Using Multiple Register Reports to Create a Book

[flappleton]

I have been dickering with the Report/Book/Register capability. I am looking to create a book that consists of multiple register reports each beginning with a treetop. I have prepared some test "treetop register reports" and combined the PDFs in a single reunionbook file.

The problem with this is that the page numbers are for individual PDFs, and sections like surnames, sources, and indexes do not combine. I can turn off the over-arching page numbers but then I might as well just distribute as a collection of PDFs.

Is there a way to combine the reunionbook files and regenerate the ancillary sections? Better still is there a way to designate multiple treetops as sections?

Thanks for any ideas.

[Dennis J. Cunniff]

Re: Using Multiple Register Reports to Create a Book

I have been dickering with the Report/Book/Register capability. I am looking to create a book that consists of multiple register reports each beginning with a treetop. I have prepared some test "treetop register reports" and combined the PDFs in a single reunionbook file.

The problem with this is that the page numbers are for individual PDFs, and sections like surnames, sources, and indexes do not combine. I can turn off the over-arching page numbers but then I might as well just distribute as a collection of PDFs.

Is there a way to combine the reunionbook files and regenerate the ancillary sections? Better still is there a way to designate multiple treetops as sections?

Thanks for any ideas.

I can think of 3 possibilities. All involve additional software, so I will list them from least to most expensive. It will be no surprise that the best solution is also probably the most expensive.

[1] Using Microsoft Word:
[a] Output your register reports as Word files. No page numbers.
[b] create a "Master Document" containing links to each of those files, in the order you want them to appear. Look up "Master Document" for the version of Word you use, but generally this involves: creating a new blank document and saving it, switching to Outline view, clicking on "Show Document", and then clicking on the insert button and using "Insert Subdocument" to insert each of the register reports in the right order, and saving the document.
[c] Word will number the pages successively.


[2] Using Adobe Acrobat Pro:
[a] Output your register reports as .pdf files or Word files. No page numbers.
[b] Open Acrobat. Click Combine Files, Click Add Files.
[c] Click, drag, and drop to reorder the files to the correct order.
[d] click Combine files.
[e] save the file.
[f] use Acrobat Pro to add a header or footer including page numbers.

[3] Using Adobe InDesign.
[a] Output your register reports as Word files. No page numbers
[b] set up the InDesign document format
[c] "place" each Word document into the text flow.
[d] place any illustrations
[e] InDesign will number the pages.

Note that Word and InDesign can use the codes generated by Reunion for Indexing to produce an Index and can produce their own tables of contents. The pdf/Adobe solution won't.

[mjashby]

Re: Using Multiple Register Reports to Create a Book

I have been dickering with the Report/Book/Register capability. I am looking to create a book that consists of multiple register reports each beginning with a treetop. I have prepared some test "treetop register reports" and combined the PDFs in a single reunionbook file.

The problem with this is that the page numbers are for individual PDFs, and sections like surnames, sources, and indexes do not combine. I can turn off the over-arching page numbers but then I might as well just distribute as a collection of PDFs.

Is there a way to combine the reunionbook files and regenerate the ancillary sections? Better still is there a way to designate multiple treetops as sections?

Thanks for any ideas.

To add to Dennis J. Cunniff's excellent range of suggestions, if you do not have access to, or don't want to jump in to purchasing, any of the additional software described, you could try LibreOffice. The Word Processor in LibreOffice, 'Writer', also has a very similar Master Document feature to that in Microsoft Word and works well with Reunion - Though I always admit to being a long term MS Office User, having used it on PCs since Version 2!

Mervyn

[flappleton]

Re: Using Multiple Register Reports to Create a Book

Thank you both for your thoughtful replies. I will give the MS Word solution a real try this evening.

[LizDexic3]

Re: Using Multiple Register Reports to Create a Book

While I haven't tried this personally, but very recently it was recommend that i give iBooksAuthor a try for publishing. It's available as a FREE App from Apple.

I'm curious as to how it would interface with Reunion 11.

If you do try it, please share your feedback.

[mjashby]

Re: Using Multiple Register Reports to Create a Book

While I haven't tried this personally, but very recently it was recommend that i give iBooksAuthor a try for publishing. It's available as a FREE App from Apple.

I'm curious as to how it would interface with Reunion 11.

If you do try it, please share your feedback.

I have had a quick look at iBooks Author and it is another potentially useful Page Layout utility in some situations.

Text is generally entered manually in Text Frames and Tables are also possible as in most Page Layout applications. You can import ('Insert a Chapter") from a Pages or Word Document; or an Indesign (IDML) File but, other than inserting media, that's about it for importing, apart from cutting and pasting text etc. from other application files.

One of the major weaknesses I can immediately see, if considering this application for a detailed Family History publication is that there is no automated Indexing feature, so any indexing would have to be undertaken manually after all other text and media items have been inserted and formatted.

Mervyn

[momsk8s]

Re: Using Multiple Register Reports to Create a Book

Can you export the registered reports or books into Pages?

[Terri Works]

Re: Using Multiple Register Reports to Create a Book

Can you export the registered reports or books into Pages?

I open register reports in TextEdit and then cut and paste them into Pages, where I edit and format them. It's a little clunky but it works fine.