Getting a handle on structured Frame

[Scott Prentice]

On 8/13/14 8:33 AM, Theresa de Valence wrote:
> On 8/12/2014 3:11 PM, Scott Prentice wrote:
>> Don't open any of them from the file system. You have two choices ..
>> from the Structure Tools menu choose "Edit Application Definitions to
>> edit your "local" structapps file (this is most likely what you should
>> be using) .. OR .. from the Structure Tools menu choose "Edit Global
>> Application Definitions". The app definitions in the "local" file are
>> typically those that you create for your own use. The "global" app
>> definitions are those for apps provided by Adobe.
>>
>> I recommend that people never modify the default apps .. either create
>> your own from scratch (for advanced users only), or clone the default
>> apps and give them a new name and modify those (the most likely
>> scenario). You will mess up the apps (everyone does), and it's important
>> to have the default unmodified apps to go back to for testing. In
>> general you should be able to have all the apps "installed" and
>> available for use at the same time.
>>
>>>
>>>> The structapps.fm file which I did open has 3 varieties of DocBook 
>>>> in it
>>>> (SGML DocBook, XML DocBook, DocBook2.2.1). How do I choose which 
>>>> DocBook
>>>> file to start with?
> <snip>
>>
>> I'd start by using DocBook (or DITA) out of the box, totally unmodified.
>
> Which one, SGML or XML?
XML for sure, and personally I'd use DITA. DITA for 3 reasons .. 1) the 
implementation of DocBook support has problems, and that may cause you 
trouble down the line, 2) you'll likely find more options for DITA 
support in the techcomm space, and 3) I like DITA better than DocBook  :)

>
>> Get comfortable with that and then try making any needed modifications
>> (after cloning the apps). You don't have to use the entire model, just
>> use the bits that you need and ignore the rest. If you're just learning
>> how this all works, starting off by trying to modify things is just
>> going to cause huge amounts of grief.
>
> Do I understand correctly that to clone the app, I "Edit Global
> Application Definitions" then copy/paste the section of structapps.fm 
> with the Application name "DocBook" from the demarking line to the 
> demarking line (line across the page) and give it a new name like 
> "TDocBook"
>
> or is there more to it than this?
> Do I also find the ..\docbook\app\ directories and copy contents to 
> new directories?
There more to it. You need to create a new structure app definition (and 
probably create it in the "local" app definition file not the "global" 
one), but you also have to clone the app files themselves (at least the 
template, which contains the EDD). This topic described cloning the 
default DITA-FMx apps. The process will be different for the default FM 
apps, but the basic concept is the same.

http://docs.leximation.com/dita-fmx/2.0/?ditafmx_cloningtapps.html

The important thing is that you have to edit the EDD within the template 
to change the app name in there. If you just edit the name of the app in 
the structure app definition, it'll seem like it's working, but won't 
really work. You'll open a file with "your" app, but once it's open, the 
app name inside the EDD will define how it's saved, and it'll use the 
default app instead of yours .. very confusing.

>
> As for Entity locations Public ID and Filename (local), do I rename 
> these (in the cloned area) to reflect the new name and directories?
> What else do I need to do?
>
This will depend on what you're modifying. Your app definition can 
continue to point to the default DTDs and entity definitions, if you're 
not modifying them, but if you are, then you have to copy those files 
into your new app folder (or whereever), and point to them there. These 
questions are hard to answer without knowing what you're changing. This 
is why it's best to use the default apps first and learn how it all 
works before modifying anything.

Cheers,

...scott


> Thanks very much,
> Theresa
>

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