Any way to "highlight" file imports when by reference?

[Peter Gold]

Hi, Syed:

Syed Zaeem Hosain wrote:
> Hi, all.
>
> A couple of related questions. In some of my documents, I am using
> a large number of file imports by reference - keeping the common
> text and information into separate files (these get imported into
> multiple final documents).
>
> 1. When I am working on a particular FM file with these file imports,
> I'd like to "highlight" them (like with a gray background or something
> like that) during my editing session - NOT for printing in the final
> document, so that I know where the inserts start and stop, etc. Is
> there any way to do this?
For editing purposes, you could define and apply a conditional text tag 
whose text indicator (underline, overline, strikethrough) or color 
(standard or one you define) would identify the inset. For more 
information, search for conditional text in FrameMaker Help. After 
editing, you can turn off conditional text indicators in Special > 
Conditional Text > Show/Hide > uncheck Show Indicators. Marking the 
content this way doesn't affect the text flow.

>
> 2. Is there a way to display the filename of the imported file when
> the cursor is on the reference? Like the way the Flow and Paragraph
> info show in the bottom left corner? Is this reference information
> already present on the screen somewhere, and I am just missing it?
>
You're not missing anything. To identify an inset, you can double click 
it and get the information from the dialog box that appears. However, 
you can also use conditional text here, either in the document that 
contains the inset (the "container" document) or in the inset itself; 
you'd need to create a new conditional text tag for the purpose of 
marking the reference to the inset, then hiding it after editing. One 
approach might be to use Special Variable > Filename (long) or Filename 
(short) in the inset file to capture the file and path information, and 
apply the condition tag to it. You'd be able to see the information 
while editing, then hide it. However, one issue might be that displaying 
these identifiers would make your text longer, so you wouldn't see the 
exact text flow until you hide them.


Both of your requests are great ideas to suggest to the FrameMaker 
enhancement request link at Adobe.com. It would be terrific if hovering 
the cursor over a text inset would display the source information, like 
a tool tip. It would be a good idea to suggest that it can be turned off 
as a user preference.

You can generate a list of insets for a single file with Special > List 
of > References > Text Insets; for a book, from the book window, Add > 
List of References > Text Insets. For more information, search for 
generated lists in FrameMaker Help.


HTH
________________
Regards,

Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices