How to search and replace conrefs in FrameMaker

[Soumya Subhra Guha]

I'm using FrameMaker 12 and editing a DITA map that has over 600+ topics along with several conrefs (names of our software). I need to replace these conrefs across 600+ topics (shown as Product Name in the screenshot below) with different text (for example, Adobe).

I tried using the Edit > Find/Change option but couldn't get it to work. Can anyone help, please?

[FieryPantone]

I was staying well out of this, since I don't [yet] use FM for my DITA documents … but seeing that no-one else has replied, I'm wondering whether you couldn't also handle this outside FM. If we can assume that the source is just DITA-compliant XML, large-scale search and replace should be a doddle in/with a text editor. Of course, you'd start by making a back-up of the original files ;-}

[Soumya Subhra Guha]

Thanks @FieryPantone for finally stepping in! I appreciate it. I did think about this, however, I was looking at something easier, intuitive within FrameMaker — you could say, similar in principle to a 'Find and Replace' on a text editor. It seems there isn't any.

My search (using the Edit > Find/Change option) lets me find 'plain-text' instances of the keywords (for example, Adobe FrameMaker) but doesn't locate instances of it when they occur as conrefs (the texts in blue are conrefs). You may want to check the screenshot below:

[FieryPantone]

My feeling/guess/suspicion is that the content displayed by the <conrefs> doesn't quite exist: like the numbering in an ordered list. As far as I remember you can search for 1. until you're blue in the face, even when you can see it in a list-item on screen in front of you.

Looking at the screenshots, can't you just find where the original string is defined and update it there? Again, I don't know about using FM for DITA: but in one set of documents I had a separate file called (imaginatively) _conrefs.dita. So, if management decided to change the name of our AARDVARK product to PLAYTPUS, I would only need to change one line in _conrefs.dita and the job would be done.

[FieryPantone]

Just for clarity …

• if you have set up a conref like the <ph id="product">AARDVARK</ph> example and want to change what appears where you call the conref in a topic, all you have to do is update the definition to <ph id="product">PLATYPUS</ph>
• if you use a conref to $productOne in various topics and want to replace this with a conref to $productTwo, then you'll need to edit the topics and change

The primary objective of <ph conref="_conrefs.dita#_conrefs/productOne"/> is to drive …​

to

The primary objective of <ph conref="_conrefs.dita#_conrefs/productTwo"/> is to drive …​

FrameSLT sounds like an excellent tool! unfortunately, I'm in the sort of corporate-paranoia environment where I stand zero chance of being allowed it … fortunately, and on the other hand, my usual DITA tool includes XPath searching ;-}

[frameexpert]

You should definitely take a look at FrameSLT from West Street Consulting. It allows you to search a structured FrameMaker document using XPath, which is a W3C standard for navigating XML documents. I have used it this way for years and have been very satisfied with it. It does a bunch of other things too. Here is an old, but still relevant, post on my blog about FrameSLT:

http://frameautomation.com/frameslt-a-great-framemaker-plugin/