Adobe FRAMEMAKER 10 - Page 8

ADOBE FRAMEMAKER 10
MIF Reference
3
FrameMaker also treats each document as an object and stores document preferences as properties of the document.
For example, a document’s page size and page numbering style are document 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
Although you can rely on the MIF interpreter to provide defaults, the exact properties and objects provided may vary
depending on your FrameMaker configuration. The MIF interpreter uses default objects and properties that are
specified in setup files and in templates. In UNIX® versions, these templates are
ASCIITemplate and NewTemplate.
You can modify these default objects and document formats by creating your own version of
ASCIITemplate or
NewTemplate or by modifying your setup files.
For more information about modifying the default templates and setup files, see the online manual Customizing
FrameMaker for UNIX versions of FrameMaker. For the and Windows® version, see the chapter on templates in your
user manual.
Current state and inheritance
FrameMaker has a MIF interpreter that reads and parses MIF files. When you open or import a MIF file, the inter-
preter reads the MIF statements and creates a FrameMaker document that contains the objects described in the MIF
file.
When the interpreter reads a MIF file, it keeps track of the current state of certain objects. If the interpreter 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.
For example, if the line width is set to 1 point for a graphic object, the interpreter continues to use a 1-point line width
for graphic objects until a new value is specified in the MIF file. Similarly, if the MIF file specifies 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