Creating Expand/Collapse Sections (Drop-Down Hotspots) in FrameMaker
You can create sections of content that expand and collapse when you click a link or hot spot. This structure allows you to create items, such as tasks with numbered procedures, bulleted lists, or definitions, that are easy to scan. Users can then expand individual items to display additional information.
Hot spots for expand/collapse sections initially display in one of the following states:
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The content is initially collapsed and will expand beneath the hotspot when the user clicks the hotspot. Clicking the hotspot a second time causes the expanded content to return to its original collapsed state.
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The content is initially expanded and will collapse or disappear from beneath the hotspot when the user clicks the hotspot.
You use an Expand/Collapse paragraph or table format to start expand/collapse sections and a DropDownEnd marker to specify where the content in the expand/collapse section ends. The Stationery defines whether the sections should initially be expanded (shown) or collapsed (hidden) and the image used to show the state of the section.
To create expand/collapse sections, your Stationery and FrameMaker template must have the following items configured:
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An Expand/Collapse paragraph or table format
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A DropDownEnd marker
Your output format must also support this feature.
The following procedure provides an example of how to create expand/collapse sections in Adobe FrameMaker source documents using unstructured Adobe FrameMaker 7.2. Steps for creating expand/collapse sections in Adobe FrameMaker may be different in other versions of Adobe FrameMaker.
To create an expand/collapse section in an Adobe FrameMaker source document
1. In your Adobe FrameMaker source document, identify a topic that contains text for which you want to create an expand/collapse section.
2. Apply an Expand/Collapse paragraph format to the text you want users to click to expand or collapse content.
For example, in the following sample procedure, you could apply the Expand/Collapse paragraph format to the To open a project text.
To open a project
a. On the File menu, click Open.
b. Browse to the location of the project on your local computer.
c. Select the project, and then click Open.
3. Insert your cursor at the end of the content you want to display in the expand/collapse section.
For example, in the following sample procedure, you would insert your cursor after the period in the last sentence of the procedure, Select the project, and then click Open.
To open a project
a. On the File menu, click Open.
b. Browse to the location of the project on your local computer.
c. Select the project, and then click Open.
4. On the Special menu, click Marker.
5. In the Marker Type field, select DropDownEnd from the drop-down list.
6. If the DropDownEnd marker type is not on the list, check with the Stationery designer to obtain the name of the marker type the Stationery designer created to support this functionality and then use the marker type specified by the Stationery designer. For more information, refer to
Implementing Online Features in FrameMaker.
7. In the Marker Text field, do not enter any text. You do not need to enter any text in this field when you insert a DropDownEnd marker.
8. Click New Marker.
9. Save your Adobe FrameMaker source document.
11. In Output Explorer, go to the page where you created the expand/collapse section and verify that ePublisher created the expand/collapse section and that the expand/collapse section displays the content you specified. For more information, see
Viewing Output in Output Explorer.
Last modified date: 06/11/2024