Using Hypertext Markers in FrameMaker
By Lance-Robert
One day at work I decided to do something to make my PDFs a little more interactive. It seemed to me that they should be able to do more than just display a page at a time. I found a way to do this when I learned about hypertext markers in FrameMaker.
We use FrameMaker 7, but earlier versions also have this capability.
Although PDF bookmarks are great ways to jump to any page in a document, they can be overwhelming for larger documents. I thought my readers might appreciate a quick, easy-to-read method to get to the meat (or in my case, the soy protein isolate) of the document in a hurry. That's when I designed these navigation buttons to adorn the bottom of my pages.
Figure 1. Navigation Buttons
Destinations
In FrameMaker, I turned on borders (View > Borders) and text symbols
(View > Text Symbols) so that I could clearly see what I was doing.
I displayed the document's body page (View > Body Pages), the tools
palette (Graphics > Tools...), and the Hypertext dialog (Special >
Hypertext...).
I started by creating destinations on the body pages of my documents.
This is how Acrobat will know what page to jump to when the reader clicks
one of the blue navigation buttons in the PDF.
Using the tools palette, I created a small text box near the upper left
corner on the body page of my document. It's important to place this right
at the top. If you don't, the page display is misaligned in Acrobat.
Figure 2. Placing the Text Box
Once I released the mouse, the Create New Text Frame dialog displayed,
so I clicked Set to create the text box.
Figure 3. Defining the Text Box
I clicked inside the text box to get a text cursor (I-beam). In the Hypertext
dialog, I selected Specify Named Destination from the Command menu. Framemaker
displayed "newlink" in the Syntax box. I added "Contents"
and clicked New Hypertext Marker.
Figure 4. Naming the Destination
I repeated this process for other destinations in my document. I recommend
writing the destinations as you create them and in which file or chapter
of your book they exist. You'll need them when you define the actions
for the navigation buttons.
Previous/Next Page Arrows
I switched to the master page view (View > Master Pages).
For the graphic, I copied an image from the Arrows.fm clipart file that
ships with FrameMaker. I pasted the arrow and its mirror image (a right
arrow) at the bottom left and right corners, respectively.
Figure 5. Placing the Left Arrow
I sent both arrow graphics to the back layer (Graphics > Send to Back).
Using the tools palette, I drew a text box around the arrow.
Figure 6. Drawing a Text Box Around the Arrow
When FrameMaker displayed the Add New Text Frame dialog, I clicked Add.
Figure 7. Defining the Text Box
I clicked inside the text box to get a text cursor inside its upper left
corner.
Figure 8. Getting the Text Cursor
In the Hypertext window, I selected Jump to Previous Page from the Command
pulldown menu. FrameMaker automatically provided the syntax for the hypertext
marker. All I had to do at that point was click New Hypertext Marker.
Figure 9. Setting the Left Arrow Action
I repeated this process for the right arrow, except I chose Jump to Next
Page from the Hypertext window's Command menu.
Navigation Buttons
For the blue buttons, I used the tools palette to draw simple blue rectangles.
I could also have used icons, of course. My documents are all in landscape
mode, so they can accommodate a maximum of eight 1-x-.25-inch rectangles
spaced .125 inch apart.
To align the buttons, I found it helpful to turn on the grid lines (View
> Grid Lines). I sent each of the rectangles to the back layer.
To label the buttons, I first created a paragraph format called ButtonText.
Our standard font is Verdana. I used a 10-point font size, bold, and set
the color to white. I then drew a text box to coincide with the rectangle.
Figure 10. Creating a Text Box Atop the Button
When the Add New Text Frame dialog displayed, as in Figure 7 above, I
clicked Add.
I typed the text for the first button. I pressed CTRL-L (refresh) to see
the results.
Figure 11. Labeling the Button
I moved the text box down and reduced its height to vertically center
the text on the button.
Figure 12. Aligning the Button Text
Using the tools palette, I drew another text box outside the button.
Figure 13. Creating a New Hypertext Marker
When the Add New Text Frame dialog displayed, as in Figure 7 above, I
clicked Add.
I clicked inside the text box to get a text cursor.
Figure 14. Getting the Text Cursor
In the Hypertext dialog, I selected Jump to Named Destination from the
Command menu. FrameMaker provided the "gotolink" text. I added
the file name, including the .FM extension, a colon, and the destination
name from the "Destinations" section above. This first button
is designed to jump to the table of contents.
Figure 15. Specifying the Button Destination
I repeated this process for the other buttons. I found it easiest to copy
the Syntax from the first button, then paste and edit the text as needed
for the subsequent buttons.
Once I defined all the buttons, I copied them to the master pages of all
the other files in the book, including the front cover, table of contents,
and index.
For the first and last page of the document, I used the tools palette
to draw a filled white box on the body page over the left arrow and right
arrow, respectively. The first page has no previous page, and the last
page has no next page.
I hope that you found this information helpful. You can find more information
about hypertext markers in Chapter 19 of the FrameMaker 7 User Guide.
