The primary purpose of a style repository is to have a common source of styles for multiple projects. It makes it possible for you to edit the styles of multiple projects in a single location. You can also share snippets with a style repository, but the styles are the "glue" that the repository uses to keep your projects synchronized.
In a nutshell: You can use style repositories to import styles to your projects and to share styles with multiple projects so that you are sure that you are using the same styles in all your related projects. You can also lock repository styles so that all team members working on a project can only use the predefined styles, because the styles can only be edited in the style repository project.
In addition to styles and snippets, you can also share some other settings with style repositories:
This is the prefix that is automatically added to new topic IDs. If this is defined in in the style repository project it will be used in all projects linked to the repository.
|
When you link a style repository to your project its styles are imported to the project and they are also linked to the project. When the styles are updated in the style repository the changes are reflected in all the projects that use the repository. To get maximum benefits from this, you should always only edit the styles in the repository. You can prevent accidental editing by selecting Link mode for your styles when you associate the style repository with the proejct.
1.Select Open in the File menu and select .hmxr as the file type to open.
2.Open the style repository project and edit your styles just as you would in a normal Help+Manual project. The changes will be reflected in the projects using the style repository the next time you open the projects.
3.If the project is open when you edit the style repository please close and re-open the project to refresh the styles from the repository. |
Link mode: Styles not editable locally
When the repository styles are connected to your project in Link mode you cannot edit them in your local project. When you open Edit Styles this is indicated by red shield icons on the styles:
Copy mode: Styles editable locally
When the repository styles are connected to your project in Copy mode you can edit them in your local project. When you open Edit Styles this is indicated by little "key" icons on the styles:
When you have edited a style locally this is shown by a "User" icon, as shown above. The edited local settings are then used instead of the style settings in the style repository. However, your styles are still linked to the style repository! Any settings you haven't changed in the local project will be taken from the style repository and will be updated if you edit the styles in the repository.
Resetting locally edited styles:
To reset a locally-edited style just select it in the style editing dialog and click on Remove Style. Then it will revert back to the version in the style repository and the User icon will be removed.
Switching between Copy and Link mode for styles:
You can switch between Copy and Link mode by changing the setting in the Repository Manager.
|
Sometimes you may need to edit a project when the style repository it is linked to is not available. That is fine, because full copies of all the styles from the repository are stored in your project when you link it to the repository. This only works for style repositories associated with your project in Link mode.
You will not see changes someone else makes to the repository styles while you are working in this way, of course, but they will update as soon as the style repository is available again – for example when you are back in the office and your laptop is connected to the office network where the style repository is stored.
|
See also:
Repository Manager
