Frame's lame callouts

[Maxwell Hoffmann]

Hello Gillian,

As per the previous postings, text frames are more desirable for callouts than text lines in FrameMaker, because you can apply a character and/or paragraph style and globally update all of your callouts throughout a document or book via importing formats from a template.

If you have existing documents with multiple text lines w/in anchored frames, there is one semi-shortcut that I know of. This works, assuming that you want *all* of the text lines in anchored frame to end up looking the same:

1) triple click text in the first instance of a text line and apply a character tag (yes, that actually works ... The text isn't tagged but it will pick up the formatting from the tag.)
2) with cursor inserted in this text line, Edit=>Copy Special=>Character Format to copy the new formatting to the clipboard
3) select the text line as an object (control-click)
4) Control-A to select all objects, including text lines, in the anchored frame
5) Control-V to PASTE, and all of your call-out text lines will have the new values.
6) Search for anchored frame, go into next anchored frame, select an object, Control-A and Control-V to PASTE format values into all text lines ... Continue these steps until you have updated all of your text lines to have the desired copy/pasted formatting

This goes pretty quickly and can possibly be automated through Framescript or some other tool. Hope that this helps.

P.s. if someone has been creating a lot of text lines in your documents, when you use Control-A w/in anchored frames, you may see a set of handles around some small white space, indicating an "empty" text line. If someone has used BACKSPACE to delete the text in a text line, an empty text line remains. If you select that empty text line as an object, you can then delete it. Empty text lines (even in the margin of the page, outside of an anchored frame) can explain a mysterious "text edit cursor" that shows up when you move your object select cursor over the invisible, empty text line.



Maxwell Hoffmann
Manager of Consulting & Training Solutions
Adobe Community Expert, FrameMaker
ENLASO Corporation
T: 805 494 9571 * F: 805 435 1920
E: mhoffmann at translate.com ♦ ENLASO Corporation provides quality enterprise language solutions and exceeds client expectations through continuing research, development, and implementation of effective localization processes and technologies.  Visit: www.translate.com for more information or to subscribe to our complimentary localization newsletter. 
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellhoffmann


>----Original Message-----
>From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Flato, Gillian
>Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 11:40 AM
>To: framers at frameusers.com
>Subject: Frame's lame callouts
>
>Since Frame has the lamest callout tools ever, does anyone know of a plugin that improves them?
> 
>Does anyone know why I can't apply styles to them globally? I have to open up the character designer and apply a style to each word individually.
>
>Thank you,
>
>
><mailto:gflato at nanometrics.com> 
>
>Gillian Flato
>Technical Writer (Software)
>nanometrics
>1550 Buckeye Dr. 
>Milpitas, CA. 95035
>(408.545.6316
>7  408.232.5911
>* gflato at nanometrics <mailto:gflato at nanometrics.com> .com <blocked::mailto:v at nanometrics.com>