15.4.3.8 Mapping paragraph format aliases algorithmically
Suppose you use the same paragraph formats for numbered lists (for example, NumFirst and NumNext) both in material for <concept> topics and in material for <task> topics:
• When the list occurs in a <concept>, it should be mapped to ol > li.
• When the list occurs in a <task>, it should be mapped to steps > step > cmd.
To choose between alternate format aliases depending on the DITA context, you can assign to a FrameMaker format a Mif2Go macro that selects an alias according to the start tag of the current topic. For example:
NumFirst = <$(($$_ditastart is "task") ? "StepFirst" : "OLFirst")>
NumNext = <$(($$_ditastart is "task") ? "StepNext" : "OLNext")>
These assignments say that if the topic start tag is task, use the Step* format name, otherwise use the OL* format name, in place of the original Num* format name. The assignments use predefined macro variable $$_ditastart, which contains the start tag of the current DITA topic.
You would assign the desired DITA elements to the alternate format names. For example:
You would also create entries for the alternate formats in [DITAParents], and if needed in [DITALevels], and so forth. In effect, you have created semantic formats from descriptive format.s.
The macros you assign do not have to select based on topic type; you can set macro variables to test for other properties or situations. The ability to assign a macro to a format name provides a general-purpose algorithmic way to map from FrameMaker formats to DITA elements, allowing you to deal with cases that normal mapping cannot handle.
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