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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 8/9 capabilities vs. TimeSavers
+ Multimedia Assistant (regardless of the FrameMaker version
used):
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FrameMaker 8/9
+ "Save as PDF" |
Any FrameMaker version +
TimeSavers + Multimedia Assistant 3.0 |
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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 FLV, 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) |
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Native viewing in Reader 9 |
SWF can be embedded in the PDF
file only as "legacy multimedia content", which relies
on external viewers |
Optionally, SWF and FLV** can be
embedded in the PDF file as native Flash format (Rich Media Annotation),
ensuring consistent playback across multiple platforms when displayed
in Adobe Reader 9 (built-in player; does not rely on external
viewers), and enhancing annotation-PDF communication. |
*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).
** Other movie formats can be converted to FLV using Acrobat,
and then processed by TimeSavers+Multimedia Assistant.
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 or 9
+ "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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Supported 3D formats |
U3D-ECMA1 |
U3D-ECMA1; U3D-ECMA3 (features
mesh compression; requires Acrobat/Reader 8 or higher) |
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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, together with Layer definition
and display bookmarks/links.
Layers (text, graphic shapes, or image)
can be defined through hypertext markers or through custom colors.
Feature
demos (distilled with TimeSavers
& Presentation Assistant)
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