Page Layout Flows

[Carlsen]

Can anyone explain, or point me to a resource, that explains page layout flows and how they work? What I'm trying to figure out is how I can control what text goes into one frame versus another. I read a good blog post (http://www.madcapsoftware.com/blog/2012 ... df-output/), but it didn't go into flows much.

For example, I'm creating a cover page. So I have a topic with three blocks of text: 1. the document title, 2. the version history of the doc and software, 3. contact information. In my page layout I've created three frames, one for each of these pieces of information, and the flow goes from the top-most frame to the bottom-most frame.

So my question is what controls which block of text goes into which frame? Is it simply a matter of what fits, meaning I have to adjust the size of the frame to accept the quantity of text I expect to live there? Or is there some way I can dictate which block of text in the cover page topic goes into which frame in the page layout?

The reason I ask is that I'm using one page layout for multiple documents. I've had the problem in the past where some document titles are short and take up only one line but others are long and can take two or three lines. So if I make my frame too small, strange things begin to happen with long document titles.

Hopefully that explains what I'm after. I'd really just like to understand how flows work better so I can try and make a true one size fits all page layout.

[Nita Beck]

I don't have much time right now so (apologies) will be brief.

Assuming that you've used multiple decoration frames, you can control the order of the frames. This Flare topic touches on how to do this near the end of the topic: http://webhelp.madcapsoftware.com/flare ... Frames.htm (I see a note that multiple decoration frames won't work for Word and FrameMaker output...) Flare will process your content starting with the first frame; it'll put what's first in a topic into the first frame until no more content will fit or until there is an explicit frame break.

You can control when your content will break from one frame to the next frame by adding a frame break, either to the style (such as to the style used for the document title) or inline to a block (which I don't recommend). For more on frame breaks, check this: http://webhelp.madcapsoftware.com/flare ... Breaks.htm. (Again, doesn't apply to Word or FrameMaker output.)

HTH in getting you at least part way where you want to go.

[Carlsen]

Thanks Nita,

The frame break styles were what I was looking for. I figured there had to be some kind of setting like that, but wasn't finding it. This makes setting up layouts a lot easier, and allows me to completely separate out the data/text from the formatting (and get better results in the process).

Thanks again.