What’s new in Update 2 of Adobe FrameMaker

Learn what is new in Update 2 release of Adobe FrameMaker.

Update 2 of FrameMaker Summer 2020 release has many improvements and bug fixes spanning across authoring, publishing, and managing content. Features to help you work efficiently with images, LwDITA; publishing enhancements in PDF and Kindle outputs; and managing content in AEM, SharePoint, and much more.

Note: For more details on the issues fixed in this release, see the Fixed issues article.

Let’s take a look at the new and enhanced features in Update 2 of FrameMaker:

Retaining image DPIs while scaling or resizing

Images are an integral part of a document. Maintaining the quality of your images is important while you change their size in a document. Adobe FrameMaker comes with a number of features to help you insert and align images. Now a new feature has been introduced in this release to maintain the quality of your images even when they are resized or scaled.

When you import an image and scale it or use the Fit To Frame (Proportionally) functionality, the image’s resolution and picture quality change. With Update 2, FrameMaker maintains the image’s resolution to the best possible DPIs (Dots Per Inch) when you resize an image maintaining its original aspect ratio. This value also reflects in the Object Properties panel.

To launch the Object Properties panel, choose Graphics > Object Properties.

For more information, see Resize imported graphics.

Update 2 of FrameMaker maintains the picture quality when you insert images at various positions in both structured and unstructured documents. Suppose you insert an image that is larger than its parent text frame or table cell. In that case, the image exceeds the size of the anchored frame. When you resize the image to fit into the anchored frame, the image loses its DPI value. With Update 2, FrameMaker maintains the image quality and scales the image proportionally to fit into its parent anchored frame while maintaining the best possible DPI.

To scale the image automatically, choose Edit > Preferences > Graphics and select Auto-Scale Image Along Width (on Insertion).

Figure 1. Auto-scale Images option in the Preferences dialog

For more information, see Auto-Scale an image in a graphic frame.

Support for xml:lang attribute when authoring XML or DITA content

FrameMaker supports authoring and publishing in multiple languages in both structured and unstructured documents. With the new enhancement for structured content, you can author and proofread your content in different languages.

You can now select any one of the 46 languages bundled with FrameMaker and add it as an attribute value for @xml:lang for your structured content.

To support this functionality, the structured authoring template (DITA 1.2, DITA 1.3, and LwDITA) has been updated. In the template, FrameMaker sets the various properties of Paragraph Designer based on the language setting in the @xml:lang attribute from your XML file.

The properties of Paragraph Designer, which are set automatically on specifying the attribute value for @xml:lang are:

Figure 2. Settings configured in Paragraph Designer to support @xml:lang attribute





For more information, see Language and font settings in structured documents.

Metadata mapping from FrameMaker to PDF

With the new enhancement, you get a more unified experience as you publish the PDF output. The metadata a user can add to a FrameMaker document in the

File Info dialog now map to the PDF metadata when you publish you content in PDF. In FrameMaker, to see the file’s metadata information, choose File > File Info.

The titles are also updated in the metadata of the PDF output when you publish as a PDF. To see the metadata of a PDF, open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat and choose File > Properties. In the Description tab you see a summary of the metadata of the PDF. To see the full metadata, click Additional Metadata.

Figure 3. File Info in FrameMaker

Figure 4. Mapped titles in PDF metadata

For more information, see Add metadata to a document.

Support for Kindle Previewer

eBooks are a popular and convenient choice for readers in this digital world. FrameMaker provides a powerful experience for publishing to Amazon Kindle. As KindleGen is obsolete now, our update helps you download the most current Kindle Previewer.

You can download Kindle Previewer from Publish Settings, Outputs, General, KindleGen Path.

Figure 5. Kindlegen.exe path in Kindle publish settings

For more information, see Output settings.

The new feature of FrameMaker gives you a seamless experience while opening and accessing Kindle eBook files. You have better control of your Kindle output with Update 2 of FrameMaker. Now you don't always have to go to the output folder and double click the Kindle file to open it. When you publish your Kindle file from File > Publish, you can open the files directly as they are published.

Click View Output in the Publish Result dialog box to directly open your eBook in Kindle Previewer.

UUID-based files publishing support through Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Connector

XML Documentation for Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), Adobe’s DITA CCMS, supports Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) based file referencing system. FrameMaker’s AEM Connector has been enhanced to support publishing content using the UUID-based file referencing system.

To support the UUID-based referencing in files, a new Use UUID Based Referencing option is added in the AEM Connector preferences.

Choose Edit > Preferences > CMS > Adobe Experience Manager and select Use UUID Based Referencing.

Figure 6. New UUID-based referencing option in the Preferences dialog

After enabling this option, you are now ready to download files that use UUID-based file referencing from AEM. Once the files are available on your system, you can publish these files in FrameMaker to generate the required output.

For more information, see UUID-based files publishing support.

Improved dependent files download experience in Microsoft SharePoint Connector

Collaboration and versioning are an integral part of the document creation process. In Adobe FrameMaker, you can share your documents for reviews while you can create and maintain different versions of the documents with SharePoint.

While authoring in FrameMaker, if your main document has dependents, you can also download or checkout the dependent files from SharePoint. To support this functionality, the Checkout Dependent Files by Default option is available in the Microsoft SharePoint CMS settings in the Preferences dialog.

Now you get a more integrated experience over the process of checking out files with dependencies. With the Update 2 of FrameMaker, this option is better synced to SharePoint server and Documentum Server.

When you checkout a file from the SharePoint server you see a dialog box to confirm to download the dependent files. The Checkout all dependent files option in the confirmation dialog box now is synced to the Checkout Dependent Files by Default option in the Preferences dialog.

Figure 7. Microsoft SharePoint setting in the Preferences dialog

Figure 8. Dependent files download confirmation dialog

For more information, see Checkout files.

Access S1000D help resources directly from the Help menu

S1000D standard is the efficient, modern way to create, manage, and publish technical documentation for aerospace and defense projects. The European military aerospace industry first developed S1000D, but now countries and industries worldwide work with S1000D. Adobe FrameMaker supports creating and publishing S1000D documents.

Suppose you work on S1000D/ATA and other XML military standards. In that case, you get stronger support and guidance in the new FrameMaker Help menu.

Quick access to the S1000D/ATA resources has been provided in the Help > S1000D functionality menu. The new menu items under S1000D Functionality are:

Figure 9. New menu option for S1000D Functionality

For more information, see S1000D in Create XML documents topic.