Auto-generate topics under a category in another linked page

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Veronica
Jr. Propeller Head
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:22 pm

Auto-generate topics under a category in another linked page

Post by Veronica »

Hey guys!

I am new to Madcap Flare and am self-teaching until I can take a training course.

I am currently creating a giant knowledge-base for my company. I am using the Balboa template, which includes boxes/sections on the homepage that you can use as different categories of topics. What I want to accomplish is to link these boxes/sections, now categories, to specific topics within my entire project that content-wise fall under that category. I currently am just using a topic I've titled "Nav-page [category name here]" where I've typed the titles of the topics I'm creating and linking each topic to that title, then linking that nav-page to the text in each box on the home page. (Can you tell I usually hard-code everything? :D) I want to find a way to automate the generation of topics under each category so the user can click on the box on the home page and see a list of every topic that falls under that category without having to write out every title and link it every time I create a new topic.

I've done research into concept links and have tried using those, but the concept proxy only shows every single concept you've created and the concept link only shows a pull-down of customized topics, instead of taking the user to another page. I'm sure there's a way to automate what I want, I just haven't found it yet, and I'm sure the method I'm using right now is grossly under-using Madcap Flare's capabilities.
BedfordWriter
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:13 am
Location: Nova Scotia

Re: Auto-generate topics under a category in another linked

Post by BedfordWriter »

It's usually easier to manage the links as a TOC than to build a page that contains, essentially, a hand-drawn table of contents.
Another good option might be to use a RelTable.

Be careful about putting the same link into a TOC twice. Tends to be rather disorienting to the reader. If necessary, a better technique is to put the content into a snippet and put that snippet into two topics, each of which gets its own TOC entry.

In any case, there's never a need to type the topic name for a link. Just drag and drop the topic.
Veronica
Jr. Propeller Head
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:22 pm

Re: Auto-generate topics under a category in another linked

Post by Veronica »

BedfordWriter, thanks! I didn't consider using a TOC. I have considered using a RelTable. I'm hoping to get various opinions from people on how to approach this. I appreciate your input!
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