DITA and FrameMaker

FrameDITA-lite

The following information provides some background information on FrameDITA-lite:

What will it cost me?
What is it?
Why another DITA application?
Why not just use the Adobe defaults?
What are people saying?
How do I get it?
Any legalities?

What will it cost me?

Nothing. We provide FrameDITA-lite as a proof of concept or test application. It is fully featured and nothing is restricted. All we hope is that as you plan to move forward with FrameMaker and DITA you will give us the opportunity to partner with you to train your staff, develop templates, manage your conversion or assist with other services you may require. If not, no problem.

While FrameDITA-lite is totally free for use by any company we of course ask is that you do not distribute it or claim it as your own.

What is it?

FrameDITA-lite (FDL) works with Adobe FrameMaker to create output that is compliant with the DITA specification. It is tested with FrameMaker 7.2 only, but seems to work with 7.0 and 7.1 releases as well.

It is not DITA. Instead, we use a subset of DITA (see the link in the bottom right of this page) and allow users to create sample files or to develop a proof of concept that DITA compliant content can be created from FrameMaker when it is configured correctly.

FDL contains the following files:

readme.1st.pdf is provided to introduce you to the FrameDITA-lite implementation and provide general best practices for testing.
template_lite.fm is a simplified version of a FrameMaker template that has been customized for use with the FrameDITA-lite implementation.
edd_lite.fm is a simplified version of a FrameMaker element definition document that has been customized for use with the FrameDITA-lite implementation.
rules_lite.fm is a simplified version of a FrameMaker read/write document that has been customized for use with the FrameDITA-lite implementation.
application_lite.fm is a simplified version of a FrameMaker application file that configures FrameMaker to correctly recognize components of the FrameDITA-lite implementation.

Why another DITA application?

The default application provided by Adobe is flawed in several ways. Additional development is required just to get basic functionality from it. Our clients have spent countless hours trying to make DITA work 'out of the box' but haven’t had much success.

FrameDITA-lite provides a simpler application and very detailed user notes to get you started with FrameMaker and DITA. The main goal is to provide people a way to show management that DITA and FrameMaker are not exclusive of each other.

By providing this free document set we hope to encourage everyone to try working with structured files. While the learning curve is tough to handle at first, our guided examples should help. In addition, we provide training and development services to ensure that the transition to structure is as simple as possible.

We also hope that users will let us know what they like (or don’t like) about this application and we’ll continue to maintain and update the files making new versions available.

Why not just use the Adobe defaults?

Compare the default Adobe materials with our custom implementation and the answer becomes pretty clear.

Default documentation and files

Adobe FrameMaker 7.2, by default, provides:

a customized version of the DITA specification DTD that is modified to create XML output (however, the output is invalid when compared with the default DTD provided with the DITA specification)
support for DITA in FrameMaker 7.2 only
no exercises related to teaching people about the application
2 pages in a readme file
177 pages of EDD content
3 pages of read and write rules focused on about a dozen elements
limited formatting control of content, poor formatting of many elements (flawed indents, poor xref appearances, weak layout and so on)
support for most elements in DITA 1.0
default names for elements (forcing the author to understand the differerence between elements with names like q, lq, cmd, choption, ph, sli and so on)
transforms for conversion to and from XML
NOTE: The transforms create invalid XML for use with DITA when cross references are used by incorrectly outputting format instructions. Third party tools (such as OxygenXML or XMetaL) do not automatically recognize this content as DITA compliant. DITA transforms fail when run against the default XML created.

The provided documentation does not include any sample files, user materials, user instructions or content to guide you through developing or customizing the implementation of DITA.

Publishing Smarter’s FrameDITA-lite documentation and files

Our FrameDITA-lite application provides:

support for the default DITA specification to create XML output that is completely valid
support for DITA in FrameMaker 7.0, 7.1 and 7.2
NOTE: We strongly suggest FrameMaker 7.2, but have tested files in earlier releases. While transforms for XML import and output of cross references do not work with 7.0 and 7.1, the ability to author content and export all other XML is functional.
an extensive and detailed readme file
a full set of notes and exercises related to teaching people about the application
under 40 pages of EDD content
over 20 pages of read and write rules logically organized by DITA specification element organization
more dynamic formatting options driven through the use of the outputclass attribute (providing richer indents for number, varied xref appearances, header/footer content, dynamic page layout and so on)
support for only a key group of elements in DITA 1.1 allowing for quicker learning and almost immediate application in a real publishing environment
logical and readable names for elements (allowing the author a clear understanding of the purpose of any specific element)
transforms for conversion to and from XML with full DITA compliance

In addition, the provided documentation includes many sample files, user materials, user instructions and content to guide you through learning about the implementation of FrameDITA-lite.

FrameDITA-lite archive

FrameDITA-lite is created and maintained by Publishing Smarter. Any and all files associated with the document set will be updated on our website. The files will be provided using a zip format created with Windows XP.

What are people saying?

"I've installed and had a look at DITA-Lite. It's a very nice piece of work. Too bad Adobe couldn't have released something like this with Frame 7.2"

"Looks like a very interesting product."

"As it stands, from what I've seen of your application, I could almost use it out of the box, so to speak."

"I am looking at single sourcing and exploring the use of DITA for my company. I'd like to try your application for a proof of concept exercise I'm doing."

"This is *really* nice. I've opened, created, and edited files using your system, and it's all quite functional. This is exactly what people are looking for, and looks to be very easy to understand. I'll mess with it more over the weekend, but I wanted to get an email off to you .. very impressive stuff!"

How do I get it?

Email us today and request the FrameDITA-lite application files. You can review the FrameDITA-lite readme as a PDF first if you wish.

Any legalities?

read the full legal information here

Reviewing DITA

Did we mention DITA? Contact us to get a free sample developed based on your FrameMaker content. No tricks. No gimmicks. Just rock solid sample content that is 100% compliant with the specifications.

DITA support is included in Adobe FrameMaker 7.2 but there are several limitations to the way that it is handled by default. Our custom templates provide clients with DITA specific output while ensuring that authors can simply write.

XML and FrameMaker Development

We helped write the book on this. Advanced FrameMaker contains entire sections on developing an EDD. We provide white papers to walk you through the basics of it.

The experience we have in building the EDD, the Read/Write rules and more is yours to call on. With over 15 years of experience in working with structure (since the days of FrameBuilder 1.0) we've got you covered.

Learn about DITA

DITA is a great way to work within Structured FrameMaker, but has a rich set of tags. Learn about subsetting DITA here.