Search and replace content of a variable

[Rene Stephenson]

It's not always feasible to import page layouts from one book across all the files in a book, but it's pretty straight-forward to just deal with the variables without impacting all the page layouts book-wide. How to do this depends on if it's a system variable or a user variable. If it's a system variable (e.g., Running H/F2, etc.) you do have to change the definition from the master page. If it's a user variable, as long as your cursor is in a text frame, you can Alt+S, V to get the variable window and change the definition from there. Then, save the doc and import variables from that doc to the other files in the book. As long as you're not using the same variable for different purposes—carefully verify that you don't have different definitions for some of the Running H/F variables in preface as opposed to chapter files, for instance—you should be fine. When you import the variables, it updates them wherever they're used: master pages, body text, you name it.
   
  There are a couple of handy little tools out there that can help make sure you only import what you want to import, since native FM seems to grab too large of chunks for some import functions in my experience.
   
  Rick Quatro (frameexpert.com) has a plugin available called FileImportSpecial. It allows you to import just the user variables and not the system variables, for instance, or just the page numbering but not the chapter numbering or PDF properties or all the other stuff that native FM lumps together for importing as Document Properties. It's reasonably priced and doesn't require FrameScript to run it. Using this plugin has saved my clients a lot of time and irritation.
   
  Additionally, if you do have FrameScript, Karsten Natebus has a SuperImportBundle script and a SuperVarBundle (http://framescript.natebus.de) either of which allows you to select the variable(s) you want to import to the targeted file(s).
   
  HTH
  Rene Stephenson

Bodvar Bjorgvinsson <bodvar at gmail.com> wrote:
  Although it is good practice to use variables for this, from what you
say, I would think that you would only need to open one of the files
of the book and do the change in there. Then just highlight the rest
of the files in the book file and do File > Import > Formats and just
choose what you need from there, in this case only the Page Layout,
that is, if what you have explained is all the changes needed.

HTH,

Bodvar

On 6/22/07, mathieu jacquet wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> each time I use an existing book for a new product, I have to :
> . open each file in the book,
> . display the master pages,
> . double click my right master page document title variable,
> . change its definition ("NewProduct Integration Guide"),
> . double click my left master page document title variable,
> . change its definition,
> . save.
>
> Is there any way to do that faster using the Change and Replace function?
>
> Any help appreciated,
>
> Mathieu.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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