Working with Variables

Variables act as "placeholders" in your topics that can be filled with changeable data. Say for example, you need to produce a document for your many different clients. You can save time by producing one document, and then changing variables for the company name, logo, and so on, to make personalized versions of the document.

When variables are used in topics their names appear between <angle brackets>. The value of a variable is only displayed when the final output is published. Variables are also used to assign metadata to objects, and substitute text or graphics used by external files when publishing to web-based outputs.

You can view a full list of the variables available in the library from the Author-it Button menu, or view variables that are used by objects from options in the Library Explorer or the Editor.

The following topics provide an overview of variables and ideas for using them, as well as using them in topics, assigning them to objects, and assigning values.

Note: Text enclosed in angle brackets is not treated as a variable unless Author-it finds a corresponding entry in the Administrator variables window.