Hi Doug, I can't speak to structured FrameMaker, but I have been using text insets in unstructured FM for many years. Effective use of cross-references isn't rocket science, but it does take a reasonable amount of planning, care, and consistency of use.
Essentially, there are only two kinds of cross-references in a text inset: 1) those that point to a location in the same text inset, and 2) those that point to a location outside the text reference. Setting up #1 type x-refs is straightforward and follows the standard procedure. When setting up #2, the key point to remember is that you must *always* configure the x-ref to point to a cross-reference marker in the target container file. As a general rule, you never create cross-references directly from one text inset file to another. For example, this means that if your text inset is used in both Doc1.fm and Doc2.fm, and you want to create a cross-reference that points to the Glossary at the end of each file, you will need two x-refs in your text inset -- one that points to the Glossary x-ref marker in Doc1.fm, and one that points to the Glossary x-ref marker in Doc2.fm. Which leads to the application of conditional text tags. More than likely you will not want both x-refs to appear in both places, so you will need to create two condition tags and apply them appropriately in your text inset. Then you must configure your container documents to show the desired condition tag and hide the inappropriate one. Successful management of cross-references rests on the consistent application and tracking of these basic items. Problems creep in when you accidentally set up a cross-reference to point to a marker that appears to be correct, but actually resides in a different target location, or through the misapplication of conditional text tags or Hide/Show settings. Obviously there are a lot of other considerations in implementing shared content with text insets in unstructured FM. Please feel free to contact me offline if you would like to discuss this in more detail. Regards, Keith -------------------------------------------- Keith Arnett Doc Team Lead - BPM Software AG USA, Inc. \ Fairfax VA 703-460-5927 Mobile: 571-226-0430 -----Original Message----- Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:59:26 -0400 From: "Eaton, Doug" <[email protected]> Subject: cross references in topics used as text insets To: <framers at lists.frameusers.com> Using FrameMaker 8 (unstructured). No FrameScript. No content-management system. Hoping to realize some efficiencies through the reuse of content, we are considering how to disassemble content in legacy documents into separate topics that will be inserted as needed into container documents. There will be three kinds of cross references in these documents: Topic to Topic, Topic to Container, and Container to Topic. We will want to set up XREFs to heading numbers, table numbers, figure numbers, and, probably, page numbers, all of which use a two-level (for example, "Figure 1-1. A Picture") format. In addition, all graphics are imported by reference into the individual topic documents. The deliverables will be PDFs with (we hope) working links. What is the best practice for achieving this using unstructured FrameMaker? Will moving to structured FrameMaker make this effort any easier? On 3 March, Rene Stephenson wrote, "the sure-fire way to handle xrefs in a text inset is actually by using hypertext links rather than xrefs." One challenge I have with this is in creating the GOTOLINK spot. For example, we currently identify graphics with the chapnum and the figure number followed by a text label. Is the best way to create a hypertext link to insert the XREF to the figure name (no numerals--I'm guessing that they won't necessarily update properly in the container doc), convert that XREF to text, mark the converted XREF with a character tag, and then insert the GOTOLINK command? (Whew! I can almost hear the gnashing of teeth.) I realize that this is a complex issue (even putting aside the issue of whether it is safer to put headings... also numbered...in the topics or in the container docs). Can anyone can recommend resources for resolving this issue? Doug Eaton
