referencing image captions

[alaltenburg]

Hello all. I am relatively new to Flare as well as CSS. I actually have a 2 part question.

I am having issues with autonumbering my figure captions. I have a style called p.figure that I set up so each caption numbers itself (because I do not want all images to be numbered). So far, it will only read "Figure 1-1" in the xml viewer, as well as the built output. I have autonumbering set up like this:

Figure 1-{n+}


The second question: I reference the figure numbers throughout the text. I want to have the picture with caption, then underneath reference the figure number "as you can see by Figure 1-9, blah blah blah. Is there a way to autonumber the next to match the specified picture?

Thank you for any assistance,

Andrea

[LTinker68]

I am having issues with autonumbering my figure captions. I have a style called p.figure that I set up so each caption numbers itself (because I do not want all images to be numbered). So far, it will only read "Figure 1-1" in the xml viewer, as well as the built output. I have autonumbering set up like this:

Figure 1-{n+}

You need to set the autonumbering up as a chapter-wide sequence so that each topic continues the figure numbering from the previous topic. The next chapter will restart at 1 since you're using a chapter-wide sequence and not a global sequence. So your style might look like the following:

Code: Select all

p.captionFig
{
	mc-auto-number-format: 'CF:Figure {chapnum}-{n+} ';
}

The "C" indicates that it's a chapter-wide counter, the "F" is just an arbitrary identifier for this autonumbering sequence (and shouldn't be reused in any other sequence), "Figure" of course is the text, "chapnum" tells it to pick up the current chapter number, and the "n+" is the number that sequences, but only for this chapter. It seems like I tried a situation like this before but I ended up not going with it because it was associating my TOC and a couple of other items as chapters so the chapter numbering was off, but I didn't spend much time figuring it out. So I'm not positive if {chapnum} is the one to use.

The second question: I reference the figure numbers throughout the text. I want to have the picture with caption, then underneath reference the figure number "as you can see by Figure 1-9, blah blah blah. Is there a way to autonumber the next to match the specified picture?

You insert a bookmark next to the figure caption, then you use a cross-reference that points to that bookmark and tell it to only use the autonumber number and not its text. You can create a custom xref style from the Insert Cross-Reference screen or from within the Stylesheet Editor. I have a similar style that looks like the following in the stylesheet:

Code: Select all

MadCap|xref.figureNum
{
	mc-format: 'see {paranumonly}';
}

When that's inserted, it comes back as "see Figure 3", for instance.

[alaltenburg]

I have 25 projects set up currently, 1 for each chapter of my help system. Can I set it up so each project know what chapter it is? I was setting my autonumbering to be Figure 1- {n+} and changing the figure number in each of my projects. Is there a way that I can specify chapter numbers without having it always say 1 when I assign chapters?

Thanks,
Andrea

[KevinDAmery]

Is there a reason for making each chapter a project? I think you'll find it's much easier if you keep all the content in one project then use chapter breaks in your TOC to indicate where chapters start. Doing each chapter as a separate project seems like a lot of extra overhead.

[alaltenburg]

There are a few reasons we have them split.

1. the software already is programmed to search for each .chm file individually, so it was easier to keep it that way.
2. the software is split into modules for each division of the company. (accounting only has those modules, warehouse only has inventory, ect) and the information in the help menu is only meant for those divisions and the other divisions are not allowed to see that part of the manual. If it was all one big help file, they would be able to navigate around and find information that are not entitled to know.
3. the software is work in progress and it is easier to build sections at a time and put them into the program than to keep building 1 file repeatedly.

There may be solutions to these issues, but this is why we chose this separate projects. I have one global stylesheet for each. The only issue I have had so far is setting chapters. When I do it, it always says chapter one (which makes sense)

Thanks for the help,
Andrea

[LTinker68]

I have 25 projects set up currently, 1 for each chapter of my help system. Can I set it up so each project know what chapter it is? I was setting my autonumbering to be Figure 1- {n+} and changing the figure number in each of my projects. Is there a way that I can specify chapter numbers without having it always say 1 when I assign chapters?

I was going to suggest using a variable and then change the variable value specific to each project, but I don't think you can insert a variable into an autonumber format. I've never tried it, so maybe you can use the same format that's used to insert a variable into a TOC entry, but I have a feeling it'll just treat it as text and won't parse the info. So I don't think there's a way to do it with a global stylesheet since they'd all be using the same autonumber format.

Based on your last post, though, I'm not sure why you even want to include the chapter number. If the various groups only see their own .chm file, then the chapter designation would mean nothing to them since it's out of context. If accounting's chapter is number 4, then don't they wonder who has chapters 1 to 3? So why even use chapter numbers if the content is in separate help files?

[KevinDAmery]

Ah, I see. Multiple CHMs makes sense in those cases. (BTW, when you said "project" I assumed you meant Flare project, not output files).

I don't think you can assign a chapter number to a CHM. The Chapter Number variable, as you've described, operates within a given help system, not across them. The CHM format itself doesn't really have the concept of "chapters" so I don't think it was designed to automatically assign numbers when you merge multiple CHMs together.

If you're talking about for online output, though, why reference images by number at all? The beauty of online formats like CHM and webhelp is you can just link directly to the image and if the user wants to see it they can click on the link and there it is. Figure numbers are a print convention that came about because in print you have to read sequentially and thus need a way to tell the reader how to identify which figure you're referring to. With online formats, this convention is no longer required because you can be much more dynamic with your content.

(As an aside, I also think that Chapter numbers don't make much sense in online formats either, again because online documents are not typically read in a sequential manner and because readers locate items using hyperlinks rather than by paging through looking for chapter numbers.)

[alaltenburg]

If you're talking about for online output, though, why reference images by number at all? The beauty of online formats like CHM and webhelp is you can just link directly to the image and if the user wants to see it they can click on the link and there it is. Figure numbers are a print convention that came about because in print you have to read sequentially and thus need a way to tell the reader how to identify which figure you're referring to. With online formats, this convention is no longer required because you can be much more dynamic with your content.

I am doing both an HTML Help as well as a Word printout. I am setting the Figure numbers to only be used in the print version. I forgot to mention that.

Based on your last post, though, I'm not sure why you even want to include the chapter number. If the various groups only see their own .chm file, then the chapter designation would mean nothing to them since it's out of context. If accounting's chapter is number 4, then don't they wonder who has chapters 1 to 3? So why even use chapter numbers if the content is in separate help files?

The only reason I would include chapter numbers is so I could set up a stylesheet for my figure captions

Figure {chaptnum} - {n+}

The way I am doing it now, is setting a stylesheet for each of the 25 projects

Figure 1-{n+}, Figure 2-{n+}, ect.

[KevinDAmery]

How many Word targets are you making? One for each CHM project, or are you just making a single print manual that covers all possible combinations?

[alaltenburg]

Each project will be it's own .chm file. Chapter 1, chapter 2, ect.

Each project will be printed separately as their own word file. Each division of the company will get a bound version of the help word document that is only specific to their jobs. No one person would have 1 copy of the entire 25 chapters. For this reason, I am keeping them separate.