Silicon Prairie >> Frequently Asked Questions

The following is a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Silicon Prairie Software and its products:

General questions

What is the "Silicon Prairie"?
The term "Silicon Prairie" refers to high-tech companies that are located in the north central part of the United States. This area is a large grassland, and is sparsely populated. Over the last decade, several technology companies have have located here. Research and development is a main area of focus.

Who are you?
I'm Steve Kubis, and I started Silicon Prairie Software at the end of 1998. I have over 20 years of experience writing technical and developer documentation, mainly for accounting and business management software. Occasionally, I put on my programmer hat and produce documentation tools for FrameMaker.

Where are you located?
Silicon Prairie Software is located in Fargo, ND. Test your geography skills--see if you can find Fargo on the map!

How cold does it really get in Fargo?
It can get quite cold. In the winter, typical low temperatures are about 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius). Some nights get as cold as -30 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 degrees Celsius). In contrast, an average of 10 days in the summer are over 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius). This part of the world truly has all four seasons.

Contact information

How do I contact you?
Send an e-mail message to support@siliconprairiesoftware.com.

Paying for products

How do I pay for your products?
Use the Silicon Prairie Software online store powered by PayPal. Click the Buy Plug-ins link on the left to access the order page.

After your payment is received, you will be sent the registration information through e-mail. Watch for a message with the subject line Thanks for your purchase. Save this e-mail message! It contains your registration code that you will need to turn off the registration reminders.

If you have special payment considerations, send an e-mail to Silicon Prairie (support@siliconprairiesoftware.com) so payment can be arranged.

When will I receive the registration?
When you pay online, you will typically receive your registration e-mail typically within 24 hours. If you don't get your registration in a timely manner, send email to support@siliconprairiesoftware.com to let us know so any issue can be resolved.

Lost registration codes

I lost my registration code. What do I do now?

If you can't retrieve your lost registration code, send an e-mail message to support@siliconprairiesoftware.com. Let us know what you purchased, and if possible approximately when you made the purchase. We will check our database of registrations and send you the registration we have on file.

Problems with plug-ins

If you are having difficulty with any Silicon Prairie plug-ins, first consult the documentation for the product. If you're still having difficulty, send an e-mail message that describes the issue to support@siliconprairiesoftware.com so we can take a look at it. Be sure to include the following:

  • The product you are using
  • The version number of the plug-in
  • The version of FrameMaker
  • The platform (Windows or Macintosh)

If you are having trouble with a specific FrameMaker file, and can reliably reproduce the problem, send the file as an e-mail attachment. If the file is large, you may want to compress it before you send it. An example can help us isolate the problem quickly. Be assured that any samples you send won't be used for any other purpose. After all, they're your property.

Issues using plug-ins with User Account Control

User Account Control (UAC) is a security feature that was added originally in Windows Vista. It's found in Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2008 and later. UAC can cause issues when installing and registering Silicon Prairie plug-ins. If you are using a version of Windows with UAC active, be sure to do the following:

  • If you are using FrameMaker 9, be sure that you have downloaded the latest versions of the plug-ins. Because FrameMaker 9 works differently with User Account Control, the registration code for the plug-ins needed to be updated from the original Frame 9 plug-ins that were released.

  • When you enter the registration code for a plug-in, be sure that you start FrameMaker with administrative privileges. Do this by right-clicking on the shortcut that you use to start FrameMaker (typically in the Start menu or on the Desktop) and choose Run as administrator. After you have entered the registration code, and the information has been successfully written to the operating system, you no longer need to run FrameMaker with administrative privileges.



  • If you cannot access Auto-Text items, configuration settings from the SPConfig.fm file, or conversion documents, you will need to configure the permissions for these files. The Users group on your system must have "Modify" permissions for the file. You can set this permission by right-clicking the file in Windows Explorer, and choosing Properties. Display the Security tab. Select the Users group, and be sure that there is a check next to Modify in the Allow column.



Feature ideas...who do I talk to?

If you have an idea for a feature, send an e-mail to support@siliconprairiesoftware.com and let us know. Users are the best source of new ideas for useful features.

UNIX versions

We no longer make UNIX versions of the FrameMaker plug-ins. At one time, we made SUN Solaris versions of the plug-ins, but there were very few users. Even fewer paid the registration fee. You can learn about the plug-ins here:

Use the following links to download the plug-ins that were available for SUN Solaris: