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Structuring Documents with FrameBuilder
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Tips and other flashes of inspiration
- Auto-numbered paragraphs
- Code examples
- Frame's (code example) paragraph tags and elements
- Returns and the <ExampleBlockVerbatim> element
- Tabs in code examples
The tips
The tips presented here are arranged alphabetically. A Date of last
verification is given when applicable.
Please send items for inclusion in this list to scox@convex.com.
Updates regarding current tips should also be sent to
scox@convex.com.
Date of last verification: June 20, 1995
Custom auto-numbering is lost online. These constructs must be
changed to regular text.
For example, if you have compiler error messages that are
auto-numbered with the string fc:
, each of those paragraphs
must be converted.
Auto-numbered paragraphs that are part of the templates, such as
bullet lists and numbered lists, work as expected online.
Date of last verification: June 20, 1995
The following elements can be used to wrap examples:
- <ExampleBlockVerbatim> => TEXT
<ExampleBlockVerbatim> has the virtue of preserving
linebreaks exactly as they appear on your terminal. Do not put
any elements inside an <ExampleBlockVerbatim>
element--these interior elements are interpreted as text, just
like everything else inside the <ExampleBlockVerbatim>
element.
For example, if a <VoiceUser> element were used within an
<ExampleBlockVerbatim> element, the strings
<VoiceUser>
and </VoiceUser>
would appear in the
online document.
- <ExampleBlock> => <ExampleSegment> => TEXT
The <ExampleBlock> element prepends the word "Example"
(in bold) before an indented paragraph of text online. You
have to wrap this indented para in <ExampleSegment>. Use
multiple <ExampleSegment> elements if you have multiple
paragraphs.
- <Para> => TEXT | <VoiceComputer> | <VoiceUser>
You can structure command or output examples as
paragraphs, with the appropriate <Voice...> elements inside.
This structure will not preserve your line breaks.
Here is how to use these elements for various applications:
- Code examples
Always wrap these in <ExampleBlockVerbatim>.
- Input (command) examples
Wrap these as paragraphs, with the part entered by the user
wrapped in <VoiceUser>. If there is a prompt that precedes
the user input that should not be bold, wrap it in
<VoiceComputer>. (You have to wrap everything in one of
the <Voice...> elements, or it will not appear in courier in
PinPoint.)
- Output examples
Wrap these as you would wrap input examples, substituting
<VoiceComputer> for <VoiceUser>; or, if you want to
preserve the linebreaks, wrap the entire example in
<ExampleBlockVerbatim>. Use only soft returns (SHIFT-RETURN)
inside <ExampleBlockVerbatim> elements.
- Examples other than input or output lines
Use <ExampleBlock>. Do not overuse this element though--
it looks ugly to have a lot of "Example" tags all over the place.
The following list presents the types of examples that the structure
rule table will generate given the indicated paragraph tags:
- <ExampleBlockVerbatim> => TEXT
This is automatically applied to the paragraph tags
CodeExample and Output.
- <ExampleBlock> => <ExampleSegment> => TEXT
Only the paragraph tag Example is wrapped in this setup by
the structure rule table.
- <Para> => TEXT | <VoiceComputer> | <VoiceUser>
The paragraph tag Input (and its variants; for example
Input8) are wrapped as simple paragraphs by default. You
determine which parts will appear online as plain courier or
bold courier by wrapping the text in either <VoiceComputer>
(plain) or <VoiceUser> (bold).
Use only soft returns (SHIFT-RETURN) inside
<ExampleBlockVerbatim> elements. Hard returns (RETURN) cause
large amounts of whitespace online when used inside
<ExampleBlockVerbatim> elements.
Manually change tabs to courier spaces in code examples to
preserve the proper indentation.
- In the menu bar, select Format -> Document and then in the
resulting window turn the Smart Spaces option off (square next
to the option will be white, with black outline).
- Use Frame's Find/Change feature to locate tabs ( ) in code
examples.
- Delete the tabs, replacing them with courier spaces (do not use
hard spaces). Use as many spaces as required to achieve the
desired indentation.
- Turn Smart Spaces back on by selecting Format -> Document
and then the Smart Spaces option in the resulting window.
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