Framers: What good uses are Pods ?

[Maxwell Hoffmann]

Hassan,

The biggest advantage of pods over the panels from *earlier* releases (pre FM V9) is that they allow persistent display of some information that was only available in "modal" dialogues that previously froze the screen and prevented editing of page content. For instance, pre V9, index markers could only be viewed one at a time in a modal marker dialogue that froze the screen. The current markers pods allows you to see all markers in your current document, or in all open documents.

Pods are generally intended for temporary use, popping them up from the bottom of the workspace as needed. You can close pods and save an alternate workspace that does not have them. 

Everyone has their different preferences, and some long-time users who recall the UNIX-inspired pre-V9 interface still prefer an interface w/o pods. Personally, I have found pods to make FrameMaker much more friendly on a small laptop screen than was possible with the older user interface. 

I frequently use the following pods for monitoring hidden information and making corrections in the following areas:
== cross references
== insets (referenced graphics and/or text)
== markers (can be sorted alphabetically, by page, by type or document)
== hotspots (for a new feature in FrameMaker 11)

I don't expect to persuade anyone who is not a fan of pods to start liking them, but I found that they saved me countless hours while working with 1,200 page projects in 24 languages.

___________________________________
Maxwell Hoffmann |  Product  Evangelist  |  Adobe  |  p. 503.336.5952  |  c. 503.805.3719  |  mhoffman at adobe.com 
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-----Original Message-----
From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Hassan Chamas
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 1:11 PM
To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Framers: What good uses are Pods ?

Let me be more specific. I am new to Framemaker but I am taking the time to learn it. Im looking to clarify the uses of  Pods. 

I have read that Pods are frequently used dialog boxes that have an interface designed to simplify your work.

When I look at the panel and pods, whats the advantage of making it "easier" to use Pods when i have panels ? I know I don't have much experience, but I tried to learn more on the Internet and all I see is moving pods/panels around to make your workspace easier. Also, is their any efficiency  to using Pods rather then panels ? I guess what Im looking for are Framers who have experience and can give me their insight on their own experience and to get motivated to use them.

Thank you

Sam from Montreal, Canada
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