FrameMaker Basics

Description

FrameMaker is a sophisticated document preparation package which can be used to create documents ranging from simple letters or resumes to complex books or reports containing inline graphics, indices and tables. FrameMaker is available on ACS and the CGL cluster machines. FrameMaker provides a large number of document templates for a variety of purposes. Alternatively, you can create your own customized formats.
Highlights: Full featured word processing system for X/Motif users. Allows for inline graphics, indices and tables. Limited number of licenses can occasionally be a problem.

Availability and Setup

FrameMaker is available on the CGL cluster machines and on ACS. In order to use Frame, you must first add /usr/local/frame/bin/ to your path. Having done this, run Frame by typing:
     cgl% maker

Note that our FrameMaker license agreement allows only a limited number of people to run FrameMaker simultaneously. Therefore, if you're not actively using Frame, please exit the program. If you try to run it and get a message indicating there are no licenses available, simply wait a few minutes and try again.

Using FrameMaker

You can import bitmaps in some raster image file formats into FrameMaker using the File->Import->File menu option. The supported formats include .rgb, .xbm and .xwd.

You can incorporate PostScript files into your Frame document if they are "encapsulated PostScript" (.eps) (a special kind of PostScript, variations include EPSI, EPSF, and EPS binary). FrameMaker can import all three EPS variations but only files in the EPSI version will display correctly on screen. All three versions will print correctly. You can create an EPSI version EPS file from a PostScript file using the utility ps2epsi (example command: ps2epsi infile.ps outfile.epsi ). You can also create an EPS file, in the EPSF version, using imconv (example command: imconv infile.rgb outfile.eps ).

Additional Help/Documentation

All of our hardcopy documentation, including the FrameMaker manual set, is available in the Computer Graphics Lab (Room 203, 111 Cummington Street, lab hours). A copy of the FrameMaker documentation is also available at the Consulting Services Help Desks in the basement of 111 Cummington Street. A good way to learn FrameMaker is to follow the tutorial in the manual FrameMaker 4 Getting Started. You may also wish to see the FrameMaker FilterPak gopher page

Online, you can visit the Frame Technology WWW site which includes some useful information on FrameMaker.


Document Name: framemaker
Author/Maintainer: Aaron D. Fuegi (aarondf@bu.edu)
Executable: /usr/local/frame/bin/maker
Keywords: frame, maker, word, processing, document, preparation
Machines List: CGL Cluster, lobster, squid, ACS Cluster
Created June 9, 1995; Last Revised June 12, 1995; Last Modified
URL of this document: http://scv.bu.edu/SCV/Graphics/maker.html
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