RE: ONE problem file in a book

[Deborah Snavely <dsnavely@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Obvious spot-check: Allocate more RAM to Distiller before next attempt.
(Quit Distiller, do a Get Info on the application itself, look at the Memory
specs, change the minimum number to the recommended number, then put a
larger number in the recommended field. Relate it to how much real RAM you
have on the Mac, like if you have 64MB of RAM, and OS 9 eats 12MB, and you
give FrameMaker 20MB and need to be able to run a browser too, then allocate
10 or 15MB to Distiller instead of the default four-figures.)

Usual suspect:
This behavior usually points back to one specific graphic (imported or
embedded) in that particular file. To test this theory, try opening the
problem file, create a PS file from only it, and then Distill. If you get
the same crash, look through the file for any non-FrameMaker-created
graphics, especially large and complex ones, and try distilling PS file of
just that one page.  That can get you confirmation.

Now, fixes are tougher. 

If you have the source graphic file and it's on your Mac, the nearest thing
to a bullet-proof solution these days is to open the graphic file, print it
to a PS file with all fonts embedded (preferred Mac settings in my world
are: PostScript level 2, binary, embed all fonts), then distill to a PDF
file and place THAT as your Frame graphic. The resulting Frame file should
distill like a breeze. 

Emergency workaround:
If you don't have the source graphic file or time to fiddle around with the
above, the quick-n-dirty workaround is...
Open the Frame file with the problem image.
Print ONLY the problem page to PDF using PDFwriter.  (say, page 26)
Print the two halves of the problem Frame file (pages 1-25 and 27-99) to PS
and distill to PDF. 
Print the rest of the book without that file from Frame to PDF. (Note: this
method means that bookmarks and TOC and index links for that file must be
built by hand somehow if they're required.)
Open Exchange or whatever-the-heck Adobe calls it now in 4.0 and assemble
the PDF parts by inserting the three pieces of your problem file PDF where
they go in the larger PDF. 

Another note:
Sometimes the Frame book file is wonky. If you haven't saved the *book* file
as MIF and back in, make sure you include that in your list of
troubleshooting tips. When printing a book to PDF, it might misbehave. I
haven't seen that particular misbehavior, but I've seen corrupted book files
do WEIRD things before.

Good luck!

Deborah Snavely, Senior Technical Writer, Aurigin Systems, Inc.
  

** To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@omsys.com **
** with "unsubscribe framers" (no quotes) in the body.   **