Document Layout Concepts (Frames and All That)

The primary reason to use Framemaker is the power that it offers in managing long and possibly technically complex documents. And while detailed control of the formatting of every paragraph and character is important, the overarching concern is overall structure and layout on a document- or book-wide basis. As the product's name announces, at the heart of FrameMaker's structure and layout paradigm is the 'Frame'. Yet I found the user documentation on the actual subject of frames to be perplexingly opaque. Frames are mentioned here and there, and what is described is not incorrect. But nowhere in the user docs is there a concise and complete discussion of this central FrameMaker feature -- which tends to stall efforts to actually get started on using FrameMaker in a productively-planned manner. Indeed, it is tempting to speculate that the FM learning curve is infamously steep precisely because this conceptual core is so ill illuminated. So, determined to dispell the fog (at least for me!), I resorted to studying the very helpful Programmers' Reference and Guide, and built a MIF-Browser tool to get to the bottom of the matter. Herewith is an effort to clarify what to me seem the essentials needed for productive use of FrameMaker, condensed in one place.

Wideman, Graham. WidemanOne. Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker

FrameMaker 5.5.6 Component Versions

This page is my effort to discover and document how to transform the currently shipping FrameMaker 5.5.6 into a form that is actually usable and hopefully stable.

Wideman, Graham. WidemanOne (1999). Design>Publishing>Software>Adobe FrameMaker

FrameMaker 5.5.6 Product Components

This is my current model of the components which compose the FrameMaker 5.5.6 product, and their functions. Open to critique. All of the components marked in yellow are either included in the FM package, or at least supposed to be.

Wideman, Graham. WidemanOne (1999). Design>Publishing>Software>Adobe FrameMaker

FrameMaker MIFBrowse

Much can be learned about Frame document structure and the objects within by examining documents saved in MIF format.

Wideman, Graham. WidemanOne (2001). Design>Document Design>Software>Adobe FrameMaker

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