Need running header to get $paratext from another file in book

[KJKurth]

I'm running FrameMaker 9.0p237 on Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit.

I've been away from FM for about 4 years (it's so good to be back - it's like coming home). Anyway, I need the $paratext part of my Running H/F on my Master page to reference a paragraph that's only found in another file in the book. I've set it up like this:

<$paratext[DocumentTitle]>, <$paratext[Heading1]>

The DocumentTitle paragraph text is not showing up in the header on the Body page. That paragraph tag is only found in another file in the book. I know I've done this before, but I can't remember how and cannot find it described in the help.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Kathy

[Arnis Gubins]

Hi Kathy,

Welcome back to FM. You probably used a cross-reference to the other book before.

[KJKurth]

Thanks, Arnis.

How do I put a cross-reference in a variable?

[Bob_Niland]

How do I put a cross-reference in a variable?

Double hop hack: make something in the current document that a spare Running_H/F_# Variable can be defined to point at. The {something} would then be an Xref to the other document.

You might have to make the {something} invisible text on a Body or Master page. I don't know if it could reside on a Reference Page.

[KJKurth]

Ahhh! It's all coming back to me now. I believe that's exactly how I used to do it.

Thanks to you both!

Kathy

[KJKurth]

Just to be clear - all the files I'm working with are in the same book. But the running header needs to pull paragraph text from another file in the book.

Kathy

[Arnis Gubins]

Open the file that you want to make the cross-reference to.

On the Master page header in the respective chapter, use the Special > Cross-Reference and select the paragraph from the target file. You might need to create an appropriate cros-ref format for this as well.

When creating a PDF for output, make certain that you have the book file for the cross-ref chapter open as well.

Note: this will be an active link in the PDF.

[Michael_Müller-Hillebrand]

Kathy,

In the long run I believe the cross-reference method will bring more problems than it solves. Among them: Cross-references tend to be active in a PDF, also you need write access to the other document. With the cross-reference you store the file name of the source file, so you cannot easily reuse the file elsewhere. In general, it is a misuse of a feature that was meant for something else.

I recommend you put the document title in a user variable and you do so in the title document. Just use this variable in the DocumentTitle paragraph, which allows you to change it later on with a double-click. If all your variables in all your book components have the same valiue (which I strongly recommend), the only other thing you have to do whenever you change the document title is to import the variables from the title document into all others (using File > Import > Formats).

- Michael

[KJKurth]

Excellent point.

Thanks.