#WriteRight 9) FrameMaker & Word: “Anyone can” make tables with FrameMaker

Tables are relatively simple to create with Word, but compared to FrameMaker tables they would not be classified as “sturdy.” For years tables have been one of the strongest features in FrameMaker, in large part due to the degree that customers have “stretched the envelope” with complex, high page count projects that required tables with graphics which were hundreds of pages long.

In our #writeright outreach campaign, we recently created 3 new videos that highlight just a few of the tables capabilities within FrameMaker.

FrameMaker Table Styles

FrameMaker is unique compared to Word and other authoring tools in that it maintains a separate catalog of table styles. These styles remember space above/below a table, it’s placement, how table titles are handled, and which horizontal/vertical rules display as well as tinted rows or columns. Table styles are named and can easily be applied to an existing tables.

Once table styles have been applied throughout a document, you may easily make global updates to the appearance and values of “named” tables based on their table styles. Watch the video below to find out how!

http://tv.adobe.com/embed/1186/17430/

FrameMaker’s options for resizing table columns

Resizing a table column may seem like a basic function, but FrameMaker gives you a wide array of options. Not only can you manually drag table column borders, you may use a special resize column width menu to make table columns: match another column, have a precise width, or even make several selected columns resize themselves proportionally to fit within a specific width.

View the brief video below to see an overview of these powerful options.

http://tv.adobe.com/embed/1186/17583/

Indicators for multi-page tables

FrameMaker has long excelled at creating long, multi-page tables with complex or rich content. When tables have to break across many pages, it is highly useful to have repeating table header or footer rows with categories to indicate the purpose of various columns. Most authoring tools, including Word have this ability. But FrameMaker also has a simple, built-in indicator tool (system variable) that will (a) indicate that a table is continued from a previous page and (b) indicate which sheet from the total number of pages or sheets the current view comprises.

Once again, watch a very brief video to see just how easy it is to use this feature.

http://tv.adobe.com/embed/1186/17584/

Have your own hands-on with FrameMaker 11 and decide how you can use it

Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 includes FrameMaker 11, which is an excellent authoring solution and also a versatile structured editor for DITA/XML. The possibilities with these new tools are as limitless as the profiles of our existing and potential customers. To discover how you can use FrameMaker, download a trial copy of FrameMaker 11 today. After having your own hands-on, you may decide in favor of the best bargain of all, obtaining a cloud subscription to the entire Tech Comm Suite 4, which includes RoboHelp 10, Captivate 6 and other products in addition to FrameMaker 11.