Horizontal Range Braces

[Baruch Brodersen]

Z,

You can create horizontal range braces in the Delimiter menu of the Equation editor (Special > Equations Delimiter).

Inserting them is a little trickier. Create an equation with the sole content being the horizontal range brace. To extend the width of the brace you need to add text characters in the equation. If you don't want those to appear in your final document, create a color---name it something like "Invisible" (Special > Color > Definition > New Color) and then give it an invisible view: (Special > Color > View > Invisible). 

[It's been a while since I've done this, so feel free to chime in on the correct method.]

Then create a new charter format and set everything to As Is except the color, which you should make Invisible. Use that to make the characters needed to widen the horizontal range brace disappear.

Shrink-wrap the equation (Esc, m, p), then select the equation's anchored frame and change the alignment from Cropped to Floating (Special > Anchored Frame). Drag the horizontal range brace to the location you want, then right-click to send-to-back or front, or whatever. You might consider creating the whole lot in a text inset so the horizontal range brace moves with the text.

Best,

Baruch Brodersen


-----Original Message-----
From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Syed.Hosain at aeris.net
Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 2:21 AM
To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: 

Hi, all.
 
I am using FrameMaker 8 on a Windows Vista system.

How can I insert a "horizontal range brace" character or graphic like the ones used in figure 3-4 on page 23 of this paper:

"h t t p : / / w w w . c d g . o r g / resources / white_papers / MEID_EUIMID_Migration . p d f"

(All these e-mails from me to the list are bouncing. I assume they are not going through due to the above URL. I will try again with many spaces inserted. Please remove them to get to the file.)

The figure uses downward (and one upward) pointing brace-like "range delimiters" that I'd like to do in a similar way for some diagrams I am working. And to be able to simply and easily stretch them horizontally to grow and shrink them as needed for other ranges. Without messing up the quality of the curves at each end - i.e., make them look similar.

I can do everything else in that figure pretty easily, but I am stumped on this particular item! I thought about trying to use the Equation editor (did not see anything useful), or rotating a "{" text box (looked messy when stretched), but these attempts did not work. The graphics drawing tools just seem too limited for this ...

I am trying to avoid any tools outside FrameMaker to achieve this result, by the way.

Thoughts? How have other people done anything similar?

Thanks in advance,

Z