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Last edit: 05-03-17 Graham Wideman

FrameMaker
FrameMaker 5.5.6 Component Versions
Article created: 99-12-01

This page is my effort to discover and document how to transform the currently shipping FrameMaker 5.5.6 into a form that is actually usable and hopefully stable.

To that end, this page lists all components that compose FrameMaker 5.5.6.  I would like to accumulate such advice on this page -- please send input and I'll add it. (grahampub@wideman-one.com).  This info is for Windows platform, particularly NT4.

List of Components Covered

For further info on what role these bits and pieces play, see the diagram here.

Component by Component

The following is a list of what got installed on my NT4 SP3 box, and various people's recommendations about updating. As you can see, there are still a lot of gaps regarding what to update, and what drivers, PPDs and versions thereof are the ones to get.

FrameMaker Product CD
Purchased Retail 11/99 . .
Version Shipped 5.5.6 . .
Date 9/98 . .
Newest File 9/98 . .
FrameMaker Application
Version 5.5.6p145 9/14/98 .
Adobe Type Manager
Product Version Shipped ATM 4.0 Lite . .
Executable version 4.0 Build 90 Lite Jun 17 1997 . .
Atmdrvr.dll 4.0 Build 85 Jun 17 1997 . .
Current Product Version of ATM Deluxe 4.0 . .
Update Recommendations: 
1. Adobe obviously would like to sell customers the Deluxe version as a replacement for Lite.  Extra features include the ability to manage TrueType fonts along with PostScript Type 1 fonts. I haven't heard a compelling argument yet from the point of view of what ATM Deluxe does for you.  However, from the point of view of what Adobe products fail to do with TrueType fonts.....
2. I wondered why bother with the intrusion of the ATM apparatus along with PostScript fonts at all. To this line of thinking I have received responses like:
2a: The processes for creating PS for printing and for creating PDFs fails in mysterious ways with TrueType fonts, so best to stick with PostScript fonts.
2b: Adobe Support Doc 321530: "When you use Acrobat Distiller, however, text formatted with TrueType fonts may not be searchable, depending on how the font information was written into the PostScript file." (At first I thought that meant that the user couldn't search for "text using XYZ font" -- no, it means that a search for target words in text that happens to be formatted with a TT font may fail!).
Type On Call
This product is called on by the FrameMaker installation to install several Postscript fonts that are essential to FrameMaker, and in addition 220 free fonts. However, according to Adobe, the product was discontinued, so they just started omitting it from the FM package.  The installation instructions were not changed, so basically it's not possible to complete the documented FrameMaker installation process.

(FrameMaker can be gotten to a running state by installing the few fonts that are provided with Exchange, though that strategy is far from obvious if you're trying to actually follow the manual.)

12/1/99: I have contacted Adobe, and they are now looking into this problem.
12/2/99: Adobe will be sending me a copy of Type On Call.
Acrobat
Overall Version shipped 3.01 . .
Current Version 4.05 . .
Note that Acrobat 3.0 was the name of a bundle of separate components listed below. As I understand it now, in 4.x several of these have been combined.
Acrobat Exchange
Version Shipped 3.0 6/16/97 .
Update Recommendations: 
Acrobat Catalog
Version Shipped 3.0 (though the Start Menu says 3.01) 7/25/96 (!) .
Update Recommendations: 
Acrobat Capture
Version Shipped 3.0 (though the Start Menu says 3.01) exes and dlls 1994 thru 1997 .
Update Recommendations:
Acrobat Distiller
Version shipped 3.01 6/17/97 .
Update Recommendations:
Jason Aiken: "Update to 3.02"
Fred Ridder: "And I wholeheartedly second the advice to use Distiller 3.02 rather than 3.01 (which can cause all sorts of weirdness if you use TrueType fonts)."
Adobe Y2K statement:  "Adobe Acrobat 3.x exception: Distiller 3.0x for Windows and Unix platforms, when run by itself after December 31st 1999 puts an incorrect date inthe internal Document Information Creation Date field of the PDF file. Suggestion: For Windows, upgrade to Acrobat 4.0. For UNIX a patch to correct this problem will be posted shortly." [it has been posted I believe.] [thanks Jeanette Feldhousen]
Acrobat Distiller Assistant
Note: Confusingly there's the Distiller Assistant executable (that monitors a directory for PS files to send to Distiller), and then there's the Printer Instance called Distiller Assistant (to which you print if you want DA to see the PS files). 
Version Shipped 3.0.1 . .
Printer instance uses driver: MS PostScript Driver V4.0 (?) . .
Uses PPD ??? . .
Update Recommendations: 
AdobePS PostScript Driver (to feed PostScript to Distiller)
Version Shipped PostScript Printer Driver Version 5.0 (135) . .
Update Recommendations: 

From Jason Aiken:

  • Win95/98: (according to Framers list experts...)
    • If you're using Acrobat (Distiller) 4.05, then use
      • AdobePS 4.3.1
      • Adist4.ppd
    • If you're using Acrobat 3, use the Distiller 3.02 update available from the website and
      • AdobePS 4.2.6
      • Adistill.ppd
  • Win NT: If you're on NT, don't use the AdobePS 5.1.1. Use AdobePS 5.1 or 5.0.x.  Reinstall the AdobePS 5.1 using the Adistill.ppd located somewhere in your Acrobat 3.0 folder. Hopefully, this one has a more recent date. Use the AdobePS 5.1 for NT (DON"T EVER INSTALL 5.1.1 !!! )

From Adobe site:
Note: If you use Adobe FrameMaker or FrameMaker+SGML 5.x in Windows NT, you should use AdobePS 5.1 instead of AdobePS 5.1.1
Distiller PPD (for use with AdobePS)
Version Installed DEFPRTR2.PPD v3.7 . .
Also supplied Adistill.ppd 10/30/96 (!) .
Update Recommendations:
See the AdobePS recommendations. DEFPRTR2.PPD v3.7 is apparently ancient or inapplicable.  What got installed looks to be way off the mark compared to current advice.
Driver to use with actual Postscript Printer
Recommendations:  I actually don't have this area figured out at all yet.  I'm assuming that I should use either an Adobe or Microsoft driver, with a PPD supplied by the printer vendor... but as yet I haven't researched the details.
Acrobat PDFWriter
Version Shipped 3.02 . .
Date 7/11/97 . .
Update Recommendations
Sarah O'Keefe: "I strongly recommend that you avoid using PDFWriter" due to no embedded fonts, and poor control of image resolution.
. . . .

Comments

Despite trying to stay level-headed through the process of getting this delicately balanced house of cards to stand up, I just have to throw in a comment on this mess -- I can't help but feel that FrameMaker purchasers are getting seriously abused here. I  for one do not appreciate getting a package where:

1. ... the vendor has knowingly subtracted an essential CD from the package with apparently no system in place to ensure that the installation procedure can still be carried to a successful completion.

2. ... hasn't bothered to supply the current versions of components even as of the CD date, let alone some time in the last six months.

3. ... has no coherent guide as to what the immediately-required update steps and preferred rev levels are for all components. (John Dupre, Worldwide Product Support Manager for Frame at Adobe has said he will request such a list from Frame Engineering.)

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