Re: Changing Marker Types (also moving markers around & workflow concept)

[Jay Smith <jay@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

<cross posted to Framers, FrameUsers, Acrobat/BlueWorld, and to people
mentioned herein.>

Jim & All

FrameScript can probably do the marker changing that you desire.  I have
copied this response to Frank Elmore of FrameScript; he may choose to weigh
in.

Only somewhat related....

We ARE using FS to move markers around in a document as part of an automation
process.  We sent the client a PDF of the book text.  The client was
instructed how to open the PDF in Acrobat Exchange and place Notes where a)
illustrations were to be placed and b) where they were to be referred to in
the text.

The "placement" Notes contained three paragraphs: 1) graphic filename (we
supplied a list of them and he cut and pasted from our list into the Note to
avoid typos); 2) location information about his preferences for where to place
the illustration; 3) Caption text of the illustration.

In FM, in a "master" document, we made a 2-row, 3-column table with the
columns joined in the top row.  The center cell in the bottom row was sized to
contain caption text.  The top row was to contain the graphic.  The four cells
in the table were tagged appropriate to their function (1.1: anchor the
graphic; 2.1 and 2.3 as place holders in unused cells, but you want to
positively control them and not just use Body because Body might have an
inappropriate space above setting or such; 2.2 caption text).  Also, and very
important, set up three paratags that are used in the caption cell
graphic-name, location-info, and caption-text (2.2 above).  Set the first two
so that, in order, they define the Next Tag.  All three of these tagnames must
be uniquely used for only this function at this point in the process (you can
use them for other paras also when this is done, if you wish.)  Also, you will
want to test the space above/below table, and above/below the caption-text
para so that the "tableness" is not obvious.

Also, you need to get your Anchored Frame settings the way you want them so
that imported graphics will do what you want without adjustment.

Furthermore, the graphic filenames must, of course, be highly descriptive of
the CONTENT of the graphic and not in any way refer to the USE of the graphic
(i.e. do NO mention "illus 123" or any such value that could later change). 
To make it even easier, I use a numerical prefix such as
"0001_danish_1771_letter_to_dwi.eps".  In this way, your graphics will
properly NUMERICALLY sort (use the "0" placeholders!) in your directories.

Here we go (and you will see why I wanted multiple copy/paste buffers):  Have
working document and master document open in FM.  Have PDF (returned from the
client) open in Exchange.  

a) Go to Exchange. Double click a Note in Exchange.  See where the
illustration is to go.

b) Go to FM, master doc.  Copy table.

c) Go to FM, working doc.  Paste table.

d) Go to Exchange.  Copy text from the Note.  Delete the Note.

e) Go to FM, working doc.  Paste text into center bottom cell of table.

f) Go into top cell.  Using graphic filename stated in first para of center
bottom cell, Import File into top cell.  

g) Go into bottom center cell.  You will have to tag the first para because it
probably has an override as a result of being pasted from Exchange. 
(Following are Win95 instructions)  Hit the following keys:  End, Delete,
Return, Down Cursor (make sure on bottom line of para if more than one line),
End, Delete, Return.  If I remember this correctly, you have now tagged all
three paras in a couple of seconds and virtually without looking at the
screen.

h) Now go buy IxGen (talk about good service!) and run IxGen to generate
markers based on the name of the "graphic-name" paragraph tag.  The text of
the Marker will contain the contents of the paragraph -- which just "happens"
to be graphic filename.  

i) Now go buy FrameScript (Thanks to Frank Elmore, we will soon post a
Marker-Moving script that will work for this function) and run a script that
1) locates THESE markers based on the tagname of the paragraph in which they
reside; 2) cuts them; 3) moves them down two paragraphs; 4) pastes them into
the actual caption-text paragraph.  The marker text remains unchanged.  Note
that the marker text is the graphic filename which starts with a number, and
thus sorts very nicely in the cross reference dialogs, etc.

j) Later, when you are closer to publication and you no longer need to SEE the
graphic filename or the authors comments about locating it, use FrameScript to
locate and delete all occurrences of the these two paragraphs (based on their
tagnames).  (We will also post a script to do this.)

Benefits:

1) A couple days ago we did steps a-g on a document containing 130 graphics. 
The person doing the work has used FrameMaker before and is "reasonably
skilled" at using the interface, but is not an FM "expert".  "Just" a really
sharp young lady who works very hard (I'd like to hire a dozen more!!!!!!  Any
offers?)  The a-g work was done in exactly THREE (3) hours.  I know that to do
it the "old" way would have taken me (I am not too bad at this stuff) at least
6 hours.  

Next, step "h", running IxGen from original product install to having the
markers in place took no more than half an hour (Hey! It was our first time;
slow is better the first time).  The actual running of IxGen was no more than
minute or two.  DONE.

The FrameScript part has been harder because we are new to FS and it is a
LANGUAGE that must be learned.  We are still polishing the script for broader
future use.  However, once we got something that worked, it took no more than
a minute or two to run.  DONE.

2) Still seems like a lot of work to you?  Consider this:  The rather-lengthy
captions with a lot of "foreign words" were done and are exactly as the author
provided them with NO PROOFING necessary.  We knew where the author preferred
to put the illustrations.  We have all the markers in place and ready to be
used for cross references.  We have also captured the rather lengthy graphics
filenames exactly as they are on our system with little or no chance of typos,
etc., etc., etc.  

And now it is time to go have lunch.  ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT IF YOU DO THIS,
YOU HAD BETTER BE BILLING ON A "PROJECT" BASIS AND NOT A "TIME" BASIS!  You'll
go broke otherwise!

(We would be happy to do such work for anybody else.  That is what we are here
for.)

-- 
Jay Smith

e-mail: jay@jaysmith.com

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Jim_Prince@banctec.com wrote:
> 
> We have a document that has several thousand index markers that are Type 11.  Is
> there an automated process that would allow me to convert them all from Type 11
> to Index markers?
> 
> FM 5.5.6 - NT4
>

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