RE: Generated chapter TOC obtusely reverts to non-existent formats [ANSWER]

[Hedley Finger <hedley.finger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Framers:

Surprise, surprise.  HOW a TOC reference page gets into a source file
apparently determines whether it will be USED to generate a TOC file.  

To recap briefly:
----------------

To reduce my exposure to the whinings of adenoidal Word users who
continually ask "How do I generate a TOC at the beginning of a document
like I can in Word?", I routinely include a TOC reference page in my
templates.  The templates also include the necessary basetagTOC para
formats in the para catalogue.  It takes me only a few moments to show
them how to generate a basenameTOC.fm file and copy the generated
entries into the source basename.fm file.

In the latest template I opened the reference pages and added a new
reference page called TOC with Special > Add Reference Page, then
constructed the basetagTOC builder paragraphs myself and added the
corresponding basetagTOC para formats to the catalogue.  But, when I
generated the temporary basenameTOC.fm file, FM had added a new TOC1
reference to this file containing the generic 

    <$paratext> <$pagenum>

builder paras and used these instead of my lovingly crafted TOC ref page
with my builders.  (My original post of the problem is at the end of
this reply.)

The answer:
----------

Rodney G Copeland <rodney.copeland@unisys.com> and Robert Hartman
<hartman@epiphany.com> put me on the track.  You must add a TOC
reference page ONLY by (a) creating it by the act of generating a
*TOC.fm file from a source file and subsequently customizing it, and (b)
importing it back into the source file from the generated *TOC.fm file.

You CANNOT add a TOC page manually with the Special > Add Reference Page
command.

But, once you have a customized GENERATED TOC reference page, you can
freely import it together with the necessary basetagTOC para formats and
any necessary char formats into any other file.  If you then generate a
TOC from such a file, the imported TOC is used instead of a new generic
TOC page.

-- 
Regards,
Hedley Finger   Technical Writer

[FrameMaker 5.5.6, Acrobat 3.02, Windows 98, HP OmniBook 2100]

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> 
> ALTERNATIVE SUBJECT: If you're so smart, figure this one out!
> 
> To generate chapter TOCs I normally include a TOC reference page in each
> chapter file and add basenameTOC para formats to the file.  Then I can
> choose File > Generate/Book, copy the generated TOC from the newly
> created filenameTOC.fm file, and paste it into the source filename.fm
> file.
> 
> The TOC builders on the TOC reference page have the general format of
> 
>     <$paratext><numberformat>\sm<$pagenum>
> 
> <numberformat> is a char format that ensures the page numbers are all
> 10pt light roman despite the differing sizes, colours, weights, etc. of
> the underlying para formats that vary with at different heading levels.
> 
> \sm inserts an em quad (I also insert an em quad with Esc <spacebar> m
> depending on the phase of the moon).
> 
> What happens when I generate a temporary filenameTOC.fm file is that
> 
> @ the <numberformat> builder is ignored and the entire paragraph
> including page numbers has the format of the underlying para format,
> 
> @ the em-space builder (either \sm or Esc <spacebar> m) is ignored and
> is replaced by a normal word space, 
> 
> @ when examined, SOME of the basenameTOC para formats in the generated
> document have 'Across sidehead and all columns set' despite the fact
> that these SAME para formats in the source document are set to 'In
> column' like their sibling basenameTOC para formats, and
> 
> @ although the Right and Left master pages in the source have a sidehead
> area, the body page in the generated filenameTOC.fm file do NOT!
> 
> What is even more baffling is that the generated filenameTOC.fm file has
> an extra TOC1 reference page containing the default builders 
> 
>    <$paratext> <$paranum>
> 
> for the basenameTOC para formats.  There is also the EXPECTED TOC
> reference page which is identical to that in the source document.
> 
> I have made sure that (a) all basenameTOC para formats are in the Para
> Catalogue, (b) that on the TOC page, the basenameTOC para formats are
> actually applied to their corresponding builder paras, and (c) the the
> <numberformat> char format builder is applied to the appropriate parts
> of the builder paras and is also in the Char Catalogue.
> 
> Saving to MIF and resaving to binary format does not fix. 
> Reconstructing the TOC page does not fix.
> 
> Why has this horrible little imp been sent to continually revert my TOC
> to some non-existent reference page and non-existent para and char
> formats?  It's almost as though there is a phantom TOC page with
> incorrect builders, para formats, and char formats that takes precedence
> over the visible TOC page.  
> 
> I have wasted a couple of hours trying to fix this and am afraid there
> is some simple explanation staring me in the face which I am too close
> to and too overwrought to see.  What is maddening is that this technique
> has worked reliably in the past on many different projects with many
> versions of FM.
> 
> So Lee, Dov, Ed, Dan, Stuart, Tammy, Marcus x 2, Thomas x 2, Jeremy,
> Shlomo, Bruce, Larry, and all the other heavy hitters, what's going on?
>

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