Table of Contents
Advertisement
10
W r i t i n g f i r s t a n d l a s t f o r m a t r u l e s
paragraph that happens to be the first or last child—so you need to define the special
formatting only once. (In the List example above, with {first} and {last} indicators,
you would need to define the lines for both the Head and the Item child elements.)
There are some similarities between the uses of first and last format rules, autonumber
strings, and prefixes and suffixes. For guidelines on using the different constructs, see
"When to use an autonumber, prefix or suffix, or first or last rule" on page 162.
How first and last rules are applied
The first or last format rules in an element apply to the first or last paragraph in the element.
The paragraphs may be child elements, or they may just be text formatted as paragraphs.
The rules are ignored in contexts in which a first or last child element is formatted as a text
range.
When FrameMaker formats an element in a document, it applies format rules in this order:
•
The element's text format rules
•
The element's first or last format rules
•
The element's prefix or suffix format rules
•
The text format rules in any child elements
If an element has a prefix formatted in a separate paragraph, the prefix is the first
paragraph. Similarly, a suffix formatted in a separate paragraph is the last paragraph.
If the element has no text content, no child elements, and no prefix or suffix as a separate
paragraph, the first or last rules apply to the element itself.
A first or last rule with an autonumber
A first or last rule can be used with an autonumber to display the number or string with only
the first or last paragraph in the element. For example, this rule displays the string
Important: or Note: at the beginning of the first Para in Note:
Element (Container): Note
General rule: Para+
Format rules for first paragraph in element
If an element contains a single paragraph, and the first and last rules both specify an
autonumber, only the first rule is used.
Structure Application Developer's Guide
1. If context is: [Important = Yes]
Numbering properties
Autonumber format: Important:
Character format: Bold
Else
Numbering properties
Autonumber format: Note:
Character format: Bold
157
Advertisement
Table of Contents
