> One option is to convert?the?group B?documents to the templates used for the > group A documents, including paragraph/character/table naming conventions > and the letter page size, so that we can move forward with a single, > consistent set of templates for all FM documents. However, this option?means > that we must identify all paragraph/character/table names in the?group > B?documents, rename them with corresponding names from the?group A > templates, and then apply the?group A?templates to each FM file. Definitely > a labor-intensive process unless it can be automated significantly, possibly > with FrameScript.
Even with FrameScript you'd have to go through the majority of the task identifying the styles that need to change and what they need to change to, and then go through scripting the fix. It'd take about the same amount of time (perhaps a bit more) to make that particular change by hand. If you have many styles in play, this might be an opportunity to pare them down as you go. > The other option is to modify the templates currently used for the?group > B?documents to obtain the needed look and feel, and then reapply those > templates to the?group B?documents. The conversion effort would be reduced > significantly, but we would still have two sets of FM templates to maintain. You can take this route, and have something ready to go out the door quicker. Then, when you have time or as you go, you can rename all the styles accordingly in the template and apply it to books as you work on them. It'd be a small up-front task when starting new revisions that would only need to happen once per book. > Is there a more efficient way to implement either of the options I have > described? Are there other options for reformatting the?group B?documents? Don't discount FM's means of making global changes. You can always create a master book and import all files into it, then hit them all at once. Just a thought. I've been through this exercise a few times, the worst being a complete audit of styles in use in otherwise unmanaged FM files (imagine 27 different instances of a Body Text paragraph style all looking the same in use within the same book). As I mentioned above, any exercise like this is an opportunity to also pare down the number of styles in use to just the bare essentials. It's worth the up-front effort in the end. -- Bill Swallow Twitter: @techcommdood Blog: http://techcommdood.com LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/techcommdood
