TW103: User Guides with FrameMaker
Schedule Page

Although most of the links have been removed, the following course schedule gives you an idea of what we'll cover in this course. (Remember that this is an 8-week course.) When you are ready, return to the Brooklyn College Technical Writing Certificate Program course listing.

This is your main working page for TW103: User Guides with FrameMaker in Brooklyn College's Technical Writing Certificate program. Use this page to find out what to name your files, see when projects are due, go to the online textbook and resources for this course. See the syllabus links following the schedule for information about objectives, required and recommended books, grades, and other resources. (Exact units and sequence of units may vary slightly from instructor to instructor and semester to semester.)

Note: To take this course, you must have some version of FrameMaker, no lower than version 5.5.6. Let your instructor know which version you will be using..

On all quizzes, please select Brooklyn College as instructor.

This course starts mmddyy. Your instructor is instructor_name at instructor_email.

Click the units you've completed and then press Send at the top or bottom of this page. Remember that this tracking chart is for your convenience; the instructor uses other information to determine whether you've done adequate study to pass this course. If you mistakenly mark a unit as completed, contact your instructor (or just wait until you've actually completed it.)

Check Project (Use these links to see project details.)
Due date
 File name/comments Completed
  1. FrameMaker basics tutorial. To get started with FrameMaker, make sure you learn how to create, open, save files; use different font types, sizes, and faces; know how align text in various ways; set margins and tabs; apply existing tags; create numbered and bulleted lists; restart numbered lists; zoom in and out on text; do search and replace; run spellchecks; hide or show text symbols and formatting bars.
  2. Get-acquainted letter. Use the project detail page for the get-acquainted letter to write a letter in FrameMaker in which tell your instructor something about yourself.
mmddyy
 Name this project yourname_memo1.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor. (Name subsequent revisions yourname_memo2.fm, yourname_memo3.fm, and so on.)
  1. Character and paragraph tags tutorial. Learn how to apply character and paragraph tags in FrameMaker.
  2. Tags overview 1. Listen to and watch this audio-video recording.
  3. Tags overview 2. Listen to and watch another audio-video recording.
  4. Adobe FrameMaker x Classroom in a Book. Optional reading: Lessons 2 and 3.
  5. FrameMaker tags practice & quick-ref. Send in this practice work on the due date.
mmddyy
 Name this practice work yourname_tags.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.
  1. Tables tutorial. Learn how to create and finetune tables in FrameMaker.
  2. Adobe FrameMaker x Classroom in a Book. Optional reading: Lessons 7 and 8.
  3. FrameMaker tables practice & quick-ref. Send in this practice work on the due date.
  4. Page design: review. Review page design for the standard design guidelines for headings, lists, notices, tables, figures, cross-references, and highlighting. (This is a quick review of material covered in depth in TW101: Technical Writing: Career Introduction. You can still access all the same study materials.)
mmddyy
 Name this practice work yourname_tables.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.

Take the quiz associated with the page-design unit.
  1. Anchored frames tutorial. Learn about FrameMaker anchored frames, which you can use to place graphics and create other special formatting.
  2. Graphics tutorial. Learn how to import, position, size, and make other adjustments to graphics in FrameMaker.
  3. Adobe FrameMaker x Classroom in a Book. Optional reading: Lesson 9.
  4. FrameMaker anchored-frames and graphics practice & quick-ref.
mmddyy
 Name the anchored-frame practice work yourname_frames.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.
  1. Master pages tutorial. Learn about creating and using master pages in FrameMaker, including changing column layout, adding page numbers and running headers or footers.
  2. Adobe FrameMaker x Classroom in a Book. Optional reading: Lesson 4.
  3. Master-pages overview 2.g Listen to and watch another audio-video recording.
  4. FrameMaker master-pages practice & quick-ref.g Send in this practice work on the due date.
mmddyy
 Name the master-pages practice work yourname_masterpages.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.
FrameMaker modeling project. Use the modeling project to get some practice using FrameMaker to format user-guide information.
mmddyy
 Name this project yourname_format1.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor. (Name subsequent revisions yourname_format2.fm, and so on.)
  1. Reference pages. Learn about reference pages in FrameMaker.
  2. Adobe FrameMaker x Classroom in a Book. Optional reading —check the index
  3. FrameMaker reference-pages practice & quick-ref.g Send in this practice work on the due date.
mmddyy
 Name the reference-page practice work yourname_refpages.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.
  1. Templates. Learn how to create and use templates in FrameMaker.
  2. Adobe FrameMaker x Classroom in a Book. Optional reading: Lesson 4.
  3. Templates overview. Listen to and watch this audio-video recording.
  4. FrameMaker template practice & quick-ref. Send in this practice work on the due date.
mmddyy
 Name the template practice work yourname_templates.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.
  1. Cross-references. Learn how to create cross-references in FrameMaker.
  2. Adobe FrameMaker x Classroom in a Book. Optional reading: Lesson 10.
  3. Cross-reference overview.g Listen to and watch this audio-video recording.
  4. FrameMaker cross-reference practice & quick-ref.g Send in this practice work on the due date.
mmddyy
 Name the cross-reference practice work yourname_crossrefs.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.
  1. Autonumbering & variables. Learn how to use FrameMaker autonumbering to create automated page numbers, chapter numbers and other such functions. Learn about variables to create different versions of your documents within a single source.
  2. Adobe FrameMaker x Classroom in a Book. Optional reading: Lessons 6, 13, Appendix C.
  3. Autonumbering overview 1. Listen to and watch this audio-video recording.
  4. Autonumbering overview 2. Listen to and watch another audio-video recording.
  5. FrameMaker autonumbering practice & quick-ref. Send in this practice work on the due date.
mmddyy
 Name the autonumbering practice work yourname_autonumbers.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.
Simple procedure in FrameMaker. Use what you've learned so far about FrameMaker and standard formatting to write a simple one- or two-page procedure.
mmddyy
 Name this project yourname_procedure1.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor. (Name subsequent revisions yourname_procedure2.fm, and so on.)
  1. Book building and TOCs. Learn how to use FrameMaker to create and automate books as well as generate automated tables of contents. (Some of this material will overlap previous tutorials.)
  2. Adobe FrameMaker x Classroom in a Book. Optional reading: Lesson 11.
  3. Book-building overview 1. Listen to and watch this audio-video recording. (It will incorrectly read "Part 2.")
  4. Book-building overview 2. Listen to and watch another audio-video recording. (It will incorrectly read "Part 3.")
  5. Book-building overview 3. Listen to and watch another audio-video recording. (It will incorrectly read "Part 4.")
  6. FrameMaker book-building practice & quick-ref. Send in this practice work on the due date.
mmddyy
 Name the book-building practice work yourname_booktoc.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.
  1. Indexing. Learn the basics of creating an index (regardless of the application) using the indexing tutorial.
  2. Indexing quiz. Use this quiz to check your underatanding of basic indexing concepts.
  3. Indexing. Study how to create indexes in FrameMaker.
  4. Adobe FrameMaker x Classroom in a Book. Optional reading: Lesson 12.
  5. Indexing overview. Listen to and watch this audio-video recording.
  6. FrameMaker indexing practice & quick-ref. Send in this practice work on the due date.
mmddyy
 Name the indexing practice work yourname_indexing.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.

Take the quiz associated with the indexing unit.
Book design: user guides. Study the common design and components of user guides at book design, paying particular attention to cover and title pages, the edition notice, preface, table of contents, safety notices, headers, footers, appendixes, glossary, index, and reader-comment form.
mmddyy
 No quiz with this unit!
Book-building with FrameMaker. Use the book-building project to get some practice using FrameMaker to create complete books, including indexes.
mmddyy
 Name this project yourname_bookformat.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor.
User-guide project using FrameMaker. Use the FrameMaker user guide project page to create a small but complete user guide for some computer product. Suitable for your portfolio, this user guide will be fully automated in terms of all numbering streams as well as cross-references, table of contents, and index. Also, it will demonstrate good design and writing as well as industry-standard guidelines.
8/26
 Name this project yourname_userguide1.fm, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor. (Name subsequent revisions yourname_userguide2.fm, and so on.)
Acrobat resource page & project. Use the Adobe Acrobat resource and project page to ensure that you can do the essential tasks with Acrobat and then convert your FrameMaker user guide to PDF using Acrobat.
mmddyy
 Name this project yourname_userguide1.pdf, and send it as an e-mail attachment to your instructor. (Name subsequent revisions yourname_userguide2.pdf, and so on.)
Note: All work in this course must be complete no later than mmddyy.

Syllabus

Objectives

Grades

Contact your instructor concerning credit for projects you have completed but are still not approved by the time the course is over.

Books

The following are suggested—not required:

Resources

Course evaluation

Use the course evaluation form to give your opinions on the effectiveness of the study materials and organization of this course. (This evaluation is strictly optional, strictly voluntary.)

Information and programs provided by hcexres@io.com.