Adobe Technical Communication Blog

FrameMaker,XML, PDF,DITA,New Year,Christmas,Technical Communication Suite

Greetings

Wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We’ll meet again in the new year after the shutdown and I am confident that 2010 will be an exciting year in all dimensions for all of us.

Take care and enjoy to the fullest!

- Mahesh

Dear RoboHelp Users,

I’ve received some inquiries seeking more information on applying RoboHelp Service Release 8.0.2 to RoboHelp projects, more so for the projects under Source Control. This post shall answer all such questions.

Please note that Adobe RoboHelp Service Release 8.0.2 is a must apply service release, and you can get this update through Help>Update menu from within RoboHelp 8 or download it from RoboHelp Support Center. Service Release 8.0.1 must be applied before 8.0.2. If you have been affected by the folder/broken links issue, then you need to perform some additional steps (mentioned below) to repair any affected RoboHelp projects.

Standalone RoboHelp Projects

1. Create a zipped backup of the project.
2. Install the service release.
3. Open the project using the XPJ file and check to see if any broken links are shown in Project Manager.
4. If there are broken links, right click each one in Project Manager and select Restore. It is important the links are repaired this way.
5. Check Tools > Reports > Unused Files and ensure that none of your topics are reported there. If they are, then re-import them.
6. Close the project and create another zipped backup.
7. Delete the CPD file and reopen the project using the XPJ file.
8. Check that no broken links are showing and that there are no unexpected topics showing in Tools > Reports > Unused Files.

RoboHelp Projects under Source Control
These steps apply to all source control systems recognized by RoboHelp. RoboHelp 8 comes with RoboSource Control, and can also be integrated with Microsoft Visual SourceSafe or any other third-party version control package that supports the Microsoft Source Code Control API (SCC API).

Steps 3 to 10 must be undertaken by one author and during that time no one else should access the project.

1. It is recommended that all authors check everything back in to source control.
2. Have all authors on the project make a pre 802 zipped backup of their local copy of the project and close RoboHelp.
3. Install Service Release 8.0.2 on Author 1′s machine.
4. Open the project on that machine using the XPJ file.
5. You will be prompted check out the FPJ files. You must select ‘Yes’.
If you are not prompted, then please check to ensure all FPJ files are checked out. There is one per folder. If the “Display Confirmation dialog…” options are unchecked in the Tools>Options>Version Control tab in RoboHelp, then the files shall be checked out automatically.
6. Check to see if any broken links are shown in Project Manager.
If there are broken links, right click each one in Project Manager and select Restore. It is important the links are repaired this way.
7. Check Tools > Reports > Unused Files and ensure that none of your topics are reported there. If they are, then re-import them.
8. When the project is fully repaired, close it and create another zipped backup.
9. Delete the local CPD file and reopen the project using the XPJ file. This step is not essential, it is more to verify the repair has worked.
10. Check everything back into source control.
11. Get Author 2 to delete the CPD file and re-sync to get the latest project files.
12. Get Author 2 to apply Service Release 8.0.2 and take a fresh copy of the project.
13. Check it can be opened with no errors.
14. Repeat Steps 11, 12 and 13 for all authors.

General
Service Release 8.0.2 should be applied to all the machines you use. After a project has been opened on a machine with this service release, it should not be opened on an unpatched machine. A warning will be given that the project is from a newer version. You can delete the CPD file and then open the project on the unpatched machine, but you then run the risk of running into the broken links problem again. This practice is hence discouraged.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Ankur Jain
Product Manager – RoboHelp

Adobe FrameMaker,Documentum,Adobe Technical Communication Suite,WebDAV,DITA,Hierarchical Books

FrameMaker 9 introduces tight integration with CMS Systems (Content Management Server) that supports HTTP/WebDAV protocol. FrameMaker users now have simplified access to content and services provided by EMC Documentum with no additional system integration needed.

With the latest update available for FrameMaker(9.0p250), users can now access, author and edit documents on WebDAV enabled Documentum CMS using the Browse URL functionality introduced in FrameMaker 9. This browser can be accessed through the “Browse URL” button that is available in all File->Open, Import and Save dialogs. This browser is used to list and browse the contents of the WebDAV directories on the CMS.

All FrameMaker files, DITA and XML documents can be authored while they reside on the Documentum WebDAV directories. All the external dependancies in the documents will be resolved by FrameMaker automatically. For instance all relevant structured application files can reside on the Documentum server. When the XML is downloaded, FrameMaker will automatically resolve all required Application files. Structured Applications can use either complete HTTP paths to the Application files or they can use relative file paths with respect to the XML file to be authored. Similarly for composite documents such as Ditamap and FM Book all components get resolved with respect to the composite document.

I have shared two demos. First one shows how authors can work with DITA documents which lie on the Documentum Server. Keeping in mind the level of reusability required for authoring in DITA environment, FrameMaker allows usage of multiple server URLs in the documents. So it is possible to have Ditamap residing on one server and topicrefs on other servers. Authors need not worry about locating different components residing on different servers, FrameMaker will make them automatically available. The demo also touches upon the WebDAV preferences setting available in FrameMaker 9.

View demo in a new window.

The second demo showcases the FrameMaker 9 Hierarchical Book workflows. It also includes ways to configure and use XML file in FM Books, upload files onto Documentum Server and how to add files residing in the Documentum repository to FM books. The required Structured Application files for the XML files reside on Documentum Server. They get automatically resolved when the XML file is opened.

View demo in a new window.

To facilitate this integration support in FrameMaker for XML and DITA documents the following processing instruction needs to be added after the XML declaration to bypass the Documentum XML application processing during check-in.
<?dctm xml_app="Ignore"?>

Authors can straightaway start using HTTP paths to the files on the Documentum WebDAV directories using the Browse URL functionality. Framemaker also provides automatic identification of the Structured Application for authoring XML files and this functionality can be provided as a PI in the XML files. Refer a previous blog post on Generic Application Selector to accomplish it.
Generic Application Selector-New PI’s in XML

To know more about the integration done in FrameMaker 9 for WebDAV based CMS support please visit an earlier post.
How to integrate FrameMaker 9 with a WebDAV based CMS

With the support for WebDAV enabled Documentum CMS added to the list of FrameMaker supported WebDAV servers which includes Alfresco CMS, Apache Tomcat and Microsoft IIS, I would encourage users to try out authoring documents on a WebDAV enabled Documentum CMS and share your feedback with us.

Regards,
Nakshatra
FrameMaker Engineering

FrameMaker,XML, PDF,DITA,Windows 7,Win7,Technical Communication Suite

Dear All

I am pleased to inform you that your FrameMaker 9 and TCS 2 are also supported on Windows 7 now.

If you want to adopt Windows 7 but are worried about the working of your favorite products FM and TCS on this platform, then this announcement will put those worries to rest.

Please share your experiences on the productivity enhancements achieved by working with the new operating system.

Take care

- Mahesh

Dear RoboHelp Users,

I’m pleased to inform you that Adobe RoboHelp 8 now also supports Windows 7. With this, RoboHelp 8 is now compatible with Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista® with Service Pack 1 or Windows® 7.

Many of you inquired about support for Windows 7 in the past few months, and I’m sure you will be as excited about this development as I am. Looking forward to your continued support and co-operation.

Thanks,
Ankur Jain
Product Manager – RoboHelp
Adobe Systems

FrameMaker,Technical Communication,Adobe Technical Communication Suite,Dictionaries

In this blog, we are going to describe the various kinds of dictionaries available in FrameMaker.

Dictionaries in FM9

Dictionary Type	Editable	Scope
Site		FM Installation Specific
Personal		User Specific
Document		Document Specific
Language		Language Specific

When you spell-check a document, FrameMaker validates each word of the document with a master list of correctly spelled words, also known as a dictionary. FrameMaker has following dictionaries:

1) Site Dictionary:

The words which you want to be available for all users in a work-group, you should add them in site dictionary. For example: company name, product names and acronyms which are very commonly used in your documents. If you want to add/remove words from site dictionary, you can do it by editing the dictionary file manually (the changes take effect on next FrameMaker launch).

Dictionary Location:


By default FrameMaker uses “$INSTALLDIR\dict\site.dct” as a site dictionary. You can also change it by changing the maker.ini preference “SiteDictionary”, which is currently set to dict\site.dct.

2) Document Dictionary:

This dictionary is used when you allow certain words in a particular document but not in other documents. FrameMaker uses this dictionary for a document, regardless of who is editing the document. You can add a word in document dictionary by clicking on Allow in Document through SpellChecker dialog. You can also remove the added word by entering the word in correction textbox and then clicking on UnLearn.

Dictionary Location:


Unlike the other dictionaries, the document dictionary is part of the document rather than a separate file.






Dictionary Functions:


These are the following operations you can do with the document dictionary:












a) Clear: Clears the words stored in the document dictionary.




b) Write To File: Saves the words stored in the document dictionary to a external file in DCT format.




c) Merge From File: Merges the DCT file specified by the user to the current document dictionary.

3) Personal Dictionary

This dictionary is user specific, and a word learnt by one user will not be available to other users and vice-versa. You should use this dictionary for words, which are neither site specific nor document specific(For example: your name). You can change the contents of your personal dictionary by clicking Learn, or Unlearn in the Spelling Checker dialog box as you spell-check.

Dictionary Location:


Prior to version 9, FrameMaker used to persist learnt words in a file named user.dct which was created under “%appdata%\Adobe\FrameMaker\8″ folder. But now, as FrameMaker has moved to a different technology for dictionary operations, it persists learnt words in a file named added.txt which is created at the following path: “%appdata%\Adobe\Linguistics\Dictionaries\FMUserDictionary\all”. It is recommended for users not to edit this file directly. If you wish to add/merge a set of words to FM Personal Dictionary, you can create your own DCT file and follow these steps:



1. Choose Edit > Spelling Checker.




2. Click Dictionaries.




3. Choose Import Dictionary/Merge from File from the Personal Dictionary pop-up menu and click OK.




4. Specify the file you want to merge with the current dictionary.









Dictionary Functions:


These are the following operations you can do with the document dictionary:












a) Set To None: Do not use any personal dictionary.




b) Clear: Clears the words stored in the document dictionary.




c) Write To File: Saves the words stored in the document dictionary to a external file in DCT format.




d) Import Dictionary: It first clears the current personal dictionary and then merge the DCT file specified by the user to personal dictionary.

4) Language Dictionary:

This dictionary contains predefined words as you find them in any standard dictionary. Each language has a corresponding language dictionary file. The list of words in this dictionary file can’t be modified by the user.

Dictionary Location:


The files corresponding to main dictionary are installed under “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Linguistics” folder.

Site, Document and Personal dictionaries are language independent dictionaries. It means, if you add a word to any of these dictionaries, then it would become valid for all languages supported by FrameMaker.

Format of DCT File

• Words can be added in DCT file as a simple text separated by Return.


• You can add a hyphenation point in a word by specifying (-) in between the characters of a word. For example: hyphen-at-ion.


• You can also suppress the hyphenation of a word by prefixing the word by (-). If there are no hyphenation points specified in the word, then their hyphenation should be strictly suppressed, and all such words should be prefixed by (-).


• To add hyphenated compound word (a word or phrase made up of multiple words connected by hyphens) in a dictionary file, you can type a (\) before each hyphen that connects words. For example: -heavy\-duty.

&nbsp

Thanks!
Harsh Gupta
FrameMaker Engineering

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What is Eclipse Help?

Eclipse platform has an in-built documentation which can be accessed from Help -> Help Contents. This documentation contains a list of “Help Systems” or “Books” for several plug-ins installed on the machine. Each help system contains a bunch of HTML files with an XML based table of contents (TOC) referring those files and plugin.xml file (file required by Eclipse to display the help).

A sample help system:

How would RoboHelp make your work easier?

RoboHelp provides a simple way to publish Eclipse Help. It would create all the necessary files required to generate the Help System. Here is how you should proceed for creating Eclipse Help from RoboHelp 8:-
1. Go to Tools->Options: Check flag “Convert RoboHelp edited topics to HTML”

2. Generate WebHelp SSL

3. If you have Eclipse already installed, create a folder say “MyHelpPlugin” under plugins folder of Eclipse (its under Eclipse installed folder) else create a new folder to dump output into it.

4. Open Scripts Explorer pod, View->Pods->Script Explorer

5. Run the Script “EclipseHelp.jsx”

6. Select the generated webhelp SSL folder i.e. under !SSL!

7. Click Ok

8. In Select Eclipse Plugin directory, select the folder created in Step 3.

Caution: Contents of the folder would be deleted, so double-check the folder selected.

9. Click Ok

10. In “Describe plugin.xml file” dialog, specify the name of Help and provider name

11. Click Ok

12. View help in Eclipse by Help -> Help Contents

And you should be able to view your Help as a Book in Eclipse..!!!

You can also download updated script file from here.

To update, perform the following steps:
1. Open Scripts Explorer pod, View->Pods->Script Explorer.
2. Right-click on “EclipseHelp.jsx”.
3. Click on “properties”
4. Click on “Open Folder”
5. Save the download script file to this location.

Drop a comment for any suggestion and how do you want this feature to work natively in RoboHelp 9.

Thanks
Siddharth Sodhani
RH Engineering TEAM

FrameMaker,XML,Technical Communication, Publishing,PDF,DITA,Server

Folks

With your valuable feedback, I am able to take FrameMaker and TCS in the right direction.

It’s great to get your feedback in multiple forms. When we say FrameMaker, it is actually a family. As you know, there is FrameMaker 9, SDL AuthorAssistant, FDK, DITA-OTK Plug-in and many other components in the family.

Another key product in this family is FrameMaker Server. Some of you are power users of the server but some of you may not know much. The number of queries I get on the server is increasing exponentially and I thought that it would be good to initiate a discussion. You folks may want to get into elaborate information sharing through the forums.

Ok, so what is FrameMaker Server 9?

As the name suggests, this product is meant for use in a server environment for high-volume processing. Your content produced in a distributed environment through multiple FrameMaker client installations can be nicely converted to pdf in an AUTOMATED fashion through the server. Typical uses include catalog, database and directory publishing, as well as the production of personalized technical documents and custom eBooks.

If you are publishing with manual intervention, it is okay to work with your FrameMaker desktop installation but AUTOMATED publishing is permitted ONLY through the server. The End User License Agreement (EULA) makes this distinction.

The product page link is http://www.adobe.com/products/fmserver/

The FAQ at http://www.adobe.com/products/fmserver/faq/ gives detailed information about this product. I am including the first two queries from the FAQ here.

What is Adobe® FrameMaker® Server 9?

Adobe FrameMaker Server 9 software is a print and PDF publishing engine that runs in a server-based or automated environment (with no user interface). It is designed for integration with a variety of data sources, including databases, application servers, and web services. A rich array of import options including XML and MIF is complemented by a powerful, comprehensive API known as the FrameMaker Developer Kit (FDK). Applications for FrameMaker Server include catalog publishing, database publishing, and the production of personalized documents and custom digital publications. For more information, visit the FrameMaker Server home page. Note that FrameMaker Server is a software component that must be integrated with a solution before it is ready for use. You can either purchase a third-party solution (for example, from Datazone or Finite Matters Ltd.) or build your own using the FDK.

What is the difference between Adobe FrameMaker 9 and FrameMaker Server 9?

Although both Adobe FrameMaker 9 and FrameMaker Server 9 software share the same technology and even the same installation CD, they differ in the permitted use for which they are licensed. Both FrameMaker 9 and FrameMaker Server 9 include a set of powerful, high-quality features for producing print and PDF output. FrameMaker 9, however, is designed to be used interactively by users on their desktops. It includes a fully interactive, WYSIWYG authoring environment, along with a range of publishing tools. FrameMaker Server 9, on the other hand, is designed to be used programmatically in a server-based or automated environment. The FDK is the primary means for driving the application. FrameMaker Server is specifically designed to provide server-based features for print and PDF output.

Based on your need, you may want to evaluate FrameMaker Server since the need for more and more aggregated automated publishing is growing rapidly. Let me assure you that the products have a great future. If you have any feedback for the server, please share it with me at mahesh@adobe.com

Take care

- Mahesh

Dear RoboHelp Users,

Adobe RoboHelp Service Release 8.0.2 is available now. The RoboHelp 8.0.2 update addresses the following issues:

1. The CPD file grows in size and may result in slow performance
2. The mouse cursor flickers in certain scenarios
3. Deleting the CPD may result in scenarios where the Project Manager reports broken links

RoboHelp 8.0.2 update is available through Adobe Update Manager (AUM). You can check for updates through Help>Update menu in RoboHelp 8. This update is also available for download from RoboHelp Support Center. Please note that it is important to install the Adobe RoboHelp 8.0.1 update before installing the 8.0.2 update. This is a must apply service release, and I encourage all the RoboHelp 8 users to install this update.

Thanks,
Ankur Jain
Product Manager – RoboHelp
Adobe Systems