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JH Consulting

Framemaker tasks

Overview

Conditional text
     Applying condition tags
     To show or hide conditional text
     Setting the conditions bookwide

Types of links in a document
     Cross-references
     URL
     Go to URL Hypertext links

Graphics
     Importing a graphic by reference

Index
     Creating an index entry
     Changing index entries
     Deleting a marker
     Creating subentries

Tables
     Table formats
     Paragraph tags used in tables
     Inserting an empty table
     Converting existing text into a table
     Adding columns and rows to a table
     Deleting columns and rows in a table
     Resizing columns and tables
     To apply a different table format
     Table shortcuts
     Table examples

Variables used
     What is a variable?
     Applying a custom variable

Overview

This section covers those tasks you will need to do in your document to create linking to other files, conditionalizing text, indexing, creating tables and graphics, and using variables.

Conditional text

Conditional text is used to apply to text to highlight it for purposes of hiding it or for identification for special purposes. For example, you would apply the Comment condition to the Comment paragraph tag in order to hide it.

The conditions that you can use are listed below. We suggest that writers use these condition tags and not create their own. This is because we have had problems in the past with conditions that are not supposed to display appearing in the documents.

Conditional text settings that are valid:

Applying condition tags

You can apply a condition tag to text, anchored frame, a table, and a table row or table cell.

To apply a condition tag:

  1. Select the text, paragraph, or other items you want to make conditional.

  2. Select Special menu and select Conditional Text (short cut Alt s t).

  3. In the Conditional Text window that opens, select which condition tag you want to apply.

  4. To apply a condition to the selected text, move the condition tag to the In scroll list.

  5. Click Apply.

  6. Close the Condition Text window.

The condition tag is applied to the selection.

To show or hide conditional text

Conditional text is displayed or hidden depending on the conditional text Show/Hide setting. You can display all conditions, only some conditions, or none.

To select which conditions are shown or hidden:

  1. Select Special Menu and select Conditional Text (shortcut Alt s t).

  2. In the Conditional Text window that displays, click on the Show/Hide button.

  3. In the Show/Hide window that displays, select either Show All or Show. The Show All option reveals all the conditional text in that document.

  4. If you select Show, move the condition tags you want to show to the Show scroll list and move condition tags you want to hide to the Hide scroll list.

  5. Click Set.

  6. Save the file.

Note For rollup when Frame files are converted to HTML using Webworks Publisher, all conditions are set to Hide, except for the HTML passthrough. If any new conditions are created and exist in a document, these new conditions are not known by Production and may be revealed in the HTML.

Setting the conditions bookwide

To set conditions to show or hide in the book, do the following:

  1. Open book and select all the files. To select all files, open Edit menu and choose Select All Files.

  2. Open View menu and select Show/Hide Conditional Text.

  3. In the Show/Hide Conditional Text window, move the Comment condition (or whichever condition you want to hide) from the Show box to the Hide box by clicking on the right arrow.

  4. Click Set. There is no undo.

  5. The condition setting you have indicated will be applied across the book.

Types of links in a document

There are three types of links you can create in our documentation. These are cross-references, hypertext links, and URL (applied with URL character tag) links. Please use the appropriate type of link according to what you are linking to.

Cross-references

Use paragraph cross-references to create links to other areas in the Framemaker document or to other Framemaker documents. The following are some sample cross-reference link formats:

URL

Use the URL character tag for applying to text that is a reference to an external URL address, that is, outside of pin.com.

This character tag is not to be used in place of the gotoURL hypertext markers that are used for linked references to flist specs, pol.c files, and object specs.

Wherever the URL character tag is applied, Webworks will know to convert this to an external link. The URL character tag will be mapped in the Webworks template to provide the actual hypertext link in the generated HTML, so you don't need to add the "http://" portion of the URL address.

The rules for using the URL character tag are as follows:

  1. gotoURL markers should not use the URL character tag; to be used with only verifiable external URLs, not URLs within our own documentation which are subject to change with each rollup.

  2. Don't include "http://" portion in the reference to the external URL address. It will be provided by the HTML mapping in the Webworks template.

  3. Only use top level URLs when referring to external Web sites to avoid maintenance hassles.

For example,

To download JDK 1.3, go to http://java.sun.com.

Go to URL Hypertext links

To link to external web sites and system files, such as storable class definitions, sample programs, and opcode flist specifications, create a Go to URL hypertext link as follows:

  1. Open document.

  2. Place the cursor before the word that is to be the link.

  3. Open Special menu and click on Hypertext.

  4. In the Command list, select Go to URL. Scroll down the list to find the Go to URL selection.

  5. In the text box, put your cursor after the words "message URL."

  6. To set a link to an external web site, type the full web site address. For example, message URL http://www.portal.com

  7. To set a link to a system file type, type the path to its HTML file on the Infranet documentation web site.

    Examples:

    To link to a sample program:

     
    message URL examples/sample_act.c.html

    To link to an opcode flist spec:

     
    message URL flists.specs/PCM_OP_DOCUMENTATION_RULES.output.html

    To link to a storable class definition:

     
    message URL object.specs/event.session.ipt.html

    Note Most of our Framemaker documents are converted into the html directory http://docs.pin.com/release/Documentation/html. This means that the system files we need to link to are probably in a subdirectory of /html (such as the flist.specs and object.specs directories). Enter the name of the subdirectory first without a forward slash.

  8. Click the New Hypertext Marker button. This puts a hypertext marker that looks like this | before the word that is to be the link.

  9. Apply a character format to the hypertext marker and the word that is to be the link. For example, apply the bold character tag to |sample_act.c: 

    |sample_act.c

    Important If you don't apply a unique character tag, WebWorks won't know when the link is supposed to end when the file is converted to HTML. For example,

    With character tag:

     
    See the sample_act.c program for more information.

    Without character tag:

     
    See the sample_act.c program for more information.
Graphics

Graphics are imported by reference into documents. All the graphics are stored in a separate folder called Graphics in each Frame book folder. The graphics are imported by reference so that when you change the original graphic, the change will be reflected in the document.

If you remove a graphic, make sure that you import by reference the new graphic, or delete the graphic and the anchored frame from the document.

The GIF graphic file format provides the optimum results for documents intended for online viewing. Also, the Webworks conversion works faster if the files are in GIF format.

To create graphics, use Visio for diagrams, and for screenshots, you can use the PrintScreen or Alt+PrintScreen, or use the screen capture tool of your choice. PaintShop Pro can be used to convert BMP and Visio files to GIF format.

Before creating the screenshot, set your display color scheme to Windows Standard. Also, set your Framemaker view settings to 100%.

Give the graphic a descriptive name and follow this file naming convention:

framefilename_uniquename.suffix

For example, a GIF file in the cpt_product_overview.fm would be named:

cpt_product_overview_system_overview.gif

Allowed characters are:

Importing a graphic by reference

To import a graphic, do the following:

  1. With a document open, select the File menu and select Import-File.

  2. Find the graphic file to import and click on Import.

  3. Click on Import by Reference. The graphic should be placed in the Graphics folder before you do this.

  4. In the Imported Graphic Scaling window that opens, choose Custom dpi and enter 96.

  5. Click Set.

  6. If necessary, center the graphic in the anchor frame by clicking inside to select the graphic and pressing Alt arrow keys to move the graphic around in the frame.

  7. Try not to resize graphics once they are inserted. Resizing can distort the image.

The following is an example of a graphic.

FigureCaption tag (optional)

All graphics must be in a graphic frame with an anchor. Use the Graphics paragraph tag for the anchor. The anchor must be on a separate paragraph. The graphic anchor won't break numbered lists in the converted HTML files.

Index

The following explains how to create index markers in a document for an index. After you have inserted the markers, you need to add the index to the book as a generated file and Update the book. This generates the index file which lists the items you have indexed.

For what to index, wording and formatting of entries, please see the Style Guide for Indexing Guidelines.

Tip You should have View-Text Symbols turned on to see the marker symbols.

Creating an index entry

To create an index marker in a document:

  1. Open a document.

  2. Open the Marker window by selecting Special-Marker (Alt s m).

  3. Place the insertion point at the end of the word or phrase where you want the marker to appear.

  4. In the Marker window, select Index from the Marker type pull-down list.

  5. In the Marker text area, type the text of the index entry. Or, select the text first and the text will appear in the Marker window.

  6. Click on New Marker. The marker is inserted in the document.

Changing index entries

To change an existing index entry:

  1. Open a document.

  2. Open the Marker window (Alt s m).

  3. Select the index marker by selecting the text that contains the marker.

  4. In the Marker window, change the text in the Marker Text box.

  5. Click on Edit Marker.

Tip A quick way to create a marker for one word is to place an index marker without text at the beginning of a word. The word to the right of the marker becomes the text of the marker after the index is generated.

Deleting a marker

Index markers will remain in the document until you remove it. To remove a marker, carefully select the marker symbol in the text and click Delete.

Creating subentries

You can create second-level entries, called subentries, under a main entry. You are allowed to create one or two subentry levels.

To create a subentry in a marker:

  1. Open the Marker window by selecting Special-Markers.

  2. Place the cursor where you want the marker to be.

  3. In the Marker window, select Index for Marker Type.

  4. In the Marker text area, type the main entry, a colon (:) and then the subentry. For example:

    Nimoy, Leonard:birth

    The main entry needs to be typed exactly each time you use it, including any blank spaces.
  5. Click on New Marker.

  6. Repeat step 2 through step 5 for each subentry.

  7. Save your document.

Tables

The following table formats have been defined in the template. You may need to modify the tables to suit your content such as add more columns or rows, adjust the table width, merge cells (straddle cells), and so on.

Some customizations like changing line widths, shading, turning off borders (in table formats that have borders turned on), and merging cells may not carry over to the HTML version of this document.

Table formats

The following table formats are set up in the template for you to use.

 Table formats

Table formats Usage

normal

Use for most tables, width 5", indents 2" from left margin and lines up with Body text.

wide

Use for tables that span the width of the page, width 7".

noborders

Used for special purposes and the border will not display.

indent

Use for tables that appear in bulleted or numbered lists. This table indents 2.25" from left margin.

Paragraph tags used in tables

Specific paragraph tags are created for formatting text in tables.

Tags in tables Usage

CellHeading

Use for table column headings.

CellBody

Use for the text in the table cells.

CellBody Indent

Similar to the CellBody tag except that this is indented.

bullet+Table

Create bulleted paragraphs inside a table cell

numbered+Table

Create numbered list inside a table cell

Caution+Table

Use for a cautionary message inside a table cell.

Important+Table

Use for an important message inside a table cell.

Note+Table

Use for a note inside a table cell.

Tip+Table

Use for a helpful tip inside a table cell.

Tip Too much text in a table cell may interfere with the table flow on pages and could leave blank spaces on pages. This is because Framemaker tries to keep cell contents together. For example, a table cell filled with text making it the height of a page can be too much text in one cell. Try to break it up into chunks, or create another table.

Inserting an empty table

To insert an empty table in your document:

  1. Place your cursor in an empty paragraph. Don't insert a table at the end of a sentence paragraph.

  2. From the Table menu, select Insert Table and select one of the table formats listed. When a table is inserted, a table anchor is created above the table.

  3. The first row in the normal table are for your column headings. The predefined table already uses the CellHeading tag.

  4. For the remainder of the rows, use CellBody tag. For indented text, use the CellBody Indent tag.

  5. Place cursor in the anchor of the table. Apply the graphic tag to it.

  6. To place text below a table, put cursor in table anchor, press right-arrow, and press Enter.

Converting existing text into a table

To convert text that is tabbed or untabbed into a table:

  1. Select all the text that you wish to make into a table.

  2. Open the Table menu and select Convert to Table.

  3. In the Insert Table window, select a table format from the table formats listed. The table is created converting each line of text into a row and text separated by tabs are made into columns.

  4. Enter 1 in the Heading box if you want the first text row to be a table heading. Click in next box if you want empty heading row so that you can enter a heading.

  5. Click Convert.

Adding columns and rows to a table

If you insert the normal table, you can add more columns or row to the table:

  1. Place cursor in a table cell where you want to add the row or column.

  2. Open the Table menu and select Add Rows or Columns.

  3. Click on the radio button to add a row or column.

  4. Enter the number of rows or columns you want to add.

  5. In the pull-down menu, select whether to add the row above or below selection, add a heading row, the column to the left or right of selection.

  6. Click Add.

Deleting columns and rows in a table

To remove a cell, column, or row in a table, completely from a table, make sure you select the entire cell (the cell should appear black). Just selecting the text in a cell only removes the text.

  1. Select the column or row you wish to remove.

  2. Click Delete.

  3. The Clear Table Cells window displays and gives two options.

    Click Leave Cell Empty to remove only the text in the cell.

    Click Remove Cells from Table to remove the text and table row from the table.

  4. Click Clear.

Resizing columns and tables

After you have entered text in the table, you may wish to adjust the column widths, or you may have added columns and the table is outside of the margins. To resize the table width, you can do this manually or by using the Resize Selected Columns menu.

  1. Select the column you want to resize and Ctrl-double click in a cell, or choose Table menu and select Resize Columns.

  2. Press Shift and with the cursor drag on the handle bars that appear at the column border and make the column the desired width. Using the Shift key allows you to change the column width without changing the table width.

You can also use the Resize Selected Columns menu to adjust columns and the table width.

  1. Control-triple click to select entire table.

  2. Open the Table menu and select Resize Columns. Or use the shortcut Alt t e.

  3. Select from several options including the option to resize the columns to equal widths and to scale the table to a specified width.

  4. Click Resize.

To apply a different table format

Apply a different table format by:

  1. Select entire table.

  2. Open Table menu and select Table Designer.

  3. In the Table Tag pull-down list, select the table tag format.

  4. Click Apply.

Table shortcuts

You can use the Table formatting bar to work with tables. Open the View menu and select the QuickAccess Bar. In the QuickAccess bar, you can keep clicking on the blue arrows until you see the Table Formatting bar.

QuickAccess bar-Table Formatting

The following are some commonly used table shortcuts.

 Table keyboard shortcuts

Function Shortcut keys

Add new row to table

with cursor in a table cell, Ctrl Enter

Custom ruling and shading

Alt t c

Moves cursor to cell below

Ctrl Alt tab

Moves cursor to next cell

Tab

Open Insert Table window

Alt t i

Open Table Designer

Ctrl t

Resize Column dialog box

Alt t e

Select a column

Ctrl double-click in table

Select a row of cells to merge

Alt t s

Select entire table

Ctrl triple-click in table

Note For these shortcut keys to work, your cursor must be in a table cell.

Tip To keep table rows together, select table rows and select Table menu-Row Format. In Row Format window, click on Keep With: Next Row.

Table examples

The following are examples of tables of various sizes and types of content.

 Normal Table

CellHeading CellHeading

CellBody

Wide Table

CellHeading CellHeading CellHeading CellHeading CellHeading

Cellbody

Cellbody

Cellbody

Cellbody

Cellbody

TableCaption (Optional)

CellHeading font is Palatino 10 pt bold

CellBody Font

is Palatino 10 pt

A modified wide table

Application Billing script Description

pin_bill_day

pin_bill_week

pin_bill_month

pin_cycle_fees

X

-

-

Assess Cycle Forward fees

pin_deposit_cc

X

-

-

Credit Card Deposits

Steps in a table

Do this Why
1. In Pricing Tool, choose Insert – Product.

To create a new product.
2. When asked by the product creation wizard, give the product a name: Product 1b – Measured Usage. (You can also add a description.)

The product name identifies the product in Pricing Tool. This name must be unique.
3. Continue through the product creation wizard, and click Yes at the end.

Use CellBody Indent if you have a plain paragraph within a numberedor bulleted list.

Although you can change various attributes of the product while using the wizard, this sample product uses the default attributes.

A list in a table with a table footnote

New product Support for your product

Release XXX features

These features are supported. 2
 1 

 2 The dicing functionality requires customizing an opcode.


Noborders Table

See Notes and related tags for an example of using a borderless table.

Sample opcode table

Input Flist
Specification

Output Flist
Specification

Transaction Handling

Calling PCM opcodes

Header file

Variables used

The following custom and system variables are used in this template. Writers should not create their own unique variables as variables can cause maintenance issues. The definition applied to the custom variables must be updated for each new release. For example, the variable for copyright year, ProductRelease, ReleaseMain, and Release_Current, as well as others, must be changed when the product release number changes.

Note Solution42 writers: we suggest that you not use variables at this point.

The following custom variables are valid for this template:

 Variables we are going to keep, but updated to the current release:

Variable Definition

Company Name

Portal Software

Confidential

Portal Confidential (used in footer)

copyright year

2001 (used in copyright page)

Product

Infranet

ProductRelease

Infranet Release 6.2

ReleaseMain

6.2

New variables that have been added:

New Variables Definition

infranet_home

Infranet_home

infranet_home_UNIX

/opt/portal/6.2

infranet_home_Win

/opt/pin/6.2

Infranet_home_Win

C:\Infranet

infranet_home_Win_clients

C:\Program Files\Portal Software

infranet_pinlogs_dir

Infranet_pinlogs_dir

infranet_UNIX_pinlogs

/var/portal/6.2

infranet_Win_pinlogs

C:\Infranet\var

Release_current (use for values that change in dot releases)

6.2.1 (or something)

Note Some of the new variables apply only to certain books for a specific purpose so may not be applicable to all books.

Other system variables that are used in the template:

System variable name Definition

Running H/F 1

Portal Software, Inc. (used in document header)

Running H/F 2

<$paratext[Title]> (used in document header)

Current Page #

<$curpagenum> (used in document footer)

Page Count

<$lastpagenum>

What is a variable?

Variables can be used to represent text, especially text that will change. It can be used repeatedly throughout a document and all the instances of a variable can be changed by just changing the definition.

System variables are variables that should not be removed and each document comes with a default set of system variables. System variables are usually listed at the top of the variables list in the Variable dialog box. An example of a system variable would be the modification date. System variables are automatically updated when the file is opened or printed.

The user variables are custom variables that have been added and defined in the template. Writers should not be creating and adding new variables. However, you can use the variables that are for official use and that are listed here.

Applying a custom variable

When variables are inserted in a document, they look like regular text except that when you double-click on it, the Variable window opens.

You can also find what variables are used in a document by using the Find/Change window and select the Find criteria for Any Variable for Variable of Name.

To insert a custom or system variable in your document, do the following:

  1. Open document. Place cursor where you want the variable to be inserted.

  2. Open Special menu and select Variable, or use shortcut Alt s v.

  3. In the Variables window that opens, scroll down the list of variables till you find the desired variable and is highlighted by blue bar.

  4. Click Replace. The variable is inserted at the cursor.

To change a variable inserted in the document, or to remove the variable, do the following:

  1. Double-click on the word that is a variable.

  2. The Variable window opens. Select another variable to insert.

  3. To remove the variable in the text, select the word that is a variable and press Delete. You can also convert the variable into regular text.


JH Consulting
mrycove419@yahoo.com
Last modified: January 2003
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