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single document table of contents and pdf crossover problems

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
December 9, 2020
7 replies
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i am creating a stand alone table of contents and copying the linked text back into my document, some problems i am running into

i genereate everything except for the cover page and the mechanical drawings (cad PDF) in acrobat. im noticing if i alter the document at all the links become broken in the final PDF. I would insert the cover page and mechanical cad drawings but it alters the color and takes away alot of quality. when i first started using framemaker i was incorporating the toc,cover page, parts lists, drawings seperate in acrobat dc and applying page numbers manually and writing toc manually. as i am developing my skills i am now running into the this issue described above. is creating a book/project the way to go, will i expereinece color loss in the cover page doing this. luckily the drawings are incorporated in the last seciton of my manuals so if i can figure out swapping the cover page i should be able to keep the toc within framemaker. some advice is greatly apprichiated.

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Correct answer Bob_Niland

When you let FM generate a TOC, it doesn't just create a file with specific data structures and gathered text. It also creates (as needed) new paragraph formats (named …TOC) and a Reference Page (named "TOC"). Getting the TOC to look the way you want usually requires tinkering with the new Paragraph Formats, and the markup on the Reference Page.

Indexes and any other List of Markers files generated get similar ¶Formats and Ref.Pages.

Barb Binder

Community Expert

Hi @beau5CC8:

When you have some downtime, I highly recommend that you get up to speed with FrameMaker's generated table of contents. It's going to save you both time and frustration in the long run.

~Barb

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

Bob_Niland

Community Expert

re: i am creating a stand alone table of contents and copying the linked text back into my document, some problems i am running into

Generated TOCs do not appear to have content that are basic Cross-References. They are text with a Hypertext Marker like:
openObjectId filename.fm:2 1097419
For a current project, I let FM build a generated TOC as a book component, revised the Reference Page controls to get it to render as desired, then made it a non-generated file, manually converting the text to Xrefs (so as to have more direct content control). This is only practical for perhaps 1 or 2-page TOCs.

B

beau5CC8Author

Known Participant

i apoligize my terminology is not always accurate, hyperlink text yes, thats very interesting. i am not sure what revising the reference page controls does, but it is something i am going to research. My TOC as usually 2 page max, i have thought about making mini table of contents for major sections "chapters" using the meathod i am doing now until i find a better solution. Its fun to continue this learning progression.

Bob_Niland

Correct answer

Community Expert

When you let FM generate a TOC, it doesn't just create a file with specific data structures and gathered text. It also creates (as needed) new paragraph formats (named …TOC) and a Reference Page (named "TOC"). Getting the TOC to look the way you want usually requires tinkering with the new Paragraph Formats, and the markup on the Reference Page.

Indexes and any other List of Markers files generated get similar ¶Formats and Ref.Pages.

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

And I think both of us would say - why do you do it that way? It's so much easier to just stick it all in the FM doc & books and then create a PDF out of it.

B

beau5CC8Author

Known Participant

its out of my comfort zone, i am really close to having a complete understanding of this but for now my only option is to complete it this way on a deadline. Problems i see myself running into is page numbering in a book, toc problems in the book and easily editing a book. i will make it a prioirty to learn book features asap. Thanks for the feedback, you both have been very helpful on this journey.

Jeff_Coatsworth

Community Expert

So glad you figured it out - I don't think @Barb Binder or I have a clue what you were doing!

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beau5CC8Author

Known Participant

a very long way of doing something that can be simiplified when i have more time to learn framemaker, i apprichiate you reviewing the information as always. sometimes i am in a time crunch at work and have to figure things out quickly on the fly.

To simplify:

I make a complete service manual in framemaker with the cad drawings excluded. I make a stand alone table of contents for the document, include the toc in page 2 and 3 of the document. I publish the document as a pdf, open in acrobat dc, comebine the .fm pdf and the cad drawings pdf to complete the document.

B

beau5CC8Author

Known Participant

i was able to finalize the document and have a table of contents cross reference for each section.

> I was copying the table of content pages individually, the text has to be copy as a whole from the stand alone TOC then posted into a seperate flow (depending on how you do it) into the document

>i am able to succesfully use a return botton on the bottom of each page linking it to the text a the top of the table of contents

>when i combine mechanical drawings into the PDF using adobe acrobat DC, i combine my manual and the pdf of mechanical drawings, then i use the organize pages to place the pdf's in the proper location. placing them into the proper locaiton before combining will return in a page break and the table of contents will no longer work.

Thank you. Case is resolved.

Barb Binder

Community Expert

Hi @beau5CC8:

I am very confused about your TOC, and hoping you can clarify.

Normally in a book, we generate a standalone TOC for a book, collecting the data from all of the chapters in the book. One can also generate a standalone TOC for a single chapter, and a mini-TOC that is incorporated within a chapter. Which one are you trying to do? I'm sure we can help, once we understand.

~Barb

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training

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beau5CC8Author

Known Participant

the color correciton i was noticing with the cover page is resolved. i am trying to incorporate right now, im not sure how to link a return to toc page on the master page, so my idea is reword the text of table of contents on the stand alone table of contents and place text on the bottom of the master page...its a very overcomplicated way to do it.

B

beau5CC8Author

Known Participant

Steps i took to get a link table of contents:

when document is finish, create stand alone TOC

I edited the text to center and have lines see progression images. The links work in framemaker, but when open via web/adobe dc pro the links dont work. i got everything except for the return icon link to work in only google chrome.

I then copired the stand alone text frames and posted them into my single document.

I got this to work last night when i copied the raw text into the table of contents but as soon as i edited the text in the table of contents it no longer worked.

any solution or settings i need to be selecting. i can upload the .fm file if you would like to view it, all the clickable links work within the document but as soon as its saved as pdf i am loosing all the links

@Barb Binder

-barb or anyone i can email you the .fm file in a cloud link if you can look at it.

i spent a considerable amount of time on this and i am geting very frustrated.

Thanks

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