page layout: pages of same type, but different name?

[owenf]

Hi all,

Background:
I'm trying to keep at most one page layout per document
I am already using all the stock page types (title, first, normal, left, and right) in that layout.
I want one instance of the normal page that is different to all others

The problem:
Flare doesn't seem to have custom page types
Even though Flare allows you to copy and rename and edit pages in the layout, you can't select pages by name in the TOC editor properties (you can only select by type when using the UI)

The investigation:
I edited the TOC XML as follows, which worked:

<TocEntry
Title="..."
Link="..."
StartChapter="..."
PageLayout="..."
PageNumberReset="reset"
PageNumber="1"
PageType="normal"
PageName="Syzygy"
StartSection="false" />

Finally, the questions:
Can we rely on this kludge?
If yes, why can't I find a UI way to do it?
If no, what is the real purpose of copying pages in the layout - am I missing something?

Thanks in advance for any pointers,
Owen
ps Flare 7.2, though a colleague checked 8.1

[owenf]

*this page intentionally blank*

i put a named page ("blank") in my layout as i described in my previous post. i would still love to know whether this is officially supported because the xml obviously parses fine and output works with hacked TOC as expected BUT the mystery of the missing UI support persists.

can anyone with some under-the-hood knowledge of Flare, specifically the chapter break feature, come back on this please?

thanks
Owen

[ajturnersurrey]

For blank pages there is page type "Empty" available.

Interested by your work around, because I often find myself doing strange things like that to invent what is effectively a "Last" page. I want the company contact details etc to show in an enlarged footer, but only on the back page. It would be lovely if that were easy to set up!

[owenf]

i think i was misleading in my previous post, sorry
i don't really want a blank/empty page - i want (and have) one of type normal, name 'blank', without the running headers and footers, but otherwise the same as our normal Normal. i know we can work around this limitation with extra page layout files but, given the flexibility of the page layout editor, and the apparent usefulness of named pages, i'm surprised that we should need to do so. it seems counter-intuitive to me to implement support for multiple layouts, and the precedence and other complexity with it, when the layout editor supports creating and editing extra pages so you could use just one.
i don't mind if the named pages bit is buggy and that's why it's not documented or supported by the UI, but i am kind of hoping for some clarity on it.
i verified that the investigation i did above transports well into flare 8.

owen

[owenf]

For blank pages there is page type "Empty" available.

... I want the company contact details etc to show in an enlarged footer, but only on the back page. It would be lovely if that were easy to set up!

Sorry AJTurner,

I failed to address your question in my reply. what you need to do is:
1. duplicate whichever type of page is closest to your 'last' page, in the page layout editor, and rename it
2. edit the new page until it looks right - you may be able to use a footer frame to edit the contact detail in the layout - but i used a body frame so i can put a topic on my last page (my page also happens to be at the back)
3. edit your toc with the flare toc editor to put that topic at the end
4. edit the toc entry's properties - start new chapter or whatever, choose the page type you based your new page on
5. this is the experimental bit: open the toc in a text / xml editor and, on that entry, add the

Code: Select all

PageName="Your_unique_name"

line as shown in top post here. (not sure whether the attribute order matters, don't think so)
6. build
7. (optional) wonder whether or not this secret is too good to be true