TechNote (Archived)

How to Include Leaders in a FrameMaker 5.x Table of Contents

You can add leaders (i.e., a row of dots) between entry text and page numbers in an Adobe FrameMaker 5.x Table of Contents (TOC) file, by editing the <$paratext> and <$pagenum> building blocks (i.e., paragraph tags) in the Reference Page. The building blocks <$paratext> and <$pagenum> specify paragraph text and the page numbers from the source document. To Include leaders between entry text and page numbers:

1. Open the TOC file in FrameMaker.

2. Choose View > Reference Pages.

3. Scroll down to the TOC section of the Reference page that contains the <$paratext> and <$pagenum> building blocks.

4. Click an insertion point between <$paratext> and <$pagenum>.

5. Delete the space, then press the tab key.

6. Choose Format > Paragraphs > Designer.

7. Choose Basic from the Properties pop-up menu.

8. Select Tab Stops, and then select New Tab Stop and click Edit.

9. Enter a tab position in the New Position text box.

10. Select Right in the Alignment field.

11. Select one of the predefined leaders from the Leader field, or create a custom leader by selecting Custom and entering a character in the field to its right.

12. Click Continue.

13. In the Paragraph Designer dialog box, click Update All. The <$pagenum> building block (i.e., paragraph tag) should now be right aligned with a leader between the <$paratext> and <$pagenum> building blocks.

14. Repeat this procedure for each <$paratext><$pagenum> entry on the reference page. For example, if there are three paragraph tags in the Include list when you generate the TOC, you'll see three <$paratext><$pagenum> entries like the example below:

TOC Paragraph Tag

<$paratext>.................<$pagenum> SectionTOC

<$paratext>.................<$pagenum> HeadingTOC

<$paratext>.................<$pagenum> TitleTOC

15. Choose View > Body Page, then close the TOC.

16. In the Book file, choose File > Generate/Update to update all of the book files.

Note: FrameMaker only processes instructions on the reference pages when it generates the file. Therefore, any changes made to the TOC reference page may not appear on the body pages of the table of contents until the TOC is regenerated from File > Generate/Update.