Linking to a TOC from another project - novice question

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Richard W
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Posts: 21
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 1:54 am

Linking to a TOC from another project - novice question

Post by Richard W »

Hello,

I'm relatively new to Flare and am experimenting with different ways to organise our projects. My question is about global linking / runtime merging of projects, which is related to importing so I hope this is the right forum.

I have a test project based on one of the standard templates, and I'm trying to set up a TOC entry and link it to the output from another project, for a runtime merge according to the instructions on the page below:

http://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare201 ... argets.htm

Both outputs are HTML5. I'm using the San Diego tutorial as the test project that provides the target output to merge.

This is what the properties of the TOC entry on the master project look like. Flare has picked up the San Diego tutorial correctly and found the target that I want to link to, so I know that those things exist and are readable by my master project:
Embedded TOC from other project small.png
But when building the master project, the San Diego entry doesn't show up in the navigation at all:
Output from TOC with embedded target.png
I would have expected to see a navigation entry for San Diego, between the first and second topic, with a content structure beneath it that matches the San Diego tutorial. (This is how I interpret the line "When you open the TOC in the output, you will see the integrated TOC from the linked project" in the help page that I linked).

I've tried targets with different templates (side navigation and top navigation - the linked project uses top navigation) without effect. I can successfully embed another TOC from my master project and it shows up (the Nature entry). I've tried changing the When merging, replace node with merged TOC option, without effect.

At this stage I'm not even sure if the thing I am expecting it to do is the thing it should actually do, or if I've misunderstood completely. Any ideas? Am I being stupid?
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Nita Beck
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Location: Pittsford, NY

Re: Linking to a TOC from another project - novice question

Post by Nita Beck »

Welcome to the forums, Richard! :)

I regret being the bearer of bad news. Runtime merging, which is what you are trying to do, is not supported by Top Navigation or Side Navigation HTML5 targets. Tripane HTML5 does support it. You’re just not going to get where you want to go by attempting runtime merging. (This nugget of unfortunate info is, equally unfortunate, buried in the Flare documentation. In the topic you linked to above, the note about Top Nav and Side Nav not supporting runtime merging is at the very bottom, the worst possible place to be useful.)

Not meaning to take you too far afield, but a Flare guru we all admiringly chase — Scott DeLoach — gave a webinar last year about different ways to use global project linking. One of the techniques he described was having a “build” project that pulled source from several different smaller projects from which one could then build a grand unified output. Here’s the link to the webinar: https://www.madcapsoftware.com/webinars ... -projects/.
Nita
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RETIRED, but still fond of all the Flare friends I've made. See you around now and then!
Richard W
Propeller Head
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 1:54 am

Re: Linking to a TOC from another project - novice question

Post by Richard W »

Aha, thank you - I had indeed not scrolled far enough down the notes to spot that information!

I created a new target in the master project using the Tripane skin, and when I build that one, the San Diego project shows up as I'd expected - which answers my second question, whether both projects have to use the same skin as well as the same output type. (Clearly not). I will play around to see whether I can adapt this to what I was trying to do.

Thanks for the video link as well - that looks very helpful.
Richard W
Propeller Head
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 1:54 am

Re: Linking to a TOC from another project - novice question

Post by Richard W »

In case anybody else has a similar question, the video that Nita linked has a suggested approach that will work for Top Nav and Side Nav targets, starting at 46 minutes.

In summary, rather than using the runtime merge, you can create import files in the "master project" (or "build project") for each of the projects you want to merge. Import the projects including the TOCs for each, then create a master TOC in the master project. You can then add TOC entries to this for each of the imported TOCs. Because the imported TOCs now exist in the master project, it will work as it did for the TOC I managed to get working from the same project in my test above.

It's worth watching the video for some nuance, but I think that approach will work for me. Thanks!
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