Week 3:

1
TC 424 The Computer in TC (Winter 2008)

• Week 3
• Working with templatesand creating content
  inAdobe FrameMaker

2
What did we cover last time?

• Learning to see your documents from the
  FrameMaker perspective
• Hands-on creation of a basic Frame book, chapter
  (document), TOC, and Index
• Using the Frame online Help system

3
What will we cover today?

• Understanding the purpose and usefulness of a
  robust document template
• Understanding master pages and what they can do
  for (and to) your files
• Adding new content and importing existing content
  into a FrameMaker file
• Using a template to format content in FrameMaker

4
Whats a template?

• Templates contain all of the formatting you will
  need to apply to your content
• They contain predefined paragraph and character
  tags, table styles, and page layouts
• They are ostensibly created by someone who
  understands the purpose of the project at hand
• A good template will save you many hours
• A bad template will cost you many hours

5
Why are templates so important?

• Your primary task is to write
• Templates require knowledge of print production,
  and of the other applications you will need to
  complete your project (Acrobat, WebWorks
  Publisher, etc.)
• Template creation takes a while
• Your content must look the same as the other
  writers in your group/company
• Templates help writers follow style guides
• Templates make content look professional

6
Why put the template first?(a few analogies)

• The template is the foundation upon which you
  build your house
• The template is the chassis around which you
  design your vehicle
• The template is the key to your success and
  sanity as a technical writer
• The template will probably continue to evolve as
  you encounter difficult situations during the
  writing process

7
What does a template include?

• Every paragraph and character tag
• Every table type
• Every master page
• Every TOC/Index tag (on the reference page)
• In short, a good template includes everything you
  need as a writer
• A good template doesnt include the stuff you
  dont need

8
Whats a master page?

• A given document has multiple master pages
• Left master page, right master page, first master
  page, left TOC master page, right TOC master
  page, Index master page, etc.
• Templates come with (hopefully) all the master
  pages you will ever need

9
Whats the difference between a master page and a
body page?

• Master pages are the pages that determine the
  margins, header and footer content, page numbers,
  and all other formatting aspects of the body
  pages
• Body pages are where you type your content
• Master pages are applied to the body pages within
  your documents
• Text entered on a master page will appear on
  every page within a document
• Global formatting changes occur within master
  pages, not body pages

10
Why cant I modify my document myself and forget
the template?

• Any changes you make to a document will not be
  saved within the template file itself
• So-called manual changes are not allowed
• If the template is faulty, you must request a fix
  (or fix it yourself, if you have control of the
  template file)
• Someone else, who is an expert at template
  creation, typically owns the template file
• He/she must understand and approve any potential
  template changes (which can be rare)
• Every change has potential repercussions that
  most people never anticipate, which can delay the
  work of other writers working with the same
  template

11
How do I apply formats in Frame?

• When entering new content
• At the paragraph level (mostly automatic)
• When updating an entire document
• At the document/book level
• When importing existing content
• At the paragraph/character level
• Mostly a process of checking, reapplying, or
  removing formatting to achieve the right look

12
How do I apply master page formatting to
generated files?

• When you generate a TOC or index, FrameMaker uses
  the formatting of the existing file when
  generating the new one (if the folder that
  contains the source document or book file
  contains a file whose name matches the generated
  filename).
• In effect, the existing file serves as the new
  generated file's template, just as if you had
  imported formats from it.
• Use this feature to create generated-file
  templates that contain page layouts, paragraph
  and character formats, and the formatting
  information that appears on the reference page.
• You can also update the formats in a generated
  file by importing formats from a template.
• However, you'll probably need to generate the
  file again after importing formats to see all the
  formatting.

13
How do I apply master page formatting to
generated files?

• To create a template for a generated file
• Open the document or book file from which you
  want to generate the table of contents, index, or
  other file.
• Generate the file.
• Format the generated file. This formatted file is
  your template.
• Save the generated file. Make sure that this
  generated-file template is in the folder that
  contains the document or book file that you will
  use to create a new generated file.
• Note This is just one of the ways you can get
  your TOC to turn out right. But what if you have
  no template? Youll need to edit the reference
  page

14
How do I add content to a Frame document?

• Just start typing!
• As you type, be sure to apply the proper
  paragraph (P) tag to your text
• If parts of text require special formatting,
  highlight the text and apply a character tag
• Be sure to save your file with a new name (dont
  overwrite your template file)

15
How do I import content into a Frame document?

• It depends on the source file type
• Word files work best as RTF files (ideally retain
  formatting names, eliminate special Word tagging)
• Frame sees Word files as images (thats bad)
• Other files (such as HTML) should be imported as
  raw text, then restyled
• No matter what text you import, you will need to
  double-check the formatting and the P tag usage

16
How do templates speed up the formatting process?

• If you have one document
• Apply the template formats at the document level
• If you have multiple documents in a book
• Apply the template formats at the book level
• The tag catalogs of all documents within the book
  will change
• Any currently applied tags will automatically
  change to reflect the new template (assuming the
  tag names are the same)

17
When do I get to play with it?

• Right now!
• From the Start menu, select All Programs, open
  the Adobe folder, and find Frame on your computer
• Open your book file
• Open the template file I have provided
• The template must be open before you can apply
  its styles and formatting
• Follow my lead

18
What am I doing with it?

• Todays lab topics
• Reviewing the Frame interface
• Using an existing template (review)
• Saving a file as a template file
• Creating a new template file
• Modifying an existing template (something that a
  writer should not do understanding global
  changes vs. local changes)
• Viewing master pages
• Editing master pages and viewing the results
• Formatting your TOC and Index files using master
  pages
• Modifying your TOC and Index entries
• Reviewing content creation within Frame
• Working with graphics
• Setting the numbering within your chapters from
  the book file

19
What should I do for next time (extra credit/no
credit)?

• Practice incorporating template styles
• Spend some time fixing the dirty tags in your
  FrameMaker document
• Make a list of problems you encounter, or issues
  that require some explanation, and bring the list
  to class next time

20
Uninspired This weeks demotivational quote

• The Jargon Files dictionary definition of
  documentation
• Documentation n. The multiple kilograms of
  macerated, pounded, steamed, bleached, and
  pressed trees that accompany most modern software
  or hardware products. (Jargon Files).

21
What did we cover today?

• Understanding the purpose and usefulness of a
  robust document template
• Understanding master pages and what they can do
  for (and to) your files
• Adding new content and importing existing content
  into a FrameMaker file
• Using a template to format content in FrameMaker