Adobe FrameMaker is a desktop publishing (DTP) and word processing application that is popular for large documents. It maintains a strong following among professional technical writers.
#12951
Making FrameMaker Help Usable and Searchable 
You can convert FrameMaker's help files to a PDF file, thus making them fully searchable and far more usable than the originals. These instructions are Windows-centric, but can be adapted to work on all systems with Frame. (Directory/folder names are the only real difference.)
Forrest, Stephen and Scott Abel. TECHWR-L. Design>Documentation>Help>Adobe FrameMaker
#27595
Moving from Unstructured to FrameMaker Plus DITA
This page provides some answers to the question 'What resources would you recommend for someone moving from unstructured Frame to Frame+DITA?' Carla Martinek, Translation Coordinator/Editor, started making this list in response to a CMS question on the FrameMaker+DITA listserv, and thought it would be worth sharing.
KeyContent.org (2006). Resources>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#22419
Da druckt meine Quelldatei mit allen Pixelbildern wunderbar, wenn ich diese aber mittels Acrobat in das PDF-Format von Adobe wandle, kann ich in den Pixelbildern kaum noch Text lesen, sind alle feinen Linien weg und ist auch sonst die Qualität der Pixelbilder nur noch mäßig.
Transcom. (German) Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#23455
This page is dedicated to the Adobe FrameMaker software. It includes many suggestions for customizing FrameMaker as well as a guide that my department used for converting thousands of pages from Word to FrameMaker.
Henkel, Rick. Docspages (2000). Resources>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#20503
Single-Sourcing from FrameMaker 5.5.6 to ForeHelp Premier 2000
This article centers on a single-source documentation process that involves authoring structured, chunked documentation in Adobe FrameMaker 5.5.6 and converting it 'just in time' to a WinHelp online help system using ForeHelp Premier 2000.
Snavely, Deborah. InFrame (2000). Articles>Software>Document Design>Adobe FrameMaker
#13588
Single-Sourcing with FrameMaker
As a technical writer, you may be exploring single-sourcing--producing multiple document outputs from a single information source--as a possible option for easing document development and production. Although solutions such as databases, SGML, and XML are available that can enable you to reuse information to produce multiple outputs, single-sourcing doesn't have to involve such complex solutions, expenses, and learning curves. Instead, if your single-sourcing needs are relatively simple, you can effectively single-source using a tool that technical writers commonly have available: FrameMaker.
Marques, Michele. TECHWR-L (2002). Design>Content Management>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#14083
Ten Practical Techniques for Single-Sourcing with FrameMaker 
A PowerPoint slide show about using FrameMaker for single-source document creation and management.
WritersUA (2002). Presentations>Content Management>Single Sourcing>Adobe FrameMaker
#21906
Taking FrameMaker files on the road can present a few challenges, but it doesn't have to be difficult. Here are some tips that'll help ensure that you get the best results.
Valiulis, Dave. Adobe Magazine (1997). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#18797
WebWorks Publisher 6 Tips and Tricks
A presentation covering some techniques for using WebWork Publisher to produce online versions of FrameMaker documentation.
Knopf, David A. Knopf Online (2001). Presentations>Software>Web Design>Adobe FrameMaker
#18795
WebWorks Publisher 7 Tips and Tricks
A presentation describing techniques for Adobe FrameMaker and WebWorks Publisher users.
Knopf, David A. Knopf Online (2002). Presentations>Software>Documentation>Adobe FrameMaker
#18791
This is a page with links to various resources for WebWorks Publisher users. WebWorks Publisher is a 'best of breed' solution for single source publishing with Adobe FrameMaker. Using WebWorks Publisher, you can convert FrameMaker documents to a wide variety of online formats, including Web formats (HTML, HTML + CSS, XML, XML + CSS, XML + XSL), as well as online Help formats (WinHelp, HTML Help, JavaHelp, and WebWorks Help).
Knopf Online. Resources>Software>Web Design>Adobe FrameMaker
#18323
Webworks Publisher Tutorial: Better Jumps to Topic Titles
By default Webworks Publisher uses file names and paragraph numbers as hyperlink targets, e. g. <a href='filename.html#55555'>. Most web browsers try to position the paragraph with the corresponding name anchor <a name='55555'> at the top of the screen if possible. If you jump to the top of a scrollable topic, any content above the title line (e.g. navigation graphics) is hidden. There are a few easy countermeasures.
Muller-Hillebrand, Michael. InFrame (2002). Design>Content Management>Web Design>Adobe FrameMaker
#18324
WebWorks Publisher Tutorial: Useful Meta Tags
If you are using Webworks Publisher to create HTML pages which will be published for the WWW, you may want to place additional useful meta tags in your pages to be found and indexed by search engines and thus be found by interested persons.
Muller-Hillebrand, Michael. InFrame (2002). Design>Content Management>Web Design>Adobe FrameMaker
#14321
WWPUsers.com will bring you the latest and greatest information about WebWorks Publisher tools, techniques, and tips. WebWorks Publisher software lets you convert FrameMaker files into various online formats, such as HTML, Dynamic HTML, WebWorks Help, Windows online help (WinHelp), XML, HTML Help, and JavaHelp.
#18807
WebWorks Publisher Users eGroup
The online discussion group for WebWorks Publisher users. This eGroup is an extension of wwpusers.com. Though this service primarily serves as a community listserv, there are also other tools available for you to use.
Yahoo. Organizations>Content Management>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#15224
WebWorks Publisher: Can It Convert You?
Discusses Quadralay's WebWorks Publisher, a software package that allows single-sourcing from Adobe FrameMaker to online documents. For a more advanced discussion of WebWorks, see Robert R. Desprez's article 'WebWorks Publisher: Jumping into the Details,' also in the September/October 2001 issue of Intercom.
Beren, Wendy G. Intercom (2001). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#14715
WebWorks Publisher: Jumping into the Details
Desprez illuminates some of the advanced features of Quadralay's WebWorks Publisher, a software package that allows single-sourcing from Adobe FrameMaker to online documents. For a discussion of WebWorks tailored to beginners, see Wendy G. Beren's article 'WebWorks Publisher: Can It Convert You?'
Desprez, Robert R. Intercom (2001). Articles>Content Management>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#27091
Review: WebWorks versus RoboHelp: a Comparison by One FrameUser
I would say that the two products are more or less equal in the template creation category, with RH having some advantages. On the other hand, WWP is much more usable, customizable, and faster in the generation/compilation department. Given that template creation is done very seldom, and generation/compilation is done frequently, its advantages in this area make WWP the better product.
White, Leigh. Bright Path Solutions (2005). Articles>Reviews>Software>Adobe FrameMaker
#12979
WidemanOne Adobe FrameMaker Topics
For all that the most central concept in FrameMaker is the Frame, the existing documentation is thoroughly foggy regarding the precise nature of the Frame types and the relationships amongst them. Here is a first pass at rectifying that shortcoming.
Wideman, Graham. WidemanOne (2001). Resources>Software>Document Design>Adobe FrameMaker
#12967
This summary lists pros and cons for using FrameMaker or Word for creating large documents or books. The general consensus of techwhirlers is that FrameMaker is better-suited than Word for large documents and for creating a single-source documentation set.
Christopherson, Christie. TECHWR-L (1999). Articles>Software>Writing>Adobe FrameMaker
#28263
XML Architecture for Customized User Assistance
Content reuse enables technical communicators to create multiple deliverables from a single set of source documents. A key component of reuse is identifying which information belongs in which deliverable. Some customization is feasible with build tags (RoboHelp), conditional text (FrameMaker), topic reuse (FrameMaker and AuthorIT), and similar features.
O'Keefe, Sarah S. WritersUA (2005). Articles>Documentation>XML>Adobe FrameMaker
#33522
Unstructured Documents in Structured FrameMaker
A few days ago, there was a thread on the Framers mailing list regarding working in the structured FrameMaker environment. Someone commented that editing unstructured documents in the structured interface does not affect the unstructured documents. I found this to be untrue recently.
Scriptorium (2008). Articles>Document Design>Information Design>Adobe FrameMaker
#33814
FrameMaker users are buzzing about FrameMaker 9. With CMYK support, CMS integration, DITA 1.1, and PDF commenting, this version is full of new functionality but is unfortunately also buggy and inconsistent. This review covers the most important new features of FrameMaker 9.
Loring, Sheila. Scriptorium (2009). Articles>Reviews>Document Design>Adobe FrameMaker
#34027
How to Structure FrameMaker Paragraphs While Using the Unstructured Interface
Using the structured features requires advanced training and you probably won’t need them anyways unless you’re doing any “single sourcing” (which is the topic of yet another article). For example if you were doing any XML-based authoring or “database publishing” then you would definitely need to learn how to use the FrameMaker’s structured interface. However, there is an easy way to imitate structured documentation while you are still in the unstructured mode. This is one case in which you can have your cake (unstructured FM) and take a bite out of it too (by enjoying one selected feature of structured documentation).
Akinci, Ugur. Technical Communication Center (2009). Articles>Document Design>Technical Writing>Adobe FrameMaker
#34029
How to Create a New Paragraph Style in a FrameMaker Document
Adobe FrameMaker is the information design platform of choice for most professional technical writers and technical communicators across the globe. Like all powerful software applications, FrameMaker also has a lot of features and configuration possibilities. One of those features is the ability to create new paragraph styles. Each paragraph style in FrameMaker is represented by a “Paragraph Tag.” So to create a new formatting style you actually create a “tag.” Here is how you can create a new paragraph style/tag for your FrameMaker (FM) document.
Akinci, Ugur. Technical Communication Center (2008). Articles>Document Design>Style Sheets>Adobe FrameMaker
