference is selected in the document.

• Select Unresolved cross-references from the References list box in the cross-references pod.
Generate a list of unresolved cross-references
You can generate a list of unresolved cross-references. The generated list includes the page number of each unresolved
cross-reference and indicates whether each missing source is internal (in the current document) or external (in a
different document). The list includes additional information—for example, the tag and text of the source paragraph
(unstructured documents), or the ID, element tag, and text of the source element (structured documents). The tag and
text are not always accurate because they aren’t updated after you initially insert the cross-reference. For spot crossreferences, the list includes the marker text.
1 Choose Special > List of > References. When prompted, specify whether you want to create the generated file as a

stand-alone document or add it to a book.
2 Move Unresolved Cross-Refs to the Include References scroll list, and then click Set.

Resolve a cross-reference when a marker has been moved to another file or the file has been renamed
1 Choose Edit > Update References.
2 Choose Update Unresolved cross-references from the Commands pop-up menu.
3 In the Total of Unresolved cross-references scroll list, select the file that used to contain the source of the unresolved

cross-reference. The text below the scroll list indicates how many cross-references to the selected file are
unresolved.
4 In the Look In scroll list, select the file that contains the source, and click Open.

If FrameMaker can’t perform the update, select a different file in the Look In scroll list, and then try again.
5 To resolve cross-references to any other file listed in the Total of Unresolved cross-references scroll list, repeat steps

3 and 4. Then click Done.
Resolve a cross-reference when a marker has been deleted
1 Choose Edit > Find/Change.

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2 Choose Unresolved cross-reference from the Find pop-up menu and click Find. The Find/Change panel finds the

first unresolved cross-reference and provides information to Help you locate the source.
3 Do one of the following:

• If you do not need the cross-reference, delete it.
• If FrameMaker finds an unresolved paragraph cross-reference, double-click the cross-reference to display the
cross-reference panel, specify a different source, and click Replace.

• If FrameMaker finds an unresolved spot cross-reference, insert a new cross-reference marker in the appropriate
text. Use the same marker text that appears in the Find/Change panel.
Resolve a cross-reference when the ID and ID Reference values do not match (structured documents)
❖ Do one of the following:

• Edit the ID or the ID Reference value so the two values match. ID attribute values are often read-only, so you
sometimes have to edit the ID Reference.

• Re-create the cross-reference.

More Help topics
“Insert a cross-reference in a structured document” on page 296

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Chapter 8: Books and Long Documents
About books
A book file contains the filenames of the documents that make up the book, such as chapters and appendixes,
generated files such as a table of contents, and other books. The filename and location of each file are added to the book
file and a link is established between the file and the book.
A book can also be organized into a hierarchical setup of related documents using folders and groups. Folders act as
chapters, sections, or sub sections depending on their hierarchical level within a book. You can also include related
books within a book to build a complex documentation set.
A book file contains pagination and numbering settings for each file in the book. During a book update, FrameMaker
updates the numbering throughout the book and can create and update the generated files as well.
Although books can include non-FrameMaker documents, such as .mif or .txt files, their processing is different from
.fm files.
Book building workflow
1 Create a book and add files to it. These files can be .fm, .xml, .MIF, or even .book files.
2 Organize files into folders or groups if necessary.
3 Set up volume, chapter, page, and paragraph numbering.
4 Add generated files, such as a TOC, list of tables or images, or an index.
5 Update the book. This step populates a new TOC and index.
6 Fix broken links and troubleshoot numbering and cross references.
7 After fixing any errors, generate and update the book again.

Note: FrameMaker book file references the files included in the book. A file can therefore be included in multiple books.
Set up hierarchical books
In FrameMaker, you can create hierarchical books that can include multiple books and files organized under folders
or groups.

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J
K
L
M

O
P

Hierarchical mixed FrameMaker book
A. Add a file to the book B. Add a folder in the book C. Add a group in the book D. Save the book file E. Delete a file from the book F. Update
book G. Arrow keys to move book components H. Display file heading text. Icon changes to Display File Names on clicking. I. Search in a book
J. Complete path of the book and book name K. Generated FrameMaker file - TOC L. .fm file M. Folder N. .xml files included in a book
O. Group of files P. .mif file in a group Q. Multiple sub-levels of folders R. Status bar for the book

Saving a hierarchical book as a FrameMaker 8 book flattens the hierarchical structure. FrameMaker flattens the
hierarchical structure to a single level.

Create books
Create a book
1 Choose File > New > Book. If a document is active, an alert message asks if you want to include it in the book. A

new book window appears showing the contents of the book.
2 Choose File > Save Book As. A .book extension is added to the filename.

Add files to a book
1 In the book window, choose Add > Files or click

2 Select the document file or files you want to add to the book, and then click Add.

You can add files by dragging them into a book window.

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Note: You can also add files by specifying an HTTP path and filename in the Add Files to Book dialog box. When doing
this ensure that you specify a correct path and filename else you may get a message that the file is not in a recognized
format and an uneditable dummy file is added to the book.

Associate a structured application with an xml file
You can associate a structured application with the .xml files included in a book.
1 Right-click the .xml file in the book window and select Properties.
2 Select the structured application name from the Use Structured Application list box and click Continue.

Add generated files to a book
1 Open the book window and select the file next to where you want the generated file to appear.
2 Do one of the following:

• Choose Add > Table of Contents or choose Add > List of, and then choose a type of list from the menu.
• Choose Add > Standard Index, or choose Add > List of, and then choose the type of specialized index you want
to create.
Note: You can also create TOCs, lists, and index for individual files in a book. For example, choose Special > List of Figures
to create a standalone list of figures for the current document. You can also opt to create a book with a copy of the current
file and its corresponding generated file. The generated files are always created in the same folder as the source file.

Add a folder
You can add folders to your book and organize related documents in it. FrameMaker treats a folder as a logical
container; it does not create a physical folder on the disk. A folder can have one or more folders, groups, or files within it.
Depending on the level at which you add a folder, it can act like a chapter, section, or subsection. You can set special
numbering styles for a folder and all its contents. You can also choose to exclude files from being published by selecting
Exclude from the context menu.
When you select a file in a book and add another file, the new file is added below and at the same level as the selected
file. When you select a folder and add a file, the new file is added at the end of the files in the folder.

A. .Select One.fm and add Four.fm. B. Select Folder1 and add A.fm.

Note: If a file is already present in a book, you cannot add it again within a folder.

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Rename a folder
1 Right-click the folder and select Properties.
2 Type a new folder name in the Title box and click Set.

Associate a template with a folder
Associate a template with a folder to publish a cover page for the files in the folder. Any template associated with a
folder is published like any other file in a book. Use the <$chaptertitlename> variable to include the folder name in the
template associated with the folder. You can use this variable for a folder occurring at any level in a book.
1 Right-click the folder and select Properties.
2 Select the Template Path checkbox, browse, and select the template filename and click Open.
3 Click Set. The folder icon changes to indicate that a template is associated with the folder.

Important: A template associated with a folder is published in a PDF like any other file in a book.
To open a template associated with a folder, right-click on the folder and select Open. This opens all the files under the
folder including the template file.

More Help topics
“File menu (book window)” on page 555

Add file information for a folder template
You can specify file information, such as author name, file title, keywords for a template associated with a folder.
1 Right-click the folder that has a template associated with it and select File Info.
2 Specify the file information and click Set.

Add a group
You can create groups in a book file. Like folders, groups are also logical containers in a book file; they do not exist on
the disk. The difference between a group and a folder is that a group does not change the hierarchy of the files within
it. Also you cannot set up numbering styles for a group.
For example, the chapter number increments sequentially if the chapter is in a group. For files organized under a
folder, the chapter number remains the same but the section number can increment sequentially. You cannot explicitly
change the chapter number for files in a folder as the files inherit this property from the folder.
Book 1
File 1
Chapter number = 1
File 2
Chapter number = 2
File 3
Section number = 2.1
File 4
Sub-section number = 2.1.1
Group 1
File 5 Chapter number = 3
File 6 Chapter number = 4
Folder 1
Chapter number = 5
File 7 Chapter number = 5; Section number = 1
File 8 Chapter number = 5; Section number = 2

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Add a child book
You can also add books within books. These can be unstructured book files or DITA maps. You can now include
multiple child books at multiple levels in a book.
1 Open the parent book in which to add a child book.
2 In the book window, choose Add > Files or click

3 Navigate to and select the .book file you want to add as a child book and click Add. Double-clicking the child book

opens it in a separate Resource Manager panel.
Note: You can click the Browse URL button in the Add File dialog box to select a book residing on a WebDAV server.
A child book is treated as a placeholder within the parent book. You cannot edit a child book from within the parent
book view. All maintenance tasks must be performed in the child book separately. For example, any book-wide
operation on the parent book, such as spell check or find/replace works only on parent book files and not on the child
book files. You should search and update child books separately.
Similarly, when updating a parent book for pagination and cross-references, ensure that you first update the child
books and then update the parent book. This is because numbering and pagination information is stored at a book
level. A book update on the parent book does not affect the page numbering within the files in a child book if the files
in the child book are closed.
However, if the files from the child book are already open, then they are updated but not saved. You should always
explicitly save all open files after a book update command or after applying a book-wide command.
When saving a parent book file as a PDF, FrameMaker updates information for only those files that belong to the
parent book. To ensure that the information is correctly represented in the PDF for child books as well, do one of the
following:

• First update all child books and then their parent books before saving a book file as a PDF.
• Open all files, including the files in the child books before saving the parent book file as a PDF. After creating the
PDF, ensure that you save all the open files to preserve any updates.

Managing books
Manage book files
Display filenames or heading text in the book window
❖ Do one of the following:

• Click the Display Heading Text icon
• Click the Display File Names icon

.
.

Exclude book components from output
❖ Right-click the book component to exclude and select Exclude.

If you exclude a folder or group, all files within the folder or group are excluded from the outputs. When you update
a book, the numbering is automatically updated to account for the excluded files.

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Selecting book components
Select all book components Choose Edit > Select > All.
Select all generated files in a book Choose Edit > Select > Generated Files.
Select all nongenerated files in a book Choose Edit > Select > Nongenerated Files.
Select only FrameMaker files, such as .fm, .book, .mif files Choose Edit > Select > FrameMaker Files.
Select all excluded files Choose Edit > Select > Excluded Components
Select all the files that are not marked as Excluded Choose Edit > Select > Nonexcluded Components.
Select all the book components at the first hierarchical level Choose Edit > Select > Chapter Components.
Select all book components at the second hierarchical level Choose Edit > Select > Section Components.
Select all book components at the third hierarchical level Choose Edit > Select > Sub-section Components.

Rearrange and delete files
When working with structured books, you can rearrange and delete files by working with element bubbles in the
Structure View. After you update the book, the text snippets identify the files.
If you delete a file from a structured book you’ve updated, the file may retain some structure information inherited
from the book. Remove this information from the file to make it a stand-alone document again.
❖ In the book window, select one or more files. Do either of the following:

• Drag the selected files to the desired position in the book window.
• Choose Edit > Delete. Filenames are removed from the book window, but the files remain on the disk.

Rename files
When you rename a file in a book, FrameMaker renames the corresponding file on the disk and updates crossreferences, hypertext links, and text inset links in other files in the book.
When you add a generated file (such as a table of contents or index) to a book, the file is assigned a name based on the
book’s filename. If you leave generated files with the default filename and rename the book, then the filename is
changed in the book, but not on disk. If you rename the generated file so it doesn’t have the default name, renaming
the book won’t rename the generated file.
For example, in New.book, you have a generated file with the default name NewTOC.fm. If you rename the book to
Samples.book, FrameMaker renames the generated file to SamplesTOC.fm in the book window, but not on disk. But
if you rename the generated file as Contents.fm and then rename the book, the generated TOC remains Contents.fm
in the book window as well as on disk.
1 Select the file you want to rename, and either choose Edit > Rename or right-click and choose Rename.
2 Type the new name of the file and press Enter. When the alert message appears, click OK to update other files in

the book.

Revert to a previously saved version
This procedure affects files that have been added or deleted, as well as settings that have been applied to documents in
the book, such as numbering, pagination, color definitions, and file setup specifications. The contents of documents
are not changed.
❖ Choose File > Revert to Saved Book.

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Note: This command clears the command history. To undo only selected commands, use the History panel instead of
Revert To Saved Book.

Open, close, or save files
You can use a book window to open, save, print, and close individual files in a book. You can also open, save, and close
all the files in a book and print and update the format of several files or all files.
When you open a non-FrameMaker document from the book window, the appropriate application, if available, is
launched.
❖ Do one of the following:

• To open one file in a book or map, make sure only the file is selected and double-click it.
• To open several files in a book, select the files you want to open and press Enter.
• To open all files in the book, hold down Shift and choose File > Open All Files in Book.
Note: Using Open All Files in books can be time consuming if there are many cross-references and text insets to update
in the file. You can suspend the automatic update of cross-references or text insets by choosing Edit > Suppress
Automatic Reference Updating from a book window, selecting the appropriate check box, and then clicking Set. When
you open an individual document that has settings for automatic update, cross-references and text insets are still
updated.

• To close all files in a book, hold down Shift and choose File > Close All Files In Book.
• To save all files in a book, hold down Shift and choose File > Save All Files in Book. The book file is also saved.

Compare documents
FrameMaker can compare two versions of a document to show you what has changed. FrameMaker compares not only
the text in the two versions, but also the footnotes, markers, anchored frames, text insets, variables, and crossreferences.
Note: For structured documents, FrameMaker additionally compares the structure of the two documents and optionally
can compare the attributes within those structures
1 Open both versions of the documents.
2 In the document window of the newer version, choose File > Utilities > Compare Documents.
3 Specify the older version of the document to be compared.
4 Choose the report format. You can either have a summary document or a composite document.

The summary document gives a report of the differences in the files. Composite documents (which have a CMP
suffix) show the differences in the files side by side.
5 To set up the comparison options, click Options. The options screen is displayed as follows:

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Comparison options

Note: To compare attributes within the structures, select Compare Attributes For Elements. If this option is not
selected, attributes within the structures are not compared.
6 Click Compare. The results are displayed in the selected reporting format.
7 All differences are displayed with Track Changes. You can accept or reject the changes as desired.

Apply book-wide commands
Many FrameMaker commands can be used across some or all documents in a book. You can change view options,
spell-check, or change the page layout of selected files in the book, among other options.
If the document associated with a book is open, FrameMaker applies the book-wide command to the document, but
the document is not saved or closed. Therefore, in the case of open documents, you should explicitly save the changes
before you close them.
If the document associated with the book is closed, FrameMaker silently opens the document, applies the book-wide
commands, then saves and closes the document. If FrameMaker is unable to open a closed file or if other problems
occur when you apply the command to a selected file, a message appears in the Book Error Log.
1 In the book window, select the file or files you want to change.
2 Choose the desired command, such as Edit > Spelling Checker.

For .mif and .xml files, open the files before applying a book-wide command.
In structured documents, you can edit attributes, set available elements, and set new element options in the book.

Add metadata to books and documents
Metadata tags travel with a document and describe its content. If you export the file to PDF, much of this metadata
will appear in Adobe® Acrobat®.
Metadata, or file information, is descriptive information that can be searched and processed by a computer. Use it to
provide information about the contents of a document, and to preserve information about a document that will be
opened in other Adobe applications. If you export the file to PDF, much of this metadata will appear in Acrobat.

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Metadata tags travel with the document and describe its content. By embedding them in your documents, you make
the documents easier to track, manage, and retrieve.
Note: Metadata in a book file sometimes overrides metadata in a document file. If your document is part of a book file,
open the book file and select the document before you add metadata.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

Choose Unknown if you’re not sure.
5 Click Set.

Document and page numbering
About numbering
Each file in a book can have its own numbering system. For example, you might start page numbering at i on the title
page, at 1 in the first chapter, and then number continuously through subsequent chapters. You can also add volume,
chapter, section, and sub section numbers to page numbers—for example, the chapter 2 in the page number 2-1. All
body pages in a document have the same numbering style.
The numbering properties in the book will override the numbering properties in documents that belong to the book.
If you are setting up page numbering in a book, make sure you change the numbering properties by selecting
documents in the book window instead of making changes in the individual documents.
You can change volume, chapter, section, sub section, page, paragraph, footnote, and table footnote numbering in
your documents.
After you set up numbering in books, you can add Volume Number, Chapter Number, Section Number, Sub Section
Number, and Current Page # variables to page headers and footers. You can also use the <$volnum>, <$chapnum>,
<$sectionnum>, <$subsectionnum>, and <$pagenum> building blocks to cross-reference formats, paragraph auto
numbers, or generated files.
Numbering for files in a folder
Numbering for files within a folder is also determined by the level at which the folder exists in the book. For a file inside
a first level folder, the chapter number is inherited from the parent book and cannot be edited. You can only set the
section number for the files. For a file in a first level folder the Chapter tab is disabled in the Numbering Properties
dialog box.
Similarly, a file within a second level folder inherits the chapter and section numbers but you can set the sub section
numbers.
Numbering for files in a child book
In case of a book within a book, the number settings are determined by the level at which the child book is included.
For example, all files in a child book at the first level inherit the chapter number from the parent book but the section
numbers increment for each file in the child book.

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Note: Generated files, such as the TOC or an Index file for a parent book having child books do not reflect any custom
numbering settings on the child book. For example, the TOC of the parent book shows Numeric [14] page numbers even
when the numbering for files in the child book is set to Roman [XIV].

More Help topics
Numbering in Hierarchical Books

Set up numbering
1 If the document is part of a book, open the book and select the document in the book window.
2 Choose Format > Document > Numbering.
3 Select an option from the pop-up menu.
4 Set options.

Note: If a book window was active when you opened the dialog box, you can select Read From File, which uses the
numbering value specified in the associated document. If you selected more than one file in the book window, you can
choose As Is to use the numbering values specified in the selected documents.
5 Click Set.

Insert book component numbers in cross-references
❖ Create a cross-reference format that includes the volume, chapter, section, or sub section number building block.

The cross-reference format might look like this: See page
<$chapnum><$sectionnum><$subsectionnum><$pagenum>–
To keep the chapter number on the same line as the page number, use a nonbreaking hyphen in the cross-reference
format.

Include book component numbers in headers or footers
To number pages by chapter, you can use a Chapter Number (or Volume Number) variable or a running header/footer
variable for the chapter numbers. You can also use Section Number or Sub Section Number variables. The numbers
are updated automatically whenever you update the book.
1 Display the master page that contains the header or footer.
2 Place the insertion point in the header or footer where you want to add numbering and double-click the variable

you want to add from the Variables pod.
3 Insert the appropriate punctuation, such as a hyphen or period.
4 To add page numbering, choose Format > Headers & Footers > Insert Page #.

The header or footer should look like this on a body page:
A

A. Chapter number variable (<$chapnum>) B. Current Page # variable

Include the total page count of a book in a header or footer
You may want a header or footer to show the total number of pages of a book—for example, 4 of 200 on page 4 of a
200-page book.

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When you insert the page count in a file’s header or footer with the Page Count variable, the header or footer shows
the number of pages in that file, not in the entire book. To show the number of pages in a book, you can use a crossreference to a special paragraph you create.
1 Set up the files in the book for continuous page numbering.
2 Display the master page for the last page of the last file in the book, and place the insertion point in an otherwise

empty paragraph of the header or footer.
3 Insert the Page Count variable by choosing Format > Headers & Footers > Insert Page Count.

Page Count variable in a separate paragraph

4 Create a paragraph format for the paragraph with the page count and store it in the Paragraph Catalog. Having a

unique format for this paragraph makes it easier to cross-reference it later.
5 If you don’t want the page count to appear where you put it, either resize the text frame so the page count is hidden

or set the paragraph’s color to White.
6 In the other files in the book, insert cross-references to the paragraph with the page count on each master page of

each document. The cross-reference format should use the <$paratext> building block.
7 Put the cross-references in the header or footer on each master page of each file in the book, including the last one.

More Help topics
“Set up numbering” on page 314

Print a book file
In structured documents, element boundaries (either as brackets or as tags) are printable characters. Hide these
boundaries before you print.
1 Update the book before you print files from it.
2 In the book window, do one of the following:

• Select the file or files you want to print, and then choose File > Print Selected Files.
• Choose File > Print Book.
3 Specify printing options and click Print.

More Help topics
“Print documents” on page 507

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Create a PostScript file
You can create a description of a document called a PostScript file (also called a print file). You might use a PostScript
file to download the document later to a PostScript printer or to send the document to a service provider for
typesetting.
Create a single print file from a document
1 Choose File > Print.
2 Select Print to File and enter the path and filename in the text box, or click Browse to specify a folder and filename.

Create a single print file for a book
1 In the book window, choose File > Print Book, or select the documents you want to print and choose File > Print
Selected Files.
2 Select Print to File and enter the path and filename in the text box, or click Browse to specify a folder and filename.
3 Choose Single File from the Save Book As (or Save Selected Files As) pop-up menu. Then click Print.

Create a series of separate print files for a book
1 In the book window, choose File > Print Book, or select the documents you want to print and choose File > Print
Selected Files.
2 Select Print to File and enter the path and filename in the text box, or click Browse to select a folder and type a

filename.
3 Choose Single File or Separate File for Each Document from the Save Book As or Save Selected Files As pop-up

menu. Then click Print.

Change and import formats
You can make format changes in one file and then update all the files in a book by importing the formats from the
updated file. To change the format of a subset of files in a book, you can select the files in the book window and then
apply the formatting to the selected files.
Important: The format rules in element definitions often specify overrides so that a file can use as few catalog formats as
possible. Normally, when importing formats into a structured book, you should not remove format overrides.
FrameMaker merges the new formatting information into the document rather than replacing the existing
information.
If a file isn’t open, it’s updated on the disk. If a file is open, it’s updated only in your computer’s memory and not on
the disk. You must save the file to keep the changes.

Import formats into book files
1 Open or create the file that contains the formats you want to use. The file must be named and saved.
2 In the book window, select the file or files you want to change, and then choose File > Import > Formats.
3 From the Import From Document pop-up menu, select the file or template with the formats you want to import.
4 Select the settings you want to import and update. If you’re updating cross-reference formats, math definitions, or

variable definitions that use character formats, also select Character Formats.
5 If you want to remove formatting changes you made but didn’t save in a catalog, do the following:

• To remove page breaks that are not part of a paragraph format, select Manual Page Breaks.

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• To remove paragraph, character, page layout, and table formatting overrides, select Other Format/Layout
Overrides.
In most cases, you should not select Other Format/Layout Overrides in a structured book because the element
definitions may use format overrides. However, you can select Other Format/Layout Overrides in an unstructured
book without any repercussions.
6 Click Import.

More Help topics
“About formatting overrides” on page 389

Import element definitions into structured books
The definitions are stored in the Element Catalog for the book and the other files. You may need to import element
definitions in the following cases:

• To add structure to an unstructured book. After importing the definitions, you can insert elements in the book file.
• To update the element definitions in a book or its files. You need to update definitions whenever the application
developer revises the definitions in your template.

• To give a book and all its files the same element definitions. You may want to update a book if its files were created
from different templates.
When you import element definitions into a book, FrameMaker replaces the definitions in the book and all its files
with the new definitions and reapplies format rules from the definitions. It also validates the book file.
1 Open the book you want to update and the template, document, or book with the definitions to import.
2 In the book window, select the files into which you want to import element definitions, and choose File > Import

> Element Definitions.
3 Choose the template or document from the Import From Document pop-up menu. The menu lists all open, saved

documents and books.
4 To remove format rule overrides in the files, select While Updating, Remove Format Rule Overrides. Use this

setting if you have made text or paragraph formatting changes to elements and now want to return to the formatting
described in the element definitions.
5 Click Import. FrameMaker updates the element definitions in the book file and in the files listed in the Update scroll list.

See also Wind

Note: The sorting information, in brackets, must be the last item in the marker text.

Specify sort order for an index
You change the sort order by specifying a sort order and by editing the contents of the IgnoreChars and the SortOrder
paragraphs in the special text flow of the reference page for the index.
The SortOrder paragraph in the special text flow contains building blocks that control how characters are sorted in an
index.

<$symbols><$numerics><$alphabetics>

SortOrder paragraph

Each sort order building block represents several characters in a particular order. The following table shows the order
for U.S. English. The alphabetic sort order differs slightly for other languages.

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Building block

Characters, in this order

<$numerics>

0123456789

<$alphabetics>

A Á À Â Ä Ã Å a á à â ä ã å ª B b C Ç c ç D d E É È Ê Ë e é è ê ë F f ƒ Gg H h I Í Ì Î Ï i ì í î ï
Jj Kk Ll Mm NÑ nñ OÓ Ò Ô Ö Õ Ø oó ò ô ö õ ø º Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt UÚ Ù Û Ü uú ù û ü
Vv Ww Xx YŸ yÿ Zz

<$symbols>

All other characters in ASCII order

1 Choose View > Reference Pages, and display the reference page that contains the special text flow for the index.
2 Replace a building block in the SortOrder paragraph with the specific characters in the order you want them sorted.

Follow these rules when entering a new sort order:

• If you replace <$alphabetics> with individual characters, separate the letter groups with a space. (Letter groups—
for example, F f ƒ —are characters that are sorted as if they were the same character, unless they are the only
characters that differ in the sorted text. In that case, the first character in the string appears first.)

• If you replace <$symbols> with individual characters, use a backslash before the angle bracket symbols ( < > ).
• Don’t press Return at the end of a line. Let FrameMaker wrap the characters automatically from line to line.
• To indicate that a letter pair should be sorted as a single character, specify the letter pair between angle brackets
(< >)—for example, C Ç c ç. In this example, all the characters or letter pairs are in the same
letter group (the letter C ). The letter pair CH is sorted after the letter C, and uppercase letter pairs are sorted
before lowercase letter pairs.

More Help topics
“Edit special text flow for a list or index” on page 342

Sort letter by letter instead of word by word
1 Choose View > Reference Pages, and display the reference page that contains the special text flow for the index.
2 Add a space at the beginning of the IgnoreChars paragraph in the special text flow of the index. (The space cannot

be at the end of the paragraph.)
Sorted letter by letter

Sorted word by word

Seabed

Sea level

Sea walls

Seasonal change

Seabed

Sea walls

Seasonal change

Specify characters to ignore
By default, FrameMaker ignores hyphens, nonbreaking hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes when sorting index entries.
You can specify other characters to be ignored—for example, underscore characters, periods, brackets, braces, and
quotation marks.

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--– —,._()[]{}$!'""

An IgnoreChars paragraph with added characters

1 Choose View > Reference Pages, and display the reference page that contains the special text flow for the index.
2 Edit the IgnoreChars paragraph.

Note: If you’re working with Japanese fonts, you may want to include the Chouon character
in the IgnoreChars
paragraph. The Chouon character is normally used in Japanese to lengthen the vowel sound that it follows, but you
probably won’t want it to affect the sort order.

Sort symbols, numbers, or other characters in another location in an index
1 Choose View > Reference Pages, and display the reference page that contains the special text flow for the index.
2 Rearrange the building blocks in the SortOrder paragraph in the special text flow. For example, to put symbols at

the end of an English-language index instead of at the beginning, arrange the building blocks as follows:
<$numerics><$alphabetics><$symbols>

Specify the sort order for Japanese
Kanji characters always need a special sort order defined.
A document that uses Japanese fonts includes the <$kana> building block, which controls sorting of Japanese kana
(hiragana and katakana).
Building block

Characters, in this order

<$kana>

Single-byte (half-width) katakana are converted to double-byte katakana in the generated file when sorted. The sort
order of kanji is determined by its kana pronunciation (yomigana). Because of this, the <$kana> building block also
controls how most kanji sort.
The sort order of kanji without yomigana and of Japanese symbols (double-byte numerics and Roman alphabetics) is
not included by default in the <$kana> building block. Instead, kanji is sorted by code value and appended after
characters sorted by <$kana>.
If you want to sort kanji without yomigana and Japanese symbols differently, add these characters to the <$numerics>,
<$alphabetics>, or <$kana> building blocks. For example, double-byte Japanese characters could be added to the
<$symbols> building block.
❖ Enter its pronunciation (yomigana) in brackets in the marker text. (Double-byte bracket characters may be used.)

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Sort order for kanji index entry

Generate indexes
After you insert index markers in your source document, you can generate a standard index or any other index of
markers. When you revise your source document, you can generate the index again to update it.
You ordinarily use predefined marker types. However, you can create your own marker types for special effects in
indexes, such as displaying principal entries in bold or adding custom text to some page entries but not to others. The
custom text might be the word note to follow some page numbers and figure to follow others. Scholarly indexes might
use abbreviations, such as ff and passim after page numbers.
You can also generate a special-use index of references, such as an index of fonts used in a document. This type of index
is not generated from markers.

Generate an index for a book
1 Open the book window and select the file above where you want the generated file to appear.
2 Do one of the following:

• Choose Add > Standard Index.
• Choose Add > Index Of, and then choose the type of specialized index you want to create.
3 Move the marker types you used for the entries to the Include Markers of Type scroll list.

Generating a book index

To move an item between scroll lists, select the item and click an arrow, or double-click the item. To move all items
from one scroll list to the other, Shift-click an arrow.
4 In the Add File pop-up menu, specify whether the generated list appears before or after the current document.
5 Enter a suffix or keep the default one. The suffix indicates the type of generated file. For example, IX is the usual

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6 To link each entry in the generated index to its source, select Create Hypertext Links.
7 Click Add, and then click Update. FrameMaker generates the index and displays it in a separate document.
8 Save the index in the same folder as the source document or book. If you want to rename the generated file, use the

book window to do so—FrameMaker will rename it on the disk and update all references.
The first time you generate an index, it uses the page layout of the first nongenerated document in the book, and
all entries look the same. (You can avoid this unformatted look by using a template.) For information on making
changes to the format of an index—changes that won’t be lost when you regenerate it.
9 Save any open files in the book. Open files are updated only in your computer’s memory and not on the disk. If a

file isn’t open, the changes are made on the disk.

More Help topics
“Formatting lists and indexes” on page 342

Generate an index for a single document
1 Do one of the following:

• Choose Special > Standard Index.
• Choose Special > Index Of, and then choose the type of specialized index you want to create.
2 When prompted, specify whether you want to create the generated file as a standalone document or add it to a book.

If you choose Yes to create a stand-alone document, FrameMaker will create a generated index in the original
document’s folder. If you choose No, FrameMaker adds the index to an open book, or creates a new book if
necessary.
3 Enter a suffix or keep the default one. The suffix indicates the type of generated file. For example, IX is the usual

suffix for a standard index.
Note: The suffix is not the same as the filename’s extension. The suffix is used with paragraph tags in the generated
lists, and appears as part of the generated file’s filename, such as UserGuideIX.fm.
4 To link each entry in the generated index to its source, select Create Hypertext Links.
5 Do one of the following:

• If you are creating a stand-alone index, click Set. FrameMaker generates and displays the index.
• If you are adding the index to a book, click Add, and then click Update. If a new book is created, choose File >
Save Book As, and then save the book.
The first time you generate an index, it uses the page layout of the source document or of the first nongenerated
document in the book, and all entries look the same. For information on making changes to the format of an
index—changes that won’t be lost when you regenerate it.
6 Save the index in the same folder as the source document or book.

More Help topics
“Formatting lists and indexes” on page 342
“Rename files” on page 310

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Generate a standard index that displays page numbers in a variety of ways
1 Create one or more custom marker types, and name them in a way that indicates their intended use. For example,

if you want to distinguish index entries that refer to footnotes, you might create a marker type called IndexNote.
2 Index your source document, using the Index marker type for regular entries and your custom marker types for the

others.
3 Generate the index. Select the Index marker type along with the custom ones.

In the index, edit the special text flow on the reference page for the custom marker (the reference page would be
called IX) to add text after the page number or to change character format. For example, you might change the text
for IndexNoteIX as follows to have [note] appear after the page number: <$pagenum> [note].
4 Update the index again for your edits to take effect.

More Help topics
“Add, edit, or delete markers and marker types” on page 341
“Manually add text to entries” on page 347
“Change paragraph and character formats of entries” on page 343

Update and edit indexes
An index can quickly become outdated. With an index, you typically need to make changes after you review the index
for the first time. For example, some entries might not use parallel phrasing, or you may decide to change the
organization of some entries.
You edit entries in an index by editing their corresponding paragraphs or markers in the source document and then
regenerating the index. If you revise entries by typing directly in the index, your changes will disappear when you
regenerate it.
For example, if you fix a typing error directly in an index, that error will reemerge the next time you generate because
it still exists in the source marker. To permanently fix an error, you must correct it by changing the marker text in the
source document and then regenerating the index.

More Help topics
“Update and edit TOCs and lists” on page 326

Update an index that is part of a book
1 Make changes to the source document as needed.
2 In the book window, choose Edit > Update Book.
3 Move the lists you want to update to the Generate scroll list, make sure Generate Table of Contents, Lists, and

Indexes is selected, and then click Update.

Add or remove items included in an index that is part of a book
1 Select the generated index in the book window.
2 Choose Edit > Set Up Standard Index (or Set Up Index of type).
3 Move items between the list boxes as desired and click Set. Then click Update.

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Update an index that is a stand-alone document
1 Make changes to the source document as needed.
2 In the source document, choose the command (such as Standard Index) from the Special menu, and then choose

Yes when prompted to create a stand-alone document.
3 Move items between the list boxes as desired, and click Set.

Find the source of index entries
When you need to revise an entry, you must trace the entry back to its source—the corresponding marker (or marker
element, if working with a structured document) in the source document.
The quickest way to find the source of an index entry is to use the hypertext link on the entry in the generated file. This
hypertext link can display and select the corresponding information in the source document. If you’re working with a
structured document, you can select the element in the Structure View if you can see its bubble.
Another simple way to find and select a marker in the source document is through the Markers pod. The Markers pod
displays marker text, the marker type, and document in which the marker is. You can sort the list on marker type to
view all the index marker entries in a document. Selecting an entry in the Markers pod automatically highlights the
marker in the document. Double-clicking an entry opens the Markers panel for quick editing.
Using the Markers pod makes it easier to select a specific marker if there are multiple markers at exactly the same
location in a document.
Important: If you’re generating extremely large indexes (indexes of more than 50,000 markers), don’t use Create
Hypertext Links. Generating indexes of this size with Create Hypertext Links selected takes a long time or might not
succeed.

Find the source of an index entry by using a link
1 If you did not select Create Hypertext Links when you generated the index, select this option and regenerate.
2 Choose Special > Marker.
3 In the generated index, Alt-Control-click a page reference in an index.

FrameMaker opens the source document to the page that contains the corresponding marker and selects it. The
marker text appears in the Marker panel.

Select a marker by using Find/Change
1 In the source document (not in the generated list), choose Edit > Find/Change.
2 Do one of the following:

• If you’re working in an unstructured document, choose Any Marker, Marker of Type, or Marker Text from the
Find pop-up menu. Enter the marker type or marker text as needed.

• If you’re working in a structured document, choose Element from the Find pop-up menu, enter the tag of the
element you want to find, and click Set.
3 Click Find.

Note: When a marker is selected, the marker text appears in the Marker panel. Don’t click Change in the Find/Change
dialog box to change the marker text. If you do, FrameMaker replaces the marker itself. Instead, change the text in the
Marker panel and then click Edit Marker.

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Add, edit, or delete markers and marker types
You can create your own marker types and then use them in lists or indexes just as you would any other type of marker.
After a new marker type has been created, it can be shared with other documents and books.

Edit or delete a marker
1 Select the marker (or element) you want to delete and do one of the following:

• Click Delete from the Markers pod.
• Click Delete Marker from the Marker panel.
2 Select the marker (or element) you want to edit, change the text in the Marker panel, and click Edit Marker.

Add or delete a custom marker type
1 Choose Special > Marker and choose Edit from the Marker Type pop-up menu.
2 Do one of the following:

• Type a new name and click Add.
• Choose a name from the pop-up menu and click Delete.
3 Click Done.

You can also use the book window to edit custom marker types. Select the documents you want to affect, and then
press Esc e m t.

Copy a marker type from one document to another
❖ Do one of the following:

• Copy a marker or text containing a marker and paste it in another document.
• Choose File > Import > Formats and import Document Properties.

Rename a marker type
1 Choose Special > Marker and choose Edit from the Marker Type pop-up menu.
2 Choose the marker type you want to rename from the pop-up menu and click Change.
3 Do one of the following:

• To rename the specified markers with a new name, enter the new name in the To text box.
• To rename the specified markers with the name of another marker type, choose the new marker type from the
To pop-up menu.
4 Click OK, and then click Done.

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Formatting lists and indexes
Format a list or index with a template
The first time you generate a list or index (if you don’t use a template), it uses the page layout of the source document
or the first nongenerated document in the book, and all entries look the same. You can change the page design and the
formats in the list or index after you generate it, just as you do in any other document. When you generate the file
again, your changes are retained.
1 Copy the template to the source document’s folder using the same filename as the list or index.
2 Generate the list or index.

You can also use File > Import > Formats to import a template’s formats. Then generate the list or index again so any
changes in the special text flow are reflected in the generated file.

Edit special text flow for a list or index
Many formatting aspects of a list or index are controlled by a special text flow on a reference page in the generated file.
The name of the reference page matches the default suffix, such as TOC for a table of contents or IX for a standard
index.
For generated lists, each paragraph in the flow corresponds to a paragraph tag or marker type you included in the list.
These paragraphs have tags that use the default suffix. For example, a paragraph tagged Heading1TOC in the text flow
for a table of contents corresponds to the entries for first-level headings (tagged Heading1 in the source document).

<$paratext>
Chapter <$chapnum>

<$paratext>
<$paratext>
<$paratext>

<$pagenum>
<$pagenum>
<$pagenum>
<$pagenum>

Special text flow on reference page for a table of contents

For indexes, the paragraphs in the flow correspond to the marker types you included in the index, the levels of entries
and subentries, the sort order, the separator text used, and several other index properties.

A
1, 2–3
Level2IX
B
Level1IX
Symbols[\ ];Numerics[0];A;B;C;D;E;F;G;H;I;J;K;L;M;N;O;P;Q; C
R;S;T;U;V;W;X;Y;Z
D
<$symbols><$numerics><$alphabetics>
E
-–—
Special text flow for an index
A. Separators placeholder B. Levels of entries C. Group titles placeholder D. Sort order E. Ignore characters placeholder

If the list or index was created with hypertext links, the special text flow also contains a paragraph that specifies the
form of the hypertext commands in the generated file. The paragraph’s tag begins with the word Active.
Special text flows for lists and indexes have special paragraphs with placeholder text. This placeholder text lets you
specify how your entries will look when you regenerate the file.

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Building blocks placed in each paragraph of the special text flow determine the information that appears in the list or
index, and the order in which the information appears. You can use the following building blocks in the special text
flow.
Building block

Meaning

<$autorange>

Automatically creates index page ranges

<$numerics>

Specifies the overall sort order in an index

<$alphabetics>
<$symbols>
<$kana>
<$pagenum>

Displays the page number on which the source paragraph or marker appears

<$volnum>

Displays the volume number of the document in which the source paragraph or marker appears

<$chapnum>

Displays the chapter number of the document in which the source paragraph or marker appears

<$paratext>

Displays the text of the paragraph, excluding any autonumber

<$paranum>

Displays the paragraph’s entire autonumber, excluding spaces and tabs at the end of the
autonumber (for example, Section 2.1.1)

<$paranumonly>

Displays the paragraph’s autonumber counters and the characters between them (for example,
2.1.1)

<$paratag>

Displays the source paragraph’s tag

1 In the list or index, choose View > Reference Pages.
2 Display the reference page that contains the text flow you want.
3 Edit the appropriate paragraphs in the text flow.
4 Choose View > Body Pages.
5 Generate the index again to see the effect of your changes.

Note: Make sure that you generate the list or index from the source document, not from the generated file.

More Help topics
“Use page ranges in index entries” on page 331
“Change paragraph and character formats of entries” on page 343

Change paragraph and character formats of entries
You can change the look of entries in a generated list and index by modifying their paragraph formats.
You can also change the character format of any text appearing in a list and of all index page numbers created with the
same marker type. For example, you could make all page numbers italic.
Note: If you create a new character format in the source document after you generate the list or index, you may have to
use File > Import > Formats to import the character format into the generated list. This is necessary only if you use the
new character format in a paragraph or marker that’s part of the list or index. If you created the character format before
first generating the list or index, FrameMaker imports it for you into the generated file.

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Change the paragraph format of entries
1 In the list or index, display the reference page that contains the special text flow. Usually this is TOC for a table of

contents and IX for a standard index.
2 Locate the placeholder paragraphs that have paragraph formats corresponding to the list or index entries. (For

example, Level1IX is the format for the placeholder text for the first-level index entry, and Head1TOC is the format
for a Head1 entry in a table of contents.)
3 Change the properties of the paragraph formats, such as indents and font size, and update the paragraph formats,

so that they are available the next time you generate the file. The placeholder paragraphs show you how the entries
will look.

1, 2–3
Level2IX
Level1IX
Symbols[\ ];Numerics[0];A;B;C;D;E;F;G;H;I;J;K;L;
M;N;O;P;Q;R;S;T;U;V;W;X;Y;Z
<$symbols><$numerics><$alphabetics>
-–—
Formatted placeholder paragraphs

Change the character format of entries
1 In the list or index, create a new character format and store it in the Character Catalog.
2 Choose View > Reference Pages and display the reference page that contains the special text flow.
3 In the paragraph whose tag corresponds to the entries you want to change, do the following:

• In a list, enter the character tag between angle brackets (< >) before the text you want to change. To change back
to the paragraph’s default font, enter . For example, you could define a format tagged
ChapNumFont, and then use it to format chapter numbers in a larger font in a table of contents.
<$paratext> ....<$pagenum>

Chapter 2

Pangea
Continental drift
Continental glacier

37
39

Reference page and resulting TOC

• In an index, enter the character tag, between angle brackets (< >), to the left of <$pagenum>. For example, if
IndexPgNum is a character format defined for italic page numbers in a standard index, you could use it to
format just the page numbers in the paragraphs tagged IndexIX.

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<$pagenum>

Index
A
Abrasion, 156, 158
glacial, 145
river, 105-6
wind, 32

Bonding
Continental drift
covalent, 33-34 fossil evidence, 36-37
ionic, 32-33
rock formation, 35-36
metallic, 36
Pangea, 38

Reference page and resulting index

You can also change the character format of text that appears in a list or index by applying a character format
directly to the building block rather than preceding the building block with a character tag enclosed in angle
brackets. Be careful not to apply the character format to the paragraph symbol.

Include book component and paragraph autonumbers
In a generated list, you can include autonumbers—text and numbers inserted automatically as part of a paragraph
format—in addition to (or instead of) page numbers in entries. In an index, you can use autonumbers instead of page
numbers if all paragraphs that contain index markers are also autonumbered.
Abrasion, §3.1
glacial, §3.3, §5.9, §6.1
river, §10.1
wave, §10.3
wind, §10.2
See also Sandstone §6.2

Index using section symbols and section numbers instead of page numbers

You can use the following building blocks to add autonumbers:

• <$volnum>, <$chapnum>, <$sectionnum>, <$subsectionnum> which include the volume, chapter, section, and
sub section counters.
Reference page
Vol. <$volnum>-<$chapnum>.<$pagenum>

Index
A
Abrasion, Vol. 1-3.1
glacial, Vol. 1-3.3

Bonding, Vol. 2-6.3
covalent, Vol. 2-6.4

Building block for volume and chapter autonumbering, and resulting index

• <$paranumonly>, which includes the counters and the characters between them (for example, 2.2 for a paragraph
whose autonumber is Section 2.2).

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Reference page

<$paranumonly>
Index
A
Abrasion, 3.1
glacial, 3.3

Bonding, 6.3
covalent, 6.4

Cap rock, 9.1
Cavern, 9.2

Building block for paragraph autonumbering using section numbers, and resulting index

• <$paranum>, which includes the counters and all text in the autonumber (except for spaces or tab characters at the end).
Reference page

<$paranum>
Index
A
Abrasion, Section 3.1
glacial, Section 3.3

Bonding, Section 6.3
covalent, Section 6.4

Building block for paragraph autonumbering using “Section” text and section numbers, and resulting index

More Help topics
“Document and page numbering” on page 313

Include volume and chapter autonumbers
1 Choose View > Reference Pages and display the reference page that contains the special text flow.
2 In a list or index, type the <$volnum> or <$chapnum> building block where you want to insert the autonumber.

For example, to include the chapter number along with the page number (such as 3-1) in entries generated from
markers of type Index, type <$chapnum>- before the <$pagenum> building block in the paragraph tagged
IndexIX.
To make sure numbers such as “3-1” don’t break between lines, insert a nonbreaking hyphen by pressing Esc hyphen h.

Include paragraph autonumbers
1 Choose View > Reference Pages and display the reference page that contains the special text flow.
2 Do one of the following:

• In a list, type the <$paranumonly> or the <$paranum> building block where you want to insert the autonumber.
• In an index, replace the <$pagenum> building block with <$paranum> or <$paranumonly> in the paragraph
with the tag that begins with the marker type. For example, to include the paragraph autonumber rather than
the page number in entries generated from markers of type Index, replace the <$pagenum> building block in
the paragraph tagged IndexIX.

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Change page number separators
A typical index entry such as Erosion 1, 23 –includes a space after the entry text, a comma and a space between page
numbers, an en dash to show a page range, and nothing after the last number. You can change the en dash to the word
to, or change this separator text in any other way. For example, you could change the separator text so that a comma
appears after the entry, such as Erosion, 1.
1 Choose View > Reference Pages, and display the reference page that contains the special text flow.
2 Edit the Separators paragraph. (Look for the paragraph containing 1, 23–.) You can change any separator, but you

must use the placeholder numbers 1, 2, and 3.
A

1, 2 – 3

A custom Separators paragraph on the IX reference page
A. En dash B. Em space

Manually add text to entries
You can add text to all entries generated from paragraphs with a particular tag or markers of a particular type. For
example, you can enclose page numbers in brackets.
Continental drift

Fit of the Continents
Fossil Evidence
Paleoclimatic Evidence

[10]
13
16
34

Brackets added in a TOC

You can also use custom marker types with added text to display page numbers in a variety of ways in an index. For
example, suppose you want to generate the following scholarly index.
Continental drift 30, 47
fossil evidence, 36, 38 ff
rock structures, 37 note, 42
Pangea, 38
See also Wegner
Continental glacier, 39, 41
Continental margin, 42, 44 ff
Continental rise, 45-47
Continental shelf 50

Custom page numbers added in an index

To do this, you need two custom markers: one for page numbers followed by ff, and one for page numbers followed by
note. You might call these markers Indexff and IndexNote.
When generating the index, you include all three marker types (Index plus the two new ones). After generating the
index for the first time, you can edit the special text flow for the marker types on the reference page.

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Marker type

Edit to the reference page

Result

Indexff

<$pagenum> ff

15 ff

IndexNote

<$pagenum> note

15 note

The next time you generate the index, the changes appear in the generated index.
1 Choose View > Reference Pages, and display the reference page that contains the special text flow for the list or

index.
2 Enter the text where you want it to appear. For example, to enclose all page numbers in brackets, enter brackets

around the page number building blocks: <$paratext>[<$pagenum>]

Use tabs and tab leaders in a list or index
You can use tabs to align page numbers in a list or index. You can also use tabs to add tab leaders, such as a row of dots,
between entry text and page numbers.
Continental drift

10
13
16
34

Fit of the Continents
Fossil Evidence
Paleoclimatic Evidence

Right-aligned tab stop with leader dots in a TOC

Index
A
Abrasion
glacial
water
wind

14,

29, 30
26
20-21, 40
40, 132

Tab stops make index page numbers line up in columns.

1 Choose View > Reference Pages and display the reference page that contains the special text flow.
2 Do one of the following:

• For a list, select the space between the <$paratext> and <$pagenum> building blocks in the paragraph whose tag
matches the entries you want to change.

• For an index, select the space before the number 1 in the Separators paragraph.
3 Press Tab.
4 Change the paragraph format by adding a tab stop where you want to align the page numbers. Define the format

to include leader dots, if you want. Then update the paragraph formats so the changes are available the next time
you generate the list or index.

Rearrange information in list entries
You can specify the order in which the parts of a list entry appear. For example, you can specify that the page number
appear first, followed by the paragraph text.
1 Choose View > Reference Pages, and display the reference page that contains the special text flow for the table of

contents or list.

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2 Rearrange the building blocks. For example, to put the page number first, followed by the paragraph text, rearrange

the building blocks: <$pagenum> <$paratext>.

Resolve cross-references
Resolve a cross-reference when a marker has been deleted
1 Choose Unresolved Cross Reference from the cross-references pod. Ensure that you have the correct filename

selected. The pod shows all unresolved cross-references.
2 Do one of the following:

• If you do not need the cross-reference, delete it.
• If FrameMaker finds an unresolved paragraph cross-reference, double-click the cross-reference to display the
cross-reference dialog box, specify a different source, and click Replace.

• If FrameMaker finds an unresolved spot cross-reference, insert a new cross-reference marker in the source text.
Select the new marker from the cross-reference dialog box and click Replace.

Resolve a cross-reference when the ID and ID Reference values do not match (structured
documents)
❖ Edit the ID or the ID Reference value so the two values match. (ID attributes are often read-only, so you may have

to edit the ID Reference.)

Footnotes and endnotes
Footnotes are notes placed at the bottom of a page that comments on or cites a reference for a designated part of the
text. Endnotes are notes placed at the end of a chapter or book that comments on or cites a reference for a designated
part of the text.

Create and edit footnotes
Insert, edit, and delete footnotes
When you insert a footnote reference and footnote, FrameMaker gives it a number, formats the text of the footnote,
and inserts a separator if the footnote is the first one in a column.

A. Footnote B. Footnote separator C. Footnote reference

As you insert, move, and delete footnotes, FrameMaker adjusts the numbering. As you edit the surrounding text,
FrameMaker moves the footnotes from page to page as needed. FrameMaker allows document footnotes to be
numbered consecutively across all files in a book.

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The footnote reference and the footnote itself usually appear in the same column. When you insert a footnote reference
in a table, the footnote appears at the end of the table. If the table flows onto a second page, all the footnotes appear on
the second page regardless of the page on which the footnote reference appears.
Insert a footnote
Note: The Footnotes feature supports the Unicode text encoding standard.
1 Click where you want the footnote reference to appear. You can insert a footnote reference in a column of text or

in a table cell.
2 Choose Special > Footnote. FrameMaker inserts the footnote reference, displays the footnote number at the bottom

of the column or below the table, places the insertion point after the footnote number, and renumbers any footnotes
that follow. (Footnotes are numbered consecutively in a text flow. If your document contains several text flows,
footnote numbering in each flow will be independent of the others.)
3 Type the text of the footnote at the insertion point. When you finish typing the footnote, return to the main text by

clicking in it or by choosing Special > Footnote again.
To place two footnote references together, place a space or a comma between them—for example, references 5 6 or
references 5,6. Otherwise, the second footnote won’t be created. If you place a comma between the footnote references,
you should manually format the comma in superscript.
Insert a footnote element (structured documents)
1 Click where you want the footnote reference to appear.
2 Select a footnote element in the Element Catalog and click Insert.

FrameMaker inserts the footnote reference, displays a footnote number at the bottom of the column or end of the
table, and renumbers any footnotes that follow. A bubble for the footnote appears in the Structure View, with a text
snippet that shows the beginning of the footnote text.
You can also use Special > Footnote to insert a footnote element. If more than one footnote element is available,
choose one from the Element Tag pop-up menu in the dialog box that appears.
3 If the Attributes for New Element dialog box appears, enter attribute values for the element and click Insert

Element.
4 Type the text of the footnote at the insertion point. When you finish typing the footnote, return to the main text by

clicking in it or by choosing Special > Footnote.
Use an invalid footnote element
If no footnote element is available at the location you want, you might use an invalid element. After inserting the
element, talk to your developer about making it valid at this location.
❖ Do one of the following:

• To insert an invalid footnote with the default tag FOOTNOTE, choose Special > Footnote. (A default footnote
is created if no defined footnote elements are available.)
Edit a footnote
❖ Select the footnote text and edit it as you do other text. You can’t change a footnote number, because FrameMaker
maintains the numbering.

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Duplicate, move, or delete a footnote
1 Select the footnote reference (not the footnote text). Alternatively, in Structure View, click the footnote’s bubble.
2 Do one of the following:

• To duplicate or move the footnote, use Edit > Copy or Edit > Cut, and then Edit > Paste.
• To delete the footnote, press Delete.
Keeping a footnote in the same column as its reference
FrameMaker sometimes can’t keep footnotes in the same column as the corresponding footnote reference. For
example, if you insert a footnote reference at the bottom of a column of text so there is no space for the footnote below
it, FrameMaker moves the footnote to the bottom of the next column. In such cases, you can force a column or page
break before the footnote reference to keep the reference and the footnote together in the same column.
Adding text to a footnote may cause the last footnote in a column or on a page to move to the bottom of the next
column or page. To reduce the chance of a footnote not fitting in a column, allocate more space for footnotes in a
column.

More Help topics
“Change footnote properties” on page 352
Insert multiple references to a footnote
You can create a single footnote that has several footnote references—for example, a table footnote with references in
several cells.

Two references for one footnote

Important: If you add or remove a footnote that appears before the footnote being cross-referenced, the cross-reference
may refer to the wrong number. Choose Edit > Update References to update the numbering.
1 Insert the first footnote reference.
2 If necessary, create a cross-reference format for additional footnote references.

The cross-reference format must display the footnote number correctly. For example, if footnote references are
displayed in superscript, and if the document contains a Superscript character format, a cross-reference format
defined as <$paranumonly> displays the autonumber of a paragraph as a superscript. When you use
it to refer to a paragraph that contains a footnote, it displays the footnote number in superscript.
3 Click where you want to insert the additional footnote reference.
4 Choose Special > cross-reference to insert a cross-reference to the footnote where you clicked. Use the cross-

reference format you created in step 2.
5 Click Insert. FrameMaker inserts a cross-reference that is identical to the original footnote reference.

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Insert multiple references to a footnote (structured documents)
You need to have a special cross-reference element already defined for the additional references. The element should
display a reference number in the same way that the original footnote reference does. For example, if the number is in
superscript in the original reference, the number in the cross-reference element should also be in superscript.
1 Insert the footnote element.
2 Where you want an additional footnote reference, insert a cross-reference element that was defined to display only

a footnote reference.

Format footnotes
You can change any of the footnote properties—for example, the style of numbers, the numbering format, or the
paragraph format to use for footnote text.
FrameMaker uses different formats for document and table footnotes.
Change footnote properties
Changes except the paragraph format are applied to both new and existing footnotes.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Document > Footnote Properties. To edit table footnote properties, choose Table Footnote from

the pop-up menu.
3 Do the following:

• To adjust the maximum height allowed for footnotes in a column, enter a value in the Maximum Height Per
Column text box.

• To use a different paragraph format for new footnotes, enter the format’s tag in the Paragraph Format text box.
(The format must be stored in the document’s Paragraph Catalog.) To use a different format for an existing
footnote, apply the format to it directly.
By default, documents may include paragraph formats named Footnote and TableFootnote to be used for new
footnotes. To change the look of footnotes, change these formats.

• Specify the format of the footnote reference in the main text and of the footnote number in the footnote. Either
number can be in the superscript, baseline, or subscript position, and either can have a prefix and suffix.
4 Click Set.

Change footnote numbering style
Note: If you’re working with documents that are part of a book, it’s a good idea to set the properties from the book window
rather than directly from the document window. When the book is updated, the book properties will override the
document properties.
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Document > Numbering. Choose either Footnote or Table Footnote from the pop-up menu.
3 Choose a numbering style from the Format pop-up menu. If you choose Custom, you can specify a set of custom

footnotes in the Custom Numbering dialog box; click Set when you’re done.

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Your custom style can use any combination of numbers, letters, and symbols, which will be used in the order you
enter them. If you use symbols in a custom style and your document contains more footnotes than symbols, the
symbols are repeated. For example, if you use the two symbols * and †, and the document contains three footnotes,
the third footnote is marked **. The footnote number will appear in the default font of the footnote’s paragraph
format.

Custom footnote numbering

Note: Some special characters are entered or displayed differently in dialog boxes. You enter a sequence of characters
beginning with a backslash (\).
4 Choose whether you want document footnote numbers to be restarted on each page, start numbering footnotes at

a specific number, or be continued from the previous chapter in the book. When you number sequentially, you can
start from any number. The numbering of table footnotes always starts over with each table.
5 Click Set.

Change the footnote separator
The footnote separator is a graphic frame automatically placed between the bottom of the body text or table and the
first footnote. It usually contains a line or other design element to provide visual separation between the body text and
footnotes. The height of the frame determines the space between the body text or table and the footnote.
Separator frames for document and table footnotes are stored on a reference page. Their names are the same as the
paragraph formats used for these footnotes—by default, Footnote and TableFootnote.

Reference page

Footnote separator on body page

1 Choose View > Reference Pages and display the page that contains the footnote separator frame.
2 Resize the frame or edit its contents. You can change the size or position of the line in the frame, or remove or

replace the line. If you reduce the height of the frame, the first footnote is positioned closer to the bottom of the text
or table. If you move the line downward in the frame, the first footnote stays in the same position but the line moves
closer to it.
To add space, but not a line, between the body text or table and the footnotes, leave the separator frame empty.
3 Choose View > Body Pages.

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Using footnotes in multicolumn layouts
The placement of footnotes in multicolumn layouts depends on the location of the footnote reference and on the
presence or absence of side heads or text that straddles columns.
Side heads In a single-column document with side heads, footnotes in the body column run the width of the body

column, but footnotes in a side head span the side-head area and the body column.

1
2

Footnotes in side head span body column and side-head area.

If you want a footnote in a side head to be aligned with footnotes in the body column, change the indents of the
footnote in the side head area by adding a distance equal to the width of the side-head area plus the gap.
Straddles In a multicolumn format where some text straddles all columns and other text does not, footnotes may or

may not straddle the columns. Footnotes whose references appear in straddle text always straddle the columns, and
these footnotes appear at the bottom of the text frame. Footnotes whose references appear in nonstraddle text straddle
the columns if the footnotes’ paragraph format is set to Across All Columns (in the Pagination properties of the
Paragraph Designer).

Footnote across all columns

If the paragraph format is set to In Column, the footnote appears either just above the next straddle paragraph (if there
is one on the page) or at the bottom of the column.

Footnote in column

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If the footnotes appear out of order, select Across All Columns for the footnote paragraph format to force all footnotes
to appear in numerical order at the bottom of the page.

Create and maintain endnotes
Create an endnote
1 Type the first endnote at the end of the document and assign it the paragraph format for endnotes. The paragraph

format should include an autonumber so the endnotes will be numbered consecutively.
2 Click where you want to insert the endnote reference and cross-reference the endnote. Use the cross-reference

format you created for endnotes.
For example, if endnote references are to be displayed in superscript, and if the document contains a Superscript
character format, the cross-reference format <$paranumonly> displays the autonumber of the
endnote paragraph as a superscript.

Create an endnote in structured documents
1 Insert the endnote element at the end of the document, and type the text of the note.
2 Click where you want to insert the reference to the endnote.
3 Insert a cross-reference element that was defined to display an endnote reference.

Note: Make sure that the sequence of endnotes is the same as the sequence of references in the document. FrameMaker
does not automatically sequence endnotes as it does with footnotes.

Maintain endnotes
• If you change the order of endnote references while editing the document, rearrange the endnotes to match the
order of the references. Then update the cross-references to update the endnote reference numbers.

• If you delete an endnote, delete all references to it. Otherwise, the reference will be an unresolved cross-reference.

Conditional documents
About conditional text
Sometimes you author different types of content for different output formats using the same FrameMaker document.
This document can contain conditional text and conditional graphics for each type of output. For example, to create
both a PDF print version and an HTML Help version of a document, mark the different content for each using
condition tags.
You can also use conditional text to include comments to yourself or to your reviewers. You can hide the comments
before you print the final copy.
Conditional text differs from one version of a document to another. Unconditional text is common to all versions.
You can make any unit of text conditional, from one character to entire sections. Anchored graphics, tables, crossreferences, footnotes, markers, and table rows can be conditional. You make an item conditional by applying condition tags.

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Two versions of a data sheet: Conditional text can be used to create two data sheets in one document. The text and graphics common to both
data sheets are unconditional. The text and graphics that appear in only one data sheet are assigned a condition tag that identifies the data sheet.
A. The art and first paragraph contain both conditional and unconditional information. B. .Unconditional text.

The condition tags of the current selection (or at the insertion point) appear in parentheses in the Tag area of the status bar.

Tag area of status bar

You can change the appearance of conditional text so that it’s easy to identify by using condition indicators—style and
color changes.

Condition indicators (strikethrough and underline) identify two conditions.

You can view all versions of the document or hide selected versions. You can show or hide condition indicators.
Whatever you display appears in the printed document.

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Conditional text pod
A

Conditional Text pod
A. Select the file B. Apply a condition to selected text in a document C. Create a new conditional tag D. Edit a condition E. Delete a condition
F. Opens the Show/Hide Conditional Text panel G. Refresh H. Search I. List of conditional tags and their attributes

Planning conditional documents
When planning a conditional document, assess the nature of the material and the number of people maintaining the
document. Plan to treat conditional material consistently to make the document easier to use and maintain. Inform
others of the conventions you followed as you applied condition tags.
Use these guidelines when planning a conditional text project:
Number of versions Define how many versions you intend the finished project to contain. For example, to create a

manual that describes a program that runs on two platforms, you likely produce at least two versions. Sometimes you
want these versions with editorial comments added to text during review. In this case, you can add more versions:
UNIX with comments, UNIX without comments, Windows with comments, and Windows without comments.
Number of condition tags required Decide how many condition tags you want to produce the desired versions. A
unique set of condition tags defines each version of a document. For example, a Windows condition tag showing, a
UNIX condition tag hidden, and a Comments condition tag hidden defines a version of a finished Windows manual.
In this example, decide whether to use one condition tag for Windows comments and another for UNIX comments.
You can also use a single condition tag for both Windows and UNIX comments.
Organization of content Assess how much of the document can be conditional and how you can organize the material

to simplify development and maintenance. Perhaps you can organize a book so that conditional text is limited to a few
documents. You can keep versions of a chapter in separate files rather than in conditional text. Then use a different
book file for each version of the book. Alternatively, in a structured document, you sometimes want to specify entire
chapters of a book for printing only.
Graphics If a document contains graphics imported by reference into a conditional anchored frame, create separate

folders for the graphics in each version. Creating separate folders simplifies file management when you copy or archive
a version of the document with its graphics files.
Variables Words and phrases that are used repeatedly in a document are easier to work with as variables than as
conditional text.

Decide whether your conditional documents need different variable definitions for each version. For example, a data
sheet can use a variable with the product name, while the conditional document describes two products. You can create
a template for each version of the document. Each template has only one version visible and defines the variables for
that version. You can use File > Import > Formats to switch the variable definitions from one version to another.
Tagging strategy Determine the smallest unit of conditional text. For example, if a conditional document is translated

to another language, a whole sentence is the smallest amount of text you make conditional. Because word order often

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changes during translation, using conditional text for part of a sentence complicates translation. Other strategies
include these guidelines:

• Decide whether to make spaces and punctuation conditional. If conditional text begins or ends with punctuation,
make the punctuation conditional. Conditional punctuation makes the text easier to read when you’re viewing
more than one version.

• To avoid word spacing problems, set standards for handling spaces following conditional text. Define them as
either always conditional or always unconditional.

• Decide the order in which conditional text appears and use this order throughout the document. The order can
Help subsequent authors maintain the document.
Multiple authors If a conditional document has several authors, follow these guidelines:

• Plan document organization and workflow. For example, break a document into small files so several people can
work on different parts of the document at the same time.

• Decide how to provide explanatory notes to other authors. To Help explain a conditional document, add helpful
comments and apply the predefined Comment condition tag to them.

Create, edit, and delete condition tags
You can define unique condition indicators for every condition tag that you create in a FrameMaker document. If your
conditional document is used to create more than two versions, define color indicators. You can perform create and
edit tasks use the Conditional Text pod.
If another document contains the conditional text settings that you want to use in your current document, import
them by choosing File > Import > Formats.

Create or edit a condition tag
1 In the Conditional Text pod, do one of the following:

• To create a condition tag, click Create a New Tag. The Add/Edit Condition Tag panel appears.
• Enter a name in the Tag Name box. To facilitate keyboard shortcuts, use meaningful names that begin with a
unique first letter.
Note: Condition Tag names support the Unicode text encoding standard.

• Select a tag to edit, and click Edit. Modify the name in the Tag Name box.
2 Select a style from the Style list.
3 Do one of the following:

• Select a color from the Color list.
• Click New Color. Define the required color settings for the new color you are creating, and click Add. Click OK
to confirm, and then click Done. Select the new color preference in the Color list.
4 Click Add. The Conditional text pod shows the changes. If an existing condition tag is modified, changes are

applied across the current FrameMaker document.

Delete a condition tag from a document
❖ Select the tag you want to delete. Click Delete, and click OK to confirm.

FrameMaker removes the condition tag from any text that uses it. If any text is tagged only with the condition tag
that you are deleting, the Delete Condition Tag dialog box appears. You have the option to either make the text
unconditional or to delete the text. Select the appropriate option and click OK.

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You can delete condition tags that aren’t used in a document when you’re unsure which condition tags are used. Use
Special > List of > References to generate a list of references that includes condition tags.

Apply and remove condition tags
To make text conditional, you apply tags, or copy and paste condition tag settings. You can apply multiple tags to text
in a FrameMaker document.
You can distinguish text to which a single condition tag is applied, from text with multiple condition tags.
You apply a new condition tag to selected text to which another condition tag is already applied. In this case, the color
of the text is changed to a different color. This color is midway of all colors of the condition tags that you have already
applied to the current text.
You can also use the Find/Change command to paste condition tag settings.
You can merge two versions of a document into one conditional document. When you merge two versions,
FrameMaker compares them and creates a composite conditional document.

Apply a condition tag to an item
1 Select the text or item you want to make conditional, as described in the following table:
To make this conditional

Select

Text in a text frame, table cell, or footnote

Text

Anchored frame and its contents

Frame border or anchor symbol

An entire table

Table anchor symbol

Table row

Whole row

Cross-reference or variable

Cross-reference or variable text

Footnote

Footnote reference (the number in the main text)

Marker

Marker symbol

Note: You can make text in text frames conditional, but not text in text lines.
2 To apply a condition to the selected text or item:
a Select the condition from the Conditional Text pod
b Select Conditional option
c Select the In option
3 Click Apply. FrameMaker applies the settings to the selected text. If you apply a hidden condition tag, the selected

text disappears, unless it is also tagged with a condition that is displayed.
FrameMaker has a new feature that allows you to apply a conditional tag to the whole element, even if only a part of
the element is selected. The conditional text element boundaries feature is only applicable to structured documents.
To enable this feature, edit maker.ini and set the value of ApplyCondTillElementBoundaries to On. Restart
FrameMaker.
Now, selecting some text within an element and applying a condition, will apply the condition to the whole element
and not just to the selected text.

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Additionally, with this feature, a single cell in a table can be selected and a condition applied. The condition is then
applied across the entire corresponding row in the table.

Copy and paste condition tag settings
1 Place the insertion point in text that uses the condition tag settings you want to copy.
2 Choose Edit > Copy Special > Conditional Text Settings.
3 Make a selection or click to place the insertion point.
4 Choose Edit > Paste.

Avoiding unresolved cross-references
Sometimes you insert a cross-reference to a paragraph, and the first word in the paragraph is conditional. The CrossRef marker that FrameMaker inserts is also conditional (with the condition tag settings of the first word). The marker
is hidden when you hide the conditions of the first word. As a result, the cross-reference is sometimes unresolved if
condition tag settings of the cross-reference and of the cross-reference marker differ.
To avoid this situation, select just the Cross-Ref marker at the beginning of the source paragraph, and make it
unconditional. Then the marker is always visible. The cross-reference is resolved no matter which version is visible.

Remove condition tags from an item
Removing a condition tag from an item is different from deleting a tag from a document. When you remove a tag from
an item, the tag remains in the document so it can be applied to other items later. When you delete a tag from the
document, FrameMaker removes the condition tag from any text that uses it. Then it deletes the tag from the
Conditional Text pod.
❖ Select the item with the tag you want to remove and choose the Unconditional option from the Conditional Text

pod and click Apply. The item remains in your document but the conditional tag no longer applies to it.

Generate conditional output using Boolean expressions
You can generate conditional output by building a Boolean expression with combinations of condition tags and
Boolean operators.
For example, your document contains the Comment, Print, Help, and PDF condition tags. To show text tagged with
the Print and PDF condition tags only, click Build Expression, and define the following expression in the Build
Expression dialog box:
"Print" AND "PDF"

After you apply this expression, the document displays only text marked with the Print and PDF condition tags.
Alternatively, to include text tagged with either the PDF or Print condition tags in the output, you can modify the
expression as follows:
"PDF" OR "Print"

Build a conditional expression
1 Select Show/Hide Conditional Text icon from the Conditional Text pod.
2 Select the Show As Per Expression option.

Note: All conditional expressions created and applied in the document, are listed in the Expression pop-up menu.
3 Click the Build Expression button.

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4 In the Manage Conditional Expressions dialog box, enter a name for the conditional expression.
5 Select a tag from the Condition Tag list and click the arrow button, or double-click the tag you want to add. The tag

appears in the Expression area.
6 Click the AND, OR, or NOT button.
7 Repeat steps 4 and 5 to add tags and build the required expression. Place the cursor in the Expression area to create

or edit an expression.
Click the Clear button in the Build Expression dialog box to completely clear an expression.
8 Click Add.

Apply a conditional expression
1 Select Show/Hide Conditional Text icon from the Conditional Text pod.
2 Select the Show As Per Expression option.
3 Select the conditional expression from the Expression menu, and click Apply.

Import conditional expressions
You can import conditional expressions that you defined in the source document to one or more target documents.
When you import the conditional text settings, conditional build expressions and the status of the Show As Per
Expression setting are added to the target documents. Conditional expressions that exist in the target documents are
replaced by those imported from the source document.
1 Select File > Import > Formats.
2 In the Import Formats dialog box, deselect all options, and then select Conditional Text Settings.
3 Select the source document from the Import From pop-up menu, and click import.

Any conditional expressions defined in the source document are imported into the target documents.
Edit a conditional expression
You can edit an existing conditional expression. You can also redefine an expression. You can quickly create a new
conditional expression by editing an expression and then saving it with another name.
Note: Name of an existing conditional expression cannot be changed.
1 Select Show/Hide Conditional Text icon from the Conditional Text pod.
2 Click the Build Expression button.
3 In the Manage Conditional Expressions dialog box, select the conditional expression you want to edit.
4 Make the required changes, click Edit, and click Done.

Working in conditional documents
You can view or print all unconditional and conditional text simultaneously. You can also hide the conditional text of
one or more versions. FrameMaker ignores hidden conditional text when formatting a document. When text symbols
are visible, hidden conditional text is represented onscreen by a conditional text marker .

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Markers show where conditional text is hidden.

Change the view of conditional documents
A conditional document can display any number of conditions at a time and can have any of its condition indicators
on or off. For example, you can change the view to display the condition tags for one particular version, for several
versions, or for all versions. To display more than one version, you leave the condition indicators on. Also leave them
on if you’re displaying one version and want to see which part is conditional.
You can view conditional text by selecting one of the following options:
Show All Shows all text to which condition tags have been applied.
Show As Per Condition Shows text based on a specific condition tag.
Show As Per Expression Shows text based on an expression that includes a complex combination of condition tags and

Boolean operators.
1 To change the view of a conditional document, click Show/Hide Conditional Text from the Conditional Text pod.
2 Do one of the following to select the conditional text that you want to show or hide in the document:

• Select the Show All option.
• Select the Show As Per Condition option. Move the desired condition tags between scroll lists. If any condition
tag in the Show list is applied to text in your document, the relevant conditional text appears in the document.
You can select the Show If All Conditions Applied option only if all condition tags selected in the Show list are
applied to that text.

• Select the Show As Per Expression option, and then select an expression from the pop-up menu.
3 Indicate whether you want to display condition indicators, and click Apply.

Note: Condition indicators are style and color parameters that are used to distinguish conditional text from plain text.
For example, you can create a Condition Tag called Private Comment and configure its Style as Double Underline,
and its Color as Blue.

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Viewing imported conditional text
When you import text containing passages of conditional text, all the condition tags applied to text in the source
document are also imported. You can use them to show or hide imported conditional text. Even if you import the text
by reference and it appears in a text inset, you can change the view of conditional text in the inset.

The following conditions determine whether text is shown or hidden:

• When the Show All option is selected in the destination document, all conditional text appears.
• When the Show As Per Condition option is selected in the destination document, conditional text matching any
selected condition tags in the Show list appears in the document. When the Show If All Conditions Applied option
is selected in the destination document, all conditional text in the document is displayed only if all the tags that you
selected in the Show list are applied to text in the document.

• When the Show As Per Expression option is selected in the destination document, only conditional text that is
based on the selected expression appears.
Note: If you don’t select any of these options, conditional text is initially shown or hidden according to the settings in the
destination document. If imported condition tags don't match tags in the destination document, conditional text is
initially shown or hidden according to the settings in the source document.

Find and edit conditional text
When you work in a conditional document, FrameMaker generally ignores hidden text. For example, the Find/Change
and Spelling Checker commands check only displayed text. However, you can cut, copy, and paste hidden text by
selecting the conditional text marker and by using the Edit commands.
In a conditional document, work with text symbols turned on. Conditional text markers alert you to text that is in other
versions of the document. You can change conditional text in the following ways:

• To find conditional text, search for items tagged with a visible condition tag. FrameMaker finds conditional text in
text frames, graphic frames, and table cells. It also finds conditional table rows.

• Use the Edit menu commands as you normally do.
When you copy text, FrameMaker copies its conditional text markers and condition tag settings. When you paste
text with a condition tag that’s not in the destination document, FrameMaker adds the tag to the destination
document. When you try move or delete hidden conditional text, FrameMaker displays an alert message. You can
delete the text or cancel the command.

• Use Paragraph and Character Designers to apply format changes to hidden text.

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Paragraph and character format changes you apply to selections don’t update conditional text hidden within the
selection. To apply a format change to all paragraphs or characters, including hidden conditional text, click Update
All in the designer. Or, you can choose Update All from the Paragraph Format pop-up menu on the formatting bar.
Applying format changes with Import > Formats also updates hidden conditional text.

• To spell-check or search through all text, show all conditional text before using Edit > Spelling Checker or Edit >
Find/Change.

Finalizing conditional documents
Before you produce a finished version of a conditional document, follow these guidelines:

• Change your view of the document to include only the version you want to print, and turn off condition indicators.
• If your document contains variables, make sure that the variable definitions are correct for the version you’re
printing.

• Spell-check the document. This feature finds double spaces and punctuation problems caused by incorrectly tagged
conditional text.

• Update cross-references. If the document contains unresolved cross-references, perhaps they point to crossreference markers in hidden conditional text. Show the version and update the cross-references again.

• Create a copy of the document for each version before manually adjusting line and page breaks. Use the copy for
each version for making the adjustments and for printing. These adjustments differ with each version. Use the
original document for future edits.

• If the document is part of a book, update the book and its generated files. If the book contains documents with
different condition indicators for the same tag, FrameMaker displays an alert message. It also alerts you if some
condition tags are displayed in one document but are hidden in another. If this situation occurs, click Cancel to stop
book generation. Correct the conditional text settings of your documents.

• After generating an index, check it for double question marks (??), which indicate missing or incorrect index
markers.

Editing elements in conditional structured documents
You can insert, wrap, merge, and split elements in conditional structured documents as you can in other documents.
FrameMaker applies the following conditions as needed:

• When you insert an element, the new element takes the condition tags of the location of the insertion point.
• When you wrap an element, the new element generally takes the condition tags of the location of the selection. If
the selection crosses boundaries, the next two conditions apply.

• When you wrap a selection that crosses the boundaries of two conditions, the new element does not take any
condition tags. The contents of the element keep their tags.

• When you wrap a selection that crosses the boundary of conditional and unconditional text, the new element does
not take any condition tags. The contents are still partly conditional and partly unconditional.

• When you merge two or more elements that have different condition tags, the new element does not take any
condition tags. The contents of the element keep their tags.

• When you split an element, the two elements have the same condition tags as the original element.
Validate each version in a conditional document showing only one version at a time.

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Note: If a filter is applied to a structured document, this expression overrides all conditional text in the document. When
you apply a filter to a structured document to generate output, conditional indicators are disabled. If you switch back to
conditional text to generate the output, re-enable the conditional indicators.

Troubleshooting books
Even though you can update and generate a book without error messages, the book may still have some problems that
need correcting.
Generated file is empty Make sure the name of the generated file is preceded by a generated files icon

in the book
window. If it isn’t, the file was added as a document to the book file rather than as a generated file (see “Create a book”
on page 306). When a file is added as a document file, FrameMaker won’t generate it. Also check that the setup of the
generated file is correct.
Slow performance To improve performance, open as many files in the book as possible before you use Edit > Update
Book or File > Import > Formats in a book window. After using the command, save all the files in the book.

Note: In addition, if you experience slow performance while working with books, minimize or remove the Show/Hide
Conditional Text panel from your workspace.
Chapter starts on wrong side You need to correct your documents’ pagination.

Interpreting error messages
The Book Error Log reports all errors that occur when you apply a command to a book. In addition, many error
messages contain hypertext links so that you can click the message in the Error Log to display the location of the error.
Unresolved Cross-Refs The Book Error Log lists all files that contain unresolved cross-references.
Inconsistent Show/Hide Settings, Inconsistent Use Condition Indicators, or Inconsistent Condition Indicator The

indicated file contains conditional text settings that differ from those in the previous file in the book. You can make
the settings in each file the same (by using Special > Conditional Text) or you can update the settings throughout the
book at once. To do this, change the settings in one file and then use File > Import > Formats to apply the settings to
the entire book.
Inconsistent Numbering Properties The numbering properties specified in the component are different from the
book’s numbering properties. The book’s numbering properties override those of the document. See “Document and
page numbering” on page 313.
Inconsistent Color Settings The indicated file contains color separation settings or color definitions that differ from
those in the previous file in the book.
Couldn’t Open File The Book Error Log will indicate if the file was saved using an older format, if it used unavailable
fonts, or if it cannot locate the file. For more information on the problem, open the file to see the alert message that
appears.
Book Not Self-Consistent The contents of generated files, the page count, or cross-references continued to change
while generating and updating files in the book. For example, if a book contains both a list of markers and an
alphabetical list of markers, and if both contain hypertext links, the number of markers grows each time the files are
generated. If this happens, move one of the generated lists out of the Include scroll list when you use the
Generate/Update command again.
Inconsistent Element Boundary Settings In a structured book, element boundaries are showing in some files in the
book but not in others. Fix the settings in individual files to make them consistent.

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Troubleshooting TOCs and lists
Minor problems in the source document may cause corresponding problems in the list. For example, an incorrectly
tagged paragraph may cause an extra entry to appear in the list or to be missing from it. Or an empty paragraph may
cause an extra line to appear in the list.
Extra entries or lines Incorrect formatting in the source document can cause extra paragraphs to appear in a list such

as a table of contents. To correct this, do the following:

• If the list contains an entry that doesn’t belong there, check the corresponding paragraph tag or marker type in the
source document and either apply a different format to the paragraph or change the marker type.

• If the list contains an extra line with only a page number, delete the corresponding empty paragraph in the source
document. If you need extra space between paragraphs in the source document, use the spacing properties of the
paragraphs’ formats rather than insert an empty paragraph.
Missing entries To include entries that appear in the source document, but not in the list, do one of the following:

• If all entries with a particular paragraph tag or marker type are missing, make sure the Include scroll list in the Set
Up dialog box contains the correct items.

• If an occasional entry is missing, check the tag of the corresponding paragraph or element, or the type of the
corresponding marker in the source document. If any of these are incorrect, the information won’t be included in
the list.
Split entries A multiline heading in the source document can be a problem if the line breaks were created by pressing

Return so that each line is a separate paragraph. The list will contain an entry for each paragraph in the heading. Fixing
the list requires using only one paragraph for the heading in the source document.
Avoid using forced returns in a heading; forced returns appear in the generated TOC. Instead, to force a heading to
break into two lines where you want, change the right indent of the heading paragraph in the source document. If the
heading is centered, you may want to change both the left and right indents. You can also use nonbreaking spaces to
force a heading to break acceptably.
Incomplete entries (unstructured documents) When an element contains more than one paragraph, the list includes

an entry for only the first paragraph. A multiline heading in the source document can be a problem if each line is a
separate paragraph.
Avoid using forced returns in a heading; forced returns appear in the generated TOC. Instead, to break a heading into
two lines (while still including all of its text in the list), use nonbreaking spaces to force a break. Or you can adjust the
right indent for the heading to force a break, or the right and left indents if the heading is centered, though this will be
a format rule override.
Note: Be aware that these techniques create overrides to both paragraph styles and element definitions. As such, they may
not be retained when importing formats or element definitions, or when changing the context of the element by editing
other parts of the structured document.
Incorrect pagination (books with xml components) If you have a mix of structured xml and unstructured files in a

book, sometimes the page numbers are incorrect when you generate a PDF. This problem could be because the
pagination information for xml files is obtained from the template and the template could have a dual pagination
setting.
To avoid this problem, always open the xml files and then update the book. This way all the components in the book
have correct pagination information and the PDF that you then generate also has correct page numbers.

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Bad line breaks Bad line breaks in the list or its source document may separate information that belongs together in
the list. To correct this, do one of the following:

• Change the characters after which FrameMaker allows line breaks. For example, FrameMaker normally allows a
line break after an en dash (–). To disallow breaks after an en dash, use Format > Document > Text Options.

• In the special text flow on the reference page, use nonbreaking spaces between the text and page number for each
entry so that a page number does not appear on a line by itself. See “Edit special text flow for a list or index” on
page 342.
Disappearing titles A title you entered may disappear when you regenerate, unless you give the title a paragraph

format.
Disappearing formatting If your formatting changes aren’t retained when you regenerate (see “Formatting lists and

indexes” on page 342), do the following:

• If you changed the filename or location of the list, change the name and location back. FrameMaker won’t find any
formatting changes unless you save the list in the same folder as the source document and use the filename that
FrameMaker assigns.

• To retain paragraph and character format changes, store them in the list’s Paragraph Catalog or Character Catalog,
making them available the next time you generate the list.

• To retain other changes, make them in the special text flow, as described in “Edit special text flow for a list or index”
on page 342.

Troubleshooting indexes
Missing entries If an entry is missing entirely from the generated index, do the following:

• Check whether the corresponding marker (or marker element) is an incorrect marker type. You can do this by
generating a list of markers that includes all marker types and then searching the list for the entry you want.

• Check whether the corresponding marker (or marker element) is in hidden conditional text by using Special >
Conditional Text to show all conditional text, and then generating the index again.

• Check whether the marker (or marker element) was deleted accidentally.
Entries containing double question marks Double question marks (??) in a page range indicate that FrameMaker can

find only one of the two markers that define the range. If you see double question marks, do the following:

• Check that neither marker (or marker element) is missing.

<$endrange>Continental rise

Continental drift
fossil evidence, 36-37
rock structures, 35-36
Pangea, 38
Continental glacier, 39, 40-41
Continental margin, 42, 44
Continental rise, ??-46

Missing <$startrange> and the resulting page range

• Check that the spelling, punctuation, and capitalization of the marker text match exactly.

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<$startrange>
Continental drift:Pangaea
<$endrange>
Continental drift:Pangea

Continental drift
fossil evidence, 36-37
rock structures, 35-36
Pangaea, 38-??
Pangea, ??-39
Continental glacier, 39, 40-41
Continental margin, 42, 44

Inconsistent spelling and the resulting page range

• Check that <$startrange> appears in the first marker (or marker element) and that <$endrange> appears in the
second marker (or marker element).

<$endrange>
Continental drift:Pangea
<$startrange>
Continental drift:Pangea

Continental drift
fossil evidence, 36-37
rock structures, 35-36
Pangea, ??-38, 39-??
Continental glacier, 39, 40-41
Continental margin, 42, 44
Continental rise, 45-46

<$endrange> comes first and causes the resulting page range

Missorted entries Most sorting problems are the result of incorrect marker text. If you see missorted entries, do the

following:

• Check that the colons and semicolons are used correctly. If a semicolon appears where a colon belongs, two main
entries appear rather than one subentry. If a colon is missing, a subentry appears incorrectly as a main entry.

Continental drift:Pangea
Continental drift Pangea

Continental drift
fossil evidence, 36-37
rock structures, 35-36
Pangea, 38
Continental drift Pangea, 39
Continental glacier, 39, 40-41
Continental margin, 42, 44

Missing colon and the resulting missorted entry

• Check that sorting information is present and correct, and appears between brackets ([ ]) at the very end of the
marker text (see “Change sort order” on page 333). For example, if you want to sort a cross-reference as the last
subentry, the sorting information in the marker text for it should end with :zzz.

<$nopage>Continental drift:
See also Wegner

Continental drift
fossil evidence, 36-37
rock structures, 35-36
Pangea, 38
See also Wegner
transform boundaries, 77
Continental glacier, 39, 40-41

Missing :zzz and the resulting missorted entry

• If sorting errors occur in a pattern—for example, if all numeric entries appear at the end of the index rather than at
the beginning—check that the sorting information in the special text flow on the reference page is correct.

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Page numbers with See or See also cross-references A cross-reference index entry may incorrectly contain a page

number. Make sure that <$nopage> appears at the beginning of the marker text for the cross-reference entry.

Continental drift:
See also Wegner
[Continental drift:zzz]

Continental drift
fossil evidence, 36-37
rock structures, 35-36
Pangea, 38
See also Wegner, 10
Continental glacier, 39, 40-41
Continental margin, 42, 44

Missing <$nopage> and the page number wrongly appears

Bad line breaks If entries break between numbers in a page range or between the end of the entry and the first page
number, do the following:

• Change the characters after which FrameMaker allows line breaks. To disallow line breaks after certain characters,
such as an en dash (–), use Format > Document > Text Options.

• To force the end of an entry to appear on the same line as the page number, use a nonbreaking space, an en space,
or an em space as the separator between them.

• If you specified in the special text flow on the reference page that spaces or hyphens appear between page numbers
in a range, make sure they are nonbreaking (see “Edit special text flow for a list or index” on page 342).

• Change the volume or chapter numbering for the source document’s page numbers (see “Set up numbering” on
page 314). If the book’s pages are numbered by chapter (11, 12, …, 21, 22, …),---- the volume or chapter number
should be followed by a nonbreaking hyphen.
Continental drift, 36-37
Continental drift Pangea, 3839
Continental glacier formation,
39, 40-41
Continental margin, 42, 44

Bad line breaks

Disappearing titles A title you entered may disappear the next time you generate the index, unless you follow the steps
in “Add a title or other static text to lists and indexes”.
Disappearing formatting If your formatting changes aren’t retained when you regenerate (see “Formatting lists and

indexes” on page 342), do the following:

• If you must rename a generated file, do so using the book window. FrameMaker will rename the file in the book
window and on disk.

• To retain paragraph and character format changes, store them in the index’s Paragraph or Character Catalog,
making them available the next time you generate the index. For details, see “Redefining (updating) formats”.

• To retain other changes, make them in the special text flow, as described in “Edit special text flow for a list or index”
on page 342.

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Chapter 9: Working with Documents
Importing and linking files
Import and link methods
You can import other Adobe FrameMaker documents, documents created in other applications, text files, and graphic
files. You can also import SWF files and 3D objects into FrameMaker documents. An imported object can simply be
copied into the document. It can also be linked—such as when you import by reference—so that it remains tied to its
source for easy updating.

More Help topics
“Import text” on page 374
“Import graphics” on page 376
“Embedding objects” on page 390

Use the clipboard
Perhaps the easiest way to import text and graphics is by copying to and pasting from the clipboard. When using this
method, keep in mind the following:
1 Select the object or text you want to copy and Choose Edit > Copy. The contents is copied to the clipboard.
2 Place the insertion point in the document where you want to paste the content, and then choose Edit > Paste.

When using this method, keep in mind the following:

• You can convert tab-delimited text to a table using the Table > Convert To Table command.
• Text formatting is lost unless you’re pasting into another FrameMaker document.
• Choosing Edit > Paste Special offers you more options. For example, you can choose to paste text in the RTF format
or as an embedded Microsoft Word document. If you want to apply FrameMaker formats, then paste clipboard
content as text. For graphics you can paste clipboard content as an embedded bitmap, a device independent bitmap,
or a metafile.

Use drag-and-drop
Import and export are greatly simplified when you can drag an object to its new location.
FrameMaker supports the following drag-and-drop operations:

• Move a graphic from one open FrameMaker document window to another by dragging the graphic. You can also
copy it by Control-dragging it or display a context (shortcut) menu when you drop it by right-dragging it.

• Drag a graphic between a FrameMaker document window and any other application that supports drag-and-drop
operations.

• Drag a graphic file from a folder or the desktop into an open document window.
• Drag one or more document files into the application window to open the files, or you can drag a single file into a
document window to embed that file.

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Use the File > Import > File command
Import by copying
Importing by copying makes it easy to transfer the imported material from one location to another, but it increases the
document size. In addition, if you change the source material, you need to reimport it to update the document with
the latest version.
❖ Choose File > Import > File, choose the file you want to copy, and then select Copy Into Document.

Import by reference
Importing by reference keeps the imported text or graphics linked to the source file. FrameMaker stores the path to
the source file in the document. Each time you open the document, FrameMaker locates the file on the disk and
displays it. If the source file was revised, FrameMaker updates the document with the latest version. Importing by
reference can reduce total file size because it lets you use the same material in several places without storing the
contents of imported images or text in the FrameMaker document. Text imported by reference is called a text inset.
❖ Choose File > Import > File, choose the file you want to copy, and then select Import By Reference

For information on how the path is stored when importing by reference, see “Using paths when importing by
reference” on page 374.

Use the File > Import > Object command
The main benefit of using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) is to display visualizations of data created in
programs other than FrameMaker. The File > Import > Object option associates the imported object with the program
used to create it so that you can edit the object in its native software. For example, you can insert a pie-chart created
using Microsoft Excel in a FrameMaker document. Each time you double-click the inserted object, FrameMaker opens
it in Microsoft Excel for you to edit.
Note: You cannot embed or link an object whose native software is not installed on your computer. For example, if you
open a document having a Photoshop image embedded through File > Import > Object, you need to have Photoshop
installed on your computer to be able to edit this image.
Consider the following factors when deciding whether to import text and graphics by reference or to use OLE to embed
or link them instead:

• If the material you want to include comes from another FrameMaker document, use import by reference. This
provides many more import options.

• If you want to collapse a linked file to an icon instead of displaying the full contents of the file in your document,
use OLE linking.

• If the material you want to include is in a format that FrameMaker can’t open, use OLE.
• If you edit or view your document on multiple platforms, use import by reference. OLE works only in Windows.
• If the text or graphics you want to include comes from an application that doesn’t support OLE, use import by
reference.

Text insets
Text inset pod
You can use the Insets pod to manage and troubleshoot all objects linked or embedded in your FrameMaker
documents.

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Insets pod
A. Select the file B. List text, graphics, or all insets in the selected document C. List resolved, unresolved, or all insets in the selected document
D. Import a file or object into an open document E. Go to the inset location F. Edit the selected object’s properties G. Delete the selected inset
H. Delete the selected graphic inset along with its anchored frame I. Convert to text - valid for text insets only J. Refresh the pod data K. Search
for an inset L. Type of inset M. Source filename N. Document name of the inset O. Page and other references

View the properties or source of text insets
You can view the filename and file type of the source document, the date it was last modified, the date the text inset
was last updated, and the inset’s update setting. You can also display the source of a text inset.
1 Click the text inset to select it and choose Edit > Text Inset Properties. You can also double-click the inset in the

Insets pod.
2 If you want to open the source of the text inset, click Open Source. The source is opened as a FrameMaker

document.

Control the updating of text insets
You can control how and when text insets are updated from their source documents. For example, you can specify
either automatic or manual updating, and you can manually update a single text inset or several insets in the
document.
Note: Text imported by reference is automatically updated only if its date stamp indicates that it is out of date. However,
because the time settings may differ between file systems or networks, it’s possible that an out-of-date text inset won’t be
updated automatically. In this case, you can manually update the inset.
Change the updating of a selected text inset
1 Select the inset to update.
2 Choose Edit > Text Inset Properties and click Settings.
3 Specify manual or automatic updating and click Import.

Suppress the updating of all text insets in a document
1 Choose Edit > Update References.
2 Choose Suppress Automatic Updating from the Commands pop-up menu, and then choose the items you don’t

want to be updated automatically.
3 Click Set and then click Done.

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Suppress the updating of all text insets in selected book files
1 In a book window, select the file or files you want to update.
2 Choose Edit > Suppress Automatic Reference Updating.
3 Select Suppress Automatic Updating and click Set.

Manually update a single text inset
❖ Select the inset, choose Edit > Text Inset Properties, and then click Update Now.
Manually update multiple insets in a document
1 Choose Edit > Update References.
2 Select the types of insets you want to update and click Update.

To interrupt the updating of text insets, press Control+c.

Convert text insets to editable text
When you convert a text inset to editable text, FrameMaker no longer updates it. You can convert a single text inset
or all the text insets in a document.
1 If you’re converting one text inset, click it to select it.
2 Choose Edit > Text Inset Properties. You can also double-click the inset in the Insets pod.
3 Click Convert to Text, specify whether to convert the selected inset or all insets in the document, and then click

Convert.

Locate the source of unresolved text insets
If FrameMaker can’t locate the source file for a text inset during updating (or if the format of the source file has
changed since the last update), an alert message appears. After dismissing the alert message, you can use the Insets pod
to locate the unresolved text inset and then re-import the text. The Insets pod displays the complete path of a
referenced file.
Alternatively, you can also search for unresolved insets.
1 Choose Edit > Find/Change.
2 Choose Unresolved Text Inset from the Find pop-up menu and click Find to select the first unresolved text inset.
3 Choose Edit > Text Inset Properties, note the path and file type of the inset, and then click Cancel.
4 Using the path and file type information, re-import the text.

If a document contains many unresolved text insets, you can generate a list of unresolved text insets.

More Help topics
“Import formatted text” on page 374
“Import unformatted text” on page 375
“Generating TOCs and other lists in structured documents” on page 324

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Using paths when importing by reference
When you import by reference with File > Import > File, the path to the text or graphic can be either absolute or
relative. A relative path begins at a current folder or one folder up the hierarchy and specifies the file’s location from
there. An absolute path begins at the root of the file system (the topmost folder) and fully specifies the file’s location
from there. Following are two examples of absolute paths.

• d:\Graphics\Mountain.gif
• \\DocServer\Graphics\Mountain.gif
FrameMaker stores relative paths whenever possible so that it can find an imported file even when you move both the
document and the source file—as long as you keep the files in the same relative locations. If you save the document in
a different folder, FrameMaker adjusts the paths of the imported files accordingly. However, if the path to the imported
file traverses the root (the topmost folder) of the file system, FrameMaker uses absolute paths that begins at the root.
To ensure that FrameMaker uses relative paths, make sure that it does not have to traverse the root to locate the file.

Import text
You can use the File > Import > File command to import text on all platforms. This method provides more flexibility
than using the clipboard.
However, if you’re working on only one platform, you might want to use a platform-specific approach. For
information, see “Embedding objects” on page 390.
The text you import can be formatted or unformatted. Unformatted text contains only the words; it has no information
on fonts, indents, spacing, autonumbering, and so on. Formatted text contains these types of information.

Import formatted text
You can import formatted text into a FrameMaker document by importing from the following sources:

• A text flow from another part of the same document
• A text flow from another FrameMaker document
• A text flow from another FrameMaker document that is a Maker Interchange Format (MIF) file
• A file created in another application, such as Microsoft Word, which has an installed filter
When you import text from another FrameMaker document, you also import cross-references, footnotes, variables,
markers, tables, and anchored frames. Conditional text in the flow is also imported. When you import text from
another application, some of these special items may be imported, depending on the capabilities of the other
application and the filter used.
1 Click where you want to insert the text and choose File > Import > File.
2 Specify the file that contains the flow you want to import and the import method.
3 Click Import.
4 If the Unknown File Type dialog box appears, select a file type and click Convert. The dialog box that appears next

depends on the import method you chose in step 2. The Import Text Flow by Reference dialog box contains settings
for specifying how to update the imported flow. Choose a body page flow or a reference page flow. Typically, the
text you import will come from body pages. Reference pages can contain flows with boilerplate text or graphics for
use on body pages.

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5 Specify how to format the imported text by doing one of the following:

• To apply the current document’s formats to the imported text whenever their tags match, click Reformat Using
Current Document’s Formats. If the tags don’t match, the formatting of imported text is unaffected. Usually,
you would also select the options to remove manual page breaks and other format overrides (such as font
properties or tab settings) so that the imported text looks like text in the current document with the same tags.

• To remove the formatting from the imported text and apply the character and paragraph formatting used at the
insertion point, click Reformat As Plain Text. (Text in tables or anchored frames retains the formatting it had
in the source document.)

• To keep the formatting from the source document, click Retain Source’s Formatting. Formats in the imported
text aren’t added to the current document’s format catalogs. If you later modify the current document’s formats,
the imported text formats won’t be affected—even if the tags in the current document and imported text match.
6 If you are importing the text by reference, specify how to update the text inset by doing one of the following:

• To update the text inset whenever you open the document, click Automatic.
• To update only when you specify, click Manual.
7 Click Import. If you imported the text by reference, it appears as a text inset. (A text inset is linked to the source

document and can’t be edited outside that source document.)

Import unformatted text
When you import the text from an unformatted text file, you specify whether to import it by copying or by reference
and how to treat lines in the text file. The imported text adopts the character and paragraph formatting used at the
insertion point.
1 Place the insertion point where you want to insert the text, and then choose File > Import > File.
2 Specify the text file you want to import, and the import method.
3 Click Import. The dialog box that appears depends on the import method (Import By Reference or Copy Into

Document) you chose.
4 Specify how to treat the imported text by doing one of the following:

• To break the text into paragraphs only at blank lines, click Merge Lines into Paragraphs. Use this option for a
paragraph-oriented text file such as a file containing document text.

• To break the text into paragraphs at the end of each line, click Treat Each Line As A Paragraph. Use this option
for a line-oriented text file such as a file containing computer code.

• To convert the imported text to a table, click Convert To Table. Specify a table format and other settings. Use
this option only if the file contains delimited text, such as text output from a database program.
5 If you are importing the text by reference, specify how to update the text inset by doing one of the following:

• To update the text inset whenever you open the document, click Automatic.
• To update only when you specify, click Manual.
6 If necessary, choose a character encoding from the Text Encoding pop-up menu. Do this only if you know that the

preselected encoding is incorrect. If you force an incorrect encoding, character substitution sometimes occurs or
some characters appear as question marks.
7 Click Import. If you imported the text by reference, it appears as a text inset.

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Import graphics
You can import Adobe® Photoshop®, JPEG 2000, SVG, and Adobe® Illustrator® files into FrameMaker. Use File >
Import > File to import graphics.
You can import a graphic into an anchored or unanchored graphic frame, into a rectangle that serves as a bounding
box, or directly onto a page. If you want the graphic to move with text as you edit the document—for example, a
graphic in longer documents or documents intended for HTML conversion—import the graphic into an anchored
frame. If you want the graphic to stay where you place it—for example, if the graphic is the logo of a letterhead—import
it onto the page and position it where you want it.
When you import a graphic, you can specify an import filter on the basis of the graphic’s format. When you import a
bitmap image, you also specify its scale in dots per inch (dpi). The larger the dpi value, the smaller the graphic is on
the page.
When you copy an image, or copy an image by reference, into a document, you can specify an HTTP path from which
to import the graphic. The HTTP path is preserved in the XML roundtrip.

More Help topics
“Using paths when importing by reference” on page 374

Import a graphic
1 Specify the position of the graphic by doing one of the following:

• To place the imported graphic in a graphic frame, select an existing frame or place an insertion point in a text
frame.

• To place the imported graphic directly on a page, click in the page margin.
• To use a drawn rectangle to define the size of the imported bitmap graphic, select an existing rectangle or draw
one (do not select an anchored or unanchored frame). The graphic replaces the rectangle if the Fit in Selected
Rectangle option is selected when you import; however, the aspect ratio of the graphic remains unchanged.

• To replace an existing graphic, select it.
2 Choose File > Import > File.
3 Select the graphic file you want to import, or specify the HTTP path of the graphic file to import, and the import

method.
4 Click Import.
5 If the Unknown File Type dialog box appears when you click Import, select a file type in the scroll list and click

Convert.
6 If you're importing a bitmap graphic, choose a scaling option or Fit in Selected Rectangle and click Set.

For the best printed results, choose a dpi value that divides evenly (or leaves only a small remainder) into the
resolution of your printer or typesetter. For the best screen representation, choose a dpi value that divides evenly into
your screen resolution. (Windows screens typically have a resolution of 96 dpi.)

More Help topics
“Import and link methods” on page 370
“Resize imported graphics” on page 242
“Embedding objects” on page 390

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Import JPEG 2000 files
FrameMaker supports JPEG 2000, a version of the JPEG image-compression format.
When importing JPEG 2000 files, the filter converts the supported color modes of RGB, CMYK, Grayscale, and LAB
and discards unsupported modes such as Index. The filter does not support 16-bit-per-channel images.
1 Choose File > Import > File.
2 Specify the file you want to import, and select Import By Reference or Copy Into Document.
3 Click Import. If the Unknown File Type dialog box appears, select JPC, J2C, JPX, JPF, J2K, or JP2, and click

Convert.

Import SVG images
When importing a Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG), the SVG Import dialog box allows the user to select the
rasterization quality of the image. By increasing the rasterization quality, printed and PDF versions are crisper;
however, increasing the rasterization also increases the file size of the image, and it takes longer to import it.
FrameMaker prints Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) images to PostScript printers by rendering the images as vector
graphics using Encapsulated PostScript (EPS). For non-PostScript printers, FrameMaker uses the FrameImage format.
In addition, when you create a PDF file from a document containing an SVG image, the image appears as vectors,
which improves its look in Acrobat and allows you to zoom in on it without pixelation.
Note: Embedded SVG image animations are not functional in FrameMaker.
1 Choose File > Import > File.
2 Click Import.
3 Specify the file you want to import, and select Import By Reference or Copy Into Document.
4 Click Import.
5 In the Import SVG dialog box, specify the raster quality.
6 Specify image dimensions if they are different from the default size (you can’t scale proportionally in this dialog box).
7 Click Set.

Note: Depending on the rasterization quality and available memory, it might take several minutes for the SVG image to
import.

Import Adobe Photoshop files
FrameMaker supports importing of Adobe Photoshop (PSD) files. FrameMaker converts PSD files to native FrameImage
format and converts the color space (Photoshop RGB, CMYK, LAB, Indexed, Grayscale, or Bitmap) to RGB.
You import PSD files the same way you import other types of graphics.

Import Adobe Illustrator files
When you import an Adobe Illustrator file into FrameMaker, the file is treated as a graphic, and only one page can be
imported at a time. You can import it either by copy or by reference. Both process and spot colors can be displayed
and printed.
Note: Graphics that use transparency do not always print as expected to a PostScript Level 1 or non-PostScript printer. If
you run FrameMaker using the -noapioption (./maker.exe -noapi), you won’t be able to import PDF files.
1 In FrameMaker, choose File > Import > File, and specify the Illustrator file you want to import.
2 Select either Import By Reference or Copy Into Document.

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3 Click Import.
4 If the file has more than one page, specify the page number you want by typing the page number into the box.
5 Click Select.

Illustrator files are imported at the page size of the file. Resize the anchored frame to crop any white space from the
image.

Locate missing graphics
When you open a document that contains graphic files imported by reference, FrameMaker looks for the referenced
graphic files. If it can’t find a graphic file, it displays a dialog box.

Locate a graphic FrameMaker can’t find
1 When FrameMaker displays the Missing File dialog box, do one of the following:

• To find and display the graphic, use the scroll list to select it and click Update Document to Use New Path.
FrameMaker continues to use the new path to try to find other missing files while opening the document. That
way, if you move all your graphic files to a new location, you specify the new path only once.

• To skip the graphic file, click Skip This File. The skipped graphic appears as a gray rectangle in the document.
The next time you open the document, FrameMaker tries to find the file again.

• To skip other graphic files if they can’t be found, click Ignore All Missing Files.
2 Click Continue.

View an imported graphic’s filename
❖ Select the graphic that has been imported by reference and choose Graphics > Object Properties. The graphic’s

name and path appear in the panel.

Insert imported graphic elements into structured documents
Some graphic elements are defined for you to import a graphic along with the element. When you insert the element,
FrameMaker displays an import dialog box. The graphic you import appears in an anchored frame below the line with
the anchor symbol, and the frame is automatically sized large enough for the graphic.

Imported graphic in an anchored frame

After inserting the element, you can edit the frame by moving it, resizing it, and so on.
You can also import a graphic into an existing anchored frame—for example, if you used a graphic element that placed
an empty frame in the document.
When you import a graphic element, you can make it part of your document (imported by copying) or keep it linked
to its original application or document (imported by reference).
For information on inserting an imported graphic that’s not an element (which you can do only in an unstructured
flow), see “Import graphics” on page 376.

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More Help topics
“Fill and edit anchored frames” on page 260
“Import and link methods” on page 370
Insert an imported graphic element
1 Click where you want to anchor the frame.
2 Select an imported graphic element in the Element Catalog, and click Insert.

You can also use File > Import > File to insert an element. Select a file and click Import. If more than one imported
graphic element is available, choose the one you want from the Element Tag pop-up menu in the next dialog box
that appears.
3 Select the graphic file you want to import and specify whether to import by copying or by reference.
4 Click Import.
5 If the Unknown File Type dialog box appears, select a file type in the scroll list and click Convert.
6 If the graphic you’re importing is a bitmap, choose a scaling option from the pop-up menu and click Set. The larger

the dpi (dots-per-inch) value, the smaller the graphic is on the page.
An anchored frame with the imported graphic appears in the document window, with an anchor symbol
insertion point. A bubble with the text snippet appears in the Structure View.

at the

If no imported graphic element is available at the location you want, you can use an invalid element. After inserting
the element, talk to your developer about making the element valid at this location.

More Help topics
“Import by copying” on page 371
“Change the scope of elements available in a structured document” on page 35
Use an invalid imported graphic element
❖ Do one of the following:

• To insert an invalid element with the default tag GRAPHIC, use File > Import > File to import a graphic. (The
element has a default tag if no defined imported graphic elements are available.)
Add an imported graphic to an existing anchored frame
❖ Select the frame and use File > Import > File to import the graphic.

Import movies, SWF files, and 3D objects
You can import SWF files (for example, Adobe Captivate demos) into FrameMaker documents by copying or by
reference.
You can also import 3D objects (U3D format) into documents by copying or by reference. You can set parameters for
the 3D object, such as default view, rendering mode, background color, and lighting scheme. You can also choose to
render a 3D object in an anchored or unanchored frame.

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For a series of tutorials and demonstrations on using rich media in FrameMaker authoring, watch the episodes on the
Technical Communications channel on Adobe TV.

More Help topics
“Disable embedding Adobe Flash, 3D, and multimedia objects in PDF” on page 498
“Print options” on page 508
Rich Media in Technical Documentation

Import movies
You can add movies to documents by embedding media files. FrameMaker supports the following media formats.

• AIF/AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) WMV
• ASF (Advanced Systems Format File)
• AU (Audio File)
• AVI (Audio Video Interleave File)
• FLV (Flash Video File)
• IVF (Indeo Video Format File)
• KAR (Karaoke MIDI File)
• M1V (MPEG-1 Video File)
• M3U (Media Playlist File)
• MID (MIDI File)
• MOV (Apple QuickTime Movie)
• MP2 (MPEG Layer II Compressed Audio File)
• MP3 (MP3 Audio File)
• MP4 (MPEG-4 Video file)
• MPA (MPEG-2 Audio File)
• MPE (MPEG Movie File)
• MPEG (MPEG Movie)
• MPG (MPEG Video File)
• QT (Apple QuickTime Movie)
• WAV (DTS-WAV File)
• WMV (Windows Media Video File)
For more information see “Embedding objects” on page 390.
When you print a document containing a QuickTime movie, only the movie title appears.
Note: Don’t move or delete the original QuickTime movie file, even if you used the Copy into Document option when you
imported it. Even with this option, the entire QuickTime movie is not copied into your document.

Import a SWF file
Note: Ensure that you have installed Adobe® Flash® Player on your computer to play SWF files.

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Note: SWF files embedded inside PDF documents, do not need Adobe Flash Player, to play. Acrobat Pro and Acrobat
Reader can play these files.
1 Place the insertion point in your document where you want the SWF file to appear.
2 Select File > Import > File.
3 Navigate to, and select, the SWF file you want to insert.
4 Select the Copy Into Document or Import by Reference option.
5 Click Import.
6 In the Graphic Scaling dialog box, select the desired DPI, and then click Set.

When you click Set, the first frame of the SWF file appears in the document. If you imported the file by reference,
double-click the first frame to play the SWF file in a separate Adobe Flash Player window. If you copied the SWF file
into the document, a bitmap image of the first frame is displayed. Click the frame to activate the SWF file. If the first
frame is blank, the anchored frame containing the SWF file appears blank.
Note: You can’t use any graphic operations on a SWF file in a FrameMaker document.
Note: In FrameMaker, SWF files and FLV files are saved as RichMedia objects in PDF.

Import 3D objects
1 Place the insertion point in your document where you want the 3D object to appear.
2 Select File > Import > File.
3 Navigate to and select the U3D file you want to import.
4 Select the Copy Into Document or Import By Reference option.
5 Click Import.
6 Select the desired DPI and click Set.

When you click Set, the bitmap of the 3D object appears in the document. If you imported the 3D object by copying
it, the U3D file is embedded in the document as a device-independent bitmap (DIB) in the document. If you imported
the 3D object by reference, a bitmap image linked to the source U3D file is inserted in the document. Regardless of the
method of importing the 3D file, the file is rendered in the DIB facet in the document.
When you import the 3D object into a document and save it in PDF or XML format, all information about the 3D
object is preserved.
Save a document containing 3D objects
You can save a document containing 3D objects in PDF and XML formats.
1 Select File > Open, and then open the FrameMaker book or file containing 3D objects.
2 Select File > Save As PDF.
3 You can change the save location and the filename if you want, and then click Save.
4 Click Set in the PDF Setup dialog box to generate PDF with the default settings. Or, set additional options, and then

click Set. The U3D file imported into the book or file is saved along with all its views. When you open the PDF, the
view you last selected for the 3D object in the document displays in the PDF.
Note: By default, FrameMaker is configured to embed 3D objects in PDFs. However, you can disable this option.
In the PDF, click the 3D object to view the 3D toolbar and to activate the interactive features of the 3D object. The
Adobe Acrobat 3D toolbar, which is displayed above every 3D object in a PDF, lets you zoom, pan, rotate, and analyze
3D designs.

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Save documents containing 3D objects as XML
You can save a FrameMaker file containing a 3D object as XML. When you open the XML file in FrameMaker, the 3D
object is preserved through XML roundtrip. The 3D object is extracted and saved as an independent U3D file, along
with the XML file. When the file is opened again in FrameMaker, the 3D object appears at the location where it was
inserted.
To preserve changes made to a 3D object during a roundtrip in an XML file, add a new attribute called insetdata with
the following properties in the Graphic section of the DTD file, along with other attributes such asOffset and DPI:
insetdata CDATA #IMPLIED

Similarly, you must add the following lines in the XSD file:

Note: The insetdata attribute does not support read/write rules.
If you don’t modify the DTD and XSD files, U3D files can still be exported to XML. However, changes made to the
U3D file in FrameMaker are not preserved during a roundtrip.
1 Select File > Open, and open the FrameMaker file containing 3D objects.
2 Select File > Save As XML.
3 You can change the save location and the filename, and then click Save.

Note: When you open the XML file in a 3D compatible XML Editor, the relevant graphic element contains a reference to
the U3D file, with the filename and location of the U3D file. If you open the XML file in FrameMaker, the 3D object
appears as a bitmap image.
Print a FrameMaker file with 3D objects
You can print a document with 3D objects. The 3D objects are printed as bitmap images.
1 Open the document containing 3D objects.
2 Select File > Print.
3 Set the remaining print options as necessary, and then click Print.

Configure a 3D model imported into FrameMaker
You can configure a 3D model you have imported into a document by setting its background color, lighting schemes,
changing views, and rendering mode.
Set the background color for a 3D object
You can change the color that appears behind a 3D object. The default background color is white.
1 Select a 3D object.
2 Select Graphics > 3D Menu option > Background Color.
3 Select the desired color and click OK.

Set lighting schemes for a 3D object
You can select from a wide range of 3D lighting schemes to cast a 3D object using different light sources. The default
lighting scheme for all 3D objects is Lights From File.
1 Select a 3D object.

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2 Select Graphics > 3D Menu option > Lighting, and choose one of the following light sources: Lights From File, No

Lights, White Lights, Day Lights, Bright Lights, Primary Color Lights, Night Lights, Blue Lights, Red Lights, Cube
Lights, CAD Optimized Lights, or Headlamp.
Set views for 3D objects in FrameMaker
The 3D object you import into a document can contain predefined views. You can change the view set for the object;
the selected view is rendered when the document is saved. When you convert this FrameMaker document to a PDF,
all predefined views of the 3D object are available in the PDF. The last view that you selected in the document before
saving becomes the default view in the PDF.
1 Select a 3D object.
2 Select Graphics > 3D Menu option > Show Existing Views, choose a view from the list that appears in the dialog

box, and click OK.
Note: If you save the document as a PDF, all views of the U3D objects are available in the converted document.
Render a 3D object in a document
The rendering modes for 3D objects vary from the Wireframe, Solid, to Transparent Bounding box. The default
rendering mode is Solid.
1 Select a 3D object.
2 Select Graphics > 3D Menu option > Rendering Mode, and then choose one of the following rendering modes:

Bounding Box, Transparent Bounding Box, Transparent Bounding Box Outline, Vertices, Shaded Vertices,
Wireframe, Shaded Wireframe, Solid, Transparent, Solid Wireframe, Transparent Wireframe, Illustration, Solid
Outline, Shaded Illustration, or Hidden Wireframe.

Poster file for a media file
You can set a poster file to an imported media file. Importing a SWF file into FrameMaker, displays the first frame of
the SWF file as the poster for the SWF file.

SWF file with first frame as the poster

For a SWF file whose first frame cannot be read, and for all other media types, FrameMaker displays the relevant
placeholder image.
For structured documents, if an attribute is defined in the DTD with the name posterfile for a graphic object, the
attribute is automatically mapped to the poster property of the anchored frame. You can also map any attribute to a
poster using a rule in the read write file. The file referred in the attribute becomes the poster.

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Set a poster image
FrameMaker sets the selected image as the poster. If the image that has been set as a poster is missing, FrameMaker
sets a special image as the poster.
1 Right click the inserted media file.
2 Select Set Poster.
3 Select the image file (JPEG, PNG, BMP, or GIF) and click OK.

Reset the poster image
1 Right click the inserted media file.
2 Select Set Default Poster.

Import other files
You can import PageMaker, QuarkXPress, PDF, RTF, MIF, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel files into
FrameMaker. Use File > Import > File to import these files.
Note: FrameMaker lets you import PageMaker 6.5 or 7.0 and QuarkXPress 3.3 or 4.1 documents.

Import PageMaker and QuarkXPress files
1 In FrameMaker, choose File > Open, and specify the PageMaker or QuarkXpress file you want to import.
2 Choose the appropriate file type in the Unknown File Type dialog box:

• If importing a PageMaker file, choose PageMaker [version] Document or PageMaker [version] Template.
• If importing a QuarkXPress file, choose QuarkXpress Document (3.3-4.1x).
3 Click Convert. If the Missing File dialog box appears, navigate to the folder that contains the missing file, click the

name of the file, and click Continue.
FrameMaker imports the main components of PageMaker and QuarkXPress files.
Master Pages FrameMaker adds a new master page for each master page in the document you are importing. All
master-page items are placed on their corresponding master pages in FrameMaker. If you have custom-named master
pages in PageMaker, FrameMaker uses the same name.

For QuarkXPress documents, FrameMaker imports all text objects on master pages as text flows, and preserves all
body-page overrides. FrameMaker drops any overrides for other objects on body pages.
Sections FrameMaker ignores sections and imports their contents only.
Layers FrameMaker treats all layers in an imported document as one layer. The page items are drawn according to
their stacking order on the page, starting with items on the master page and then items on the body page.
Character styles FrameMaker creates new character formats for the character styles in the document you’re
importing. If a character style has the same name as a character format in FrameMaker, the attributes in the character
format are replaced by the corresponding attributes from the imported file. FrameMaker doesn’t import PageMaker
or QuarkXPress character attributes that aren’t supported by FrameMaker.
Paragraph styles FrameMaker creates new paragraph formats for the paragraph styles in the document you’re

importing. If a paragraph style has the same name as a paragraph format in FrameMaker, the attributes in the
paragraph format are replaced by the corresponding attributes from the imported file. FrameMaker doesn’t import
PageMaker or QuarkXPress paragraph attributes that aren’t supported by FrameMaker.

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FrameMaker creates a paragraph format (right) for each paragraph style (left) in the PageMaker document you’re importing.

Paragraphs with local overrides in the original document are also treated as overrides by FrameMaker.
Importing tagged text from PageMaker displays the actual tag names in the FrameMaker document. Deselect Export
Tags in the PageMaker Text Export dialog box to import the text only, not the tag name.
Paragraph rules FrameMaker imports paragraph rules as a single-line frame defined in the reference pages. All other
settings applied to the rules, such as line colors, line styles, and so on, are not imported.
Drawing objects FrameMaker imports all drawing objects. If fill and stroke colors are different, the fill color is used

for both stroke and fill. The runaround settings are dropped.
Non-printing objects FrameMaker doesn’t import non-printing objects.
Tate-Chu-Yoko Because FrameMaker doesn’t support vertical text, FrameMaker treats Tate-Chu-Yoko as horizontal text.
Color definitions FrameMaker creates color definitions to match custom colors or colors from a color library that are

defined in the PageMaker or QuarkXPress file. However, if a color definition with the same name exists in
FrameMaker, the FrameMaker color is used, and no new color is created.
Graphics FrameMaker uses its filters to import linked (referenced) graphics files. If it doesn’t have the appropriate

filter, FrameMaker doesn’t import the graphics files. For embedded graphics, FrameMaker uses the image data to
import the graphics.
When importing a floating graphic, FrameMaker positions the graphic at the same position as in the original file.
When importing an inline graphic, FrameMaker positions the graphic in the text flow in the same text position as in
the original file.
OLE objects FrameMaker supports OLE. FrameMaker imports OLE objects as long as FrameMaker supports the
graphic format.
Grouped objects FrameMaker supports hierarchical grouping of objects.
Hyperlinks FrameMaker supports hyperlinks. For PageMaker documents, FrameMaker imports object and page item

anchors as cross-references.
Table of contents FrameMaker imports the table of contents generated in QuarkXPress or PageMaker as regular text.
Pasteboards FrameMaker imports all pasteboard objects inline in their corresponding anchored frame. FrameMaker
creates a separate section in the reference pages for the pasteboard objects it imports.
Indexing FrameMaker imports all index entry markers but treats the index as regular text.

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Import PDF files
When you import a PDF file into a FrameMaker document, the PDF file is treated as a graphic. Only one page of the
PDF file can be imported into the FrameMaker document at a time. Both process and spot colors can be displayed and
printed.
Graphics that use transparency do not always print as expected on a PostScript Level 1 or non-PostScript printer.
1 Specify the position of the graphic.
2 Choose File > Import > File.
3 Select the PDF file you want to import and click Import.
4 If the PDF file has more than one page, specify the page number in the Select PDF Page dialog box. Use the slider

to display a thumbnail image of the page you want, and then click Select.

Import MIF files
MIF is a text format that lets you exchange information between FrameMaker and other applications. All types of
format and page layout information are translated to MIF commands. FrameMaker interprets the commands in the
MIF file, turning them back to formatting and layout properties.
You can import the text of a specified flow of a MIF file as you do any FrameMaker file. When you import by copying,
all reference and master pages are imported as well as the body pages. The body text appears on a disconnected page.
For information on MIF, see the online manual MIF Reference.

More Help topics
“Connect text frames” on page 91
“Import formatted text” on page 374

Import Microsoft Word files
You can import Microsoft Word documents with DOC or DOCX filename extensions into FrameMaker documents.
If you saved your Microsoft Word document in the Word 97-2003 format, you can import it using the Microsoft Word
or the Microsoft Word 2007 filter. However, if you want to import a Microsoft Word 2007 document, you must use
the Microsoft Word 2007 filter. You can import RTF files using the Microsoft RTF 1.6 filter in the Unknown File Type
dialog box.
1 Place the insertion point in the document where you want to insert the text, and then choose File > Import > File.
2 Specify the file you want to import, select the Import by Reference or Copy Into Document option, and then select

Import.
Depending on the document you are importing, the Microsoft Word or Microsoft Word 2007 filter is selected in
the Unknown File Type dialog box.
3 Click Convert. The Import Text Flow by Copy or the Import Text Flow by Reference dialog box appears.
4 In the Flow to Import area, select a Body Page Flow or a Reference Page Flow.
5 In the Formatting of Imported Flow area, select one of the following options:

• To select the Remove Manual Page Breaks option and the Other Format Overrides option, click Reformat Using
Current Document's Formats.

• To convert the imported content to plain text and then insert it in the document, click Reformat as Plain Text.

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• To retain the imported content in its original format and then insert it in the document, click Retain Source's
Formatting.
6 In the Import Text Flow by Reference dialog box, select one of the following options in the Updating of Imported

Flow area:

• To update the imported flow area automatically, click Automatic.
• To update the imported flow area manually, click Manual.
7 Click Import.

Note: Bookmarks within Word documents become cross-reference markers; annotations in Word documents become
conditional text with the condition “Comment” when imported by reference; hidden text in Word documents becomes
conditional text with the condition “Hidden” when imported.

Import Microsoft Excel files
You can import Microsoft Excel documents with XLS or XSLX extensions into FrameMaker documents.
If you saved your Microsoft Excel document in the Excel 97-2003 Workbook format, you can import it using the
Microsoft Excel or the Microsoft Excel 2007 filter. However, if you want to import a Microsoft Excel 2007 document,
you must use the Microsoft Excel 2007 filter.
1 Click where you want to insert the file, and choose File > Import > File.
2 Specify the file you want to import, select Import by Reference or Copy Into Document option, and click Import.

Depending on the document you are importing, the Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Excel 2007 filter is selected in the
Unknown File Type dialog box.
3 Click Convert. The Import Text Flow By Copy or the Import Text Flow By Reference dialog box appears.
4 In the Flow To Import area, select Body Page Flow or Reference Page Flow.
5 In the Formatting Of Imported Flow area, select one of these options:

• To select the Remove Manual Page Breaks option and the Other Format Overrides option, click Reformat Using
Current Document's Formats.

• To convert the imported content to plain text and then insert it in the document, click Reformat As Plain Text.
• To retain the imported content in its original format and then insert it in the document, click Retain Source's
Formatting.
6 In the Import Text Flow By Reference dialog box, select one of the following options displayed in the Updating Of

Imported Flow area:

• To update the imported flow area automatically, click Automatic.
• To update the imported flow area manually, click Manual.
7 Click Import.

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Import formatting properties
Import formats
You can import a wide variety of formatting information—including page layouts, paragraph and table formats,
variable and color definitions, and conditional text settings. If your source document has any conditionl expressions
created, they, along with their Show As Per Expression status are also imported into the target documents. Similarly,
in structured documents, any Filter By Attribute settings that you defined are also imported.
1 Open the template with the formats. The template must be named and saved.
2 Open the document or book that you want to update. If a book window is active, select the documents you want to

update.
3 In the document or book you’re updating, choose File > Import > Formats.
4 Choose the template from the Import from Document pop-up menu. The menu lists all open, named documents.

You can also choose the current document to reapply the formats the document already has. This is useful mainly
for removing formatting changes, as described in step 6.
5 Select the Import and Update settings you want to apply to the current document.

• If you’re updating cross-reference formats, math definitions, or variable definitions, and if any of these items
uses character formats, also select Character Formats so that any new formats are added to the document.

• If the HTML mappings have been modified, select Reference Pages.
6 If you want to remove formatting changes that are not saved in catalog formats, do the following:

• To remove page breaks that are not part of a paragraph format, select Manual Page Breaks.
• To remove paragraph, character, page layout, and table formatting overrides, select Other Format/Layout
Overrides.
Important: In most cases, do not select Other Format/Layout Overrides in a structured document because the element
definitions sometimes use format overrides.
7 Click Import.

Format settings
When you import formats, FrameMaker merges the new formatting information into the document. For example, if
you import table formats, the formats are added to the Table Catalog. If a format already in the catalog has the same
name as an imported format, the imported format replaces the original one. Any formats that are not overwritten
remain in the catalog.
Paragraph formats The template’s Paragraph Catalog is merged into the document, and all formats in the catalog are
reapplied in the document.
Character formats The template’s Character Catalog is merged into the document, and all formats in the catalog are
reapplied in the document.
Page layouts The template’s master pages are merged into the document, and body pages are updated with the master

page changes. If the template and the document both have a master page with the same name, the master page of the
template replaces that of the document. FrameMaker copies the change bar properties, all the settings in the Page Size
and Pagination dialog boxes, and most settings in the View Options dialog box.
Table formats The template’s Table Catalog and ruling styles are merged into the document, and all formats in the
catalog are reapplied in the document.
Color definitions The template’s color definitions and views are merged into the document.

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Reference pages The template’s reference pages (except for FrameMath™ reference pages) are merged into the

document. If the template and the document both have a reference page with the same name, the reference page of the
template replaces that of the document. To import the FrameMath reference pages, select Math Definitions.
Document properties The template’s custom marker types and footnote properties; the volume, chapter, page,

paragraph, footnote, and table footnote numbering styles in the Numbering Properties dialog box; the characters in
the Allow Line Breaks After setting in the Text Options dialog box; and the Feather settings in the Line Layout dialog
box are merged into the document. The PDF Setup settings (other than the bookmark settings) are also merged into
the document. On Japanese-language systems, the rubi properties and kumihan rules (Japanese-language typesetting
rules) are also merged into the document.
Variable definitions The template’s variable definitions are merged into the document.
Cross-reference formats The template’s cross-reference formats are merged into the document, and internal cross-

references are updated.
Conditional text settings The template’s condition tags and Show/Hide settings are merged into the document.
Math definitions The template’s equation size and font settings, custom math element definitions, and FrameMath
reference pages are copied into the document. If any custom math elements in the document are deleted when the
reference pages are merged, FrameMaker replaces the math elements in equations with the name of the math element
enclosed in question marks.

Note: In FrameMaker equations, the term “math element” refers to part of an expression. A math element is not a
structural element.
Combined fonts On Asian-language systems, the specifications of combined fonts are merged into the document.

About formatting overrides
The formatting information for a document can come from format rules in element definitions and from predefined
formats stored in catalogs. It is possible for a document to have overrides to both sources of information:

• A format rule override is a deviation from a text element’s format rules. For example, if the rules specify a paragraph
format for an element and you apply a different format, or if the rules specify boldface text and you change the text
to italics, you are overriding the element’s format rules.

• A format override is a deviation from a catalog format for text or a table. For example, a paragraph format may
specify the Times font family. If you change some text that uses that format to the Palatino font (without saving the
change in the format), you are overriding the format. Format rules often use a few catalog formats and specify
format overrides to them to describe many different formatting variations.
Generally, avoid using either type of override in your structured document. Let the document handle the formatting
automatically, and see your application developer if you’d like to change any of the formatting properties.
If your document does have overrides, you can remove them throughout the document all at once when you import
and update.
Important: If you need to remove both kinds of overrides from a document, import formats and remove format overrides
first, and then import element definitions and remove format rule overrides. Removing the rule overrides last ensures that
the elements conform to their format rules.

Find and remove overrides
You can use the Find option to search and remove format overrides at paragraph, character, and table format levels.
1 Select Edit > Find.
2 From the Find pop-up menu, select Paragraph, Character, or Table format override.

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3 From the Change pop-up menu, select Remove Override.
4 Click Find.
5 For each instance of format override, click Change to remove the override.

Import properties from a template
You can import element definitions and other properties into your document from any FrameMaker document.
Typically, this other document is a template that you did not use for creating the document. (If you created your
document from the appropriate template, you don’t need to import properties; the document already has the
properties it needs.)
If your document’s template has been revised, import from the template again to update your document.
You can also import properties into all the files in a book at once.

More Help topics
“Import formats into book files” on page 316

Embedding objects
Embed text and graphics with OLE
You can use OLE to embed text or graphics in a FrameMaker document. Embedded material retains its association
with the application that created it (but does not retain a dynamic link to its source document). This lets you doubleclick an embedded object to open the object in the application that created it. Be sure to use an application that
supports OLE as a server to create the object you want to embed.
You can also embed multimedia objects such as video or movie files (.avi or .mov files) and sound files (.wav files).
Note: If you specify an HTTP filename when importing a file as an imbedded object, you get an error indicating that the
file does not exist. It is recommended that you save the file to your computer before importing it as an object.

Embed only part of a file with OLE
1 In its own application, open the file and copy the part you want to embed.
2 In FrameMaker, click where you want to embed the text or graphics, and choose Edit > Paste Special.
3 Click Paste, select a format for the object (look for a format that starts with “embedded”), and then click OK.

Embed an entire file with OLE
❖ Click where you want to embed the text or graphics and choose File > Import > Object. You can then embed a new,

empty file, or specify an existing one.

Embed by dragging with OLE
❖ Do one of the following from an application that supports drag-and-drop features:

• To move text or graphics into a FrameMaker document, drag the object.
• To make a copy of an object instead of moving it, Control-drag the object.
• To choose between moving or copying when you release the mouse button, right-drag the object.

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Link to a text or graphic object with OLE
When you link to an OLE text or graphic object in a document, FrameMaker not only maintains information about
the application that created the object but also keeps a dynamic association with the source document. If the source
material changes, its representation in the FrameMaker document is updated as well. Be sure to use an application that
supports OLE as a server to create the object you want to link to.
You edit linked text or graphics by editing the original source document.

Link to part of a file
1 In its own application, open the file and copy the part you want to link to.
2 In FrameMaker, click where you want to place the linked text or graphics, and choose Edit > Paste Special.
3 Click Paste Link, select a format for the object (look for a format that starts with “linked”), and then click OK.

Link to an entire file
1 Click where you want to place the linked file and choose File > Import > Object. Click Create from File and then

select Link.
2 Specify the file you want to link to and click OK.

Edit OLE objects
You edit an OLE object by using the application that originally created it. When you finish editing, the changes appear
in the FrameMaker window.

Edit an embedded OLE object
❖ Double-click it. The object appears in the creating application where you can edit it.

Edit a linked OLE object
❖ Do one of the following:

• Double-click the OLE object. Either the object appears in a new window in the application that created it or the
menus in the FrameMaker window temporarily merge with the menus of the creating application. In either case,
the changes you make are reflected in the original document.

• Edit the original document outside FrameMaker, in the application that created it.

Control the updating of OLE links
You can control how and when OLE linked objects are updated from their source documents. For example, you can
specify either automatic or manual updating, and you can manually update a single linked object or several objects in
the document.
You cannot specify updating for OLE embedded objects because an embedded object is not dynamically linked with
the original document.

Change the updating of a linked OLE object
1 Select the object, and choose Edit > Links.
2 Select the linked source from the list, click either Automatic or Manual as the update type, and then click OK.

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Suppress the updating of all linked OLE objects
1 Choose Edit > Update References.
2 Choose Suppress Automatic Updating from the Commands pop-up menu, and then choose the items you don’t

want to be updated automatically.
3 Click Set, and then click Done.

Manually update a single OLE link object
❖ Choose Edit > Links, select the source file you want to update, and then click Update Now.

Cancel an OLE link
When you break an OLE link, the text or graphic remains in your document, but is no longer updated when the source
changes. The text becomes editable.
❖ Select the object, choose Edit > Links, and then click Break Link.

Import text into structured documents
You can import text into a structured FrameMaker document from the following sources:

• A text flow from another part of the document, from another structured FrameMaker document, or from a MIF
file. Any conditional text in the flow, cross-references, tables, markers, footnotes, variables, and anchored frames
are imported.

• A file created in another application for which an import filter is installed on your system. Special items such as
cross-references and tables may also be imported—depending on the application and the filter used.
If the text you import is structured, you can retain or remove the structure. If the text is formatted, you can retain or
remove the formatting, or reformat the text using formatting information in the current document.
Imported text can be copied into the document, which is equivalent to using the Copy and Paste commands, or it can
be imported by reference as a text inset, in which case it retains a link to its source file. When you import by reference,
the text inset displays in the document window but is not editable. If the inset is structured, its structure appears in the
Structure View but is not editable.

A text inset remains linked to its source document.

1 Click where you want to insert the text.
2 Choose File > Import > File.
3 Select the file with the text you want to import, and specify whether to import by copying or by reference.
4 If the Unknown File Type dialog box appears, select a file type, and click Convert.

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The dialog box that appears next depends on the import method you chose in step 3. The Import Text Flow By
Reference dialog box contains settings for updating the imported flow.

Specify how you want to format and update your import text flow.

5 Choose a body page flow or a reference page flow from a pop-up menu. Most often, you import text on body pages.

Reference pages can contain flows with boilerplate text for use on body pages.
6 Specify how to handle the structure and formatting of the imported text by doing the following:

• To retain the structure of the flow and apply the current document’s formats and element format rules to the
text, select Reformat Using Current Document’s Formats. If element tags in the two documents don’t match,
the formatting of the imported text is unchanged. Usually, you would select the options for removing page
breaks and other format overrides so that the imported text looks like text in the current document.

• To remove the structure and formatting from the text, and apply the formatting used at the insertion point,
select Reformat as Plain Text. (Text in tables or anchored frames retains the formatting it had in the source
document.)

• To remove the structure but retain the formatting, select Retain Source’s Formatting. Formats used in the
imported text are not added to the current document’s catalogs. If you later modify the current document’s
formats, the imported formats won’t be affected—even if the tags in the current document and imported text
match.
7 If you’re importing by reference, specify how to update the text inset by doing one of the following:

• To update the text inset whenever you open the document, select Automatic.
• To update only when you specify, select Manual.
8 Click Import.

More Help topics
“Import text” on page 374

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3D object part links
To link a 3D object’s parts to textual objects in the document, use 3D object part links. A use for adding 3D object part
links can be to link them to a description of each of the parts.

A. List of the selected 3D object’s parts B. List of the markers that you can make link destinations for the 3D object’s parts

Create 3D links
You can create 3D object links and link them to Specify Named Destination command or URL.
1 Ensure that your document has Specify Named Destination hypertext. Specify Named Destination hypertext can

exist either in the same document or in other documents.
2 Right-click a 3D object and select 3D Menu > Link to Text.
3 In the Link to Text dialog, do the following:
a To insert a link, select a part of the 3D object, then select a Marker, and click Insert Link to Text.
b To delete a link, select a part name linked to a marker and click Delete Link to Text.

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c To modify a link, select a part name linked to a marker, select a different marker, and click Update link to Text.
d To view linked parts, select Show Only Linked Parts. When you select a linked part, the linked marker is selected.
4 Click OK.

Interactive Links for 3D/Multimedia Objects
About interactive links for 3D\multimedia objects
You can insert links to interactively control embedded U3D (Universal 3D), FLV, and SWF objects in the PDF output.
You can insert links to 3D and multimedia objects that control various aspects of these objects:

• View: Calls different views of the 3D\multimedia object. (For 3D only)
• Parts: Focuses on different parts of the 3D\multimedia object. (For 3D only)
• Animation: Calls animation in the 3D\multimedia object. (For 3D only)
• JavaScript™: Attach custom JavaScript™ code to the link.
You can also create a multimedia links table for the 3d\multimedia object of the type View, Parts, or Animation. For
example, the multimedia links table of the type parts includes links that focus on different parts of the 3D\multimedia
object.
You can also set a poster that appears for SWF, FLV, and MP4 files while the video is not playing.

Insert a link to a 3D object
1 Insert a 3D object in your document.
2 Type text for creating the link.
3 Select Graphics > Create link to graphic.
4 In the Create Multimedia Link dialog, specify the following:
a Select Object Type: Select U3D.
b Select an Object: Select the name of the object for which you want to insert the links. If there is only one object

of the selected object type, FrameMaker selects the object name automatically.
c Hypertext Element Tag: If you are working in structured FrameMaker, specify the element tag for the

hypertext for the links.
d Link Type: For U3D, you can select JavaScript™, View, Parts, or Animation. If you select JavaScript™, in the

Details field add the JavaScript™ code that you want to execute on the click of hypertext. Otherwise, Details
displays the options relevant to the selected link type. Select one of the options.
5 Select Insert.

Insert links to an SWF file
1 Insert an SWF file in your document.
2 Type text for creating the link.
3 Select Graphics > Create link to graphic.

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4 In the Create Multimedia Link dialog, specify the following:
a Select Object Type: Select SWF.
b Select an Object: Select the name of the object for which you want to insert the links. If there is only one object

of the selected object type, FrameMaker selects the object name automatically.
c Hypertext Element Tag: If you are working in structured FrameMaker, specify the element tag for the

hypertext for the links.
d Link Type: For SWF, you can select JavaScript™, play, or stop.
5 If you have selected JavaScript™ in Link type, add the JavaScript™ code in Details.
6 Select Insert.

Insert links to an FLV file
1 Insert an FLV file in your document.
2 Type text for creating the link.
3 Select Graphics > Create link to graphic.
4 In the Create Multimedia Link dialog, specify the following:
a Select Object Type: Select FLV.
b Select an Object: Select the name of the object for which you want to insert the links. If there is only one object

of the selected object type, FrameMaker selects the object name automatically.
c Hypertext Element Tag: If you are working in structured FrameMaker, specify the element tag for the

hypertext for the links in the table.
d Link Type: For FLV, you can select the following:

• Play: Plays the FLV video
• Pause: Pauses the video
• Rewind: Rewinds the video to the starting point
• Nextcuepoint: Takes the video to the next cue point
• Prevcuepoint: Takes the video to the previous cue point
• Seek: Seek helps you select further options for creating defined points.
5 If you have selected Seek in Link type, do one of the following:
a Defined Points: This option allows you to use the cue points embedded in the video itself.
b Create Point: This option allows you to create a seek point in the video. After selecting this option, play the video

and click Create Link in the video window to insert a seek point.
6 Select Insert.

Set poster for a SWF, FLV, or MP4 files
You can set a poster that appears for SWF, FLV, and MP4 files while the video is not playing.
1 Select a SWF, FLV, and MP4 file.
2

Right-click the file and from the pop-up menu, select Set Poster.

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3 For an FLV, SWF, or MP4 file, the Set Poster dialog appears.
a Select From Media and click Play.
b While the video is playing, at the appropriate moment click Capture Frame for Poster.
c Click Save As and save the poster file (.dib) to disc.
d Click Apply.

Set poster for a 3D object
You can set a poster that appears for U3D files while the video is not playing.
1 Select a 3D object.
2 Right-click the object and from the pop-up menu, select Set Poster.

The Select Poster File dialog appears.
3 Navigate to a poster file (.jpeg, .png, .gif, .dib, or .bmp format) and select it.

Insert multimedia links table
You can add multimedia links table for U3D and FLV objects.
1 Select Graphics > Create link table for graphic.

Note: If the Create link table for graphic command is disabled, place your cursor in a text area in the document.
2 In the Insert Multimedia Link Table dialog, select:
a Select Object Type: Select U3D or FLV.
b Select an Object: Name of the object for which you want to insert the links.
c Table Format: Select a table format for the links table.
d Table Element Tag: If you are working in structured FrameMaker, specify the element tag for the links table.
e Hypertext Element Tag: If you are working in structured FrameMaker, specify the element tag for the

hypertext for the links in the table.
f

Select Table Type: Select the type of action for the multimedia links. For U3D the options are View, Parts, or
Animation. For FLV, you can choose Seek.

3 Select Insert.

Edit multimedia links
You can edit the multimedia links using the markers pod.
1 Select View > Pods > Markers.
2 In the Markers pod, double-click a hypertext marker of type multimedia.
3 In the Edit Multimedia Link dialog, modify the options as required and click Save.

Attach custom JavaScript™ to a 3D object
You can attach custom JavaScript™ to a 3D object to control it.
1 Right-click a 3D object and in the 3D context menu, select 3D Menu > Select JavaScript™.

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2 In the Select JavaScript™ file dialog, navigate to a JavaScript™ file and click Select.

Note: If you copy-paste a 3D object, the JavaScript™ attached with it is also copied to the new instance of the object.

Use object handle in JavaScript™
You can refer to a 3D, SWF, or FLV object’s name in a JavaScript™ using the FM_ prefix.
The following JavaScript™ example uses the FM_ prefix with the object name. This example JavaScript™ code makes the
relevant object transparent.
1 Insert an object in FrameMaker and name it as my3d in properties in the 3D menu.
2 Attach the following JavaScript™ code to the object. The object my3d is referred to in this code as FM_my3d.
var i,count,tempObj;
count=FM_my3d.context3D.scene.meshes.count;
var selObj;
for( i=0;i Activate by Default.

Display 3D/multimedia objects in pop-up windows
You can choose to display the 3D/multimedia objects in a pop-up, when you click the relevant link. This option is
useful when the links and the 3D/multimedia object are on different pages.
❖ Right-click an FLV, SWF, or 3D object and in the context menu, select PDF View Options > Open in Pop up

Window.
Note: You can close the pop-up by clicking the cross in the upper-right corner of the pop-up window.

Export text and graphics
You can use the following techniques to export text and graphics:

• Copy and paste between files and applications.
• Save a document in another format.
• Use print options to create a PostScript or EPS file.
• Create a Portable Document Format (PDF) file.
• Save as HTML, which can convert a document’s graphics to GIF, PNG, or JPEG format.
• Save as XML.

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• Send the document as an e-mail attachment.
• Use drag-and-drop techniques.

More Help topics
“Create PostScript files” on page 509
“Import Adobe Illustrator files” on page 377
“About HTML documents” on page 510
“Use drag-and-drop” on page 370
“Specifying graphics conversion” on page 516

Using Save As to export to other formats
You can export a FrameMaker document to other applications by saving it in other formats. When you save a
document in a word-processing format, it can be used in that application with most of its formatting intact. The
available formats depend on the platform you’re using and the filters installed.
Two text-based file formats—Rich Text Format (RTF) and Maker Interchange Format (MIF)—are interchange
formats. These formats are widely recognized by other programs and can often serve as a bridge from FrameMaker to
an application that does not recognize the native format.
Saving MIF files
You can save FrameMaker files in the MIF 7.0 (MIF-Classic) or MIF 9.0 (MIF-Unicode) formats. When you choose
to save a FrameMaker document as a MIF file, you can select the MIF 7.0 or MIF 9.0 option.
MIF-Classic Choosing this format generates a MIF that is like the original format, which is forward-compatible. All

Unicode content that can’t be represented in the earlier format is replaced with a character that you can configure
using the configuration file, maker.ini.
Note: Use caution when editing an ini file.
MIF-Unicode Choosing this format generates a MIF that contains Unicode strings. All string data is in UTF-8 format.

You can also save a document as an HTML, XML, or PDF file.

More Help topics
“Save a document” on page 40
“Publishing as PDF files” on page 494
“Saving structured documents as HTML” on page 527

Send files in e-mail
You can send a document as an e-mail attachment if a mail system compatible with the Messaging Application
Programming Interface (MAPI) is installed on your computer. If your computer is not yet configured for MAPI,
Windows guides you through some dialog boxes when you first try to send a document. If you need assistance, ask
your network administrator for help.

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Note: The send e-mail menu and shortcut works only for single documents and not on a book file. You cannot send a book
file via e-mail.
1 Choose File > Send.
2 Pick an e-mail profile to use from the Choose Profile dialog box, and click OK.
3 Fill in the e-mail fields, and then send the message as you normally do.

Save a document containing SWF files as PDF, HTML, and XML files
You can save a document containing SWF files in PDF, HTML, and XML formats. Also, you can print documents
containing SWF files.

Save documents containing SWF files as PDF
1 Select File > Open, and then open the FrameMaker book or file containing SWF files.
2 Select File > Save As PDF.
3 You can change the save location and the filename if you want, and then click Save.
4 Click Set in the PDF Setup dialog box to generate a PDF with the default settings. Or, set additional options, and

then click Set. The SWF file imported into the book or file and it is saved. If you have installed Flash Player on your
computer, you can open the PDF and play the SWF file.
Note: By default, FrameMaker is configured to embed SWF files in PDFs. However, you can disable this option (see
“Disable embedding Adobe Flash, 3D, and multimedia objects in PDF” on page 498).
When you open a PDF containing a SWF file, the Manage Trust For Multimedia Content dialog box appears. Select
the Play The Multimedia Content This One Time or Play The Multimedia Content And Add This Document To My
List Of Trusted Documents option and click Play. Ensure that you have installed Adobe Reader® 8 or later, or Adobe
Acrobat 3D version 8 or later, to view the generated PDF containing SWF files.
When the imported media file is saved as a PDF and played, Acrobat plays SWF and FLV files with its own in-built
native media player. Playback of all other media files is possible only if the relevant codecs are installed on the system

Save documents containing SWF files as HTML
You can import a SWF file into a document and save it as an HTML file. When you do this, a CSS file generates
automatically. If you imported a SWF file by copying it into an Unstructured document, the SWF files are saved as
GIFs with the HTML file. If you imported a SWF file by copying it into a Structured document, the SWF files are saved
separately. When you open the HTML file, click the SWF content to play it.
1 Select File > Open, and then open the FrameMaker book or file containing SWF files.
2 Select File > Save As HTML.
3 You can change the save location and the filename if you want, and then click Save.

Save documents with SWF files as XML
You can save a FrameMaker file containing a SWF file as XML. When you open the XML file in FrameMaker, the SWF
file is preserved through XML roundtrip. To ensure roundtripping of SWF files, make sure that the XML file contains
correct read write rules before you save the file as XML.
Note: Ensure that you create or open an XML file containing a graphic element definition before importing a SWF file
into it.
1 Select File > Open, and then open the XML file containing SWF files.

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2 Select File > Save As XML.
3 You can change the save location and the filename if you want, and then click Save.

If the SWF content was embedded in the FrameMaker file, and the document is saved as XML, the SWF content is
saved as an independent SWF file. In addition, a reference to the SWF file is created in the XML.

Print a FrameMaker file with SWF files
You can print a FrameMaker document with SWF files. The SWF files are printed as frames. If the first frame contains
an image, the bitmap of the image is printed.
1 Open the FrameMaker document containing SWF files.
2 Select File > Print.
3 Set the remaining print options as necessary, and then click Print. For information on the other options, see “Print

options” on page 508.

Save a structured document in SGML or XML
You can save any structured FrameMaker document as SGML or XML. The contents, elements, and attributes from
the document are preserved; however, formatting is not preserved. You can save to a different structured document
type than the original (such as SGML to XML), but you may encounter errors due to differences in DTDs.
When you save Unicode content as an XML file, Adobe Product X.0 specifies the encoding automatically. By default,
Adobe Product X.0 uses the UTF-8 encoding format.
Before saving a document as SGML or XML, you should validate it and correct any errors in the elements and
attributes (see “Validating documents” on page 39). Otherwise, the markup may be invalid.
When saving structured XML documents, make sure valid XML element names start with a letter and contain only
alphanumeric characters, periods, or hyphens. Spaces, underscores, and other characters in XML element names are
invalid characters, and are either converted to hyphens (-) or generate errors.
Headings, tables, and reference pages are not used in XML export, and the default tag names are simply the format
names.
Default encoding settings for exporting structured documents are ISO-8859-1 for SGML and UTF-8 for XML. If the
structured document is an imported SGML or XML file, FrameMaker uses the encoding settings in the original file
instead of the default settings.
1 Select File > Save As.
2 Specify a filename and location. You may want to add the appropriate extension (such as .sgm or .xml) to the

filename.
3 Select SGML or XML from the pop-up menu and click Save. If the document has an application associated with it,

the document is saved.
4 If the Set Structured Application dialog box appears, choose an application name from the Set Structured

Application pop-up menu and click Continue. Then do one of the following:

• To associate an application with the document, choose the name of an application.
• To use default mapping and no read/write rules, choose .
If FrameMaker finds any structure errors when you save a document, it lists error messages in a view-only error log.
If a message refers to an error in the FrameMaker document, the message is linked to the document. For most errors,
you can click the message to go to the location of the problem.

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When you open the structured documents, import element definitions into them. You’ll probably need to make a few
corrections to their structure.

More Help topics
“Import element definitions into structured books” on page 317

Smart paste hypertext and MS® Word contents as
structured content
FrameMaker allows you to paste HTML, MS® Word, MS® Excel, and MS® Outlook content as DITA content. You can
also create and configure XSLs for other FrameMaker structured applications. Using XSL, FrameMaker identifies the
content while it is in the clipboard and structures it with the most appropriate hierarchy or sequence of elements. Then
you can use the smart paste command to paste it to FrameMaker as DITA content.
The content you paste is structured according to an XSL specified in the relevant structured application. In
FrameMaker, the XSLs are specified for the following DITA documents:

• Topic
• Task
• Concept
• Reference
The XSL filename and path are specified using the Stylesheet element (Stylesheets > XSLTPreferences > SmartPaste >
Stylesheet).
The smart paste XSLs for DITA are at: $STRUCTDIR\xml\DITA_1.2\app\technicalContent\xslt\.

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The XSL added in the DITA_1.2_topic application for smart paste

Smart paste content in a DITA file
1 Copy HTML, MS® Word, MS® Excel, or MS® Outlook content.
2 Place your cursor in one of the following types of DITA topics: topic, task, concept, or reference.
3 Select Smart Paste from the context menu. (keyboard shortcut for Smart Paste: Esc+s+p+t)

The pasted content is structured in appropriate elements that the structure allows.

Add smart paste XSL for a custom XML application
You can also create an XSL for smart pasting content for your custom structured application.
1 Create an XSL appropriate for your EDD.
2 Open the structapps.fm file.
3 Under Stylesheets > XSLT preferences, add the SmartPaste element and the following elements under it:
a Stylesheet: Path to the relevant XSL file.
b StylesheetParameters: This element has two child elements: ParameterName and ParameterExpression. See a

DITA application in structapps.fm for details.
4 Save the file.
5 Select StructuredTools > Read Application Definitions.

Now you can use smart paste for an XML file based on your custom application.

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Managing files using WebDAV
About WebDAV
WebDAV technology enables you to read and write files over a modified hypertext transfer protocol. Files reside on
the server within a directory structure and are checked out to your local machine. Your local machine has a directory
structure that mirrors the WebDAV server structure, so when you check out files, the files are downloaded to your
machine and placed in the mirrored folder.
FrameMaker has built-in support for Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) server technology.
WebDAV is a standard protocol that is supported by most Content Management Systems (CMS). Use WebDAV to
download and upload documents, and lock documents so others cannot modify them at the same time as you do. Use
a WebDAV enabled CMS to work in a collaborative environment without worrying about version control.
In FrameMaker, you can author and edit XML files, FrameMaker books and files, and MIF files, located on the
WebDAV server. For more information about WebDAV, visit www.webdav.org.
WebDAV server A server implementing the WebDAV protocol. You can store and access files on any WebDAV server

using FrameMaker and a WebDAV client, assuming you have login access to the server.
URL In the context of WebDAV, URL refers to the path to a file (asset) on a WebDAV server. You can open any file
on a WebDAV server by specifying its URL in the Browse URL dialog box.

WebDAV offers distinct advantages over traditional file servers.
Multiple users can download copies of a file managed by a WebDAV server, but only one user at a time can check-out
the file. Users who check out a file can share their work with other users while keeping a file checked-out by updating
the file on the server. However, other users can’t change a checked-out file until it is checked in. This check out/check
in system allows multiple users to access the same file but prevents users from overwriting each other’s work.
Because WebDAV works over web accessible networks, location doesn’t matter. Team members can share files
regardless of their proximity.

Getting started
You can directly open, update, and save files to the server by specifying the URL of a file.
Advantages of using Browse URL
• You don't have to explicitly set up the server connection.

• You don't have to explicitly download all linked and associated files, such as referenced images when you download
a file.

• You don't have to download all book components or files associated with a .xml, such as schema, DTD, or EDD.
• You don't have to explicitly update or upload a file. A file is automatically updated on the server when you save it
and checked-in to the server when you close it.
The Browse URL workflow is also Unicode and IPv6 compliant and integrated with all FrameMaker workflows.

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Using the Browse URL workflow
The Browse URL dialog box is integrated in all FrameMaker workflows. The Browse URL button appears in all
FrameMaker dialog boxes related to file management.
New You can specify the HTTP URL of the template you want to use for a new document. You can either type the
complete URL of the template in the New dialog box or use the Browse URL dialog box to select the template.
Open You can open any HTTP file on a server by typing its URL in the filename of the file Open dialog box. You can
open all the FrameMaker file types supported through local file paths using HTTP paths. These file types include .fm,
.book, .mif, .xml, .ditamap, and .bookmap. You can also open text file, Microsoft Office file formats, such as RTFs, and
QuarkXPress documents.
Import You can import files by specifying their HTTP paths. You can import them by reference or copy them into
your document. You can import an HTTP text inset, add a cross-reference to an HTTP file, import graphics, U3D
objects, or SWF files by specifying their HTTP paths.
Save You can specify a URL in the Save As dialog to upload the file to a WebDAV enabled server. You can save a file

in all FrameMaker formats.
Note: You cannot do a batch conversion of documents for HTTP WebDAV directories.
A

Browse URL
A. Store the URL path by specifying a nickname to the server B. Delete the stored URL path C. Look In list displays the recently accessed file
D. Move up one folder level E. Create a folder on the server F. Rename a file or folder G. Delete selected file or folder H Stored server name
I. File details that you can sort according to any column J. Specify the complete URL for a file

Save a WebDAV server connection
When working with Browse URL you don’t have to explicitly set up a server. If a WebDAV server has an
authentication process setup, you need to provide login credentials the first time you access a file on the server. If you
work frequently with a server, you can save the server connection in the Browse URL for quicker access.
1 Access the Browse URL dialog box and type the HTTP path to the WebDAV enabled server in the filename box.
2 If prompted, specify your login ID and password.
3 To save the server connections, click the Store URL

button.

4 Specify a nickname for the server connection and click OK.

Once saved, the server connection is displayed each time you access the Browse URL dialog box.

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To delete a saved server connection, click the Remove URL

button.

Setting preferences
❖ Choose Edit> Preferences and set the following options.
Checkout HTTP Files On Open Clear this option if you do not want to check out a file from a WebDAV server when

opening the file.
Upload HTTP Files On Save Clear this option if you want to check in a file only once when you close the file.

General preferences

Using HTTP paths to open files
You can open any file on a WebDAV server by specifying its URL.
For xml files, FrameMaker silently downloads all HTTP references, such as the xml schema or the DTDs associated
with the xml file. Other references, such as text or graphic insets or cross-referenced files are also downloaded.
You can also reference or import graphic file objects in your documents by specifying their URLs. You can include
links to documents by specifying their HTTP paths in hypertext markers.

Add, open, and save documents
You can create, save, or open files directly from a WebDAV server by specifying the file URL.
Create a file
1 Choose File > New > Document and click the Browse URL button.
2 Select the server name from the right panel or specify the HTTP path to the server.
3 Specify a filename and click Ok.

You can create a DITA topic, ditamap, or a bookmap on a WebDAV server.
1 Choose DITA > New DITA File and select any option from the menu.

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2 Click the Browse URL button in the new file dialog boxes to create a DITA file on a WebDAV server.

Open a file
If you selected the Checkout HTTP Files On Open option from the Preferences dialog box, a file is automatically
locked and checked-out when you download it. An asterisk symbol appears against the filename indicating that it is
checked-out.
Open a n unstructured FrameMaker file
1 Choose File > Open and click the Browse URL button.
2 Select the server name from the right panel, navigate to the folder, and double-click the file to open it.

Alternatively, specify the complete HTTP path to the file and click Open.
Open a DTD
1 Choose Structure Tools > Open DTD and click the Browse URL button.
2 Select the server name from the right panel, navigate to the folder, and double-click the file to open it.

Alternatively, specify the complete HTTP path to the DTD file and click Open.
Open a schema
1 Choose Structure Tools > Open Schema and click the Browse URL button.
2 Select the server name from the right panel, navigate to the folder, and double-click the file to open it.

Alternatively, specify the complete HTTP path to the schema file and click Open.
Save a file
You can automatically upload changes to the WebDAV server. To do so, ensure that you have selected the Upload
HTTP Files On Save option in the Preferences dialog box.
1 Choose File > Save As and click the Browse URL button.
2 Select the server name from the right panel, navigate to the folder, and click Save.

Save a DTD
1 Choose Structure Tools > Save As DTD and click the Browse URL button.
2 Select the server name from the right panel, navigate to the folder, and click Save.

Import files
Import a file: Choose File > Import > File and click the Browse URL button.
Import a DTD: Choose Structure Tools > Import DTD and click the Browse URL button.
Import a schema: Choose Structure Tools > Import Schema and click the Browse URL button.
Import a CSS file: Choose Structure Tools > Import CSS and click the Browse URL button.

Close a file
By default, when you close a file the file is automatically checked-in.

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Associate a template with a folder
You can specify the HTTP path of the template when associating it with a folder in a hierarchical book.
1 In the book window, right click the folder for which you want to specify a template and click Properties.
2 Select the Template Path option and click the add template button

to browse for a file.

3 Specify the complete HTTP path in the filename box or click Browse URL to locate the file on the server.
4 Click OK, Open, and Set to associate a template for the selected folder.

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Chapter 10: Editing Content
Identify changes by tracking edited text
The Track Text Edits feature highlights added and deleted text for visual distinction. Editors and reviewers can use this
feature to track, display, and preview changes by showing or hiding the edits. You can set the color for additions and
deletions.
You can set the scope for tracking edits to the current document, the current book or DITAMAP, or selected
documents from a BOOK or DITAMAP.
FrameMaker tracks the changes with a user name and timestamp of the changes. If you share the document with other
writers, such as in a team environment, this allows you to determine the author and time of edits in the document. By
default, FrameMaker uses the login name of the current user as the user name.
Note: Changes to formatting and element attributes are not tracked.
The following table shows tracked and untracked text edits in Unstructured documents.
Tracked text edits

Untracked text edits

Adding and deleting text using the keyboard

Adding rows in tables

Adding text between deleted text

Modifying content in cross-references

Cutting, copying, and pasting text

Modifying content in markers

Inserting and deleting anchored frames

Modifying content in equations

Adding, editing, and deleting headers and footers

Adding or deleting text using APIs

Inserting and deleting footnotes

Inserting, modifying, and deleting graphics

Adding, editing, or deleting text within footnotes

Changing formatting

Modifying text using the Find/Change feature

Text within hypertext marker

Correcting spelling errors using the Spelling Checker feature

Adding and removing Page break

Replacing text using the Thesaurus feature

Converting table to text

Inserting, deleting, and pasting cross-references

Replacing variables

Adding and deleting markers

Replacing cross-references

Importing and deleting file by reference or by copying

Adding and deleting the Conditional Text marker

Inserting, pasting, and deleting variables

Importing by copying into MIF files

Editing text within a table cell

Inserting Rubi

Inserting, pasting, and deleting tables
Inserting and deleting equations
Changes to text in Rubi

The following table shows tracked and untracked text edits in Structured documents.

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Tracked text edits

Untracked text edits

Inserting elements using the Return key

Deleting root element

Inserting or deleting text within an element

Editing attributes of an element

Deleting elements

Merging elements

Cutting, copying, and pasting text

Splitting elements
Unwrapping and wrapping text
Dragging or dropping elements in the structure view window

Set color preferences for text edits
You can set the color preferences for text that is added or deleted in addition to the default formatting that
FrameMaker applies: text that you add is underlined; deleted text is shown with strikethrough. Avoid setting the same
text color that you defined for conditional text so that text edits are clearly visible. In addition, when you preview or
view the text edits, turn off conditional text indicators to clearly differentiate the text edits.
1 Do one of the following:

• On the Book window, select View > Track Text Edits > Configure Color.
• When in the document view, select Special > Track Text Edits > Configure Color.
2 Select or define the colors that you want for added text and deleted text, and click Set.

Set scope for tracking text edits
You can set the scope for tracking edits as either for the current book, DITAMAP, or document. When you open a
book or DITAMAP, the scope is set to Book or MAP by default. To set the scope explicitly, do one of the following:
❖ Do one of the following:

• To set the scope to the entire current book, from the book or DITAMAP view, select View > Track Text Edits >
Scope > Book or DITAMAP.

• To set the scope to entire book or Ditamap when focus is in document, select Special>Track Text Edits>Scope>
Book or Ditamap.

• To set the scope to only the current document, select Special > Track Edits > Scope > Document.
• If only a document is open, for the current document, select Special > Track Text Edits > Scope > Document.
• To set the scope to selected files in a book, from the book view, select the files you want, and then select View >
Track Text Edits > Scope > Selected Documents.

• To set the scope to selected documents of Book or Ditamap when focus is in document, select the files and select
Special>Track Text Edits>Scope>Selected Documents.
Note: You can set the scope to Book or DITAMAP only when they are open.

Turn text edit tracking on or off
By default, the Track Text Edits feature is turned off. Do one of the following:
❖ Do one of the following:

• In the Book or DITAMAP window, select View > Track Text Edits > Enable. This option toggles on and off.

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• In the Document window, select Special > Track Text Edits > Enable. This option toggles on and off.
Note: It is recommended that you have the documents open when you enable track text edits. FrameMaker will not
enable track text edits if the document has errors that prevent FrameMaker from opening it.

Manage text edits in a document
• To find specific text edits, select Special > Track Text Edits, and then select Show Next or Show Previous.
• To accept or reject individual text edits, select the text edit, and select Special > Track Text Edits > Accept Edit or
Reject Edit.

• To accept or reject all text edits, select Special > Track Text Edits, and then select Accept All or Reject All.
Once you accept a text insertion or deletion, that text edit becomes part of the file. If you accept an insertion of text,
the inserted text is retained. If you accept a deletion of text, the deleted text is removed. If you reject an insertion of
text, the inserted text is removed. If you reject a deletion of text, the deleted text is retained in the file. The inserted
or retained text acquires the formatting of its surrounding text.

Filter edits by author or reviewer name
❖ Select Special > Track Text Edits > Show Reviewer Name> [user name].

After selecting the reviewer name, you can do the following operations:

• Show Next/Previous: Displays changes made by the selected reviewer.
• Accept/Reject All: Accept all changes or reject all changes made by the reviewer.
Note: To populate the reviewer names in a book or a map, open the book or the map, choose the desired scope and
click Update Userlist.
Note: The reviewer names are automatically populated for a document.

Preview a document with text edits
Before you accept all text edits, preview the final document to see how the text edits are incorporated in the document.
You can also preview the original document without the text edits highlighted in the document.
Preview operations can also be done on all/selected documents of the Book or Ditamap by selecting the appropriate
scope.
When you preview a document with text edits, the document display switches from the Tracking mode to the Preview
mode. In the Preview mode, avoid making non-trackable changes to your document. For example, do not edit or apply
conditions to text in the Preview mode. Such changes are not tracked and you may get an unexpected result in the final
document.
By default, the preview of a tracked document is turned off.
Note: When you select the Preview Final or Preview Original option for the first time in your document, the Preview Off
option is enabled. You can’t undo the Preview Final or Preview Original command in a document.

• To preview the final document with text edits, select Special > Track Text Edits > Preview Final.
• To preview the original document with text edits, select Special > Track Text Edits > Preview Original.
FrameMaker incorporates accepted edits in the document. It deletes rejected edits and restores the document to its
original state.

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If you modify the document with the Track Text Edits feature on and Preview Final or Preview Original selected,
FrameMaker switches from Preview mode to Tracking mode. In this case, you can’t undo the changes you make.

• To turn off Preview mode, select Special > Track Text Edits > Preview Off.

Saving and publishing a document with text edits
When you save a document after inserting text edits, the suggested edits are retained. When you print the document
to a printer, FrameMaker prints the text editions as they appear in the document.
When you publish the document as a PDF, the text edits are retained and published to the output. If you publish a
FrameMaker document to HTML or RTF, the text edits are accepted, and the document is published with the edited
content. If the Preview mode is turned on, the document is published based on the Preview Final or Preview Original
option you selected.
You can save a document with tracked text edits as XML. You can open the XML document in FrameMaker, enable
tracking of text edits, and then edit the document. When you save the FrameMaker document back to XML, the edited
information is preserved through the XML roundtrip.
If Conditional Text roundtripping is disabled, all Track Text Edits information is lost during the XML roundtrip. By
default, Conditional Text roundtripping is enabled for any XML application.

More Help topics
“Print documents” on page 507
“Using Save As to export to other formats” on page 399

Track changes at book or map level
FrameMaker enables you to track changes across an entire book or a map.
To use this feature:
1 Open a book or a map file in FrameMaker.
2 Set the scope of the track changes. Click View>Track Text Edits>Scope and set the scope as Book or a Map.

Note: Notice that you can set the scope of the track changes from View>Track Text Edits>Scope. You can limit the
scope to the currently enabled document, the selected documents or to the whole book (when a book is open).
Note: When the document is in focus, you can set the scope of track changes from Special>Track Text Edits.
3 Click View >Track Text Edits > Enable to enable track changes.
4 Optionally, set the colors of the added and deleted text for the track changes from View >Track Text Edits>

Configure Color.
Note: The set colors apply to the selected scope. For example, if Book is selected as the scope, then the set colors apply
to all documents in the book. Conversely, if Document is selected as the scope, the set colors apply only to the current
document. All other documents in the book have the default colors for track changes.
5 Make changes to the content as desired across all documents in the book.
6 From the review toolbar, select the scope of the track changes for review. Select Book or Map as the scope.

Note: You can also select the scope as Document to limit the scope to the currently selected document, or set the scope
to Selected Documents only.

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Note: The Enable, Disable, and Preview features apply only to the selected scope.
7 Use the review icons (Accept Edit, Reject Edit, Show Next, Show Previous, Accept All and Reject All) to navigate

through the review as desired. Notice how FrameMaker moves automatically between all documents in the book
for review.
8 Additionally, you can view and edit changes from selected users. Click the Reviewer drop down (see the above

screenshot) and select Update User List to refresh the user list. Next, select the users whose changes you want to
review from the Reviewer drop down. FrameMaker then navigates through changes only from the selected users.

Identify revised text with change bars
About change bars
A change bar is a vertical line that visually identifies new or revised text. You can have change bars appear
automatically whenever you insert, change, or delete text.

Change bars identify new or revised text.

Sometimes you want to flag only important changes to your document rather than flag every change. If you’re sending
out the second revision of a document for review, you probably want reviewers to focus on substantive changes. In
these situations, you can select specific text to mark with change bars rather than add the change bars automatically.
In structured documents, adding change bars manually to particular text is useful for marking revisions or for
identifying changes in structure, attributes, or formatting. Perhaps your custom application has an element defined for
this purpose. The Change Bar feature does not track changes that affect only structure, attributes, or formatting.
Sometimes you want to remove the change bars from text later. For example, between drafts of a manual, you want to
remove the old change bars before adding new ones.
You can insert change bars in the newer of two versions of a document by comparing the versions.
Note: Sometimes you add change bars to an entire paragraph of text and then update the paragraph format, for example,
by importing formats from another document. Don’t remove format overrides during the update if you want to retain the
change bars. Adding change bars to an entire paragraph alters the paragraph format, and the alteration counts as a
format override.

More Help topics
“Compare versions to view changes” on page 415

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Apply change bars automatically
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Document > Change Bars.
3 Specify the thickness of the change bars and the distance from the column of text to the change bars.
4 Choose the position of the change bars from the Position pop-up menu. Choose Side Closer To Page Edge or Side

Farther From Page Edge to vary the position of the change bars from side to side based on the page layout.
The position is relative to the edges of the column that contains the changed text, regardless of the number of
columns on the page.
5 Choose a color for the change bars from the Color pop-up menu.
6 Select Automatic Change Bars, and click Set.

Automatic Change Bars don’t detect changes in graphics imported by reference unless the name of the imported file
has been changed. Automatic change bars also don’t detect changes that affect only formatting. For example, if you
only change the tag of a paragraph from Body to Bullet, no change bar appears. In this case you can add a change bar
manually if necessary.
Note: If cross-references are updated when Automatic Change Bars is selected, change bars appear next to all changed
cross-references.

Apply change bars manually to text in paragraphs
1 To apply change bars to selected text, choose Format > Style > Change Bar.
2 To apply change bars to paragraphs, click in a paragraph or drag through several paragraphs.
3 Choose Format > Paragraphs > Designer and display the Default Font properties.
4 Select Change Bar, and click Apply To Selection.

Create and apply change bar character format
You can also apply change bars to text using a change bar character format that you create and apply as a character
format. You can set the change bar character format to remain active when you update your document with new
formats and remove format overrides.
1 Click in any paragraph and choose Format > Characters > Designer.
2 In the Character Designer, choose Set Window to As Is from the Commands pop-up menu.
3 Select Change Bar, and then choose New Format from the Commands pop-up menu.
4 Enter a tag name and click Store in Catalog.
5 Click Create.

Remove change bars
You can remove all the change bars in a document at the same time or selectively. You can remove the change bars
from a single document or from selected files in a book.

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Clear all change bars in a document
1 Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents

you want to affect.
2 Choose Format > Document > Change Bars.
3 Select Clear All Change Bars, and click Set.

Remove specific change bars
❖ Do one of the following:

• Select the text and choose Format > Style > Change Bar. If some of the selected text isn’t marked with a change
bar, choose Format > Style > Change Bar twice to remove the change bars.

• To remove a change bar applied by a character format, select the text and apply the Default Font from the
Character Catalog.
To examine and change text marked with change bars, use the Find/Change command. You can search for text
that has the Change Bar property set or for text that uses a character format that sets the Change Bar property.

Compare versions to view changes
About compare documents
Sometimes you receive a revised document with unmarked changes. You can get specific information on the changes
by comparing the new version to an older version. When you compare two versions of a document, FrameMaker
creates a composite document and a summary document.
Composite document
The composite document is a conditional document that combines the newer and older versions; it shows the
differences side by side. You can specify the condition tag to apply to changed text. You can also specify whether
FrameMaker marks changes with change bars.
In the composite document, FrameMaker considers differences to be insertions or deletions. For example, if the
contents of a graphic frame have changed, both versions appear in the composite. The older version is marked as
deleted; the newer version is marked as inserted. Variables in the composite document use the newer definitions, but
they aren’t marked as changed. Only inserted and deleted variables are considered changes.
Summary document
The summary document contains a general summary and a revision list for each type of item being compared. You can
create the summary as a hypertext document, with links to the actual pages where the changes occurred. By creating a
hypertext summary document, you can quickly display changed pages for reading or editing.
In the summary document (named Summary.fm), differences are considered insertions, deletions, or changes. If an
item has moved, it’s marked as deleted and inserted. FrameMaker displays the number of the page on which the change
occurs in the newer version, the older version, and the composite document. For insertions, the page number given
for the older version is the page where the item would be inserted to match the newer version. For deletions, the page
number for the newer version is the page where the item would have appeared if it hadn’t been deleted

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Items compared
When comparing two versions of a document, FrameMaker checks the contents of flows with the same names on body
and reference pages. It looks at text, footnotes, anchored frames, tables, variables and their definitions, cross-references
and their formats, footnote text, marker types, and marker text. FrameMaker doesn’t compare structure elements; it
does compare the element contents.
The following are some specific differences that FrameMaker can find:
Anchored frames FrameMaker compares the objects in the frame. If the objects are different, or if they are in different

positions, FrameMaker marks the entire anchored frame as changed.
Cross-references FrameMaker checks whether a cross-reference is external or internal. It also checks the cross-

references format name, the marker text at the source, and the path of the referenced file (for external crossreferences). If any of these properties are different, FrameMaker marks the cross-reference as changed.
Text insets FrameMaker compares the modification date, the filename, the relative paths of text insets, and the way

the inset was imported. For example, for imported insets, it checks whether the lines were merged into paragraphs. If
any of these items are different, it marks the entire text inset as changed.
Imported graphics FrameMaker compares the contents and dpi scaling of the imported graphic. For example, it

checks whether the object has been flipped or rotated, and compares the size of the bounding box. It also compares
how the graphic was imported—by reference or by copying. When you import a graphic by reference, FrameMaker
compares the paths. If any of these properties are different, it marks as changed the line that contains the anchored
frame of the imported graphic.
Equations FrameMaker compares the size of the equation, the location of the equation within its graphic frame, and
the math expressions. If any of these items are different, it marks the entire equation as changed.
Tables FrameMaker checks the number of rows and columns, whether cells are straddled, and whether cells are
rotated. If any of these properties are different, FrameMaker marks as changed the line that contains the table anchor.
If text in cells has changed, only the new table appears in the composite document. FrameMaker marks as changed the
line in the cell that has changed. If more than 75% of the cells have changed, it marks the entire table as changed.

FrameMaker doesn’t compare these items:

• Master page flows, header and footer flows, or untagged flows
• Graphic objects or text lines not in anchored frames
• Anchored frame positions
• Footnote properties or numbers
• Paragraph, character, or table tags
• Text or table formatting
• Tags in the Paragraph Catalog, Character Catalog, or Table Catalog
• Contents of text insets
FrameMaker doesn’t check the formatting of text or tables. Therefore, it doesn’t notice different ruling or shading in
a table or a different color assigned to text.
Both the English version of FrameMaker and the Japanese version running on a Japanese OS can compare Japanese
text.

Compare two versions of a document
1 Open both versions of the document. If the documents contain conditional text, all conditions must be visible.

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2 In the newer version, choose File > Utilities > Compare Documents.
3 Choose the older version from the pop-up menu, and specify the documents you want FrameMaker to create. All

open, named documents, except the current document, are listed in the Older Document pop-up menu.
4 Click Options, do the following, and click Set:

• Specify how to display inserted text in the Mark Insertions With area. Select the default condition tag (Inserted)
or a different condition tag. You can choose not to mark inserted text.

• Specify how to display deleted text in the Mark Deletions With area. Select the default condition tag (Deleted),
a different condition tag, or text that you specify. To omit deleted text from the composite document, click
Replacement Text and leave the box empty.

• To mark all changes (insertions and deletions) with change bars in the composite document, select Mark
Changes With Change Bars. FrameMaker uses the current change bar settings for the document.
To add change bars to the newer version of a document, select Mark Changes With Change Bars. Choose
Replacement Text in the Mark Deletions With area and leave the Replacement box empty.
5 Click Compare. When the comparison is complete, FrameMaker displays the summary and composite documents.

If the two versions are the same, neither document is created.
6 To make the summary report a hypertext document, select Create Hypertext Links In Summary. When you click

the page number of a change in the summary, FrameMaker displays the page. You can display pages of the newer
version, the older version, or the composite document that contains that change.

Comparing documents that contain multiple flows
You can compare documents with multiple flows. To prevent FrameMaker from comparing the wrong flows, make
sure that each flow has a unique tag and that the flows have the same tag.
A document can contain different flows with the same name, such as separate flows named “A” on disconnected pages.
In such cases, an alert message lists the duplicate flows when you try to compare the documents. FrameMaker
compares flows only if each document contains one flow of the same name.

Compare documents that contain conditional text
FrameMaker ignores hidden text and graphics that are not showing.
1 Do one of the following:

• To compare the full texts of two documents that contain conditional text, show all conditions before performing
the comparison.

• To compare specific texts of two documents that contain conditional text, show conditions based on a specific
expression before performing the comparison.

• To ignore conditional text while comparing documents, hide all conditions before performing the comparison.
2 Compare the documents.

Any hidden conditional items in the newer document remain, hidden, in the composite document that is produced.

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Determine word and character count
When reviewing changes, you sometimes want to know the number of words and characters in the document.
Counting the number of characters in a document is useful for Asian-language documents with double-width
(multibyte) characters. The word count report gives the number of single-width characters, double-width characters,
and the total number of characters.
1 Choose File > Utilities > Document Reports.
2 Select Asian Character Count or WordCount, and then click Run.

Import PDF comments
You can import comments from a tagged PDF directly into the source FrameMaker document and reduce the time
taken to fix comments. You can incorporate suggestions and edits from multiple reviewers participating in a shared
PDF review much faster into the source document.
However, for comments to import correctly, it is important that you generate a tagged PDF and after generating the
PDF you do not modify the source FrameMaker document. If you make changes in the source FrameMaker document,
and then import PDF comments, the comments may not be imported at the correct location.
When saving a FrameMaker file as a PDF, ensure that you select the Generate For Review option in the PDF Setup For
Selected File dialog box. Selecting this option creates a tagged PDF.
You can import comments only from PDFs created using FrameMaker 9 or above.

More Help topics
“About tagged Adobe PDF” on page 499
“Generating a tagged PDF file” on page 499

Types of comments supported
FrameMaker can import the following types of PDF comments and annotations:

• Text additions
• Text deletions
• Text replacements
• Sticky notes
• Underlined text
• Highlighted text
Other types of comments or annotations are not imported.

Placement of comments
When you import the PDF comments, they are inserted at the same location in the source FrameMaker document as
tracked text edits, tracked markers, or simple text formatting. Text additions, deletions, and replacements are inserted
as text edits. Sticky notes are inserted as comment type markers. FrameMaker tracks these text edits and markers
irrespective of whether the feature is enabled or disabled.

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PDF comments of type Highlight are imported with the highlighting retained due to the implementation of the Text
Background Color feature.
If the source document has changed after you sent the PDF for review, the exact insertion points for some comments
can be indeterminable. FrameMaker inserts such comments as tracked markers in approximate locations. Comments
applied to unnamed text flows, non-text objects, or objects locked for editing are also inserted in approximate locations
as markers.
Note: FrameMaker does not allow insertions into objects like variables, text lines, and graphics. Also, cross-references,
text insets, bullets, and numbering are locked for editing in FrameMaker. Comments on these objects are inserted as
markers. If a reviewer adds a comment in response to another comment in the PDF, it is inserted as a marker.

Import comments
1 Open the document or book file to import PDF comments.
2 Click File > Import > PDF Comments.
3 Read the instructions in the Import Comments From Adobe Acrobat dialog box. Click Yes to proceed.
4 In the Import Comments From PDF dialog box, choose the PDF file from which you want to import comments.
5 Select the types of comments that you want to import.
All comments Select to import all supported types of comments from the PDF.
Only Insert, Delete, and Replace type of comments Select to import only text additions, deletions, and

replacements.
Apply custom filters Select to specify filters for the comments that you want to import. You can filter comments by

parameters like type, author, status set by the author, checking state, and insertion date.
6 If the source document was modified after you created the PDF for review, FrameMaker confirms whether you

want to proceed with the import.
If the modification date of the source file is newer than the creation date of the tagged PDF, FrameMaker confirms
whether you want to proceed with the import.
7 FrameMaker imports the comments from the PDF and displays an import summary. The summary displays the

number of comments that FrameMaker imported and placed in their exact locations, imported and placed in
approximate locations, and failed to import.
8 Click OK to close the Import Summary dialog box and return to the document window.

Structured documents and PDF comments
You can import comments into a structured document just as you would into an unstructured document. Comments
on text ranges or objects locked for editing in the structured document are inserted as markers. For example, prefixes
or suffixes of elements are locked for editing in a structured document.
A comment or annotation can span multiple elements. FrameMaker does not mark a parent element for deletion if
one or more of its child elements fall outside the text range marked for deletion.
Also, you can import comments in books but they do not get imported in child books or DITA maps included in
hierarchical books.

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Roundtripping tables, equations, and anchored frames
You can roundtrip tables, equations, and anchored frames between Structured FrameMaker and XML.

Roundtripping table properties
Read-write rules handle the roundtripping of table formatting properties. New R/W rule mapping for the table cell
properties is as follows:
Property

Non-CALS R/W Rule

CALS R/W
Rule

Attribute Value

FP_CellAngle

cell angle

rotate

Integer

FP_CellOverrideFill

fill override

Integer corresponding to FDK values

FP_CellUseOverrideFill

use fill override

0 = False
Nonzero value = True

FP_CellOverrideShading

shading override

Tag of FO_Color

FP_CellUseOverrideShadin
g

shading override

0 = False
Nonzero value = True

FP_CellOverrideBottomRul bottom ruling override
ing

Tag of FO_RulingFmt

FP_CellUseOverrideBRulin
g

bottom ruling override

0 = False

FP_CellOverrideLeftRuling

left ruling override

Tag of FO_RulingFmt

FP_CellUseOverrideLRulin
g

left ruling override

0 = False

FP_CellOverrideRightRulin
g

right ruling override

Tag of FO_RulingFmt

FP_CellUseOverrideRRulin
g

right ruling override

0 = False

FP_CellOverrideTopRuling

top ruling override

Tag of FO_RulingFmt

FP_CellUseOverrideTRulin
g

top ruling override

0 = False

Nonzero value = True

The read-write rule mapping for the table row properties is as follows:
Property

Non-CALS R/W Rule

CALS R/W
Rule

Attribute Value

FP_RowKeepWithNext

keep with next

0 = False
Nonzero value = True

FP_RowKeepWithPrev

keep with next

0 = False
Nonzero value = True

FP_RowStart

row placement

Integer corresponding to FDK values

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In the following example, the prop5 attribute controls the bottom ruling of the table.
element "tablecell"
{
is fm table cell element;
attribute "prop1" is fm property
attribute "prop2" is fm property
attribute "prop3" is fm property
attribute "prop4" is fm property
attribute "prop5" is fm property
attribute "prop6" is fm property
attribute "prop7" is fm property
attribute "prop8" is fm property
attribute "prop9" is fm property
}

right ruling override;
use right ruling override;
top ruling override;
use top ruling override;
bottom ruling override;
use bottom ruling override;
left ruling override;
use left ruling override;
cell angle;

In the following example, the att1, att2, att3, and att4 attributes control the shading properties of the table cell:
element "tablecell2"
{
is fm table cell
attribute "att1"
attribute "att2"
attribute "att3"
attribute "att4"
attribute "att5"
attribute "att6"
}

element;
is fm property
is fm property
is fm property
is fm property
is fm property
is fm property

shading override;
use shading override;
bottom ruling override;
use bottom ruling override;
fill override;
use fill override;

Roundtripping equations and anchored frames
You can roundtrip equations and anchored frames between Structured FrameMaker and XML. When you save a
Structured FrameMaker document to XML, FrameMaker creates MIF files for the equations and anchored frames in
the document. FrameMaker saves every anchored frame and equation in a different MIF file.
Note: To test this feature, you can use the ReportPlain XML application in the samplesStructapps.fm file at:
/Adobe/AdobeFrameMaker11/Structure. This XML application has Equation and Frame
elements.
You can change the type of files that are created for storing equations and anchored frames by specifying the following
flag in the maker.ini file.
To specify the default vector format for xml, edit maker.ini (user area) file and add flag
DefaultvectorformatforXMLexport flag. For example, the following sets default vector format for xml to CGM.
DefaultvectorformatforXMLexport= CGM

Direct OLE support in XML
Structured FrameMaker supports round-tripping OLE objects, such as Visio objects and PowerPoint presentations.
FrameMaker uses an XML Processing Instruction to handle the OLE object roundtripping.
You can control the OLE support using the DirectOLESupportInXml flag in the maker.ini file. To enable this feature,
set the flag as On. The default value of this flag is Off; when this flag is Off, the OLE is saved as a .mif file.
Also, notice the following entries in the maker.ini file:

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53="pptx" OLE2 OLE2 OLE2
54="VSD" OLE2 OLE2 OLE2

FMGFXImport "pptx" frame.exe ^.pptx
FMGFXImport "VSD" frame.exe ^.vsd

These entries assign an automatic filetype filter to a file when it is imported. If necessary, youcan add more filters
(with respective OLEs).

Insert an OLE object
1 Select File > Import > Object. The Insert Object dialog appears.
2 Navigate to the OLE object and select:

• Create from File
• Link
3 Click OK.

Note: You can also paste an OLE object using the Paste Special command and selecting Paste Link.

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Chapter 11: Structured Authoring
Introduction to structured authoring
About structured authoring
Structured authoring is a publishing workflow in which you use technology to define and enforce a consistent
organization of information in documents. In traditional unstructured publishing, content is written according to
rules and approved styles described in style guides and enforced by editors.
In an unstructured authoring workflow, you create relatively free-flow narrative based documents. For example, you
can have headings, followed by paragraphs, or graphics with captions or alternate text. In case of structured authoring
the content rules enforce a consistent structure across similar pieces of information. For example, you can decide to
enforce these content rules:

• A bulleted list must contain at least three items.
• A heading must be followed by a paragraph.
• A table must have a heading row.
• A graphic must have a caption.
These content rules are defined in either a document type definition (DTD) or an XML schema. Conformance to these
content rules is automatically checked against the DTD or schema.
For example, consider the structure of a home address. Suppose that the content rules require address to contain an
employee name, house number, street, city, and ZIP code. In unstructured authoring, an address without a house
number can be discovered only through editing or review. In structured authoring, the structure is validated and
automatically checked for completeness. Consistent organization and sequence are therefore enforced and assured.
Structured authoring improves consistency across documents. Consistency simplifies the management of documents
in a content repository. Content can be automatically grouped at specified element levels.
Structured authoring has these benefits:
• Enforces a consistent organization of information

• Automatically validates the organization of information
• Complies with required document structures
• Allows publishing to multiple output formats
• Supports content reuse and exchange with XML
• Uses metadata for versioning
• Simplifies database publishing
• Reduces localization cost

Using FrameMaker
Using XML and structured authoring, you can define content tags that are divorced from formatting rules.

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FrameMaker provides a useful structured environment for authoring in XML.

• User-friendly WYSIWYG structured authoring environment (authoring visually)
• Easier transition from unstructured to structured FrameMaker
• Complete DITA and DocBook support
• Ability to create multiple outputs such as direct print and PDF outputs
• Ability to merge XML content along with FrameMaker components in books

About SGML, XML, and XHTML
Using FrameMaker, you can import and export structured documents in either SGML or XML (including XHTML
1.0) format. Once you import a structured file, it is no longer an SGML or XML file; it is a structured FrameMaker
document. To return it to its original format, save it as an SGML or XML file.

About SGML
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is the international standard for all markup languages for data
exchange and storage.
SGML is a descriptive, rather than procedural, markup language, meaning the same document can be processed by
different systems. Each system applies different processing instructions to relevant sections. You can transfer SGML
documents from one system (hardware and software environment) to another without any loss of data.
SGML was the first language to implement the Document Type Definition (DTD), which formally defines the
document by its components and structure. Documents of the same type can then be verified and processed uniformly.
A document that conforms to the structure of a DTD is said to be valid.

About XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a generalized format for representing structured information, especially for the
web. Like HTML and SGML, XML requires the use of elements and structure.
However XML differs from HTML in that it is extensible. You can define not only your tags but also their order,
relationships among them, and the way they are processed and displayed. In terms of markup, XML has tags or
elements which are similar to HTML markup except that they are defined by you.
Use XML to define and implement a structure that is appropriate for your content. An XML document that conforms
to the structure of a DTD is said to be valid. An XML document that uses tags that conform to the standard XML
specifications is said to be well-formed.

About XHTML 1.0
Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) is an extension of HTML that is based on XML and is designed to
work with XML-based applications. It can be viewed, edited, and validated with standard XML tools. Using XHTML
is an easy way to migrate from HTML to XML while retaining forward and backward compatibility of your content.

Differences between XML and HTML
Whereas HTML describes formatting, XML describes content itself. Humans can read HTML documents rendered in
a browser. Both machines and humans can read XML.

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Instead of style-based, paragraph-oriented word processing and desktop publishing, XML provides a foundation for
structured authoring. XML describes content according to elements that are organized in a hierarchical tree. In wordprocessing environments (such as unstructured FrameMaker), the relationship among the various document
components is apparent through formatting on the page. The document file, however, does not capture these
relationships because a word processor document is made up of a string of paragraphs. For example, unstructured
FrameMaker does not capture the subordination of a Body paragraph tag to its preceding Heading1 tag. Structured
authoring, however, does capture the hierarchical relationships among the document components.

XML schemas, EDDs, and DTDs
Building blocks of schemas and EDDs
Elements
The basic building blocks of structured documents are elements. Elements represent pieces of a document's content
(its text, graphics, and so on) and together make up the document's structure. Elements can be simple elements or
complex elements.
A simple element in XML contains just text. A complex element can have attributes and can:

• be empty.
• contain other elements.
• contain only text.
• contain both elements and text.
Elements can have values within a specified range of valid values.
All structured documents in FrameMaker use elements. Each element has a name, or tag, such as Section, Head, or
List. The element tags that are available are determined by the document element definitions.
Attributes
Attributes supply additional information about an element. For example, the DTD designer for a manual could use an
attribute called version for its book element to allow the user to specify a book’s revision status. In FrameMaker, the
attributes for an element are a part of the definition of the element itself. In XML or SGML, the attributes of an element
occur separately in an attribute definition list declaration (ATTLIST) in the DTD.
Attributes can have a default value or a fixed value. Attributes can also be either mandatory or optional. For example,
if you have a topic element, the topic ID could be a mandatory attribute for topics being cross-referenced. You can also
have value ranges for attributes or enumerate the legal values for an attribute.
Element rules
Following seven rules control how the elements are used in terms of their sequence, number of occurrences, and group.
All Indicates that child elements can appear in any sequence but must appear at least once.
Choice Indicates one or the other child element can occur.
Sequence Indicates the order in which the child elements appear.
minOccurs Indicates the minimum number of times a child element can occur.
maxOccurs Indicates the maximum number of times a child element can occur.

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Element Groups Elements can be grouped under a group declaration.
Attribute Groups Attributes can be grouped under a attributeGroup declaration.

XML schemas
An XML schema defines the legal building blocks of an XML document. Unlike the EDD, DTDs and schema files do
not provide formatting information.
XML schemas define the following:

• List of elements that can appear in a document
• Attributes that can appear in a document for an element
• Hierarchy of elements - which elements can appear as child elements
• Sequence of child elements
• Number of child elements
• The data types for elements as well as attributes
• Default and fixed values for elements and attributes
XML namespaces
XML namespaces allow the same document to contain XML elements and attributes taken from different vocabularies,
without naming collisions.
Opening or importing a schema
You can import an XML document that references a schema file, and you can specify a schema file in your structure
application to use for validating a document upon export to XML.
To specify a schema file for use in exporting to XML, modify the structapps.fm file. The element schema, a child of the
XmlApplication element, specifies the schema file path for export.

EDDs
An EDD is a structured document. Use the structured editing features to create and edit the EDD.
The EDD contains both structural rules for the document (Document Type Definition or DTD) and styling rules,
which dictate how elements of a specific type are styled. An application developer generally creates the EDD from an
existing DTD file or from scratch. For more information, see the Structured Application Developer’s Guide located in
the OnlineManuals folder.

Create a DTD from an EDD
DTDs or Document Type Definitions define the elements that you can include in a structured document. It defines
the elements, their attributes, order of elements and what elements can contain other elements.
1 Open the EDD.
2 Add the StructuredApplication element, then type in the name of the XML application that you created in the

previous section.
3 Select StructureTools > Save as DTD.
4 Enter a filename. Ensure that you specify the .dtd extension.

If your EDD is valid, you should not see an error log. However, it is possible to build SGML style General rules in
FrameMaker that are not permitted in XML.

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5 A message dialog box provides you with information that FrameMaker has finished writing the DTD.
6 Open the DTD. If you have not specified the StructuredApplication in step 2, you can select it from the Use

Structured Application dialog box that is displayed.
The DTD is now ready to be used.

Structured templates
All FrameMaker structured applications require a structured template. Structured FrameMaker templates contain
definitions of all the elements that can be used in the document as well as the document’s page layout and formatting.
Structured templates are like unstructured templates with the most obvious difference being the element catalog.
The element catalog displays the element definitions defined in the EDD. To create a structured document as a first
step, you import the definitions from either an EDD or a DTD. The element definitions in an EDD or DTD are
populated in the element catalog. You use the element catalog dialog to insert valid elements in your document and
build a structure that complies with the rules in the EDD.

Structured application definitions
Two off-the-shelf structured applications available for technical documentation are DITA and DocBook.

DITA
DITA or Darwin Information Typing Architecture provides an off-the-shelf DTD and set of rules designed specifically
for writing online documentation, such as software help files. It defines a tag structure suited to authoring, producing,
and delivering technical documentation. The types of tags in DITA include , , <shortdesc>, <prolog>,
<body>, and <concept>. Following are some distinguishing DITA features:

• DITA is topic-oriented. Each topic can be a piece of modular writing that can be reused in multiple contexts.
• Because DITA separates content from context, multiple architectures of information are possible in DITA. DITA
can also be extended to allow for the definition of information types.

• DITA is topic-based. It provides three basic topic types but it allows for specialization of these topic types for
individual needs.

• DITA uses a ditamap which contains links to the XML files in the documentation set. Each XML file can be a topic
or a collection of topics.

• DITA outputs can be multiple ranging from PDF and HTML to variable documents. However, all output forms
require some development work.

• DITA is better suited for larger documentation sets.

DocBook
DocBook is also an open standard, designed for technical articles and documentation. DocBook provides a DTD for
writing technical books and articles, with a structure that such forms imply. DocBook tags include <article>,
<section>, <title>, <articleinfo>, and <pubdate>.
Following are some distinguishing DocBook features:

• DocBook is more book or section oriented.
• DocBook is hierarchical by nature and has to be developed for true single-sourcing. The content is not independent
of its context.

• DocBook has a fixed but a large set of elements and attributes.
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• DocBook provides an XML include file that contains all the other files.
• DocBook outputs include PDF, HTML, and HTMLHelp. It can be extended for other output forms with some
development work.

• DocBook is easy to set up and is better suited for small to medium documentation sets.

Migrating from unstructured FrameMaker to XML
Components of a structured authoring environment
In unstructured FrameMaker, setting up an authoring environment requires only a template file. The template file
defines the formats and the styles and a style guide defines how to work correctly with the template. In structured
FrameMaker, you require more than just a structured template.
To establish a basic structured authoring environment in FrameMaker, you require an EDD or a DTD. You can create
custom EDDs and DTDs or use off-the-shelf EDDs and DTDs. Additionally, you need to link the element definitions
with formatting information. You can link elements in the EDD to formatting in three ways:
Formatting template You can assign formatting based on the various tags (paragraph tags, character tags, and so on)
in a template. If you already have a formatting template, you can reuse information in that template.
Format change lists You can create named formatting definitions in the EDD. The format change lists let you provide
partial formatting specifications and inherit the rest from a few base paragraph tags. You can reuse format change lists
for related elements.
Embedded formatting You can specify formatting by writing the formatting into each element definition.

After you create the EDD and the formatting, you combine the two components to create a single structured template.
To create the structured template, you open the formatting template and import element definitions (File > Import >
Element Definitions) from the EDD. The resulting file is your structured template.
Apart from the EDD and the structured template, you also need:
read/write rules The read/write rules control translation from FrameMaker structure to XML and back. Specifically,

read/write rules help manage table translation and other complex formatting.
Structured application The structured application lists all of the component files in your structure implementation

and provides configuration information. For example, you can use the structured application to specify whether and
how to export conditional text tagging.

Getting started with structure
Following are the basic steps to get started with structured authoring in FrameMaker.

Content analysis
Before building the proposal template, analyze existing proposals to identify their components. Based on this analysis,
you create a content map. The proposal example results in the following sequence:
1 Title
2 Executive summary: Title, One paragraph

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3 Project description: Title, One or more paragraphs
4 Cost: Title, One or more paragraphs
5 Schedule: Title, One or more paragraphs

Note: You could probably build the EDD for this simple example without formal content analysis. For larger projects,
though, content analysis is critical.

Choose an EDD strategy
You can build an EDD in multiple ways:

• Create the entire EDD yourself.
• Import a DTD or schema to create an EDD that contains structure definitions.
• Use a conversion rules table to structure an existing sample document. Then create a first draft of the EDD that
contains basic element definitions and formatting that matches your unstructured template.

• Modify an existing EDD— one of the samples supplied with FrameMaker or an EDD from another source.

Build the proposal EDD
Based on the content analysis, you can now create the proposal EDD.
1 Make sure you are in structured FrameMaker. To switch from unstructured to structured FrameMaker, select File

> Preferences > General. In the Product Interface pop-up menu, select Structured FrameMaker. Close and restart
FrameMaker.
2 Select StructureTools > New EDD to create an EDD file. Default elements are inserted in the EDD.

Note: The EDD is itself a structured FrameMaker document. You use the same guided editing environment to create
the EDD that you use to edit other structured documents.
3 Select Structure Tools > Structure View to display the Structure View panel.
4 Create the top-level Proposal element. Position your cursor to the right of the Tag bubble in the Structure View,

and type in Proposal. As you type, the letters appear in both the Structure View and the document window.
5 Click the Elements Catalog button to display the Elements catalog.
6 In the Structure View, click to the right of the red box (which indicates that additional information is required).

Notice that the contents of the Elements catalog change because of the new cursor location. In the Elements catalog,
select Container and click Insert. The Container element and a child GeneralRule element are inserted. The general
rule specifies which elements are allowed inside the proposal element. During the content analysis, you identified
the following: title, executive summary, project description, cost, and schedule.
7 Type a general rule for Proposal: Title, ExecSummary, ProjectDescription, Cost, Schedule

Note: Element names cannot contain spaces.
8 Insert a ValidHighestLevel element as a sibling of the GeneralRule element. To do so, click underneath the

GeneralRule element to position your cursor, click the ValidHighestLevel element in the Elements catalog, and then
click Insert.
The Proposal element is complete. You must now provide definitions for each of the child elements: ExecSummary,
ProjectDescription, Schedule, and Cost.

Define the child elements
1 Position your cursor at the bottom of the structure.

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2 Using the Elements catalog, insert an Element bubble. Name the element ExecSummary, make it a container, and

specify the following as the general rule: Title, Para+
3 Repeat step 2 to define the remaining elements. The general rules are shown in the following table:
Element

General Rule

Project Description

Title,Para+

Cost

Title,Para+

Schedule

Title,Para+

Title

<TEXT>
(Type the word TEXT with angle brackets around it.)

Para

<TEXT>
(Type the word TEXT with angle brackets around it.)

4 Save your EDD file as proposal_EDD.fm.

Test the EDD
To test the EDD, you import it into a document and then verify that you can create the structure you expect. At this
point, the document does not have any formatting, but you can still verify the structure.
1 Create a new, blank, portrait document by selecting File > New > Document, and then click Portrait.
2 Make sure that the EDD and the new document file are both open. From the new document, select File > Import >

Element Definitions. In the Import from Document pop-up menu, select the proposal EDD and click Import.
Note: If your EDD is not displayed in the list, make sure that the EDD file is open and that you have saved it. Until
you save a document, it is not available in this list.
The structure definitions in your EDD are imported into the blank document. To verify that the definitions were
imported, position your cursor in the main text flow and then display the Elements catalog. You should see the
Proposal element.
3 Insert a Proposal element. The Title element, which is required as the first child of Proposal, should now appear in

the Elements catalog.
4 Insert the Title element. Continue inserting elements until your proposal structure is complete.

Note: If your structure is incorrect, go back to your EDD, correct it, and then reimport the element definitions. You
can also check your EDD against the online proposal_edd, which is available at the Adobe website,
www.adobe.com/go/lr_FrameMaker_support_en.
5 Save your file as structured_proposal.fm.

Add formatting to the EDD
You have now built an EDD that provides structure for a simple proposal. However, when you type content, no
formatting is applied. Following section describes how to provide formatting, and how to automatically insert the
correct text for the various titles. By default, text uses the Body paragraph tag.

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Change the Body tag definition
1 In structured_proposal.fm, select Format > Paragraphs > Designer and change the default definitions of the Body

and Heading1 paragraph tags. For example, change the font or place a line above the Heading1. To make your
changes obvious, you may also want to assign unique colors to the two tags.
2 In proposal_EDD.fm, modify the Para element definition to include a formatting rule. To specify that Para should

always use the Body paragraph tag, click under the GeneralRule element, add a TextFormatRules element, and then
add an ElementPgfFormatTag element. Type Body as the text for the ElementPgfFormatTag element.
For the Title element, you need more complex formatting rules. Title should automatically display section titles,
such as Executive Summary, Project Description, and so on. You must write a context rule that specifies what text
to display for each type of heading, and specify that Title uses the Heading1 paragraph tag.
3 In proposal_EDD.fm, modify the Title element definition to use the Heading1 paragraph tag. Add the same

TextFormatRules and ElementPgfFormatTag elements as you did for the Para element.
Note: Like the paragraph tags, the information you enter is case-sensitive and space-sensitive. For example,
“Heading1” is not the same as “heading1” or “Heading 1.”
Next, add a prefix rule to the Title element. Prefix rules let you specify text that should appear at the beginning of the
element. Based on the Title’s position, you’ll specify which text should be displayed.

Add a prefix rule
1 Position your cursor in the Title element to insert a child of Container after TextFormatRules.
2 Insert a PrefixRules element.
3 Insert a ContextRule element. The If and Specification elements are inserted automatically. For the Specification

text, type ExecSummary.
4 Position your cursor underneath the Specification element and insert a Prefix element.
5 For the Prefix element text, type: Executive Summary
6 Repeat steps 3– 5 for the other elements that need titles—ProjectDescription, Schedule, and Cost—and insert the

appropriate text for each prefix.

Test the results
1 Save the EDD.
2 Import the element definitions into your structured_proposal.fm file to test the results. Each section should display

the title text you’ve specified. The completed EDD is available at the Adobe website,
www.adobe.com/go/lr_FrameMaker_support_en.

Build a structured application
To enable XML import and export for structured proposals, you need to set up a structured application, which lists the
components of the structured authoring environment.
First, you need to create a document type definition (DTD) that matches the EDD.

Create a DTD
1 Open the proposal_edd.fm file in structured FrameMaker.
2 Select StructureTools > Save As DTD. Specify the filename (proposal.dtd) and where you want to save the file, and

then click Save.

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3 In the Use Structured Application dialog box, leave the default selection, <No Application>, and click Continue.
4 In the Select Type dialog box, select XML and then click OK. The DTD file is written out to the location you

specified.
You also need a structured template that contains formatting and EDD information.

Create a structured template
1 Open the structured_proposal.fm file.
2 Delete all content from the file. A structured template must be empty.
3 Save the file as proposal_template.fm.

Now, you are ready to configure the structured application.

Configure the structured application
1 Select StructureTools > Edit Application Definitions. This command opens the structapps.fm file - in which

application definitions are stored— from the following location:
%appdata%\Adobe\FrameMaker\10\

Note: Like the EDD, the application definition file is itself structured.
2 Insert an XMLApplication element as a child of the StructuredSetup element.
3 Type Proposal for the application name.
4 Insert a DTD element and specify the following as the DTD element text:
$STRUCTDIR/proposal/proposal.dtd

5 Insert a Template element and specify the following as the Template element text:
$STRUCTDIR/proposal/proposal_template.fm

6 Select File > Save to save the structapps.fm file.
7 Select StructureTools > Read Application Definitions to update FrameMaker with the new application definition.

Note: To verify that the application is installed correctly, select StructureTools > Set Structured Application to display
the Set Structured Application dialog box. If you set up the applications definitions correctly, Proposal appears in the
drop-down list object.
Finally, you need to copy the application files into the directory where the structured application definition expects them.

Copy the application files
1 Locate your FrameMaker installation folder using the file explorer (the default FrameMaker installation path on a

Windows computer is Program Files\Adobe\FrameMaker9), and navigate to the Structure\xml folder.
2 In the xml folder, create a proposal folder.
3 Copy the proposal.dtd and proposal_template.fm files into the proposal folder.

Test XML roundtripping
Once you have configured the structured application, you can test XML roundtripping.
1 Create a valid structured proposal in FrameMaker.
2 Export the FrameMaker file to XML. To do so, select File > Save As and choose XML as the output format. If

prompted, select the Proposal application.

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3 Open the exported XML file in a text editor or an XML editor and verify that you have a valid XML file.
4 In an XML or a text editor, modify the file you just exported. You can also create an XML file that validates against

the proposal DTD. Save the new XML file.
5 In FrameMaker, open the XML file. Verify that the XML file imports correctly and that formatting is applied

automatically.

Implementing structured FrameMaker
The term content analysis describes a process in which you review existing documents to understand how they are
designed and what implicit structure they contain. Begin your analysis by making a list of the documents your
organization produces. Your list might include user guides, reference guides, white papers, tutorials, training manuals,
and online help. Make a list of the major components for each document type. For each component, list whether the
item is required, optional, and how often it occurs in that document. The following table shows a high-level analysis
for a book:
Component

Requirement

Occurrence

Front matter

Mandatory

Table of contents

Mandatory

Preface

Optional

0 or 1

Chapter

Mandatory

2 or more

Appendix

Optional

0 or more

Glossary

Optional

0 or 1

Index

Mandatory

For major components, such as lessons (for training manuals) or chapters (for books), work your way down the
document hierarchy into smaller and smaller chunks, until you reach the bottom level of the hierarchy.
Component

Requirement

Occurrence

Glossary

Optional

Title

Mandatory

GlossEntry

Mandatory

1 or more

Term

Mandatory

<TEXT>
Definition

Mandatory

1 or more

Optional

1 or more

<TEXT>
CrossRef

You must do a content analysis for every document type you want to create in your structured environment. Once you
have developed a content model for each document, you can look for opportunities to refine the model and reuse
names. For example, suppose that a Help deliverable consists of topics and the chapters in a book also consist of topics.
If you create a Topic element that is usable for both printed and online materials, you can minimize the number of
elements in your structure definition and perhaps reuse information in both output formats.

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Printed Topic

Online Topic

Combined Topic

Topic

Title

Para

Steps

Can contain Para, List, Table, Graphic, Note

Can contain Para, List, Table

Can contain Para, List, Table, Graphic, Note

RelatedTopics

It’s unlikely that your documents are perfectly consistent. You need to decide whether to create a structure that is loose
(allowing many variations) or strict (very few variations are permitted). You will have problems at both ends of the
spectrum:

• A very loose structure is quite complex, and can be difficult to maintain because so many variations are permitted.
• A very strict structure may disallow element combinations that are needed.
It’s very difficult to find the right balance between these two extremes. One approach is to allow variations only where
they add value.
Note: A similar problem occurs when creating unstructured FrameMaker templates. You want to minimize the number
of tags that must be maintained while providing all of the tags that are needed to create your content.
Once the analysis is complete, you can decide whether to use an existing structure or to build your own. Numerous
XML implementations are available; DocBook and the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) are
specifications used for technical documentation. Standard structures are also defined for military documents (milspecs or mil-standards), aircraft maintenance manuals, and others. The following table describes some of the factors
that influence whether you will use a standard specification or build your own structure.
Use a standard

Build your own

You are required to deliver content that follows the standard. For
example, many U.S. military contractors are required to deliver
documentation that follows a published standard

You want to create a structure that matches your content analysis
precisely.

Your content requirements closely match an existing structure. You
only need to make minimal changes to the standard structure.

Your content analysis indicates that your information does not match
existing structures very well.

You do not want to spend a significant amount of time building a
structure, and you are willing to change the organization of your
content to fit it into an existing structure.

The structure needs to match the content precisely.
A longer implementation period is an acceptable cost to ensure you
can build exactly what you need

You do not have the technical expertise or resources available to build You have resources available, whether in-house or as consultants, who
your own structure.
can build the structure.

Building structure files
Decide whether to use an existing standard or create your own structure.
Create structure files without using an existing standard
1 In FrameMaker, create an EDD that matches your structure requirements.
2 Test the EDD to verify that the structure definitions are correct.
3 Add formatting to the EDD, and test the EDD to verify that the formatting works correctly.

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4 Create a DTD from the EDD.

You now have the two structure definition files you need—one for FrameMaker (EDD) and one for XML (DTD).
Use an existing standard
1 Obtain a copy of the standard files, and modify the provided DTD or schema file to match your requirements.
2 Open the completed structure file in FrameMaker to create an EDD, and add formatting to the EDD.

Note: FrameMaker includes several variations of DocBook as sample structured applications. If you plan to create
DocBook-based structure, consider modifying one of the provided applications.
Once you have your structure definitions, you need to set up the structured application.
Set up the structured application
1 Open the structapps.fm file (select StructureTools > Edit Application Definitions).
2 Add a new application definition to the file with pointers to your EDD and DTD/schema files.

After setting up the application, you’ll want to fine-tune the import/export settings.
Using the Structured Application Designer
The Structured Application Designer allows you to create a structured application using a graphical wizard.
To launch the structured application designer, click StructureTools > Structured Application Designer. The Structured
Application Designer is displayed as follows:

Structured Application Designer

1 Select a base application on which the new application is based. To load a new set of base applications, click Load

Applications... and select the relevant structured application file. The list of applications is automatically populated
from the selected structured application file.
2 Optionally, enter the DTD, the Read Write Rule file, the EDD, and the template files, along with any document type

specifications.
3 Enter the name for the new application.

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4 By default, the application is saved in the structapps.fm file in your application directory. To change the filename,

click Save As and select or enter a new filename.
5 Optionally, to set advanced settings, click Advanced Settings... and make your desired selections.

To create a Read Write Rule file, based on an existing DTD, specify the DTD and click New from the RW Rules section.
The Read Write Rule File Maker is then displayed.
Note: If you do not specify a DTD, an empty Read Write Rule File is created. You can then add rules using the Read Write
Rule File Maker.

• To update an existing Read Write Rule file, select the file and click Update. Make your changes in the Read Write
Rule File Maker.

• To generate a new EDD, select the DTD and click new from the EDD section. All elements are loaded in the EDD
interface. From the EDD interface, you can select Element Paragraph Format Tags for every element.

• Click Import Format settings to import format settings from another EDD.
• Click Save to save your changes or Reset to roll back to the last saved state.
• To update an EDD, select the EDD and click Update.
• To generate a new template, select the corresponding EDD file and click New from the Template section.
Fine-tune the import/export settings
1 Set up a read/write rules file with the necessary mappings, and set up XSL transformation files with any additional
changes.
2 Add a reference in the structured application definition to the read/write rules file and the XSL transformation files.
3 Add any other required configuration settings, such as handling of conditional text and external cross-references,

in the structured application definition.
Using the Read Write Rule File Maker
FrameMaker includes a powerful Read Write Rule File Maker that helps you author rules easily. This helps simplify
rule generation, since you have all the settings at one place, and do not have to remember any rule syntax.
To launch the Read Write Rule File Maker, click StructureTools > New Read/Write Rules. Select the Launch Rule File
Maker option and click OK.
Note: Optionally, you can specify the DTD to be used when creating the rules.
The Rule File Maker is displayed as follows:

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Rule File Maker

The Rule File Maker has two basic sections:

• Import-Export Settings: These settings are applicable for the reading and writing operation.
• Export-Only Settings: These settings are not covered in the Import - Export Settings and are only applicable for the
writing operation.
The Import-Export Settings section is divided into four sections:
1 Markup Elements: Allows editing of all markups present in the specified DTD. To see a list of all elements, select

‘select from DTD’ from the value drop-down. FrameMaker, then displays a list of elements. You can select multiple
elements from the list and click OK to insert the selected elements into the Read Write Rule File Maker.
2 Global Settings: Displays the list of settings that are applied to ALL elements globally.
3 Entities: Displays the list of all entities that are present in the DTD.
4 Advanced Settings: Contains advanced settings for Books and Character Maps.

The Export Only Settings section is divided into three sections:
1 FM Objects: Lists the type of FM Objects present. In addition, each FM Object category lists the markups mapped

as that object. For example, if you map markup M1 to the Table FM Object in the Import-Export Settings section,
the Table list in the Export Only Settings section displays the markup M1.
2 Global Settings: Displays the list of settings that are applied to ALL elements globally.
3 Advanced Settings: Contains advanced settings for SGML, DITA, Variables, and Character Maps.

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When saving the rules, FrameMaker saves only the elements and the rules that have been modified (modified elements
have their values marked in bold, on the right pane). Default behaviors are not saved.

Converting unstructured files to structured documents
FrameMaker provides a mapping feature to help you transfer your unstructured documents into structure. Your
results depend on the following factors:

• Document consistency. Documents that implement a formatting template consistently, with few or no formatting
overrides, will convert better than documents that are full of overrides and custom paragraph or character tags.

• Similarity between unstructured and structured documents. A new document structure that is similar to the
organization in the unstructured documents eases the conversion process.

Conversion workflow
The conversion process creates structured elements from FrameMaker formatting components, such as paragraph
tags, character tags, markers, cross-references, and table components.
To begin the conversion process, select an unstructured document that is representative of your typical content.
Ideally, this document should contain examples of all of the formatting tags that would occur in your documents.
These tags should be shown in logical sequences (as they would occur in documents), so a formatting template that
shows examples of each paragraph tag in alphabetical order is not a good example document.
1 Open the example document.
2 Import element definitions from the EDD into the example document.
3 Select StructureTools > Generate Conversion Table. Select Generate New Conversion Table, then click Generate.

FrameMaker scans the document and creates a list of the formatting components that occur in this document. Tags
that are defined in the formatting catalogs but not used in the document are not included in the list.
Note: FrameMaker assumes that the name of the formatting component will be the same as the name of the structure
element.
4 Modify the mapping rules to match the structure. For example, FrameMaker assumes that the formatting tag names

match the element names, so in the preceding example, the Body paragraph (P:Body) is mapped to the Body
element. To change this mapping, change the second column (“In this element”) to read Para instead of Body.
5 Once you have mapped all of the formatting components, add additional entries to the table to create hierarchy.

For example, if a Section element typically contains a Heading and one or more Para elements, you add a row to
the table and specify how to create the Section element.
6 Add a root element mapping that specifies the top-level tag in the document, as shown here:
RE:RootElement

Proposal

7 Save the conversion rules table.
8 To test the conversion rules table, open your example document, then select StructureTools > Utilities > Structure

Current Document. Select the conversion rules table document in the pop-up menu, and then click Add Structure.
FrameMaker creates a new, untitled, structured document. Keep refining and testing your conversion rules until
you are satisfied with the document produced. You can add tags to the conversion rules table by typing them or by
scanning additional documents.

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9 To add tags automatically:
a Make sure that the conversion rules table is open. Open the file that contains additional formatting components.
b Select StructureTools > Generate Conversion Table. Select Update Conversion Table and select your conversion

rules document in the pop-up menu.
c Click Generate. FrameMaker scans the second sample document and adds additional formatting components

to the end of the conversion rules table.

Conversion rule examples
The order in which conversion rules are listed is significant. You must go from lower-level elements to higher-level
elements. For example, assume that you have the following mapping rules:
G:
P:caption
E:Graphic,E: Caption

Graphic
Caption
Figure

The rule in which Graphic and Caption are wrapped into a Figure element must occur after the rules in which Graphic
and Caption are created.
If you need to map several paragraph tags to the same element and then wrap them into different parents, you use the
third column for a qualifier. It’s common, for example, to have a ListItem element that’s used for both bulleted lists
and numbered lists. Once the bullet and step paragraphs are wrapped in the ListItem element, you need a way to
distinguish whether they belong in OrderedList or UnorderedList. To make this distinction, you use the qualifier
column, as shown in the following example:
bullet
step1
step2+
E:ListItem[b]+
E:ListItem[st]+

ListItem
ListItem
ListItem
UnorderedList
OrderedList

b
st
st

To specify the root element of a document, you use the following:
RE:RootElement

Chapter

You can only specify one root element per conversion table.
Graphics and tables are often anchored into the preceding paragraph in the unstructured document. When you
structure the document, the Graphic and Table elements end up as children of the preceding Para element.
If you want the Graphic element to be converted as a sibling of Para (shown in the preceding figure on the right) rather
than a child, use the “promote” command:
G:

Graphic(promote)

XML with FrameMaker
Create, open, and save XML files
Create an XML file
To create an XML file:
1 Select New > XML from the File menu. The new XML dialog is displayed as follows:

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New XML file creation dialog

2 You can create an XML file, either from an existing template or using a structured application.

• To create an XML file using a template, select the Template option, click Choose Template, and select the
template.

• To create an XML file using a structured application, select the Structured Application option, and select the
structured application from the list.
Note: To load a different structured application file, click Load Applications and select the structured application
definition document. The list of applications is automatically populated from the definition document.
Note: Clicking New Structured Application... opens the structured application designer.
3 Specify the path and filename to save the new XML file.
4 Click OK to create the XML file.

Open an XML file
1 In Structured FrameMaker, choose File > Open.
2 Select the file you want to open, and click Open.
3 If the Use Structured Application dialog box appears, choose an application name from the Use Structured

Application pop-up menu, and click Set. Then do one of the following:

• To associate an application with the file, choose the name of an application.
• To use default mapping and no read/write rules, choose <No Application>. (You may want to use this option to
browse a file you don’t intend to save.)
The WebDAV feature is extended to allow authoring and editing of XML files located on the WebDAV server.

Save an XML file
• Select File > Save As XML. In the Save Document dialog box, click Save.
• Select File > Save As. In the Save Document dialog box, select XML in the Save as type list, and click Save.
• Select File > Workgroup > Save As. In the Save To Server dialog box, select XML in the Format list, and click Save.
FrameMaker saves the file in XML format and preserves the .xml extension.

Save a FrameMaker file as XML
1 In structured FrameMaker, select File > Save As XML.
2 Select the folder in which to save the file.
3 Specify a filename with an .xml extension.
4 Choose XML (*.xml) from the Save As Type pop-up menu.

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5 Click Save.

View XML in Notepad
FrameMaker allows you to view an open XML file in Notepad or in any other text editor that you specify.
To view an XML file:
1 Open the XML file in FrameMaker.
2 Click View > View in Notepad. FrameMaker opens the XML file in Notepad.

You can edit the TextEditorPlugin.ini file in the path %AppDate%/Adobe/FrameMaker/10 and set the following
entries as desired:

•

TextEditorName: Set this entry to the path of your chosen text editor. By default this entry is set to Notepad.

•

SaveFileBeforeOpening: By default this entry is set to No. When this entry is set to Yes, FrameMaker

automatically saves the XML file before opening it in Notepad, ensuring that all your changes are in place.

Handling conditional text and XML
Structured FrameMaker allows you to export and import all conditional text (visible and hidden), along with
information about the condition tags, such as their show/hide status, color, and style.
To preserve conditional text when saving and opening XML files, the XML file that FrameMaker generates contains
the following:

• Conditional text tags corresponding to the conditional text present in the document.
• Condition indicators—color and effect— associated with each conditional text tag.
• The status—show or hide—for each condition tag.
• Start and end markers for sections corresponding to each tag.
In addition to normal text, support for conditional text in XML allows an entire table or table rows to be conditional.
The same applies to footnotes, markers, and anchored graphics. Also, conditional text can be inside a text inset (XML
or text).

Handling Whitespace in XML
If the imported XML file contains multiple whitespaces, by default, FrameMaker retains the first whitespace and drops
the rest. The following are the whitespaces that are dropped:

• Space
• Tab
• Blank line / New line (except hard return)
For example, if the imported XML contains:

• [SPACE][SPACE][SPACE], FrameMaker converts it to a single [SPACE]
• [TAB][TAB][TAB], FrameMaker converts it to a single [TAB]
• [TAB][SPACE][SPACE], FrameMaker converts it to a single [TAB].

Disable dropping whitespaces on import
To disable dropping whitespaces, set the property RemoveExtraWhiteSpacesOnXMLImport in maker.ini to FALSE.

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Note: Use caution while editing an ini file.

Preserve whitespaces for specific elements
If the xml:space attribute is set to preserve (xml:space="preserve"), then FrameMaker preserves all whitespaces
on XML import. You can use this setting to preserve whitespaces for certain elements alone and let FrameMaker drop
whitespaces for all other elements.
For example, consider the code:
<poem>
<version1 xml:space="default">
<line>Jack[SPACE][SPACE][SPACE]and Jill</line>
<line>Went[TAB][SPACE]up the hill.</line>
</version1>
<version2 xml:space="preserve">
<line>Roses[SPACE][SPACE][SPACE]are red</line>
<line>Violets[TAB][SPACE]are blue.</line>
</version2>
<version3>
<line>Hickory[SPACE][TAB]dikory dock</line>
<line>The mouse[TAB][TAB]ran up the clock.</line>
</version3>
</poem>

For version1, the xml:space is set to default. FrameMaker uses the default behavior and drops whitespaces. The
output of version1 is as follows:
Jack[SPACE]and Jill
Went[TAB]up the hill.

For version2, the xml:space is set to preserve. FrameMaker preserves all the whitespaces. The output of version2 is
as follows:
Roses[SPACE][SPACE][SPACE]are red
Violets[TAB][SPACE]are blue.

For version3, FrameMaker uses the default behavior as no xml:space attribute is set. FrameMaker drops the
whitespaces. The output of version3 is as follows:
Hickory[SPACE]dikory dock
The mouse[TAB]ran up the clock.

Handling cross-references in XML
Structured FrameMaker allows you to generate and retain external cross-references when saving and opening XML
files.
For example, if your FrameMaker file contains a cross-reference to another file, when you save your file in XML,
FrameMaker generates tags representing the cross-reference along with information about the referenced file. When
opening the same XML file, FrameMaker converts the cross-reference tags and the information they contain into a
FrameMaker cross-reference.
FrameMaker supports a new attribute, srcfile, to retain external cross-reference information when generating XML
documents.
When you export a file containing an external cross-reference to XML, the srcfile attribute of the cross-reference
contains the name of the referenced file and the ID of the referenced element in the file.

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Note: FrameMaker converts file paths in the generated XML to URIs.

Using the configuration file editor
Every structured application may include an XML configuration file. The configuration file is optional and contains
attributes and their suggested and default values. To call the editor, click Element > Launch Config File Maker... The
configuration editor is displayed as follows:

Configuration file editor

• To load an existing configuration file, click Load Configuration File and select the file.
• Set the configuration values as desired. Click the value column of the choice or default to be changed and enter the
new value.

• To insert a new choice, right click the row above which the choice is to be placed, and select Insert Above.
• To delete a choice, right click the choice and select Delete.
• To save the configuration, click Save.
• To save the configuration as a new configuration file, click Save As and enter the new filename.
When opening a structured application, FrameMaker reads the corresponding configuration file (if it exists) and
populates the attribute values automatically.
The attribute editor allows you to change these values, when using the structured application.

Using the attribute editor
FrameMaker includes a powerful attribute editor that helps you to edit element attributes easily. To load the editor,
click Element > Edit Attributes.... The attribute editor is displayed as follows:

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Attribute editor

The editor reads the attributes from the configuration file supplied when creating a structured application.

• To view just the attributes that are required and specified, click the Required and Specified option.
• To set a value, click the value column of the selected attribute. Enter the value. The value is set automatically.
• To delete a value, click the value of the selected attribute and press Delete.
• To delete all user set values, click Reset All.
• To restore all values to the defaults specified in the config file, click Restore Defaults.

Options for processing XML
FrameMaker provides options for processing XML. FrameMaker also allows XML import and export to support XSL
transformations (see “XML with XSL transformation” on page 444), and the Schema language for grammar and rule
definition (see “XML with schema” on page 446). You can import an XML document that uses schema, automatically
creating a Document Type Definition (DTD) from the referenced schema, or you can create an Element Definition
Document (EDD) directly from a schema definition. This release also enables validation against an associated schema
upon both import and export.

XML with XSL transformation
XSL (EXtensible Stylesheet Language) is a style sheet language for XML documents. XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet
Language Transformation) is the means by which transformations defined in XSL are applied to XML documents.
XSL is a set of the following three specifications:
XSLT A language for transforming XML documents.
XPath A language for navigating in XML documents.
XSL-FO A language for formatting XML documents.

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FrameMaker includes an XSLT processor that allows you to associate an XSLT file with an XML structure application
or XML document, and apply the transformations defined in that document when importing from or exporting to
XML. FrameMaker supports W3C XSLT 1.0 recommendations.

• New elements in the structure application (XSLTPreferences in the stylesheets element of XMLApplication)
allow you to specify an XSLT file as part of your XML structure application, to be used for both import and export.

• The xml-stylesheet processing instruction (PI) now allows you to specify an XSL file in an XML markup
document, which supersedes any XSLT specified in the structure application when importing that document.
Upon import, XSL transformations are applied before the default read rules or any additional read rules you have
defined. That is, the result of applying an XSL transformation on import is a new file, which (if it is an XML file) is
passed to the read/write rules.
Upon export, XSL transformations are applied after the default or explicit write rules. The result of applying read/write
rules on export is a new XML file, which, if it is valid, is passed to the XSLT processor.

XML with Cascading Style Sheets
When an XML document is opened in FrameMaker, FrameMaker processes CSS2 by mapping the CSS information
to appropriate EDD rules in the EDD document.
The following scenarios describe the processing of CSS2 in FrameMaker:

• You open an EDD in FrameMaker and use the Import CSS Styles option in the StructureTools menu. FrameMaker
checks whether the current document is an EDD. If so, the Open dialog box appears and you can specify the CSS
file path. The CSS is then imported into the EDD. You can then import the element definitions from the EDD into
a template to use when you open an XML file. If the EDD contains formatting rules, the CSS properties are
appended to the existing rules if the properties are unique. Alternatively, the CSS properties you import will
overwrite the existing formatting rules of the EDD. You can also export XML style information to an EDD for all
elements in a document that use the Cascading Style Sheets 2 (CSS2) format, using the Generate CSS2 option in the
StructureTools menu.

• When you open an XML file that is associated (using xml-style sheet PI) with style sheets, FrameMaker reads the
DTD and the style sheet associated with the XML document, and then generates a temporary template to use for
opening the XML file. However, if a template is already specified in the “Structured Application” (used to open the
XML file), FrameMaker uses that template to open the XML file and will not generate any new template from the
DTD and style sheets.
Note: An XML file opened in FrameMaker can contain multiple CSS files. FrameMaker supports the author’s style sheet
only, and not the user’s style sheet.

Import CSS element styles into an EDD file
You can import element formatting from CSS into EDD to ensure consistent formatting across different XML
applications. The CSS file can be referenced in the XML document or manually imported. Multiple CSS files can be
imported sequentially for multi-level formatting.
When importing element styles, FrameMaker retains the context information (element property or selector) from the
CSS and imports it into the appropriate EDD contexts.
Note: FrameMaker imports style information only at the element level.
You can also set CSS preferences in XML using Structured FrameMaker. For more information, see the Structured
FrameMaker Developer's Guide, located in the Documents folder.
1 Open the EDD file in structured FrameMaker.

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2 Select StructureTools > Import CSS Styles. The Import CSS dialog box appears.
3 Select a CSS file, and click Open.
4 If the Structured Application element in the EDD file doesn’t define an application name, the Use Structured

Application dialog box appears. Select the application that was used to create the EDD file. Click Continue.
The CSS file is imported into the EDD file.
Note: If the EDD already contains formatting rules, the CSS properties are appended to the existing rules. If the CSS
properties overlap some of the existing rules, the CSS properties replace the existing rules in the EDD. The EDD doesn’t
support all properties and selectors defined in CSS 2.0. If a property or selector in the CSS file can’t be mapped to an
equivalent EDD rule, that property or selector is ignored. No error is displayed when this happens, and no error log is
created.
After importing the CSS styles, you can import element definitions from the EDD into a template and use the template
to open an XML file.
As an alternative to the CSS import process, you can use FrameMaker to open an XML file that already has CSS styles
associated with it. When you open the XML file, FrameMaker reads the DTD and CSS files and generates a temporary
template that is used to open the XML file.

Export CSS for a FrameMaker XML file
You can export XML style information available in your document for all elements using the Cascading Style Sheets 2
(CSS2) format, to an EDD file. You can then import these CSS Style definitions from the EDD file to new XML files.
Cascading Style Sheets let authors attach styles, such as fonts and spacing, to structured XML files. CSS2 format is a
W3C standard.
When you choose the Generate CSS2 command, styles from well-formed structured documents are generated, based
on the formatting information available in the EDD associated with the source document. FrameMaker exports style
information only at the element level. For example, if you apply a style to only one particular word in the Text element,
that one instance of style is not exported.
You can set CSS 2 preferences in the XML application. For example, you can determine whether the CSS 2 file is
automatically generated when you export to XML. For more information, see the online manual, Developing
Structured Applications with Adobe FrameMaker on the Adobe website,
www.adobe.com/go/lr_FrameMaker_support_en.
1 Open the template or document with an associated EDD in Structured FrameMaker.
2 Select StructureTools > Generate CSS2.

XML with schema
FrameMaker allows you to import XML markup documents that are associated with W3C's XML Schema language.
FrameMaker automatically creates a DTD and EDD from the schema. FrameMaker validates the document structure
against the associated schema upon both import and export to XML, but does not retain all schema information upon
export.
For complete details of how schema is mapped to DTD, see the Structure Application Developer’s Guide.
Note: This release offers support for schema that is equivalent to what was previously available for DTD. That is, EDD
has not been extended to accommodate features in schema that are not available in DTD. For this reason, schemas are
read-only, and you cannot export the EDD back out to schema.

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Schema workflow
You can import an XML document that references a schema file, and you can specify a schema file in your structure
application, to use for validating a document upon export to XML.
1 For a specific XML document, you can include the path of the schema file in the XML using attributes noNamespaceSchemaLocation or schemaLocation depending on whether your schema includes a target

namespace or not.
2 To specify a schema file for use in exporting XML, modify the structapps.fm file. Use the Schema element as part

of the XMLApplication to provide the schema file path for export.
3 Open the XML in Frame using a structured application. Edit it.
4 Save the XML using a structured application. The Schema element in the structapps.fm file is output in the file

and validation is performed against it.
In this workflow, a DTD is generated automatically as an intermediary file from the schema given in the XML
document, and you do not modify it. However, you can also use a schema file to generate an EDD; see “Generate an
element catalog (EDD) from a schema” on page 447.

Changes to the structure application for schema support
The new element Schema, a child of the XmlApplication element, specifies the path of a schema file in the
structapps.fm structure application file. If instance documents use namespaces, the property Namespace in
XmlApplication must be set to true.
In order for a structure application to be selectable in the Use Structured Application list while importing a document
that is associated with a schema, the schema’s root element must be included in the application’s DOCTYPE in the
XmlApplication element.

Generate an element catalog (EDD) from a schema
You can create an EDD from a schema definition, or import the elements from a schema definition into an existing
EDD. FrameMaker converts the schema definition to DTD first, and then creates or imports elements to an EDD.
Use the following commands in the StructureTools menu:

• Open schema: This command converts a specified schema to DTD, and creates an EDD from the DTD.
• Import schema: This command converts a specified schema to DTD, and imports elements from the DTD into an
existing EDD.
Each command opens a File Choose dialog box that allows you to specify the schema file, then a Save dialog box in
which you specify where to save the resulting DTD file.
1 In Structured FrameMaker, select StructureTools > Open Schema.
2 Choose a schema file.
3 Choose a path for the DTD to be output.
4 Examine the resulting DTD and make any modification you want.
5 Create an EDD from the generated DTD, as described in the Structure Application Developer’s Guide.
6 Use this EDD to create a template that can be included in the Structured Application.
7 Provide your DTD path along with the Schema Location in the input XML. This will make sure that FrameMaker

works correctly with your template. Validation of input and output XML is still performed against the schema.

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View or edit XML namespaces
An XML namespace is a collection of names for specific element types and attribute names within an XML document.
The scope of a namespace extends beyond its containing document.
Because a single XML document can contain elements and attributes that can be used by multiple software
applications, you can use namespaces to differentiate which elements and attributes are to be used by which
applications. Software applications that process XML use namespaces to recognize which tags and attributes they are
designed to process.
Names from XML namespaces may appear as qualified names, which contain a single colon, separating the name into
a namespace prefix and a local part. The prefix, which is mapped to a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) reference,
selects a namespace. The combination of the universally managed URI namespace and the document's own namespace
produces identifiers that are universally unique.
Using XML namespaces in FrameMaker
FrameMaker supports namespace usage for all elements in an XML document. When you import an XML document
containing namespaces, all namespace information is preserved.
You can view, edit, add, or delete namespaces to an XML document in Structured FrameMaker using the Namespaces
command. You can also use this command to view the definition of the prefix on an element tag and select the element
that defines the prefix.
By default, namespaces in FrameMaker are handled as namespaces, appearing in the Namespaces dialog box.
However, you can disable namespaces in the application and have them handled as attributes instead, appearing in the
Structure View.
1 Open the document in Structured FrameMaker.
2 Select an element in the Structure View.

Note: Elements that contain namespaces appear in Structure View with an asterisk (*) next to their names.
3 Choose Element > Namespaces.
4 In the Namespaces dialog box, click Select Defining Element to view the namespace for the selected element in the

Structure View.
5 Make any desired changes to the Declared Namespaces, Prefix, or Path and then click Add, Change, or Delete. To

close without saving your changes, close the dialog box without clicking an option.

Error console
While opening a document, the new FrameMaker error console displays structural and other issues in a document, if
any. This console also provides the following information about document issues:

• Exact location of the issue within the document
• Name of invalid elements, if any

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Error console displaying error details

Filter By Attribute
About Filter By Attribute
Elements in a structured document can have one or more attributes associated with them. Using FrameMaker, you can
filter a structured document based on the value of these attributes. Other XML applications may also use the same
attribute-value pair to filter the documents. In this way, single sourcing workflows can be preserved across other XML
applications.
The Filter by Attribute feature simplifies the task of filtering a structured document for complex output scenarios. You
define a filter using a Boolean expression containing attribute-value pairs. You can create multiple filters, save them,
and use them for filtering a document based on different output scenarios.
When a filter is applied to the document, elements that have filter attributes that do not meet the filter criteria are
filtered out. You can specify how the filtered out content is treated, as hidden, highlighted with a color, or applied with
a condition tag. When an element is filtered out, all the child elements are also filtered out.
Each attribute can have more than one value defined, each with its own conditions, such as Equals To, Any, and
Contains Only. You can provide a list of values with the delimiter that you defined for attribute settings.
Note: You cannot filter a document based on Conditional Tags and Attribute values simultaneously.
The following table compares the Show/Hide feature using Conditional Text and the Show/Hide feature using Filter
By Attribute.
Conditional Text

Filter By Attribute

Based on conditional tags

Based on attributes

Must be defined in a document

Exists in a structured document

Condition indicators are available to visually display the content,
based on various conditions

No indicators

Only one expression can be saved at a time

Multiple expressions can be saved at a time

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Conditional Text

Filter By Attribute

Available in both structured and unstructured FrameMaker

Available in structured FrameMaker only
(unstructured documents do not have elements and attributes)

Allows hiding an entire document, resulting in an empty-content
document

Does not allow the hiding of the entire document, as it does not allow
hiding of the root element

Allows selection of even the smallest portion of a document for hiding The smallest unit that can be hidden using this feature is an element.
Each condition tag has two options to choose from: SHOW or HIDE

Allows better level of granularity in terms of creating a hide condition,
because an attribute can have several values (based on its definition).
Hence, each attribute value has a separate SHOW or HIDE possibility.

Note: The conditional indicators are disabled when a filter is used. It can be enabled only when no filter is applied to the
document.

Build a filter
A filter is defined by a Boolean expression of attribute-value pairs. You can build a filter using the Build Expression
dialog box, which provides a simple interface to build the expression using Boolean operators. You can define
attribute-value pairs using the Define Attribute Values dialog box. You can select multiple values for each attribute.
You can save a filter as a named expression. You can build and save multiple filter expressions in a structured
document. However, you can apply only one filter at a time. The last filter you apply in a document is the active filter.
Use the Manage Attribute Expressions dialog box to manage the filters.
1 Select Special > Filter By Attribute. The Manage Attribute Expressions dialog box appears.
2 Click New. The Build Expression dialog box appears.
3 Enter a unique name for the filter in the Expression Tag field.
4 Select an attribute from the Attributes list.
5 Specify a value in the New Value field, and click Add. The new attribute value is included in the Defined Values list.

If you want to remove a value, select it in the Defined Values list, and then click Delete. You can add multiple values
to an attribute, each with its own conditions such as Equals To, Any, or Contains Only.
Note: Attribute names are case-sensitive, but attribute values are not case sensitive.
6 Click Add Attribute to include the attribute in the Expression list.

Note: Use the Clear button to delete all expressions in the Expression area.
7 Click a button to insert a Boolean operator in the expression. You can build a complex expression through the

Boolean operators and multiple attribute-value pairs. Click Clear to clear the expressions built.
8 Click OK to close the Build Expressions dialog box. The new expression is added to the Manage Attribute

Expression dialog box. Click OK to complete the procedure.

Guidelines for building a filter
Keep in mind the following points when building a filter:

• Ensure that you enter valid attributes in the filter. All valid attributes are listed in the Attributes list of the Build
Expression dialog box.

• Ensure that when you supply more than one value to the attribute, you are using the custom delimiter that you
defined for attribute in the attribute Configuration File Settings.

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• Enclose the value of the attribute in double quotation marks.
Correct: (Language="French" OR Language="German" OR Language="Japanese")
Incorrect: (Language=French OR Language=German OR Language=Japanese)
Note: FrameMaker doesn’t support expressions where the attribute value is missing. For example, “(Language=“”)” is
not supported in an expression.

• By default FrameMaker encloses all attribute-value pairs within parentheses. All attribute-value pairs for a specific
attribute are placed within the same pair of parentheses. To place the attribute-value pairs for a specific attribute in
different pairs of parentheses, build the expressions for each value separately.
Correct: (Language="French" OR Language="German" OR Language="Japanese")
Correct: (Language="French" OR Language="German" OR Language="Japanese") AND (Version="1.0")
Correct: (Language="French" OR Language="German") AND (Language="Japanese")
Incorrect: Language="French" OR Language="German" OR Language="Japanese"

• Only use the OR operator between attribute-value pairs for an attribute. Do not use the AND operator.
Correct: (Language="French" OR Language="German" OR Language="Japanese") AND (Version="1.0"
OR Version="2.0")

Incorrect: (Language="French" OR Language="German" AND Language="Japanese") AND (Version="1.0"
OR Version="2.0")

• When the NOT operator is used, ensure that it is placed before the opening parenthesis of an attribute-value group.
Correct: NOT (Language="French" OR Language="German" OR Language="Japanese") AND
(Version="1.0" OR Version="2.0")

Correct: (Language="French" OR Language="German" OR Language="Japanese") OR NOT
(Platform="Windows")

Incorrect: (NOT Language="French" OR Language="German" OR Language="Japanese") AND
(Version="1.0" OR Version="2.0")

Incorrect: (Language="French" OR Language="German" OR Language="Japanese") OR
(Platform="Windows" NOT Platform="UNIX")

• If you have multiple attributes in a filter, insert the Boolean operator between two groups of attribute-value pairs.
Correct: (Language="French" OR Language="German") AND (Platform="Windows" OR Platform="UNIX")
Incorrect: (Language="French" OR Language="German") (Platform="Windows" OR Platform="UNIX")

Process a filter
FrameMaker generates customized output of a structured document after processing the filter you applied to the
document.
Consider a scenario in which you want the following elements and attributes to be applied to the various paragraphs
in a structured document.

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Paragraph

Element

Attribute

Value assigned

Paragraph 1

TextContent1

Language

Japanese

Version

2.0

Platform

Windows

Language

Japanese

Version

2.0

Platform

UNIX

Language

Japanese

Version

2.0

Language

English

Version

1.0

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

Paragraph 4

TextContent1

TextContent2

Paragraph 5

SysReq

Platform

Windows

Paragraph 6

SysReq

Platform

UNIX

Paragraph 7

LegalContent

Condensed

1 Copy the “Sample XML code” on page 455, which is based on this scenario, to create an XML file with the elements,

attributes, and attribute values (listed in the previous table).
2 Open the XML file in FrameMaker. These elements, attributes, and attribute values appear in the Structure View

window.
3 Type text in the relevant elements.

For example, type Japanese text relevant to version 2.0 on Windows in the TextContent1 element.
4 Create the following filter to generate a Japanese document for the Windows platform:
(Language="Japanese") AND (Platform="Windows")

How FrameMaker processes a filter
FrameMaker matches each attribute-value pair in the filter with every element in the document. The result of matching
the attribute-value pair with an element is indicated by one of the following values:
True: The attribute in the filter is an attribute of the element being matched, and the value in the filter matches the
value of the attribute of the element.
False: The attribute in the filter is an attribute of the element being matched, but the value in the filter does not match

the value of the attribute of the element.
Don’t-Care: The attribute in the filter is not an attribute of the element being matched.

The following table demonstrates how the filter is processed:
(Language="Japanese") AND (Platform="Windows")

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Paragraph

Element

Attribute

Value assigned

Verification of element
based on the filter

Result

Paragraph 1

TextContent1

Language

Japanese

Is Language=Japanese?

True

Version

2.0

Is Platform = Windows?

True

Platform

Windows

Language

Japanese

Is Language=Japanese?

True

Version

2.0

Is Platform = Windows?

False

Platform

UNIX

Language

Japanese

Is Language=Japanese?

True

Version

2.0

Is Platform = Windows?

Don’t-Care

Language

English

Is Language=Japanese?

False

Version

1.0

Is Platform = Windows?

Don’t-Care

Platform

Windows

Is Language=Japanese?

Don’t-Care

Is Platform = Windows?

True

Is Language=Japanese?

Don’t-Care

Is Platform = Windows?

False

Is Language=Japanese?

Don’t-Care

Is Platform = Windows?

Don’t-Care

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

Paragraph 4

Paragraph 5

Paragraph 6

Paragraph 7

TextContent1

TextContent2

SysReq

LegalContent

Platform

UNIX

Condensed

Based on the results of filter processing as listed in this table, and the rules used to process filters, FrameMaker
computes the final value of the filter to determine whether to include or exclude elements from the output. The overall
computation returns one of the following values:
True (or) Don’t-Care: The element is included in the output.
False: The element is excluded from the output.

The operator precedence that FrameMaker uses while processing filters is listed in the descending order of precedence:
1 Parenthesis
2 NOT
3 AND
4 OR

Additional filter processing in the example
For element TextContent1 in Paragraph 1, the filter is processed as follows:
1 The attribute-value pair Language="Japanese" evaluates to True and the attribute-value pair
Platform="Windows" evaluates to True.

2 The result of computing the filter is True and True, and the final computation of the element based on the rules is

True. Hence, Paragraph 1 is included in the output.
The following table demonstrates how the entire document is filtered:

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Paragraph

Element

Attribute-value pair matching against each
element

Result based on the rules

Action

Paragraph 1

TextContent1

Is Language=Japanese? True

True AND True=True

Include in
output

True AND False=False

Exclude from
output

True AND Don’t- Care=True

Include in
output

False AND Don’t-Care=False

Exclude from
output

Don’t-Care AND True=True

Include in
output

Don’t-Care AND False=False

Exclude from
output

Don’t-Care AND Don’tCare=Don’t-Care

Include in
output

Is Platform=Windows?
Paragraph 2

TextContent1

Is Language=Japanese? True

Is Platform=Windows?
Paragraph 3

TextContent2

SysReq

LegalContent

True

Is Language=Japanese? Don’t-Care

Is Platform=Windows?
Paragraph 7

Don’t-Care

Is Language=Japanese? Don’t-Care

Is Platform=Windows?
Paragraph 6

Don’t-Care

Is Language=Japanese? False

Is Platform=Windows?
Paragraph 5

False

Is Language=Japanese? True

Is Platform=Windows?
Paragraph 4

True

False

Is Language=Japanese? Don’t-Care

Is Platform=Windows?

Don’t-Care

Paragraphs 1, 3, 5, and 7 are included in the output, based on the rules used to process filters.
Note: When an element is included in the output, the inclusion or exclusion of each of its child elements is determined by
processing each child element. However, when a parent element does not satisfy the filter and is excluded from the output,
its child element is also excluded from the output even if the child element satisfies the filter. In addition, FrameMaker
does not process the root element while running the filter. Hence, the root element is always included in the output.

Rules used to process filters
The following table lists the rules that FrameMaker uses for processing filters.
Rule Description

Operator/Resultant Value

<Don't-care> OR <Don't-Care>

<Don't-Care>

<Don't-care> OR <True>

<True>

<Don't-care> OR <False>

<False>

<True>

<False>

<Don't-care> AND <Don't-Care>

<Don't-Care>

<Don't-care> AND <True>

<True>

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Rule Description

Operator/Resultant Value

<Don't-care> AND <False>

<False>

<True>

<False>

NOT <Don't-care>

<Don't-care>

<True>

<True>

<True>

<False>

<True>

<False>

<False>

<False>

NOT <True>

<False>

NOT <False>

<True>

Sample XML code
Copy the following code to a FrameMaker document, and then save it as an XML file.

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<Doc>
<Para>
<TextContent1 Language="Japanese" Version="2.0" Platform="Windows">TextContent1
with Language="Japanese" Version="2.0" Platform="Windows"</TextContent1>
</Para>
<Para>
<TextContent1 Language="Japanese" Version="2.0" Platform="UNIX">TextContent1
with Language="Japanese" Version="2.0" Platform="UNIX"</TextContent1>
</Para>
<Para>
<TextContent2 Language="Japanese" Version="2.0">TextContent2 with
Languaue="Japanese" Version="2.0"</TextContent2>
</Para>
<Para>
<TextContent2 Language="English" Version="1.0">TextContent2with
Language="English" Version="1.0"</TextContent2>
</Para>
<Para>
<Sysreq Platform="Windows">Sysreq with Platform="Windows"</Sysreq>
</Para>
<Para>
<Sysreq Platform="UNIX">Sysreq with Platform="UNIX"</Sysreq>
</Para>
<Para>
<LegalContent Copyright="Condensed">LegalContent with
Copyright="Condensed"</LegalContent>
</Para>
</Doc>

Import filters
You can import the Filter By Attribute settings that you defined in a structured document to other structured
documents. The properties of the filter include the following:

• Filter expressions. The filter expressions that you created in the source document.
• Attribute values that are defined in the filter. Each attribute can be more than one values.
• The Show Per Expression state. For example, if your source document has many filters defined, but when these
filters are imported to target documents, the first filter is chosen for Show Per Expression, the same settings are
applied to the target documents.
When you import filters, the attribute values in the source documents are added to the attribute values in the target
documents. If attributes in the target documents already have some values, the imported values are appended to them.
FrameMaker reports an error if the target documents do not have attributes present in the filter expressions in the
source document.
1 On the document window, select File > Import > Formats.
2 On the Import Settings dialog box, deselect all options, and then select Filter By Attribute.
3 In the Import From Document pop-up menu, select the source document that is open.
4 Click Import.

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Apply a filter
Use the following instructions to apply a filter you have created to your structured document.
1 Select Special > Filter By Attribute. The Manage Attribute Expressions dialog box appears.
2 Select Show As Per Expression to preview the elements that satisfy the filter when it is applied to the document.

Note: If you select the Show All option, then the active filter, if any, is disabled, and all elements in the document are
available for viewing and editing in FrameMaker. Also, any conditional text that is hidden appears. You can’t undo
the Show All operation.
3 Select a filter in the list.
4 In the Filtered Text option, select how the content that does not meet the filter conditions should be treated. You

can choose from the following:

• Hide the content that is filtered out
• Preview the filtered out content with a specified color.
• Apply a condition tag to the filtered out content. In addition, you can also remove any condition tag already
applied to the filtered out content.
5 Click Apply.

Note: You can’t undo the Apply command after applying a filter.

Save a document after applying a filter
When you save a document as a FrameMaker or MIF file, all filters using attribute values, including the filter you have
applied to the document, are saved. The attribute values you have defined for this feature are also saved.
Note: When you save a document in the XML format, all filters using attribute values, are saved. However, the attribute
values you have defined for this feature aren’t saved.

Modify a filter
Use the following steps to modify a filter:
1 Select Special > Filter By Attribute. The Manage Attribute Expressions dialog box appears.
2 Select a filter from the list.
3 Click Edit. The Build Expression dialog box appears.
4 Modify the filter in the Expression area.
5 Click OK to close the Build Expression dialog box.

The modified content of the filter appears in the Selected Expression area of the Manage Attribute Expressions dialog box.

Delete a filter
Use the following steps to delete a filter:
1 Select Special > Filter By Attribute. The Manage Attribute Expressions dialog box appears.
2 Select a filter in the list.
3 Click Delete.

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4 If the filter you are deleting has been applied to the document, FrameMaker displays a message indicating that the

selected expression is currently applied to the document. Click OK.
5 Click OK to confirm the deletion.
6 Click Done to close the Manage Attribute Expressions dialog box.

Note: When you delete an active filter in a document, all elements that were excluded by the filter are again made
available for viewing, editing, or generating output.

Disable applying condition tags to filtered content
You can disable the option of applying a condition tag to content filtered with a Filter By Attribute option.
❖ Set ApplyAsCondition=Off in the maker.ini file.

Note: Use caution when editing an ini file.

Banner text
Banner text in a FrameMaker file instructs you about what to enter in an element. Banner text is controlled using the
BannerText element in the EDD. You can control the instructional text you want to display for each of the elements.
FrameMaker does not treat banner text as real content in the document. Banner text is included in FM and MIF output
but is not included in XML output.
Operations, such as the following, are not relevant to banner text:

• Find/Replace text
• Conditional Text
• Spelling checker
• Track changes
• Copy and cut
• Import PDF comments
The RedisplayBannerTextForemptyElements flag in maker.ini determines whether the banner text gets redisplayed after it is deleted once. If this flag is OFF, the banner text doesn't show up after deleting it or reopening the
file after saving it. If the flag is ON, banner text always shows up for empty elements.

Banner text indicates what you should enter in various elements

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Display\hide banner text
Element banner text is visible in Author view and WYSIWYG view. Use the following command to display\hide
banner text:

• Select View > Element Banner Text.

Port content as banner text for elements
You can port additional content as banner text for elements in a file using the following steps:
1 Export the element catalog as an EDD from the template. FrameMaker creates an EDD with using the elements in

the structured template.
Note: Locate the appropriate template from structapps.fm.
2 In the EDD, locate the BannerText element for a container element and edit the text.
3 Import the element definitions from the edited EDD to the file.
4 Select StructuredTools > Read Application Definitions.

Banner text settings in the maker.ini file
You can configure banner text using the following settings in the maker.ini file:
Property

Description

BannerTextFontFamily

Font family of banner text

BannerTextFontWeight

Font weight of the banner text

BannerTextFontAngle

Angle of the banner text,

BannerTextFontVariation

Any variation of the font width

BannerTextBKcolor

Banner text background color

RedisplayBannerTextForemptyElements

When set as On, the Banner text is displayed even when you close and
reopen a file. When set as Off, if you close and reopen a file, the banner
text in the file is not visible.

XPath
You can use XPath syntax in the XML code view to search through XML files for nodes or node sets.
You can use the following in FrameMaker’s XML view to run an XPath query:

• XPath pod
• XPath Toolbar

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B
C
D

XPath pod
A. Enter an XPath query B. Check to enable auto-suggest C. Select Axes D. Save an XPath query’s results E. Double-click a matching node of
the query to open the file F. Select a recently run XPath query - History displays up to 15 of the last queries G. Select scope of the XPath search
A

A. Enter XPath query B. Run

Search for nodes/node-sets using the XPath toolbar
Use the XPath toolbar to search for XML nodes or node sets in the open XML files:
1 Enter an XPath query. For example, /task searches for task as a root node. //task searches for task element even if it

is not a root node.
2 Click Run.

FrameMaker searches through the file and displays the matching nodes /node sets in the XPath pod. Click the
search results to view the matching node/node set.

Search for nodes/node-sets using the XPath pod
Use the XPath pod when you want to search for XML nodes.
1 Select View > Pods > XPath.
2 In Query Builder, enter an XPath query.

You can use the standard XPath syntax to search for elements. History displays the last 15 queries.
3 Select Enable Auto-Suggest for suggestions on your queries as you type them.
4 To Add Axes to the Auto-suggest list, select Axes.
5 Specify the scope of searching:
a Current File: Search the specified xml node in the current file only.
b All Open Files: Search across all the open XML files for the specified node and displays the results.
c Folder: FrameMaker lets you select a folder in which the search is performed for the specified node/node set.
6 Click Run.

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FrameMaker searches through the file according to the specified scope and returns the matching nodes /node sets.
Click a search results to view the matching node/node set in the XML file. Double-click a result to open the relevant
file in FrameMaker.
7 To save the results of your query, click

and specify the name of the XML file. You can save the results of an XPath

query in an XML file.

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Chapter 12: Structured Authoring Using
DITA
Why DITA
DITA changes the way content is created, stored, managed, and consumed. It also changes the tools that are used and
the way authors have to think about content.
Content reuse and modularity
You can reuse content not just for print and the web but also for multiple custom outputs. Reuse at a heading or line
level can be chaotic and challenging to implement and manage, especially at an enterprise-wide level. DITA facilitates
reusability at a more manageable content level: the topic. A topic is the smallest chunk of information that can stand
alone as meaningful information. Topics are then assembled into documents using DITA maps, which are hierarchical
lists of pointers or links to topics. These pointers are called <topicref> elements.
Topics can also be reused in other topics. Each topic is assigned a unique ID. From a topic, you can include a content
reference (conref) to another topic using its unique ID. At a finer level of granularity, you can also assign property tags
to individual topic elements for conditional assembly.
Multichannel publishing
Modular topics allow for dynamic assembly of content at any level of granularity. You can create multiple documents
from reusable topics. Assembly can be conditional, dependent on properties or metadata tags that you attach to a topic.
For example, the audience property can be <beginner> or <advanced>, and the platform property <Windows> or
<Solaris>.
Ease of authoring and publishing
By segregating content from presentation, DITA allows you to reuse modular topics. You can reuse a topic by
specifying it in multiple topic maps. For example, you can have the same topic appearing in multiple topic maps and
set a new context by using a relationship table. This also aids publishing because the content is independent of format
definitions.
Minimalism in content
Minimalism in documentation means providing users only the information they need for accomplishing a specific
task. This approach requires the breakdown of sequential information into smaller, concise, and consistent chunks
that can be reused.
Information typing
Topics can be specialized into few information types, notably a task type, and two supporting types called concept and
reference.
Task A series of steps and explanations that enable users to finish a defined unit of work.
Concept Explanation of key conceptual information related to a task.
Reference Facts relevant to a task. Often reference topics are presented in table or list form to give users quick access

to information.

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Glossentry List of glossary terms and definitions.

DITA also provides an architecture for creating new information types based on the existing ones. You can create
specific document type definitions through the process of specialization—new structural types or new domains of
information. Structural specialization defines new types of structured information, such as new topic types or new map
types. Domain specialization creates new markup that can be useful in multiple structural types, such as new kinds of
keywords, tables, or lists.
Reduced localization costs
Modular, topic-based content with unique topic IDs allows concurrent authoring and localization of DITA map
content. This approach reduces localization costs as well as time to market. In addition to topic orientation and content
reuse, these DITA features also reduce localization costs.

• All DITA topics are stored in Unicode.
• DITA provides the ability to specify the language setting on nearly every element in a DITA topic.
• The <translate> attribute allows you to indicate items ready for translation.
Challenges in implementing DITA
Some challenges in migrating to DITA:

• Repurposing existing content
• Preparing content for reuse
• Breaking down sequential content into modular, reusable components
• DITA specialization for specific needs
• Post-processing of outputs

DITA support in FrameMaker
FrameMaker 10 provides support for DITA v1.2. For more information on DITA integration with FrameMaker see
the online manual Integrating DITA Specialization with Adobe FrameMaker on the Adobe website .

Basic DITA terms
DITA topic A base <topic> element in DITA requires only three elements: a unique ID, a topic title, and a topic body.

It can have multiple optional elements, such as paragraphs <p>, unordered lists <ul>, and tables <table>.
DITA task topic A task <topic> type specializes topic element names and topic structure. The root element of a task

topic is named <task>, and its body element is <taskbody>. A task topic can have one task prerequisite and one context
element followed by steps. Each step must have a command, optional information, a step example, choices, and a step
result. You can provide the task result, examples, and any task postrequisites after a set of steps.
DITA concept topic A <concept> topic type specializes topic element names and topic structure. A concept topic can

have any number of paragraphs, lists, or tables in the first section or example. Subsequent topic consists of sections
and examples which can appear in any order.
The root element of a concept topic is named <concept>, and its body element is <conbody>.
DITA reference topic A <reference> topic type specializes topic element names and topic structure. The root element

of a reference topic is <reference>, and its body element is <refbody>. The <refbody> element includes a <properties>

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element which is a table of property types, values, and descriptions. The element <refsyn>, reference syntax, is a
specialization of the <section> element.
DITA glossentry topic A glossentry topic type is a specialization for glossary entries. It consists of glossary term,

<glossterm>, and glossary term definition, <glossdef> pairs.
DITA map The DITA map is like a table of contents listing and linking the topics for a specific output. DITA maps

assemble topics into sequence and hierarchy tailored to specific delivery requirements. You can have multiple maps,
each one arranging the topics for different requirements, such as a reference manual, a tutorial, or online Help. A
DITA map file has the extension .ditamap.
Bookmap A bookmap is a specialization of a DITA map. You can save a DITA map as a bookmap. In a bookmap,

highest-level <topicref> elements in your DITA map become chapters in the FrameMaker book, containing any nested
<topicref> elements. Formatting is determined according to which structured application you have selected for books
in the DITA Options dialog box.
Relationship table Links between topics are defined and maintained using relationship tables.
Conref DITA implements reuse of content units with the <conref> attribute. For example, if the same table appears in
multiple topics, you can author it once and include it by reference.
Xref References to external sources of information, such as a web page. When you open a file, the DITA feature

automatically resolves <xref> elements and displays any associated text within FrameMaker.
Specialization DITA allows the addition of new elements through specialization of base DITA elements. Through

specialization, DITA can accommodate new topic types and element types as needed for specific industries or
companies.
Open Toolkit Open Toolkit is a free, open-source, end-to-end, single-source publishing system. It takes your DITA

topics and DITA maps and generates multiple output format deliverables, such as print (PDF), web (HTML), and
Help.

Set attribute display options
Attributes are used to help describe XML elements or provide additional information that can be used, for example,
to identify an element or apply formatting controls. Before working with attributes, you must be able to identify
attributes in a document and expand or collapse them as required.
1 Select View > Attribute Display Options.
2 Do one of the following:

• If you want elements to display only attributes that are either required or have values in the Structure View,
select Required And Specified Attributes.

• If you want elements to display all the attributes assigned to them in the Structure View regardless of values or
requirements, select All Attributes.

• If you want all elements to display their attributes collapsed in the Structure View, select No Attributes.
3 Click Set.

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DITA options
Use the DITA Options dialog box to set general, import, and export-related DITA options. DITA options are global
settings for the authoring environment. If you change the DITA settings, you should restart FrameMaker to have the
new settings take effect.

DITA options

Application mapping
With the FrameMaker Application Mapping Manager, you can define separate structured applications for each doc
type that your XML file contains. These mappings are retained within the DOCTYPE declaration of each XML file.
Such individual mapping allows documents to be opened and processed with the correct set of structured applications
and type. This means that you can specify a custom combination of doc type and DITA public IDs.

Application Mapping Manager

Add an application mapping
You can create an application mapping tag. After you define a tag, you can then add or edit mapping for different doc
types and their related application and type.
1 On the DITA Options dialog box, click Applications Mappings.

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2 On the DITA Applications Mapping Manager dialog box, select New Mapping... from the Mapping Tag pop-up menu.
3 On the DITA Applications Mapping dialog box, do the following, and click OK.
Mapping Tag Enter a name for the custom mapping tag.
Mapping Type Select the type of application mapping. If you are creating a mapping, select APP_MAPPING as the type.

Edit an application mapping
You can define how each doc type is mapped to each structured application.
1 On the DITA Applications Mapping Manager dialog box, select the mapping tag.

Mappings that are already defined in the selected mapping tag are listed.
2 Select the mapping from the Defined Mapping table. You can edit the following:
Doctype Specifies the doc type of the DITA file. Doc types that are defined in the template are available for selection
and editing.
Application Specify the structured application that FrameMaker uses to open the doc type.
Type Specify the type of the document. It can be a Topic, Map, Composite, or None.

3 Click Add/Edit.

Delete a defined mapping
1 On the Application Mappings Manager dialog box, select the mapping tag.
2 On the Defined Mappings table, select the mapping you want to delete, and click Delete.

Delete an application mapping tag
❖ On the Applications Mapping Manager dialog box, select the mapping tag, and click Delete.

Set the DITA version
You can set the DITA version of FrameMaker. This is a global setting.
By default, FrameMaker is set to DITA 1.2. Within this option, you can open and work on documents created with
earlier version DITA. However, if you add any elements or attributes that are available only with DITA 1.2, the
document becomes a DITA 1.2 document. If you open that document later with an earlier version of DITA, you will
get validation errors.

Set the file type for new documents
You can set the default file type that FrameMaker will use when you create a new document. The default ‘New’ type
specifies the filename extension for a new topic (.xml or .dita). This extension is applied only if you do not specify an
extension for the new file.
1 Select DITA > DITA Options.
2 Select *.xml or *.dita in the Default ‘New’ Type list.

Element IDs
You can set FrameMaker to automatically assign IDs to elements when an ID is a required attribute for the element.
When you use this option, you cannot manually assign IDs to topics or elements from FrameMaker.

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The ID value assigned to the selected element is composed of values representing the year, month, day, hours, minutes,
and seconds, plus two randomly generated values. It is designed to be unique per-user for 100 years.

Specify the ID format
❖ In the DITA Options dialog box, specify an ID prefix in the Default ID Prefix field. This prefix is associated with

new IDs generated by DITA.

Automatically assign IDs to elements
❖ In the DITA Options dialog box, deselect the Auto Add IDs If Required By Element option.

Set File Open options
You can specify how FrameMaker should treat the references in a document when it opens it. Specify the options to
optimize the document open performance.
You can set FrameMaker to automatically reload the following references when opening a file:
Topicrefs Select Auto Load Topic Refs on File Open if you want the Topicrefs in the DITAMAP to automatically

loaded when you open the map in FrameMaker.
Conrefs Select Auto-Load Conrefs On File Open if you want the content references in the DITAMAP to automatically
loaded when you open the map in FrameMaker.
Xrefs Select Auto-Load Xrefs On File Open if you want the DITA cross-references in the DITAMAP to automatically
loaded when you open the map in FrameMaker.
(For Documentum Connector only) Graphics Select Auto-Load Graphics On File Open if you want the graphics in the
DITAMAP to automatically loaded when you open the map in FrameMaker.

Set Navtitle options
The <navtitle> attribute specifies the navigation title of a topic and this can be different from the first level heading
that shows in the main browser window. The <locktitle> attribute ensures that if present, the <navtitle> attribute is
always used. If the Always Update Navtitle While Updating Topicref option is not selected, then <navtitle> is displayed
if <locktitle> is set to yes when you update references in a DITA map file.
❖ On the DITA Options dialog box, set the following:

• Select the Always Update Navtitle While Updating Topicref option to display the title from the topicref files. The
<navtitle> attribute specifies the navigation title of a topic and this can be different from the first level heading
that shows in the main browser window. The <locktitle> attribute ensures that if present, the <navtitle> attribute
is always used.
If the Always Update Navtitle While Updating Topicref option is not selected, then <navtitle> is displayed if
<locktitle> is set to yes when you update references in a DITA map file.

• Select the Always Display NavTitle On File Open option to display <navtitle> if <locktitle> is set to yes when
you open a DITA map file. If this option is not selected, then the title from the <topicref> files is displayed and
<navtitle> is not updated.

Conditionalize prolog or comments
You can have the prolog, and comments to be hidden from the body of the document when FrameMaker opens a
DITA file.

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If you enable conditionalizing prolog and comments, FrameMaker applies the <DITA-Prolog> or <DITA-Comment>
condition tag to these elements when a DITA file is imported. By default, these conditions are set to Hide in the
structured template. In addition, the text thus conditionalized is saved (exported) regardless of whether it is showing
(“OutputAllTextWithoutPIs”). If, on import, no associated condition tag is found in the structured template, the
condition tags are added and set to Show (in red).
If the Conditionalize option is not selected, all <prolog> and <draft-comment> elements are imported and displayed
using the formatting from the EDD and structured template with no condition tags applied.

Manage index terms
You can let FrameMaker convert the <indexterm> elements in the DITA file to FrameMaker index maker entries when
opening a DITA file, and then converting them back to indexterm elements when exporting the FrameMaker
document to DITA file.
❖ On the DITA Options dialog box, select Indexterm To Index Marker Conversion.

Enable active links in PDF for external links
By default, when you create a PDF from a DITA file, external references are not converted to clickable links (active
links). To enable clickable links for these references, you must allow FrameMaker to add hypertext markers to the
element, and automatically populate them with the required syntax. Within a DITA file, the external references are
created through inserting an <xref> element, and setting its “source” attribute as “external”.
If you use this option, when you open a DITA file, FrameMaker assigns a <link-asis> character format to the <xref>
element, and places a hypertext marker there. FrameMaker adds the marker text with the value of the <href> of the
<xref> element, preceded by “message URL.” This generates an active URL that can be saved as PDF. (Previously, only
<fm-xref> elements could produce an active link in a PDF file generated from within FrameMaker using this
application.)
Note: This process doesn’t make “internal” <xref> elements clickable in a PDF. To accomplish that, you can use <fm-xref
>wherever the associated text can be gleaned from the source of <fm-xref>.
❖ On the DITA Options dialog box, select the Add Hypertext Marker To External Xrefs option.

Set table options
You can set FrameMaker to track the number of columns across tables whole importing a file into a structured
document. By default, this option is selected.
❖ On the DITA Options dialog box, select or deselect Select the Count Columns In Tables On File Open option.

DITA topics
DITA provides a standard for structuring topics and content within topics. That standard is based on three broad
information categories into which almost all technical information can be classified: task, concept, and reference.
These topic types are considered specializations of the base class of <topic>, from which they inherit a consistent core
structure. Elements common to the three standard DITA information types are <title>, <description>, <prolog>, and
<body>. A DITA document must contain at least one topic and can contain many subtopics.
The <task>, <concept>, and <reference> elements inherit common structure from their parent information type,
<topic>.

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Common structure

Examples of optional
elements (within body)

Task Topic

Concept Topic

Reference Topic

Header:

Title

Short description

Prolog

Body:

taskbody

conbody

refbody