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Inspiring
July 13, 2011
Answered

Change format throughout a book

  • July 13, 2011
  • 2 replies
  • 1203 views

How can you change a paragraph or charater style throughout a book?

For example, if I have a paragraph style that is Green Times New Roman and I decide it should be Blue Courier instead, how can I change it in all 30 chapters at once without manually changing all 30 chapters of the book?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Bob_Niland

    How can you change a paragraph or charater style throughout a book?

    It's simple if, and only if, the pgf fmts are supposed to be identical in all book components.

    From the .book menu:

    1. Open a definining instance a of a body.fm file. The target files do not need to be open.
    2. Revise the pgf fmt. Leave the file open.
    3. In the book menu, CTRL-select all the other book component files (or at least those you want to update).
    4. File > Import > Formats
      Import from Document: [definingBody.fm]
      [Deselect All]
    5. Paragraph Formats
      [?] Other Format/Layout Overrides
      [Import]

    There are many book-wide things you can do from the book menu.

    2 replies

    Participating Frequently
    July 15, 2011

    Hi,

    you should do "Global Actualization" and import the format in all other components of the book

    + open the paragraph or character designer and choose the format
    + Command > all at is change, what you want to change: color, font, ...
    + select Command > Global actualization
    + choose all formats

    Result: The file contains all new definitions, then
    + open the book
    + select all components of the book, that need the new definitions
    + import character or paragraph formats

    - Maike

    Bob_Niland
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    July 18, 2011

    Command > Global actualization

    Is this an FM10 feature?

    I don't see it in FM9 (nor, of course, FM7.1).

    I ask because the basenote doesn't specify Frame version.

    Participating Frequently
    July 20, 2011

    Hi,

    I'm sorry, it is "Global Update Options".

    Bob_Niland
    Community Expert
    Bob_NilandCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    July 13, 2011

    How can you change a paragraph or charater style throughout a book?

    It's simple if, and only if, the pgf fmts are supposed to be identical in all book components.

    From the .book menu:

    1. Open a definining instance a of a body.fm file. The target files do not need to be open.
    2. Revise the pgf fmt. Leave the file open.
    3. In the book menu, CTRL-select all the other book component files (or at least those you want to update).
    4. File > Import > Formats
      Import from Document: [definingBody.fm]
      [Deselect All]
    5. Paragraph Formats
      [?] Other Format/Layout Overrides
      [Import]

    There are many book-wide things you can do from the book menu.

    dcrouse10Author
    Inspiring
    July 13, 2011

    I think sometimes it is possible to look too hard for a clever solution and

    miss altogether the obvious ones that were built for exactly that.

    Either that or I am getting old.

    Oh well.

    Thanks for the help.

    Bob_Niland
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    July 13, 2011

    ... and miss altogether the obvious ones that were built for exactly that.

    There is very little about Framemaker that I'd classify as "obvious".

    I've been using it since FM3, and I'm still discovering the obvious.