How do I limit levels in a multilevel list style?

[Douglas_Campbell]

I would like to limite a multilevel list to only go to Level 3, but I see no option for doing so in the edit styles dialogue box.

We are moving from FM to RH and I would like to define this in the style to have some enforcement of authroing rules, similar to what we currently have in our structured FM templates.

[Peter Grainge]

I don't think you can create a limit but perhaps a technique I use for a different problem would help. Set level four text to be red or some bright colour that you would never use. When someone goes to level four it jolts them and they change it to the required style. It is not automatic but it has never failed us.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[FirstScript · Accepted solution]

You can modify the style sheet to limit the number of levels in a multilevel list. We use something like this:

rh-list.MultiBulleted {

    x-level-count: 3;

...

}

You can't tab to a a fourth level in the list when the CSS has such a list defined. We've used this for both bulleted and numbered lists without any trouble yet. I hope this helps!

- Richa

[Peter Grainge]

Interesting. Thank you.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[FirstScript]

Always a pleasure to be of help!

- Richa

[Douglas_Campbell]

This does work. However, I noticed that while it does not allow you to tab in deeper than three levels (in our example), the icons for the multilevel list (the bullet type or numbering schema) change everytime you tab. The list is set at three tab levels and even though I erased the other list levels in the CSS sheet, they still seem to be partially working somewhere in the background:

rh-list.3_Level_TEST {

    x-level-count: 3;   

    x-lvl-1-format: "<x>&c";

    x-lvl-2-type: lower-alpha;

    x-lvl-2-format: "<x>&c";

    x-lvl-2-margin: 20px;

    x-lvl-3-type: lower-roman;

    x-lvl-3-format: "<x>&c";

    x-lvl-3-margin: 40px;

}

Is there no way to control this additional issue? This solution would be perfect if that were possible. Otherwise, I think Peter's solution for bright pink text or something out of context as a warning might be more effective, as with the CSS mod, you might have people accidentally inserting the wrong list types (with extra tabs) without noticing it.

[FirstScript]

This is a limitation we have been working with and we haven't had any trouble so far, but I understand your concern - it is possible to tab one time too often and not notice that the list type changed. I will check our style sheet and try to  figure out if there is a way to control this issue - I'll post back if I find something!

- Richa

[Peter Grainge]

Would increasing the limit to 4 and then using a garish colour for level 4 solve things for both of you?

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Douglas_Campbell]

I think I have a tweak that takes Peter's solution a step further in terms of usefuless and practicality:

I created a garish paragraph style and associated it with levels 4 through 9 of the multi-level list. I also made the font size larger (14pt) and bold; it would ideal to make it more absurd so no one could mistake it, but that ruins the look of all your styles in the Styles and Formatting pod, since it shows how the styles actually appears. Bigger fonts skew the whole list.

The trick is to edit the multi-level list. Open the edit option for the multi-level style in question and in the Edit Style: dialogue box, add a custom message. In my case, I added a warning after the bullet:

<x> DO NOT USE!

You get a big pink message that no one can mistake.

[Peter Grainge]

What odds are you offering on that?

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Douglas_Campbell]

Edit:

You get a big pink message that "probably" no one can mistake.

or

You get a big pink message that reasonable folk cannot mistake.

Touche. But I'd like to give RH users and technical writers a little credit.

[FirstScript]

I wasn't able to tweak the CSS to restrict the icons from changing after the third level, but I'm still looking. There may be something I've overlooked. However, I like this solution! Thank you both - this will help us restrict unnecessary styles in our help as well.

- Richa