Understand what conditional text is and work with conditional tags in Adobe FrameMaker.
Sometimes you author different types of content for different output formats using the same FrameMaker document. This document can contain conditional tags and conditional graphics for each type of output. For example, to create both a PDF print version and an HTML Help version of a document, mark the different content for each using conditional tags.
You can also use conditional tags to include comments to yourself or your reviewers. You can hide the comments before you print the final copy.
Conditional tags differ from one version of a document to another. Unconditional text is common to all versions.
Conditional text is content that you can show or hide, depending on the condition or conditions applied to a book or an individual document. You can write in one document, and then use conditional text to create multiple outputs.
You can specify conditional tags in FrameMaker at the book level or an individual chapter level. If there is a condition that applies to all chapters in a book, then you can easily apply that condition to all chapters with a single click. See Applying conditional tags at the book level.
While the conditional text in a document differs from one output of the document to another, the unconditional text is common to all output.
You can make any unit of text conditional, from a single character to entire sections. Anchored frames, images, tables, cross-references, footnotes, markers, and table rows and columns can be made conditional.
A. The image and the first paragraph contain both conditional and unconditional information. B. Unconditional text.
Adobe FrameMaker lets you manage conditional tags with the help of several options. Understand these options to handle conditional text in your documents.
Create conditional text in FrameMaker by creating and applying conditional tags.
Use the Conditional Tags panel to work with conditional text in your documents. From this panel, you can add, modify, delete, apply, or remove conditional tags in a document.
This section covers the following topics:
To open the Conditional Tags panel:
Choose
.Alternatively, choose
.The Conditional Tags panel displays the list of conditional tags in the current document.
To sort the list of conditional tags, click a column header in the list. The list is sorted by the header that you click.
To resize a column:
Hover the mouse between two columns until the cursor is a bi-directional arrow.
Hold down the left mouse button, drag, and release the mouse button when the column is sized as required.
Use the Conditional Tags panel to:
Open the Add/Edit Condition Tag dialog to create a tag. See Creating and editing conditional tags.
Open the Add/Edit Condition Tag dialog to edit a selected tag. See Creating and editing conditional tags.
Delete a selected tag. See Deleting conditional tags.
Open the Show/Hide Conditional Text.
Remove all conditional tags applied to the selected text.
Select text in a document, change the state (applied or not applied) of one or more tags, and then click Apply. See Apply conditional tags.
Select from the list of open documents to display the conditional tags available in that document.
Refresh the list of available tags.
Search for a conditional tag in the list. The SAYT (search as you type) functionality works on all the columns in the list.
Hover the mouse over an item in the list to see details about the tag.
To apply conditions to the text in a document, you need to create conditional tags first. You then need to apply the tags to the text in the document.
To create a conditional tag:
In the Conditional Tags panel, click Create New Tag.
The Add Conditional Tag dialog opens.
In the Tag Name field, enter the name of the tag.
Specify conditional indicators:
When you apply a tag to text in a document, you can use conditional indicators as visual cues. For example, when you apply a tag to a paragraph of text, you can specify that the paragraph of text displays underlined or the text color is red.
Conditional indicators also are visual cues for other authors who have not necessarily created the document or applied the conditions to the text. With the help of these visual indicators, authors can quickly identify the conditions applied to various types of content.
In addition to the visual cues, the Location list in the Edit Conditional Tag panel lists all pages where a condition is used.
Apply styles such as underline, strikethrough, or change bar to the conditionally applied text.
Apply text color to the conditionally applied text.
Apply background color to the conditionally applied text.
Click OK.
The newly created conditional tag in the Conditional Tags panel shows the defined style, text color, and background color. It also displays the document in which the tag is created.
To edit a conditional tag:
Select a tag in the Conditional Tags panel and click the Edit button.
The Edit Condition Tag dialog displays the selected conditional tag properties. The dialog also lists the pages where the selected condition is applied.
Update the properties of the tag and click OK.
If you change the conditional indicator properties on an existing tag, these are immediately reflected in the document content. For example, if you change the Color indicator on the PrintOnly tag from blue to green, the text on which this tag is applied changes to green.
You can import conditional tags and expressions from one document to another.
In a team of authors, you can create one document that defines all the tags and conditional expressions that the team can use. All the authors in the team can then import and use those tags and conditional expressions. For more information on conditional expressions, see Show/hide conditional text using conditional expressions.
To import conditional tags and expressions:
Open the source and the target documents and go to the target document.
Choose
.In the Import from Document list, choose the source document.
Click Deselect All and select Conditional Text Settings.
To import the tags and expressions, click Import.
The conditional tags and expressions defined in the source document are imported into the target document.
The Edit Conditional Tag panel contains the locations where the selected condition has been used. You can double-click on any item in the list to open the conditionalized content.
In addition to the Edit Conditional Tag panel, you can also find a conditional tag using the Find/Change dialog.
Use the Find/Change dialog to check if a tag is applied to text in the document:
Open the Find/Change dialog.
In the Find drop-down list, select Conditional Text.
The Find Conditional Text dialog appears.
Move the condition that you want to search for in the In list.
Click Set.
In the Find/Change dialog, click Find.
You will be able to search if the selected condition is used in your document.
To generate a report of all conditional tags applied to text in the document:
Choose
.From the prompt, choose how to create the report.
Add Condition Tags to the Include References list and click Set to generate the report.
The conditional tag State checkbox in the Conditional Tag panel has two functions:
The State checkbox allows you to apply or remove conditional tags from text in a document.
If you select text, the checkbox indicates the current state of the text. This implies that if you select a piece of text to which one or more tags is applied, the State checkboxes appear checked for the corresponding tags.
However, the checkboxes also have an As Is state. This state indicates that one or more tags are applied to part of the text. For example, if a tag is applied to a sentence and you select the entire paragraph, the tag displays the As Is state. Similarly, if you select two paragraphs to which two different tags are applied, both the tags display the As Is state.
Learn how to apply conditional tags and the various objects where you can apply conditional text in Adobe FrameMaker.
After you have created conditional tags, you apply these tags to conditionalize text in your document. For example, if an image applies only to the print output of a document, apply the PrintOnly tag.
Also, you can specify the conditional tag at a book level without the need to apply conditions or expressions to individual chapters.
Select the text on which to apply the tag.
The following table details the FrameMaker elements that you need to select to apply conditional tags to the corresponding types of FrameMaker content:
To apply a tag to the following content |
Select |
---|---|
Text in a text frame, table cell, or footnote |
Text |
Anchored frame and its contents |
Frame border or anchor symbol |
Table |
Table anchor symbol |
Table row |
Whole row |
Cross-Reference or variable |
Cross-reference or variable text |
Footnote |
Footnote reference (the number in the main text) |
Marker |
Marker symbol |
Open the Conditional Tags panel.
The State column in the list of tags grid displays the state of the tag (applied or not applied) with respect to the current selected text.
To apply a tag to the selected text, click to select the State checkbox.
To apply the tag to the text, click Apply in the Conditional Tags panel.
If you have defined conditional indicators for the tag, the applied text reflects these indicators. For example, if you apply the tag to a paragraph of text and text color for the tag is defined as red, the text color of the applied text immediately changes to red.
You can apply multiple tags to a piece of text by selecting the text and selecting the tags in the Conditional Tags panel. You can also select text to which a tag is applied and then apply more tags to the text.
Some tips and details for using the Smart Catalog:
You can use the Smart Catalog keyboard shortcut to apply a conditional tag.
Press ctrl+4 to display the Smart Catalog to apply a conditional tag.
From the Smart Catalog select the tag to apply.
The state of the tag is updated in the Conditional Tags panel.
FrameMaker gives you visual indicators to identify and distinguish between the various conditional tags applied to tables.
If you choose the Color conditional indicator when you create the conditional tag, the table border is displayed with a hash of the selected color.
If you choose the Background conditional indicator when you create the conditional tag, the table border is displayed with a solid border of the selected color.
If you do not select either the Color or Background indicators, the table border is displayed with a black colored hash.
FrameMaker gives you visual indicators to identify and distinguish between the various conditional tags applied to anchored frames.
If you choose the Color or Background conditional indicators when you create the conditional tag, the anchored frame border is displayed with a hash of the selected color.
If you do not select either the Color or Background indicators, the anchored frame border is displayed with a black colored border.
You can apply any number of tags to a single piece of text in structured or unstructured documents. You can also overlap tags across text.
If you apply multiple tags on the same text in a document, the following conditions hold:
If each tag has different conditional indicators, FrameMaker attempts to combine the indicators. For example, if you apply two tags with Color set to blue and yellow to a paragraph of text, the resultant text displays in green.
The show tag takes precedence. If multiple tags are applied to a piece of text, and at least one tag is marked as show, the text will display.
If you apply multiple tags on overlapping text in a document, the following conditions hold:
If you apply a Show tag on a large piece of text and a Hide tag on a subset of text, all the text displays. The reason for this behavior is based on the Show tag precedence. Take the following unstructured document example:
If you apply a Show tag to a paragraph of text (a large piece of text), each sentence (subset) inherits the Show tag. So, if you apply a Hide tag on one sentence, that sentence now has a Show tag and a Hide tag applied. The paragraph displays because it has a Show tag applied. Also, based on the Show tag precedence, the sentence displays along with the paragraph.
If you apply a Hide tag on a large piece of text and a Show tag on a subset of text, only the subset displays. The reason for this behavior is based on the Show tag precedence. Take the following structured document example:
If you apply a Hide tag to an ordered list
(<ol>
), each list item (<li>
)
inherits the Hide tag. So, if you apply a Show tag on one list item,
that item now has a Show tag and a Hide tag applied. The other list
items do not display because each of them has inherited the ordered
list Hide tag. However, based on the Show tag precedence, the list
item on which the Show tag is applied displays.
To apply one or more conditions that are common across chapters in your book:
Select the .book file.
Choose
.Select the condition(s) that you want to apply to all files in the book.
Select the Update Book After Apply option.
Click Apply and click OK on the alert dialog.
Click Update on the Update Book dialog.
The selected condition(s) are applied to all files in the book.
In a structured FrameMaker document,
elements are arranged hierarchically. FrameMaker allows you to apply
conditional tags to any element in the document hierarchy. For example,
you can apply a conditional tag to the definition list (<dl>
)
or any element contained within the list.
You need to take care not to break the structure of the document. If you apply a conditional tag to a mandatory child element and mark the tag as hidden, the document structure breaks. FrameMaker does not prevent you from doing this; however, the Structure View will indicate the break in the document.
To apply a conditional tag to an element, by default, you need to select the entire element (in the Structure View panel). Then apply the conditional tag with the Conditional Tags panel or by using ctrl+4. However, if you set (or add) the following maker.ini flag, you can apply a tag to an element by placing the cursor anywhere within the element:
ApplyCondTillElementBoundaries=On
When you apply conditional tags to a structured document, the processing instructions to handle the tags are defined in the Structured Application. For details, see the Specifying conditional text output section of the FrameMaker Structure Application Developer’sReference.
When you apply conditional tags to the columns in a table, FrameMaker adds processing instructions to enable round-tripping in the XML.
For example, the following processing instruction indicates that the condition ConditionCol1, is applied to the first column of the table:
<?Fm TableColumnCond start=0 end=0 ConditionCol1?>
The following processing instruction indicates that the condition ConditionCol1, is applied to the first column of the table:
<?Fm TableColumnCond start=1 end=2 ConditionCol2?>
Understand how to copy conditional tags from one piece of content to other pieces of content.
You can copy the conditions applied to one piece of text to other pieces of text. For example, say two conditional tags are applied to one paragraph of text. You can use the special Copy & Paste functionality to apply both these tags to another piece of text.
To copy conditions across text:
Select the text from which to copy the condition or conditions.
Choose
.Select the text to which to apply the tags.
Choose
.Learn how to apply conditional tags. Understand the various objects where you can apply conditional text in Adobe FrameMaker.
If you need to make a specific piece of text unconditional, you can remove the conditional tags applied to that text. In this case, FrameMaker does not delete the tags from the document catalog. This implies that you can apply the tags to other text in the document. To delete conditional tags from a document, see Deleting conditional tags.
Select the text from which you want to remove the applied conditional tag.
Open the Conditional Tags panel and deselect the State checkbox for the required Conditional Tag.
Click Apply in the Conditional Tags panel.
If you have defined conditional indicators (such as style, color, or background) for the conditional tag, the indicators are removed from the text from which you remove the tag.
Some tips and details for using the Smart Catalog:
You can use the Smart Catalog keyboard shortcut to a remove conditional tag.
Press ctrl+5 to display the Smart Catalog to remove a conditional tag.
The state of the tag is updated in the Conditional Tags panel.
From the Smart Catalog, select the tag to remove.
You can choose to remove all conditional tags that are applied to a piece of text in a document.
Select the text from which to remove all the tags.
Click Uncheck All in the Conditional Tags panel.
To remove all the tags from the text, click Apply in the Conditional Tags panel.
If you have defined conditional indicators (such as style, color, or background color) for the tags, the indicators are removed from the text from which you remove the tags.
See how you can show and hide conditional text and indicators in Adobe FrameMaker through conditional text dialog.
You can delete a conditional tag if it is no longer required to be applied.
Select a tag and click Delete in the Conditional Tags panel.
Click OK to confirm the delete operation.
If the tag is used in a document, you are prompted to choose how to resolve the content to which the tag is applied.
You can choose to set the content as unconditional, or you can choose to delete the content.
See how you can show and hide conditional text and indicators in Adobe FrameMaker through conditional text dialog.
Conditional text in FrameMaker allows you to apply conditions to text. Once you have applied conditions, you can then decide, based on the applied conditions, the text to show or hide.
When you apply a tag to text in a document, the text is marked as conditional. If you have defined Conditional Indicators (such as style, color, or background color), the text on which the tags are applied is conditionally formatted based on the indicators. However, all text displays in FrameMaker. You still need to specify the text to show and text to hide based on the applied tags.
To show or hide conditional text, use the Show/Hide Conditional Text dialog.
After applying conditional tags to the text in a document, you use the Show/Hide Conditional Text dialog to set up and define the text to show or hide.
Default. All text in the document is displayed (unconditionally) irrespective of the conditions applied.
Select this option and move conditional tags between the Show and Hide tag lists to specify the tagged text to show or hide, respectively.
Select this option to ensure that any tagged text in the document displays only if all conditional tags selected in the Show list are applied to that text.
Select this option and choose a conditional expression that defines the show and hide conditions.
When you define conditional indicators for the conditional text in a document, by default, the text displays and outputs (PDF) with the indicators. You can choose to turn off this option.
If you have nested books in your main book file, then select this option to ensure that the conditional tags are applied to all nested books.
Select this option to apply conditional tags to all files in your book.
Open the Show/Hide Conditional Text.
To show or hide text in the document using conditional tags, select Show as per Condition.
Use the arrows to move tags between the Show and Hide conditional tag lists.
For example, to show only text tagged as print; ensure the PrintOnly tag is in the Show list. Move all other tags to the Hide list.
To show text tagged as PrintOnly and MobileOnly; ensure only these tags are in the Show list.
To show and hide the conditionalized text depending on the list to which you add them, click Apply.
The conditional text is hidden or displayed.
If conditional indicators are applied to tags in the Show list, the corresponding tagged text displays with the specified indicators. You can choose to remove the indicators by unchecking the Show Conditional Indicators option in Show/Hide Conditional Text.
Using conditional tags, you can show or hide text depending on the tags you place in the Show and Hide tag lists, respectively. This means that any tag in the Show list causes the corresponding tagged text to display. However, consider the following example:
A document defines the Comment, PrintOnly, and MobileOnly conditional tags. Paragraphs in the document are tagged with different combinations of these tags:
Paragraph one is tagged as PrintOnly.
Paragraph two is tagged as PrintOnly and MobileOnly.
Paragraph three is tagged PrintOnly and Comment.
You
need to set up the document to display only text tagged as PrintOnly
and MobileOnly. If you move the PrintOnly and MobileOnly tags to
the Show list, all three paragraphs display
since all have either one of these tags associated. To handle this,
you create conditional expressions that allow you to combine multiple
tags with the and
, or
, and not
operators.
In
the above example, the expression “PrintOnly
” and
“MobileOnly
”
ensures that only text with both PrintOnly
and MobileOnly
tags
is included.
To create a conditional expression:
In the Show/Hide Conditional Text dialog, click Build Expression.
In the Manage Conditional Expression dialog, you can create or edit conditional expressions.
To create an expression, enter a name for the expression.
You
build an expression using the available tags in combination with
the and
, or
, and not
operators.
In the above example, click the PrintOnly
tag
and click the arrow to add the tag to the expression box at the
insertion point.
Alternatively, you can double-click the PrintOnly
tag.
Click and
to add the operator after the PrintOnly
tag.
Click the MobileOnly
tag and click the arrow
to add the tag to the expression.
Click Save.
The conditional expression displays in the list.
On the Show/Hide Conditional Text dialog, select Show as per Expression.
From the Build Expression list, choose the required expression and click Apply.
The text is displayed based on the conditional expression.
Conditional expression might require grouping of sub-expressions in brackets. Take the example of a document with the following tags:
Win, Mac, and Unix
Version 1.0, Version 2.0, and Version 3.0
PDF, HTML, EPUB, and RTF
To display text tagged as Win or Mac with all versions except Version 1.0 and output PDF or HTML, create the following expression:
When you create conditional expressions:
Tag names display in green text.
Tag names must be included in double-quotes.
If you select a tag name from the Condition Tag list, the name displays in double-quotes. However, you can also enter the tag name manually. In this case, ensure that you enter the name in double-quotes.
Misspelled tag names are underlined with a red squiggly.
And
, or
, and not
operators
display in blue text.
Syntax errors display with a yellow background.
The Save button is disabled if there are errors in the expression.
Learn how to finalize conditional documents in Adobe FrameMaker.
Before you produce a finished version of a conditional document, follow these guidelines:
Change your view of the document to include only the version you want to print, and turn off condition indicators.
If your document contains variables, make sure that the variable definitions are correct for the version you’re printing.
Spell-check the document. This feature finds double spaces and punctuation problems caused by incorrectly tagged with conditional tags.
Update cross-references. If the document contains unresolved cross-references, perhaps they point to cross-reference markers in hidden conditional tags. Show the version and update the cross-references again.
Create a copy of the document for each version before manually adjusting line and page breaks. Use the copy for each version for making the adjustments and for printing. These adjustments differ with each version. Use the original document for future edits.
If the document is part of a book, update the book and its generated files. If the book contains documents with different condition indicators for the same tag, FrameMaker displays an alert message. It also alerts you if some conditional tags are displayed in one document but are hidden in another. If this situation occurs, click Cancel to stop book generation. Correct the conditional tags settings of your documents.
After generating an index, check it for double question marks (??), which indicate missing or incorrect index markers.
Learn to troubleshoot conditional text in Adobe FrameMaker. Also, check the frequently asked questions on conditional text.
You need to use the Show/Hide Conditional Text panel to specify the text to show or hide. For details, see Show/Hide Conditional Text dialog.
You can apply any number of tags to text.
You can apply conditional tags to a whole table, rows in a table, or columns in a table. For details, see Apply conditional tags.
You can import conditional tags and expressions from one document into another. For details, see Importing conditional tags and expressions.
After you change the state of a tag in the Conditional Tag panel, you need to click Apply to apply the updates to the document text. For details, see Apply conditional tags.
Sometimes you insert a cross-reference to a paragraph, and the first word in the paragraph is conditional. The Cross-Ref marker that FrameMaker inserts is also conditional (with the conditional tag settings of the first word). The marker is hidden when you hide the conditions of the first word. As a result, the cross-reference is sometimes unresolved if the conditional tag settings of the cross-reference and of the cross-reference marker differ.
To avoid this situation, select just the Cross-Ref marker at the beginning of the source paragraph, and make it unconditional. Then the marker is always visible. The cross-reference is resolved no matter which version is visible.