Foxy stuff on master pages

[Peter Gold]

On 8/7/07, Steve Rickaby <srickaby at wordmongers.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> A way to ensure that the description travels around with the template is to add one or more extra reference pages called 'Notes' or somesuch, and put a brief potted description of how the template - or it's more foxy features - operates there. That way the 'docs' can only be lost if someone deliberately deletes the relevant reference page(s).

I agree that documentation for any template is essential for making
their maintenance efficient and less prone to errors. In my classes, I
recommend placing information in a master page's tagged text frame.
Tagged text frames (like Flow: A, etc.) on master pages do not display
their content on body pages; they only create text frames on body
pages they are applied to. In cases where there's a lot to document,
in the past I've suggested including a short instruction on where to
find a file with more complete documentation, and even creating a
cross-reference to that source file.

Steve's idea of using reference pages is even better, because there's
no way to lose the documentation. For master pages that need
documentation, I would add the suggestion to include a short comment
in a tagged text frame on those pages that mentions that there is
documentation on the reference page(s), and provide the reference page
name(s).

For authors who support others, including documentation with templates
can reduce their support load. It's as simple as asking "There is
documentation on thee reference pages of the file. Have you tried
using it for help before asking for support?"

HTH

Regards,

Peter
_______________________________
Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices