Limitations
Known limitations in the current version of DITA-FMx.
Issues that relate to using DITA-FMx with FrameMaker 10:
FrameMaker 10 includes a number of “Save Ditamap As” options that are not functional when DITA-FMx is installed (because the FM10 DITA support is uninstalled). The following SaveAs options are not supported:
- Composite Document
- Book with FM Components
The two left-most buttons on the Resource Manager (map editor) toolbar are non-functional when DITA-FMx is installed. We are looking into options for enabling them, but for now you must use the element catalog to insert topic referencing elements (topicref, chapter, appendix, etc.). The remainder of the buttons seem to work properly with DITA-FMx.
Issues that relate to using DITA-FMx with FrameMaker 9:
FrameMaker 9 includes a number of “Save Ditamap As” options that are not functional when DITA-FMx is installed (because the FM9 DITA support is uninstalled). The following SaveAs options are not supported:
- Composite Document
- Book with FM Components
The four left-most buttons on the Resource Manager (map editor) toolbar are non-functional when DITA-FMx is installed. We are looking into options for enabling them, but for now you must use the element catalog to insert topic referencing elements (topicref, chapter, appendix, etc.).
Issues that relate to using DITA-FMx with FrameMaker 8:
A bug exists in FrameMaker 8 (and FM7.2) that causes it to crash if more than approximately 350 XML files are opened in the same session. In normal authoring use this limitation does not cause any problems, but if you are publishing a book that contains more than 300 topics, it is very likely that you’ll run into this problem. The only workaround is to convert your maps into a book in multiple segments and assemble the final book once all of the components have been built (restarting FrameMaker in between each build). DITA-FMx displays a warning after opening more than 300 files to remind you to restart FrameMaker. This bug has been fixed in FrameMaker 9.
Issues that relate to using DITA-FMx with FrameMaker 7.2:
In the FM7.2 version of DITA-FMx, double-byte characters are garbled in the fm-topicreflabel elements, and don’t update properly.
Using DITA-FMx for DITA authoring in binary FrameMaker files is not recommended. Many of the features of DITA-FMx rely on the files being XML (allowing them to be parsed on disk). The following are reported issues, but there may be others:
A file that can’t be opened due to missing fonts or images and it is the target of a conref or xref, the Reference Manager won’t display when the conref or xref is double-clicked. This can be resolved by opening the referenced file before double-clicking the conref or xref.
Double-clicking a conref then choosing Update, will delete the conref.
Please send any problems or suggestions to <ditafmx-help AT leximation DOT com>.