Dynamic Content

Introduction

In Adobe FrameMaker, the Dynamic Content feature allows you to publish content that your users can easily filter based on parameters that you define. For example, you can create Dynamic Content Filters to filter content by region (e.g., “USA”, “CANDA” and “UK”), by audience (e.g., “Administrator” and “End User”) or by content delivery platform (e.g., “Web”, “App”, or “Print”). Dynamic Content also allows you to easily single-source content. To define filter criterion, you can use Conditional Tags or element attributes.

When you publish to Responsive HTML and Mobile App output, a filter tab is displayed that allows users to filter the contents based on the criterion selected. If the user applies a filter, the search limits the results to the filtered content.

Dynamic Content Filters can be applied to Responsive HTML5 and Mobile App outputs.

Tagging your content

To create Dynamic Content Filters in your published output generated with Adobe FrameMaker, you need to tag your content with Conditional Tags or element attributes. Tagged content can then be filtered in the published output.

• Unstructured content can be tagged with Conditional Text.

• Structured content can be tagged with element attributes. In DITA, you can use attributes like @audience, @otherprops, @platform, @product, and @rev.

You can apply multiple Conditional Tags to the same content. For example:

• For one paragraph, create a Conditional Expression “USA AND CANADA” and then provide a filter criterion “North America” in the published output, which combines both.

• For another paragraph with a variation of the same content, create a Conditional Expression “UK AND GERMANY” and then provide a filter criterion “Europe” in the published output, which combines both.

In the published output, a user then has the option to filter content based on the region. You could also create another Conditional Expression such as “US AND UK” to create a filter criterion titled “English Speaking Markets”.

Also, you can apply Conditional Tags to content in any combination. For this reason, you need to keep in mind how the output will display based on the output filtering mechanism. For an example of how filtering works, see Use Dynamic Content Filters in the published output.

When you use Dynamic Content Filters, you are not required to tag all your content. Any untagged content is regarded as unconditional. Unconditional content will always display to the user regardless of the filter applied.

Create a Dynamic Content Filter

You can create one dynamic filter for each content delivery channel.

To create a Dynamic Content Filter in Adobe FrameMaker, do the following:

1. Open the document, book, or DITA map that you want to publish.

2. Choose File > Publish to open the Publish panel.

3. Right-click on the content delivery channel Responsive HTML5 or Mobile App and select Edit Settings from the context menu. The Publish Settings dialog is displayed.

4. In the Publish Settings dialog, select the tab General. Select Use Dynamic Content Filter in the output. Click Customize. The Dynamic Content Filter dialog is displayed.

5. In the Dynamic Content Filter dialog, click the Add New Group icon to create a filter criteria group.

   Define a display name for this criteria group.

6. Click the Add Criteria icon to create a new filter criterion. Adobe FrameMaker automatically recognizes if you are editing the settings for unstructured or structured content.

   • For unstructured content, the Tags and Expressions dialog is displayed. The available Conditional Tags and Conditional Expressions are displayed.

     Select the Conditional Tags or Conditional Expressions to include in the criteria group.

     Click OK to close the Tags and Expressions dialog.

   • For structured content, the Select Conditional Attribute dialog is displayed.

     Select one of the available element attributes from the Attribute drop-down list.

     In the Attribute Value text field, define the attribute value that will be used to filter the content.

     In the Display in Output as text field, define the name that will be displayed in the published output for this criterion.

     Click OK to close the Select Conditional Attribute dialog.

7. Define if you want to filter content by default in the published output. To set the default filter criterion, right-click the filter criterion. Select Select by default.

8. To change the display name of a filter criterion or a filter criteria group, right-click on the display name. Select Rename from the context menu.

9. To allow your users to select multiple filter criteria, select Allow Multiple Selection in a Group.

10. Use the navigation arrows to move the filter criteria group groups and the filter criterion within a filter. For example, to move a filter criterion out of a group, click the left arrow. This moves the filter criterion to the same level as the containing group and just above the group. Use the right arrow to move a filter criterion that is outside any group into the available next group below it. You can also move the filter criterion up and down within one filter criteria group.

11. Click Save.

12. In the Publish Settings dialog, click Save and Close.

Use Dynamic Content Filters in the published output

After you have defined a Dynamic Content Filter, you can generate the output.

The published output contains a filter icon in the function bar (navigation area). Click the filter icon to display the Dynamic Content Filters available.

To filter the contents, select the filter criteria groups or a specific filter criterion within a filter criteria group.

The following sections explain for two scenarios the possible results of applied filters to describe how the Dynamic Content Filtering mechanism works: