Why no Find/Replace a variable with a variable?

[MAM_PDX]

Seems like a crazy omission! Why is there not the ability to do a Find/Replace a variable with a variable? There is the ability to run Finds for a particular variable name (although you have to type in the variable name - why not have a drop-down list of all the currently defined variables so you can select the variable you want to search for?), but there is no option to replace a found variable with another (different) variable.

In my particular case, a predecessor created variables that included product version numbers in the variable name. When a new version of the product came out, a new variable, with the new product version in the name, was created and applied to each occurrence of the variable for the previous version. That, of course, completely negates the purpose of variables! I'm trying to genericize these variables so there is one Product Version variable to deal with. However, having created the generic variable(s), there is no way in FrameMaker to Find the old variables and Replace them with my generic variables.

This seems like a major oversight in the FrameMaker Feature Set. Please address!

[Barb Binder]

but there is no option to replace a found variable with another (different) variable.

Are you aware that you can copy the new variable into the clipboard, and then use By Pasting as the replace?

[Lynne A. Price]

To add to Barb's reply, suppose you want to replace one variable defined to be the product name and the version with two variables: one for the product name and one for the version. All you need do is:

1) Define both new variables

2) Find one occurrence of the old variable and insert the two new ones in its place.

3) Select the two variables you have just inserted.

4) Do a global find/change by pasting

5) Delete the original variable.

           --Lynne

P.S. Barb, do you have a Lab?

[Barb Binder]

Hi Lynn!

I do have two dogs at my feet, but no Labs. I usually grab student materials/demo files for my forum screen shots to protect the confidentiality of client files.

~Barb

[MAM_PDX]

Thank you also.

[MAM_PDX]

D'oh! Of course! I searched on this process and found nothing. I suspect my thinking has been tainted by using other authoring platforms.

Thank you for the quick reply!

[Barb Binder]

Always happy to help, MAM_PDX​.

Once you discover By Pasting, it greatly increases the functionality of Find/Change. In addition to coping any object on a page, you can use Edit > Copy Special to copy ¶ tags, character tags, conditional text settings and even column widths. I use it ALL.THE.TIME.

I suspect my thinking has been tainted by using other authoring platforms.

As a sidenote, Adobe quietly slid it into InDesign, (renamed Other > Clipboard Contents) and I'm guessing I'm the only one in that world who appreciates it.

[GrayBugs]

Thanks for this post, @BarbBinder. I've learned a lot from people like YOU who have posted helpful tips in this forum. Thanks for teaching me a new time saver!

[Barb Binder]

That's great, GrayBugs! Thanks for letting me know.

If you haven't found my blog yet, bookmark it—I've been answering my Rocky Mountain Training student's questions there since 2009. A lot of the old stuff is still valid today—with the exception of the Special menu getting renamed Insert in 2017—but if something doesn't work, just let me know and I'll get it updated.

Adobe FrameMaker Tutorials, Tips & Resources | Rocky Mountain Training

~Barb