Running Headers and Footers

[_Daryl_Breen_]

Hi -- I'm trying to relearn FM after several years of not using it, so please bear with me. I'd like the book title, which is displayed in its own document (with the tag Title), to also be displayed in the headers of each chapter in the book. I'm using the Running H/F 1 variable whose format is <$paratex[Title]>, but it's not showing up in subsequent chapters.

The FM User Guide says that FM will search the document, and if it can't find it, will search backwards until it does, but it seems to only seach within a document, not hop back to the beginning document. Is this how it's supposed to work? I tried using the Running H/F 3, which references a marker that you create, and that doesn't work across documents either.

Thanks so much for any help you can give!
Daryl

[FieryPantone]

> the Running H/F 1 variable whose format is {$paratext[Title]}
... is a system variable, which will do its stuff within the current chapter

To display the title of a book in every chapter, I set a user variable and copy it to each chapter with File > Import > Formats

HTH

[Shlomo Perets]

All Running H/F building blocks only retrieve items from the current document (and cannot access previous or next document in book).

Possible techniques to handle book title in the header/footer are:
■ BookTitle user variable
■ Text inset
■ Volume Number variable (updated at the book level)

(adding a cross-reference to the Title paragraph is also a possibility, but I don't recommend it)

Shlomo Perets

MicroType * http://www.microtype.com
FrameMaker training & consulting * FM-to-Acrobat TimeSavers

"Improve Your FrameMaker Skills" live web-based training sessions

[Art Campbell]

Daryl,

The basic problem is that Frame is designed to work with a multi-file model that uses book files to hold multiple "document" files.

You're trying to acccess variable and tag information from the component files at the higher book level, and it isn't working because the level of communication that you're looking for doesn't exist. The solution that most people use is to define user variables in a component file or a template and then share those among all component files.

As Nils suggests, the easiest way to do what you want is to replace the default configuration Building Block that you're using with a file-level user variable that's the same in all component files. Shlomo's suggestion to set the <$volnum> variable at the book level will also work, but most users use the first solution.

Art

[_Daryl_Breen_]

Thanks to all of you for your help! I thought that was the case, but I guess I was hoping it was more automated.

Best,
Daryl