Importing a Word Doc into Frame v9.0

[Tori Muir]

Having just completed rebuilding a 450-page Frame book that my client
created by importing a Word doc, then round-tripping chunks of content
between Frame and Word a couple of times, I'd second that. Word metadata can
really munge up a Frame document. It got so bad that attempting to open a
cross-reference in certain chapters would crash Frame every time, and it was
impossible to print the book.  Added bonus of rebuilding is we've *finally*
gotten rid of the wretched 'missing font' messages. Skipped the step about
saving to a text file, though-- just copied and pasted chunks from Word,
choosing the Edit > Paste Special > Unformatted Text option.

Also, re Art's suggestion to bring in graphics that have been embedded in
Word by saving to HTML, that creates a low-resolution .gif version of the
graphic. I find the extra hassle of re-creating the graphics by copying and
pasting from Word into Photoshop/Paint worth it due to the superior graphic
quality. 

Tori Muir


On 7/13/09 2:43 PM, "Alison Craig" <Alison.Craig at ultrasonix.com> wrote:

> 
> As a novice Frame user, I am currently doing the same thing (taking a 350 page
> Word manual and moving to FrameMaker 9).
> 
> As a long time, highly skilled Word user, I know from experience that there is
> a mountain of invisible crap in the Word doc - so my best advice is to not
> import the Word document at all!
> 
> Instead, save the Word doc as a text file, open the text file in something
> like Notepad, then copy in the plain text and completely reformat the Frame
> doc from scratch. This may be more work in the short term, but you'll create a
> better template and avoid any hassles that importing Word files could cause
> down the road.
> 
> Yes, this means you have to deal with everything (graphics, master pages, etc)
> from scratch. But it also gives you the chance to begin your Frame career with
> a "best practices for FrameMaker" approach rather than a "I have to live with
> Word-defined stuff even though I'm now working in Frame" approach.
> 
> I have no doubt this is taking me longer, but I am more confident about the
> results.
> 
> Alison
> 
>  
> 
>  
> -----Original Message-----
> From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com
> [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Art Campbell
> Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 2:25 PM
> To: Flato, Gillian
> Cc: Framers List
> Subject: Re: Importing a Word Doc into Frame v9.0
> 
> The procedures and best practices for importing Word files are still
> the same as for earlier versions of Frame...
> Usually, the best results are obtained by saving s RTF in Word and
> opening that file... Graphics, if they're embedded in the Word file,
> can be recreated by saving the Word as HTML, then they can be imported
> by reference in Frame.
> 
> Probably the most important thing she needs to master quickly is the
> idea of using a book to manage more smaller files...
> 
> Art Campbell
>                art.campbell at gmail.com
>   "... In my opinion, there's nothing in this world beats a '52
> Vincent and a redheaded girl." -- Richard Thompson
>                                                       No disclaimers apply.
>                                                                DoD 358
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 4:57 PM, Flato, Gillian<gflato at nanometrics.com> wrote:
>> A cousin of mine is a complete novice on Frame. She is buying Frame v9.0
>> and importing a 300 page Word manual into it. (After editing the 1rst
>> edition of the manual in Word, she said, never again). I have never seen
>> Frame v9.0, I still use Frame v8.0.
>> 
>> How does Frame v9.0 map Word Paragraph styles? Does it do a better job
>> than Frame v8? What does she need to do first to ensure an easy and
>> successful import?
>> 
>> Any recommendations for some good online training classes for Frame
>> v9.0?
>> 
>> 
>> 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>
>> 
>> 
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