Help decoding Running H/F variables with attibutes

[Steve Rickaby]

At 10:28 -0400 24/5/07, Rick Quatro wrote:

>I am trying to figure out how attribute-based Running H/F variables work. Here is are examples of a couple in a document I have:
>
><$attribute[Booktitle:book]>
><$attribute[Revision:book]>
>
>I assume that the first is looking for the value of the Booktitle attribute on the book element, and the second is looking for the value of the Revision element on the book element. Is this correct?

Yes. According to Sheila Loring, 'FrameMaker 7 Complete Reference', page 239 (which carries a misprint, so I'm trying to interpret here), the syntax is <$attribute[[attribute:element]>. See also $highchoice<> and $lowchoice<> building blocks, which select the highest and lowest of an attribute range. The syntax is <$highchoice[attribute:element]> or just <$highchoice[attrbute]>.

>Also, I notice something about attribute-based Running H/F building blocks that differs from paragraph- and marker-based building blocks: the document I am look at doesn't have a book element, but it still displays the value. In fact, I don't even have the book file where I assume the book element originates. Does this sound right? Thanks.

I don't know, because I've not tried this. Search in the MIF to see where it might be coming from? Or maybe it's a bug: this sounds like the sort of dark corner where oddities could lurk undetected.

-- 
Steve