FrameMaker PDF Tips and Tricks
UPDATED Jan 20, 2018 I wrote this post in response to issues I encountered in getting PDF output from FrameMaker 12… While researching the problem, I found a number of potential solutions, so I decided to write this as a reference for the next time a setting goes awry! NOTE: While I prefer to use…
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Psst…Want some more free Dropbox space?
You probably already know you can get 2 free gigabytes of cloud storage by signing up for a free Dropbox account. But if you haven’t signed up for a free account yet, you can get an extra 500 megabytes of permanent space free (a total of 2.5 gigabytes) by clicking below. Sign up for Dropbox…
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Webcam Comparison – Shooting video on a budget
Video production comes with a ton of choices. In this post, I’ll show you why my Logitech HD Pro Webcam was (eventually) an easy choice for my screencast recordings. One quick note…the specific HD Pro cam I bought in 2016 was the C920. Newer versions of the HD Pro and HD Pro Stream series cost about the same…
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Mapping FrameMaker tags to another template
Importing unstructured content from another author or template can be painful, regardless of the source or destination applications. Read this post for my #1 recommended tool for template design and conversion. In early 2017 I decided to update two sets of structured FrameMaker training materials created the original Frame Technologies team. While the docs used a consistent template,…
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Tech Comm Tools Video Newsletter Vol 5 (Holiday Edition)
I hope you’re as lucky as I am at the end of each year to slow down just a bit and look forward to the holidays. Today, that slowdown benefits you, because I noticed a free offer I’d like to pass on to you: Download a free set of 120 holiday-themed icons at…
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51 reasons to update FrameMaker 2017 to version 14.0.3.500
Regular Tech Comm Tools folks know that I always recommend updating Adobe products with their patch releases. The easiest way to check for updates and to update your software is to use the Help > Updates menu in any of your Adobe applications. As an Adobe Community Professional (forums.adobe.com) I often see issues resolved by simply…
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Tech Comm Tools Video Newsletter Vol 3 (Thanksgiving Edition)
Happy Thanksgiving from Tech Comm Tools! This week’s topics: Traveling to Stanford to see nephew’s first start against Notre Dame Second Edition of FrameMaker – Structured Authoring is complete TUTORIAL: Appendix numbering in FrameMaker TUTORIAL: Using MIF to speed modification of variable sets in FrameMaker Thanks as always to Adobe for sponsoring the Tech Comm Tools community…
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Video Newsletter vol 2
Hi all, I hope your week was as fun as mine! I got to pop into the LavaCon conference in Portland on Monday to catch up with some of my favorite tech comm folks. (and actually met quite a few of you face-to-face while I was there) Here’s my latest video newsletter, and show notes…
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Tech Comm Tools Video Newsletter, Vol 1 Oct 30, 2017
Check out the inaugural edition of the Tech Comm Tools Video newsletter! In this issue: Welcome to new members from the STC/Adobe Webinar Series Save $100 on my FrameMaker – Working with Content Course
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Keeping FrameMaker in tip-top shape
Most applications have settings that, when combined, can confound both novice and expert users. This post is a running tally of things to check if (or when) your FrameMaker experience goes awry. It’s one of my pieces of cornerstone content. View the Cornerstone Content category to check out other key articles. If FrameMaker suddenly acts in…
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Content Experience Strategist: There’s a name for what I do
For the past few years, the toughest question I’ve been asked is “What do you do?” Of course, the fault is entirely my own, as I’ve gone from owning an Adobe Systems-focused brick and mortar training company, to managing training for another training company, to developing online courses and authoring books. In making those transitions,…
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Introducing a new delivery method for my RoboHelp training
Create help systems using Adobe’s award-winning topic-based authoring tool I’ve just finished converting my popular two-day live RoboHelp training into an online course to bring it in line with the FrameMaker and Screencast training courses I already offer. While I’m know for my FrameMaker and screencasting work, I also have trained well over 500 folks…
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Place MP4 Video in FrameMaker
You can add video to your FrameMaker documents in a few different ways: Insert a Hypertext marker using the Go To URL command that jumps to the video hosting location Insert a poster image, then add a hotspot to the URL Import the MP4 or Flash Video file directly into the FrameMaker document As of…
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FrameMaker 2017 update 2 available
FrameMaker 2017 users can use Help > Updates within FrameMaker 2017 to download and install the update. The two items I’m happiest about: #1, random increase of text size when selecting text #4, status area not refreshing tag and other information properly Here’s a complete list of the items addressed by the update, followed by the…
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Voiceovers for screencasting: 5 secrets (brief outline)
Here’s a quick outline of a presentation I gave to the Orange County chapter of the Society for Technical Communication in June, 2017. The Promise Audio is the easiest way to succeed or fail at screencasting and video. Anyone can quickly produce pro-level audio without going broke. Matt will show you tips for equipment, recording,…
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