MadCap Software Forums

Hi,

I would like to know if there is a way to open a pane, just like the annotations pane, to the right of the current topic being edited, with imformation about the text or paragraph that is currently being edited.
I need a way to see in what topics the snippet occurs, or in what snippet(s) the snippet occurs, and what condition tags are already applied.
The source files have become so complex that I end up with just adding new conditions (while I could have used an existing one but I have lost track of them) to get the output as wanted and this results in even more complexity.
So I am beginning to question myself if I missed a rule that I must stick to to prevent getting into these complex situations.
I mean, just like math: to decide to solve an equation you have a rule that, in case of A, you use addition and in case of B you use subtraction. So in case of A you create a snippet and in case of B you create and apply a condition.
No I seem to have ended up with a mix and at a sudden point I run into a text or paragraph that is conditioned but better had been a snippet and vice versa and when adjusting I ruin a bunch of documents because I cannot see in what other snippets or topics the text is used or what other conditions are already applied.
Is there anyone who recognized this and has developed or accidentaly found a feasible solution?

Thanks for any ideas!

Greetings,

Rene Severens

I think you should be able to create some reports to help you along. There are options such as "Files With Snippets," "Used Condition Tags," and so forth.

Good luck,
Leon

You can also use the Link Viewer pane (View > Link Viewer); that shows you what the current file is linked from and linked to.

Hi,

Link viewer and reports are OK and being used, but it seems I have to create a report each time before starting to edit an item to get the information I need.

With over 10.000 files (and still growing) link viewer and reports contain to much to scan through. It would be easier to have the computer figure that out and show me the information in a pane next to the item I am editing. That's why we have computers, or not?
Maybe a developer can write a small program to scan through the html files collecting the links and applied conditions and generate an excel like sheet on which a clever search option can jump to the item being edited and show the results for that item.

Using MadCap is actually costing me more time spent on document structures and link connections than on writing text.

Greetings,

Rene Severens

Rene Severens wrote:With over 10.000 files (and still growing) link viewer and reports contain to much to scan through. It would be easier to have the computer figure that out and show me the information in a pane next to the item I am editing. That's why we have computers, or not?
Maybe a developer can write a small program to scan through the html files collecting the links and applied conditions and generate an excel like sheet on which a clever search option can jump to the item being edited and show the results for that item.

If you open the snippet, the Linked from list will show all topics which use that snippet, and you can open those topics directly from the pane.

If you're saying there are too many linked topics, then you'll still have that same number however the information is presented.