Set a list sequence default?

[RussGuill]

Is there a way I can set a list sequence default? I couldn't find anything in the style sheet and since I space out my list items (causing the sequence to start over with each new item) I have to manually set the "Continue Sequence" spec for each numbered item.

Thanks!

[LTinker68]

I don't have Flare running at the moment, but my first impulse is to say no. I don't think there is a "continue" property that can be applied to list items or to the <ol> tag.

The only way I can think of doing it would be to create a snippet that includes a single list item in an <ol> tag, with a "continue" function applied to the list. You'd then insert the snippet where you want it in the topic and then convert the snippet to text (instead of leaving it as a block). However, it would be faster just to click the list action menu and click the Continue Sequence option than to go through all the trouble of setting up, inserting, and converting a snippet.

This is a good example of how a user-defined macro would be helpful. If Flare had that ability, then you could record your own macro sequence (or "actions" in Photoshop terminology), which would be clicking on the list action and selecting Continue Sequence. Flare doesn't have the ability to record user-defined macros, but you could submit a request for that feature at http://www.madcapsoftware.com/bugs/submit.aspx.

[Fedja]

Couldn't you do that by heavily padding your list css class?

[LTinker68]

He's not talking about spacing as in distance, but as in item #1 may be at the top of the page, then there could be additional information, a screenshot, etc., then item #2 appears. If you break out of a list to put the additional paragraph tags in, then when you restart the list you have to click the list actions icon and click "Continue sequence" to get the list to begin with 2 instead of restarting at 1.

However, it might not be a problem if you use the "Make simple paragraph" option to insert a paragraph inside the list. That's not a feature that I normally use (can't remember why I didn't like to use it when it was first added to Flare), so I'm not positive the numbering will continue automatically, especially if you had a custom class to one of the paragraphs (e.g., add a "note" class to a paragraph).

Try using the "Make simple paragraph" option and see if that keeps your numbering in sequence.

[RussGuill]

Thank you for your responses. I'm going to submit an enhancement request for this.

[doc_guy]

The proper way to do this is to do what Lisa suggested: use the "Make Paragraph Item" option when you right-click on the LI block in the XML editor:



I've discussed this before, but it's worth discussing again.

You're working in XML, and your content is semantically related, so the structure should reflect that semantic relation.

What you are describing is a list item that has several child paragraphs which may or may not include images, etc. The following is an INCORRECT semantic structure:

Code: Select all

<ol>
<li>First step is to do x.</li>
</ol>
<p>You should be aware of blah blah.</p>
<img>
<p class"Note">NOTE: Don't forget to do blah blah!</p>
<ol>
<li>Next you should do Y.</li>
</ol>

This is what you are asking the code to do when you don't properly nest the related semantic elements. From the code, you can't tell that the paragraphs between the first and second step are related to the text in the first step. In fact, you can't tell, from the code, that the two steps are part of the same list.

The proper way to address this, is to properly nest your elements, like this>

Code: Select all

<ol>
 <li>
   <p>First step is to do x.</p>
   <p>You should be aware of blah blah.</p>
   <img>
   <p class"Note">NOTE: Don't forget to do blah blah!</p>
  </li>
  <li>Next you should do Y.</li>
</ol>

Now it is clear, from a structural point of view, how the content in this XML file is related. There are clear parent/child relationships, and all the content in the first <li> are grouped together (so they can be moved together etc.).

MadCap does provide a way to restart your list, but all it is allowing you to do is maintain broken underlying XML. It's a stop-gap measure, but the resulting source code is messy and not semantically structured, which really is incorrect.

You achieve this proper structure by using the "Make Paragraph Item" option shown above.

Now, one thing you should be aware of: since you are using <p> elements as a child in your <li> element, you're going to get the <p> style from the style sheet, in addition to the <li> style. If you have positioning or padding or margin added to both of these elements, they will be added together for the <p> elements that are children of <li> elements. You can fix this by creating a complex selector in your stylesheet like this:

Code: Select all

li p {
     margin: 10px;
}

This style will be applied only for <p> elements that are direct children of <li> elements, so you can ensure your spacing works like you want.

[LTinker68]

You can fix this by creating a complex selector in your stylesheet like this:

Code: Select all

li p {
     margin: 10px;
}

This style will be applied only for <p> elements that are direct children of <li> elements, so you can ensure your spacing works like you want.

Nice explanation, Paul. And just to add to Paul's comments, if you use relative font sizes (ems or %), then you'll want to add a font-size declaration to the complex selector shown above. Otherwise, your font sizes for paragraphs in lists will be smaller than fonts in paragraphs outside of lists.

[RussGuill]

Very cool...I didn't know that could be done. Thank you all!