Best practice - updating figure numbers in a file, possibly to sub-sub-chapters

[gazza1816]

Hi,

I'm a newbie trying to unlearn my InDesign mindset to work in FrameMaker. What is best practice for producing figure numbers to accompany diagrams throughout a document? A quick CTRL+F in the Framemaker 12 Help book doesn't seem to point me in a particular direction. Do diagrams need to be inserted into a table, where there is a cell for the image and a cell for the figure details in another? I've read that I should  use a letter and colon in the tag to keep it separate from other things that update, e.g. F: (then figure number descriptor). Is there anything else to be aware of, such as when resetting counts for chapters etc?

Some details:

Framemaker12.

There are currently 116 chapters (aviation subjects) to make.

Each of these chapters will be its own book in pdf form, some of these chapters run to over 1000 pages.

Figure number ideally takes the form: "Figure (a number from one of the 1-116 chapters used) - figure number" e.g. "Figure 34 - 6." would be the the 6th image in the book 'chapter 34'.

The figure number has to cross reference to explaining text, possibly a few pages away.

These figures are required to update as content is added or removed.

The (aviation) chapter is an individual book.

H1 is the equivalent of the sub-chapter.

H2 is the equivalent of the sub-sub-chapter.

H3 is used in the body copy styling, but is not a required detail of the figure number.

I'm thinking of making sub-chapters in to individual files. These will be more manageable on their own. They will then be combined in the correct order to form the book for one of these (1 of 116) subject chapters.

Am I on the right track?

Many thanks.

Gary

[Bob_Niland]

Two separate problems:

1. caption construction
2. multi-level paragraph numbering

For the caption part of it, search the forum on caption, for example:

A way to label graphics?

[gazza1816]

Hi,

Many thanks for the link you provided. I have implemented your recommendation into my file. I have also read somewhere about sizing anchored frames to an imported graphic using 'esc' + 'm' + 'p'.

What confuses me, coming from InDesign is being able to import these graphics at the size they were made ( WxH in mm at 300ppi) and keeping them anchored to a point in the text flow.

I currently have 1 and 2 column master pages built. When I bring in a graphic my process is:

insert a single cell table on the next space after current text > drop the title below the cell > give the title a 'figure' format. When I import a graphic it either tries to fit it in the current 2 column layout with only part of it showing in a box which is half the width of a single column!

A current example: page 1 (2 column page) the text flows for 1.5 columns. At the end of the text I inserted a single cell table, then imported and image into the cell.

Page 2 (2 column page) has the last line of page 1's text in the top left column.

Page 3 (2 page column)  has the last 3 words of page 1 in its top left column.  The right column has the table in it with part of the image showing. The image has also bee distorted, like it's trying to fit. These columns are 14 cm wide, the cell is 2 cm wide at this point. I have tried to give cells for images 'wider' attributes using the object style designer but with no luck.

Ideally I'm trying to make 2 versions. 1) an anchored frame that fits in a 1 column width on a 2 column width page. 2) An anchored frame that fits the full width of my landscape pages (minus some border dimension),  this full width frame should be created on a new proceeding page. I'd like to be able drop in images to suit these different frames with as much automation as possible.

I notice many tutorials tell you how to do a given area of the program, but I haven't been able to find one that discusses workflow order. Do you import all text first, then add empty graphic boxes and/or tables throughout and then import images? I'm importing text from Word,  but the images are separate, having been vectored or cleaned up in Photoshop - they won't be imported from the same word file.

many thanks

[FieryPantone]

disclaimer – I'm not claiming this is the only way, let alone the "correct" way to do things: it's just the way that suits me :-}

I'm importing text from Word,  but the images are separate

When doing this myself, I prep the word source by adding MML tags – including separate tags for figures and captions, with a reminder of which figure has to be referenced where – and saving from Word to plain text. [see example] Opening the MML file in FM and importing style definitions then does the heavy lifting, and my next step is to find each :fig paragraph and reference the graphic … Tables take a bit more work, so I add my :anchor tag before each table and a brief description; how many columns, for example, and whether or not there should be a header row. Once you've got the text into FM, I don't think it makes much difference which step you take next.

As for two different widths, I suspect I would approach this by defining two styles for paragraphs that only hold figure anchors: one In column, the other Across all columns. As for resolution, File > Import > File lets you choose the required value.

<:h2>IP

<:p>One part of the OIDs is used for setting the IP interface. The other is used to return the current status of an interface.

<:fig_column>graphics\ipTables.eps

<:figcap>Database tables for IP

<:anchor>2col table with header

1.3.6.1.4.1.18270.3.2.1.12.1.1     IP table for the permanent interfaces of the terminal
1.3.6.1.4.1.18270.3.2.1.12.1.1.1.1     table index
1.3.6.1.4.1.18270.3.2.1.12.1.1.1.2     interface name
1.3.6.1.4.1.18270.3.2.1.12.1.1.1.3     interface IP mode (static/DHCP)
1.3.6.1.4.1.18270.3.2.1.12.1.1.1.4     reference to an external table
1.3.6.1.4.1.18270.3.2.1.12.1.2     table containing the information relative to the DHCP mode of the interface

<:h2>Trader unit

<:p>This OID returns the configuration (unit present/not present). When a unit is present, this OID also returns the software version number.

<:anchor>2col table with header

[FieryPantone]

Just my two penn'orth – I've always used a pair of styles for figures. The style :fig has xxx set to 'not fixed', :figcap as next style and pagination set to Keep with next; :figcap uses the wonders of FM numbering (and a sequence indicator F) to drive the numbering. I've never had to struggle with chapter-figure numbering, though.