FrameMaker document model [was 'Re: Wish List - Conditional text COLUMNS INA TABLE']

[hedley_finger@xxxxxxxxxxx]

All:

Thomas Michanek stated in passing that ...

> It is clear that Adobe doesn't want, and never will, rewrite the FM
> code and the document model to support new features that require
> such rewrites. This is why, for instance, Unicode "support" in FM7
> was implemented using markers instead of rewriting the way characters
> are stored. Perhaps Adobe will do such a rewrite for FM8, but they
> are apparently very afraid to touch the internal workings of FM.

In fact, if you look at all the changes since FM 4.0, they have largely
been cosmetic changes to the GUI or to improve usability, and very few have
addressed the underlying document model (think MIF) or the renderer (think
screen and print output).

There have been a few useful additions, such as more Running H/F variables
but so much more desperately needs to be done to make FrameMaker a
distinctive tool that supports common practices in book publishing.

A quick checklist:

@    Working in double-spreads instead of single pages (graphics and tables
spanning two facing pages, footnotes balancing across pages)
@    Master page applied according to table format, like current
application by paragraph format.
@    Foot-of-page, end-of-chapter, or end-of-book notes, or multiple
combinations of these, such as asterisked footnotes coexisting with
numbered chapter notes or citations -- as Word can do now.
@    Integration of a bibliographic database utility or interfaces to
biblio database software to allow automatic updating.
@    In a long table, table footnotes appear at the appropriate break (if a
footnote marker is in row 2 on page 1, the footnote should be on page 1
too, not page 4)
@    Integration of better indexing tools, e.g. something like Cindex or
Sky Index that works with markers.
@    Paragraph properties:
     -- Inside or Outside alignment (like Left and Right but determined by
page),
     -- Top or Bottom of Page/Column for chapter headings (only available
in table cells at the moment),
     -- Frame Behind with x and y offsets to augment Frame Above and Frame
Below.
@    Cross-reference formats that automatically change depending on
whether:
     -- the target is above or below on the same page (see Table 1.2 above)
     -- the target is on the opposite page (see Table 1.2 facing)
     -- the ref. is on a right and the target is on the following left (see
Table 1.2 following)
     -- the ref. is on a left and the target is on the preceding right (see
Table 1.2 preceding)
     -- the target is far away (see Table 1.2, 'Comparison of Asian and
Western diets', on page 49)
@    A Figure object containing Title, Caption, and Anchored Frame
subobjects that can be handled as a single unit, similar to a Table object.


This situation is very common in mature software.  Four factors ensure that
little will be done:

@    Typically new enhancements are incremental changes to a huge codebase
that can be handled by a very small team of programmers and testers
extending the current API.  If the document model is not extensible and is
embedded in spaghetti code, the costs of substantial changes to the
document model and renderer are huge.
@    Pressure from the market to keep prices down.
@    Pressure from shareholders to keep profits up (also see note above
about cheapness of minor incremental improvements).
@    De facto monopoly ensuring that no substantive changes need be made to
keep or increase market share.  Wouldn't be nice if Ventura Publisher or
Kword were serious competitors?

My dream is that Graeme Forbes will see footnotes fixed within his lifetime
-- and mine.

Regards,
Hedley

--
Hedley Finger
Technical Communications/Technical communicator and FrameMaker mentor
MYOB Australia <http://www.myob.com.au/>
P.O. box 371   Blackburn VIC 3130   Australia
12 Wesley Court   Tally Ho Business Park   East Burwood VIC 3151
Australia
<mailto:hedley_finger@myob.com.au>
Tel. +61 3 9222 9992 x 7421,   Mob. (cell) +61 412 461 558

(C) MYOB Limited 2002


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