[Framers] FrameMaker to Confluence

[Kevin Ryan]

My company is preparing to copy numerous FrameMaker 7 manuals to Confluence.  Based on past postings among contributors to this list (including the late Jeremy Griffith at OMSYS), I've developed a working method for converting legacy FM chapters via Mif2Go to Confluence-friendly XHTML that can be imported into Confluence's "<>" Source Editor.  There are a GREAT MANY bothersome prerequisites and manual-tweak steps, but it seems to be my only recourse.  I've tested the method on a few chapters and it seems to work, but have not begun my all out assault on the dozens of manuals I'll ultimately need to convert over.

Not sure if Mif2Go will work on the latest versions of FrameMaker, so this all may be moot.

The process is too long to paste politely into a single Framers posting, but I'll gladly share it with anyone privately on request.

The types of steps required included:

* Obtain latest version (including beta modules) of Mif2Go, as only this contains Jeremy's Confluence-friendly output options
* Remove any tables from anchored frames
* All images must be reinserted within Confluence later
* Compound images are lost and must be preserved independently of FM (for example by making images incorporating its screen shots, call outs, line art, etc. into one graphic)
* Links, Footnotes, and Small caps must be marked for fixing later in Confluence as they don't convert well
* Remove discretionary hyphens
* Numbered lists need to be recreated manually  in Confluence
* Links and cross references need to be recreated manually  in Confluence
* Unexpected character formatting must be corrected in Confluence
* Check for bad image references in IE (ok in Chrome and Firefox)

Thanks,
Kevin Ryan





Kevin Ryan
Technical Writer, Research & Development
P: 802-865-1170x82412
F: 802-865-1171
E: kryan at harriscomputer.com
426 Industrial Avenue Suite 140
Williston, Vermont
05495
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