Operation Manual

168
Layout and design
Last updated 11/30/2015
Create or edit text variables
The options available for creating the variable depend on the type of variable you specify. For example, if you choose
the Chapter Number type, you can specify text to appear both before and after the number, and you can specify the
numbering style. You can create several different variables based on the same variable type. For example, you can create
one variable that displays “Chapter 1” and another that displays “Ch. 1.”
Similarly, if you choose the Running Header type, you can specify which style is used as the basis for the header, and
you can select options for deleting end punctuation and changing the case.
1 If you want to create text variables for use in all new documents you create, close all documents. Otherwise, the text
variables you create appear only in the current document.
2 Choose Type > Text Variables > Define.
3 Click New, or select an existing variable and click Edit.
4 Type a name for the variable, such as “Full Chapter” or “Running Title.”
5 From the Type menu, choose a variable type, specify the options for that type, and then click OK.
Different options are available depending on the variable type you select.
Text Before / Text After For all variable types (except Custom Text), you can specify text that will be added before or
after the variable. For example, you can add the word “of ” before the Last Page Number variable and the phrase
“total pages” after the variable to create an “of 12 total pages” effect. You can also paste text into the boxes, but special
characters such as tabs and auto page numbers are stripped out. To insert special characters, click the triangle to the
right of the text box.
Style For all numbered variable types, you can specify the numbering style. If [Current Numbering Style] is
selected, the variable uses the same numbering style selected in the document’s Numbering & Section Options
dialog box.
Variable types
Chapter Number
A variable created with the Chapter Number type inserts the chapter number. You can insert text before or after the
chapter number, and you can specify a numbering style.
If the document’s chapter number is set to continue from the previous document in the book, you may need to update
the book’s numbering in order for the appropriate chapter number to appear.
Creation Date, Modification Date, and Output Date
Creation Date inserts the date or time the document is first saved; Modification Date inserts the date or time the
document was last saved to disk; Output Date inserts the date or time the document starts a print job, exports to PDF,
or packages the document. You can insert text before and after the date, and you can modify the date format for all date
variables.
Date Format You can type date formats directly into the Date Format box, or you can choose format options by clicking
the triangle to the right of the box. For example, the date format “MM/dd/yy” displays as 12/22/07. By changing the
format to “MMM. d, yyyy” the date will display as Dec. 22, 2007.
Date variables use the language applied to text. For example, the creation date may appear in Spanish text as “01
diciembre 2007” and in German as “01 Dezember 2007.”