Re: Preventing pagination change

["Thomas Michanek" <thomas.michanek@xxxxxxxxx>]

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From: <bdale@daledomain.net>
> I heard that there is a way to "lock" the pages in a Framemaker document
> so that the pages will not wrap. What I'm looking for specifically is a
> way to keep pagination identical manual formatting when changing from US
> letter to A4. Is there a function in FrameMaker that will cover this?

This feature is called "freeze pagination" and is only available through
the undocumented keyboard shortcut "Esc p z". The reason it's longer
mentioned in the manual is that this feature is so badly implemented
that it isn't worth the effort in trying to use it.

If you only have documents with a single flow, no tables that breaks
between pages, no paragraphs that break between pages, and no floating
graphics, then this feature may be usable. The problem with freezing
pagination is that each page will become a page of its own, a bit like
disconnected pages.

For instance, if a table breaks between pages, the entire table is anchored
at the first page, and the parts of the table that's on the following
pages are put into "point pages"! Then the text that follows the table
is put on the next non-point page. (Try it yourself.) To avoid this,
you'll have to manually split the table into several separate tables and
anchor them at the top of the correct non-point page... 

For paragraphs that break between pages, they are split into two separate
paragraphs that won't be re-joined if you unfreeze the pagination.

Graphics in anchored frames that are floating, and thereby put on a
different page than the anchor, receive the same treatment as tables
broken between pages: they are put into a point page with the remaining
text on the page containing the graphic put on the next non-point page.

You'll spend endless time correcting things like this, and then the same
amount of time changing it back if you ever unfreeze the pagination.

In your case, either use a text frame layout that will fit on both A4
and US Letter paper, or set pagination properties of paragraphs so that
there's enough space left on pages to allow a different page size.
If your only need is to *print* the document to different page sizes,
you could also create a PDF and print from Acrobat Reader.
What method is best for you depends on why and when you need different
page sizes, the complexity of your documents, and your workflow.


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Thomas Michanek, FrameMaker/UNIX/MIF expert
mailto:Thomas.Michanek@telia.com   (Sweden)
http://w1.133.telia.com/~u13304072/framers
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