Italic after xref is being removed

Report · Mar 09, 2022

I have a paragraph that starts with an xref and within that same paragraph, I have some text that is tagged as italic but it is not displaying as italic. If I move the xref anyplace but at the beginning of the paragraph, the text displays as italic. Does anyone know the reason this is happening and a solution (other than rewriting the paragraph)?

Thanks!

Report · Mar 09, 2022

Is the Italic being done as a Character Format or as an override?

And we might need to see the syntax of the Xref.

Report · Mar 09, 2022

Hi,

In the cross-reference format you can specify a character format for the cross-reference text, eg.: <menu>.

However, you should then stop this character format at the end of your cross-reference with <Default¶Format>.

Your format would look like:

However, when you have applied a character format with italic after such a cross-reference, the italic font should be applied correctly.

Could it be that your cross-reference specifies a font which just does not have an italic font property?

Can you explain in more detail where your cross-reference and where the non-italic text is?

Does this happen, after you updated your cross-references?

Is this a non-structured document or do you use any structure? Which one?

What's your FrameMaker version (Help | About)? The current version is 16.0.4.1062.

Best regards

Winfried

Report · Mar 10, 2022

This is what I have:

<xref outputclass="fm:Exhibit"
href="#topic-c5-t4-5/title-c5-t4-9" id="CJDBDEDJE9" class="- topic/xref ">Exhibit
1-3</xref> shows a WBS for a project. This WBS
is from the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown
Structures, second edition.

The xref is pointing to an exhibit just below this content. I have experienced this same behavior in other files as well.

Does this help?

Report · Mar 10, 2022

That looks like output - I think @Bob_Niland was looking for your FM xref construction.

Report · Mar 10, 2022

This is from my dita file so clearly, I am not understanding what you need. Can you elaborate?

Report · Mar 10, 2022

DITA file? So you're doing Structured FM authoring? I thought all the formatting was applied in your transforms if you did Structured FM? Not a topic I know much aabout, so I'm out I'm afraid.

Report · Mar 10, 2022

Sorry, I guess I didn't give enough info on the front end. Yes, this is dita in Structured FM. Hoping that someone else has a fix for this.

Thanks!

Report · Mar 10, 2022

Hi Leigh,

What's your structure view look like, and is the topic valid?

-Matt

-Matt Sullivan
FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

Report · Mar 10, 2022

Works ok for me. It works fine with default generated IDs but I've modified the IDs to make the code easier to decipher.

<shortdesc>Testing whether an xref can exist as the first element

in a para element</shortdesc>

<author>Matt Sullivan</author>

</prolog>

<body>

<xref outputclass="fm:" href="#id-att-for-topic/id-att-for-content">Cross-referenced content</xref> shows

a WBS for a project. This WBS is from the

Practice Standard for

Work BreakdownStructures, second edition.

Text following first para

<example id="id-att-for-content">Cross-referenced content</example>

</body>

</topic>

-Matt

-Matt Sullivan
FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

Report · Mar 10, 2022

I was able to replicate your example.

<topic id="id-att-for-topic">
	<title>Xref Test</title>
	<shortdesc>Testing whether an xref can exist as the first element
		in a para element</shortdesc>
	<prolog>
		<author>Matt Sullivan</author>
	</prolog>
	<body>
		<p>
			<xref outputclass="fm:" href="#id-att-for-topic/id-for-title">Cross-referenced Title</xref> shows
			a WBS for a project. This WBS is from the
			<i>Practice Standard for
				Work BreakdownStructures</i>, second edition.
		</p>
		<p>Text following first para</p>
		<section>
			<title id="id-for-title">Cross-referenced Title</title>
			<p>This
				is a subsection of the Xref Test topic</p>
		</section>
		<example id="id-att-for-content">Cross-referenced content</example>
	</body>
</topic>

When I xref to basic structure in the topic (see example element, then the formatting is as expected.

When I xref to a title within an section, then the formatting disappears.

Perhaps the easiest way to get around this is to conref (Insert>Conref) to the title, since it is being reused, rather than being referred to within the text.

However, it looks like the conref feature won't work on the title in this example.

Try breaking out the subsection into its own topic and either add separately to the ditamap or conref into your existing topic.

-Matt Sullivan
FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

Report · Mar 10, 2022

This xref is referencing the title of the figure below it. Final text will say "Exhibit 1-3 shows a WBS for a..." and the title of the in the fig below it will be " Exhibit 1-3: WBS Example". I don't think I can use a conref in this situation, right? (and we have hundreds of these in our files)

Report · Mar 10, 2022

I'd have to see the structure of the whole file, so not sure.

The topic is valid, yes?

-Matt Sullivan
FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

Report · Mar 10, 2022

Yes, the topic is valid. If you move the xref so it is not the first thing inside the p tag, the italic tagged text displays as it should. Could it be something in the EDD?

Text format rules in the EDD:
If context is: [scope = "external"]
Text range.
Use character format: link.external
Else
Text range.
Use character format: link.asis

Report · Mar 10, 2022

Is the char tag set to link.asis?

if so you could redefine the char tag to match in the template. Otherwise, modifying the EDD(s) would be a potential but harder solution. Remember to mod copies of templates and EDDs!!!

-Matt Sullivan
FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

Report · Mar 10, 2022

Yes, the char tag in the EDD was set to link.asis. (I inherited this EDD so I'm not sure if this was a default or created with purpose.)

I haven't tried to change the character tag yet but I did just remove the "Use character format: link.asis" from the EDD, and now it appears to work as it should. Are there any repercussions that I should keep my eye out for?

I checked xref elements in other areas (that are displayed in different font/sizes) just to make sure the xref text was following the paragraph styling as it should and it seems to be in order.

Report · Mar 11, 2022

Both the character tag mod and the EDD mod are respectable solutions to your issue!

Both also have repercussions that might not surface until testing on your content, across larger data samples. The only repercussions should be content that either

displays as italic when you don't want it
displays without italic when you want it

Either way, though, you found something that is a weakness in the default templates...I suggest you submit a feature request (it's not technically a bug, since nothing breaks...) at tracker.adobe.com so that the team can make a change to the supplied templates for any and all screen and publishing templates within the different supplied DITA templates.

-Matt Sullivan
FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

Report · Mar 11, 2022

Matt, thank you so much for your help. I was a little concerned about making this adjustment without further testing in all outputs. You confirmed my concerns. We have just rearranged the paragraph so the xref is not first. I will do more testing down the road.

I will pop over to tracker.adobe.com now.

Again, I appreciate all the help I have received!

Report · Mar 11, 2022

Glad to help!

Yes, the combinations of templates can be intimidating.

As with any set of interconnected files, dependencies can be difficult to recognize. Also, any changes might be overwritten with a reinstallation of the DITA directories. It sounds like you'd be capable of managing the work, if you replicated the struct app(s) in your local copy, rather than modifying the global structapp definitions.

Working on copies of the originals is much less likely to result in all-nighters and insomnia!

-Matt

-Matt Sullivan
FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant

Italic after xref is being removed

1 Correct answer