FrameMaker development - versions 4.0 to 6.0

Release date	Version 4.0 1993-08 Review for the Mac version by Graeme Forbes	Version 5.0 1995-11 Version 5.1.2 1996-01 [1]	Version 5.5 1997-09 [2]	Version 6.0 2000-04
User interface	New and extended menu structure; button bar and format bar; Help extended; configurable UI; mm as display unit; short/long menu; customisable menus	Menu structure enhanced; dialogues adapted to W95; button bar enhanced; screen-display enhanced	Context menus and tool tips on all platforms; drag & drop; tabbed dialogues in Windows First fully functional japanese version on all platforms (Double-Byte Support)	Platform dependent Help includes free text search; enhanced book-handling. Many dialogues still for small screens
Documentation/ Help	Help is FM-Viewer format	Quick ref. manual integrated into user guide; enhanced help. Some information from v.4 deleted...	User Guide reworked completely (about 1/2 as many pages). Additional information (MIF etc.) in PDF	User Guide reworked, more hints, better examples; Help format platform dependant ??? (Winhelp on Win)
OS specifics& fonts	Last version for 16-bit windows (3.11). Font handling enhanced (add. sections in maker.ini); no long file names in Windows (until 5.11); enhanced locking	5.1 is for 32-bit Windows (W95, NT 3.51) only. Long file names in Windows; new extensions for crash-files; OLE 2 support runs on OS/2, although version abandoned	Consistent naming (extensions) and file format (.fm) across platforms; save as text with encoding Rubi, combined fonts, Kumihan rules	Linux beta 5.5.6 available only for half a year; development abandoned in same year
Document handling	(automatic) change bars introduced		Double byte support; PDF set-up (Acrobat bookmarks)
Typography	¶ and f-designer reorganised; line spacing and spacing		Stretch text; missing fonts stored in document
Page layout	New templates; side heads; run-in heads; better options page size; enhanced handling of body- master page creation;	Text frames can include columns; side heads enhanced; straddles; more anchored frame positions
Graphics/colour	Rotation in 0.001° 8 line styles (customisable); spot colour (Pantone, 4colour models)	Join lines and curves; text run-around (on/off)	Colour libraries; tints; more run-around properties; overprint/knockout
Tables	Table-designer enhanced		Sort by rows or columns; save as text
Import	More filters	Text import by reference; more filters, updated	Document roperties; More & better filters
Export	RTF is the only one (limited capabilities)	Save to HTML (rud.) more filters, updated; Fluid-View document (continuous page)	More & better filters; save to PDF; links across books, generation of bookmarks etc.; enhanced save to HTML, CSS support	PDF document information and file optimisation
Hypertext	Incorporation of the HyperGen mechanism, more link types	Variable window settings; thumbs in index; sub menus.	Additional functions; integrated GUI
Language [3]	Language is ¶-property; 17 dictionaries standard; building blocks language dependent ; Webster the-saurus [Proximity]		Language is also f-property
Variables, references			Rename marker types; user specified marker names	Volume- and chapter number
Book operations; generated files	Automatic hypertext links possible in generated files			Book wide find/replace and spell-check; enhanced setup of file properties (including numbering)
Utilities	View only documents; document comparison	Compare documents; WebWorks Publisher light [Quadralay] for HTML export	Create format-catalogue from local formatting	WebWorks Publisher Standard (= light) for good HTML and XML export. FrameViewer not ion CD
Formulas	More control on typography: fine tuning location, font setting
SGML		Product name: FrameMaker + SGML, singificantly better than FrameBuilder
Commercial issues	1993-11: second work force reduction to 425	1995-10-30: Adobe acquires Frame Technology FM 5.1 was the first version issued by Adobe, hence new manuals …

Notes

[1] Version 5.1 was shipped by Frame Technology, 5.1.1 was shipped 1995-12 by Adobe (just logo change). Only 5.1.2 shortly after became stable

[2] Version 5.5 was very buggy, only 5.5.6 became stable (released 1998-10)

[3] Too deep localisation is a major problem also with the most recent version. This complicates exchange of documents between FrameMaker UI-versions (e.g. maintain a document in Germany, France and Great Britain).