How do I un-clutter list of hundreds of paragraph formats

Question

When I pull down the menu of paragraph formats I see a HUGE number of them scrolling down beyond my screen.  God forbid I should ever have to choose one that begins with a letter late in the alphabet.  Help files mention a catalog window but I have looked everywhere for this mythical thing and can't find it.  If I do find this catalog, can I delete all the tags I don't need for this one document without losing them permanently for all documents?  Can I set preferences to have new documents list just a few of my favorites without dealing with this enormous cumbersome list every time?
Using FM 9.0.
Thanks for your help!
Paul

Answer 1

Paul_RS wrote:
When I pull down the menu of paragraph formats I see a HUGE number of them scrolling down beyond my screen.  God forbid I should ever have to choose one that begins with a letter late in the alphabet.  Help files mention a catalog window but I have looked everywhere for this mythical thing and can't find it.  If I do find this catalog, can I delete all the tags I don't need for this one document without losing them permanently for all documents?  Can I set preferences to have new documents list just a few of my favorites without dealing with this enormous cumbersome list every time?
Using FM 9.0.
Thanks for your help!
Paul
Hi, Paul:
Paragraph, character, and table format definitions are stored in each file.
To delete formats from the paragraph or character format catalog, open the catalog with Format > Paragraphs > Catalog, or Format > Characters > Catalog, click Delete** to open the deletion dialog box, select a format by clicking a visible format name, by navigating through the list with arrow keys, or by typing the initial letter of a format's name. Repeatedly typing the same initial moves through the formats that begin with that letter. Click Delete to "nominate" the selected format for deletion. You can't select multiple formats in the list by Shift+Click or Ctrl+Click. Click Done to perform the actual deletion, or Cancel if you change your mind.
An alternate way to open the format deletion dialog box is by clicking the Delete option that appears by clicking the Commands button in the Paragraph, Character, and Table designers.
To assure that you don't lose formats you may want to use at another time, save a copy of the file with a descriptive name, such as "AllFormatsInTheKnownUniverse.fm." You can delete all the content to unclutter the file, without losing the formats. You can import formats from one file to another, or from one file to multiple files in a book. Search Google for "framemaker import formats" without quotes for information at Adobe forums, in FrameMaker Help, and from other sources.
**Note that pressing Delete to open the deletion dialog box does not delete the format that's selected in the catalog.
One way to eliminate all the unused formats from a catalog is to use File > Utilities > Create and Apply Formats. BEWARE: it's dangerous; read up on it in Help, and save a copy of your file before using. You'll find unfamiliar format names in the catalog this creates, such as Mapping Table Title and some others; they're from items on Master and Reference Pages.
Better and safer than Create and Apply Formats are the excellent inexpensive tools for maintaining paragraph and character format catalogs from siliconprairiesoftware.com.
The table format catalog is only visible in the Table Designer (Table > Table Designer.)
HTH
Regards,
Peter
Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices