Getting Graphics from Word into FrameMaker
From time to time I have to take content from Microsoft Word into FrameMaker. Whilst this is relatively straight forward, one issue does seem to cause problems for others. That issue is exporting images that are embedded inside the Word file so they can be used in your FrameMaker anchored frames.
Guess what I’ll be doing this weekend?
Back in March I posted about my Single Sourcing Challenge using FrameMaker. It wasn’t rocket science. I happened to overhear our Trainers talking about updating one of their course handouts and having to ensure their edits were copied into multiple books. This sounded just plain wrong so I couldn’t help but get involved. There had to be a better way of working. Read more 
My FrameMaker single sourcing challenge
Whilst I maybe one of the most knowledgeable Adobe FrameMaker users at my firm, I wouldn’t say I’m an expert. However every now and then I come across a problem that I believe really should be able to be achieved in FrameMaker and make it my mission to find out how. I love a challenge!
The scenario
Our Technical Trainers hand out what they call “Training Reference Guides” to all delegates on their courses. These tomes are basically a large handout covering aspects of the course’s content. To produce these they just maintain a set of FrameMaker files and add them to a book. Each course has its own set of files and a separate book. They just open a book and, “Hey Presto”, generate a PDF from it. Easy peasy. Lemon squeezy!
The spanner
This all worked swimmingly until it was decided to restructure two of the courses into a series of four. Not a problem. We just duplicate the same structure as before, right? No! The problem was that some of the course content overlapped. Okay! “Houston we have a problem.” Single sourcing is my watchword – OK two watchwords J – and there was no way I was going to allow for files to be maintained in two places. Don’t get me started on the inherent dangers that would bring. Surely there must be a better way. I needed to go away and play.
The works
This may not be rocket science to seasoned FrameMaker users but the answer was really simple. My immediate thought was to have a single directory with the source files for all the four courses in it. In there I created a book for each of the courses complete with its own Table of Contents, Index and of course the relevant FrameMaker files. So far so good, except that files could be located in a different order in each course handout. How would I handle that and keep to my single sourcing philosophy?
The answer came with the use of FrameMaker variables. The problem with the Training Reference Guides is related mainly to chapter numbers and page numbering. Chapter 2 in Course A maybe Chapter 5 in Course B. Using the existing in-built system variables in FrameMaker, I just substituted the existing text for the relevant variable. All we need to do now is ensure we update each book before we generate the PDF.
How would Adobe FrameMaker 10 change your workflows?
It is an open secret that Adobe is working on new versions of FrameMaker, RoboHelp and the Technical Communication Suite. No release date has been mentioned yet but excitement amongst these products user base is growing. This has been fuelled by Adobe’s Senior Product Evangelist, RJ Jacquez, posting a sneak peek video on his blog outlining some of the new features in FrameMaker 10. Among them is the ability to:
- Edit Adobe Photoshop images inside your FrameMaker file. In particular the version of Photoshop included as part of the Adobe Technical Communication Suite 3 adds a Fill > Content Aware feature. This allows you to edit out unwanted picture elements by replacing them with whatever was in the background. Putting this cool feature aside, the added integration between FrameMaker and Photoshop should be a real winner to those using .PSD or .PDD files.
- Add 3D images. Prior to FrameMaker 10, 3D images added to files could only be seen in 2D. Now they can be seen in all their 3D glory with little more than the free Adobe Acrobat Reader application. You just add the image and create a PDF using the recently released Adobe Acrobat X Pro. This version will also be shipped with the Adobe Technical Communication Suite 3.
- Embed video or Adobe Captivate files. All popular video file formats and Captivate files can be embedded. A full list of the supported file types are included in RJ’s blog post. You can even add an image file to display as a placeholder for the file and act as an entry point to the content. Once there, you just create a PDF using Adobe Acrobat X Pro for the content to be available to any Acrobat Reader user.
We have already highlighted one use that could save us time, hassle and money. Our trainers give each and every student a printed Reference Guide to take away with them. It amounts to 200 to 400 pages depending on the course, printed in color and delivered in a shiny branded ring binder. What if we embedded some simulations inside the FrameMaker files used to create them and deliver the Reference Guides on a branded USB stick as a PDF? It would be a lot cheaper and give delegates more of an excuse to look at the content after they left our Training Centre.
But that’s us. What would you use it for?
Creating a FrameMaker Table of Contents for dummies (i.e. me)
To be honest I don’t use FrameMaker as much as the other Adobe Technical Communication Suite products. If I do, it tends to be maintenance or updates to an existing file or book. Very occasionally I have to create a book from scratch and like any irregular task in a product I freely admit to being a bit of novice on, I struggle with it. The main issue is not FrameMaker’s functionality, far from it. It has more to do with my ability to remember the process. So in order to prevent me getting a headache the next time I want to create a Table of Contents from scratch, let me put finger to keyboard to record the procedure for posterity. If it helps me, it won’t have been a complete waste of time. If it helps you, then we can all go home with a warm fuzzy feeling.
Note: The user interface elements mentioned in this post are for FrameMaker 9. Some of the elements mentioned may differ in other versions.
- Open your Book.
Tip: If you click on the file in the book that is to be immediately after the Table of Contents you can leave the default option in the next step.
- Click Add > Table of Contents. The Set-up Table of Contents dialog is displayed.
- Specify a Suffix for the Table of Contents file. This is not compulsory but if one is specified the .FM file name is appended with it (e.g. UserGuideTOC.fm).
- Use the Add File drop down to specify whether the Table of Contents is to be placed before or after the specified file in the book.
Note: If you followed the tip in step 1, you can leave the default value.
- Add the paragraph styles to include in the Table of Contents. To do so, click on the paragraph style in the Don’t Include column and click on the left arrow.
- Click Add. The Table of Contents file is created and the Update Book dialog is displayed to give the option to update the book.
- Click Update to create the relevant entries in the Table of Contents. At this point it is just a text file with little styling. This now needs to be applied.
- Open a Table of Contents file that contains the required formatting.
- Return to the FrameMaker book.
- Click File > Import > Formats. The Import Formats dialog is displayed.
- In the Import from Document field select the Table of Contents file you opened in step 8.
- Click Import. You can leave all the default options.
- Finally click Edit > Update Book with the focus on your book. The required formatting has now been applied.
