Features
Provides DITA map and topic
authoring commands as well as enhanced DITA features.
DITA-FMx is
a plugin and set of structure applications that let you create and edit
DITA XML files in FrameMaker. DITA-FMx 1.0 supports DITA 1.0 and
is available for FrameMaker 7.2 and 8.0. DITA-FMx is provided by
a collaboration of efforts from Leximation and Silicon Publishing.
For a complete list
of changes between versions of DITA-FMx, see Revision History. The following describes the general features provided
by DITA-FMx.
- DITA Map Support
- A
structure application is provided for DITA map development. This structure
application provides support for topic references and relationship
tables (topicref and reltable elements). Through the import/export client
and read/write rules, the resulting DITA map file is completely DITA-compliant,
although within FrameMaker some additional elements have been added
to provide proper FrameMaker interaction. These elements have an
“fm-” prefix.
- On the opening of a DITA map file, all
topicref elements are processed to include a new “fm-topicreflabel”
element that contains a locked text range. This text range typically
displays the title (navtitle attribute), but if the referenced file
is not available, the label “FILE NOT FOUND” is added. If there
is no navtitle attribute value, the filename (href attribute) of
the referenced file is displayed. When you double click the inset,
the referenced file opens for editing. These labels are formatted
with a character style named “DITA-Topicref,” you can change the
color and formatting of topicrefs by modifying the character style
definition in the template file.
- The Build Map from Outline command creates
a DITA map and optionally DITA stub files from a simple FrameMaker
file.
- The Build WorkBook from Map command builds
a FrameMaker book file that contains all of the files referenced
in the current DITA map and all sub-maps. This “Work Book” is not
intended for publishing, but makes it possible to use FrameMaker’s
built-in book processing commands such as spell checking and searching
at the book level. In order to use these book processing commands
you must first open all of the files in the book. This can be done
with the Open All XML Files in Book command
which provides the option to resolve references in each file, or
open the files without resolving references.
- Ditaval Support
- Conditional filtering based on ditaval
files can be applied to FrameMaker-based content (in books or files)
using the Apply Ditaval as Conditions command.
Ditaval files can also be specified for output generated through
the Open Toolkit. The Ditaval Manager provides
an easy to use interface for creating and managing ditaval files.
- Conref Support
- Content references can be placed to reuse
elements from the same file or other files on the same file system.
If enabled (through the Options command)
on the opening of a file, the content of any conrefed elements is
resolved and displayed as a locked text range (similar to a text
inset).
- Xref and Link Support
- On
the opening of a file, all xref and link elements are resolved and displayed
as a locked text range. The auto-loading functionality may be enabled/disabled
with the Options command.
- When an xref or link element is inserted
(from the element catalog), the Reference Manager dialog displays
allowing you to select the target element for that element. Unless
you enter text in the Alternate Xref Text field, the xref or link
text will match that of the target element. The External Xref button
lets you create an xref or link to an external file.
- The Xref to Hyperlink command converts
DITA-based xrefs and links into live Hyperlinks in generated FM
files.
- DITA-FMx handles both DITA-based and FM-based
cross-refs as both xref and link elements, for more information
see Setting Up to Use Cross-References.
- Enhanced Attributes Command
- The Set Attributes command provides quick
and easy access to setting attributes on elements. In particular,
this command makes use of the FrameMaker “Strings” attribute type
and allows you to select one or more default values that are applied
to the attribute. This is particularly useful with the DITA filtering
attributes.
- Output
Support
- The Generate Book from Map command
builds a FrameMaker book from a DITA map. It creates “chapter” FM
files from the top-level topicrefs and their child topicrefs. This
allows you to generate a PDF of the entire map.
- The Apply Ditaval as Conditions command
can be run on the generated book in order to perform ditaval-based
filtering on FM files.
- The Generate Output command
provides the ability to run a specific target in an Ant script to
generate output through the DITA Open Toolkit. One option lets you
use a provided Ant script to generate output based on the current
file (a topic or map), or another option lets you select a target in
an Ant script that you provide. Using the Current File option,
you can specify a ditaval file for filtering. For more information
see, Generate Output.
- Locating
Content in Files
- A Search in Files command
lets you search for content in files within a folder (and sub-folders)
or in files referenced by a DITA map. The search criteria can be
a mix of textual content, element or attribute names, or attribute
value.
- A Where Used command generates a report
listing all files that reference the selected element or current
topic.
- Support
for FrameMaker Variables
- The Prepare Variables and Rebuild Variables commands
make it possible to use variables in DITA files and have those variables
available in the geneated FrameMaker book files.
- Options
- An Options command
provides the ability to specify the structure applications for DITA
map and topic file authoring, the structure application used for
the book processing, as well as control of various DITA-FMx options.
- Context-sensitive
Help on DITA elements
- You can get context-sensitive help for
DITA authoring by pressing Alt+F1. The DITA Reference will display
the topic that relates to the element type currently selected. If
you have added elements through specialization, you can add information
about your elements to the CHM file (the source is provided in the
DITA Open Toolkit).
- Specialization
- DITA-FMx
should fully support specialization (or at least not hinder it). If
you have a specialized data model, you will need to make the parallel changes
to your DITA EDD and r/w rules. The only effect of specialized elements
is with regard to element names, and the only place the plugin operates
solely on element names is with the processing of tables (and in this
case, additional table elements can be defined in the ditafmx.ini file). In all other cases, the plugin
processes elements based on their class name, so it should properly
handle specialized elements. Since the conref feature only operates
at the attribute level, it shouldn’t care if an element has been specialized
or not. The processing of xref and topicref elements is done based
on the class value, so those should be fine.
- Import/Export Processing
- Table Support. Pre-parses the
imported file to count the number of columns in tables that have
no column number attribute (required by FrameMaker to display a
table). By default this supports reltable and simpletable elements,
but can be extended to handle other table elements as specified
by the user (in the ditafmx.ini). The column number
data is used during the actual import of the file into FrameMaker
to properly display those tables.
- Indexterm
Support. On import, the plugin converts indexterm elements to
a FrameMaker-compatible format. DITA specifies that index subentries
are defined by nested indexterm elements. This feature collapses nested
indexterm elements into a single semicolon-delimited string within
the top-level indexterm element which can be properly interpreted by
FrameMaker and converted into an Index marker. This functionality keys
off of the value of the class attribute, allowing it to work for
specialized instances of the indexterm element. On export, the Index
markers are converted back to valid nested indexterm elements.
- Special
Reltable Support. On import, the plugin converts reltable/topicmeta
elements to reltable/fm-reltablemeta elements (to allow for proper mapping
to a FrameMaker TableTitle object). These convert back to valid DITA
topicmeta elements on export.
- Reference
Support. All references (topicrefs, conrefs, xrefs, and lnks)
are represented in FrameMaker as locked text ranges, similar to
text insets. These text ranges are not linked to text flows but
are used as a means to lock a region of text and allow the user
to click on the object. In order to maintain valid DITA files, the
plugin converts these text ranges to the appropriate XML structure
on export.