FM12 Transparent Graphics PLUS New Question

[Keith Soltys]

I find FrameMaker's menu structure quite illogical, although I know it by heart after using Frame for almost 20 years. I have found, with Microsoft's Office applications, that the ribbon interface has made me more productive and does make it easier to find less used commands.

One thing though that Adobe should consider implementing, if they do modify Frame to use a ribbon interface, is an equivalent to the Quick Access Toolbar. I've set up my Word with a QAT of about 30 icons for my most frequently used commands (including some macros) and set the ribbon to show only when I click on the pane name. I had actually created something similar using a custom toolbar in Word 2003, but this is much easier to set up and use.

As always, preferences vary, and I quite appreciate that this may not work for everyone.

Regards
Keith

--
Keith Soltys
Senior Technical Writer
Architecture
TMX Group
(416) 947-4397
http://www.tmx.com/

-----Original Message-----
From: De Rosier, Edward [mailto:Edward.DeRosier at anritsu.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2015 1:49 PM
To: Keith Soltys
Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: RE: FM12 Transparent Graphics PLUS New Question

Keith,

In my opinion, the ribbon is not any better than menus that use drop-down lists.  In most instances (for me), the ribbon is less intuitive than drop-down menus, and I frequently struggle to find specific commands.  My tired old eyes prefer larger fonts and images, but the ribbons take up a lot of screen real estate compared to a single row of menu items.  Why not offer drop-down menus that can be pulled away as free floating and dockable pods?

All software house should provide an interface option that allows users to get all of the new features (in any specific release) with a choice of interface options:  menu driven choices, ribbon choices, pod choices, keyboard commands, etc.

And, of course, they should not rearrange the location of various commands unless those commands were truly in odd locations previously.  Marketing decisions often seem to override functionality in favor of glitz and glitter.

Ed

-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Soltys [mailto:keith.soltys at tmx.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2015 10:11 AM
To: De Rosier, Edward
Subject: RE: FM12 Transparent Graphics PLUS New Question

> I don't mind the new interface, but I would prefer stable and predictable to fancy ... especially unnecessary fancy.  Oh well ...

Ha! Just wait until they add the ribbon interface like they just did in RoboHelp 2015. `

Regards
Keith

--
Keith Soltys
Senior Technical Writer
Architecture
TMX Group
(416) 947-4397
http://www.tmx.com/

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