Understanding and Creating FrameMaker Templates - Modifying and Adding Master Pages

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Modifying and Adding Master Pages

With the text formats done, it is now time to create the master pages for your cookbook. To make adjustments, select View>Master Pages to go to the master pages.

Because this document started as a new portrait document, there is one master page—Right. The default for portrait documents is to be single sided. After you get the Right page set up, the instructions will explain how to change the document to be double sided.

On the Right master page, you can see a large frame taking up most of the page. This is a template for a body page text frame. When you are on the body pages of a document, this is the text frame in which you create your document.

If you place your insertion point inside this frame, you will see 
 along the status bar (lower left corner of your document window). The flow is all of the frames connected together. On the body pages, this allows you to have many pages of a document connected, allowing text to flow from one page to the next while you type. Most documents are just one flow, and Flow A is the default.

NOTE If you plan to export to XML, keep all of your content in one connected flow. The Save As XML command only sends out your primary flow, and content in other flows is ignored.

Move your insertion point into the thin frame near the top of the page. This is an area you can use for your page header. It is a background frame, designed to be editable only on the master pages. Whatever is typed in this frame will appear at the top of every body page that uses this master page.

With your insertion point still inside the header background frame, type My Sample Cookbook, followed by a space.

Figure 3–20. This shows text being entered in the master page header.

By default, the text in the header frame is using a Header paragraph tag, although this format does not have a matching definition in the Paragraph Catalog (which is why an asterisk appears in front of its name). Select the text (leaving the space not selected) and apply the Bold character format. Your header text should now be bold.

NOTE The purpose of leaving a space at the end of the paragraph is to have a cushion to keep the character format from running all the way to the end of paragraph mark. If a character tag is applied on an entire paragraph, it can sometimes cause an asterisk to appear—as if there is an override on the format. The space keeps the asterisk from appearing.

Hit the Tab key twice to move to the right edge of the frame. Type Page followed by a space. From the Special>Variable dialog box, insert the Current Page Number variable, followed by a space, the word of, and another space. Go to Special>Variable again and insert the Page Count variable. This will automatically display the page number and total page count in the header.

Figure 3–21. A look at the finished header.

Open the graphics tools palette by clicking the  button along the right edge of your document window.

Select the Line tool, which is the second button down on the left side. Draw a line underneath the header background frame from edge to edge. To draw the line, click down at one edge of the frame and hold the mouse button down until it reaches the other edge. Then, release the mouse button to complete the line.

NOTE To keep the line flat, hold down the Shift key while drawing.

Add the footer information in the small frame at the bottom of the Right master page using the following instructions:

1. Place your insertion point inside the text frame.
   
   Notice that the paragraph format is Footer on the status bar. It has an asterisk in front of its name because Footer is not in the Paragraph Catalog. Since it is only used on the master pages, it does not need to be listed in the catalog where those creating the document body might inadvertently use it.
   
2. Click Tab once to move to the center of the frame.

3. Type Copyright 2003 in the frame.

4. Save your file.

This chapter is from XML and FrameMaker, by Kay Ethier (Apress, 2004, ISBN: 159059276X). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now.

Next: Creating a Double-sided Document >>
 

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Comments On: Understanding and Creating FrameMaker Templates

· Excellent article. I hope to use this info in my next FrameMaker project!    · Written very well for even beginners to understand   >>> Post your comment now!