Problem with lists.

[Kat se gat]

Does anyone have any idea why a simple list I created doesn't show in the output as expected?

My screenshot below shows what I tried. The first list was created using a bulleted list. I tried all the standard bullet styles on the Home ribbon but my output doesn't contain any bullets. Yet, if I create a list using any of the default numeric styles those work okay. In the bullet list Flare shows a grey rectangle before each item. I'm not sure what that's telling me.

Here's the underlying XML that was generated:

<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>aaa</li>
<li>bbb</li>
<li>ccc</li>
<li>ddd</li>
<li>eee</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li>aaa</li>
<li>bbb</li>
<li>ccc</li>
<li>ddd</li>
<li>eee</li>
</ol>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>

[Kat se gat]

I thought it was my problem but I'm not so sure now as it can be recreated.

Create a new project and select the User Guide Advanced template. Accept the default settings for all other options and dialogs.

Open the content explorer. Expand B_Links and Lists and double click Lists.htm. Look at the Simple Bulleted List. That too has the same "problem" as I have. My project is based on the same template.

[atomdocs]

Hi Peter

I created a project from the User Guide Advanced template, and on my system, the section you indicate looks ok:

list-topic.png

This builds as expected in the PDF:

list-pdf.png

One thing to note, this template uses a custom bullet image:

list-style.png

Is the image "Bullet1.eps" available in your Images folder?

If it is, perhaps there is a problem displaying eps files on your system...?

Try setting "list-style-image" to "(default)" for the ul tag, you should just get bullets.

What do you need to do from this point - are you testing the functionality of the template, or are you working on a live project? And do you want the fancy "Bullet1.eps" bullets?

[Kat se gat]

Tom

Is the image "Bullet1.eps" available in your Images folder?

Yes.

If it is, perhaps there is a problem displaying eps files on your system...?

I didn't have an eps viewer installed. I downloaded one. When I double click on one of the eps files the viewer shows them. I don't know how Flare would do the same. I mean, if my PDF output was copied to a machine without an eps viewer would it just show whitespace in the document? On top of that, although I installed an eps viewer, Flare still doesn't show them in the IDE. Does it matter what kind of eps viewer you have? Which one do you use?

Try setting "list-style-image" to "(default)" for the ul tag, you should just get bullets.

I tried that but it made no change. The XML for the ul tag now contains:

<ul class="list-style-type: (default);">
<li>oooo</li>
<li>llll</li>
<li>kkkk</li>
<li>mmmm</li>
</ul>

I tried the default with and without the round brackets so perhaps I have a syntax issue? I also tried list-style-image like you suggested. No difference.

What do you need to do from this point - are you testing the functionality of the template, or are you working on a live project? And do you want the fancy "Bullet1.eps" bullets?

In essence, I'm adding my real world stuff to the template by copying the bits I need from a Word document. Before you ask, I don't want to import the entire Word document! So, yes, I'm testing the template as I go along as it seems to do everything I want. I don't mind dispensing with the fancy chevron bullets if I could just get the rose fungus bullet (black spot) to work.

EDIT: Tom, here's another oddity. I created a new project using the User Guide Basic template. Without any jiggery-pokery on my part, the bullets work okay. Does that suggest my answer is to be found within the CSS domain?

[atomdocs]

Hi Peter

If everything works in the new project, fresh from the template, then my thought about eps display issues is wrong, sorry about that.

From your description, it looks like you are creating styles inline in the XML editor, is that right? Best practice is to not do that. The styles you have added (in your examples) aren't really styles. The best way to modify styles and create new styles classes is through the stylesheet, which you can find in your Resources > Stylesheets folder.

styles.png

Double-click styles.css to open it in Flare's own stylesheet editor. My guidance to set the ul display type to (default) is applicable to the stylesheet editor, it won't work like that in an inline style. Manage all your styles through the stylesheet, and your whole project will be more resilient and efficient.

However, I'd say that first you need to track down all your inline styles and remove them (and then start applying styles using the stylesheet). Or you could start fresh with a new project from the template. (And start using the stylesheet ) It depends on which is more work: removing the inline styles from your existing project or putting the content into a new project.

The Flare Help has a few intro topics for getting a feel for stylesheets:

http://webhelp.madcapsoftware.com/flare ... k_Good.htm

Keep us posted!

[Kat se gat]

Tom, I have found a solution but why I had to do it I'm not sure. Let me explain.

I created a new User Guide Advanced project. I then copied the styles.css from that project directly into my other project, that is, overwriting the file. It made no difference to the missing bullets (sounds like a crime scene ). I'm happy then that I introduced nothing spooky into my CSS file. I then created a User Guide Basic project. I then compared the CSS file in that to my one. There were quite a few differences between the two but again, I changed nothing. I noticed the basic template did not have a style entry for <ul> and <ol>. I then edited my style sheet outside of Flare. I removed all entries for <ul> and <ol> and saved the file. I reopened my project, and voila, the bullets now appear.

I will repeat my experiment and this time I'll remove only <ul> as the ordered lists seem to work okay. I just don't know enough about Flare to understand why removing the stock <ul> seems to have "fixed" the problem. As I mentioned previously, I did install an eps viewer but perhaps that was a proverbial red herring. Does any of this make sense to you? It sure as heck doesn't to me.

EDIT: Tom, I did what I set out to do and removed the <ul> elements from the CSS file. I'm happy to report that it all seems okay now. I also checked the ordered lists and they still work as they used to. The <ul> elements had references to those eps files. Culling the <ul> elements really does seem to have worked for me. Maybe there's enough information here for your superior Flare brain to explain. All very perplexing as I never used any inline style attributes and if I did I restored my project immediately after I established nothing was fixing my issues.

[atomdocs]

Peter, my less than superior Flare brain hasn't quite followed you at each turn in your last post. But if your project is working and you're not using inline styles, it sounds good!

[Kat se gat]

Tom,

In a nutshell, I had to remove the <ul> elements from the Styles.css which was the file the User Guide Advanced template created for me. Now that it is working I can look at re-adding my p.RedBorder style which was the only thing I added to it.

I'd still be interested in knowing why they work for you as is. Your original hunch about my having an eps viewer seemed to be valid but once installed it didn't change anything. I'd like to know about any eps malarkey you've installed. Which one, for example? I'm using Win 7 but I never had an eps viewer available by default.

[NorthEast]

Regarding EPS, if you insert an EPS image in Flare, it will pop up a message telling you to download Ghostscript from:
http://www.madcapsoftware.com/downloads/ghostscript.aspx

[Kat se gat]

Dave, I think that was it! I installed GhostScript and I reinstated the original Styles.css file. I now get those little chevrons appearing in the list.

[GaryUK]

Note, Flare 12 is 64 bit. When I installed it, I couldn't see my eps files anymore. I installed the 64 bit version of GhostScript and it now works.