MadCap Flare Version 9

Transcription

1 MadCap Flare Version 9 Generating Word Output from Flare TECHCOMM PROCEDURE Sample Flare Project by Laura Protano

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3 2Contents Generating Word Output 5 Add the Word TOC 5 Add the Word Target and Build It 7 Fix Word Output Content 8 Writing Sample 2014 Laura Protano iii

4 Contents MadCap Flare iv Writing Sample 2014 Laura Protano

5 Generating Word Output This procedure describes how to generate a Microsoft Word document from a MadCap Flare version 9 or 10 project. This procedure assumes that the Flare project that is already configured to generate PDF and HTML5 output. To generate Word output from an existing Flare project, do the following: "Add the Word TOC" on page 5 "Add the Word Target and Build It" on page 7 "Fix Word Output Content" on page 8 Add the Word TOC To create the TOC for the Word output, do the following: 1. Open the Flare project, and then close all open topics and files (Window ribbon > Close All Documents tool). 2. In the Project Organizer window, do the following to copy your existing TOC file: a. Open the TOCs folder. b. Right-click your existing TOC file, and select Copy. c. Right-click the TOCs folder, and select Paste. d. Right-click the copy of the TOC, select Rename, and change the file name to Word TOC. 3. In the Project Organizer window, double-click the Word TOC file to open it. 4. In the TOC file, delete TOC entries for any topics that appear only in the Help such as the Help Home page topic. 5. Update the TOC properties for the Cover Page: a. Right-click the Cover Page entry, and select Properties. b. On the Printed Output tab, enter the following values for the Cover Page topic: Page Layout Cover_Word Page Type Normal c. Click OK. Writing Sample 2014 Laura Protano 5

6 Generating Word Output MadCap Flare 6. Update the TOC properties for the Contents topic: a. Right-click the Contents entry, and select Properties. b. On the Printed Output tab, enter the following values for the Contents: Page Layout TOC_Word Page Type Normal c. Click OK. 7. Update the TOC properties for the first chapter: a. Right-click the first chapter entry, and select Properties. b. On the Printed Output tab, enter the following values for the first chapter: Page Layout Chapters_Word or Chapters_Word_RuledHeader Note If the level 1 chapter heading is h1, select Chapters_Word. If the level 1 chapter heading is h1 with a class applied (e.g., h1.nochapnum), select Chapters_Word_RuledHeader instead. There is a known bug in Flare that prevents the system variable from displaying a level 1 heading in Word output if the heading has a class applied. To work around this bug, the alternative page layout shows a ruled line only and not a heading name. Page Type Right c. Click OK. 8. Update the TOC properties for subsequent chapters: a. Right-click the chapter entry, and select Properties. b. On the Printed Output tab, enter the following values for each subsequent chapter: Page Layout Chapters_Word or Chapters_Word_RuledHeader Page Type (continue L/R) Note Due to a known Word output issue, the page type used varies depending on whether the page is an odd or even numbered page. To get around this, select the page type of (continue L/R). This option allows Flare to determine the page type for a chapter's first page based on the page number (even = Left page type, odd=right page type). c. Click OK. 9. Update the TOC properties for each Appendix chapter (including Glossary or Revision History sections): 6 Writing Sample 2014 Laura Protano

7 MadCap Flare Generating Word Output a. Right-click the chapter entry, and select Properties. b. On the Printed Output tab, enter the following values for each Appendix chapter: Page Layout Chapters_Word or Chapters_Word_RuledHeader Page Type (continue L/R) Page Number, Value Delete whatever value appears before the Format field (e.g., RH {n}). Page Number, Format Change the selection from text to (default). Page Number, Increment number Change the page number selection from Reset to to Increment number. Note You must delete the values in the Reset to section before you change the option to Increment number. Otherwise, errors will appear when you compile the output. c. Click OK. 10. Type Ctrl+Shift+S to save all changes. The TOC configuration for the Word output is complete. Add the Word Target and Build It To add a new target for Word output, do the following: 1. In the Project Organizer window, right-click Targets and select Add Target. 2. In the Add File dialog box, select the following values: File Name Word Target. (The name should identify the content such as the client name, document type, and so on.) Output Type Word 3. Click Add. 4. In the Project Organizer window, double-click the Word Output target file to open it. 5. On the General tab, select the following values: Master TOC Word TOC Output File <documentname>.docx Note You must include the file extension of.docx in the output file name if you want the output in Word format. If you do not include that file name extension, the default file format is a Word 2003 file(i.e.,.doc file extension). 6. On the Conditional Text tab, select the condition tags to exclude for this print target. For example, exclude the Default.ScreenOnly condition tag. Writing Sample 2014 Laura Protano 7

8 Generating Word Output MadCap Flare 7. On the Variables tab, enter values for any Project_Variables that vary from the default values configured for the entire project. For example, configure a draft date (DraftMarkFooter) for this target. 8. On the Advanced tab, in the MS Word Output section, select the Embed images in output check box. 9. Type Ctrl+Shift+S to save all changes. The Word Output target configuration is complete. 10. In the Project Organizer window, right-click the Word Output target (Project > Targets), and select Build 'Word Target'. 11. Review the resulting output file and then make further adjustments as needed. Fix Word Output Content The styles in the TechComm Flare templates are optimized for PDF output. As a result, there are known formatting issues in the Word output. The default Word output is adequate for internal review. If the document will be distributed externally, review the content and adjust known formatting issues. The following table lists known issues in the Word output generated from the TechComm Flare templates: Issue Cover Page does not show blue arrow graphic. Chapters do not all begin on an oddnumbered page. Chapters do not use different first page format; they only use left/right page formats. h1 heading styles are indented too far to the right. Fix Reapply the Cover Page to the Word document. You can get the cover page content from one of the TechComm Word templates posted on SharePoint, or from the Word versions of the cover page posted to SharePoint (Templates > Cover Pages Templates - Word). Set the section breaks before Chapters 2 and later to start on an Odd page. If you want a header/footer to appear on any resulting blank pages between chapters, force the extra page break at the end of the chapter. Use the Page Layout settings to configure all sections to use a different first page, and then copy the first page header/footer format from our Word templates to the resulting document. Copy the equivalent level 1 paragraph style from the TechComm template, and apply it. For example, replace h1 with Heading 1, or replace h1.nochapnum with Heading 1 No Num. 8 Writing Sample 2014 Laura Protano

9 MadCap Flare Generating Word Output Issue Headers do not show chapter name if level 1 heading style in Flare had a class applied (e.g., h1.nochapnum). List items with a hidden bullet or number (e.g., li.continue) appear with the bullet or number in Word. Nested list items do not always appear correctly in Word. Image styles applied with CSS do not transfer to the Word file. Notes are too wide. Too much cell padding above and below text in table rows. Fix Insert a StyleRef field in the header for that section/chapter to show the heading style in use. Use Word's bullets and numbering tools to turn off the bullet or number for the list item. Check nested list items (e.g., a list of bullets that appears within a numbered procedures). Make sure the nested list uses the correct format (bullet or number) and appears at the correct level (e.g., nested below the numbered item). Use Word's format picture tools to add image borders and background colors as needed. Copy the note style from the TechComm template, and apply it to the Note heading and content. Select all rows in a table, and apply the paragraph style Table Text. (If the content is in list format, apply the standard list styles from the TechComm Word template.) Writing Sample 2014 Laura Protano 9

10 Generating Word Output MadCap Flare 10 Writing Sample 2014 Laura Protano