global header change?

[Combs, Richard]

Ken Poshedly wrote:
 
> 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).

To replace existing text strings with variables, I recommend EZVars from Electropubs (http://www.electropubs.com/downloads.html). It lets you replace the text string with a new instance of the variable (instead of an existing instance copied to the clipboard), thus eliminating Diane's caveat. Plus, it gives you a non-modal "variables catalog" like the pgf and char catalogs. Try it free; within an hour or so, you'll see that it's worth far more than the $15 license cost.

> 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.

Just update the headers/footers in the master pages (View > Master Pages) of one file. Then import the master pages from that file into the other files (File > Import > Formats, and select just Page Layouts). 

And you don't need to do even that file-by-file. In the book window, you can select multiple files and import the master pages into all of them at once. If you have many manuals to update, you can add all their chapter files to a new "global updating" book that you use just for this kind of job. 

HTH!

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