Figure and table counters can be referenced

You can link to and reference figure and table counters with the Figure Link option in the Hyperlink Tool. This is also explained further below on this page.

Figure counters in image dialogs

Figure counters can be integrated in image references (both static images and image toggles). The options for this are included in the normal image and toggle insertion dialogs.

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The Figure <%HMFIGCOUNTER%>: entry is created automatically when you activate the Add to Table of Figures option. If you edit the Figure text your edit will be used the next time you use the dialog. See further below in this topic to learn how to use these captions.

Figure and table counters in "figure caption" objects

In addition to the integrated image references you can also create special "figure caption" objects with the Caption tool. In addition to images, these captions can also be used for tables (which don't have their own captions) and for your own custom captions for anything else you like. The Caption tool is located in Write > Insert Object.

Here too, the Figure <%HMFIGCOUNTER%>: entry is created automatically when you activate the Add to Table of Figures option. If you edit the Figure text your edit will be used the next time you use the dialog.

These captions are very flexible. They allow you to create numbered references to any class of items in your project, not just tables and images. For example, you could create a numbered list of equations or quotations or anything else you like. See further below in this topic to learn how to use them.

The variables used:

There are three variables used for figure and table counters.  

Smart incrementation

The incrementation of these counter variables is "smart". Their values are only increased in the locations listed above. If you insert them in the body text of your project or anywhere else except these "incrementing locations" their values will not be incremented. This makes it much easier to insert references to your figures, tables and other listed items than in the past.

The <%HMFIGURECOUNTER%> and <%HMTABLECOUNTER%> variables introduced in Help+Manual 7 will still work, but they are deprecated and no longer documented. If you have used them in your projects you don't need to replace them immediately. However, support for them will be removed in the future, so in the long run you should replace them with the new counter variables described below. Also, any new counters you add should use the new variables.

The old variables don't support tables of figures and tables

Note that the old variables won't be used in the new tables of figures and tables (see further below in this topic for details). You need to update to the new variables for that.

No automatic conversion

Unfortunately, it was not possible to include automatic conversion for the old figure and table counters. The differences are simply too great. To update existing counters you need to delete the old ones and create the new ones as described below.

Before Help+Manual 9, referencing these counter variables had to be done manually and this was subject to a number of limitations. These restrictions have now been removed with the new figure link tool. See further below for basic instructions and on the Figure Link page for full details.

Counter variables are not supported in the TOC

Because of the way that counter variables are processed, you can only use them in the body of your topic texts. If you use them in the table of contents (TOC) the counters will be incorrect. This is because the TOC is processed separately from the topic files.

You might then assume that you can use counter variables in the TOC if they are only used there, but that also won't work. The reason for this is that in some circumstances it is quite possible for the TOC to be processed multiple times when you publish your project. If this happens, the values of the variables will be incremented every time the TOC is processed.

Images that you insert with the image tool and image toggles inserted with the toggle tool are both classed as figures in your project. You can number them sequentially with the figure counter, which you can activate in the normal dialog for inserting the image or toggle. The option for doing this looks the same in both dialogs – this example shows the image dialog:

Activating the figure counter for an image or image toggle

You do this while inserting an image or toggle, or by double-clicking on an existing image or image toggle to display its dialog. Just activate the Add to Table of Figures checkbox. This automatically inserts the text Figure </%HMFIGCOUNTER%> in the caption field.

The Picture ID

The Picture ID: field is important for links and references to the caption (see further below). A unique ID is generated automatically when you insert an image. You can edit this if you want to make it more "human readable", and this is generally recommended – it's a lot easier to know what you are linking to when the ID is widgetexample instead of FIG58500E9A. Unaccented letters and numbers only, no spaces.

Important: IDs must be unique in the current topic. If you use the same ID more than once in a topic your references will not work correctly.

Editing the caption

If you want a different word instead of Figure just edit it. Help+Manual will then remember this and use your edit in the next caption. You can then add the normal caption for the image after the : character. That is all there is to it.

You can link to figures, tables and caption objects that contain IDs using the Figure Link option in the regular hyperlink tool. This works the same way as linking to an anchor in a topic. In addition to this, it can insert a reference to the target with its caption and number.

Limitation: The only limitation of this function is that it must be an active link. You can't currently create a reference that is just plain text.

Procedure

1.Click where you want to insert the link and open the hyperlink tool.

2.Choose Figure Link on the left, then select the ID of the topic containing the figure from the list.

3.Select the ID of the figure from the list next to the Target: field. You will only see IDs here if the topic contains figures with IDs.
Tip: The preview on the right scrolls to the item with the selected ID.

4.The <\%HMFIGURECAPTION%> variable inserts the caption and counter number of the target item in the link text.

Resetting the counter

If you don't change anything the figure counter will number your figures consecutively throughout your entire project. If you want to reset the counter, for example to count from 1 in every chapter, you can do this by adding an = sign and the starting value for the counter, like this:

<%HMFIGCOUNTER=12%> (resets the figure counter to 12)
<%HMFIGCOUNTER=1%> (resets the figure counter to 1)

Adding chapter references

In addition to resetting the counter you can also include a manual chapter reference in the counter. There just needs to be a non-numeric character before the actual number you are resetting the counter to:

<%HMFIGCOUNTER=3-12%> (resets the figure counter to 3-12)
<%HMFIGCOUNTER=II.1%> (resets the figure counter to II.1)

You only need to make this entry in the first instance of the variable where it is used. After that it will be used automatically until you reset it again. If you are numbering like this you need to include a reset like this in the first figure reference at the beginning of each chapter.

Chapter references in the counters are NOT automatic!

Important: Note that you can't use automatic chapter references! In the examples above the "3" and "II" references will not increment automatically. You need to change them at the beginning of each chapter when you reset the figure counter.

Figure captions are the most flexible kind of captions. They are not physically linked to anything; they are just a special caption with a counter reference in the body of your topic text. This means you can insert them anywhere in your topics to create captions for images, tables and any other numbered elements you want to use, list and reference in your projects. They are created with the Caption tool in Write > Insert Object:

Figure captions are independent elements

The figure caption is an independent element. When you create a reference to it you are referring to the caption, not to the element it is captioning. This means you can position your caption anywhere you want: above or below an image or table or other element, or even inside the table you want it to caption.

Three figure caption types

You can select between three different figure caption types in the caption tool, corresponding to the three counter variables used for the tables of figures: Figure, Table and User Defined. You

Automatic variable selection

When you select the caption type, the corresponding variable is inserted in the Label: field automatically, along with the default label:

Editing the label

If you want a different word instead of Figure or Table or the standard user text, just edit it. Help+Manual will then remember this and use your edit in the next caption for that caption type. You can then add the normal caption for the image in the Text: field. That is all there is to it.

The ID

The ID: field is important for links and references to the caption (see further below). If you want to link to your figure captions you need to include an ID. The ID must be unique in the current topic, otherwise links to the captions won't work. Unaccented letters and numbers only, no spaces.

Important: IDs must be unique in the current topic. If you use the same ID more than once in a topic your references will not work correctly.

The caption text:

The text in the Text: field is the rest of the caption, which is displayed after the : character. An inserted caption then looks like this:

The User Defined option is only available in figure captions and works in exactly the same way as the other two counter variables. It makes it possible for you to include both a counter and a table of figures for a third class of items. For example, if your project includes formulas you could use it for numbering the formulas and labeling them with captions that you can refer to:

Everything else works in exactly the same way as the figure and table counters in the figure captions. See further above for details.

References to these three special figure, table and user counters all work in the same way. The most important things to know  are where and how these "smart" counters are automatically incremented, and that the counters are not incremented when you use them in your body text.

Where the variables are incremented automatically:

Smart incrementation

The values are only incremented automatically in the locations listed above. If you insert the same variables in the body text of your project or anywhere else except these "incrementing locations" their values will not be incremented. This makes possible to insert references to them in your body text without having to adjust their values manually.

When references need to be adjusted

If you insert a reference to a figure or table counter directly after the figure or table, you can just insert the counter variable directly. In that position it will have the same value as the counter in the figure or table. In some cases, however, you need to adjust the values because of the position of the reference. This is done with the + (plus) and - (minus) versions of the variables — see further below for instructions on using these.

Referencing a figure counter AFTER the counter:

Direct reference to a single figure or table This is the simplest case. If the reference comes after the counter in one of the incrementing positions, before it is used again for another figure or table, it will always have the same value as the counter. The copy of the variable in the text will have the same value as the variable in the figure caption, whatever that is. Reference to multiple figures or tables In the following example you need to adjust the value of the reference to the RED figure with a -1 version of the variable (see further below in this topic for instructions). This is necessary because the counter has already been incremented again in the caption of the BLUE figure. The reference to the BLUE figure comes directly after the figure, so its reference does not need to be changed.

Referencing a figure counter BEFORE the counter

When you need to adjust the value of references to figure and table counters, you do this with the "plus" and "minus" versions of the counter variables:

You can either type these variables in manually or insert them with the Variable tool in Write > Insert Object:

You then insert the values by clicking in the variable and adding the appropriate number between the plus or minus sign and the % character:

In addition to automatic numbering of your images, tables and other elements, these counters can also be used to generate three tables with lists of all your numbered figures and their locations in your project:

•Table of figures (the <%HMFIGCOUNTER%> variable)

•Table of tables (the <%HMTBLCOUNTER%> variable)

•Table of user elements (the <%HMUSRCOUNTER%> variable)

Where the tables of figures are available

These tables can currently be generated in PDF and Word DOCX output. The tables will include all entries for which you have activated the Add to table of figures option.

Support in PDF

The tables of figures are configured in the Tables section in the print manual template, which you edit in Manual Designer: All entries in your project with the Add to Table of Figures option will be listed in these tables if you have this section configured and activated in Manual Designer:

There are a number of bands and variables that you can use there. For full details see Designing a Template > Tables Section in the Manual Designer help (F1 in Manual Designer).

Support in Word DOCX

In Word you just need to configure the standard Table of Figures and Table of Tables sections in your Word template, edited in Word. Here too, all the entries in your project with the Add to Table of Figures option activated will be listed in these tables in your Word output. See Keyword Index, Table of Figures in the Word chapter for details on setting this up.