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QuintinSeegers
Legend
May 18, 2021
Question

Using Conversion Table to apply structure to unstructured document

  • May 18, 2021
  • 4 replies
  • 482 views

In our EDD, we have Chapter as the highest-level element.

Each Chapter can contain multiple Section elements.

Each Section element contains a Heading element (containing Level context rules) and a Paragraph Element. In turn, each Section element can also contain a Section element, up to 6 levels deep (including the first level).

In our unstructured documents, we have a different Paragraph Style for each Heading level (H1 - H6).

I've created a Conversion Table to apply structure to one of our unstructured documents as a test. I have no problems wrapping our Heading Paragraph Styles into the Heading element. My problem is when I have lower level headings (H2 - H6). These are wrapping in individual Section elements, rather than (sub)Section elements. To illustrate:

In my unstructured document, I have (indentation for visualisation only):

H1

Paragraph

  H2

  Paragraph

    H3

    Paragraph

 

When I apply structure, end up with (indentation for visualisation only):

Section

   Heading

   Paragraph

Section

  Heading

  Paragraph

Section

  Heading

  Paragraph

 

Instead of the structure:

Section

  Heading

  Paragraph

  Section

    Heading

    Paragraph

    Section

      Heading

      Paragraph

 

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    4 replies

    Matt-Tech Comm Tools
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 18, 2021

    Hi Quintin, 

     

    Lynne's on the money regarding the qualifers. You need to identify the differences in the headings so that you can wrap in a parent structure. After identifying a qualifier, you can write rules that will use the qualifier to specify which elements get wrapped in higher levels of structure.

    Here is an excerpt from the conversion table section of my FrameMaker Structured EDD Development Workbook

    -Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant
    QuintinSeegers
    Legend
    May 18, 2021

    @Lynne A. Price  and @Matt-Tech Comm Tools Thanks for those tips. I did look into the use of the Qualifier, but couldn't quite work out how to use them. @Matt-Tech Comm Tools , your example is a great help.  I can see how to use to qualifier and rules to wrap sequencial elements in a single element. However, in our case, the 'parent' element isn't always the same, i.e. a BulletList element could have a Paragraph, NumberedList or another BulletList as it's parent. How would I write the rules to wrap the element based on the preceding element?

    Matt-Tech Comm Tools
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 18, 2021

    It sounds like you'll need qualifiers for the para tags that then would be used to trigger wrapping rules like the ones for the sections shown in my screenshot.

    Really hard to say, though, without looking at your content, your conversion table, and the results.

    -Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant
    Inspiring
    May 18, 2021

    Quintin,

        You can't stop writers from changing paragraph formats in a structured document. If they change entries in the paragraph catalog, the results can be persistent. Overrides to a catalog entry may or may not survive some types of further editing. If your publication process includes importing first formats and then element definitions from the template, most  changes will not survive. The exception is properties such as table or cross-regference formats in which the EDD defines initial object formats. FrameMaker was deliberately designed to allow writers to customize more visual aspects of a document to support environment where such freedom is required.

          --Lynne

    Inspiring
    May 18, 2021

    Quintin,

        You need to use qualifiers in your conversion table to distinguish headings and sections at different levels. Check the Structure Application Developer Reference. If you have questions about qualifiers, please show us the part of your conversion table that pertains to Heading and Section elements.

          --Lynne

    Community Expert
    May 18, 2021

    I am definitely not an expert for EDDs and conversion tables.

    However, I think that our structure experts need more info.

    Can you provide excerpts from your EDD and your conversion table which show the conversion and how this should look like?