Cross-reference to a previous file

[Roger Shuttleworth]

Thanks to David, Lin, and Robert for replies to my question about 
picking up a paratext from a previous file in a book and displaying it 
in a running header/footer. It appears that FM will not do this.

To David: No, I can't use the Volume building block because it is 
already in use.
To Robert: I can't incorporate my "divider" page into the beginning of a 
chapter because I am generating output from a ditamap.
To Lin: Thanks for the suggestion of using a crossref. I could do this, 
but it would need to be replaced each time I generate the output from a 
ditamap. That's just because of the way it works (using one template for 
all chapters in the book).

So I will have to do without it. Thanks for your help. You have at least 
saved me from trying to get it to work when it won't.

Roger

On 12/12/2012 9:11 AM, David Artman wrote:
> |From: Lin Sims <ljsims.ml at gmail.com>
> |Date: Tue, December 11, 2012 8:20 pm
> |
> |Where I work, we have a sort-of-similar issue, and we solved it by
> |using cross-references. It means you'll have to remember to check that
> |you're pointing to the right files if you add any new ones in, but it
> |beats typing everything in (and you'd have to manually update that
> |way, too).
>
> Lin, wouldn't that make it into a link, after PDFing? I'm assuming that
> one wants other xrefs to be live links and so one leaves that option
> checked in PDF Settings. If xrefs aren't automatically being made into
> links, that would work fine.
>
> Roger, can't you use the Volume value at the book level on the files(s)
> and then use that building block in the H/F? Or have you already used
> that building block for other purposes?
>
> As a final, hacky solution, you could make a super-stripped file (I use
> MIF editing to kill, like, EVERY catalog I can) and then have one of
> those files for each part, in which you define a Variable to carry the
> H/F text? That way, you could still use book-wide variables (in another
> blank file or in your main template) to apply "major" Variables and the
> part-level blank file to apply "minor" variables afterwards. Kind of
> manual, but not nearly so much as other methods.
>
> [I don't have/use FM9+, but it seems like setting the parts up as
> books-in-a-book would let you access other Numbering properties
> (Section, Sub-Section). So your 'part' text would be the "Chapter"
> values--with their para styles handling numbering via autonumbering--and
> then "Section" would handle your 'chapter' numbering in the
> book-in-book.]
>
> HTH;
> David