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johnkilby1968
Participant
February 27, 2019
Answered

FM2017 (Unstructured): Conditional tags always visible when publishing HTML5

  • February 27, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 438 views
Hi everyone,
I'm having a problem with conditional text in HTML5 output from (non-structured) FM 2017.
I'm using conditional text quite effectively to produce PDFs (File > Save as PDF). The output is always based on the visible text in the editor, as I would expect. As I change visibility of conditional tags, the content changes correctly, and the output includes only what I can see.
However, when I try the same approach to produce HTML (File > Publish > Responsive HTML5 > Generate Selected Output) using a configured STS file, all text from all conditional tags is always included. Obviously, this is not what I want. Adjusting the selected conditional tags and visibilities in the current book makes no difference. I tried this against the book file and the individual FM files.
So, I did some investigation yesterday, and read this thread: FM12: Conditional text and Publish to Microsoft HTML Help

This seemed to indicate that there was an issue with the STS file I am using.

To pursue this, I created a "New" STS file from the Publish pod, and tried again. And the conditional text worked perfectly! This was good news, but left me with a problem, as I can't use the new STS file; our formatting requires the use of our current STS file.

I tried re-saving our current STS file from the Publish pod when all conditional settings were correct. This did NOT work.

So, while I agree that it seems to be an issue with my STS file, I am unclear what I can do about it.

As I understand it, the STS file is a zip of "all configuration files", but after digging through extracted zip files, I can't see where any conditional settings are stored in the STS. Am I missing something here?

So, I guess my question is: How can I change the STS file so that only the required conditional tags are included in the HTML5 output. Ideally, so that it uses the current visibilities onscreen (as the "new" STS file does). However, I'm open to something more prescriptive. Or to be told I'm going about this all wrong!

I'm working with FM 2017 Release - Version: 14.0.4.511, all updates included. I'm not using Dynamic Content Filters.

Thanks, John Kilby

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1419709

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer johnkilby1968

    Hi Zippy, thanks for getting back to me. I think you may be correct. 

    I've spent some time working with the person who created the corporate STS file. Once he saw conditional text working correctly in the HTML output using the "new" STS file, he then did exactly what Jeff had suggested; he re-applied all required settings to the working STS file. As I understand this, there was a lot of work involved both inside and outside the Publish pod to make this happen. Thankfully he had copious notes to recreate it.

    This actually solved the problem, and we now have a correctly-working corporate STS file. SUCCESS!

    However, it left us none the wiser as to WHY exactly, but he has just come to the same conclusion as you. He also believes it's something to do with the File > Publish > Edit (the Settings File) > Style Mappings > Use Template > Current Template. On our old STS, this property/field had a setting that we couldn't clear, but the property in the new STS is empty. We think this means that it uses the conditional tag visibility settings from each individual FM file, as we want it to. If you wanted to use conditional hide/show settings from a standard file all the time, you might use this field instead. We've not been successful trying this for the sake of understanding, but thankfully we have no need to.

    Zippy, Jeff, thank you. A solution is less than a day, I call that a score.

    (Marking as ANSWERED, but if other folks have additional info, please feel free to pitch in. Other folks may need help with this.)

    Thanks, John

    2 replies

    J
    johnkilby1968AuthorCorrect answer
    Participant
    February 28, 2019

    Hi Zippy, thanks for getting back to me. I think you may be correct. 

    I've spent some time working with the person who created the corporate STS file. Once he saw conditional text working correctly in the HTML output using the "new" STS file, he then did exactly what Jeff had suggested; he re-applied all required settings to the working STS file. As I understand this, there was a lot of work involved both inside and outside the Publish pod to make this happen. Thankfully he had copious notes to recreate it.

    This actually solved the problem, and we now have a correctly-working corporate STS file. SUCCESS!

    However, it left us none the wiser as to WHY exactly, but he has just come to the same conclusion as you. He also believes it's something to do with the File > Publish > Edit (the Settings File) > Style Mappings > Use Template > Current Template. On our old STS, this property/field had a setting that we couldn't clear, but the property in the new STS is empty. We think this means that it uses the conditional tag visibility settings from each individual FM file, as we want it to. If you wanted to use conditional hide/show settings from a standard file all the time, you might use this field instead. We've not been successful trying this for the sake of understanding, but thankfully we have no need to.

    Zippy, Jeff, thank you. A solution is less than a day, I call that a score.

    (Marking as ANSWERED, but if other folks have additional info, please feel free to pitch in. Other folks may need help with this.)

    Thanks, John

    Jeff_Coatsworth
    Community Expert
    Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 27, 2019

    Why would you not be able to use the new STS file? Recreate your customized settings in the new file (you made notes on what you customized, right?), delete or overwrite the old STS file with the new one & you're good to go.

    J
    johnkilby1968Author
    Participant
    February 27, 2019

    Hi Jeff, thanks for your reply. It's certainly possible, but not practical; I'm not the person who created the STS file, and the solution to this eluded the person that did. Having done my own investigation (with minimal expertise in this area), I'm fairly confident that I've identified the STS file as the problem, but the causes are unclear. I'm now looking to understand differences between existing and "New" (and perhaps even my workflow is wrong) so I can straighten things out. I'm hoping it will be trivial to fix the current STS with a little more understanding. Thanks, John

    Jeff_Coatsworth
    Community Expert
    Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 27, 2019

    I was referring to "you" in the corporate sense, not personally. Unless you've made some fantastically detailed customization of the STS, I would expect you'd blow more time trying to winnow out the differences than just adding them back into the new one. But, it's your call - good luck!

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