- What Reference Frames Are and How They Work (inactive)
- Explore Default Reference Frames
- Summary
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Explore Default Reference Frames
Each new FrameMaker document contains four default reference frames. To view them follow these steps:
Select View, Reference Pages.
Page 1 is displayed. Reference is the name of the reference page containing reference frames.
If for some reason you find yourself on a different page, select View, Go To Page.
Select Reference from the Reference Page drop-down menu, and press Go.
Each reference frame has its own unique name that identifies that frame in the Paragraph Designer Advanced properties.
You notice that a name appears above each reference frame. It's important to remember that this name is not the internal FrameMaker identifier of a reference frame, but simply created using the graphic toolbox and placed there to help you, the user, easily identify each reference frame. If you change the name shown on the reference page, this has nothing to do with the name displayed in the Paragraph Designer Advanced Properties.
Look Inside the Footnote and Table Footnote Reference Frame
If you've worked with footnotes or table footnotes, you may have run into these unique problems.
For a footnote, after you insert a footnote reference in text, the footnote text appears below the last text line in a column. Have you ever tried to change the vertical space between the top of the footnote text and the bottom of the text in the column? Fixing the paragraph spacing above the footnote text or below the text above does not fix this problem.
For a table footnote, after you insert a footnote reference in a table cell, the footnote text appears below the table. Have you ever tried to change the vertical space between the top of the footnote text and the bottom of the table? If so, you know that fixing the paragraph spacing above the footnote text or the space below the table does not fix this problem.
That's where the Footnote and TableFootnote reference frame comes in. These special reference frames are specifically used to create the vertical space between the top of the first footnote text on a page and the bottom of either a text frame or table (depending on whether it is a footnote or table footnote).
It's All In the Name
For this discussion, I refer to table footnotes. Apply the same principle to regular footnotes.
The table footnote reference frame works a little differently from the other reference frames in that it is not applied as part of the TableFootnote Paragraph Designer's Advanced Properties Frame Above Pgf or Below Pgf drop-down menus, and does not affect subsequent footnote text in a series tagged with the same paragraph tag name.
This reference frame is assigned to its location based on a matching name in three locations:
Reference frame name
Paragraph Format Tag name
Table Footnote Properties assigned Paragraph Format name
If this seems confusing, read on.
First, take a look at where to find this information:
View the Reference page, and click one time on the TableFootnote reference frame to select it.
Select Graphics, Object Properties.
TableFootnote is displayed in the Name field, located in the lower right of the Object Properties window.
Press Cancel when you have finished.
Return to Body pages, and click one time in table footnote text.
Press Ctrl +M to access the Paragraph Designer.
TableFootnote is displayed in the Paragraph Tag name field. Do you see a pattern emerging?
Return to your document body page.
Select Format, Document, Footnote Properties.
Click the Table Footnote tab.
The Paragraph Format field displays TableFootnote.
The previous steps showed you that the name TableFootnote matched in three locations.
It's a good idea to keep all three names the same, so you don't run into problems or get confused. If you change the name of the paragraph tag to something like TableFoot, apply that tag name to table footnote text and change the Footnote Properties Paragraph Format to TableFoot, the reference frame will not work for those entries because its name is now different.
Adjust the Footnote or Table Footnote Reference Frame
Making adjustments to either the Footnote or TableFootnote reference frame is easy! In this section, I focus again on the TableFootnote reference frame, but you can use the same concept to make changes to the Footnote reference frame.
Take a look at Figure 1. You see a small amount of space between the footnote text and the table. After adjusting the TableFootnote reference frame, a vertical space equal to the adjustment is displayed, as shown in Figure 2.
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Figure 1 View a table footnote using the default reference frame, also shown for comparison.
Figure 2 View a table footnote using a revised reference frame, also shown for comparison.
To adjust the TableFootnote reference frame, follow these steps:
Select View, Reference pages.
The first reference page appears.
Click one time on the TableFootnote reference frame to select it.
Place the cursor over the selection anchor located on the bottom center of the frame.
Click and drag to change the height of the frame.
When you are finished, release the mouse. The table footnote reference frame is resized.
Return to Body pages.
You see that the vertical space between the table footnote text and the bottom of the table is adjusted according to the change you made to the reference frame.
That's all there is to it! If you have several tables with footnotes, this change is applied to all.
Work with Other Existing Reference Frames
Next, take a look at the remaining default reference frames on the reference page. You see Single Line and Double Line.
In this section, I show you how to include an existing reference frame as part of a paragraph format, and how to make changes to the graphic or the reference frame itself once included. Although I work with the Single Line reference frame, the same principles apply to the Double Line reference frame.
Apply a Reference Frame to a Paragraph
To illustrate how these reference frames work in body pages, first include the Single Line reference frame as part of a paragraph's Advanced Properties:
Click one time in a paragraph that you want to include the single line.
For this example, let's say that the paragraph tag name is H1.
Select Format, Paragraphs, Designer; or press Ctrl + M.
The Paragraph Designer window appears. H1 is displayed in the Paragraph Tag name drop-down menu.
Click on the Advanced tab.
The Advanced properties window appears.
Select Single Line from the Frame Below Pgf drop-down menu, and click Update All.
The image inside the Single Line reference frame located on the reference page is displayed below each paragraph tagged with H1.
Make Changes to the Graphic and the Reference Frame
Now that the reference frame is displayed in each paragraph tagged with H1, learn how to make changes to the graphic inside the reference frame and how to add more space between the line and the bottom of the text.
First, change the line width of the Single Line:
Select View, Reference Pages.
The first reference page appears.
Click one time on the line inside the Single Line reference frame.
Select Graphics, Object Properties.
The Object Properties window is displayed.
Replace the current line width of 1.0 pt with 2.0 pt, and click the Set button.
The line width changes to 2.0 pt.
Return to Body pages, and view paragraphs tagged with H1.
The line width is changed.
Experiment with different line widths to determine which looks best for your document needs.
Next, add more space between the line and the bottom of the text:
Select View, Reference Pages.
View the Single Line reference frame.
Notice that the single line graphic inside the reference frame is very close to the top edge of the reference frame. This indicates that an extremely small amount of space appears between the line and the bottom of the text. The larger space between the line and the bottom edge of the reference frame indicates that a larger space is included in body pages below the single line.
Click one time on the single line graphic inside the reference frame to select it.
You may not see selection handles appear because the line is so close to the edge of the reference frame.
Press Alt + down arrow to move the single line down to the middle of the reference frame.
When you have finished, return to Body pages.
Notice the larger vertical space displayed between the single line and the bottom of the text.
Changing the Name of Existing Reference Frames
If you want to change the name of existing reference frames, there are a couple of methods you can use. For each method, first click one time on the reference frame:
Select Graphics, Object Properties. Type a new name in the Name text field, and click Set.
Click one time on the frame's name displayed in the status bar. The Frame Name window appears. Type a new name, and click Set.
Whichever method you choose, don't forget to also change the typed name that appears above each existing reference frame on the reference page so others don't get confused.
After you change the name, you must select the new name from the Paragraph Designer Advanced Properties to include the reference frame as part of a paragraph's format. If the old name was part of a paragraph's format, it's not any more!
Create a New Reference Frame
Now that you've had a taste of working with existing reference frames, let's take this a step further and create a new reference frame. Keep in mind that reference frames appear above or below paragraphs, not to the left or right, although we wish they could!
Think about what you want to include inside your reference frame. If you want to include a line, you can use FrameMaker's graphic tools to create one. If you want to include a graphic that you have stored someplace else, you can either import the graphic using File, Import, File or copy/paste from another location.
Select View, Reference Pages.
The first reference page appears.
Select the Place a Graphic Frame tool from the Graphic Tool palette.
Draw a Graphic Frame on the first reference page.
A frame is inserted on the first reference page. The Frame Name window appears.
NOTE
Use Graphics, Tools to show the Tools palette. You can see a tool's name by hovering the mouse pointer over an icon
Type the name MyGraphic (or whatever name you choose) in the Frame Name text field.
MyGraphic is the name of this reference frame. MyGraphic is displayed in the Paragraph Designer Advanced Properties, in the Frame Above and Frame Below Paragraph drop-down menus.
Click one time on the MyGraphic reference frame to select it.
The reference frame appears selected. Note the section anchors on all side of the reference frame.
Select File, Import File to import the graphic that you want to use inside this reference frame.
Alternatively, you can use the graphic tools to draw a line or other object shape inside the frame, or use copy/paste to copy a graphic from another location.
After the graphic is inserted inside the MyGraphic reference frame, you can resize the graphic as desired or move it up or down in the reference frame to create the desired spacing for display between the graphic and the paragraph text.
When you have finished, return to Body pages, and include MyGraphic as part of a paragraph's advanced properties.
See how it looks either above or below a paragraph, and make changes to the graphic or the reference frame size as required.
It's good practice to type the name of the reference frame above it on the reference page. Use the Draw a Text Line tool in the Tools palette to type the name of the reference frame. Alternatively, you can copy/paste an existing typed name on the reference page and edit the text with the new name.