The maker.ini file is a simple text file with configuration settings which FrameMaker checks at every launch. There are basically, at least, two entries for the maker.ini file: in the installed location as well as in the User Account Preferences. You can edit either based upon your requirements.
At Installed Location
C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\AdobeFrameMaker10\maker.ini
Maker.ini at installed location
At User Account
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Adobe\FrameMaker\version
Windows Vista, Windows 7: C:\Users\User Name\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\FrameMaker\version
Maker.ini at user account location
Being a text file in true nature, you can open and edit it on any text editor.
Before you change anything in the file:
- Keep a back-up of the maker.ini file, in case, you want to revert back to original state.
- Ensure you have administrator privileges to modify the file.
- Ensure FrameMaker is not running while editing the maker.ini.
One first glance you would notice that the maker.ini itself has several sections, each governing a specific feature in FrameMaker. You can notice entries that are commented starting with semi-colon (;). Most of the entries can be customized and modified by toggling their values between on/off. Let’s understand and try to edit them to see the impact.
1) Frame
ProductInterface=Structured FrameMaker [It is always stored in user account mode location of Maker.ini. It controls UI for FrameMaker as — structured or unstructured.]
Language=English [Used for UI and dictionary language and is based on Installation Language for the product.]
2) Preferences
AskExit=On [Prompts a dialog on Closing FrameMaker.]
BackupOnSave=On [Creates project backup and updates it on every save.]
AutoSave=Off 5 [Automatically says the opened book/document, periodically at the specified time interval.]
3) Alert Prompts, do not show again dialogs
MissingGraphicsDialog=On [Documents contains missing graphics.]
UnresolvedCrossReferencesDialog=On [Prompts for Unresolved Cross References because of marker for source is deleted/modified/moved/being used by someone.]
OpeningOldReleaseDocDialog=On [For FrameMaker source file created in previous version of product.]
UnavailableFontsDialog=On [Prompts for unavailable fonts on machine w.r.t. fonts used in the FrameMaker source file.]
Alert prompt settings
4) Auto Spell Check
EnableAutoSpellCheck=On [By default checks for spelling for inserted text and prompts for corrections.]
AutoSpellCheckCorrectionListSize=5 [Size of word list for possible corrections in Spell Check.]
Auto SpellCheck settings
5) Thermometers
ThermoDoneColor=255, 0, 255
ThermoRemainingColor=192, 192, 192
Default thermometer color
Thermometer color settings
The above values modify the color for FrameMaker printing progress dialog box, which shows pink (by default). You can change the color for completed and remaining slides.
I have customized the value to change the color from Pink to Purple:
Changed thermometer color
Notes:
- FrameMaker reads the maker file from installed directory.
- If you want to make changes globally for all users using FrameMaker on a particular machine, modify the installed directory maker.ini, but if you want to restrict changes to a specific user only, then you should make those changes in maker.ini file only for that user account.
- Working with customized FDK plug-ins and interface also requires an entry to be substituted for the custom panel/window inside the maker.ini.
Submitted by: Anjaneai Srivastava, Tech Support Consultant