structured book files, hierarchy, and BOOK-COMPONENT element

Adam,

I use books, but not groups and folders, so this is speculative.

1. From FrameMaker's point of view, a book is ONE structured document, with one root element. If you were to export the book as an XML file, you would get one xml file.

2. Of course, a book is distributed among its component files, groups, folders, etc.

3. Each individual file has to have a root element, even though it is very likely NOT the root element for the book. All the elements in your EDD that can potentially be root elements in document files have to be declared as Valid as the highest-level element.

4. As you learned from the other thread you referenced, the book's root element has to be stored in the book file itself, there being no other place to store it.

5. Also from the other thread, when you FIRST create an empty book file and fill it with documents, the structure of the BOOK has a lot of red and book component elements. After you update the book, these elements get named, if you are lucky. But in most cases, you have to change the book's root element (usually named NAME) to the root element for the book, as defined by your EDD. After you update again, you may find it necessary to move some of the elements in the book's structure view to conform to your EDD's allowable structure. All of this I know is true.

6. Here is the guess... If group of files in the book correspond to a SEQUENCE of elements in the EDD, then my guess is that there is nothing else you need to do. The files in the group should appear in the book structure as valid. If not, you may have to move them around to their correct positions. This is just changing the structure in the book file, not in the files themselves.

If the group corresponds to a containing element in your EDD, then my guess is that you will have to wrap these elements with the correct element from your EDD.

The same holds true for folders. If the files in a folder correspond to an allowable sequence of elements in the EDD, then there is nothing to do. If the folder represents a containing element, then you will have to wrap their elements in the containing element in the book file.

My guess is that the same holds true for books within books.

The bottom line is that all the elements no matter where they are stored in the book's files, whether grouped, in folders, or in other books, must end up in valid positions within the ENTIRE book structure, in order to result in a valid book.

Hope this helps,

Van