Publish with the variable prompt

Variable values can be assigned to objects while you are working with them. Or, as an alternative, you can assign values at the time of publishing by using the Variable Prompt. This is useful when you have a book, or group of topics, that you need to customize on a regular basis.

An employee contract is an example of where you might use the publishing prompt. Each time you publish the contract, you need to set values to cover a specific employee's details and conditions. By adding the prompt to the variable, Author-it requests a value from you at the time of publishing, and is used only for this job. By using the variable prompt, you can ensure that all of the values are updated for each new contract.

To prepare a variable for use:

Your Library's Security Administrator needs to create the variable, making sure that the Prompt Before Publish option is selected and the value is left blank. The value is assigned in the variable prompt window during publishing.
Assign the variable to the Publishing Profile object in Author.
Note: If the variable is not assigned to the Publishing Profile, you will not be prompted for a value.

To use the variable prompt:

Create your content by using Author or Contribute, adding the variables where needed. Do not assign any values at topic or book level - this will be done when you publish.
When you are ready, publish your book by using the Publishing Profile that has the variable assigned.
- The variable prompt window opens when Contribute is ready to resolve the variables.
- Add the Value for each variable for this publishing job. The values are discarded when publishing has completed, or is stopped.
Click OK to continue publishing.