Framemaker TOC's with inconsistent hyperlinks

July 6, 2011 | Matt Sullivan

First things first

Assuming you don't care much about this topic unless you already know how to create a book and a TOC in Framemaker, we'll start there.

Make sure you've selected the Create Hyperlinks checkbox in the TOC Setup.

Important note: Framemaker limits hypertext markers and their links in the following heirarchy:

1. If the marker exists within text formatted with a character tag, the text with the character tag is treated as the link
2. If the marker is within a paragraph of text, the entire paragraph is treated as the link
3. If the marker is the only thing in a text frame, the entire text frame is treated as the link

If the TOC entry has a hyperlink, but the link ends before the end of the text, you likely have a character tag getting in the way.

Fixing the link

Go to View > Reference Pages, and then navigate to the TOC reference page. Look for the entry that formats the offending entries.

Important note: Make sure that there is only one TOC reference page, and that there is only one entry on that page for your format. As an example, if I've included the Heading1 paragraph tag in my TOC, it will likely be formatted with Heading1TOC. I need to make sure there is only one paragraph of Heading1TOC on the TOC reference page.

Within that paragraph, look to see if there is character tag formatting on the codes. Your TOC may be using a character style ot diffferentiate the section numbering from the section title. Also, look for a character style that "normalizes" the tab leaders and the page numbers within the TOC. Both of these things look great in your printe TOC. Both also will limit your hyperlink when viewing the document in online formats.

Something to keep in mind

Framemaker works best in a template-based workflow. If you have a TOC template file, you'll want to make the above changes to the template file, then use the File > Import > Formats command to bring the proper TOC definitions back into your project(s). Otherwise, reimporting your TOC template back into your "fixed" TOC file will simply erase your changes by replacing your modified reference pages with the older information.

I hope this helps you!