Associate Format document to Book File

[_susan_alipour_]

Include the ability to associate format files to the Book file. This would include a Variable document, Paragraph/Character document, Colors document, Tables document, etc. When these documents are modified, the new formats are automatically imported when the Book is updated. It would be preferential to have theses changes updated automatically without having to update the Book.

[Arnis_Gubins]

Susan,

This sounds an awful lot like a normal.dot from Word. That's one thing
I would never want FM (or any application) to automatically start
doing for me. Different files in the book may have completely
different formats and variables, so I don't want blind automated
updating of any of this. Further, with FM9's books in books, how would
this work? Which one overrides? This can make a big mess, really fast.

You could consider having a scripted solution added to your
environment that would do some of this automation, but be careful of
what you wish for...

[R__VanDyke]

That's one thing I would never want FM (or any application) to automatically start doing for me.

I strongly agree.

It's interesting, perhaps, to ponder why Word is by default designed to energetically impose its assumptions and bad guesses on the user, then turns around and makes it difficult, if not practically speaking impossible, for the user to undo the consequences of those built-in, faulty assumptions...

Cheers,
Riley

[FieryPantone]

Designed? or "just growed", like Topsy <g> I'd assumed it was simply the general software approach where project teams know the user requirements better than any mere user ever could.<br /><br />I agree with Arnis and Riley! and would far prefer to have changes, including where and when they're effectively applied, under my control.<br /><br />I would, though, welcome a cautious implementation of one Word idea: a bit of inheritance in styles, and without needing to move into structured Frame just for that. Being able (optionally) to define one base font or language for every style in a book ... that bit slicker than bulk-editing .mif with fingers crossed <g>

[peter_minneapolis]

i That's one thing I would never want FM (or any application) to automatically start doing for me.

Like Riley, I agree. However, two related suggestions occur to me:

* Add the option to specify external format files in the book, but mark them to be ignored in the book processes, so, for example, they don't add to the page count or add entries to generated lists, and they're not printed or converted to PDF, etc.

* Make the automatic updating optional.

REMINDER: while posting in this forum is a good way to share wish ideas, the official way to inform Adobe of your wish is to post it at:

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

Regards,

Peter Gold
KnowHow Services

[salipourTX]

I don't understand your resistence to allowing automatic update of formats. I have been using FrameMaker for close to15 years and the one thing that seems to be time consuming, is having to import formats to all chapters of a book whenever a minor change is made. If the same formats are used across multiple chapters (in my case some 50+ files) why should I have to open all files and import all formats when a change is made?  It would be more beneficial to have one set of templates tied to each book file and the book file automatically update the formats or update the formats on request.

This type of functionality was included in Interleaf (now QuickSilver) and some other packages that are currently on the market today. It is the same concept as using one .CSS stylesheet for an entire website.

[Arnis_Gubins]

Susan,

What's so time-consuming to update a book? It should take only a few seconds to do an import of an updated template into the required files of an FM book. I can live with that and have been for much more than 15 years 😉

Besides, I use the same content with multiple templates depending upon the delivered (print production, review, online PDF, etc.). How is having something that automatically updates things for me know which one I want and when? Setting that up would be more time-consuming IMHO.

You could always accomplish this for your own personal use by using FrameScript to automate this functionality.

[AxialInfo]

This could also be done by using any of the free batch programs such as runfm from http://www.omsys.com or

DZBatcher from http://www.datazone.com or

doBatch from Cudspan (can't find url at the moment).

Or there are other tools in addition to FrameScript, such as www.systec-gmbh.com/toolbox

and, last but not least, check out the Tools search at http://www.leximation.com  as there may be others too.