Better question. Background = In FM12 TOC problem

[leeg67183595]

Background = In FM12 I copied a book. I made updates to the book. When I was ready to update the book the menu came up missing the TOC that should have been listed to update. The TOC is in the book file but not in the update menu. Why is it missing and why can't I replicate it? I had to remove the TOC that was in the book and had to add a TOC from scratch but when I copied the old TOC template over the top it did not replicate. How can I fix this problem?

[Barb Binder]

The TOC is in the book file but not in the update menu.

Let's start by clarifying this statement.

Are you saying your TOC appears in the book window in the left of my screen shot, but not in the Update Book dialog box on the right?

If so, look the the icons in the book window. The orange/black icon indicates a generated file (one that Fm is in charge of updating) and the white/orange icons indicate a user file (one that you are in change of updating). Only generated files appear in the Update Book dialog box.

What does your TOC icon look like?

[Barb Binder]

had to remove the TOC that was in the book and had to add a TOC from scratch but when I copied the old TOC template over the top it did not replicate. How can I fix this problem?

Here is a post I wrote up for a student a few years ago to address this specific question. The software versions have updated since then, but the steps inside are still valid up to Fm 2017.

Adobe FrameMaker: Reusing a TOC or Index - Rocky Mountain Training

[leeg67183595]

I read thru the steps, thank you. When you get to step 4, when you use the add menu to create the generated TOC, did you skip a step because the menu asks you l to add certain paratags and that's when it doesn't update properly. Do you leave that menu blank and just generate/update the book and it will use the formatted TOC file that was placed in the book?

[Barb Binder]

No... you will need to add the same paragraph tags that were in the old TOC. That's what I meant by "Go ahead and create the generated files to your Acrobat 9 book with the Add menu as you would normally...". I may have mentioned that I wrote that post to answer a question from one of my students, and since they already knew how to create a table of contents, I didn't put in each step. However, I'll gladly add them here:

Generate a table of contents for a book

1) Open the book window and select the file below where you want the generated file to appear.

2) Choose Add > Create Standalone TOC

3) Enter a suffix or keep the default one. The suffix indicates the type of generated file. For example, TOC is the usual suffix for a table of contents.

4) In the set up dialog box, Add File drop-down list, specify whether the generated list will appear  before or after the current document.

5) Move items to the Include scroll list. To move an item between scroll lists, select the item and click an arrow, or double-click the item. To move all items from one scroll list to the other, Shift-click an arrow.

6) To have each entry in the generated list be linked to its source, select Create Hypertext Links. These links let you jump to the source of an entry by clicking the entry.

7) Click OK and then click Update. FrameMaker generates the list. You can view the generated list by double-clicking its name in the book window.

8) Save the generated list in the same folder as the source document or book. If you want to rename the generated file, use the book window to do so—FrameMaker will rename it on the disk and update all references.

9) Save any open files in the book. Open files are updated only in your computer’s memory and not on the disk. If a file isn’t open, the changes are made on the disk.

TIP: To use a template or an existing generated file in a new book file, add it to the book as a generated file. Then put the existing file in the folder that contains the book file, using the name that appears in the book window.

— http://help.adobe.com/en_US/framemaker/2015/using/framemaker_help.pdf​

[leeg67183595]

I was afraid you were going to say that. I have done all of those steps and it still doesn't want to run properly. Even the header numbers are not coming across. Thank you so much for your time and advice though.

[leeg67183595]

Here's a thought. (I don't have the book in front of me..will have to check on monday). Is it possible that the TOC generated file reverted to a user file. Why would it do that and if so is there a quick fix for that or would I need to start from scratch? Thanx again.

[Barb Binder]

Your first sentence says that you copied the book. That's important because that means that the original TOC is still safe, and you can use it to create the new TOC.

In the new book, go ahead and delete the TOC from the book window. Create a new one, using the steps above. If  for whatever reason you aren't able to follow the steps I gave you above, you can always fall back on file > import > format to import the formatting from the original book's table of contents to the new table of contents.

[leeg67183595]

Thanx for your help. Will go in tomorrow ready to do battle.