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Creating Print-based Output

You can use create print-based output in Flare by generating a target based on one of the following formats: Adobe PDF, XHTML, Microsoft XPS, Microsoft Word, Adobe FrameMaker. Following are the general steps (some required, most optional) for producing a printed version of your project.

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Step 1 — Create and Edit Content

Creating and editing content for print-based output typically consists of the following tasks.

1. Create topics Create topics as you normally would. Some of the content in your topics might be used for both print-based and online output, some might be used only for print output, and some might be used only for online output. In a later step in this process, you'll use condition tags to separate which content is used for which type of output. In this step, create your normal topics and enter content in them, regardless of whether they are to be used for print, online, or both. See Creating Topics.

   In addition to the regular topics that make up your chapter content, you can create special topics with a proxy (placeholder) for displaying generated content. These special topics are especially useful for print-based output and are often used for your manual's front matter and back matter. The most common type of generated content is a table of contents. Other kinds of output for which you can create topics include indexes, glossaries, endnotes, lists of elements, and lists of concepts.

   • (Optional) Topic for a print TOC If you want your print-based output to include a table of contents (TOC), create a topic specifically for this purpose and insert a TOC proxy into it. Please note that you do not create the TOC itself in your project. Instead, the TOC is automatically generated in the output based on the heading styles that you apply to the content in your topics, or it can be based on the structure or your outline. See Creating a Topic for a Print TOC.

   • (Optional) Topic for a print index If you want your print-based output to include the index from your Flare project, create a topic specifically for this purpose and insert an index proxy into it. See Creating a Topic for a Print Index.

   • (Optional) Topic for a print glossary If you want your print-based output to include the glossary from your Flare project, create a topic specifically for this purpose and insert a glossary proxy into it. See Creating a Topic for a Print Glossary.
   • (Optional) Topic for collection of endnotes If you have inserted footnotes throughout your project and want the print-based output to display all of them in one location (as opposed to, say, the bottom of each page), create a topic specifically for this purpose and insert an endnotes proxy into it. See Creating an Endnotes Proxy.
   • (Optional) Topic for a list of elements If you want your print-based output to include a list of certain elements that you have inserted in the project (e.g., images, tables), create a topic specifically for this purpose and insert a list-of proxy into it. See Creating a List of Elements.
   • (Optional) Topic for a list of concepts If you want your print-based output to include a list of the concepts that you have inserted in the project, create a topic specifically for this purpose and insert a concepts proxy into it. See Creating a List of Concepts.
2. Add optional "stuff" In addition to topics (which are required), there are many optional elements that you can add to your project to suit your needs, such as images, tables, snippets, variables, index markers, cross-references, text boxes, and footnotes. For a thorough list, see Adding Stuff to Projects.
3. Make it look good There are numerous features for "dressing up" your output. The two basic methods for accomplishing most formatting tasks are the use of styles and local formatting. For a thorough list of formatting tasks and features, see Making It Look Good.
4. (Optional) Single-sourcing features If you want to produce multiple outputs using some of the same content, you can use Flare's many single-sourcing features to make this easy. These features are especially useful if you want to generate both online and print-based output.

   • Topic styles for print A style sheet allows you to single-source formatting by setting the properties in one place and reusing them throughout your project. But what if you want your online output to look one way and your printed output to look another way? Rather than creating a style for online output and another style for printed output, you can use a single style and provide it with two sets of properties—one set to use for online output and another set to use with printed output. You can accomplish this through the use of a medium in your style sheet. See Creating Topic Styles for Print Output.

   • Table styles for print A table style sheet allows you to single-source your formatting by setting the properties in one place and reusing them wherever you insert tables in your project. But what if you want the tables in online output to look one way and the tables in your printed output to look another way? Here are two options… Solution #1—Two mediums: This is the recommended solution. You can have one table style sheet and use a medium to specify different settings for it—one medium is used for online output and another for print. Solution #2—Two table style sheets: You can insert a single table at each location, using a special version of the table style for print-based output. This solution requires you to have two table style sheets—one for online and one for print. See Creating Table Styles for Print Output.
   • Single-source images If you have MadCap Capture installed on your computer, you can take advantage of its tight integration with Flare. You can use the single-sourcing ("Print Format") feature to produce just one image for both online and print-based outputs. This means that, for images, you do not need to use condition tags to separate images for online output from images for print-based output. See Creating Single-Source Images.
   • Resizing pictures You can resize images through the use of styles or local formatting. Not only can you select a specific image size, but you can also set a maximum or minimum height or width. You can set either the width or height on the image tag and let Flare set the other property automatically, maintaining the aspect ratio (i.e., size proportion of the image. Using this method, you can take advantage of single-sourcing by also using a print medium in the style sheet. Simply specify one group of settings for the medium used for the online output, and use another group of settings for the medium used for print-based output. See Resizing Pictures and About Style Sheet Mediums.

   • Condition tags Condition tags can be used to tell Flare which content is to be used for online output only and which is to be used for print-based output only. If you need more condition tags than the ones provided by Flare, you can create as many as necessary. See Creating Condition Tags for Printed Output.

     By applying condition tags to content, you can separate what is intended for print-based output and what is not. That way, content intended for online output does not show up in your printed manuals, and content intended for print is left out of the online Help systems. See Applying Condition Tags for Printed Output.

     After you apply the condition tags to the appropriate content for print-based output, you'll need to specify in a target (based on one of the print output types) which condition tags to include in the print-based output and which to exclude. See Associating Condition Tags with Your Print Target.

5. Create page layouts or master pages You can use page layouts and master pages to configure pages for print output (e.g., page size, orientation, headers, footers, page numbers). Page layouts allow for easy configuration through the use of content frames, a snap-to grid, dragging and dropping, alignment features, and more. Although they are similar to master pages, page layouts are more flexible and easier to use. Master pages, however, will continue to be available in Flare for users who have implemented them into past projects; plus, master pages are still useful for online output. The general rule is that page layouts are best for print-based output (when possible), and master pages are best for automatically adding headers and footers in multiple topics for online output. See Creating Page Layouts or Master Pages.
6. Create "outline table of contents" You need to make sure that all of the topics for your print-based output are added to an "outline table of contents" (TOC). The outline TOC is used to determine which topics from the project are to be included in a particular manual (i.e., target), as well as their sequence in the output. See About Tables of Contents.

   In addition, an outline TOC is also used for specifying chapter breaks, section breaks, and auto-numbering flow in output.

Step 2 — Develop Outputs

Before generating your output, you need to develop a target and associate it with the format that you want to use (Adobe PDF, XHTML, Microsoft XPS, Microsoft Word, or Adobe FrameMaker). See Determining the Output Type and Editing Target Settings.

Step 3 — Build Output

Now you need to generate the appropriate print target. See Building Output.

Step 4 — Distribute Output

The final step is to distribute the output. See Distributing Output.

Note: For additional help on print-based output, you can download the Flare Printed Output Guide (madcapsoftware.com/documentation/FlareV7/FlarePrintedOutputGuide.pdf).

See Also

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