Framemaker/HTML Conversions

Ryan Bernard (rbernard@was.waii.com)
Thu, 15 Dec 1994 14:04:36 -0600


> Date: Wed, 14 Dec 94 15:50:07 -0600
> From: Fell_Travis/dal11_tjfell@dal.mobil.com
> Subject: Framemaker/HTML Conversions
> Message-ID: <H0000211014f1310@MHS>
>
> I'm fairly new to the world of HTML and would like to know what kind of
> utilitis ar available for FrameMaker to HTML conversions. I am
> especially interested in free- or shareware. Also, can anyone tell me
> what the normal turnaround time is for a 200 page FrameMaker document
> using the conversion utility?

You failed to say what type of system you are working on. If it is UNIX,
then I highly recommended CERN's WebMaker product. This is, I believe,
copyrighted public domain software. The source is CERN of course, and
the tar file is about 6.5 Mb, but it is worth every bit of it.

There is a little front-end setup in terms of installation and setting up
the configuration file. If you are using a FrameMaker template or your
own template and all files have the same style tags, you can reuse the
same configuration file for any document prepared using that template.

WebMaker not only converts single files to HTML, it also converts complete
books through a single set of commands. As part of the conversion, WebMaker
extracts all tables and illustrations from the FrameMaker document, converts
them to gif files, then reinserts them in the HTML code as inline images.
It even allows you to "granularize" your documents so that, for instance,
you could break a chapter into separate files at each Heading1 or Heading2
so that the files are shorter and easier to browse. It automatically creates
a hyperlinked table of contents and index, plus it can add a header and
footer to every file that includes navigation buttons (Next/Previous/Etc.)
for the document.

Once you have a configuration file setup, conversion of any 200 page
document shouldn't take more than two commands and about 20-30 minutes
of processing time max (depending on number and size of illustrations).

All in all, it is pretty snazzy stuff. Naturally, since CERN is the
originator of HTML and WebMaker, I am sure this is how they do all their docs.

I have a fair amount of experience with this product, so if you need more
information, please contact me directly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryan Bernard Wordmark Associates
Consultant 310 Euclid Street
Houston, Texas 77009

Documentation Voicemail/Pager (713) 768-0096
Training Fax (713) 868-3681
On-Line Help Systems
------------------------------------------------------------------------