Using FrameMaker

Thanks to Peter Grainge for pointing me toward an Adobe Forum post recently.

Like many, the user was having difficulty matching the RH formatting that they were so happy with in FM.

As I’ve said many times, RH maps content, not formatting. To get specific formatting in HTML, you will likely need to have some css knowledge and a little patience. CSS takes practice. Formatting for linked projects is a specific skill, just like css formatting for mass email, or for cross browser and cross format compatibility.

In this case, the forum participant had gotten most of the tough stuff out of the way. If we compare the css code with the html code that it formats, we see the relationship that exists between the two.

Examples of CSS and HTML representions

p.bullet2 will format <p class=”bullet2″>

and

li.p-Bullet2 will format <li class=”p-Bullet2>

Now you need to look at what your resulting html is after the content in FM is linked to RH and updated.

If you content is using the <p class=”Bullet2″> and <li class=”p-Bullet2> code, then your css should work fine. Now the question is whether your path to the graphic is correct. Try modifying a property like font color to see if you have control of the formatting. If so, then track down the actual path of your graphic. Then double and triple check your css for the graphic. It looks ok to me, but hey, I’m not on the clock here….

If your html is using different formatting than <p class=”Bullet2″> and <li class=”p-Bullet2> then you need to modify either your mapping or your css. If your code is using FM_Bullet2 then you don’t have it mapped. In fact, any code using FM_ is improperly mapped, and any attempts to format the FM_ tags in any css file will likely fail miserably.

Finally, you also have the option to map your FM tags to html elements using the User Defined HTML Tag option.

This will allow you to map specifically to a CSS definition, rather than a p.classname definition.

Let me know if this works for you.

If you are still having problems, you may want to consider our online mentoring program. We can always have a short online session to fix your mapping and answer other q’s you may have. Not quite as satisfying as figuring it out yourself, but likely to be faster and more economical in the long run!

-Matt

Recently I responded to a post on the LinkedIn Friends of FrameMaker group. The poster was inquiring on the state of the integration between RoboHelp and FrameMaker. Here’s the relevant part of that post:

I’ve used the conversion in all three versions of TCS. It’s definitely gotten better with each subsequent version.

For me, there are 2 main concepts to keep in mind:

1-Consistent content maps well into RoboHelp.Content should all be explicitly mapped to styles in RH, not trying to use the original FM formatting. Search for FM_ in your HTML; if found, you need to correct your mappings

2-Consider the difference between formatting and content. RoboHelp maps content, not formatting.Tables for warnings, notes and cautions, frames above and below paras, autonumbering are all examples of formatting. (A rule of thumb: If you define in ref pages or in the para designer, it’s formatting)

Much frustration can be avoided if you recognize that HTML formatting is a different skill than FM formatting.