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Numbering Figures

Posted: Thu May 30, 2019 4:37 pm
by grebmar
I can't find an answer to this in the Mellel guide or the forums. I am working on a book-length manuscript with eight chapters divided by page style breaks. I want to have my figures numbered automatically and sequentially throughout the manuscript, using the chapter number as part of the caption. So I want Figure 2.1, Figure 3.6, and so forth. Is there a way to get the chapter number into the Figures auto title sequence, and to restart the numbering with each chapter? I had a workaround by creating a separate figures auto title sequence for each chapter, but Mellel won't let me do more than six figure sequences, and I need eight.

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Thu May 30, 2019 8:21 pm
by macsailor
grebmar wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 4:37 pm I want to have my figures numbered automatically and sequentially throughout the manuscript, using the chapter number as part of the caption. So I want Figure 2.1, Figure 3.6, and so forth. Is there a way to get the chapter number into the Figures auto title sequence, and to restart the numbering with each chapter?
I haven't done it myself, but I think it should be possible through the auto-titles. If no one else can give you the answer how to do it, try to send a message through https://www.mellel.com/support/

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Thu May 30, 2019 8:56 pm
by laup
Suppose that your title flow already is

Heading 1
Heading 2
Figure
Heading 3
Other stuff

Where Heading 1 is for unnumbered headings, Header 2 is for chapter titles, and Headomg 3 is for chapter-section title.

The Figure item should be a tag flow, obtained by clicking the "Add" button and renaming.

Now, what you want is for the Figure item to be below Heading 3, not Heading 2

Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Figure
Other stuff

And you want to click the "Reset numbering with higher level flow" box at the tp of the window defining Figure.

If, as above, Headings 1 and 2 are the top two levels of your flow, then your definition would be, e.g.,

"Figure Prev#2.Curr$ Title"

where the items in bold were added from the Elements menu and where you typed in Figure and . manually.
If you have other items above your Heading 3, then you would have to adjust this, replacing Prev#2 with whatever is appropriate.

To have numbered tables, you add a tag flow for Table, right above or below Figure in the above list.

This will generate figure and table numbers by Chapter, e.g., "Figure 2.3"

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Fri May 31, 2019 7:55 pm
by grebmar
Thank you for your suggestion, Paul, but it doesn't quite work. When I set the auto-title command to "Figure Prev#2.Curr$ Title" it restarts the sequence after the subheading level in each chapter, not the chapter level. That is in your hierarchy, it begins renumbering when heading 3 changes, not heading 2.

I've tried all kinds of tweaks, and nothing gets the numbering to restart at the chapter level.

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Fri May 31, 2019 8:51 pm
by laup
Perhaps my instructions were not quite right. If so, sorry. I have put a skeletal make-believe document at

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aspi5ln5b3ve ... kdQya?dl=0

You have to download the mellel file and then open it. You will see that the figures renumbers by chapter. You can then look at my auto-title flow and my definition of the auto-title for Figure. It refers to "Prev3" because Chapter Number is the third in my list of auto titles.

Let me know if you can't open the file. I don't do sharing very often, so I sometimes mess it up.

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2019 10:34 am
by Icelander
laup wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 8:56 pm Where Heading 1 is for unnumbered headings, Header 2 is for chapter titles
I guess this (unconventional?) use of Heading 1 is confusing grebmar. I find it more straight forward to use just paragraph styles for unnumbered headings, such as Title, Appendix and such.

If Heading 1 is used for Chapter 1 (= Level 1), then the Tag Flow "Figure", consisting of Figure Prev#1.Curr#.: Title, needs to be placed after *Heading 2* (= Chapter 2 = Level 2). That will do the trick.

Heading 1
Heading 2
Figure

See an example document here:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/j5lsbp436 ... l.zip/file

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2019 3:09 pm
by laup
I use Heading 1 for unnumbered heading because items like Preface then show up in the Outline. As in the linked file I provided, I sometimes use auto-titling for sections of the summary and for appendices. I agree that that complexity is often unnecessary.

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2019 3:45 pm
by Icelander
laup wrote: Sat Jun 01, 2019 3:09 pm I use Heading 1 for unnumbered heading because items like Preface then show up in the Outline.
Ah, now I see, that makes sense. I forgot about the Preface. :–)

Thanks for clarifying, Paul.

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2019 1:21 am
by grebmar
Thank you Icelander, for the template, which I can see works. Unfortunately, trying to replicate it in my manuscript isn't working. I must have some setting somewhere in the document that keeps it from numbering properly, so I'll need to play with it more or let it go. I also don't get the numbers for chapters/sections in the outline panel the way your template does. The numbers show up fine in the text, but not in the outline.

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:02 pm
by grebmar
I seem to have made it work, but I needed to tweak the format from Icelander's template, moving my Figure auto title down one level. I don't know why there should be any difference.

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2019 5:36 pm
by laup
Note the box that says "Reset numbering with higher level flow." What's confusing is that if the first three items in your flow are

Heading 1
Heading 2
Figure

, where Figure is a tag flow, then Figure is "at" the second level and will start renumbering only when the "higher level flow" (Heading 1) changes, as in Chapter 1 changing to Chapter 2. Visually, it looks like Figure is subordinate to Heading 2, but that's not the way to understand it.

If you had
Heading 1
Figure
Heading 2,

then Figure has no higher level flow to go by. It is at the same level as Heading 1, which is the first.

Re: Numbering Figures

Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 2:15 am
by Icelander
Hello ‪grebmar,
I don't know why there should be any difference.
How about using modern communication technics! :–)

Delete all text, except one or two words in each section, and then upload the file.
I can then tell you which part needs to be fixed.