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Word Processing With FrameMaker

FrameMaker is yet another WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) word processor. It differs from the likes of TROFF and LATEX in that the steps of editing and previewing are merged into a single step. Many of you might be familiar with SunWrite, which is also a WYSIWYG word processor. FrameMaker, however, is much more powerful because it integrates word processing, graphics, equations and page layout in a single package. FrameMaker is currently available on Macintosh and Sun workstations; you will want to contact your site specialist to determine availability within your area.

What are the new features?

FrameMaker considers the document as a series of paragraphs with tags. The paragraphs may include regular text, headings, lists, equations, graphics, etc. It is very easy to modify paragraph properties like justification, numbering, indenting, tabs, fonts, etc. Another useful feature is the ability to change the properties of all paragraphs with a certain tag. This gives tremendous control over document appearance. (I found it much easier to change some parameters in FrameMaker than to fiddle with TROFF header files.)

• FrameMaker comes with an equations processor called FrameMath. I am sure most of you considered this the biggest minus of SunWrite. FrameMath is very versatile. It allows tasks like micropositioning equation elements, simple derivative and integral evaluations, order reversal of polynomials, etc.
• FrameMaker has a graphics tool which, I think, is as powerful as SunDraw. There are some especially nice features such as distributing picture elements, smoothing curves, drawing regular polygons and easy aligning of picture components. It can also import graphics in bitmap and EPSI (Encapsulated PostScript Interchange) formats.
• FrameMaker provides change bars to find out which areas of the document have been recently modified.
• FrameMaker allows multiple master pages to control the appearance of the document.
• For people like me who hate to use the mouse for minor tasks (like font change), there are keyboard shortcuts for almost every task. FrameMaker even has a macro capability to store commonly used keyboard sequences.
• It is easy to alternate between vertical and landscape mode (think about big tables). As far as I know, there is no straightforward way to do this in TROFF or SunWrite.
• Generating table of contents, list of figures and index is very simple.
• The spell checker allows checking for repeated words, multiple spaces, unusual capitalization, incorrect spaces near punctuations, etc. FrameMaker also allows you to create personal dictionaries so that words found commonly in your documents will not be cited as spelling mistakes.

How do I use FrameMaker?

If you have never used FrameMaker before, the first step is to modify your path. The relevant information can be found by typing the command "help frame" and following the instructions. To create a directory containing some sample FrameMaker files, type "fmsetuptraining". This command creates a new directory, fmtraining, in your home directory. To start FrameMaker use the command "maker".

After a few seconds a window will appear at the top right hand corner. Click the "HELP" button and go through the on-line help. The arrows at the bottom of the help window can be used to move around the help document. If you would like to look over some template files, please check /home/molecules/SYSTEM/frame2.0/fmtemplates.

Some important Commands

It is impossible to list the full set of commands available in FrameMaker in this introductory document. Here are a few tips to get you started. The top right-hand corner of the open window contains several important icons.

• To enter text in the document, just type inside the open window.
• To zoom the document, use the left mouse button to get a popup menu at the 100% sign at the bottom of the window.
• To remove unnecessary text, select the text using the left mouse button and use the Edit pop-up menu.
• For more information about character and paragraph formats, open appropriate windows using the Format menu.
• To go to a specific page, select Goto Page from the Page menu.
• For cutting and pasting use appropriate commands in the Edit menu.
• To save your work, select Save As from the File menu.
• Graphics menu contains some advanced graphics commands.
• To set up grid and rulers use the View menu.
• Experiment, experiment, experiment!

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