Import movies, SWF files, and 3D objects

You can import SWF files (for example, Adobe Captivate demos) into FrameMaker documents by copying or by reference.

You can also import 3D objects (U3D format) into documents by copying or by reference. You can set parameters for the 3D object, such as default view, rendering mode, background color, and lighting scheme. You can also choose to render a 3D object in an anchored or unanchored frame.

For a series of tutorials and demonstrations on using rich media in FrameMaker authoring, watch the episodes on the Technical Communications channel on Adobe TV.

Import movies

You can add movies to documents by embedding media files. FrameMaker supports the following media formats.

  • AIF/AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) WMV

  • ASF (Advanced Systems Format File)

  • AU (Audio File)

  • AVI (Audio Video Interleave File)

  • FLV (Flash Video File)

  • IVF (Indeo Video Format File)

  • KAR (Karaoke MIDI File)

  • M1V (MPEG-1 Video File)

  • M3U (Media Playlist File)

  • MID (MIDI File)

  • MOV (Apple QuickTime Movie)

  • MP2 (MPEG Layer II Compressed Audio File)

  • MP3 (MP3 Audio File)

  • MP4 (MPEG-4 Video file)

  • MPA (MPEG-2 Audio File)

  • MPE (MPEG Movie File)

  • MPEG (MPEG Movie)

  • MPG (MPEG Video File)

  • QT (Apple QuickTime Movie)

  • WAV (DTS-WAV File)

  • WMV (Windows Media Video File)

For more information see Embedding objects.

When you print a document containing a QuickTime movie, only the movie title appears.

Note: Don’t move or delete the original QuickTime movie file, even if you used the Copy into Document option when you imported it. Even with this option, the entire QuickTime movie is not copied into your document.

Import a SWF file

Note: Ensure that you have installed Adobe® Flash® Player on your computer to play SWF files.
Note: SWF files embedded inside PDF documents, do not need Adobe Flash Player, to play. Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Reader can play these files.

  1. Place the insertion point in your document where you want the SWF file to appear.

  2. Select File > Import > File.

  3. Navigate to, and select, the SWF file you want to insert.

  4. Select the Copy Into Document or Import by Reference option.

  5. Click Import.

  6. In the Graphic Scaling dialog box, select the desired DPI, and then click Set.

When you click Set, the first frame of the SWF file appears in the document. If you imported the file by reference, double-click the first frame to play the SWF file in a separate Adobe Flash Player window. If you copied the SWF file into the document, a bitmap image of the first frame is displayed. Click the frame to activate the SWF file. If the first frame is blank, the anchored frame containing the SWF file appears blank.

Note: You can’t use any graphic operations on a SWF file in a FrameMaker document.
Note: In FrameMaker, SWF files and FLV files are saved as RichMedia objects in PDF.

Import 3D objects

  1. Place the insertion point in your document where you want the 3D object to appear.

  2. Select File > Import > File.

  3. Navigate to and select the U3D file you want to import.

  4. Select the Copy Into Document or Import By Reference option.

  5. Click Import.

  6. Select the desired DPI and click Set.

When you click Set, the bitmap of the 3D object appears in the document. If you imported the 3D object by copying it, the U3D file is embedded in the document as a device-independent bitmap (DIB) in the document. If you imported the 3D object by reference, a bitmap image linked to the source U3D file is inserted in the document. Regardless of the method of importing the 3D file, the file is rendered in the DIB facet in the document.

When you import the 3D object into a document and save it in PDF or XML format, all information about the 3D object is preserved.

Save a document containing 3D objects

You can save a document containing 3D objects in PDF and XML formats.

  1. Select File > Open, and then open the FrameMaker book or file containing 3D objects.

  2. Select File > Save As PDF.

  3. You can change the save location and the filename if you want, and then click Save.

  4. Click Set in the PDF Setup dialog box to generate PDF with the default settings. Or, set additional options, and then click Set. The U3D file imported into the book or file is saved along with all its views. When you open the PDF, the view you last selected for the 3D object in the document displays in the PDF.

Note: By default, FrameMaker is configured to embed 3D objects in PDFs. However, you can disable this option.

In the PDF, click the 3D object to view the 3D toolbar and to activate the interactive features of the 3D object. The Adobe Acrobat 3D toolbar, which is displayed above every 3D object in a PDF, lets you zoom, pan, rotate, and analyze 3D designs.

Save documents containing 3D objects as XML

You can save a FrameMaker file containing a 3D object as XML. When you open the XML file in FrameMaker, the 3D object is preserved through XML roundtrip. The 3D object is extracted and saved as an independent U3D file, along with the XML file. When the file is opened again in FrameMaker, the 3D object appears at the location where it was inserted.

To preserve changes made to a 3D object during a roundtrip in an XML file, add a new attribute called insetdata with the following properties in the Graphic section of the DTD file, along with other attributes such asOffset and DPI: 

insetdata CDATA #IMPLIED

Similarly, you must add the following lines in the XSD file:

<xsd:attribute name="insetdata" type="xsd:string" use="optional"/>
Note: The insetdata attribute does not support read/write rules.

If you don’t modify the DTD and XSD files, U3D files can still be exported to XML. However, changes made to the U3D file in FrameMaker are not preserved during a roundtrip.

  1. Select File > Open, and open the FrameMaker file containing 3D objects.

  2. Select File > Save As XML.

  3. You can change the save location and the filename, and then click Save.

Note: When you open the XML file in a 3D compatible XML Editor, the relevant graphic element contains a reference to the U3D file, with the filename and location of the U3D file. If you open the XML file in FrameMaker, the 3D object appears as a bitmap image.

Print a FrameMaker file with 3D objects

You can print a document with 3D objects. The 3D objects are printed as bitmap images.

  1. Open the document containing 3D objects.

  2. Select File > Print.

  3. Set the remaining print options as necessary, and then click Print.

Configure a 3D model imported into FrameMaker

You can configure a 3D model you have imported into a document by setting its background color, lighting schemes, changing views, and rendering mode.

Set the background color for a 3D object

You can change the color that appears behind a 3D object. The default background color is white.

  1. Select a 3D object.

  2. Select Graphics > 3D Menu option > Background Color.

  3. Select the desired color and click OK.

Set lighting schemes for a 3D object

You can select from a wide range of 3D lighting schemes to cast a 3D object using different light sources. The default lighting scheme for all 3D objects is Lights From File.

  1. Select a 3D object.

  2. Select Graphics > 3D Menu option > Lighting, and choose one of the following light sources: Lights From File, No Lights, White Lights, Day Lights, Bright Lights, Primary Color Lights, Night Lights, Blue Lights, Red Lights, Cube Lights, CAD Optimized Lights, or Headlamp.

Set views for 3D objects in FrameMaker

The 3D object you import into a document can contain predefined views. You can change the view set for the object; the selected view is rendered when the document is saved. When you convert this FrameMaker document to a PDF, all predefined views of the 3D object are available in the PDF. The last view that you selected in the document before saving becomes the default view in the PDF.

  1. Select a 3D object.

  2. Select Graphics > 3D Menu option > Show Existing Views, choose a view from the list that appears in the dialog box, and click OK.

Note: If you save the document as a PDF, all views of the U3D objects are available in the converted document.

Render a 3D object in a document

The rendering modes for 3D objects vary from the Wireframe, Solid, to Transparent Bounding box. The default rendering mode is Solid.

  1. Select a 3D object.

  2. Select Graphics > 3D Menu option > Rendering Mode, and then choose one of the following rendering modes: Bounding Box, Transparent Bounding Box, Transparent Bounding Box Outline, Vertices, Shaded Vertices, Wireframe, Shaded Wireframe, Solid, Transparent, Solid Wireframe, Transparent Wireframe, Illustration, Solid Outline, Shaded Illustration, or Hidden Wireframe.

Poster file for a media file

You can set a poster file to an imported media file. Importing a SWF file into FrameMaker, displays the first frame of the SWF file as the poster for the SWF file.

SWF file with first frame as the poster

For a SWF file whose first frame cannot be read, and for all other media types, FrameMaker displays the relevant placeholder image.

For structured documents, if an attribute is defined in the DTD with the name posterfile for a graphic object, the attribute is automatically mapped to the poster property of the anchored frame. You can also map any attribute to a poster using a rule in the read write file. The file referred in the attribute becomes the poster.

Set a poster image

FrameMaker sets the selected image as the poster. If the image that has been set as a poster is missing, FrameMaker sets a special image as the poster.

  1. Right click the inserted media file.

  2. Select Set Poster.

  3. Select the image file (JPEG, PNG, BMP, or GIF) and click OK.

Reset the poster image

  1. Right click the inserted media file.

  2. Select Set Default Poster.