Framemaker...

Well, it´s been lots of months since I had last processed my last project in Framemaker.
And now, I have to do some good research again, since there´s new ways of doing this now...

From what I´ve been looking into this Forum, we don´t have much of the latest news.
I´ve found some old theads, some of them still very uselful:

http://www.english-spanish-translato...ioma-rabe.html
http://www.english-spanish-translato...os-2009-a.html

I´ve been doing some trials now in Memsource now, applying each of the filters...

By the way, what´s the latest Framemaker version right now?

Hi Analaura!

I think it is 12 (2015 release)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...fxNhs9IMJFaPGA

Adobe FrameMaker (2015 release)

Thank you Vicente! :)

Have you translated or handle fm in any cat tool? Trados? Memsource? Any other?
Im doing some tests in Memsource now...

Can I just upload the fm file? Maybe it works

Hi Ana
I think you can´t work directly off the fm files. Either Trados or Memsource or any other Cat Tool you need to open the fm file and then Save it as .mif.
Once you have the mif files, then you can process them with your Cat Tool.
Regardless the Cat Tool you use, you need to be careful about the filters you select, depending what you want to translate or what you need to ignore.

I¨ll be posting some comments and questions, so that we can work this out together :rolleyes:

Right now, I´m working on a Framemaker manual, with a Help Section.
So, I´ve been looking where that option is in FM. And this is what I´ve found:

http://www.english-spanish-translato...nal-text-2.jpg

So, I´ve been doing several tests in Memsource, checking and unckecking the different options.
By default you don´t have that filter for conditional text checked, you want to check it if you need to translate that text:

http://www.english-spanish-translato...ce-filters.png

Moving forward, to make sure we are indeed translating the Help Section (conditional text), I downloaded a draft version, just to check if we are doing ok.
So, I opened up the translated file in FM, and I´ve been hiding and unhiding that text, to see if there was any difference. And... text was translated! :D

Now, the funny part comes here, when I created a pdf to see how it looked:

http://www.english-spanish-translato...ker-vs-pdf.jpg

Creating conditional text is "the" feature most appreciated by graphic designers when it comes to developing user content. FrameMaker traditional is not that appealing formatting-wise, in which case designers prefer the Adobe suite (InDesign, Illustrator). So, FM always becomes a puzzle for translation/localization.

Now that I see conditional text labeled as "Help only," do you know if this is prepared that way for a help system? FM gives you a turn-key solution to provide documentation and a help system almost at the same time simply by managing that "conditional text". :)

Hi Gentle

I think in Indd this "conditional text" is done by adding layers, right?
and yes, I feel much confortable working in indd than in fm, may be it´s just because I´m already more familiar with indd.

Oops Gentle, I forgot to answser the second part of your comment!
Yes, I think FM prepares this "help system" by creating a conditional text only for that purpose...
Have you ever worked with these "Help Sections" in FM before?