FrameMaker file deletion bug

[Art Campbell]

What it sounds like -- my first guess -- is that writers are moving files
between drives manually or using SaveAs to move files between local and
network drives OR they're adding local files to network books.

Certainly checking your network setup and file locking scheme withing FM is
required -- some writers may not have it turned on. But this isn't typical
behaviour and the most likely source is human error. Are you looking at the
file system to confirm that no files have network locks on them before
running your example procedures? Do you have a written procedure to check
things in and out?

But bottom line is you're a professional department so you should be using
some kind of source control to track versions and avoid this kind of stuff.
What are your engineers using for source control? I believe FM9 supports
Sharepoint out of the box, and it's better than what you've got. Subversion
(SVN) probably with a Tortoise front end, is free and reliable. Don't let
network costs and complexity hold you back...



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

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On Thu, Aug 29, 2013 at 6:44 PM, Eugene Ingram Jr <ingram at usa.net> wrote:

>  The publications department where I work has experienced a persistent
> file deletion bug using Adobe FrameMaker 9 (version 9.0p255) for the past
> few months. The bug only occurs when opening FrameMaker books from the
> network share drive in Windows 7. This network share drive appears
> identical to a local drive. When copying FrameMaker projects to the local
> hard-drive the problem does not occur. However, it's essential to work off
> the network share drive so that other writers see FrameMaker locked files
> and do not work on those files simultaneously.
>
> Steps to reproduce issue follow.
>
> Scenario #1:
>
>    1. Open a FrameMaker book file (where the book and associated FM files
>    are contained in a file folder) on the network share drive.
>    2. Generate a TOC.
>
> Result: Files in book randomly disappear from FrameMaker project folder.
> After restoring the files and running the TOC again, files randomly vanish
> again. I use the phrase "randomly vanish" because which files vanish is
> unpredictable and constantly changing every time the TOC is generated.
>
>
> Scenario #2:
>
>    1. Open a FrameMaker book file (where the book and associated FM files
>    are contained in a file folder) on the network share drive.
>    2. Highlight all the files in the book.
>    3. Select View > Hide Conditional Text Indicators.
>
> Result: Similar to Scenario #1.
>
>
> Scenario #3:
>
>    1. Open a FrameMaker book file (where the book and associated FM files
>    are contained in a file folder) on the network share drive.
>    2. Highlight all the files in the book.
>    3. Select Format > Document > Change Bars.
>    4. Modify any setting(s) within the Change Bars Properties dialog box.
>    5. Click Set.
>
> Result: Similar to Scenario #1.
>
>
> My theory is that a bug in FrameMaker while using operations on multiple
> files (a common denominator in Scenarios 1-3) is causing the files to get
> deleted on the network drive. Although the network folder looks identical
> in Windows 7, each file operation is going over the network instead of
> directly to files on the local hard-drive.
>
> Is there a network version of FrameMaker? The reason the company doesn't
> have a network version, if such a version exists, is because each writer
> has a licensed FrameMaker copy on their local machine. FrameMaker interacts
> with network folders as if these folders were local folders. However, all
> operating system file operations are going over the network instead of
> going to the local drive. The network must therefore emulate the local
> drive. Is there a network version of FrameMaker that addresses this
> dynamic, or is the version sold for individual users supposed to operate on
> both local and network drives? If the latter is the case, then this could
> be a bug.
>
> Again, we need to work off the network because if multiple writers are
> working on separate features within a single book, the only method of
> avoiding collisions between writers is through the FrameMaker file locking
> feature. By copying files from the network to a local drive, making
> changes, and then copying the files back to the network, there is a danger
> of over-writing another writer's work. I can personally get away with
> copying down files because I'm assigned to an entire book, but that is not
> always the case.
>
> Has anyone else experienced this issue? If so, please share your
> workaround.
>
> Thanks,
> Eugene
>
>  ______________________
> “I do not fear computers
> I fear lack of them.”* -Isaac Asimov*
>
>
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