Adobe FrameMaker 8: Change Bars

by Barbara Binder

 

Last week, we talked about the new Track Text Edits feature in FrameMaker 8. It's a great new feature, and one that most of us will use. But what about the old FrameMaker standby, Change Bars?

 

The good news is that Change Bars are still part of the program and can be used with or without Track Text Edits enabled.

 

Here's how Change Bars work:

1. Open a FrameMaker document
   
   
2. Choose Format > Document > Change Bars and activate Automatic Change Bars:
   
   
   
   
3. Just start typing in your document and any line where you make a change will display a black bar in the left column.
   
   
   
   This is an easy way to find your changes on a scanning level.

Back in the day, if you wanted to see exactly what was added or removed, you would need to use File > Utilities > Compare Documents and go through several steps to compare the newer version to the original. In FrameMaker 8, I'd suggest just using both Change Bars and Track Text Edits (see last week's article for details) and everything is right there at your fingertips, as you work. 

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Want to learn more about Adobe FrameMaker 8? Attend Barb's Introduction to Adobe FrameMaker 8 class. All you need is a computer with fast Internet access, a headset and the current version of FrameMaker (the 30-day trial version of the software works fine). You can ask all the questions you like because all virtual classes are led by a live instructor--this is not pre-recorded content.

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About the author: Barbara Binder is the president and founder of Rocky Mountain Training. Barbara has been a trainer for nearly two decades and was recognized by Adobe as one of the top trainers world-wide for 2007.