VERDICT: Improved handling of single-source repurposing and new support for rich media and Unicode – but Framemaker is still crying out for a core overhaul.

Framemaker was one of the first DTP packages and this year celebrates its 21st birthday...

That’s a significant achievement and a testament to Framemaker’s great strength: where programs like PageMaker provided hands-on design power designed to mimic traditional cut-and-paste layout, Framemaker has always taken a more holistic tag-based approach that massively boosts productivity when dealing with longer, more technical documents. Back in 1996, recognising the value of this system, Adobe bought the company and the future looked bright. However, when Adobe shifted its focus onto InDesign, development virtually ground to a halt. With over five years passed since the underwhelming version 7 release, it began to look as if Framemaker might have been deemed surplus to requirements.
Not at all, according to Adobe, which claims this latest release is the most significant and exciting since it took over. So what’s new? Text handling is clearly central to Framemaker but, without a dedicated story editor view, it’s still often preferable to begin authoring documents in a word processor so the new support for Word 2007 (and Excel 2007) files is welcome. Even more so is Framemaker’s belated new Unicode support for all import, export and internal processing which, along with new international dictionaries, makes it possible to produce documentation in multiple languages.
Framemaker 8 also adds new options for tracking edits with colour coding of added and deleted text. You can also jump from edit to edit, approving or rejecting as you go though certain actions still aren’t tracked and the handling is hardly state-of-the-art. Rather more impressive is Framemaker’s longstanding ability to manage multiple versions, say translations, of a single document by using conditional text. This process has been enhanced by the addition of a new Manage Condition Tag dialog, new colour coding capabilities and the ability to generate conditional output based on Boolean expressions.

Framemaker’s support for handling multiple versions of the same document has been improved

Hands-on conditional text handling is fine for ad-hoc document variations, but Framemaker really comes into its own when handling the repurposing of rigidly-structured documents for which it offers a dedicated working environment with additional power. In particular when single-sourcing multiple documents, you can now filter structured documents based on attribute values using complex Boolean expressions which can be saved and re-used. Framemaker 8 also adds new support for DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture) which breaks down a publishing project into re-usable modular topics brought together by maps – well suited for working on complex jobs such as encyclopaedias and help files.

Framemaker 8 now supports the import of Flash movies and 3D models ready for interactive PDF publishing

DITA, like the other structured document formats, is based on XML (eXtensible Markup Language) for which Framemaker’s longstanding tagged document approach makes a natural partner. Framemaker 8’s XML handling is enhanced with the ability to preserve comments and processing instructions such as tracked edits when round tripping. You can also now import CSS-based element formatting, from multiple CSS files where necessary, so ensuring consistent handling. Enhanced WebDAV support also now allows authoring and editing of XML files on the server and images can also now be held on the server and copied or referenced thanks to new HTTP file support.
Structured document handling is an important if thankless task but no-one could really call it exciting – which explains why Adobe is instead concentrating attention on Framemaker 8’s new rich media capabilities. First up is the new support for Flash files – import a SWF file and an internal bitmap of the first frame is automatically created at the resolution you specify. Even more hyped is Framemaker’s new support for 3D. Import a file in the U3D (Universal 3D) format and a bitmap version of the default view is automatically rendered. Right-click on the image and new menu options appear with which you can select a different embedded view or change the background, lighting and render mode with a new bitmap being rendered accordingly.
At this stage you’d be forgiven for thinking that the new support is hardly worth shouting about: U3D is a relatively uncommon 3D format, there’s no direct video support and you can’t interactively rotate the 3D model within Framemaker or even choose which frame of the Flash movie to render. More to the point this hardly seems like rich media as the 3D models and vector movies are simply represented in the Framemaker document as static bitmaps. Everything changes though when you export your document to PDF. Suddenly, when viewed within the free Adobe Reader, the embedded Flash movie and 3D model spring to interactive life.
This really is significant. Twenty-one years ago, publishing was a print-only affair. Nowadays onscreen viewing is just as important and PDF-based support for Flash and 3D helps make the most of this environment and bring technical documentation to engaging life. Even better, with its soon-to-be-launched Technical Communication suite, which includes Captivate 3, Acrobat 3D 8 and RoboHelp 7 alongside Framemaker 8, Adobe is bundling all the tools necessary to create such advanced multi-channel documentation. Most significant of all, the launch of the suite makes it look as if Adobe really is now fully committed to the future of the Framemaker platform.
It certainly needs to be. Framemaker’s core engine and end results might be state-of-the-art but its interface is near-prehistoric. After a decade of neglect, Framemaker is in dire need of serious development and a comprehensive overhaul.

EASE OF USE 2/6
FEATURES 5/6
VALUE FOR MONEY 3/6
OVERALL 3/6