Adobe FRAMEMAKER 6.0 User manual

MIFReferenceOnlineManual
FrameMaker
®
6.0
Adobe
®

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3
Contents
Introduction Why use MIF? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Using this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Overview of MIF statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
MIF statement syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Using MIF Statements Working with MIF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Creating a simple MIF file for FrameMaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Creating and applying character formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Creating and formatting tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Specifying page layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Creating markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Creating cross-references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Creating variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Creating conditional text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Including template files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 55
Setting View Only document options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Applications of MIF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Debugging MIF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Other application tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Where to go from here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
MIF Document
Statements MIF file layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
MIFFile statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Control statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Macro statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Conditional text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 71
Paragraph formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Character formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Cross-references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 97
Global document properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 98

4
Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Graphic objects and graphic frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Text flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Text insets (text imported by reference) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Publishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
MIF Book File Statements MIF book file overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
MIF book file identification line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Book statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
MIF Statements for
Structured Documents
and Books
Structural element definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Attribute definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Format rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 165
Format change lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 178
Preference settings for structured documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Text in structured documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 183
Structured book statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
MIF Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
MIF Equation Statements Document statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 189
Math statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 194
MathFullForm statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 195
MIF Asian Text
Processing Statements Asian Character Encoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Combined Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Kumihan Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Rubi text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Examples Text example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Bar chart example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Pie chart example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Custom dashed lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 239
Table examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Database publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

5
MIF Messages General form for MIF messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
List of MIF messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 253
MIF Compatibility Changes between version 5.5 and 6.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Changes between version 5 and 5.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 258
Changes between versions 4 and 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 260
Changes between versions 3 and 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 264
Facet Formats for
Graphics Facets for imported graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Basic facet format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Graphic insets(UNIX versions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
General rules for reading and writing facets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
EPSI Facet Format Specification of an EPSI facet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Example of an EPSI facet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
FrameImage Facet
Format Specification of a FrameImage facet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Specification of FrameImage data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Differences between monochrome and color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Sample unencoded FrameImage facet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Sample encoded FrameImage facet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
FrameVector Facet
Format Specification of a FrameVector facet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Specification of FrameVector data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Sample FrameVector facet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

6
Introduction
MIF (Maker Interchange Format) is a group of ASCII statements that create an easily parsed, readable text
file of all the text, graphics, formatting, and layout constructs that most FrameMaker®products (with the
exception of FrameReader®) understand. Because MIF is an alternative representation of a FrameMaker
document, it allows FrameMaker products and other applications to exchange information while
preserving graphics, document content, and format.
Why use MIF?
YoucanuseMIFfilestoallow FrameMakerproductsandother applicationstoexchangeinformation.For
example, you can write programs to convert graphics and text into MIF and then import the MIF file into
a FrameMaker product with the graphics and text intact. You can also save a FrameMaker document or
bookfileasaMIFfileandthenwriteaprogramtoconverttheMIFfiletoanotherformat.Theseconversion
programs are called filters; filters allow you to convert FrameMaker document files into foreign files (files
in another word processing or desktop publishing format), and foreign files into FrameMaker document
files.
You can use MIF files with database publishing applications, which allow you to capture changing data
from databases and format the data into high-quality documents containing both text and graphics infor-
mation.You use the databasetoenter, manipulate, sort,and select data.You usea FrameMakerproduct to
format the resulting data. You use MIF files as the data interchange format between the database and the
FrameMaker product.
You can also use MIF files to do the following:
•Share documents with earlier versions of FrameMaker products
•Perform custom document processing
•Set options for online documents in View Only format
These tasks are described in “Applications of MIF” on page 60. Youcan use other FrameMaker products to
perform some of these tasks. See “Other application tools” on page 64.
Using this manual
This manual:
•Describes the layout of MIF files.
•Provides a complete description of each MIF statement and its syntax.
•Provides examples of how to use MIF statements.
•Includes MIF statements for version 5.5 of the following FrameMaker products: FrameMaker®,
FrameViewer®, FrameMaker+SGML™.

7ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Introduction
YourFrameMakerproductmaynotincludeallofthefeaturesdescribedinthismanual.Forexample,some
statements appear in all MIF files but are only applicable for structured documents created with
FrameMaker+SGML. Contact your FrameMaker local customer service representative for information
about other FrameMaker products.
To get the most from this manual you should be familiar with your FrameMaker product. For information
about a FrameMakerproduct and itsfeatures, see the documentation for your product. In addition, if you
are using MIF as an interchange format between a FrameMaker product and another application, you
should be familiar with thetools needed to create and manipulate the other application, such as a
programming language or database query language.
This chapterprovidesbasicinformationaboutworkingwithMIFfiles, including opening andsavingMIF
files in yourFrameMakerproduct.Itgoesontoprovidedetailed informationabout theMIFlanguage and
its syntax.
For an introduction to writing MIF files, read , “Using MIF Statements.” You can then use the statement
index, subject index, and table of contents to locate more specific information about a particular MIF
statement.
For a description of a MIF statement, use the table of contents or statement indexto locate the statement.
For a description of the differences between the MIF statements for this version of your FrameMaker
product and earlier versions, see , “MIF Compatibility.”Style conventions
This manual uses different fonts to represent different types of information.
•What you type is shown in
.
•MIF statement names, pathnames, and filenames are also shown in
.
•Placeholders (such as MIF data) are shown in
text like this.
For example, the statement description for is shown as:
<PgfTag tagstring>
You replace tagstring with the tag of a paragraph format.
This manual also uses the term FrameMaker, (as inFrameMaker product,FrameMaker document, or
FrameMaker session) to refer to anyof the FrameMaker, FrameMaker+SGML, and FrameViewer products.
Overview of MIF statements
When you are learning about MIF statements, you may find it useful to understand how FrameMaker
products represent documents.

8ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Introduction
How MIF statements represent documents
FrameMaker products represent document components asobjects. Different types of objects represent
different components in a FrameMaker document. For example, a paragraph is considered an object; a
paragraph format is considered a formatting object. The graphic objects that you createby using the Tools
palette are yet another type of object.
Each object has properties that represent its characteristics. For example, a paragraph has properties that
representitsleftindent,thespaceabove it,anditsdefaultfont.Arectangle has propertiesthatrepresentits
width, height, and position on the page.
When a FrameMaker product creates a MIF file, it writes an ASCII statement for each object in the
document or book. The statement includes substatements for the object’s properties.
For example,supposeadocument(withnotextframe)containsarectanglethatis2 incheswideand1 inch
high.Therectangleislocated3inches from theleftside ofthepageand1.5 inchesfromthetop. MIFrepre-
sents this rectangle with the following statement:
<Rectangle # Type of graphic object
<ShapeRect 3.0" 1.5" 2.0" 1.0"> # Position and size: left offset,
# top offset, width, and height
>
A FrameMaker product also treats each document as an object and stores document preferences as
properties of thedocument. For example, adocument’spagesizeandpagenumberingstyle aredocument
properties.
FrameMaker documents have default objects
A FrameMaker document always has a certain set of default objects, formats, and preferences, even when
you create a new document. When you create a MIF file, you usually provide the objects and properties
that your document needs. However, if you don’t provide all the objects and properties required in a
FrameMaker document, the MIF interpreter fills in a set of default objects and document formats.
The MIF interpreter normally provides the following default objects:
•Predefined paragraph formats for body text, headers, and table cells
•Predefined character formats
•A right master page for single-sided documents and left and right master pages for double-sided
documents
•A reference page
•Predefined table formats
•Predefined cross-reference formats
•Default pen and fill values and dash patterns for graphics
•Default colors
•Default document preferences, such as ruler settings
•Default condition tags

9ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Introduction
AlthoughyoucanrelyontheMIFinterpretertoprovidedefaults,theexactpropertiesandobjectsprovided
may vary dependingon your FrameMaker product’s configuration. The MIF interpreter uses default
objectsandpropertiesthatarespecifiedinsetupfilesandintemplates.InUNIX®versions,thesetemplates
are and .You can modify these defaultobjects and document formats by creatingyour own version of or
or by modifying your setup files.
For more information about modifying the default templates and setup files, see the online manual
Customizing FrameMaker Products for UNIX versions of FrameMaker products. For the Macintosh and
Windows®versions, see the chapter on templates in your user manual.
Current state and inheritance
A FrameMaker product has a MIF interpreter that reads and parses MIF files. When you open or import a
MIF file, the interpreter reads the MIF statements and creates a FrameMaker document that contains the
objects described in the MIF file.
WhentheinterpreterreadsaMIF file,itkeeps trackofthecurrentstateofcertainobjects.Iftheinterpreter
reads an object with properties that are not fully specified, it applies the current state to that object. When
an object acquires the current state, it inherits the properties stored in that state.
Forexample,ifthelinewidthissetto1pointforagraphicobject,theinterpretercontinuestousea1-point
linewidthforgraphicobjectsuntilanewvalueisspecifiedintheMIFfile.Similarly,iftheMIFfilespecifies
a format for a paragraph, the interpreter uses the same format until a new format is specified in the file.
The MIF interpreter keeps track of the following document objects and properties:
•Units
•Condition tag properties
•Paragraph format properties
•Character format properties
•Page properties
•Graphic frame properties
•Text frame properties
•Fill pattern
•Pen pattern
•Line width
•Line cap
•Line style (dash or solid)
•Color
•Text line alignment and character format
Because the interpreter also provides default objects for a document, the current state of an object may be
determined by a default object. For example, if a document does not provide any paragraph formats, the
interpreter applies a set of default paragraph properties to the first paragraph. Subsequent paragraphs use
the same properties unless otherwise specified.

10ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Introduction
How a FrameMaker product identifies MIF files
A MIF file must be identified by a or statement at the beginning of the file; otherwise a FrameMaker
product simply reads the fileas a text file. All other statements are optional; that is,a valid MIF file can
contain only the statement. Other document objects can be added as needed; a FrameMakerproduct
provides a set of default objects if a MIF file does not supply them.
MIF statement syntax
The statement descriptions in this manual use the following conventions to describe syntax:
tokendatawhere token represents one of the MIF statement names (such as ) listed in the MIF statement
descriptions later in this manual, and data represents one or more numbers, a string, a token, or
nested statements. Markup statements are always delimited by angle brackets (<>); macro statements
are not. For the syntax of macro statements, see “Macro statements” on page 70.
A token is an indivisible group of characters that identify a reserved word in a MIF statement. Tokens in
MIF are case-sensitive. A token cannot contain white space characters, such as spaces, tabs, or newlines.
For example, the following MIF statement is invalid because the token contains white space characters:
When the MIF interpreter finds white space characters that aren’t part of the text of the document (as in
the example MIF statement, ), it interprets the white space as tokendelimiters. Whenparsing the example
statement, the MIF interpreter ignores the white space characters between the left angle bracket (<) and
thefirstcharacterofthetoken,.Afterreadingthetoken,theMIFinterpreterchecksitsvalidity.Ifthetoken
is valid, the interpreter reads and parses the data portion of the statement. If the token is not valid, the
interpreter ignores all text up to the corresponding right angle bracket (>), including any nested substate-
ments. The interpreter then scans the file for the next left angle bracket that marks the beginning of the
next MIF statement.
Allstatements,aswellasalldataportionsofastatement,areoptional.Ifyoudonotprovideadataportion,
the MIF interpreter assigns a default value to the statement.
Statement hierarchy
Some MIF statementscan contain otherstatements.The containedstatementsarecalled substatements. In
this manual, substatements are usually shown indented within the containing statements as follows:
<Document
<DStartPage 1>
>
The indentation is not required in a MIF file, although it may make the file easier for you
to read.
A MIF main statement appears at the top level of a file.A main statement cannot be nested within other
statements. Some substatements can only appear within certain main statements.
Thestatementdescriptionsinthismanualindicatethevalidlocationsfor asubstatementbyincludingitin
allofthevalidmainstatements.Mainstatementsareidentifiedinthestatementdescription;forthecorrect
order of main statements, see “MIF file layout”on page 66.

11ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Introduction
MIF data items
Thereare severalgeneraltypesofdataitems inaMIFstatement.Thismanualusesthefollowingtermsand
symbols to identify data items.
This term or symbol Means
string Left quotation mark ( ` ), zero or more standard ASCII characters, and a straight quotation mark
('). Example: . To include extended ASCII characters in a string, you must use a backslash
sequence (see “Character set in strings” on page 13).
tagstring A string that names a format tag, such as a paragraph format tag. A tagstring value must be
unique; case is significant. A statement that refers to a tagstring must exactly match the tag-
string value. A tagstring value can include any character from the FrameMaker character
set.
pathname A string specifying a pathname (see “Device-independent pathnames” on page 13).
boolean A value of either or . Case is significant.
integer Integer whose range depends on the associated statement name.
ID Integer that specifies a unique ID. An ID can be any positiveinteger between 1 and 65535, inclu-
sive. A statement that refers to an ID must exactly match the ID.
dimension Decimal number signifying a dimension. You can specify the units, such as , , and . If no units are
specified, the default unit is used (see “Units statement” on page 68).
degrees A decimal number signifying an angle value in degrees. You cannot specify units; any number is
interpreted as a degree value.
percentage A decimal number signifying a percentage value. You cannot specify units; any number is inter-
preted as a percentage value.
metric A dimension specified in units that represent points, where one point is 1/72 inch (see “Math val-
ues” on page 12). Only used in statements.
WH Pair of dimensions representing width and height. You can specify the units.
XY Coordinates of a point. Coordinates originate at the upper-left corner of the page or graphic
frame. You can specify the units.
LTRB Coordinates representing left, top, right, and bottom indents. You can specify the units.
LTWH Coordinates representing the left and top indents plus the dimensions representing the width and
height of an object. You can specify the units.
XYWH Coordinates of a point on the physical screen represented by Xand Yplus dimensions describing
the width and height. Used only by the and statements within the statement and the statement
within the statement. The values are in pixels; you cannot specify the units.
keyword A token value. The allowed token values are listed for each statement; you can provide only one
value.
<token…>Ellipsis points in a statement indicate required substatements or arguments. The entire expanded
statement occurs at this point.

12ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Introduction
Unit values
Youcanspecifytheunitofmeasurementformostdimension dataitems.The followingtableliststhe units
ofmeasurementthataFrameMakerproductsupportsandtheirnotationinMIF.Dimensiondatatypescan
mix different units of measurement. For example, the statement LTRBcan be written as either of the
following:
<CellMargins6pt18pt6pt24pt>
<CellMargins 6 pt .25" .5 pica 2 pica>
Math values
The statementusesmetric values in formatting codes. A metric unitrepresentsonepoint(1/72inch).
Themetric type is a 32-bit fixed-point number. The 16 most significant bits of a metric value
represent the digits before the decimal; the 16 least significant bits represent the digits after the decimal.
Therefore, 1 point is expressed as hexadecimal or decimal . The following table shows how to convert
metric values into equivalent measurement units.
Measurement unit Notation in MIF Relationship to other units
point pt or point 1/72 inch
inch "or in 72 points
millimeter mm or millimeter 1 inch is 25.4 mm
centimeter cm or centimeter 1 inch is 2.54 cm
pica pc or pica 12 points
didot dd or didot 0.01483 inches
cicero cc or cicero 12 didots
To get this unit Divide the metric value by this number
point 65536
inch 4718592
millimeter 185771
centimeter 1857713
pica 786432
didot 6997
cicero 839724

13ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Introduction
Character set in strings
MIF string data uses the FrameMaker character set (see the Quick Reference for your FrameMaker
product). MIF strings must begin with a left quotation mark (ASCII character code )and end with a
straight quotation mark (ASCII character code ). Within a string, you can include any character in the
FrameMaker character set. However, because a MIF file can contain only standard ASCII characters and
because of MIF parsing requirements, youmust represent certain characters with backslash (\) sequences.
All FrameMaker characters with values above the standard ASCII range (greater than ) are represented in
a string by using nn notation, where nn represents the hexadecimal code for the character. The
hexadecimal digits must be followed by a space.
The following example shows a FrameMaker document line and its representation in a MIF string.
You can also use the statement to include certain predefined special characters in a statement (see “Char
statement”on page 136).
Device-independent pathnames
Several MIF statements require pathnames as values. You should supply a device-independent pathname
so that files can easily be transported across different system types. Because of MIF parsing requirements,
you must use the following syntax to supply a pathname:
`<code\>name<code\>name<code\>name…'
where name is the name of a component in the file’s path and code identifies the role of the component
in the path. The followingtable lists codes andtheir meanings.
Character Representation
Tab \ t
>\>
\q
`\Q
\\\
nonstandard ASCII \xnn
In a FrameMaker document In MIF
Some `symbols': > \Ø¿! `Some \Qsymbols\q: \> \\\xaf \xc0 !'
Code Meaning
r Root of UNIX file tree (UNIX only)
v Volume or drive (Macintosh and Windows)
h Host (Apollo only)
c Component

14ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Introduction
When you specify a device-independent pathname in a MIF string, you must precede any right angle
brackets (>) with backslashes (\), as shown in the syntax above.
Absolute pathnames
Anabsolutepathnameshows the location of a file beginning with the root directory, volume, or drive. The
followingtablespecifiesdevice-independent,absolutepathnamesforthedifferentversionsofFrameMaker
products.Relative pathnames
Arelativepathnameshowsthelocationofafilerelativetothecurrentdirectory.InallFrameMakerproduct
versions, the device-independent, relative pathname for the same file is:
`<c\>Filename'
u Up one level in the file tree
In this version The pathname appears as this MIF string
UNIX `<r\><c\>MyDirectory<c\>MySubdirectory<c\>Filename'
Macintosh `<v\>MyVolume<c\>MyFolder<c\>MySubfolder<c\>Filename'
Windows `<v\>c:<c\>mydir<c\>subdir<c\>filename'
Code Meaning

15ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Introduction

16
Using MIF Statements
MIF statements can completely describe any FrameMaker document, no matter how complex.As a result,
youoftenneedmanyMIFstatementstodescribeadocument.TolearnhowtouseMIFstatements,ithelps
to begin with some simple examples.
This chapter introduces you to MIF, beginning with a simple MIF example file with only a few lines of text.
Additionalexamplesshowhowtoaddcommondocumentobjects,suchasparagraphformats,atable,and
a custom page layout, to this simple MIF file.
The examples in this chapter are also provided in online sample files. You can open these examples in a
FrameMaker product and experiment with them by adding additional MIF statements. Look for the
sample files in the following location:
Working with MIF files
AMIFfileisanalternaterepresentationofaFrameMakerdocumentinASCIIformat.MIFfiles areusually
generated by a FrameMaker product or by an application that writes out MIF statements. You can,
however, create MIF files by using a text editor or by using a FrameMaker product as a text editor. This
sectionprovidessomegeneralinformationaboutworking withMIFfilesregardlessofthemethodyouuse
to create them.
Opening and saving MIF files
When you save a FrameMaker document, you usually save it in Normal format, FrameMaker’s binary
format for document files. To save a document as a MIF file, choose Save As from the File menu. In the
Save Documentdialogbox,chooseInterchange(MIF)fromtheFormatpop-upmenu.Youshouldgivethe
saved file the suffix.mif to distinguish it from a file saved in binary format.
When you openor import a MIF file, a FrameMaker product reads the file directly, translating it intoa
FrameMakerdocument or book.WhenyousavethedocumentinNormalformat, aFrameMakerproduct
createsabinarydocument file.TopreventoverwritingtheoriginalMIF file, removethe.mif filesuffixand
replace it with a different suffix (or nosuffix).
In this version Look here
UNIX $FMHOME/fminit/language/Samples/MIF, where language is the language in use, such as
usenglish
Macintosh The MIF folder in the Samples folder
Windows The MIF directory under the samples directory

17ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Using MIF Statements
If you use a FrameMaker product to edit a MIF file, you must prevent itfrom interpreting MIF statements
when you open the file by holding down a modifier key and clicking Open in the Open dialog box.
Save the edited MIF file as a text file by using the Save As command and choosing Text Only from the
Format pop-up menu. Give the saved file the suffix .mif. When you save a document as Text Only, a
FrameMaker product asks you where to place carriage returns. For a MIF file, choose the Only between
Paragraphs option.
In UNIX versions, a FrameMaker product saves a document in text format in the ISO Latin-1 character
encoding. Youcan change the character encoding toASCII bychanging the valueof an X resource.See the
description of character encoding in the online manual Customizing FrameMaker Products. In Macintosh
and Windows versions, press Esc F t c to toggle between FrameMaker’s character encoding and ANSI for
Windows or ASCII for Macintosh.
Importing MIF files
YoucanusetheFilemenu’sImport>FilecommandtoimportMIFfilesintoanexistingdocument,butyou
must make sure that the imported statements are valid at the location where you are importing them. A
MIFfile candescribebothtextandgraphics;makesurethatyouhaveselectedeitheraplaceinthe textflow
(if you are importing text or graphics) or an anchored frame (if you are importing graphics).
For example, to import a MIF file that describes a graphic, first create an anchored frame in a document,
select the frame, and then import the MIF file (see “Bar chart example”on page 235).
When you import or include MIF files, make sure that object IDs are uniquein the final document and
that references to object IDs are correct (see “Generic object statements”on page 111).
Editing MIF files
You normally use a text editor to edit a MIF file. If youuse a FrameMaker product to enter text intoa MIF
file, be sure to opentheMIF file as a textfile and turn offSmart Quotes.If you leaveSmart Quoteson, you
mustuseakeysequencetotypethequotationmarksthatencloseaMIFstring(`'). To enter a left quotation
mark, type Control-`. To enter a straight quotation mark, type Control-'.
Although MIF statements are usually generated by a program, while you learn MIF or test and debug an
applicationthatgeneratesMIF,youmayneedtomanuallygenerateMIFstatements.Ineithercase,youcan
minimize the number of MIF statements that your application needs to generate or that you need to type
in.
In this version Use this modifier key
UNIX Shift
Macintosh Option
Windows Control or Shift
NeXT Alt

18ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Using MIF Statements
The following suggestions may be helpful when you are working with MIF statements:
•Edit a MIF file generated by a FrameMaker product.
You can edit a MIF file generated by a FrameMaker product or copy a group of statements from a MIF file
into your file and then edit the statements. An easy way to use a FrameMaker product to generate a MIF
file is to create an empty document by using the New command and then saving it as a MIF file.
•Test one object at a time.
While testing an object in a document or learning about the MIF statements that describe an object, work
with just that object. For example, if you work with a document that contains both tables and anchored
frames, start by creating the MIF statements that describe tables. Then add the statements that describe
anchored frames.
•Use the default properties provided by a FrameMaker product.
If you arenot concerned with testing certain document components, let a FrameMaker product provide a
set of default document objects and formats.
MIF file layout
A FrameMaker product writes the objects in a MIF document file in the following order:
A FrameMaker product provides all of these objects, even if the object is empty. To avoid unpredictable
results in a document, you must follow this order when you create a MIF file.
Creating a simple MIF file for FrameMaker
The rest of this chapter explains how to create some simple MIF filesfor FrameMaker and FrameViewer by
hand. These instructions do not apply to FrameMaker+SGML, which requires that you create elements first.
This section Contains these objects
File ID MIF file identification line (MIFFile statement)
Units Default units (Units statement)
Catalogs Color
Condition
Paragraph Format
Element
Font or Character Format
Ruling
Table Format
Views
Formats Variable
Cross-reference
Objects Document
Dictionary
Anchored frames
Tables
Pages
Text flows

19ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Using MIF Statements
ThemostaccuratesourceofinformationaboutMIFfilesisaMIFfilegeneratedbyaFrameMakerproduct.
MIF files generated by a FrameMaker product can be very lengthy because a FrameMaker product repeats
information and provides default objects and formats for all documents. You mayfind it difficult to
determine the minimum number of statements that are necessary to define your document by looking at
a FrameMaker-generated MIF file.
To better understand how a FrameMaker product reads MIF files, study the following example. This MIF
file uses only four statements to describe a document that contains one line of text:
<MIFFile 6.00> # The only required statement
<Para # Begin a paragraph
<ParaLine # Begin a line within the paragraph
<String `Hello World'> # The actual text of this document
>#end of Paraline # End of ParaLine statement
>#end of Para # End of Para statement
TheMIFFile statementisrequiredineachMIFfile.ItidentifiestheFrameMakerproductversionandmust
appearonthefirstlineofthefile.Allotherstatementsareoptional;thatis,aFrameMakerproductprovides
a set of default objects if you specify none.
Comments in a MIF file are preceded by a number sign (#). By convention, the substatements in a MIF
statement are indented to show their nesting level and to make the file easier to read. The MIF interpreter
ignores spaces at the beginning of a line.
This example is in the sample file hello.mif. To see how a FrameMaker product provides defaults for a
document, open this file in a FrameMaker product. Even though the MIF file does not specify any
formatting, a FrameMaker product provides a default Paragraph Catalog and Character Catalog. In
addition, it provides a right master page, as well as many other default properties.
Save this document as a MIF file and open the FrameMaker-generated MIF file in a text editor or in a
FrameMaker product as a text file. (For information on how to save and open MIF files, see “Openingand
saving MIF files”on page 16.)
You’ll see that the MIF interpreter has taken the original 6-line file and generated over 1,000 lines of MIF
statements thatdescribe allthedefaultobjectsandtheirproperties.Toseethe actual textof the document,
go to the end of the file.
Thisexampledemonstratesan importantpoint aboutMIFfiles.YourMIFfilecanbevery sparse;theMIF
interpretersuppliesmissing information.Mostdocumentsarenot thissimple,however,andrequiresome
formatting. The following sections describe how to add additional document components, such as
paragraph and character formats, a table, and custom page layouts, to this minimal MIF file.
Creating and applying paragraph formats
In a FrameMaker document, paragraphs have formatting properties that specify the appearance of the
paragraph’s text. A paragraph format includes the font family and size, indents, tab stops, the space
betweenlinesina paragraph,andthespace beforeand aftera paragraph.InaFrameMakerdocument,the
endofaparagraphisdenotedbyasinglecarriagereturn.Youcontroltheamountofspaceaboveandbelow
the paragraph by modifying the paragraph’s format, not byaddingextra carriage returns.

20ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 6.0
Using MIF Statements
In a FrameMaker document, you store paragraph formats in a Paragraph Catalog and assign a tag (name)
to the format. You can then apply the same format to many paragraphs by assigning the format tag to the
paragraphs. You can also format a paragraph individually, without storing the format in the Paragraph
Catalog.Or,youcan assignaformat from the ParagraphCatalogandthenoverridesomeoftheproperties
withinaparticularparagraph.FormatsthatarenotstoredintheParagraphCatalogarecalledlocalformats.
Creating a paragraph
InaMIF file,paragraphsaredefined byaPara statement.APara statementcontains oneor moreParaLine
statementsthatcontainthe linesinaparagraph;theactualtextofthe lineisenclosedin oneormoreString
statements:
<Para # Begin a paragraph
<ParaLine # Begin a line within the paragraph
<String `Hello World'> # The actual text of this document
> # End of ParaLine statement
> # End of Para statement
ThePara, ParaLine, and String statements are the only required statements to import text. You could use
thisexampletoimportasimpledocumentintoaFrameMakerproductbyplacingeachparagraphinaPara
statement.BreaktheparagraphtextintoaseriesofStringstatementscontainedinoneParaLinestatement.
It doesn’t matter how you breakup text lines within a Para statement; the MIF interpreter automatically
wraps lines when it reads the MIF file.
Some characters must be represented by backslash sequences in a MIF string. For more information, see
“Character set in strings”on page 13.
Creating a paragraph format
Within a FrameMakerdocument, you define a paragraph format by using the Paragraph Designer to
specify theparagraph’sproperties. In a MIFfile,youdefineaparagraph formatbyusingthePgf statement.
ThePgf statementcontainsagroupofsubstatementsthatdescribeallofaparagraph’sproperties.Ithasthe
following syntax:
<Pgf
<property value>
<property value>
...
APgfstatementisquitelong,solearninghowtorelateits substatementstotheparagraph’s propertiesmay
takesomepractice.UsuallyaMIF statementnameissimilartothenameof the settingwithinadialog box.
The following examples showthe property dialog boxes from the Paragraph Designer with the related Pgf
substatements.