Understanding FrameMaker’s maker.ini file

Note: This post was updated on October 16, 2016 by Stefan Gentz.

The maker.ini file is a simple text file with configuration settings which FrameMaker checks at every launch. There are at least two maker.ini files: in the installed location as well as in the User Account Preferences. You can edit either based upon your requirements.

At Installed Location

C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\AdobeFrameMaker10\maker.ini

At User Account

Windows XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Adobe\FrameMaker\version

Windows Vista, Windows 7:
C:\Users\User Name\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\FrameMaker\version

Before you start

Being a text file in true nature, you can open and edit it on any text editor.

Before you change anything in the file:

• Keep a back-up of the maker.ini file, in case, you want to revert back to original state.
• Ensure you have administrator privileges to modify the file.
• Ensure FrameMaker is not running while editing the maker.ini.

One first glance you would notice that the maker.ini itself has several sections, each governing a specific feature in FrameMaker. You can notice entries that are commented starting with semi-colon (;). Most of the entries can be customized and modified by toggling their values between on/off. Let’s understand and try to edit them to see the impact.

Sample Customizations

1) FrameMaker

ProductInterface=Structured FrameMaker
It is always stored in user account mode location of maker.ini. It controls UI for FrameMaker as structured or unstructured.

Language=English
Used for UI and dictionary language and is based on Installation Language for the product.

2) Preferences

AskExit=On
Prompts a dialog on Closing FrameMaker.

BackupOnSave=On
Creates project backup and updates it on every save.

AutoSave=Off 5
Automatically saves the opened book/document, periodically at the specified time interval.

3) Alert Prompts

MissingGraphicsDialog=On
Documents contains missing graphics.

UnresolvedCrossReferencesDialog=On
Prompts for Unresolved Cross References because of marker for source is deleted/modified/moved/being used by someone.

OpeningOldReleaseDocDialog=On
For FrameMaker source file created in previous version of product.

UnavailableFontsDialog=On
Prompts for unavailable fonts on machine w.r.t. fonts used in the FrameMaker source file.

4) Auto Spell Check

EnableAutoSpellCheck=On
By default checks for spelling for inserted text and prompts for corrections.

AutoSpellCheckCorrectionListSize=5
Size of word list for possible corrections in Spell Check.

5) Thermometers

Default thermometer color

ThermoDoneColor=255, 0, 255
ThermoRemainingColor=192, 192, 192

The above values modify the color for FrameMaker printing progress dialog box, which shows pink (by default). You can change the color for completed and remaining slides.

I have customized the value to change the color from Pink to Purple:

Changed thermometer color

NOTES

• FrameMaker reads the maker file from installed directory.
• If you want to make changes globally for all users using FrameMaker on a particular machine, modify the installed directory maker.ini, but if you want to restrict changes to a specific user only, then you should make those changes in maker.ini file only for that user account.
• Working with customized FDK plug-ins and interface also requires an entry to be substituted for the custom panel/window inside the maker.ini.

Submitted by: Anjaneai Srivastava, Tech Support Consultant