Re: Conditional paragraph formatting?

[jeremy@xxxxxxxxx (Jeremy H. Griffith)]

On Tue, 6 Apr 1999 17:41:50 -0400 , Lin Morss <LMorss@elfinc.com> wrote:

>I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one, but since it's not what I
>want to hear, I'll ask anyway in hopes of getting a different, better
>answer.
>I know you can use conditional text to show or hide selected text in a
>document, depending on what conditions are activated. The question is, can
>you CHANGE the formatting of text in a similar way?
>For example, suppose you're producing a manual for two different audiences.
>When you're dealing with Audience A, you want your text to be, say, green
>Arial Bold size 14. When you're dealing with Audience B, the text (same
>content) need to be purple Times Italic size 20. (No, our documentation
>doesn't look this hideous, it's just an example.)
>As far as I can tell, this isn't possible, which means maintaining two sets
>of files, with two different templates. Am I right?

Half right.  <g>  Yes, you need two different templates.  No, you don't
need two sets of files.  Just maintain one set of files, say the set for
Audience A.  Then whenever you need to print a version for Audience B:

1. Open the template file for Audience B in Frame.

2. Save your Audience A base files so they are current.  And *don't*
   save them again until after the last step here!

3. Import your B template to your book (which can include Conditional
   Text settings for Audience B).  Regenerate everything.

4. Print your Audience B version.

5. Revert to Saved for all your base files (so you are back at A).

This maneuver is useful for just about any derived format you may want
to create.  We built it into the FDK part of mif2rtf, so that you can
keep "WinHelp Conversion" and "Word Conversion" (and "Web Conversion")
templates on hand, and have the filter apply them automatically.  In
UNIX, you should be able to script the whole thing using fmbatch; in
Win, FrameScript should do it, or on Mac, Applescript.

We've never had a bit of trouble with Import Formats; we think it's one
of FrameMaker's best ideas!  Combined with Conditional Text, it's the
key to successful single-sourcing.

-- Jeremy H. Griffith, at Omni Systems Inc.
   (jeremy@omsys.com)     http://www.omsys.com/
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