when a style update isn't an update …

[FieryPantone]

One of those small, occasional, not-desperately-important questions: but it's Friday afternoon, and I have time to be curious.

I've just opened a small file containing an overview of product specs, feeling it might be helpful if all the product manuals had a specs chapter. For historical reasons, all the styles in this document have names like :a1XR – :a1 is my normal style for an appendix heading, XR is for this appendix covering the XR variant of the product.

The quickest way to get the generic document I'm after would be adjust the definition and then change the style name to :a1 – but apparently this is not allowed! I can type in a new name that doesn't start with :a1, but I cannot (and may not-) rename :a1XR as :a1

So I created a new style, deleted the redundant :a1XR, and renamed the new style :a1 – could have been simpler, I feel.

[Stefan-Gentz]

My first hunch was that it is maybe a bug coming from the style name starting ":" – but no … what's making the change difficult, is the new "Auto Suggest" feature of the style name, that will automatically pick up existing style names. Great feature, but makes renaming in fact difficult.

This is how you can change the paragraph style name from :a1XR to :a1 (a little bit more detailed, if someone else should run into the same):

1. Click in the style name field ("Paragraph Tag"). The style name will be selected (highlighted).
2. Press right arrow key once. Cursor will go to the end of the style name.
3. Delete XR. Notice that that "Auto Suggest" dropdown will open.
4. Press ESC key on the keyboard. This will end the "Auto Suggest" mode. (Drop-down will close.)
5. Click "Update All".
6. Confirm the FrameMaker dialog asking you "Rename all :a1XR tags to "a1"? with OK.

Now the style name will be properly update as expected.

In a nutshell: The solution is to press the ESC key to end the Auto Suggest mode.

[FieryPantone]

Thanks, Stefan! software knowing better again, eh …

[Stefan-Gentz]

You're welcome 🙂