Course Information

"Structured" FrameMaker is a series of three courses. Those responsible for maintaining templates will likely need all three classes. Those concerned mainly with creating content (authors) likely need only the first 3-day class:

• Authoring for Structured Documents - 3 days - $1200 per student
• Defining the EDD for Structured Documents - 2 days - $1000 per student
• Importing and Exporting SGML or XML Documents - 2 days - $1000 per student

A fourth course, Formatting for Structured Documents, is scheduled by request.:

• Formatting for Structured Documents - 1 day - $450 per student
  ( Please contact us for scheduling.)

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Syllabus

Authoring Structured Documents

Prerequisites

• Starting FrameMaker and setting up your working environment
• Opening, printing, saving and closing documents
• Adding new text as well as editing or deleting existing text
• Using the Frame clipboard to do cut, copy, paste and clear operations
• Using the Element Catalog to guide your authoring

Defining the EDD for Structured Documents

Prerequisites

The Authoring Structured Documents training course or a good working knowledge of the FrameMaker authoring environment. A working knowledge of formatting FrameMaker documents. Experience with SGML or XML is helpful but not required.

Course Content

This class teaches you how to build a structured template suitable for use with FrameMaker. Its main focus is on design and implementation of FrameMaker element definition documents (EDDs). A second topic is conversion tables used to add structure to existing unstructured FrameMaker documents and documents imported from common word processors.

• Defining FrameMaker elements and attributes in an Element Definition Document (EDD)
• Validating an EDD
• Importing element definitions into a structured template
• Specifying context-dependent format rules
• Specifying object format rules
• Using hierarchical styles to control document formatting

Importing and Exporting SGML or XML Documents

Prerequisites

The Authoring Structured Documents training course or a good working knowledge of the structured FrameMaker authoring environment. Ability to work with FrameMaker structured templates. Basic knowledge of SGML or XML concepts and syntax including familiarity with SGML/XML DTDs.
Also, the Defining the EDD for Structured Documents training course or familiarity with developing EDDs.

Course Content

This course discusses the relationship of structured FrameMaker to SGML and XML and the translation of documents between the two forms. In particular, this course teaches you how to set up structured FrameMaker applications that allow you and your end users to open SGML and XML documents in FrameMaker and to save them back out as SGML/XML. It covers automatic conversion of FrameMaker EDDs and SGML/XML DTDs as well as conversion of document instances. The course describes the default translation structured FrameMaker employs in the absence of any customization as well as read/write rules that can be used to modify the translation.

• The correspondence between FrameMaker constructs and SGML/XML constructs
• Converting between SGML/XML DTDs and FrameMaker EDDs
• Document instances and FrameMaker documents
• Creating structured FrameMaker applications
• Working with application files
• Creating read/write rules
• Understanding the default translation for elements, attributes, entities, graphics, cross references and other special objects

Formatting for Structured Documents

Prerequisites

The Authoring Structured Documents training course or a good working knowledge of the structured FrameMaker authoring environment. Ability to work with FrameMaker structured templates. If you have background experience using unstructured FrameMaker templates, this course is not necessary.

Course Content

Certain portions of structured FrameMaker documents use "unstructured" FrameMaker information, such as master pages for page numbering, headers and footers, cross-reference formats, etc. This course is designed for those with no experience in these "unstructured" FrameMaker concepts. The goal is to create a template which incorporates both the structured (the EDD) and the unstructured (master pages, etc.) portions to create a seamless working environment for your authors.

• Differences between FrameMaker and structured FrameMaker which apply to structured documents
• Using Master Pages
• Page Numbering
• Using graphics on Master Pages