[Framers] xref from FM file created by DITA-FMx to unstructured Frame?
Scott Prentice
sp14 at leximation.com
Tue Nov 22 13:58:44 PST 2016
Okay. So you're working in structured FM files (pseudo-DITA) generated
from an FMx book-build. And you're adding a "link" to an unstructured FM
file that's been added to the generated book? I think I get it now.
In this case, adding an fm-xref won't likely work (might, but I've never
tried what you're doing, and modifying generated files is typically not
a great idea since the edits are lost the next time you generate from
DITA). What you've got now are two FM files .. just insert a
"Cross-Reference" (regular FM type .. forget that this was DITA and is
structured), and see what happens.
Technically, the fm-xref is an FM Cross-Reference object, so that might
actually work, but if not, just resort to good old FM techniques.
...scott
On 11/22/16 1:41 PM, Lin Sims wrote:
> Some of the files are FM generated from XML using your plugin. Others
> are FM created in Frame. The ones generated from .XML have elements,
> the others don't. Both sets are edited with FM set to the structured
> INTERFACE, but only the Frame on the server is in a structured
> environment. Which is where I made my mistake, since I was trying to
> use the FM instance on my laptop that is not in a structured
> environment. If I work in the structured environment, I can insert an
> fm-xref from the used-to-be-XML files to the always-have-been-FM files.
>
> Sorry for being unclear (before and possibly now). The last two weeks
> or so have been stressful and tiring, and I'm not communicating as
> well as I'd like to be.
>
> On Tue, Nov 22, 2016 at 4:35 PM, Scott Prentice <sp14 at leximation.com
> <mailto:sp14 at leximation.com>> wrote:
>
> Ah .. so aren't they "DITA" files rather than FM files? If they
> are DITA files and are in the same ditamap which is built into the
> same book then PDF .. then yes, just insert a fm-xref, select the
> target DITA file, then select the target element, and you should
> be good to go!
>
> But this doesn't work with FM files and especially with
> unstructured FM files.
>
> Cheers,
> ...scott
>
>
> On 11/22/16 1:29 PM, Lin Sims wrote:
>> Oh, dear. I think I've misled you.
>>
>> Both FM files are in the same book, which is turned into a single
>> PDF file. Everything is internal to that PDF file. I have done it
>> before, I'd simply forgotten I had to do this down on the server.
>>
>> It's been a stressful couple of weeks, and my brain went to la-la
>> land.
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 22, 2016 at 4:05 PM, Scott Prentice
>> <sp14 at leximation.com <mailto:sp14 at leximation.com>> wrote:
>>
>> Linking an xref (of fm-xref) to a target in a FM file will
>> never result in the link going to a PDF file that's generated
>> from that FM file. The only way for an xref to link to a PDF
>> is to use an external xref, and set the @href attribute to
>> the file name of the target PDF file (assuming the target PDF
>> is in the same folder as the PDF that you're linking from).
>> Even then I'm not sure it'll work, but in theory it should.
>> If you want to link to a target within a PDF, you'll need to
>> add the necessary coding to the @href attribute that will
>> make that happen. Off hand I'm not sure what that coding is,
>> but in theory it's possible .. I think.
>>
>> The problem with linking to the source FM file, is that it
>> won't know what the yet-to-be-created PDF file name is, and
>> that's really what you need .. the PDF links to a PDF, not to
>> a FM file.
>>
>> To create an external xref, insert an "xref" (not an
>> fm-xref), and choose the "External" button from that dialog.
>> This will let you specify the href (either a path/filename or
>> a URL to the PDF file), the link text, and the scope (choose
>> "external"). This should set the @format attribute to "pdf".
>>
>> When you generate the book (and then the PDF) from the
>> ditamap, if the resulting PDF is placed in the same folder as
>> the linked PDF, the link in the "DITA" PDF should open the
>> target "FM" PDF. Be sure to select the "Convert xrefs to
>> Hyperlinks" in the Book Build Options dialog when generating
>> the book from the ditamap in FMx.
>>
>> I hope that helps.
>>
>> ...scott
>>
>>
>>
>> On 11/22/16 12:15 PM, Lin Sims wrote:
>>> I don't care if it works in Frame, as long as it works in
>>> the PDF!
>>>
>>> And I suspect part of the problem is, as I said, because I
>>> was not working in the fully structured environment we
>>> maintain on our server. FM2016 is set to the structured
>>> interface on my personal laptop (we all have it that way),
>>> but without the EDD/DTD, I couldn't get anything meaningful
>>> in the elements list. Once I used the server-installation of
>>> FM, I was able to add an fm-xref, which is I think an
>>> internal definition(? or yours, I forget which) that allows
>>> us to refer to paragraph tags as well as elements for xrefs.
>>>
>>> With luck, FM2015 will be installed on the server soon, and
>>> things will do what I want them to do.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 22, 2016 at 2:37 PM, Scott Prentice
>>> <sp14 at leximation.com <mailto:sp14 at leximation.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>> FYI .. no, not possible (in a meaningful way) to create
>>> an xref from a DITA file to an unstructured FM file. In
>>> theory you could create an "external" xref to the FM
>>> file, but the best you could hope for would be that it
>>> would open the FM file in FM when the link was clicked
>>> (and likely that wouldn't even work).
>>>
>>> ...scott
>>>
>>>
>>> On 11/22/16 10:48 AM, Lin Sims wrote:
>>>
>>> Never mind, figured out that (part of the problem)
>>> is that I was working
>>> with my local version of Frame, that has no links to
>>> an EDD/DTD. The server
>>> version (which does) works fine.
>>>
>>> Now to get the tools guy to upgrade the server from
>>> FM12 to FM2015, so I
>>> don't have to save down for everything.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 22, 2016 at 1:33 PM, Lin Sims
>>> <ljsims.ml at gmail.com <mailto:ljsims.ml at gmail.com>>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Is this even possible? I've got both files open,
>>> but when I try to insert
>>> an xref, I only get the DITA menu and it won't
>>> let me select anything but
>>> elements. Which the other file doesn't have, of
>>> course, it not being
>>> DITA/xml.
>>>
>>> I tried to email Scott directly, but I got a
>>> bounce, so I obviously have
>>> the wrong address.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Lin Sims
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>> --
>>> Lin Sims
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Lin Sims
>
>
>
>
> --
> Lin Sims
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