The Anatomy of the Template File

Introduction

A template file is a text file that consists of up to eight sections - Configuration, Content, Lesson Description, Step, Step Title, Step Instructions, Media:Image and Media:Image Full-Size.

Each section starts with "[-- START SECTION_NAME --]" and ends with "[-- END SECTION_NAME --]". The start and end entries appear on their own line (1).

ScreenSteps defines variables that you can use within a section to specify where ScreenSteps content should be placed. Let's look at each section in turn.

The Configuration Section

The Configuration section is where you set the template properties. ScreenSteps uses different properties depending on whether you are exporting a lesson or the table of contents for a manual.

Properties
web safe - true/false
applies to: lesson, table of contents
If true then all file names will be made web safe. Default is "false".

text style - html, xml, plain, xml-html, textile
applies to: lesson, table of contents
This setting specifies how styled text is handled (i.e. step instructions). "html" will output instructions using HTML tags for formatting (<strong>, <i>, <p>). "xml" will output unformatted text using the defined text encoding and then encodes any xml entities. "plain" will output unformatted text. "xml-html" will output HTML formatted text that has xml entities encoded. "textile" will convert the output to textile formatting. URLs are preserved but colors will be lost. Default is "html".

text encoding - utf8, iso
applies to: lesson, table of contents
How to encode the text. If text encoding is set to iso and text style is set to HTML then characters will be encoded as HTML entities if need be. Default is "utf8".

newline - unix, windows, mac
applies to: lesson, table of contents
Specifies what to use for newlines. "unix" uses ASCII 10, "windows" uses ASCII 13 + 10 and "mac" uses ASCII 13. The default is "unix".

lesson folder - string
applies to: table of contents
The folder to store lessons in when exporting a manual.

media folder - string
applies to: lesson
Path where the media will be output to. This path is relative to the folder you select when exporting.

font family - lucida, helvetica, georgia, courier, trebuchet
applies to: lesson, table of contents
This property defines what the %FontFamily% variable in the Content section will be. The default templates included with ScreenSteps define five different font families in the CSS file based on these five values.

image format - png, jpeg
applies to: lesson
The image format to use when exporting step images. Default is "png".

jpeg quality - integer
applies to: lesson
Compression quality to use if image format is "jpeg". Default is 85.

step image position - top, right, bottom
applies to: lesson
Where to position the image in relation to the step instructions. Default is "right".

max image width on side - integer or empty
applies to: lesson
The maximum width an image can have it it appears on the side of the step instructions. Image will be resized to fit. Set to empty for no limit.

max image height on side - integer or empty
applies to: lesson
The maximum height an image can have it it appears on the side of the step instructions. Image will be resized to fit. Set to empty for no limit.

max image width when centered - integer or empty
applies to: lesson
The maximum width an image can have it it appears above or below the step instructions. Image will be resized to fit. Set to empty for no limit.

max image height when centered - integer or empty
applies to: lesson
The maximum width an image can have it it appears above or below the step instructions. Image will be resized to fit. Set to empty for no limit.

Variables Available in this Section

@LESSON_NAME - The name of the project the user provides when exporting the session.
applies to: lesson

The Media:Image Section

Applies to: lesson

The media:image section is the text that will be used for each image in your lesson. In this HTML example each image will be placed in an <img> tag that is wrapped in a <div> tag.

Variables Available in this Section

%source% - the relative path of the image.
%width% - the width of the image.
%height% - the height of the image.
%MediaNumber% - the number of the media in the lesson starting from 1.
%MediaNumberZeroBased% - the number of the media in the lesson starting from 0.
%FileName% - the name of the media file.
%FileNameNoExtension% - the name of the media file without the extension.

The Media:Image Full-Size Section

Applies to: lesson

If you include this section in the template file then any image that needs to be downsized in order to fit within the maximum width and height limits will have a full-size version exported as well. In this case Media:Image Full-Size will be used instead of Media:Image.

Variables Available in this Section

%fullsize_source% - the relative path of the image.
%fullsize_width% - the width of the image.
%fullsize_height% - the height of the image.
%MediaNumber% - the number of the media in the lesson starting from 1.
%MediaNumberZeroBased% - the number of the media in the lesson starting from 0.
%FileName% - the name of the media file.
%FileNameNoExtension% - the name of the media file without the extension.

The Step Title Section

Applies to: lesson

Use this section to format how the step title will be displayed. This section is not processed if the step has no title.

Variables Available in this Section

%Title% - the step title.
%StepNumber% - the indexed step number. Steps are only indexed if the step has a title.
%Indexed% - 'true' if the step has a title. 'false' if not.
%Index% - the actual step number, regardless of whether or not the step has a title.
%IndexZeroBased% - same as %Index% but starts counting at 0 rather than 1.

The Step Instructions Section

Applies to: lesson

Use this section to format how the step instructions will be displayed. This section is not processed if the step has no instructions.

Variables Available in this Section

%Instructions% - the step instructions.
%InstructionsPlain% - the step instructions without any styling.
%StepNumber% - the indexed step number. Steps are only indexed if the step has a title.
%Indexed% - 'true' if the step has a title. 'false' if not.
%Index% - the actual step number, regardless of whether or not the step has a title.
%IndexZeroBased% - same as %Index% but starts counting at 0 rather than 1.

The Step Section

Applies to: lesson

Use this section to format how the step will be displayed.

Variables Available in this Section

%STEP_TITLE% - the value of the Step Tile section.
%STEP_INSTRUCTIONS% - the value of the Step Instructions section.
%MEDIA_IMAGE% - the value of the Media:Image or Media:Image Full-Size section.
%Title% - the step title.
%Instructions% - the step instructions.
%InstructionsPlain% - the step instructions without any styling.
%ImagePosition% - the value of the 'step image position' template variable.
%StepNumber% - the indexed step number. Steps are only indexed if the step has a title.
%Indexed% - 'true' if the step has a title. 'false' if not.
%Index% - the actual step number, regardless of whether or not the step has a title.
%IndexZeroBased% - same as %Index% but starts counting at 0 rather than 1.

The Lesson Description Section

Applies to: lesson, table of contents

Use this section to format how the lesson description will be displayed. This section is not processed if the lesson has no description.

Variables Available in this Section

%LessonDescription% - the lesson description.
%LessonDescriptionPlain% - the lesson description without any styling.

The Navigation Section

Applies to: lesson

This section will be processed for each step in the lesson that is indexed (has a title). Use it to create step navigation within the HTML page.

Variables Available in this Section

%Title% - the step title.
%StepNumber% - the indexed step number. Steps are only indexed if the step has a title.
%Index% - the actual step number, regardless of whether or not the step has a title.
%IndexZeroBased% - same as %Index% but starts counting at 0 rather than 1.

The Lesson Link:Previous Section

Applies to: lesson in a manual

This section is available if a lesson is being exported as part of a manual. Use it to create a link to the previous lesson in the manual.

Variables Available in this Section

%PreviousLessonLink% - the link to the previous lesson in the manual.
%PreviousLessonTitle% - the title of the previous lesson in the manual.
%TableOfContentsLink% - the link to the manual table of contents.

The Lesson Link:Next Section

Applies to: lesson in a manual

This section is available if a lesson is being exported as part of a manual. Use it to create a link to the next lesson in the manual.

Variables Available in this Section

%NextLessonLink% - the link to the next lesson in the manual.
%NextLessonTitle% - the title of the next lesson in the manual.
%TableOfContentsLink% - the link to the manual table of contents.

The Lesson Section

Applies to: table of contents

Use this section to format each lesson that will appear in the Lessons section.

Variables Available in this Section

%LessonTitle% - the lesson title.
%LessonLink% - the link to the lesson.
%LessonDescription% - the lesson description.
%LESSON_DESCRIPTION% - the value of the Lesson Description section.

The Lessons Section

Applies to: table of contents

Use this section to format how the lessons in a section will be formatted.

Variables Available in this Section

%LESSON% - the value of the Lesson section.

The Section Section

Applies to: table of contents

Use this section to format how the lessons in a section will be formatted.

Variables Available in this Section

%SectionTitle% - the section title.
%LESSONS% - the value of the Lessons section.

The Content Section

Applies to: lesson, lesson in a manual, table of contents

This section is where you bring all of the other sections together to form the main document.

Variables Available in this Section (Lesson)

%FontFamily% - the value of the font family template property.
%LessonTitle% - the name of the lesson.
%LessonTags% - a comma delimited list of tags assigned to the lesson.
%LESSON_DESCRIPTION% - the value of the Lesson Description section.
%LESSON_STEPS% - the combined value of the Step section for all steps.
%NAVIGATION% - the value of the Navigation section.

Additional Variables Available for Lessons in a Manual

%LESSON_LINK:PREVIOUS% - the value of the Lesson Link:Previous section.
%LESSON_LINK:NEXT% - the value of the Lesson Link:Next section.
%TableOfContentsLink% - the link to the manual table of contents.

Variables Available in this Section (Table of Contents)

%FontFamily% - the value of the font family template property.
%ManualTitle% - the name of the manual.
%SECTIONS% - the value of the Sections section.