Use Variables in Text
Variables are plain-text string values that have a unique name in their scope (project or global). They are used to store the values that are used in many places across a user manual, and may have to be updated in a centralized manner. A good example is the version of a software product.
You can create project and global variables. Project variables are available inside all topics of a project, and the global ones are available in all projects. If there is a variable with the same name both in the project and global scope, the project-specific variable will be used.
Once you publish your project to make it available to readers, all variables are replaced with their values in the topic content. You will also see the variable values rather than their names when viewing the topic not in the editing mode.
Let's start with creating a project variable...
Create a Project Variable
- Open a project by selecting it in the projects tree and clicking Open Selected Project on the toolbar.
- In the main menu, click Current Project | Variables...
- Click Create Project Variable - a new line will be added to the Project Variables table.
- Specify a name and a value for the new variable inside the inline editors of the added grid row. Remember that the value is plain text.
- Click the Update button on the right side of the newly added row.
Insert a Variable to a Topic
- While you are in the topic editing mode, switch to the Insert tab.
- Click Insert Variable in the Single-Sourcing category.
- In the Insert Variable dialog appeared, start typing a variable name in the Select a variable input field.
- The dropdown list will quickly show all project and global variables containing the entered text in their names or values.
- Select the variable you need, and click OK.
- The selected variable will be inserted into the current position in the topic text.