Open topic with navigation

Inserting Heading Variables Into Frames

You can insert Heading variables into page layouts or master pages in order to automatically display text based on the <h1> through <h6> heading styles that you use in your project. Like Running Head variables, they are useful when creating print-based output. It's an easy way, for example, to automatically display a chapter title in the header of a chapter. For Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, and XHTML output, you can also use Heading variables to automatically display glossary headings/terms and index headings/terms in a page layout frame. See About Heading Variables, About Running Head Variables, and Inserting Running Head Variables into Frames.

Heading variables are very similar to Running Head variables. The key appeal of Running Head variables is that they are supported in FrameMaker and help with the transition of authors from FrameMaker to Flare. So people who are familiar with FrameMaker might prefer to use Running Head variables because they are used to them. However, Heading variables are somewhat easier to use and therefore are recommended for people who do not have a FrameMaker background.

How to insert a Heading variable into a page layout frame

1. Open a page in a page layout.

2. Click on the frame to which you want to add text or other content.

   Note: You can add text and content only to header, footer, and decoration frames. You cannot add text and content to a body frame (which automatically displays content from your topics). You can use image frames to insert pictures that use all of the space in the frame.

3. Do one of the following:

   • Press F2 on your keyboard.

     OR

   • In the local toolbar, click Edit Text.

     OR

   • Right-click the frame and select Edit Text.

   A message opens, asking if you want to pick content from a template (e.g., a page number).

4. Click No. The Frame Contents window pane opens.

   Note: If you have already prepared content in the form of a snippet and added it to your template folder, you can click "Yes" instead in order to select the snippet. See About Templates.

5. Click in the Frame Contents window pane.

6. Select Insert>Variable. The Variables dialog opens, with the variable set(s) on the left and the variables associated with the selected set on the right.

7. Select the Heading variable set.

8. Select the variable you want to add.

   • AnyLevel Automatically displays the text in the first heading on a page that uses any of the <h1> through <h6> styles.
   • FirstGlossaryPageHeading Automatically displays the first glossary heading (e.g., A, B, C, D, E) that occurs on a page with a generated glossary. In order for this variable to work, it must be inserted in a page layout that is used for the topic where a glossary proxy is inserted (see Creating a Topic for a Print Glossary). In addition, you must specify in the outline TOC that your glossary topic is using the page layout where you have inserted this variable (see Specifying Chapter Breaks and Page Layouts). The option is available only with Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, or XHTML output.

     example

     Let's say that you want to include a generated glossary in a PDF manual. So you create a simple topic called "MyGlossary" and insert a glossary proxy into it. Then you add that topic to the outline TOC that is being used to produce the manual.

     Next, you open the page layout that you want to use for the topic holding that glossary proxy. Let's call it "GlossaryPL." Suppose you open the page in that layout that will be used for all left-hand pages in the output. In the header frame, you insert the "FirstGlossaryPageHeading" variable. Perhaps you want to show the complete range of glossary headings on each page. So you type the word "through" and also insert the "LastGlossaryPageHeading" variable. Therefore, you would have something like this in the frame:

     

     Next, in the outline TOC, you create a chapter break on the entry linked to the topic holding the glossary proxy. When doing this, you specify that the entry should use the "GlossaryPL" page layout.

     Now you generate the PDF. You scroll down to the first left-handed page showing the generated glossary. Let's say the first glossary heading you see on the page is F, with all of the terms beginning with the letter "f" following it. Toward the bottom of that page, you see the glossary heading H, and terms starting with the letter "h" are listed below it. In that case, when you look to the very top of the page, you will see this:

     F through H

   • FirstGlossaryPageTerm Automatically displays the first glossary term (e.g., Ants, Bugs, Cats, Dogs, Elephants) that occurs on a page with a generated glossary. In order for this variable to work, it must be inserted in a page layout that is used for the topic where a glossary proxy is inserted (see Creating a Topic for a Print Glossary). In addition, you must specify in the outline TOC that your glossary topic is using the page layout where you have inserted this variable (see Specifying Chapter Breaks and Page Layouts). The option is available only with Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, or XHTML output.

     example

     Let's say that you want to include a generated glossary in a PDF manual. So you create a simple topic called "MyGlossary" and insert a glossary proxy into it. Then you add that topic to the outline TOC that is being used to produce the manual.

     Next, you open the page layout that you want to use for the topic holding that glossary proxy. Let's call it "GlossaryPL." Suppose you open the page in that layout that will be used for all left-hand pages in the output. In the header frame, you insert the "FirstGlossaryPageTerm" variable. Perhaps you want to show the complete range of glossary terms on each page. So you type the word "through" and also insert the "LastGlossaryPageTerm" variable. In addition, you type quotation marks around each of the variables so that the terms will stand out in the output. Therefore, you would have something like this in the frame:

     

     Next, in the outline TOC, you create a chapter break on the entry linked to the topic holding the glossary proxy. When doing this, you specify that the entry should use the "GlossaryPL" page layout.

     Now you generate the PDF. You scroll down to the first left-handed page showing the generated glossary. Let's say the first glossary term you see on the page is Moose. The last term on the page is Sharks. In that case, when you look to the very top of the page, you will see this:

     "Moose" through "Sharks"

   • FirstIndexHeading Automatically displays the first index heading (e.g., A, B, C, D, E) that occurs on a page with a generated index. In order for this variable to work, it must be inserted in a page layout that is used for the topic where an index proxy is inserted (see Creating a Topic for a Print Index). In addition, you must specify in the outline TOC that your index topic is using the page layout where you have inserted this variable (see Specifying Chapter Breaks and Page Layouts). The option is available only with Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, or XHTML output.

     example

     Let's say that you want to include a generated index in a PDF manual. So you create a simple topic called "MyIndex" and insert an index proxy into it. Then you add that topic to the outline TOC that is being used to produce the manual.

     Next, you open the page layout that you want to use for the topic holding that index proxy. Let's call it "IndexPL." Suppose you open the page in that layout that will be used for all left-hand pages in the output. In the header frame, you insert the "FirstIndexHeading" variable. Perhaps you want to show the complete range of index headings on each page. So you type the word "through" and also insert the "LastIndexHeading" variable. Therefore, you would have something like this in the frame:

     

     Next, in the outline TOC, you create a chapter break on the entry linked to the topic holding the index proxy. When doing this, you specify that the entry should use the "IndexPL" page layout.

     Now you generate the PDF. You scroll down to the first left-handed page showing the generated index. Let's say the first index heading you see on the page is C, with all of the index entries beginning with the letter "c" following it. Toward the bottom of that page, you see the glossary heading J, and index entries starting with the letter "j" are listed below it. In that case, when you look to the very top of the page, you will see this:

     C through J

   • FirstIndexTerm Automatically displays the first index term (e.g., Ants, Bugs, Cats, Dogs, Elephants) that occurs on a page with a generated index. In order for this variable to work, it must be inserted in a page layout that is used for the topic where an index proxy is inserted (see Creating a Topic for a Print Index). In addition, you must specify in the outline TOC that your index topic is using the page layout where you have inserted this variable (see Specifying Chapter Breaks and Page Layouts). The option is available only with Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, or XHTML output.

     example

     Let's say that you want to include a generated index in a PDF manual. So you create a simple topic called "MyIndex" and insert an index proxy into it. Then you add that topic to the outline TOC that is being used to produce the manual.

     Next, you open the page layout that you want to use for the topic holding that index proxy. Let's call it "IndexPL." Suppose you open the page in that layout that will be used for all left-hand pages in the output. In the header frame, you insert the "FirstIndexTerm" variable. Perhaps you want to show the complete range of index terms on each page. So you type the word "through" and also insert the "LastIndexTerm" variable. In addition, you type quotation marks around each of the variables so that the terms will stand out in the output. Therefore, you would have something like this in the frame:

     

     Next, in the outline TOC, you create a chapter break on the entry linked to the topic holding the index proxy. When doing this, you specify that the entry should use the "IndexPL" page layout.

     Now you generate the PDF. You scroll down to the first left-handed page showing the generated index. Let's say the first index term you see on the page is Moose. The last term on the page is Sharks. In that case, when you look to the very top of the page, you will see this:

     "Moose" through "Sharks"

   • LastGlossaryPageHeading Automatically displays the last glossary heading (e.g., U, V, W, X, Y, Z) that occurs on a page with a generated glossary. In order for this variable to work, it must be inserted in a page layout that is used for the topic where a glossary proxy is inserted (see Creating a Topic for a Print Glossary). In addition, you must specify in the outline TOC that your glossary topic is using the page layout where you have inserted this variable (see Specifying Chapter Breaks and Page Layouts). The option is available only with Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, or XHTML output.
   • LastGlossaryPageHeading Automatically displays the last glossary heading (e.g., U, V, W, X, Y, Z) that occurs on a page with a generated glossary. In order for this variable to work, it must be inserted in a page layout that is used for the topic where a glossary proxy is inserted (see Creating a Topic for a Print Glossary). In addition, you must specify in the outline TOC that your glossary topic is using the page layout where you have inserted this variable (see Specifying Chapter Breaks and Page Layouts). The option is available only with Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, or XHTML output.
   • LastGlossaryPageTerm Automatically displays the last glossary term (e.g., Sharks, Tigers, Wombats, Zebras) that occurs on a page with a generated glossary. In order for this variable to work, it must be inserted in a page layout that is used for the topic where a glossary proxy is inserted (see Creating a Topic for a Print Glossary). In addition, you must specify in the outline TOC that your glossary topic is using the page layout where you have inserted this variable (see Specifying Chapter Breaks and Page Layouts). The option is available only with Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, or XHTML output.
   • LastIndexHeading Automatically displays the last index heading (e.g., U, V, W, X, Y, Z) that occurs on a page with a generated index. In order for this variable to work, it must be inserted in a page layout that is used for the topic where an index proxy is inserted (see Creating a Topic for a Print Index). In addition, you must specify in the outline TOC that your index topic is using the page layout where you have inserted this variable (see Specifying Chapter Breaks and Page Layouts). The option is available only with Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, or XHTML output.
   • LastIndexTerm Automatically displays the last index term (e.g., Sharks, Tigers, Wombats, Zebras) that occurs on a page with a generated index. In order for this variable to work, it must be inserted in a page layout that is used for the topic where an index proxy is inserted (see Creating a Topic for a Print Index). In addition, you must specify in the outline TOC that your index topic is using the page layout where you have inserted this variable (see Specifying Chapter Breaks and Page Layouts). The option is available only with Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, or XHTML output.
   • Level1 Automatically displays the text in the first heading on a page that uses the <h1> style tag.

     example

     Let's say you are using the <h1> style tag only for your chapter titles at the beginning of each chapter. If you insert the Heading.Level1 variable into the heading frames in the page layout that you are using for chapters, the appropriate chapter title will display automatically at the top of each chapter in the output.

   • Level2 Automatically displays the text in the first heading on a page that uses the <h2> style tag.
   • Level3 Automatically displays the text in the first heading on a page that uses the <h3> style tag.
   • Level4 Automatically displays the text in the first heading on a page that uses the <h4> style tag.
   • Level5 Automatically displays the text in the first heading on a page that uses the <h5> style tag.
   • Level6 Automatically displays the text in the first heading on a page that uses the <h6> style tag.

   Note: The glossary and index variable options are available only in Adobe PDF, Microsoft XPS, and XHTML output.

9. Click OK.

   The variable is added to the Frame Contents window pane.

10. Press CTRL+S or click to save your work.

    The variable can now be seen in the frame.

See Also

Open topic with navigation