Understanding and Creating FrameMaker Templates - Reference Pages

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Reference Pages

Reference pages provide a place to store information to which you might want to refer from your document. They can also store setup data for FrameMaker. These include reference pages for:

• Graphics The reference pages hold graphics that you need to reuse. Adobe templates have default graphics, but you can add your own, such as corporate logos, lines, and icons. These graphics are then placed by attaching them to paragraphs in the Paragraph Designer’s Advanced properties sheet’s Frame Above Pgf and Below Pgf settings.

• HTML mappings These show up when you Save As XML, and in some Adobe templates they are there by default; they are not necessary for HTML via WebWorks Publisher.
  
• XML mappings These only show up when you Save As XML. These mappings are not necessary for XML round trip or XML via WebWorks Publisher.

• Comments These exist only if you create them. Reference pages are a good place to store comments about a template or document.

• Generated List These are used by FrameMaker for tables of contents, lists of figures, and other lists.

• Generated Index These are used by FrameMaker for the standard index, author index, and other index types.

• FrameMath These exist only if you create them. FrameMath pages are used for custom equation characters.

• Master Page Mapping Table These are only in documents when requested, and allow you to tie paragraphs and elements to master pages so that FrameMaker can adjust the page layout as you insert content (requires a manual start).

At minimum when creating a template, you will want to check your template to see what reference pages have been placed there by FrameMaker. Remove those that you do not need, such as the HTML Mapping Table pages. This will keep your template clean and easier to maintain.

One of the more common uses of reference pages is to store frequently used graphics. Reference page graphics can be lines, images, and logos (see Figure 3–13). These graphics can be consistently placed with headings or other text. Once attached to a paragraph format, the graphic will show up with every occurrence of that format.

In a new FrameMaker document ( New>Document>Portrait), go to View>Reference Pages and you will see a page similar to that in Figure 3-13. It includes several graphic frames containing lines. These lines can be attached to paragraph formats so that lines appear automatically whenever a format is used. To attach one of the existing lines to a paragraph,

1. Notice the Single Line graphic if you are still on the reference pages.
   

   
   Figure 3–13. A reference page is displayed with default graphics showing. 

2. Return to the body page view by selecting View>Body Pages.

3. Place your insertion point in a paragraph that is using the format to which you want to attach the graphic; for example, Heading1.

4. Open the Paragraph Designer.

5. In the Advanced properties sheet, use the pop-ups next to Frame Above Pgf and Below Pgf to select the Single Line
   graphic.
   
   
6. Click Update All.

You should immediately see the graphic attached above and below paragraphs tagged with the Heading 1 paragraph format.

If you wish to create a new graphic,

1. Select View>Reference Pages and locate the page with graphics already on it (such as Single Line).
   
2. On the Tools palette, click the Graphic Frame  tool.
   
   
3. Draw a frame on the reference page by clicking the left mouse button and holding it down as you drag to the desired frame size (avoid overlapping other items on the page).
   
   

   NOTE Do not worry about aligning the frame with other frames on the page. FrameMaker will align the graphic frame edge to the left edge of your body page text frame when attaching the graphic above/below paragraphs.

   
   
4. Release the left mouse button once your frame is the size you want it to be. Do not make it too large, as this will cause too much white space to appear in the document.
   
   The Frame Name dialog box appears.
   
   

   NOTE You can use the Graphics>Object Properties settings to move graphics against the top/left edges of the frame, among other settings. This gives you more control over the white space around each graphic’s edges.

   
   
5. Type a name for the frame in the text box, and click Set.

6. Put a graphic in the frame and, if necessary, adjust the frame’s size and width.

7. (OPTIONAL) Using the Text Line tool in the Tools palette, type the frame’s name above the frame.

Your graphic is now ready to attach to paragraph formats. To do this, use the instructions on page 59 for attaching the Single Line graphic to the Heading1 paragraph format.

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: Table Formats >>
 

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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!