Templates

[jim_d]

I am trying to apply a template in the topic view. I select any number of files from 5 to 100 files. After I apply the template it does not stick. Selecting a smaller number of files seems to work better. Selecting one file at a time never is a problem.

The project does have 2000 files in one directory.

Thoughts?

Using RH7, XPSP2

J

[Peter Grainge]

I don't know for sure but it looks like you have answered your own question.

[Guest]

If the topics have a template applied already why not alter that and/or the stylesheet?

[jim_d]

They don't.

I might test the number of files in the directory to see if that makes a difference.

[RoboColum_n_]

The number of files shouldn't be an issue, although I guess it may depend on exactly how many. Maybe you'd want to try adding the tag below to the meta data in the truecode for each topic. Just use a good find and replace tool. FAR and Bk ReplaceEm are just two. Don't forget to take a backup before doing anything and change templatefilename.htt to the file name of your template.

<meta name="template" content="templatefilename.htt">

[jim_d]

I like the idea. Why not use the find/replace that is in RH?

[RoboColum_n_]

Have you ever used it? It has rather limited functionality One of the advantages of the tools I mention is that they work across multiple lines of HTML code and provide a lot more flexibility (e.g. text starting with, ending with, containing). Bk ReplaceEm is even freeware!

[RoboColum_n_]

Thanks to Peter for making me realise that 2000 files in one folder is not good practice. I skipped reading that line 😉 So maybe that is an issue after all.

[jim_d]

There actually is 3,300 files. It is bad practice because?

[Peter Grainge]

RH keeps track of all files and folders, partly in the CPD file and partly in the FPJ. There is a possibility, no more, that this unusally high number in one folder could corrupt one or the other.

There is no limit in theory to the number of files in a project but when I was splitting up a monster (10,000 files) I found that above 4,000 was not unusable but there was a performance difference. Of course, the machine used will impact on that.

Could you import say twenty topics into a new project and then see if that number will stick there when it would not in this project?

[RoboColum_n_]

Maybe I should have said it is not what I would have done rather than it is bad practice - sorry it is late in the day here! Perhaps I could ask how long the project takes to open with that many topics. I used to maintain a project with 1200+ topics and it took upwards of 10 minutes. It also makes for difficulties with navigation and linking as some RH dialogs are so darn small that you only see a few topics at a time.

With that many files, I consider using merged help and/or using a folder structure inside the project that mirrors the TOC books.