RE: Some extra data about Frame 6

["Craig Ede" <craig.ede@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>>>>>>>>SNIP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>> "Stevens, Ananda" <Ananda_Stevens@sdsi.com> 03/15/00 12:18PM >>>
> And, when you reach the end of one chapter, new automated text-editing 
> features move the edit point to the next chapter instantly.

This is a "feature"?!? If you can't turn this "feature" off, I'd rather 
stick with 5.5.6!! We're doing multiple books from the same files via 
conditional text. And we have a version control system that requires 
you to check files out before you can write to them. If Frame automatically
opens the next chapter, it's bypassing one of the safety measures we
set up for a multi-person work group. If you make changes to a chapter
that someone else is working on...!

I can see it now... 
Don gets to the end of chapter 6 in his book, and chapter 7 opens. He
makes all kinds of changes in chapter 7. When he tries to save it, no dice. 
He hasn't checked chapter 7 out of the version control system. Meanwhile,
I'm working on what is chapter 7 in Don's book -- but in my book, it's
chapter 6. I get to the end of the book, and it goes to MY chapter 7 --
and guess what, it's chapter 6 in Don's book. (Hey, not too unbelievable;
one of us forgot to make a change to one of many book files.) So then I 
go and make all sorts of changes in my chapter 7, try to save, and bang. 
Now we have two versions of each chapter. I have yet to see the version
control system that allows a clean, intelligent merge of two Frame files
when something like this happens. So we have to use Frame's Compare 
Documents tool, create the composite docs, and clean them up. Probably
at least a day's work per file, maybe more.  

Nutshell result: a "feature" intended to save you a few seconds costs 
you a day's work. 

--Ananda Stevens
ananda.stevens@windriver.com 
>>>>>>>>> UNSNIP >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Gosh we're gettin' worked up.

Okay, if you don't have the chapter file checked out of your revision control system it won't do this, but if the next chapter is available in the logical location for its place in the book (which would indicate that it has been checked out) , it will. Surely you don't have all the unchecked out files out there ready to be opened within your editing directory, do you?

If so, they wouldn't be editable copies, right., and having them out there "pretending" to be checked out is a mistake. Accidently editing such files by opening them in any fashion would result in the same problem whether FrameMaker opened them for you automatically or not. (It's not as if you don't notice that you've just moved into a new file.) 

On another tack: Hmmm... Lots of folks disappointed there are not enough new features in V6.0  and lots of folks worried about feature bloat. Its a crap shoot, isn't it?

Bazutably,

Craig
Los Jugadores Bazutadores


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