Re: Problems with subTOCs, once more :-)

["Thomas Michanek" <thomas.michanek@xxxxxxxxx>]

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From: <henrik.evanth@telelogic.com>
> I would like to inset a subTOC (Standalone TOC) into each file. I
> understand
> that this can be done by generating standalone TOCs for each file and
> then inserting them by reference into each corresponding source file.
> However what happens when I need to update the standalone TOCs? I would
> like to update, for instance, 50 standalone TOCs (that are text insets)
> automatically, without having to open each source file, re-generate the
> standalone TOC and update the text inset.
>
> If I run fmbatch in UNIX, there is an Update command, but it only updates
> generated files in the book. What I understand, the standalone TOCs are not
> "generated" and therefore are not updated when I run the Update command. Or
> have I missed something? What am I doing wrong?

The Update command only works for books. Therefore, you would have to
create a number of "dummy" books, one for each file/chapter. You then
Update each mini-book, and finally the complete book. That's the only
way to automate it completely. I've heard of people running UNIX scripts
to automatically create the mini-books, but I don't have any such scripts.
It wouldn't be too hard to write one using MIF statements.

> I would also like to hear how you have solved another problem. Let us say
> that I have a book with 20 files. In this book I would like to create 4
> TOCs. TOC 1 covers files 1-5, TOC 2 covers files 6-10, etc. How do I do
> that? What tricks do you use or is there a feature solving this that I do
> not know about? The solution should be automated, i.e. I would like to
> avoid cutting and pasting text between files.

Use the same idea as above, e.g. dummy books to create the TOCs.

The effort to set up, create and maintain the dummy books may become
too much work, even if the final result is "automated". I would
consider the idea of having book-level TOCs instead of chapter-level
ones. Together with simple, continued page numbering through the
books, this makes it easier to maintain with little drawbacks for
the reader (for printed books). It's usually more of a hassle to
page through a book to find several smaller TOCs, than to have one
TOC at the start of a book. Your situation may be different, of course.


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Thomas Michanek, FrameMaker/UNIX/MIF expert
mailto:Thomas.Michanek@telia.com   (Sweden)
http://w1.133.telia.com/~u13304072/framers
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