FrameMaker 11
We evaluated some of the new features and have a good word to share about most of them. We thought of documenting the new features and capabilities in FrameMaker 11 so that we could share it with the entire community. And have some feedback too!
- Multiple views for XML Authoring
- Smart Paste structured content from alternative sources directly to valid XML elements. Easy migration from HTML and Microsoft Office applications.
- Improved Ctrl shortcuts– Hierarchical and much more usable
- Print ready DITA Publishing along with cover pages, TOC and Index etc.
- Ready and customizable Banner Text (document skeleton) for new DITA XMLs with instructional placeholder content. Basically powered from the EDD.
- Object Style Designer saves lot of manual effort.
- Hotspots enable markup of content while adding active links to related sources.
- Revamped New XML/Preferences Dialogs.
- 3D and Multimedia interaction
- Line Numbers-a helpful feature but a bit half baked. Tables are totally ignored, could be a bug, but it seems the Adobe folks realize this. We too agree that even without finesse, the feature does address the basic requirements of a user.
- Workspaces
- More to come …
.. With the aim of breaking the cocoon of not being recognized as a complete XML editor, the multiple views(WYSIWYG, Author, XML Code) in the latest version of FrameMaker serve an apt reply to all those who did not recognize the XML capabilities in FrameMaker
.. Do you author in DITA ? Need to assemble your content from various sources(HTML, Word etc.)? “Smart Paste” offers a great and a quick solution.
.. Real productivity improvements can be realized using one of the greatest feature in Framemaker history-the Ctrl shortcuts, in a brand new Avatar. FrameMaker 11 redefines control keys aka “Quick Catalogs“.
.. For the authors that author in DITA standard and love the FrameMaker book capabilities, this is a feature to appreciate. Hopefully it would reduce the post processing effort which organizations commonly spend on publishing ditamaps from FrameMaker.
.. If the authors in an organization need to be guided on what context each element in a structured application holds, then this is a great feature. For template designers, this is a feature that should definitely be explored because they can place a basic structure along with helpful information for authors who start authoring an XML.
.. Have you commonly encountered scenarios where you have multiple images and you wanted to apply some common settings across all of them? Earlier you would have modified each one individually. Object Style Designer(OSD) in FrameMaker 11 solves it well by doing it all in one go!
.. Add life to your ‘so far’ dead content by adding active links to relevant content anywhere in your document! Now it will be possible to add links to any parts of an object/image and take the reader to where he would find more information on that object/image part.
.. Recent releases of FrameMaker have tended towards being feature heavy. A number of these come along with a lot of configuration parameters. Some reach the ini files and some make it to the UI dialogs. FrameMaker 11 seems to have taken the first baby step towards providing all such preferences under one roof.
.. The Adobe team realizes well that the future of technical communication lies in the rich media and 3D direction. And they sure have attempted to address some new requirements from the users of such building blocks.
The play, stop and and capture frame functionality in supported video formats, to be later used as the poster image when the file gets published to PDF, is also a time-saver and helps create better looking outputs.
The ability to view line numbers in a document being authored was long overdue. Good to find it in FrameMaker 11.
Lot has been heard about the workspaces in FrameMaker – the benefits and the pain points. In FrameMaker 11, a user can manipulate UI options by editing the workspaces files(cfws, cfg).
We continue to spend time with the new features in FrameMaker 11 and plan to post elaborately on each individually. Hope it will be useful for everyone!
Most features will impress you when it comes to the thoughtfulness behind them and hopefully address most requirements that the users would have wanted.
We encourage you to go ahead and download the trial version from the official download page: http://www.adobe.com/products/framemaker.html
FrameGurus 
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