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John Posada wonders: <<In Visio, I'm creating flow charts. Most flowcharts
are larger than 11X17. I need to integrate these images into the FM document
at a scale so that the images are larger than the FM pages they accompany.>>
Are you sure about your premise? If the flowcharts are objects rather than
bitmaps, why not scale them (in Visio) to fit in an 8.5x11 page like the
rest of the text, include the reduced images in Frame (by linkign) and let
viewers zoom in to their heart's content? For that matter, if the flowchart
is designed to be used on-screen, why not design the decision sequence so
that each phase fits elegantly and legibly into chunks the size of a single
screen? That has the advantage of letting the reader click on decision
branches to move to the next screen that continues the decision process.
For those who need the overview (e.g., printing at 11x17), you could always
distill a separate, full-size insert and simply link to it from the smaller
zoomable version: "Click here to display the version designed for full-size
printing." (Edited down, of course--could even be a simple printer icon, for
that matter.)
<<I have 40 individual flow charts and the document is updated often...2-3
times per week.>>
Simplest solution, then, might be to combine my first and last suggestions:
redistill the flowchart to fit on 8.5x11 each time there's a change, then
simply link to it in the Frame file (rather than embedding it). Redistill
one more time to fit on 11x17.
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
(try ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca if you get no response)
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
"I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my
telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my
telephone."--Bjarne Stronstrup (originator of C++ programming language)
NEED TO PUBLISH FRAMEMAKER CONTENT ONLINE? "Mustang" is a NEW single
sourcing tool for FrameMaker that lets you easily publish your content
online. No macro language required! http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l3
Mercer University's online MS Program in Technical Communication Management:
Preparing leaders of tomorrow's technical communication organizations today.
See www.mercer.edu/mstco or write George Hayhoe at hayhoe_g -at- mercer -dot- edu -dot-
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