Frame Technology and FrameMaker

• Published in: IEEE annals of the history of computing Vol. 41; no. 3; pp. 62 - 74
• Main Author: Murray, David J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington IEEE 01-07-2019; IEEE Computer Society; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Companies; Desktop publishing; Frame design; Frame Technology; FrameMaker; History; Macintosh personal computers; office automation; personal computing; Product design; publishing technologies; Software; Software industry; Software packages; technical publishing software; text processing; UNIX; Window systems; Windows (computer programs); Workstations
• ISSN: 1058-6180; 1934-1547
• DOI: 10.1109/MAHC.2019.2926662

Frame technology became a leading provider of technical publishing software within two years of its founding in 1986. Frame went public in February 1992, and by the end of that year, its flagship software, FrameMaker, ran on Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, and all leading Unix workstations of that era. It was used by thousands of high-tech companies around the globe. The company was acquired by Adobe Systems in 1995 at a valuation of approximately 500 million. This paper is a personal remembrance by the founder who co-wrote FrameMaker 1.0, and lead Frame's product design and product strategy through its IPO. It tells Frame's founding story, and describes the key product and architectural features that contributed to its success. This paper also briefly describes Frame's early funding model, business and sales strategies, and culture.