FrameMaker was one of the first ever DTP packages, and this year celebrates its 21st birthday. Adobe bought the company in 1996 and the future looked bright. However, when it shifted its focus to InDesign, development virtually ground to a halt.
This latest release changes all that. So what's new? Text handling is central to FrameMaker but, without a dedicated Story Editor view, it's often preferable to begin authoring documents in a word processor, so the new support for Word and Excel 2007 files is welcome. So, too, is FrameMaker's belated Unicode support for all import, export and internal processing, which, along with new international dictionaries, makes it possible to produce documentation in multiple languages.
FrameMaker 8 brings new options for tracking edits by colour coding added and deleted text. You can jump from edit to edit, approving or rejecting as you go, although certain actions still aren't tracked and the handling is hardly state-of-the-art. Rather more impressive is FrameMaker's long-standing ability to manage multiple versions of a single document by using conditional text. This process has been enhanced by the addition of a new Manage Condition Tag dialog, new colour-coding capabilities and the ability to generate conditional output based on Boolean expressions.
Hands-on conditional text handling is fine for ad hoc document variations, but FrameMaker really comes into its own when handling the repurposing of rigidly structured documents, for which it offers a dedicated working environment with additional power. In particular, when single sourcing multiple documents you can now filter structured documents based on attribute values using complex Boolean expressions, which can be saved and reused. FrameMaker 8 also adds support for DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture), which breaks down a publishing project into reusable modular topics brought together by maps - well suited for working on complex jobs such as encyclopedias and help files.
DITA is based on XML, for which FrameMaker's longstanding tagged document approach is a natural partner. FrameMaker 8's XML handling has the ability to preserve comments and processing instructions, such as tracked edits when round-tripping. You can also now import CSS-based element formatting from multiple CSS files where necessary, ensuring consistent handling. Enhanced WebDAV support allows authoring and editing of XML files on the server, and images can now be held on the server and copied or referenced thanks to new HTTP file support.
New support for Flash files means when you import a SWF file an internal bitmap of the first frame is automatically created at the resolution you specify. FrameMaker can also handle 3D. Import a file in the U3D (Universal 3D) format and a bitmap version of the default view is automatically rendered. Right-click on the image and new menu options appear with which you can select a different embedded view or change the background, lighting and render mode, with a new bitmap rendered accordingly.
You'd be forgiven for thinking this is hardly worth shouting about: U3D is a relatively uncommon 3D format, there's no direct video support and you can't rotate the model within FrameMaker or even choose which frame of the Flash movie to render. More to the point, this hardly seems like rich media, since the 3D models and vector movies are represented in the FrameMaker document as static bitmaps. Everything changes, though, when you export your document to PDF. Suddenly, when viewed within Adobe Reader, the embedded Flash movie and 3D model spring into interactive life.
Twenty-one years ago, publishing was a print-only affair. Nowadays, onscreen viewing is just as important, and PDF-based support for Flash and 3D helps make the most of this environment.
FrameMaker does need an interface overhaul to bring it up to 21st century standards. Its core engine is state-of-the-art, though, and if results are all you care about it's a good, if very expensive, option.
Verdict
New support for rich media and Unicode, but FrameMaker is still crying out for an interface overhaul.
Author: Tom Arah
PC Pro Online