What does data-mc-ignore="true" do?

[Phlawm53]

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What does What does data-mc-ignore="true" do? Or better yet, where is this documented?

I tried searching this forum as well as a PDF catalog of all the Flare 11 PDFs. Much to my surprise, no luck.

This is included in several online outputs, not least of which is Flare's own TopNav online help (OLH):

Flare11TopNavData-mc-ignore.png

Why is data-mc-ignore="true" in so many of Flare's online outputs? And when if ever should data-mc-ignore="false"?

My apologies in advance if everyone but me already knows this. I've tried finding the answer but so far have come up empty.

Cheers & thanks,
Riley
SFO

[NorthEast]

I've no idea what it does, but was there a reason why you need to know?

The data- attribute is used in HTML5 to embed data into the HTML code. You can reference the data attribute in your CSS and scripts, so presumably mc-ignore is used for something deep in the bowels of MadCap's code.

[Phlawm53]

I've no idea what it does, but was there a reason why you need to know?

… presumably mc-ignore is used for something deep in the bowels of MadCap's code.

Just curious. It's "everywhere" and evidently not described, so I wondered what it was or wasn't doing.

The question is perhaps even more pertinent vis-a-vis HTML5 TopNav output. TopNav relies fairly heavily on the third-party components jQuery and Zurb Foundation (and of course JavaScript) that seem to have become de facto Web design standards. I therefore find myself wondering if data-mc-ignore is perhaps a legacy of older systems that isn't really required for TopNav. Of course if other Flare online Targets do require it, I can understand why it wouldn't make sense from a design and support basis to try and exclude it from one online Target type alone.

In the end, just curious what it's doing…

Cheers & thanks for your help,
Riley
SFO

[NorthEast]

The data- attribute was only introduced in the HTML5 spec, so I'd only expect it to be in Flare's HTML5 targets. Also, since this code is generated at build time, I'd only expect it to be there if it was actually required.

Flare does use a number of libraries/kits, e.g. jQuery, RequireJS, Foundation (Zurb), CSSPie. However, this isn't new to Flare 11 or the topnav skin. For example, jQuery was being used in WebHelp (before HTML5), and Foundation was used behind the scenes from the first HTML5 (tripane) output.

I think these libraries/kits are probably just a bit more visible in Flare v11 when using the top nav template; for example, the home page uses foundation classes for its layout. Also, since you're using a single page design, your CSS can affect everything on the page, whereas when using a tripane skin you're only affecting the topic.