Re: XDocBook with different templates?

["Lynne A. Price" <lprice@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 09:23 AM 2/28/2005, Fredrik Nyman wrote:
> Now I have a problem that I can't figure out a good solution to.
> Our marketing people have decided to use different colours for
> different products, which means that I need to have top/bottom
> page lines, table borders and other stuff in a different colour
> depending on the source document (product). The rest of the
> template - page layout, paragraph formats .... is the same for
> all products.
>
> Any good solution to this available? I'd like to avoid
> duplicating the template file as any adjustments or additions to
> the templates used would require updates of several files.
>
> Using XML tags/attributes,
>
> is it possible to change the color definition of objects in the
> master page/reference page or somehow change the color
> definition for a named color if the named color rather than the
> color definition is used by framemaker for object colors?
> Or is it possible to change which master page to use?
>
> or as a worst case, is it possible to change which template file
> to use for the application?

Fredrik,
  Rather than duplicating all the template information, I suggest you 
define a color called something like ProductColor and use it to define all 
objects whose color changes with different products. In addition to your 
main template, you can then maintain color templates for each product. In 
the color template for a particular product, define ProductColor as 
appropriate for that product. Master pages, paragraph catalog, etc. in the 
color templates will never be used.
  You can then either:

1) Prepare a product-specific template by importing color definitions from 
the product's color template into the main template and using the result 
when you import the XML document or

2) Import the XML document using the main template and import color 
definitions afterwards.

  You can define multiple XML applications that differ only in the 
template they use, and could define a different application for each 
product. When you open an XML document then, FM will prompt for the 
application to use. Is that acceptable in your environment?
  An EDD cannot change color definitions based on an attribute value, nor 
can FM select a template according to anything in the XML document except 
the name of the root element.
  You can base the color definitions on an attribute value if you are 
willing to do a little programming (or hire somebody to do it). A simple 
custom FDK client could import color definitions from the color definition 
as part of the import process. A FrameScript could do so as a second step.
        --Lynne

Lynne A. Price
Text Structure Consulting, Inc.
Specializing in structured FrameMaker consulting, application development, 
and training
lprice@xxxxxxxxxxxx            http://www.txstruct.com
voice/fax: (510) 583-1505      cell phone: (510) 421-2284 



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