questions re Structured FM7.2 to FM11

Thu Oct 24 13:30:40 PDT 2013

It sounds like you're changing structure models (some XML model before, and now to DITA)

If that's the case, you'll need to convert the current content to DITA, likely using XSLT, and likely using Scott P, Rick Q, or another expert.

-Matt

Matt R. Sullivan 
co-author Publishing Fundamentals: Unstructured FrameMaker 11 
P: 714.798.7596 | C: 714.585.2335 | matt at mattrsullivan.com 

@mattrsullivan LinkedIn facebook mattrsullivan.com 

On Oct 24, 2013, at 1:04 PM, dwyercl2 at verizon.net wrote:

> Thanks, Tino--I appreciate the 'refresher course' on Structured FM, as it was 2007 when I created all the old XML files for FM7.2. I'll be downloading and reading manuals for a bit before I jump in feet first now! I looked at a sample DITA EDD in FM11 and compared it to my old EDD--the names were slightly different (Chapter vs ChapterElement, for example) and I couldn't remember whether I made mine up way-back-when or if those were designated. So, I'll be reading up on everything, as I said!
> 
> Thanks again for your kind explanations!
> Cheryl
>  
> On 10/24/13, Heiko Haida<info at heiko-haida.de> wrote:
>  
> Hi Cheryl,
> 
> as Matt and Scott have already mentioned, there are differences, but you should be able to work with your old files and get some result, at least.
> 
> FrameMaker works with Unicode characters since FM 8. Some older settings for characters - iso characters in the r/w rules, prefix/suffix entries (EDD) or numbering formats/reference definitions (in the templates) - may have to be updated or modified. You have to be aware of that if you convert FM 7.2-files.
> 
> FM 11 now supports XSLT 2. Of course, XSLT 1-templates should still work.
> 
> As you know, the structured environment consists mainly of the following parts/files:
> 
> structured application definition file = structapps.fm
> read/write-rules file
> DTD and entity definitions
> EDD
> Template(s) with imported EDD
> 
> In your structapps.fm, you define the file paths for all necessary files. All files except the DTD itself are genuine FrameMaker files.
> First, you should make sure that the structapps.fm is of the newest version. Create a new structapps.fm with FM 11 and copy (only) the application entries of the old FM 7.2-file into it (via the structure-view window), without the header.
> All other files should at least be opened and saved with FM 11.
> 
> If you can get some How-to-instructions for FM 8 or FM 9, these will also be helpful for FM 11.
> 
> Manuals are available from the Adobe Website. Look for "FM structure application developer guide" and "reference". We just had a discussion on "frameusers" about this and it seems, that in fact the newest versions of these manuals were released with FM 9 (which is pretty long time ago...).
> 
> The FM 11 online help is here: 
> http://help.adobe.com/en_US/framemaker/using/WSd817046a44e105e21e63e3d11ab7f73d53-8000.html
> 
> You can get infos on some commercial sites for free too, eg. here: http://wiki.scriptorium.com./tiki-index.php
> 
> Good luck -
> 
> Tino H. Haida, Berlin
> 
>  
> dwyercl2 at verizon.net:
> 
>> Background: My company recently purchased FM11 and after using FM7.2 forever, I'm now learning my way around FM11 one-day-at-a-time. I had created structured FM7.2 files and was working on round-tripping them to-XML-and-back several years ago, when we were "overtaken by events" and I never did get the XSLT stylesheets worked out. 
>> 
>> 
>> Present: In opening my old FM7.2 structured files, I'm finding all the work I did on creating EDDs and other special files for XML pretty much obsolete or so it seems. (The structure dev guide was a huge help back then...) Is there a magic bullet or two that I can use to be able to re-use the 34-page EDD (lots of thought and work put into that way-back-when), or should I just start over from scratch and let FM11 do the heavy lifting that the marketing blurbs on it says it will do?
>> 
>> 
>> Any pitfalls I should be aware of? Advice? Books I should get? Is there a FM11 structure dev guide available? Any help or suggestions are welcome!
>> 
>> 
>> Thanks!
>> Cheryl Dwyer
>> 
>> Lead Tech Writer
>> Industrial Medium Software, Inc.
>> McLean, VA
>> 
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