Get to know the workspaces

A workspace is an arrangement of elements, such as pods that you use frequently while working on documents. You can dock, stack, minimize, or make these elements free-floating in your workspace. You can select from several standard out-of-the-box workspaces or create one of your own.  

The FrameMaker interface has the following components:

• Application bar: The Application bar across the top contains a workspace switcher, menus, and other application controls.

• Document window: Displays the file you are working on. Document windows can be tabbed and, in certain cases, grouped and docked.
• Pods: Help you monitor and modify your work. Examples include character, paragraph, and table designers; and marker, variable, and cross-reference pods. You can minimize, group, stack, or dock pods.

• Status bar: The Status bar shows text formatting and pagination information for the current document. For structured documents, the Status bar also displays breadcrumb of the currently selected element.

Standard workspaces

You can choose from standard workspaces or create custom workspaces and switch between them. The standard workspaces are designed so that you can quickly switch between workspaces according to what you want to accomplish. For example, the Review workspace has review toolbars, commonly used pods, and pods prearranged to help you review a document quickly. The following workspaces are available out of the box:

• Authoring
• Blank
• Design
• Manage Graphics
• Review
• XML/Structured 

Switch workspaces

To switch between workspaces, select the desired workspace from the workspace switcher in the Application bar.

Save a custom workspace

You can create a workspace from scratch or use an existing workspace as the base. For example, if you are an author who likes to use markers, you can choose Authoring workspace as the base and add the Markers pod from the Pods menu (View > Pods > Markers). Similarly, you can add or remove pods as you want from your workspace. Once you have all desired elements in place, you can save it as a custom workspace.

To save a custom workspace, do the following:

FrameMaker remembers the last used workspace across sessions. If you are working in the Review workspace and you close and relaunch FrameMaker, it loads the Review workspace.

Rename a custom workspace

You can rename any custom workspace that you create in FrameMaker. To rename a custom workspace, do the following:

Reset a workspace

While working on a long project, you might end up opening a lot of pods and moving them across your workspace. This might clutter your workspace and affect your productivity. FrameMaker allows you to quickly reset a workspace it its original form. By resetting a workspace, you get the initial set of pods, toolbar icons, and other elements in place.

To reset a workspace, do the following:

Delete a custom workspace

You can delete a custom workspace if you do not need it.