Index navigation bar gotcha (dead subtle)

[hedley_finger@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Framesters:

I'm sure you've seen in PDFs and FrameMaker view-only documents a
navigation bar in the Index.  Look in the On-line Manuals for examples and
in the manuals supplied with the FDK (FrameMaker Development Kit),
available from <http://www.adobe.com/>.  It consists of the letters of the
alphabet across the top margin.  When you click on one in view-only mode or
generated PDF (or Ctrl-Alt-click in Edit mode), you jump to the group-title
heading for the relevant block of entries.

These 'buttons' are set up on the master page by drawing a text frame for
each letter of the alphabet, typing in the letters, and inserting Hypertext
markers with these commands: 'gotolink A', 'gotolink B', etc.  When
FrameMaker generates an index it automatically inserts the corresponding
target markers at each group title, for example: 'newlink A', 'newlink B',
etc.

The point of this story is that I recently set up a navigation bar for an
Index template but clicking on the letters A, B, and C refused to jump to
the target group title.  I checked the source and target markers to make
sure they were of type Hypertext and had the correct commands.  All was in
order but the letters A, B, and C continued to play dumb.

Finally, I found the answer.  The text frame on the master page contained
some generated Index entries, including group titles, for the letters A, B,
and C.  And of course there just happened to be target markers on those
group titles because the text had been copied from a real index for purpose
of adjusting para formats, columns widths, etc.

So the hyperjumps were failing because the letters A, B, and C each had TWO
potential targets: one on the body page and one on the master page.

Another problem from the FrameMaker Caverns of Mystery now solved!  I've
actually seen this problem in Adobe PDFs generated from FrameMaker where
parts of the navigation bar refuse to work -- and most likely for the same
reason.

[Windows 2000, FrameMaker 6.0p405, FrameScript 1.27C01, Enhance 2.03,
Acrobat 4.05.2, mif2go 31r25, IXgen 5.5.h]

Regards,
Hedley

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Hedley Finger
Technical Communications/Technical communicator and FrameMaker mentor
MYOB Australia <http://www.myob.com.au/>
P.O. box 371   Blackburn VIC 3130   Australia
<mailto:hedley_finger@myob.com.au>
Tel. +61 3 9894 0945
Mob. +61 412 461 558


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