Add appendix in DITA bookmap

Report · Dec 16, 2019

Sorry for repeating this issue but I am still puzzled how to add appendices to my published DITA bookmap.

Shortly, I use FrameMaker 2019 and to create my book, I use a DITA bookmap, where each chapter is a dita map. In the bookmap, I then specify the type of each dita map, such as chapter or appendix etc. In FrameMaker help, it is "as usual" vaguely and without clear examples, stated:

A bookmap is a specialized DITA map that allows you to organize and print your DITA topics as a book. A bookmap defines elements such as chapter and appendix. A DITA map does not impose structural rules with regards to the sequence of the topic references. However, to maintain a book structure, the bookmap defines rules such as disallowing a chapter element after the appendix element.

However, if you just do as mentioned above, the appendices appear as chapters in the publisahed book, ignoring the type, specified in the bookmap! In an other post, it is suggested that one can use an appendix template by accrodingly editting the ditafm.ini. Probably, this is the way to go, but I do not see how a new template can be applied to my DITA bookmap if there is no place for it under DITA Options.

Report · Dec 16, 2019

The main power of ditafm-output and configuration is in

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe FrameMaker 2020\fminit\ditafm

ditafm-output.ini

few things that may be helpful for your final PDF order:

For adding specific template for frontmatter included xml/dita components or backmatter or appendix

[BookWithFM-FrontMatter]
Template=

ExcludeFromGeneratedLists=1

[BookWithFM-BackMatter]
Template=

ExcludeFromGeneratedLists=1

[BookWithFM-AppendixMatter]
Template=

ExcludeFromGeneratedLists=1

the plan with FMNEXT release, is to have all these as part of the output dialog. For now, on appendix you may have to use this file to add details.

thanks

Amitoj Singh

Report · Dec 17, 2019

Hi Amitoj, if I am not wrong this is an original section copy of the ditafm-output.ini file, as mine looks exactly like this. So in order to get the appendices to appear "as appendices", your suggestion is to edit the part under [BookWithFM-AppendixMatter] and add a custom-made template there?

Report · Dec 17, 2019

Yes, you would need to specify the path of template as it is not exposed in the DITA template in Publish settings yet ( we do plan to do this with FMNEXT release). However for now that is an option.

Report · Dec 17, 2019

sorry for my lack of understanding. I think the problem goes beyond using an appendix template. In the available TOCpl.fm template file, located in Structure\xml\DITA\outputTemplates, an appendix section in the end of the reference pages is already included. But it requires the paragraph tag "title-appx.0"; wheras, my DITA topic titles are tagged with "title.0" which is automatically considered a chapter title.

Report · Dec 17, 2019

I dont think you could use that. If you use your chapter output template in template section and hardcode the path in ditafm-output.ini - that should work.

Report · Dec 17, 2019

Apparently, my changes in ditafm-output.ini are ignored. I read that one must activate SavePDFViaBookRoute = 1; otherwise, FM uses only the ditabase template. I did that but, FM still ignores what I specify in ditafm-output.ini file.

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Add appendix in DITA bookmap