>> Initially I wrote to ask for help solving a problem involving variables >> sprinkled throughout a book, liberally throughout each chapter. My >> question was, is there a variable I can change and run through an entire >> book that'll put the book title in the page header of every chapter? <<
>> The general responses seem to be (1) nope, not in FrameMaker and (2) why >> don't you try using cross-references? Or import the variables from my >> title chapter into every other file? I am bemused by the lack of >> interest in what I think is a potentially valuable feature for FrameMaker. << The feature is already there. You can do it with any user variable you create! 1. Open a file. It can be a file already in the book, a separate template file, or a new empty file. 2. Create a new variable (Special> Variable> Create variable). Give it a name-- for example "BookTitle." Assign the title of your book as the definition of this variable. Example: "The Complete Idiot's Guide to FrameMaker." Click Add, Done, and Done. You now have your variable. You only have to create it once. 3. Leave the file open. If you close it, the next step will not work. 4. Open the .BOOK file where you want this variable to work. 5. Select all documents in the book. (Ctrl-a) 6. Choose File> Import> Formats. From the dropdown list under "Import from Document" choose the file in which you just created your variable. Deselect all checkboxes, except for "Variable Definitions." Click the Import button. Your variable now exists in every book in the file. Again, you only have to do this once. 7. That's it. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to FrameMaker" will show anywhere you insert the variable in those documents. Most likely, you will insert it in the header on a master page, so that it shows automatically in the page headers like you asked. Note: If you do this, don't forget to use File> Import> Formats and select only "Page Layouts" to import the new master page to the other book files, or your variable won't show because they'll still contain the old master page layout. You can also insert the variable anywhere in the text anywhere you might want the book title to appear-- on the title page, copyright page, in the body text, or wherever. This has the advantage that, if you change the title at the last minute, you need only change the definition of the variable, and then reimport it to the book docs. It will fix headers and entries in the text at the same time. Powerful! Mike Wickham
