Styles for FrameMaker Graphics

If you are making a lot of FrameMaker graphics, such as lines with arrowheads, the thought of having to change them later can give you nightmares. Wouldn’t it be nice to have “stylesheets” for graphic objects? With FrameScript, you can apply “styles” to your graphics so that their properties can be globally changed.

The key is a hidden property of nearly all FrameMaker objects: the UserString property. This is a string property where you can store information about an object. You cannot access this property with the standard FrameMaker interface.

For an example, consider the simple illustration below. Each of the callout lines is .5 pt thick and has the arrowhead properties indicated in the dialog box.

Making a change to your style

Let’s assume for a moment that each of the callout lines already has its UserString property set to Callout (we will show how to set the value shortly). Here is how simple it is to change them globally.

// Make a property list with the new properties.
New PropertyList NewVar(vCalloutProps);
Add Property To(vCalloutProps) LineCap(0);
Add Property To(vCalloutProps) ArrowTipAngle(24);
Add Property To(vCalloutProps) ArrowTipAngle(6);
Add Property To(vCalloutProps) ArrowLength(9pt);
Add Property To(vCalloutProps) BorderWidth(1.5pt);

// Loop through the graphics and change the ones marked Callout.
Set vGraphic = ActiveDoc.FirstGraphicInDoc;
Loop While(vGraphic)
  If vGraphic.UserString = 'Callout' // Test for style name
    Set vGraphic.Properties = vCalloutProps;
  EndIf
  Set vGraphic = vGraphic.NextGraphicInDoc;
EndLoop

The nice thing about PropertyLists is that you only have to specify the properties that you want to change. If you just wanted to change the line weight, you would only have to include the BorderWidth property in the vCalloutProps PropertyList.

Assigning the UserString property

Of course, a big question remains: how do you assign a value to the UserString property of your object? Here is how to apply to do it for a selected graphic.

Set vGraphic = ActiveDoc.FirstSelectedGraphicInDoc;
If vGraphic
  Set vGraphic.UserString = 'Callout';
Else
  MsgBox 'No selected graphic.';
EndIf

Here is a way to be prompted for the UserString value for a selected graphic.

Set vGraphic = ActiveDoc.FirstSelectedGraphicInDoc;
If vGraphic = 0
  MsgBox 'No selected graphic.';
  LeaveSub;
Else
  DialogBox Type(String) Title('Enter a style name:')
    NewVar(vStyle) Button(vButton);
  If vButton = CancelButton
    LeaveSub;
  Else
    Set vGraphic.UserString = vStyle;
  EndIf
EndIf

If all of the lines in an anchored frame are callouts, here is some code to assign a value to the UserString property of all the lines at once.

Set vFrame = ActiveDoc.FirstSelectedGraphicInDoc;
If vFrame = 0
  MsgBox 'Please select an anchored frame.';
  LeaveSub;
Else
  DialogBox Type(String) Title('Enter a style name:')
    NewVar(vStyle) Button(vButton);
  If vButton = CancelButton
    LeaveSub;
  Else
    Set vGraphic = vFrame.FirstGraphicInFrame;
    Loop While(vGraphic)
      If vGraphic.ObjectName = 'Line'
        Set vGraphic.UserString = vStyle;
      EndIf
      Set vGraphic = vGraphic.NextGraphicInFrame;
    EndLoop
  EndIf
EndIf

Assigning a UserString as you make the callouts

Using a style for your callouts makes inserting them a 2 step process. First, you draw the line with the arrowhead, and second, you assign the UserString property to the line. Here is a way to accomplish both with a script. Select an anchored frame before running this code.

New PointList NewVar(vPointList) 
  X(6pt) Y(12pt) X(78pt) Y(12pt);
New PropertyList NewVar(vCalloutProps);
Add Property To(vCalloutProps) HeadArrow(1);
Add Property To(vCalloutProps) UserString('Callout');

Set vFrame = ActiveDoc.FirstSelectedGraphicInDoc;
If vFrame = 0
  MsgBox 'Please select an anchored frame.    ';
  LeaveSub;
Else
  New Line NewVar(vLine) ParentObject(vFrame) Points(vPointList);
  Set vLine.Properties = vCalloutProps;
EndIf

Set vLine.GraphicIsSelected = 1;

The last line in the script selects the new line so that it is ready to drag into position. If you omit this, the anchored frame will remain selected after the script runs. Any other initial properties that you want to set for the callout line should be added to the vCalloutProps propertylist at the top of the script. The main thing is to set a value for the UserString property so that your callout will be tagged with a “style.”

As an aside, the first line of the script determines the location of the endpoints of the callout line. You can add as many pairs of points as you want. You can use this code

New PointList NewVar(vPointList) 
  X(6pt) Y(12pt) X(6pt) Y(84pt) X(78pt) Y(84pt);

to make right angle lines like this:

You can also set up a loop to add multiple callouts at once.

New PropertyList NewVar(vCalloutProps);
Add Property To(vCalloutProps) HeadArrow(1);
Add Property To(vCalloutProps) UserString('Callout');

Set vFrame = ActiveDoc.FirstSelectedGraphicInDoc;
If vFrame = 0
  MsgBox 'Please select an anchored frame.    ';
  LeaveSub;
Else
  DialogBox Type(Int) Title('How many lines?')
    Init(5) NewVar(vQty) Button(vButton);
  If vButton = CancelButton
    LeaveSub;
  Else
    Set vTopOffset = 12pt
    Loop While(vCounter <= vQty) LoopVar(vCounter) 
      Init(1) Incr(1)
      New PointList NewVar(vPointList) 
        X(6pt) Y(vTopOffset) X(78pt) Y(vTopOffset);
      New Line NewVar(vLine) ParentObject(vFrame)
        Points(vPointList);
      Set vLine.Properties = vCalloutProps;
      Set vTopOffset = vTopOffset + 12;
    EndLoop
  EndIf
EndIf

A hidden treasure becomes a gold mine

You will find many uses for the UserString property in your scripts. I have used it in dozens of scripts. Here is an idea that you can explore on your own. If you import graphics by copying instead of by reference, you can store the path to the graphic in its UserString property, so you can later find the source if you need it. And, you can use FrameScript to assign the path to the UserString automatically as you import the graphic.