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My colleague here (who also lurks on this list) implemented a very clever
technique for handling file formats: he created a regular Frame (.fm) file
that contains the all the variables and conditional text settings for a
particular book set. The conditional text and variables are then defined for
each "flavor" of book that you have to produce in separate "formatting
files". These are applied to the entire book as part of the release process,
before creating the PDF.
Not only does it eliminate the need for multiple book files using the same
chapter files, you can see at a glance in the formatting files which
conditions are visible, and what all the variables are set to.
-Wendy
On Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 7:20 AM, Laura Fergusson
<l -dot- fergusson -at- codestuff -dot- net>wrote:
> Dear all
>
>
>
> This is my first message to the group so I hope it is okay.
>
>
>
> I have started using FrameMaker again after a break of over a year (now
> version 8). I am using conditional text heavily as we have three sets
> of product literature to maintain.
>
>
>
> There are a few files which are specific to only one or other of the the
> products. Should I
>
>
>
> a) Stick to having one book file and add/delete the files as
> necessary depending on which product I am dealing with
>
> b) Have a separate book file for each of the product sets, with
> just the relevant files for that set contained in each?
>
>
>
> I tend towards the latter solution myself but I am just getting the hang
> again of FrameMaker and I am not sure it's the correct approach.
>
>
>
> Please help!
>
> Thanks
>
> Laura
>
>
>
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ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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