An SGML application will allow you to manage EDD files, but also to insure that a Template can find the right read/write rules, predefined entities, uses the right character set etc. You can set the default SGML application in the Menu: File->Set SGML Application. End users don't need to do this. They either open a Template File or Import Elements from a EDD into an Empty New File. The EDD usually has an SGML defined. So if you play with my examples below, don't start changing names before you understand what you do.
Ok, the rest now just deals with a practical example, adapt to other situations :)
Grab all the files from http://tecfa.unige.ch/guides/xml/frame-sgml/Stepbystep/. If you are on a slow connection you can take less, i.e. you just need Stepbystep-edd.fm, Stepbystep-sgmldcl, Stepbystep.dtd, Stepbystep.rules. In addition I suggest that you take the source of this very document you are reading:
Menu: File->Developer Tools->Edit SGML Application File
This will automatically open your central "SGML applications" configuration file. It is called sgmlapps.fm (probably). It might be a good idea to first make a COPY of this file since it is read on startup (see below where you can find it).
Under Windows you can find this file in the SGML installation directory: smglappps.fm [probably]. Warning: If you are 2 people using F+S on the same machine, coordinate a bit here
Under Unix, the procedure is a bit more complicated when you do it the first time, because each user can have his own SGML application file (as it should be). Here are the steps:
Menu: File->Developer Tools->Edit SGML Application File
It will complain that you can't write (at least with our site thing) because you are dealing with a system-wide installation. So you have to save the file to your own "fminit" directory in something like the following way (roughly). It must go to:
~/fminit/<your_language_version>/sgml/sgmlapps.fm E.g. /home/schneide/fminit/ukenglish/sgml/sgmlapps.fm /home/schneide/fminit/usenglish/sgml/sgmlapps.fm
If the xxx/sgml directory does not exist you have to make it of course. Before you do so figure out what language version of F+S you use. A good test to know what language version you have got is to create a fminit/xxx/Templates directory, put a file there, then click on "New" in FrameMaker main menu and see if the file is there.
E.g. home/schneide/fminit/usenglish/Templates/manuel.fm
This is an important step. If you don't do it right, you will suffer later! You can kill or leave the existing definition for DocBook. Since sgmlapps.fm and only this file will hold all your future SGML applications I suggest that you leave it. Ok, now let's edit this file:
Insert your mouse after "Application Definition Version". This will show a SOLE SGML "Application" element in the Element menu. Select SGMLApplication and click on insert Then add a few definitions. IMHO the following ones are good enough for starters. Replace ALL the values (text after ":") in the following example with your preferences:
Application name: StepbystepRead/write rules: XXX/Stepbystep.rulesXML character encoding: ISO Latin1SGML character encoding: ISO Latin1DOCTYPE: StepbystepDTD:XXX/Stepbystep.dtdSGML declaration: XXX/Stepbystep-sgmldcl
Note: On a PC use PC style for this filename like c:\Home\mysgml\XXX\
Copy file Stepbystep-template.fm to your Framemaker installation (somewhere in a directory called Templates. Then when you start a new file with File->New->Document you will hopefully see your new template. If you do not want to do this, you can always click yourself to the place where you put it.