global header change?

Fri Jan 29 12:02:22 PST 2010

Hi Ken,

I get so many emails from the several groups I'm on that sometimes messages
slip by and I don't see them until cleaning house.

To replace text in the headers and footers, I think you have to display the
master pages and do a find and replace there.  However, we solved that
problem by using  the Running H/F variables.  All you have to do is open the
variables dialog box, change the definitions in one file, and import
variables to the rest of the files.  We also use the Running H/F variables
to automatically include chapter names and headings in the footer.  If you
want, I can send you a template with that all set up so you can see how to
do it.

HTH

Diane
  -----Original Message-----
  From: Ken Poshedly [mailto:poshedly at bellsouth.net]
  Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 11:48 AM
  To: Diane Gaskill; Combs, Richard; FrameMaker Users List
  Subject: Re: global header change?

  (FM 8.0 on a Windows Vista desktop)

  Wow, this thread goes back TWO months.

  Well, first, thanks, Diane, for the tip. I'll try your suggestion to see
what I can get done on the existing manual I described at the time so that I
can simply use that book for a modified machine with a different name
(hydraulic excavator, drill rig, etc).

  Second, a few weeks ago, I finally delved into creating and defining a
"ProductName" variable for the various section headers of a brand new manual
and it (using a FrameMaker variable) works beautifully!

  One thing that I'm not crazy about, however, is that find-and-replace does
not check headers / footers, thus preventing me from making any product name
or other changes that way.

  -- Kenpo in Atlanta

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
  From: Diane Gaskill <dgcaller at earthlink.net>
  To: "Combs, Richard" <richard.combs at Polycom.com>; FrameMaker Users List
<framers at lists.frameusers.com>
  Sent: Fri, January 29, 2010 12:53:40 PM
  Subject: RE: global header change?

  Ken, you might want to educate your Marketing folks about what it takes to
  change docs when they do something like that.  Tell them you need at least
  two weeks to make the changes and that the docs will not go out on
schedule
  if they wait too long.

  Just an FYI, you can change a text string to a variable in FM by selecting
  "By Pasting" in the Replace field.

  1. Copy the text string into the search field.
  2. Create the variable and replace one instance of the text string on the
  body page.
  3. Copy and paste the variable into the Replace field
  4. Click Replace All, or replace the strings individually.

  Caveat:  The "By Pasting" function does not use the font in the text
string
  being replaced when replacing a text string with a variable. It uses
  whatever font the variable had that you copied into the Replace field.
For
  example, if the string you copied into the field is in body text, and FM
  finds the sting in a heading, it will replace the string in the heading
with
  the variable in body text font.  All you have to do to fix it, however, is
  highlight the heading and press F8 (default font).

  ---
  A few years ago, I was working for a startup that changed the company name
  two weeks before a major product release.  Yeah, the company name.  And of
  course, it was everywhere in the docs.  It was simple for Engineering to
  change the varaable in the GUI software, but I scrambled madly to retake
  dozens of screenshots and replace them in the docs.  The solution for
that,
  as you probably know, is to crop the banner off the top of the screenshots
  if the company will let you do that.

  Fortunately, I had used variables for all names in the manual.  A little
  more work, but usually well worth the time spent. It also makes it a lot
  easier to reuse the manual or parts of it for single sourcing.

  HTH

  Diane Gaskill
  Hitachi Data Systems
  =======================

  -----Original Message-----
  From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com
  [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com]On Behalf Of Combs, Richard
  Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2009 1:24 PM
  To: Ken Poshedly; FrameMaker Users List
  Subject: RE: global header change?

  Ken Poshedly wrote:

  > Argghhhh!
  >
  > They changed the product name! And AFTER the book was done, pdf'd and
sent
  > overseas for printing!
  >
  > I put a hold on it, but now have to go back and change the headers to
  > indicate the new model name.
  >
  > Other than opening each book file and changing the header text one file
at
  > a time, is there a global method?

  Well, others have addressed variables and master pages. But I find it hard
  to believe that the product name is found only in the headers, and nowhere
  in the body of the manual.

  You might want to get EZVars from Electropubs
  (http://www.electropubs.com/ez_ezvars.html), which lets you find a text
  string, like your product name, and replace it with a variable.

  Richard G. Combs
  Senior Technical Writer
  Polycom, Inc.
  richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
  303-223-5111
  ------
  rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
  303-777-0436
  ------

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