Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat (.pdf)
You should produce an Adobe Acrobat file (.pdf) from each FrameMaker
book, whether printed or included as an Acrobat file on a library CD. Acrobat
files are also added to on-line Intranet product listings for download, where
applications and sales people have immediate access to current and earlier
publications.
This paper describes both the FrameMaker and Distiller setup and the finishing
process of Acrobat files. Beyond setup, creating an Acrobat file involves:
■ Print a FrameMaker book to an Acrobat file
■ Number (naming) Acrobat thumbnail pages
■ Setting the Acrobat file properties
■ Optimizing and setting Acrobat file security
The following instructions assume you use FrameMaker 7.1 and Adobe
Acrobat Professional 6.
In This Chapter
Topic Page
Adobe Distiller Setup 2
Page Numbering Within FrameMaker 5
Using The PageLabeler Plug-In 6
FrameMaker Setup 7
Naming an Acrobat File 11
Finishing the Acrobat File 11
Setting Document Properties 12
Adding Bookmarks 14
Naming Thumbnails 15
Optimizing an Acrobat File 18
Setting Document Security 18
Verify FrameMaker to Acrobat Conversion 20
1
Adobe Distiller Setup
Acrobat Professional 6 includes named setup configurations. Once setup and
named, if you identify a specific setup configuration as the default you
automatically use the same setup information for each FrameMaker book you
convert to an Adobe Acrobat file.
Before you convert your first postscript file, you will need to set certain options
in Adobe Distiller. Once set and selected as the default conversion setup, you
will not need to change those options. For more detailed information
describing the Adobe Distiller set-up parameters, see the Adobe Acrobat
publication Acrobat Distiller Parameters. You will find the Acrobat distiller
parameters manual installed at the following location on your computer:
\\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Help\ENU\Distparm.pdf
To set the parameters, do the following:
1. To open Acrobat Distiller, from Acrobat click Advanced > Acrobat
Distiller.
2. Standard is the initial default. From the Default Settings drop-down list
box, select High Quality.
3. You use High Quality as the basis for creating a new default conversion.
Open the Preferences – Acrobat Distiller dialog box by clicking File >
Preferences.
4. On the Output Options group box, change only the following options:
■ Select the Ask for PDF file destination check box.
When selected, if creating an Acrobat file, a Save PDF File As dialog
box opens, allowing you to add a name and saved location for the new
Acrobat file.
■ Select the View PDF when using Distiller check box.
After creating a new Acrobat file, the file will automatically open in
Acrobat Professional 6.
Click OK to save your changes and close the Preferences – Acrobat
Distiller dialog box.
2 Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat
5. Confirm that all font locations on your computer, both Adobe
(C:\PSFONTS\) and TrueType (C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\), are identified.
Select Settings > Font Locations to check included folders. Distiller
should have identified and included all folders containing fonts on your
computer.
Note: If any font folder is missing, add the missing folder. Click Add.
Use the Browse for Folder dialog box to locate folders
containing fonts, select those folders, and click OK. Acrobat
Distiller adds the newly identified folder, and that folder’s
location, to your list of fonts.
6. Now set the basic distiller options. Select Settings > Edit Adobe PDF
Settings. The High Quality – Adobe PDF Settings dialog box opens (see
Figure 1).
Select Acrobat 6 for
compatibility.
Acrobat Reader 6 is
now shipped with
the CD library.
Select to embed
thumbnails and to
optimize for web
viewing.
Figure 1 Select General Tab Options
3
7. From the High Quality – Adobe PDF Settings dialog box, check the
following options on the General tab
CAUTION: At this point, there is no need to change any default settings
found on the Images, Fonts, Color, Advanced, or PDF/X tabs.
Use the default settings only on those five tabs as the best
options.
■ Compatibility – Acrobat 6.0 (PDF 1.5)
■ Embed thumbnails – checked
■ Optimize for fast web view – checked
Accept all other default options for the General tab.
8. Click OK to save the General tab options. A Save Adobe PDF Settings As
dialog box opens.
9. Accept the suggested file name (High Quality(1)) and click Save. Check
that Distiller has changed the Default Settings option (see Figure 2) to
High Quality(1).
Check that the Distiller is
using the new setup
options as the default for
your book conversions.
Figure 2 Acrobat Distiller Setup
4 Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat
Page Numbering Within FrameMaker
Varian technical publications use a Roman numbering sequence from the title
page through the Preface. Subsequent chapters and appendices of a publication
use chapter number (or appendix letter) plus a sequential page number.
You add page numbering of thumbnails using either of two processes:
■ FrameMaker – From FrameMaker you can use the PageLabeler plug-in to
number pages, with that page numbering transferring to your Acrobat file.
■ Acrobat – You can adjust the page numbering of books from the Pages tab
in Acrobat. (See “Naming Thumbnails” on page 15 for instructions.)
Select an individual page After naming and numbering Select the style, type in a prefix, and indicate the
thumbnail or range of the thumbnails, the currently page number start for the selected page
pages you wish to label selected page, page number, thumbnails. Click OK when finished.
and range of pages display
Figure 3 Numbering Pages In FrameMaker
5
Using The PageLabeler Plug-In
PageLabeler is a FrameMaker plug-in from Carmin Publishing
(http://www.frameexpert.com/plugins/pagelabeler/index.htm) designed to
transfer FrameMaker page numbering to an Acrobat file. Once you install the
FrameMaker plug-in, using PageLabeler is very simple.
Do the following to use PageLabeler to number pages in a book file:
1. Open a book file in FrameMaker for which you want to change the labeled
page numbering.
2. Click PageLabeler > Add PDF Page Numbering.
3. From the Add PDF Page Numbering dialog box (see Figure 4), select the
following two options:
■ All files in the book will be output to a single PDF file option
■ Add Prefixes for non-text Chapter # Formats check box
Select to include all files in a
single Acrobat file.
Select to add chapter prefixes.
When finished, click OK to run
PageLabeler.
Figure 4 Using Page Labeler To Add Thumbnail Page Numbers
4. After selecting the two options, click OK. FrameMaker numbers the book
using the structure you created in the book file.
6 Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat
FrameMaker Setup
After preparing the default Distiller configuration setup, the remaining
configuration settings occur in FrameMaker. Those FrameMaker
configuration settings, specific to the book you want to convert, are the
bookmark links and the location to save the Acrobat file.
Note: If you are working with an old template or do not have the tags
identified in steps 4 and 5 you will have to add tags to
FrameMaker files or create single bookmarks for missing pages
such as Contents. See “Adding Bookmarks” on page 14 for
instructions on adding a new bookmark.
During the setup for a book using FrameMaker 7.1, do the following:
1. Open the Print Book dialog box (see Figure 5). Select File > Print Book.
Figure 5 Setup Print Book Dialog Box Options
7
2. In the Print Book dialog box, you work with four option selections:
■ Print Page Range group box – Select the All option
■ Print to File check box – Leave this box not checked
■ Generate Acrobat Data check box – Select this check box to identify
FrameMaker tags you want included
■ Printer – Select the Adobe PDF driver
3. Display the PDF Setup for Selected Files dialog box to identify which
FrameMaker tags will be used as bookmarks in the Acrobat file. Click
PDF Setup.
4. From the Settings tab, select High Quality(1) from the PDF Job Options
drop-down list box.
5. Click on the Bookmarks tab (See Figure 6). Select the Generate PDF
Bookmarks check box.
Figure 6 PDF Setup for Selected Files Dialog Box
8 Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat
6. Now transfer the following FrameMaker tags from the Don’t Include list
to the Include Paragraphs list. Include the following FrameMaker tags:
■ Title
■ 1Head (all versions)
■ 2Head (all versions)
■ 3Head (all versions)
Note: Title is the publication name from the new cover and title page
templates. If you have not already changed the chapter heading
to a 1Head tag for the Contents section, this head will not be
included in the bookmarks list. You will need to add the
Contents bookmark by hand.
7. Make no changes to the default selections of the Tags and Links tabs.
8. Click Set. The PDF Setup for Selected Files dialog box closes.
FrameMaker sets the selected tags as bookmarks, in each file of your book.
9. From the Printer group box of the Print Book dialog box, click Setup to
open the Print Setup dialog box displays. Select Acrobat Distiller from the
Name list box and click OK.
Note: Recheck the Print to File check box on the Print Book dialog
box. This check box should not be selected.
9
10. Click Print from the Print Book dialog box. The Save PDF File As dialog
box opens (see Figure 7).
Figure 7 Save PDF File As Dialog Box
11. Identify the file type (Save as type list box) as Acrobat and the name and
location to where the file will be saved in the Save PDF File As dialog box.
See “Naming an Acrobat File” on page 11 for instructions on naming the
manual. Click Save.
10 Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat
Naming an Acrobat File
After you identify which FrameMaker book to convert, the Acrobat Distiller
presents the Acrobat Distiller – Specify PDF File Name dialog box. If you
selected the Ask for PDF File Destination check box on the Preferences –
Acrobat Distiller dialog box, Acrobat asks you to confirm the name and save
location for the new Acrobat file.
In the center tree display area, move to and select the folder into which you
want Acrobat Distiller to save your Acrobat file. In the File Name text box,
type the following for a publication:
■ Name of your publication, for example Reports Quick-Start Guide for
InfoMaker
■ The part and version number of the publication, for example
100010422-02
You now have an Acrobat file named:
- .pdf
or
Reports Quick-Start Guide for InfoMaker – 100010422-02.pdf
Save the long name as the file name for the Acrobat version of a manual. The
file name – publication title and part number – can easily and quickly identify
a specific publication.
Finishing the Acrobat File
After creating the Acrobat file from the FrameMaker book, you need to finish
your Acrobat publication file. To finish the Acrobat file you must set the
document properties, name the thumbnails, and set the security for the file.
Once finished, you need to verify the FrameMaker to Acrobat conversion.
These four tasks you accomplish with the Acrobat file of your publication
displayed in Adobe Acrobat.
11
Setting Document Properties
In setting the document properties of your publication file, you are setting how
your document is presented to the user. The information presentation identifies
the document, product line, even the writer.
Figure 8 Document Properties Dialog Box
With the Acrobat file of your document displaying in Adobe Acrobat
Professional 6, do the following:
1. Open the Document Properties dialog box. These settings identify your
publication. Select File > Document Properties (see Figure 8).
2. Select Description from the left frame list of the dialog box.
12 Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat
3. Type information in the following text boxes:
■ Title – Type the full name of the publication
■ Author – Type the name of the technical writer or type Technical
Publications.
■ Subject – Identify the product group for which the publication comes
and the release. For example, VARiS Vision 7.
■ Keywords – keywords are similar to index coding. Acrobat uses
keywords to tag specific subjects or areas of information, in addition
to word searches within a document or across all library documents.
4. Set the options found on Initial View. Click Initial View from the left
frame of the Document Properties dialog box. These options set the display
of your Acrobat publication in the Adobe Reader window.
5. Select options for the following drop-down list and check boxes:
■ Show – Bookmarks Panel and Page
■ Page Layout – Single Page
■ Magnification – Fit Page
■ Center window on screen – select this check box
6. After typing or selecting information, click OK.
Note: Do not select Security from the left frame of the Document
Properties dialog box at this time. If you set security, you will
not be able to make further changes the Acrobat manual file.
13
Adding Bookmarks
Occasionally a FrameMaker tag is not included in the bookmarks of a
publication. Old table of contents (TOC) templates that use a heading added to
the master page, not typed in using the 1Head tag, is one example. If you have
a missing bookmark, or wish to add a special bookmark to an Acrobat
publication, you can add those bookmarks by hand.
1. Open in Acrobat the publication to which you want to add a bookmark (see
Figure 9).
Note: The Acrobat file cannot be security locked.
2. In the right pane, display the page you want to include in the bookmarks.
Figure 9 Adding ANew Bookmark
14 Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat
3. Click the Create new bookmark icon. An Untitled bookmark appears at
the bottom of the bookmark list. That bookmark is linked to the open page
as shown in the right pane.
4. The Untitled bookmark is highlighted, allowing you to type in a name, for
example Contents, for the page to which the bookmark is linked. Type a
name for the bookmark and press Enter.
Because you were adding a Contents bookmark, usually located at the top of
the indented bookmarks, you were not able to precisely place the new
bookmark. To move the new Contents bookmark into place, do the following:
1. Left-click on, hold, and drag the new bookmark up to the level you want
the new bookmark installed.
2. While still dragging the new bookmark, move the cursor slightly to the
right to indent. The cursor changes to a flat line.
3. Release the left mouse button.
Naming Thumbnails
The thumbnails, one for each page of your publication, are automatically
numbered sequentially when you create a publication, unless you use the
PageLabeler plug-in (see “Using The PageLabeler Plug-In” on page 6).
However, you can renumber these thumbnails by hand if you do not have or
did not use the PageLabeler plug-in from FrameMaker.
After renumbering the thumbnails, when the user drags the scroll box in the
document pane of the Adobe Acrobat window, a display next to the scroll box
identifies the current page number of the publication. Or, with a page open
Acrobat identifies the name and page number, along with the total number of
pages in the publication. The user of your publication can use the page
numbering as another method of quickly opening to a chapter, or specific page,
within your Acrobat publication.
To change the thumbnail numbering of a publication, do the following:
1. With your publication displayed in Acrobat and no security implemented,
click the Pages tab in the left pane.
2. Select the thumbnail, or series of thumbnails, you wish to rename. To
select a series of thumbnails, click on one thumbnail and shift-click on the
last thumbnail in the series.
15
3. Open the Page Numbering dialog box. Select Page Numbering from the
right-click mouse menu.
4. On the Page Numbering dialog box, you will only use three text boxes
from the Numbering group box. Do not change other options. See
Figure 10.
■ Style – Selects the numbering style as None, Roman, Arabic, or
Letters.
■ Prefix – Words, or a chapter or appendix number or letter that will
precede the actual page number.
■ Start – The page number of a single thumbnail, or the starting page
number for a selected group of thumbnails.
Click OK after typing the information.
16 Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat
Select a thumbnail, then select a When finished with your selections, click
numbering style, prefix wording, OK to change the page thumbnail
and stating page number. numbering.
Figure 10 Numbering Thumbnails
You name each thumbnail or series of thumbnails as appropriate. A few hints
for naming thumbnails:
■ Once you select or type information in the three text boxes, look in the
Sample: area see how your numbering will display.
■ To exclude a page number from the front page of your publication, select
None as the Style.
■ To create chapter or appendix numbering sequences, select all thumbnails
for a chapter or appendix and type
and a dash (-), followed by no blank space, in the Prefix text box. For
example, type A-
17
Optimizing an Acrobat File
Large Acrobat files are typically bloated. Acrobat Professional 6 includes a
new function, PDF Optimizer that assists in cutting down that bloat. If you
decide to try the optimizer function to cut the size of your Acrobat file, start
with a copy of your document file and do the following:
1. Open your document in Acrobat Professional 6.
2. Open the PDF Optimizer dialog box. Click Advanced > PDF Optimizer.
3. From the Compatible with drop-down list box, select Acrobat 6.0 and
later.
4. Acrobat Professional 6 automatically checks your document file for
compression. Do not change the default options. Click OK.
5. Compare the file size of the copy file you just optimized against the
original document file. If the optimized file is significantly smaller,
consider using the optimized file.
Setting Document Security
Assigning the security for your Acrobat publication file is the final part of the
process. By setting security for the file, you allow users to view and print the
publication, but not copy (cut and paste) or change the contents.
To add the security lock to your Acrobat publication file, do the following:
1. Open the Document Properties dialog box. Select File > Document
Properties.
2. From the left frame of the Document Properties dialog box, select Security.
3. From the Security Method drop-down box list, select Password Security.
The Password Security - Settings dialog box opens.
4. From the Compatibility drop-down box list, select Acrobat 6.0 and later.
18 Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat
5. To identify the password and what level of security you request for the
Acrobat publication, from the Permissions group box select the following
options:
■ Click the Use a password to restrict printing and editing of the
document and its security settings check box.
■ In the Permissions Password text box type the standard technical
publication password.
Note: The password is case sensitive, so use lower case here and again
in step 4.
■ From the Printing Allowed drop-down list box, select High
Resolution.
■ Select the Enable text access for screen reader devices for the visually
impaired check box.
■ Select the Enable plaintext metadata check box.
After making these selections, click OK.
6. A warning message box appears identifying the limitations of Adobe
Acrobat security settings. Click OK.
7. The Adobe Acrobat – Confirm Permissions Password dialog box appears.
In the Permissions Password text box, type the same word you typed in the
Permissions Password text box in step 5. Click OK.
8. A message box displays, reminding that you must save the document to
activate the changed security settings. Click OK.
9. Click OK on the Document Properties dialog box.
10. Save your Acrobat publication file with all its changes. Use the Save As
option (File > Save As).
11. The Save As dialog box appears. Click Save.
12. When the Save As message box appears, select Yes to over write the
existing publication file. Acrobat rewrites your publication file into the
smallest format.
19
Verify FrameMaker to Acrobat Conversion
The final item of the FrameMaker to Acrobat conversion of your document is
to verify the accuracy of that conversion process.
Did all pages, graphics, text, and layout convert completely from FrameMaker
to Acrobat? For example, if you do not identify all folders containing fonts (see
Adobe Distiller Setup, step 4, for font folder identification instructions) the
fonts used to create the Acrobat file will not be available. If the conversion is
complete and accurate, on the Project Checklist, check the Verify
FrameMaker to Acrobat conversion check box in the Archive Files (Copies)
section.
20 Converting FrameMaker to Acrobat