Re: FM 6: news, changes, problems?

[Thomas Neuburger <thomasn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thomas Michanek wrote:

>... We are upgrading from FM 5.5.x to FM 6, on Windows.
>I'm looking for information on such an upgrade:
>
>...
>* What changes have been made to functions, dialogs
>   and menus? Are there dialogs that have been greatly
>   redesigned, or moved to completely new menu places?

Some of the pagination/numbering settings have been moved around. For 
example, the Before Saving & Printing setting is now in a different dialog 
box. Also, footnote and table footnote numbering properties have been 
relocated. There aren't many of these, but there are some. This may affect 
scripts and macros.

>* Any problems converting FM 5.5.x documents? I was
>   told the new <$chapnum> and <$volnum> variables would
>   be introduced in the files automatically (perhaps
>   after displaying a warning), but I haven't noticed
>   this in my very first initial tests of FM6...

$chapnum is not introduced into doc files, just generated files. All 
autonumbering schemes that replicate chapter numbers (for example, in 
headers and footers) continue to work.

However, some users have reported that chapter numbers disappear from their 
TOC and index entries. I'm not sure what causes this, since the conversion 
should prevent this, but if so, the solution is to edit the TOC or IX flow 
and add $chapnum.

To use $chapnum and $volnum in chapters, they must be edited or new formats 
imported. The usual candidates are variable formats, master pages, and 
paragraph formats. This can be scripted from a carefully designed template.

Chapter numbering must be set manually in the reconstructed Frame 6 book 
file. This can take some getting used to. Note that the Format 
specification applies only when it's adjacent radio-button setting is 
selected.

One gotcha is that $chapnum and $volnum aren't backward compatible 
(obviously), so when Frame 6 files using these counters are reverted to 
Frame 5 (via MIF), these counters turn into text. (This makes for an 
interesting surprise at 24 points.)

Hope this helps,

Tom Neuburger

The Masters Series: FrameMaker 6
ISBN 1-930597-01-0
www.twelfthnight.com


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