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What if you rename the bum folder to something else, and then rename it back to its original name -- I wonder if that would get rid of the null character?
Might be too late to try, or you might not want to bother with it, but if you still have that folder, might put some dummy files in there and try a before and after. Just a thought.
Thanks for the detailed explanation of what you did do -- great stuff.
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+sjanoff=illumina -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sjanoff=illumina -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Ken Poshedly
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2010 2:07 PM
To: Keith Hood; Techwr-l
Subject: Re: FrameMaker / post script file glitch solved (hopefully)
Yep, the folder DID originally allow pdf-ing. What changed? Hell if I know.
Perhaps an unnoticed minor power surge last Friday afternoon goofing up a bit
and a byte.
-- Kenpo
________________________________
From: Keith Hood <klhra -at- yahoo -dot- com>
To: Techwr-l <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>; Ken Poshedly
<poshedly -at- bellsouth -dot- net>
Sent: Wed, November 10, 2010 4:53:47 PM
Subject: Re: FrameMaker / post script file glitch solved (hopefully)
Glad to hear you've found what seems to be the answer. But I have to wonder -
that folder that may have a null character in its name...isn't that the same
folder you were using all along? Weren't you able to PDFify FM files from that
folder for some time before this problem cropped up? If you were, that would
mean that the folder name got changed for the worse at some point. If so,
somebody needs to figure out how the null character got added.
Good luck with it from here on out.
--- On Wed, 11/10/10, Ken Poshedly <poshedly -at- bellsouth -dot- net> wrote:
>From: Ken Poshedly <poshedly -at- bellsouth -dot- net>
>Subject: FrameMaker / post script file glitch solved (hopefully)
>To: "Techwr-l" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
>Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 4:41 PM
>
>
>This is to let you all know the problem preventing me (and now the other two
>tech writers in my group) from producing pdf files from FrameMaker version 8.0
>SEEMS to be a problem with the main folder name. This affected everything in the
>
>subfolders as well (only 1 or 2 layers down).
>The filename hierarchy is:
>Level 1 - "Machine name" (no quotes in actual folder names)
>Level 2 - "Operator manual"
>Level 3 - "Preliminary version" (includes all the FM files)
>
>The exercises I went through since end of last week are numerous, but I won't go
>
>through all of that.
>Today, on a whim, after successfully opening FM files in other folders and
>creating test postscript files and then pdf files, I did this:
>1. Created a new folder.
>2. Copied one of the bum FrameMaker files (from the folder for one of our new
>products) into it.
>
>3. Opened that "old" file and printed via the "adobe printer".
>4. Watched with _extreme_ joy and relief as a post script file with an actual
>numerical value rather than 0 KB was created! YAY!!!
>5. Double-left-clicked on the post script filename and watched with exhilaration
>
>as Adobe Distiller version 9.0 opened, then processed the new ps file and
>produced an actual pdf file.
>
>Holy Moly!! After what I've been through with all these whacko experiments the
>past week, it's almost like magic to see this happen again.
>
>The new filename hierarchy is:
>Level 1 - "Slightly Different Machine Name" (no quotes in actual folder names)
>Level 2 - "Operator manual"
>Level 3 - "Preliminary version" (includes all the FM files)
>My friend Tim Murray (also a member of this group) guesses that the folder name
>with all the files that couldn't be successfully "post scripted" via FM had a
>"null character" (not displayed) in it that fooled FM into never following
>through.
>The new folder just created didn't have that problem, thus FM followed through
>just fine with files copied / moved from the bum folder.
>-- Kenpo in Atlanta
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