Using Mif Statements; Working With Mif Files - Adobe FRAMEMAKER 6.0 Manual

Using MIF Statements

MIF statements can completely describe any FrameMaker document, no matter how complex. As a result,
you often need many MIF statements to describe a document. To learn how to use MIF statements, it helps
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.
Additional examples show how to add common document objects, such as paragraph formats, a table, 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:
In this version
UNIX
Macintosh
Windows

Working with MIF files

A MIF file is an alternate representation of a FrameMaker document in ASCII format. MIF files are usually
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
section provides some general information about working with MIF files regardless of the method you use
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 Document dialog box, choose Interchange (MIF) from the Format pop-up menu. You should give the
saved file the suffix .mif to distinguish it from a file saved in binary format.
When you open or import a MIF file, a FrameMaker product reads the file directly, translating it into a
FrameMaker document or book. When you save the document in Normal format, a FrameMaker product
creates a binary document file. To prevent overwriting the original MIF file, remove the .mif file suffix and
replace it with a different suffix (or no suffix).
Look here
$FMHOME/fminit/language/Samples/MIF, where language is the language in use, such as
usenglish
The MIF folder in the Samples folder
The MIF directory under the samples directory
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