How to add custom Elements to TOC

Question

Context: I'm using FM 2022, and this is the first structured book I've ever made.
 
I created a book (File > New > Book), then added the following documents:
RevisionSummary
ForewardSafety
Chapter1... through Chapter5
 
Chapter1 - Chapter5 pull elements from the same EDD, which includes the following:
- Chapter (highest level element in the document
-  Section (there are several sections nested within eachother)
 
The other two files also include Section and Chapter elements, though the element catalogues are pulled from a slightly different EDD. 
 
I want to create a book-level TOC that includes the Chapter and Section elements for all of these files. However, when I select Insert > Create TOC, the Chapter and Section elements are not available. In fact, most of the elements in these documents are not included.
 
Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

hanna_1612 · Accepted Answer

So basically my issue was that I had added structure to my files, but not to the book itself. I could actuallly see this when I selected the .book file; there were red errors all over the Structure View pane.

In case this helps anyone else, here's what I did to get my elements to appear in the TOC creation dialog:

1. I created three elements with validhighestlevel applied to them: Book, Frontmatter, and Chapter.

2. I imported the elements from my EDD into the .book file

3. I imported the updated elements from the EDD into all of my book documents.

4. In the book, I applied the Book element as the element containing all of my document

5. I opened each document and ensured that Frontmatter or Chapter was the highest level element.

6. I selected my book file, then Edit > Update book. This was necessary for the structure view to reflect all of the changes to the book files.

7. I selected Insert > Create TOC. Then all of my elements were visible in the TOC creation dialog.

frameexpert · Answer

Try Updating the book first. Sometimes FrameMaker will only show the Elements/Paragraphs from the first component of the book. Updating may help. If that doesn't work, temporarily move a book component that has your Chapter and Section elements up so that it's the first component in the book. Update the book and then see if you can add Chapter and Section elements to the TOC. Once you do, you can move the component back to its proper place in the book.

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