Recently, one of our customers asked, “Why do so many of our authors want to use FrameMaker for their textbooks?”

Some writers, especially those in computer science, prefer using Adobe FrameMaker because of certain attractive features. With easy access to Adobe’s online help page on the Internet, the writer will find service, products, and updated tips for using FrameMaker. The program treats multiple-chapter books as a single document. Figures are automatically placed after their text references. Other automatically created components are the table of contents and the index (given the correct coding). FrameMaker also makes it easy to add chapter, volume, page, paragraph, and footnote numbering.

Some authors appreciate FrameMaker’s ability to build cross-references and tables. This software also works well with standard files (TIFF, EPS), although the files need to be relinked whenever the document file is moved from one computer or directory to another.

The fact that FrameMaker is cross-platform compatible between Macs, PCs, and UNIX is a distinct advantage. ICC Macmillan can easily work with any author’s files, or if the book has been created with UNIX, we can readily convert the files. We can use FrameMaker to create HTML, Dynamic HTML, and XML/SGML output. Elements such as character tags and graphics can be mapped to online styles, and images can be converted into online formats.

Another question we frequently hear is, “What if I have a two-color job; isn't using FrameMaker complex?” ICC Macmillan understands how FrameMaker treats colors. It does not produce color files that are ready for a printer until PDF files have been created and then modified to make them CMYK. Because you cannot specify a percentage value for a color within FrameMaker, you must create a custom color at that color value. For example, you cannot specify that a subhead be 50% black.You must create a color that is a 50% tint of black, then specify that value for the subhead.