Using an image and text together as a paragraph bullet
Sometimes, you will come across features that give you the exact look you require in FrameMaker, but which don't translate well to ePublisher and its HTML-based output. Usually, these issues result either from limitations of FrameMaker (in communicating details to ePublisher) or HTML/CSS (in displaying the content effectively).
One notable example is the case of alert paragraphs. You might have Tip, Warning, or other alerts that use a recognizable icon to set them apart from general content. In FrameMaker, most users pull these icons from the Reference Pages; however, content on the Reference Pages cannot be converted for use by the ePublisher Platform. In most cases, the best workaround is to copy the image to the project's "Files" folder, and then assign it as the associated paragraph's "Bullet Image" in the Style Designer.
However, sometimes you might want to use a bullet image along with text from the paragraph's "Numbering" property in FrameMaker. You can assign both bullet text and an image in the Style Designer, but you lose the ability to control and format them individually. The following procedure allows you to use an image for your 'alert' paragraphs in additional to text.
The general idea is to set the desired image as the background of the paragraph in question, allowing you to apply character styles as needed to the bullet text only.
- Copy the image file to the project's "Files" folder.
- Open the relevant paragraph style in the Style Designer and assign these properties:
Background > Image: [your icon]
Background > Tiling: No repeat
Background > Horizontal: Left
Background > Vertical: Center
Bullet > Text/Char Style: [whatever is applicable]
Padding > Left: [a few pixels greater than the width of your image]
Padding > Top/Bottom: [about half the height of your image; or try 1em]
- Regenerate output to apply the changes.
You might need to make some adjustments to the margins & padding, but you should get pretty good results in most cases.