Omni Systems, Inc. Mif2Go User's Guide, Version 55

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> 5 Setting basic conversion options > 5.7 Processing graphics > 5.7.4 Identifying exported graphics files > 5.7.4.2 Naming files produced from embedded graphics

#### 5.7.4.2 Naming files produced from embedded graphics

Mif2Go can create files from graphics that were copied into FrameMaker, to make those graphics accessible to other converters, such as Graphic Workshop (see §31.2.3 Exporting and converting embedded graphics). Because FrameMaker does not retain the original names of embedded graphics, Mif2Go must create new names for the resulting graphics files. Each appearance of a graphic produces a new file, even if the same graphic has appeared before.

By default, Mif2Go uses the first four characters of the FrameMaker file name, and adds a four-digit number. You can specify different numbers of characters and digits for names of exported graphics files:

[GraphExport]

; ExportNameChars = chars from base file name

; to use in export file names

ExportNameChars = 4

; ExportNumDigits = number of digits to use in export file names

ExportNumDigits = 4

Make sure file names are unique

If you have more than 9,999 instances of graphics that were copied into a FrameMaker file, you must increase the number of digits used. If you are trying to keep to 8.3 file names, you might need to reduce the number of letters accordingly.

If your conversion project includes FrameMaker files whose names do not differ in the first four characters, you must increase the number of characters to use. For example, if your FrameMaker files are named Chapter1.fm, Chapter2.fm, and so on, you must use all eight letters to avoid name conflicts between graphics from different files. In that case you will not be able to keep to 8.3 names.

Better to import by reference

Better to take the newly exported graphics files, give them proper names, and go back into FrameMaker and import them by reference in place of the original embedded images, being careful to select the image itself for replacement and not the anchored frame; then run the conversion again.

Why not to embed graphics

Why not embed graphics? Besides making your FrameMaker files very large, embedded graphics can be irretrievably lost when you save a FrameMaker file that contains them. The problem is the size available for the Windows TEMP directory, which by default is located on the disk drive that tends to have the least available space, usually the C drive. While saving a document file FrameMaker writes out an expanded version of every embedded graphic to a temporary file in the TEMP directory, then reads them all back in while writing the .fm file. If you run out of room on the drive containing the TEMP directory, FrameMaker merrily continues saving without complaint, but is no longer able to write the graphics back into the saved file.