Inventory of Template Features

[Jim Owens]

At the end of an internal project, I usually write a short document that 
explains what I've done. This lets me record the reasons for my 
decisions, and highlight any unusual features that may need special 
attention.

Sometimes the document is as simple as a text file. If I think others 
might need the document one day, I format it lightly in a word processor 
to make it a bit easier to use.



Nancy Allison wrote:
> Hi, everyone. I've created a template that I'm pretty happy with. It is structured like a book file and contains separate files for front matter, preface, body text, and index.
> 
> I am trying to keep track of how I did things in it. For example, I've used one variable in the headers for the unnumbered chapters (Index, TOC, Preface). I've used a separate variable in the headers of the numbered files (chapters and appendixes). This means that I can't carelessly copy the page layouts from, say, the Index file into the Chapter file, or I'll have to spend time fixing the headers that I've just wrecked.
> 
> Just to be clear, here are the things I can copy from one file into all the others without doing harm:
> 
> Variable definitions
> Cross-reference formats
> Table formats
> Character formats (the list is short, so no reason to tailor it to each type of file)
> Color Definitions
> Document Properties
> Reference Pages
> Conditional Text Settings
> Math Definitions
> 
> Things I can't -- I have settings tailored to each type of file in the template:
> 
> Paragraph formats (in each file I include only the relevant paragraph formats. Cuts the list way down.)
> Page Layouts
> 
> 
> I think.
> 
> My question to you: Do you have a spreadsheet, or some other table or form that you use to keep track of what the heck you have set in your template?
> 
> I googled "Framemaker template inventory" and got only hits for templates for tracking inventory (like widgets).
> 
> Right now, all the nifty features of my template are fresh in my mind. If I go away and work on something else, I won't remember how I set it up. Surely after all these years there are off-the-shelf tools for keeping track of how a template is set up.
> 
> I am more than willing to shell out for a wondrous plug-in, if someone has created one that meets this need.
> 
> --Nancy
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