4.2.1.4 Producing plain ASCII text output

You can use Mif2Go to convert a FrameMaker document to plain ASCII text, with the ability to split files, selectively omit paragraphs, invoke macros, and use other powerful conversion features. You can specify any non-tag-generating configuration settings that are valid for HTML or XML.

Set-up and export options

If you set up the project via FrameMaker, select Generic XML as the output type, and turn off CSS usage; and in the Export dialog, specify the output file extension as .txt. The corresponding configuration-file settings are as follows:

[Options]

Output=Generic XML

[FDK]

XMLSuffix=.txt

[HTMLOptions]

UseCSS=No

Configuration options

Include the following settings in the configuration file:

[HTMLOptions]

; MinimizeLines = No (default)

;  or Yes (remove extra newlines inserted in file)

MinimizeLines=Yes

ObjectIDs=None

BodyContentOnly=Yes

FileSuffix=.txt

RemoveANames=Yes

These settings pretty much eliminate all but plain text.

Split files

To split files at paragraph headings, use the same settings you would use for XML or HTML (see §17.2.1 Designating split points), and also assign property Raw to the heading format. For example:

[HtmlStyles]

Heading3=Split Raw

The Raw property eliminates any remaining tagging; see §20.3.7 Stripping paragraph properties.

Omit paragraphs

You can omit paragraphs you do not want to appear in the output; see §20.3.13 Eliminating unwanted paragraphs:

[HtmlStyles]

UnwantedFormat=Delete

---

> 4 Setting configuration options > 4.2 Specifying operating settings > 4.2.1 Specifying an output format > 4.2.1.4 Producing plain ASCII text output