Adapt styles in PDF output

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Thorsten Schmelzer
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Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2017 1:14 pm

Adapt styles in PDF output

Unread post by Thorsten Schmelzer »

Hello,

I have created a manual project and I created a Print Manual Template for PDF output. Now I want to create an branded version of my project. I have created a second Print Manual Template which includes the branding. So far so good. Would it now be also possible to adapt the styles in my branded output?

What I have understood from the documentation this is possible when using HTML output in combination with HTML skins, where you can include styles. But I haven't found a way to do this with PDF output and Print Manual Templates. Or maybe there is a different way of how to achieve this.
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Tim Green
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Re: Adapt styles in PDF output

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Thorsten,

PDF is basically static printer output so it doesn't have anything like the active styles you can use in HTML with CSS. However, what you can do is define a separate set of style attributes for PDF, Word and eBooks in every style definition in your project. Then different styles are used when you publish to those print-style output. You can switch the style display in the editor with the Screen/Print toggle button in the status bar below the editor window. This is a project setting and not a template setting, however, so you do need to do it in the project. In the template you can use the global font change option in the Edit menu to change the fonts of the items in the template itself.

See this topic in the help for instructions on how to use the multiple styles feature:

http://www.helpandmanual.com/help/index ... pprint.htm
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Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Thorsten Schmelzer
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2017 1:14 pm

Re: Adapt styles in PDF output

Unread post by Thorsten Schmelzer »

Hi Tim,

thanks fo your answer. However by using these print style attributes I do not get multiple sets of styles. I just get one additional set beside the default one and this is used whenever I create a PDF (regardless which template or build option I use). Or did I misunderstand something?
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Tim Green
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Re: Adapt styles in PDF output

Unread post by Tim Green »

Thorsten Schmelzer wrote:thanks fo your answer. However by using these print style attributes I do not get multiple sets of styles. I just get one additional set beside the default one and this is used whenever I create a PDF (regardless which template or build option I use). Or did I misunderstand something?
Yes, that is correct. I'm afraid there is no option for multiple styles that you can switch between at the moment. However, there is a way you could achieve this, although it is a little involved:

To do this you would need to create multiple Style Repositories, all containing a set of styles with exactly the same names (this is crucial), and they should also be exactly the same as the styles you currently have in your project. You would then edit the styles in the individual repositories as you want to have them in your different PDFs (ideally just the PDF versions of the styles in each case) and switch between them.

The styles need to be identical so that you can switch cleanly. The easiest way to create a matching repository would be to save your project itself as a repository. Then in the repository delete all the topic files, variables and build options, so that it only contains the styles. See the help chapter referenced in the link above for full details.
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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