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FrameMaker Integration

Rick Poole

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Image quality in Robohelp

Aug 17, 2009 12:40 PM

I have a linked Framemaker book with images throughout. The image quailty in the finished Robohelp Webhelp html isn't very good.

What are the "best practices" etc. that will get me decent image quality?

Also, how can I get an image to spawn a larger version of itself when clicked?

Regards,

RP

6485 Views 58 Replies Latest reply: RoboAsh, Oct 18, 2011 2:49 AM

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1. techpubsmistress,

Jan 11, 2010 7:59 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Did you ever get the answer to this question? I am in the same boat.

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2. Rick Poole,

Jan 11, 2010 11:13 AM in reply to techpubsmistress

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No, I haven't heard anything on this.

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3. Peter Grainge,

Jan 11, 2010 11:04 PM in reply to techpubsmistress

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I've moved the thread to the correct category hoping that will get you an answer. It might help to know the format of the images you are putting into FM, whether they have been scaled and so on.

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
Follow me @petergrainge

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4. jeff.g,

Jan 21, 2010 10:02 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Seems the RH developers would rather you manually import every file a second time after you
parse it into an RH project. I have never been able to import from any source and retain image quality - that's not allowed.

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5. NicPervy,

Jan 25, 2010 6:28 AM in reply to jeff.g

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I have the following software versions:
Robohelp 8
Framemaker 9

I have made many tests on a documents in which several figures are inserted. The results are the following:

1. Never insert PSD figures inside framemaker: results in Robohelp are very bad (very low resolution),
2. I have inserted the same capture screen inside several anchored frames using different formats: best is BMP, but very close to JPG. Thus, it is better to use JPG as the file is lighter.

3. The very bad situation occurs in the most popular configuration: a graphic image (for example jpg) with annotations in the same anchored frame. The result is VERY BAD, NOT USABLE! In fact, this mix produced an excellent annotations resolution but very bad image (bitmap) resolution.
I have tested it in all possible configurations: all graphics format in FrameMaker, all format by importing to Robohelp, and also using the "group", "ungroup" annotations and image from FrameMaker .... results are the same ....

Who has a new idea to make the graphic mix (framemaker annotations + image bitmap in FrameMaker anchored frame) usable in RoboHelp ?

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6. Gloria Mc,

Jan 25, 2010 11:36 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Hope that the following helps (well,maybe...). The RoboHelp 8 Help states:

To maintain the original quality of images, insert them in FrameMaker documents by reference. RoboHelp copies the referenced images directly from the source if the complete image is visible inside the anchored frame. Similarly, if the images are large, insert them in the source document by reference.

This is working for me with FM 8.0p277 and RH 7.0.3.001. All of my original image files are copied into the Help folder and are used.

However, the unstated message is that if you have graphics created in FM, or not imported by reference, or partially cropped by an anchored frame, you won't be able to maintain the original quality. Whether it would be worth it to people with those situations to create new graphic files and import them by ref. into their FM files is going to be an individual call based on several project factors. :-(

--Gloria Mc

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7. NicPervy,

Jan 26, 2010 1:31 AM in reply to Gloria Mc

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Thank you for your answer.

In fact I always import the images by reference. Usually FrameMaker is mainly used for technical manual and in this, the image (technical photos or capture screens) are used with the writer comments. These comments are, of course, made directly from the FrameMaker layout. The sad situation is that the results to RoboHelp is not usable: the comments are well transfered but the image has a high resolution loss.

You will find, on the attached file, an example of this situation: even on a capture screen (from RoboHelp result) you will immediately see the difference. I precise that both figures (identical software capture screens) have been inserted to FM9 by reference.

Who has find a solution ?

Attachments:

FM to RH resolution problem.jpg (316.9 K)

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8. Gloria Mc,

Jan 26, 2010 1:25 PM in reply to NicPervy

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Until/unless Adobe provides better graphics processing capability, the only solutions I know of are to a) find another Help tool that does a better job (both WebWorks and Flare import Frame files; do not know how their graphic quality is for this situation), or b) create your graphics in a graphics program that will properly create a combination of screen capture and callouts (lines, text, etc.) into a single .gif, etc. graphic (even simple PowerPoint or RoboCapture do decent jobs), then import that graphic.

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9. Rick Poole,

Feb 3, 2010 11:21 AM in reply to Peter Grainge

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I use gifs in my frame document and I import them by reference. My documents are full of screen captures of an application running under Eclipse.

My problem arises from the fact that to get a nice looking image in framemaker or robohelp the image needs to be set to 96 dpi. Often the images are so large at 96 dpi that they won't fit unless I increase the size of the anchored frame destroying my margins (if printed) and sometimes even that doesn't do it.

The solution to my problem would be easy if I could select ALL images in my robohelp project and uncheck the "preferred size" checkboxes under Image>Size all at once. Then my images would display correctly online and allow my printed document to conform to its margins. This just blows my whole Single Source business out of the water. Now it looks like I will have to maintain a printed version and an online version. Something that the linked frame to robohelp scenero was suppposed to spare me. This is very frustrating.

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10. Peter Grainge,

Feb 5, 2010 1:16 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Rick

I wonder if you have access to anyone who could write a RH8 script to do that?

Also try a search. Something is nagging me that someone did post such a script.

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

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11. Rick Poole,

Feb 5, 2010 8:19 AM in reply to Peter Grainge

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Here is the solution to my problem.

To cause all the referenced images in your Framemaker document to display in Robohelp at their originally captured DPIs regardless of thier size or position within the Framemaker anchored frame, complete the following steps:

1. Go to: Robohelp>File>Project Settings>Edit Conversion Settings for Framemaker Documents>Image

2. Check the Do Not Re-generate Images box and the Perferred Dimensions>Scale box.

3. Set the Scale to 0%.

4. Click File>Update>Force Update All.

Now the images show up inside the Robohelp project in the resolution of the referenced image file itself and are not cropped by the Framemaker anchor frame.

I found this solution in Robohelps Help! (smacks forehead) Imagine that!

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12. Deborah Sauer,

Feb 5, 2010 8:37 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Rick

I am trying to debug this problem, too. I tried your suggested fix, but now all my images are gone from the help (even though they appear in RH). Ideas?

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13. Rick Poole,

Feb 5, 2010 11:34 AM in reply to Deborah Sauer

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I just discovered that the images are gone from the generated help myself!

I don't know what the answer is. If you uncheck Do not re-generate images they still do not regeneate. The only way to get them back is to uncheck Scale.

Good Grief! Why would they appear in the html files of the Robohelp project correct and not even show up in the Generated Webhelp?

Surely we are not the first people to run into this. What is the answer Adobe?

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14. Rick Poole,

Feb 5, 2010 1:01 PM in reply to Rick Poole

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I think this is a bug. In RoboHelps Help we read the following:

"Preserve converted images
RoboHelp converts the images and anchored frames in the FrameMaker documents each time the topics are updated or generated. You can skip updating the images if the corresponding images or SWF files from the corresponding anchored frames are already present in the RoboHelp project. Use this option in the following cases:
You want to avoid regenerating the images each time the FrameMaker document is updated
You have edited the images in the RoboHelp project using another image-editing tool, and want to prevent overwriting of the edited images
You want to preserve the earlier generated image in the RoboHelp project even though the image in the FrameMaker document has changed
If the order in which the images appear in the document or the image name has changed, you should clear this option and allow RoboHelp to update the images.
In the Image tab of the Conversion Settings dialog box, select Do Not Re-Generate Images"

From reading that I think you should be able to uncheck Image>Size>Preferred Dimensions and check "Do Not Re-Generate Images" in File>Project Preferences to get the images to remain at original resolution. Am I reading that wrong?

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15. Deborah Sauer,

Feb 5, 2010 2:37 PM in reply to Rick Poole

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I agree.Sounds like a bug.

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16. Rick Poole,

Feb 8, 2010 11:11 AM in reply to Peter Grainge

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There is a script that resizes all the images in your project that can be found at
http://forums.adobe.com/message/2128548#2128548

However ...the images do not appear in the generated WebHelp!

I have to get this working, needless to say.

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17. Rick Poole,

Feb 8, 2010 2:03 PM in reply to Rick Poole

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I just filed a bug report on this 'feature'. Hopefully someone will get back to us on a work around or a patch soon.

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18. Rick Poole,

Feb 9, 2010 8:50 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Well, oddly enough the reset all images.jsx script appeared to reset all my images in Robohelp to the original resolution. Since the images didn't show up in the generated webhelp I updated and put the images back to thier confined dimensions. Now when I run the script it isn't working. I'm at a loss as to what I could have done to cause this.

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19. techpubsmistress,

Feb 12, 2010 6:59 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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This same thing happened to me. I posted on every available forum and no one could offer a solution. I think it is definately a bug. The only thing that brought my images back was to open a new project. Make sure to save your settings in the original project first and load them into the new RH project.

Missy

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20. techpubsmistress,

Feb 12, 2010 7:00 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Oh, I forgot to add...The only acceptable format for me in both FM and RH is .png.

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21. Piyush Bhatnagar,

Feb 12, 2010 9:58 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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HI Rick Poole,

May you please provide me with the detailed workflow or steps so that i can try to reproduce the issue at my end. How are you creating the FM document? Are you using Anchored Frame? Are you using Text Frame tool to create Text Frame over the image? And how are you bringing that document into RH?

Please provide as mush details as you can as it would help me in my research on this.

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22. Rick Poole,

Feb 16, 2010 11:23 AM in reply to Piyush Bhatnagar

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You can reproduce the problem using the following procedure and attached frame file and gif .
This is using Comm Tech Suite II with all the updates installed.

Image Problem
Images will not display in generated Webhelp when set to scale at 0% so that they display in Robohelp at their original DPI.
The following procedure reproduces the image problem.
This frame file (imagetest.fm) was created in Frame by File>New>Portrait.
The following image (capture1.gif) is in an anchored frame. Special>Anchored Frame>New Frame.
It is a referenced gif. File>Import>File.
The DPI is set to 165 to allow it all to appear within the anchored frame. Object Properties>Set DPI>165>Apply.
Create a Robohelp project. File>New Project>Blank Project
Link this frame file. File>Link>FrameMaker Document.
Generate the html and you will see the image comes up at the DPI set in Frame. It looks unsatisfactory for online use.
In Robohelp do the following: File>Project Settings>Edit Conversion Settings for FrameMaker Documents>check Scale and set the scale at 0%.
Update the html by Right Clicking the imagetest.fm under the project files and Update>Update.
The image pops up at the originally captured resolution and looks nice.
Autogenerate yourself a TOC.
Generate Webhelp. File>Generate>Primary Layout (Webhelp)
View the Webhelp. The image does not appear.

Attachments:

Capture1.gif (68.3 K)

imagetest.fm.zip (13.4 K)

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23. Deborah Sauer,

Feb 16, 2010 5:47 PM in reply to Rick Poole

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Hi Rick

Sorry I've gone quiet. I'm fighting a broken cross ref problem. And I
haven't gotten a satifactory answer. Not sure what I'm going to do.

You've captured the image problem nicely.

Deborah

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24. Rick Poole,

Feb 17, 2010 10:11 AM in reply to Deborah Sauer

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Hi Deborah,

I went through my project and reset each image manually (image>size>preferred width/height) and told Robohelp not to update the files. I then generated my Webhelp and got my images as I wanted them. This totally craters the whole idea of "linking" the frame files however.

Also, you know I thought the resize script worked the first time around but it actually doesn't. It seems like it should though.

Piyush Bhatnagar's post seems to indicate that they are working on the bug report I sent in. Hopefully we'll get a fix or at least a work around sometime soon.

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25. Deborah Sauer,

Feb 17, 2010 5:45 PM in reply to Rick Poole

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Thanks, Rick. I'll have to do the same. I'm in the midst of hand tooling a
few other things to get the behavior that I want. The images are next. I
have a beta deadline Friday...sigh.

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26. Deborah Sauer,

Feb 18, 2010 2:16 PM in reply to Rick Poole

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Hi Rick

I need a sanity check. I'm not getting this to work. How exactly did you
reset each image in RH? Also, many of my images are in DropDownCaption. Did
you have that? Did this fix work for those, too?

Deborah

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27. Deborah Sauer,

Feb 19, 2010 7:59 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Hi Rick

Can you tell me how you resized the images and got them to work?

Thanks

Deborah

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28. Rick Poole,

Feb 19, 2010 8:39 AM in reply to Deborah Sauer

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Deborah,

In Robohelp you have to touch each image in each html file. (you might want to try this on just one file first of course)
Right click an html file in the Project Manager view and select Edit With>Design View
Double click an image.The Image properties panel appears.
Click Size.
Uncheck the preferred width and preferred height boxes.
Click OK and then click OK again.
The image should then pop out into its original DPI in the Design View. If it doesn't change in the Design View it won't look any different in the SSL. I have a couple of images that don't change but I haven't figured out why. All of my images are imported gifs in FrameMaker.
Generate your SSL.
All the images that you unchecked "preferred width and preferred height boxes" on should display in the SSL as they did in the Design View.

Please let me know if this works for you.

Best Regards,

RP

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29. Deborah Sauer,

Feb 19, 2010 9:12 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Thanks, I'll give it a try shortly...

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30. Deborah Sauer,

Feb 19, 2010 10:15 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Rick

Sadly, that did not work. In fact, when I reopened the Size dialog box, the
preferred width and height checkboxes were checked again. The images I have
the most trouble with are in DropDownBody DHTML. I'm not sure if that's the
problem, although some work fine.

Also, I have two images that disappear completely, leaving appropriately
sized white space. Have you seen this?

Deborah

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31. Rick Poole,

Feb 19, 2010 10:25 AM in reply to Deborah Sauer

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Shoot. I'm not using DropDownBody DHTML myself. The checkboxes do reappear in the checked state for me as well but the images remain in the larger size.

I didn't notice any of my images disappearing. They only seem to disappear when I try what I outlined earlier where I included a Frame file and a gif as an example.

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32. Deborah Sauer,

Feb 19, 2010 10:28 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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sigh...ok, thanks. It was worth a try.

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33. adrianaharper,

Feb 22, 2010 10:02 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Hi Rick,

Is this still the only solution - to touch every image in every HTML file? Seems crazy if you have hundreds of images. I was just wondering if there is another solution/alternative coming from what you may have heard.

If you do this, what happens if your FM book is linked by reference into RH - when you update the RH book, does it undo all the manual changes you've made?

Thanks,
Adriana

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34. Rick Poole,

Feb 22, 2010 10:25 AM in reply to adrianaharper

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Have you tried this script?
http://forums.adobe.com/message/2128548#2128548

It seems like it should work but I can't make it work as adverstised.

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35. adrianaharper,

Feb 22, 2010 11:19 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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Just tried it now (thanks) - it does not do anything for me. Too bad- it could be my solution! I posted in that other thread that I couldn't get the script to work- perhaps the writer will reply?

Thanks,
Adriana

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36. RoboAsh,

Jun 17, 2010 10:16 PM in reply to adrianaharper

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Can anyone attach the script that is not working an
d if it a JavaScript I will be able to figure out the issue and might be of some help

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37. anderics,

Jun 18, 2010 7:20 AM in reply to Rick Poole

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This is not script related but I thought I could share one experience with image quality when linking FM9 files in RH8.

The FM book originally referenced images of many different formats and I noted that some images were liked just fine into RH but some got down-sampled and bacame useless. I realized that the ugly images were TIF and EPS files that had been automatically converted to JPG. I think I have tried every possible combination of settings in the Import Image dialog but no luck.

The only solution I could find was to replace every TIF and EPS file in the FM book with a corresopnding JPG that I had converted manually myself. When every image in the FM book was converted to either BMP or JPG, the RH image quality was acceptable.

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38. Rick Poole,

Jun 29, 2010 12:19 PM in reply to RoboAsh

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That would be great.

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39. RoboAsh,

Jul 14, 2010 1:51 AM in reply to anderics

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Hi Anderics,
can you share one of the small FM file set along with the image (of format EPS or TIF) which is showing up a lossy conversion

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