Know what is a template, what are structured and unstructured templates in FrameMaker.
When you set up a template, you lay out master pages, define and apply formats, and define special text, such as cross-reference formats and variables.
A template is a document that stores properties that are used in more than one place. You can create a document from a template to give it all the template properties, or you can import specific properties from the template later. Templates give your documents consistent layout and formatting.
Templates can store the following properties:
Paragraph, character, and table formats that work with formatting information in the element definitions
Page layouts that determine the number and position of columns on pages, and background items such as running headers
Reference pages that store repeatedly used graphics and formatting information
Variables you use as placeholders for text that FrameMaker updates
Formatting information for cross-references, equations, and conditional tags
Definitions for colors you can apply to text and objects
Document-wide settings, including footnote properties, custom marker types, and feathering options for line spacing
Specifications for combined Japanese and Western fonts (on Japanese-language systems)
Structured FrameMaker comes with Structured Templates for letters, memos, faxes, envelopes, reports, outlines, newsletters, books, FAQs, and single source books.
Structured templates can store the following properties:
Element definitions that specify allowable contents, attributes, and formatting for elements
Paragraphs and characters that work with formatting information in the element definitions
Variables you use as placeholders for text that FrameMaker updates
Formatting information for cross-references and conditional tags
Definitions for colors you can apply to text and objects
Design the page layout, design text formats, standardizing formats, set up numbering, define special text in FrameMaker.
Create a document. You can start with either a custom new document or a copy of an existing document you plan to modify.
Define the column layout. If you started with a custom document, you have already specified the margins and the number of columns. If you’re modifying an existing document, you may want to change the column layout.
Add and name any custom master pages you will need.
Enter background text and graphics on the master pages, including headers and footers.
If a running header or footer shows the text or an autonumber of a document paragraph, such as a chapter or section title, it contains a Running H/F variable that refers to the paragraph. To set this up, determine the tag for that paragraph.
Define the custom document properties, such as numbering and text options, and specify the view options.
After designing the page layout, define how you want the text to be formatted:
If your document will be opened or printed on computers other than your own, use fonts that are widely available.
Paragraph formats provide the foundation of text formatting, so set them up before setting up the character formats.
When creating a character format, set all the options in the Character Designer as As Is, and then specify only the settings you want to change. This way, the format will work with any paragraph format.
Use tags that express the purpose rather than the appearance of the text. For example, name a format for emphasized text Emphasis rather than Bold. Then if you decide to change to italics for emphasized text, you can redefine the Emphasis format without having to retag any text.
Use names that are easily recognizable. For example, you might name the formats for numbered lists Step1 and StepNext rather than st1and stn. Or, if you want to use the keyboard to apply paragraph and character tags, consider naming your tags st1 Step1 and stn StepNext. That way the tags and descriptions are quickly available from the keyboard.
If the template uses more than one series of autonumbers, add a series label to the format for each autonumber. For example, define step autonumbers as S:<n+>, where S: is the series label.
In paragraph formats, use either Space Above or Space Below consistently to add space above or below the paragraph. (FrameMaker uses only the larger of the two values to determine the space between paragraphs.)
If the documents will contain graphics, frames, or tables, follow these guidelines to maintain consistency:
Place standard items on a reference page. You can include graphics that users will need again and again—for example, a symbol that calls attention to notes and cautions, or an anchored frame with a standard height and width. Users can copy and paste these items as needed.
Create a paragraph format for anchored frames to provide consistent spacing around graphics. For example, a paragraph format named Frame could contain a Space Below setting of 20 points and a Line Spacing setting of zero. Then, each frame could be anchored to a blank paragraph with the Frame tag. Alternatively, you can use single-cell tables and their titles for graphics and their captions.
If you will use text frames for graphic callouts, create a paragraph format for the callouts. If you will use text lines for callouts, create a character format. (You can’t apply a paragraph format to a text line.)
Choose a color model and redefine colors and color views if necessary.
Prepare standard table formats. Not all the properties you set for tables can be imported into another document. The width of text in actual tables varies greatly, as do other properties. So, regardless of how you prepare your tables, users will probably need to adjust some of these properties themselves. Think of your tables as models for users to start with.
The page numbering for new documents is set to Restart at 1.
If you are building a template for continuous page numbering in books, you may want to set the page numbering in the template to Continue Numbering From Previous Page In Book. In addition, you may want to set the chapter numbering to Continue Numbering From Previous File In Book.
You may need to do the following to set up special text items:
Select a footnote numbering style and number format, and other footnote properties.
Define formats for cross-references. Standardize as much of the cross-reference format as possible. For example, if cross-references should always be introduced by see, include that word in the format definition.
Consider defining user variables for product names, document names, and other items that may change during the course of the project.
Define condition tags, condition indicators, and view settings for conditional tags.
Define custom marker types if you have to create specialized indexes.
Define equation sizes and fonts if any documents will have equations.
If your documents will contain Japanese-language text, define the combined fonts you want to use and set the properties of rubi text.
If documents based on your templates will be converted to HTML, you will need to set up the mappings and conversion macros that define how documents are converted.
Set up the mappings from FrameMaker paragraph formats and character formats to HTML tags.
Create the conversion macros that convert cross-reference formats to a form suitable for online documents.
Create any other conversion macros you may need (for example, to place a logo at the top of every new web page, or to define the title of the HTML document).
Create templates for generated files, update formats in a generated file, import formats, use the formatting of an existing file when generating the new one in FrameMaker.
When you generate a table of contents, an index, or another kind of generated file, if the folder that contains the source document or book file contains a file whose name matches the generated filename, FrameMaker uses the formatting of the existing file when generating the new one. 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.
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.
Know how to create templates to change conditional tags settings in FrameMaker.
If you often change the view of conditional documents in a book, you may find it helpful to have a template for each view. You can then change the view of all the files in the book at the same time by importing the conditional tags settings from one of the templates into the book file.
If you want to change the view of a single document that contains conditional tags, it is easier to change the document’s Show/Hide settings.
Set up a basic template for the conditional document with all conditions and condition indicators visible. You’ll import conditional tags settings from this template before editing a document.
Set up a template for each combination of conditions you want to view. Use these templates to view or print one version of the document at a time. You can also use the template to change variable definitions that are unique to a view.
Change templates for blank paper and text files, update the page layout in FrameMaker.
You can change the custom template for blank paper so that it contains the formats you want. The template can contain the same formats as any other template, except for the page layout. The master page layout, number of columns, and margins are determined when you create the blank paper documents.
You can also change the custom template that FrameMaker uses when you open text files.
Change a document so it contains the formats and settings you want. Leave existing master pages empty and do not create custom master pages.
Remove all text frames from both the left and right master pages—even if a document is single-sided. If the document is single-sided, choose , select Double Sided, and click Set. Then select and delete the text frames on the master pages.
Choose and delete all body pages.
Save the document, using the Custom file in the FrameMaker fminit folder. (When you choose from the context menu in a folder or on the desktop, the Shellnew.fm file is used.)
Change a document so it contains the formats and settings you want. For example, you can place headers and footers, a Paragraph Catalog, and master page graphics in the template document.
Delete all text on the body pages.
Click in the empty text frame on page 1, and tag it with the paragraph format you want all text in the document to use. The default template uses the Body paragraph format.
Save the document, using the txttmplt file in the FrameMaker fminit folder.
Know how to import formats from a template or a document, know more about import and update settings in FrameMaker.
You can import paragraph formats, table formats, variable definitions, and other properties from any document.
You can also retain or remove any format overrides in the document—for example, changes that were made to a paragraph but not stored in the Paragraph Catalog.
Open the document that contains the formats you want to import.
Make the appropriate document window or book window active. If a book window is active, select the documents you want to update.
In the document or book you’re updating, choose .
Do one of the following:
To import formats from a document, choose the document from the Import From Document pop‑up menu. The pop‑up menu lists all open, saved documents.
To reapply formats from the current document, choose Current from the Import From Document pop‑up menu.
Select the Import and Update settings you want to apply to the current document. By default, all options are selected. To deselect or select all options at once, click Deselect All or Select All. If you’re updating variable definitions, cross-reference formats, or math definitions, and if any of these items use character formats, select Character Formats so that the formats are added to the document.
To remove changes that you made to individual formats and didn’t save in a catalog, do the following:
To remove page breaks that are not a part of a Paragraph Catalog format, select Manual Page Breaks.
To remove paragraph, character, page layout, and table formatting overrides, select Other Format/Layout Overrides.
Click Import.
When you import formatting information from a template, FrameMaker merges the information into the document rather than completely replacing the information. For example, when you import paragraph formats, FrameMaker adds the formats to the document’s Paragraph Catalog. If any formats have the same name in both documents, the imported format overwrites the original format. Any formats that are not overwritten remain in the document.
The template’s Paragraph Catalog is merged into the document, and all formats in the catalog are reapplied in the document. The template’s PDF bookmark settings are also copied into the document.
The template’s Character Catalog is merged into the document, and all formats in the catalog are reapplied in the document.
The template’s master pages are merged into the document, and body pages are updated with the master page changes. If the template and the document both have a master page with the same name, the template’s master page replaces the document’s. FrameMaker copies the change bar properties, all the settings in the Page Size and Pagination dialog boxes, and most settings in the View Options dialog box.
The template’s Table Catalog and ruling styles are merged into the document, and all formats in the catalog are reapplied in the document.
The template’s color definitions and views are merged into the document.
The template’s custom marker types and footnote properties; the volume, chapter, page, paragraph, footnote, and table footnote numbering styles in the Numbering Properties dialog box; the characters in the Allow Line Breaks After setting in the Text Options dialog box; and the Feather settings in the Line Layout dialog box are merged into the document. The PDF Setup settings (other than the bookmark settings) are also merged into the document. On Japanese-language systems, the rubi properties and kumihan rules (Japanese-language typesetting rules) are also merged into the document.
All the template’s reference pages (except for FrameMath reference pages) are merged into the document. If the template and the document both have a reference page with the same name, the template’s reference page replaces the document’s. To import FrameMath reference pages, select Math Definitions.
The template’s variable definitions are merged into the document.
The template’s cross-reference formats are merged into the document, and internal cross-references are updated.
The template’s condition tags and Show/Hide settings are merged into the document and applied to conditional tags.
The template’s equation size and font settings, custom math element definitions, and FrameMath reference pages are copied into the document. If a custom math element in the document is deleted when the reference pages are merged, FrameMaker replaces the math element in equations with the name of the element enclosed by question marks.
On Japanese-language systems, the specifications for combined Japanese and Western fonts are merged into the document and applied to text that uses combined fonts.