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TimeSavers: FrameMaker-to-Acrobat
| Custom Shortcuts | Assistants:
Form, Navigation, Multimedia, 3D,
Presentation
TimeSavers Assistants
Assistants -- Form, Multimedia, 3D,
Navigation and Presentation -- are TimeSavers
add-ons. User guides are available upon request.
Order
Form (Fillable PDF: 247K; Acrobat/Reader
5 or higher required).
Form Assistant
enables you to include the definitions of Acrobat fields
in FrameMaker through hypertext markers, so that they are automatically
present in the PDF file (FrameMaker-to-Acrobat TimeSavers required
during distilling): buttons, check boxes, menus, radio buttons,
text fields and digital signatures, with complete control over
field properties (including active field highlighting and field
calculation order). Also included: an AutoPopUp function, which
defines automatically-sized variable width/depth popups.
Feature demos (distilled
with TimeSavers+Form Assistant)
"... To make fillable PDFs, we use a FrameMaker plug-in
from Shlomo Perets (www.microtype.com) which allows us to define
fields in the FrameMaker design file rather than the PDF it creates.
This is no faster for the first iteration/proof of a form, but
it saves huge amounts of time/cost as a form evolves and gets
modified. ..." -- Mark Barratt, Text Matters,
England [in "Five factors for choosing software"
(PDF: 122K / 10 pages) by Caroline Jarrett]
Multimedia
Assistant enables you to embed or link
(local or web-based files) multimedia files -- all formats supported
by Acrobat/Reader -- in FrameMaker through hypertext markers,
so that the defined features are automatically present in the
PDF file.
Feature demos
(Acrobat/Reader 6 or higher required; distilled
with TimeSavers+Multimedia Assistant)
FrameMaker 8.0 introduced the option of referencing or including
SWF files, that are embedded in the PDF when the FrameMaker files
are saved as PDF. Following is a comparison of FrameMaker 8.0
capabilities vs. TimeSavers + Multimedia Assistant (regardless
of the FrameMaker version used):
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FrameMaker 8.0
+ "Save as PDF" |
Any FrameMaker version + TimeSavers + Multimedia Assistant
2.0 |
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Insertion in FrameMaker |
File > Import > File |
Through a hypertext marker |
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Supported formats |
SWF only |
All formats supported by Acrobat/Reader, including SWF,
MPEG, AVI, QuickTime, WAV, AIFF, MP3, JPEG |
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Embed/link in PDF |
Embed only |
Embed / link to a local file / link to a web-based file |
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Playback location in PDF |
In Document* only |
- In Document*
- Floating Window
- Full Screen
- Hidden (useful for sound-only)
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Media-related actions |
Play, Stop |
Play, Stop, Pause, Resume, Restart;
can also show movie segments |
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Media properties |
None |
All movie properties can be controlled by individual links, including
title (floating window), movie size, rate, controller, repeat,
starting/ending point, back and forth display |
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Media-related interactivity |
None |
Bookmarks/links to media items, page actions;
form fields (with Form Assistant) |
*With software demonstration movies, the In
Document and Full Screen placements typically distort
the display, as the variable magnification in Acrobat causes
movie resizing. Displaying such movies at their native dimensions
in a Floating Window is recommended -- see a comparison (PDF: 990K).
3D Assistant
enables you to embed U3D files and define related views/links/bookmarks/JavaScript
through hypertext markers or referenced files, so that interactive
3D models, together with their specified features, are automatically
present in the PDF file upon distilling.
Feature demos (distilled
with TimeSavers+3D Assistant; Acrobat/Reader 7 or higher required)
FrameMaker 8.0 introduced the option of referencing or including
U3D files, that are embedded in the PDF when the FrameMaker file
is saved as PDF. Following is a comparison of FrameMaker 8.0
capabilities vs. 3D Assistant (with any FrameMaker version):
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FrameMaker 8.0
+ "Save as PDF" |
Any FrameMaker version + TimeSavers + 3D Assistant |
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Insertion in FrameMaker |
File > Import > File |
Through a hypertext marker |
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Define background color, highlighting, render mode |
Available |
Available |
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Control 3D annotation |
N/A |
3D annotation can be active by default
(when visible or when the page is opened) |
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Add 3D-related interactivity |
N/A |
Optionally add links/bookmarks to 3D models, 3D views, model/part
properties |
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Control model tree |
N/A |
Model tree can be opened by default |
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Define 3D views |
N/A |
Optionally define views via a views file, specifying lighting,
render mode, background color, zoom, field of view, node visibility,
and cross-section views |
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Control 3D toolbar |
N/A |
Can show or suppress toolbar interactivity |
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Specify model-specific 3D JavaScript |
N/A |
Can include model-specific 3D JavaScript |
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Add 3D JavaScript-based interactivity |
N/A |
Includes built-in/customized 3D JavaScript links/bookmarks
(which may also apply to 3D models inserted in FM8.0 through
File > Import > File) |
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Control 3D animation |
N/A |
Can specify animation style, speed |
Navigation
Assistant enables you to include the following
features once in your FrameMaker files so that they are automatically
present in Acrobat:
- Chapter Tabs
Automatically-generated Chapter Tabs through a project-wide definition
placed on master pages. Tab-like, rectangles or rounded rectangles;
control over fill/line properties, optional expansion of current
tab. [demo]
Chapter tabs can also be used to create dynamic document maps,
automatically highlighting the currently-viewed PDF and linked
to all other PDFs [demo]
- Next/Previous File
Insert generic Next File or Previous File buttons in your template,
and these will link automatically to the correct files, as defined
in a centralized list of all files participating in your project.
When the file location in the list is changed, the link sequence
is automatically updated.
- Chapter Title Bookmarks
Chapter title bookmarks are automatically generated in the correct
order. When clicked, these bookmarks open the relevant files.
The resulting list of bookmarks for each of the files in your
project is similar, with the appropriate bookmarks open under
the current chapter title; optional custom bookmark properties.
- Super Next/Previous Page (cross-file)
Currently, Next/Previous Page buttons can only be defined within
the current file, a grave limitation when you want the user to
be able to browse through the entire book without being aware
that it is composed of separate files.
The Super Next/Previous Page function can be designed to look
exactly the same as typical Next/Previous buttons, but when pressed
will take you seamlessly from the last page of a document to
the next file in sequence, and vice versa, based on a listing
of files participating in your project.
- Drop-Down Menus
Easily add drop-down menus to common destinations or variable
related topics in your PDFs, web-based files, quick searches,
JavaScript functions (Acrobat/Reader 5.0 required). Optional
menu titles (standard or custom), submenus, separators, standard
starting and/or ending entries. [demo]
- Next/Previous Topic buttons
Automatically inserts Next/Previous Topic buttons for designated
headings. The selected headings are chain-linked throughout the
PDF file, without necessitating a per-link coding or definition.
When a topic is moved (or removed), the link sequence is automatically
updated. You can also have a Home button leading back to the
beginning of the file.
Feature demos (distilled
with TimeSavers+Navigation Assistant)
Presentation
Assistant includes
an interactive progress bar and shortcuts for page-based transition
effects. The interactive progress bar indicates the relative
position of the current page within the entire PDF. It is split
into multiple segments, one for each page, with the current,
previous and following pages assigned different colors. Each
segment is automatically linked to the corresponding page in
the PDF. The Progress bar is placed on the FrameMaker master
page and can be horizontal or vertical. Hypertext markers with
page transition commands can be placed on master pages; transition
effects are visible in a full screen display mode.
Feature demos
(distilled with TimeSavers+Presentation Assistant)
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