RE: Can 10 become 6 conditionally?

["Deborah Snavely" <dsnavely@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jon,

My approach to these docs would be to write the common chapters as text
insets, and import them into both books. 

1. Create chapter-type Frame files that contain the content that's
common to one or more books. 

2. Create real chapter files 1, 2, 7, 10 in the long book and 1, 2, 3, 6
in the short book without any content.

3. Import the text of each inset file (the text equivalent of graphics
imported by reference, but smarter) into each appropriate chapter file.
Use the default import settings and do your pagination in the actual
inset files. Each book updates its pagination separately and doesn't
meddle with the source content, which can even be edited for next week's
release while you're producing the PDF files for the printer for this
week's release. (<grin> It's a web world out there!)

A note about directory structure with this approach:
Unlike with graphics imported by reference, text insets detached from
their referenced path do NOT turn into gray boxes. You cannot simply
update one with a double-click, you have to navigate to its new
location. 

So you can use Kathy's directory structure and add a directory that
contains the insets but the paths to the insets will be absolute and
you'll need to re-connect 'em after, say, copying them to a new computer
or server. Or, you can combine the two book projects into one directory
and make the text insets directory subordinate to that, in which case
your text insets stay connected but any writer that does NOT make a
habit of opening files solely by opening the book file and going from
there will sooner or later edit the wrong file no matter how carefully
you name them. 

(If you and yours are only months into Frame, may I recommend you all
learn this invaluable work habit NOW?  Never open a Frame file directly
from your file-management system. Always open the book file and open it
from there. The book file is your FRIEND. Long may it remain
uncorrupted! If you all do it, and teach your junior writers to do it,
they're less likely to become the cause of the Framers equivalent of
road rage in their later careers.)

Deborah Snavely
Document Architect, Technical Publications, 
Aurigin Systems, Inc. http://www.aurigin.com/ 
**********************************
I'm trying to combine two manuals that share many of their chapters. For
example, manual A has 10 chapters, while manual B has only 6 chapters
(which
are also chapters 1, 2, 3, 7, 9 & 10 from manual A). I'd like to
"conditional out" entire chapters (docs) from the one Frame book, so
user A
sees chapters 1-10 and user B sees chapters 1-6, with the chapter
numbers
autonumbering appropriately (so user B won't know about the extra 4
chapters). 

However, when I "select all" in a chapter, apply the conditional tag and
then hide the condition, that chapter's page still exists when I create
the
PDF (maybe the page still needs to exist to hold the marker). Also, the
automatic chapter number isn't ignoring the now-missing chapter. Chapter
10
is still chapter 10, not 5.

I tried having two separate Frame books (one each for manuals A and B),
where the 5 common chapters were in each--but for a reason that escapes
me
now, it proved a logistical mess. So I simplified it to one book.
Anyway,
I'd like to avoid my current compromise--which is to include that
chapter
page as a place holder (now with all text conditionaled out but for the
chapter title and a paragraph of explanation).

Advise, ideas, comments, laughter? Excuse our collective ignorance. Most
in
our documentation group (about 8 souls) are only months into using
Frame. Oh
the mysteries! (But it beats MS Word.) TIA

Jon Nowland, sr techwriter
[ Frame 6 / Windows NT4 / Acrobat 4.05 / Enhance(trial) ]
work:  <mailto: jonn@firstlogic.com> 

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