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Two Separate Autonumber Formats in One Document...One Referencing the Other Format?

New Here ,
Apr 04, 2012 Apr 04, 2012

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Hello All,

I searched and could not find the answer. Since I'm fairly new at working with Framemaker, maybe I'm searching in the wrong area.

I'm writing a document that has multiple sections of instructional steps along with multiple images in each section.

Here's how I have the steps numbered in each section (module):

M:<n>.<n=1>   OUTPUT EXAMPLE= 1.1

M:<n>.<n+>     OUTPUT EXAMPLE= 1.2

M:<n>.<n+>     OUTPUT EXAMPLE= 1.3

I want to autonumber the images in the sections by referncing the section number (module number) "1", but follow the number with a letter. i.e. 1.A, 1.B, 1.C.

I tired this:

M:<n>.<A=1>

M:<n>.<A+>

Unfortunately, once I add the number format to the image...the numbers of the steps in the section start counting up by the amount of images.

I want to reference the step numbers because there are some steps that are all text and do not have images, which would force me to manually override the sections without images. If I'm going to manually override these sections, it defeats the purpose of formatting to help my day go smoothly.

Can a format be written to fix my numbering issue?  Or am I stuck manually changing the numbers on each image?

Thanks,

Tony~

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Explorer , Apr 05, 2012 Apr 05, 2012

Ah, yes, good point: you'd have to use chapnum or sectionnum to drive the initial number, in both series. Otherwise, for chapters with no images, it would not increment on the "I" series when it incremented on the "S" series.

But, no, you don't do it with the same series label because (a) they aren't the same serieses and (b) they don't have the same numbering format.

[Aside: There's something to be said for figure numbers being directly coupled to their steps... in which case you *could* use one

...

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Participant ,
Apr 04, 2012 Apr 04, 2012

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Its a bit hard to say what's going on here. can you send me an example framemaker file that demonstrates this problem? My email is jaloren AT gmail.com

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Mentor ,
Apr 05, 2012 Apr 05, 2012

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RaceHome wrote:

Hello All,

I searched and could not find the answer. Since I'm fairly new at working with Framemaker, maybe I'm searching in the wrong area.

I'm writing a document that has multiple sections of instructional steps along with multiple images in each section.

Here's how I have the steps numbered in each section (module):

M:<n>.<n=1>   OUTPUT EXAMPLE= 1.1

M:<n>.<n+>     OUTPUT EXAMPLE= 1.2

M:<n>.<n+>     OUTPUT EXAMPLE= 1.3

I want to autonumber the images in the sections by referncing the section number (module number) "1", but follow the number with a letter. i.e. 1.A, 1.B, 1.C.

I tired this:

M:<n>.<A=1>

M:<n>.<A+>

Unfortunately, once I add the number format to the image...the numbers of the steps in the section start counting up by the amount of images.

I want to reference the step numbers because there are some steps that are all text and do not have images, which would force me to manually override the sections without images. If I'm going to manually override these sections, it defeats the purpose of formatting to help my day go smoothly.

Can a format be written to fix my numbering issue?  Or am I stuck manually changing the numbers on each image?

Thanks,

Tony~

Examine the autonumbering formats in the sample template Outline Harvard for an example of nested lists. It's in File > New > Explore Standard Templates > Open Sample.

HTH

Regards,

Peter

_______________________

Peter Gold

KnowHow ProServices

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Guide ,
Apr 05, 2012 Apr 05, 2012

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Tony,

Try using the <$sectionnum> building block and a different series label for images and steps.

So, the autonumbering for steps would be:

S:<$sectionnum>.<n+>

And for images:

I:<$sectionnum>.<A+>

The autonumbering for the section title would be

<$sectionnum>

Then in the Numbering Properties for the document, set Section numbering to continue from previous and Paragraph numbering to restart.

CAVEAT: I have never used the <$sectionnum> building block, so this may not work. I am assuming it works like <$chapnum>.

Van

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New Here ,
Apr 05, 2012 Apr 05, 2012

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Van,

Don't I have to use the same Series label (for example M:) to keep the count correct throughout the document? Keep in mind that some sections in my documents don't have photos to label (see example below)...so changing the Series will lose count on the steps without photos.

Here's a quick example:

Repair Document

1. Baseline

     1.1 Verify

2. Preparing Vehicle

     2.1 Verify

          Image 2.A

     2.2 Flash ECU

     2.3 Check Module

          Image 2.B

     2.4 Install

3. Install BEC Module

     3.1 Verify

4. Preparing Vehicle

     4.1 Verify

     4.2 Check

          Image 4.A

     4.3 Check

          Image 4.B

     4.4 Install

Thanks,

Tony

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Explorer ,
Apr 05, 2012 Apr 05, 2012

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Ah, yes, good point: you'd have to use chapnum or sectionnum to drive the initial number, in both series. Otherwise, for chapters with no images, it would not increment on the "I" series when it incremented on the "S" series.

But, no, you don't do it with the same series label because (a) they aren't the same serieses and (b) they don't have the same numbering format.

[Aside: There's something to be said for figure numbers being directly coupled to their steps... in which case you *could* use one series, adding an alphabetic enumerator to the end of the existing steps's series (but not to the steps' autonumbering, of course). But you wouldn't get the "count of figures in the section" that the separate series label gets you... though I'm not sure what that buys you, in terms of navigation or comprehension--I have to assume that numbering sccheme was a management decision, therefore! ]

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New Here ,
Apr 05, 2012 Apr 05, 2012

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Thanks for all the help everyone!

David,

Your help finalized everything for me. I came up with a fix. Here it is with the example just in case somebody wants to see what I did:

Repair Document

1. Baseline   (M:<$sectionnum>.)     -used $sectionnum to set first section in document.

     1.1 Verify      (M:<n>.<n=1>)

2. Preparing Vehicle    (M:<n+>)

     2.1 Verify              (M:<n>.<n=1>)

          Image 2.A   (F:Image <n=2$sectionnum>.<A=1>)     -1st format used for first image in doc. Manually set the "X" n=X for section of 1st image.

     2.2 Flash ECU        (M:<n>.<n+>)

     2.3 Check Module

          Image 2.B   (F:Image <n>.<A+>)    -2nd format to be used for image 2 through infinity.

     2.4 Install

3. Install BEC Module     (M:<n+>)

     3.1 Verify                  (M:<n>.<n=1>)

4. Preparing Vehicle

     4.1 Verify

     4.2 Check

          Image 4.A    (F:Image <n>.<A=1>)   -3rd format to be used in first image of each section.

     4.3 Check

          Image 4.B    (F:Image <n>.<A+>)

     4.4 Install

My fix may not be the cleanest fix because I have to manually set the "section" number containing the first image, but it will still save me lots of time and grief in the long run when engineers come to my desk and give me knew sections to add (or delete) on the fly.

I posted some of my formatting just in case somebody has more input or it may help somebody in the future.

Thanks again for all your help!

Tony~

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Mentor ,
Apr 07, 2012 Apr 07, 2012

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Unless I'm missing something, there's a simple solution.

It took me a while to follow throug and sort out the various suggestions.

If I understand it correctly, the goal is to have two auto-numbered paragraph formats for text, and one for figures. I'll call them Topic, Subtopic, and Figure.

They're supposed to behave like this:

  • The Topic paragraphs are  to be numbered sequentially. Example: 1, 2, 3...
  • The Subtopic paragraphs are to be numbered with the topic number, followed by a period, followed by a sequential number. Example: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3...
  • The Figure paragraphs are to be numbered with the topic number, followed by a period, followed by an uppercase letter. Figure numbers omit subtopic numbers. The first figure that follows a topic is letter "A." Example,  1, 1.1, Figure 1.A, 1.2, 1.3, Figure 1.B; 2, 2.1, Figure 2.A, 3, 3.1, Figure 3.A, 3.2...

This can be managed with a single series identifier. Example: "C:", without book-level system variables like <$sectionnum>, and without manual intervention.

In this case, you want to the autonumbering to track three items. You already know that you need three paragraph styles, but you also need three autonumber "counters." FrameMaker's autonumber counters work like simple columns. In arithmetic, there are columns for units, tens, hundreds, etc. To keep addition subtraction working properly, the columns need to be straight, and, to keep the digits in their proper columns, where a column would be blank, we insert a zero, to assure that 11 and 101 are in the right places.

What's confusing here is that the figure counter seems to be different because it's not in sequence as a next-lower outline or step level; it "skips" one counter column. In FrameMaker, we use the non-incrementing placeholder "<n>" counters to display the value of the most-recent paragraph format that uses that counter column. And, we use blank "< >" counters that remember the value, but don't display it. So, you need a placeholder column that keeps track of the value that usually follows the decimal (the second 1, as in 1.1,) but hides it, and y ou need a placeholder column that usually hides the figure value, and only displays it with the Figure paragraph format. NOTE: There's a space between the angle brackets in < >; when there's an n, N, a, A, n+, or similar counters in that spot, the value is displayed.

It's harder to explain than to do it, but to do it, you need to understand it. OK? This isn't spelled out in FrameMaker's own docs very well, nor in most FrameMaker training materials anywhere. To toss in a quirk, the trailing "< 0>" placeholders set counters in their column to zero, invisibly. In early FrameMaker releases, these were required, but since around FrameMaker 6.x, they've been optional. Counters usually reset when a higher-level counter, one more to the left in the autonumber format, intervenes. There's no harm in using < =0>, and there's value if it helps to visualize how things work.

fm screen topic sub fig.png

HTH

Regards,

Peter

_______________________

Peter Gold

KnowHow ProServices

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Advocate ,
Apr 08, 2012 Apr 08, 2012

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There is a very good paper that may be of help with your complex

autonumbering here:

http://www.infocon.com/files/autonum.pdf

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New Here ,
Aug 08, 2016 Aug 08, 2016

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This 4-year-old link leads me to an internal security block because infocon stands for a computer security department run by the Navy. Is this file available in a less suspicious-looking link so my company stops blocking it? Better yet, is there something newer? I'm having a devil of a time with autonumbering in FM 12.

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Community Expert ,
Aug 08, 2016 Aug 08, 2016

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?PDF isn't there anymore anyways

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New Here ,
Aug 10, 2016 Aug 10, 2016

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LATEST

So true. I managed to plow through all the advice and resolve the issue, if anyone is interested at this late date.

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Explorer ,
Apr 05, 2012 Apr 05, 2012

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Van is correct, whether you use the sectionnum or chapnum building blocks or not--their use to "source" the leading "1." is sort of orthogonal to the numbering-cross-interference issue.

Use two different series labels and you'll be golden. For some deliverables sets (in unstructured FM), I will make a series label for just about every content type which could be numbered (e.g., tasks, figures, tables, footnotes, book-relevant-bits [volume, chapter, section]).

[I also think that using "=1" is a bit obsolete, when you can control numbering resets to 1 at the BOOK or sub-BOOK [FM9+] level, and when one hopes to move to structured FM. But that... is a different story.]

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