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Subject:Re: summary about conditional text in Word From:"Chuck Martin" <twriter -at- sonic -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 31 Jan 2002 14:13:39 -0800
<dmbrown -at- brown-inc -dot- com> wrote in message news:138896 -at- techwr-l -dot- -dot- -dot-
>
> Chuck Martin wrote:
> >
> > ...how to do conditional text in Word, where sections of text would have
to
> > have multiple conditions.
> >
> > The simple answer: it can't be done.
>
> I believe that's incorrect. You *can* use multiple conditions to control
the
> presence or absence of text by "nesting" IF fields:
>
> { IF bookmarkA = valueX "{ IF bookmarkB = valueY "both-A-and-B"
"A-but-not-B" }"
> { IF bookmarkB = valueY "not-A-but-B" "neither-A-nor-B" }
>
> If your conditional text needs to include paragraph marks and section
marks,
> put it in separate files:
>
> { IF bookmark = value "{ INCLUDETEXT value.doc }" "{ INCLUDETEXT
not-value.doc }" }
>
> I've used this technique in several versions of Word. I just verified the
syntax
> in Word 97.
>
I stand corrected in that this explanation is technically correct, but can
be rather onerous to maintain. Bookmarks in Word can be tricky beasts, and
it cna be made worse when more than one bookmark overlaps a section of text.
It's not hard to delete one end of a bookmark when cutting and pasting
sections of text in the editing process without realizing that you've done
so.
Having lots of Word files (each with its own overhead), each with a
paragraph of two of text, is worse than maintianing an HTML-based Help
system with a file for each topic.
So from an ongoing maintenance standpoint, the cure may be worse, may have
more traps, may end up taking more time and resource, than the desease.
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