Paragraph Format being lost

Question

Hi there
I'm working on an FAPI client to translate text in Frame Documents. One of the first things we do is store the formatting for each paragraph,
and then write it back out to the translated document.
However, in one document I'm working on, when my client attempts to get a handle
for one particular paragraph format, it gets a null a handle instead and that formatting is not applied. Instead, formatting from the previous paragraph (namely an obnoxious green font colour!) is being applied.
In order to set the translated text into the document, we delete the content that was originally there. Could that have a role to play?
I notice that before and after translation, the paragraph format in question is not contained in the paragraph format catalogue.
When I click on the paragraph which has this formatting applied to it, it has an asterisk before the name. Is this significant?
Any answers would be appreciated
Thanks
Eric

Answer 1

Eric,
I think the answer you are looking for is yes, there can be "formats" in the document that are not in the catalog. However, they aren't really formats at all, because if they were, they would be in the catalog. From an API perspective, all they are is a string property assigned to a paragraph.
With the FDK, format usage can be confusing. You might think that you can just set the FP_Name property for an FO_Pgf object to apply a format, but that is really nothing more than a string that is used for reference later, either by you (the programmer) or the interface (the GUI). To apply a format, you have to find the format object (FO_PgfFmt) itself, capture its settings, then apply them to the FO_Pgf (I gather you know this already). It's important to remember, though, that you aren't really creating any kind of link between the format object and the paragraph; rather, you are just transfering the settings from one to another. Incidentally, both types of objects have an FP_Name property, so when you transfer the properties from the format to the pgf, that name gets transferred as well. This presents the illusion that there is some intrinsic link between the two afterwards, but it really was nothing but a string property transfer.
The problem you are having is that this FP_Name property was somehow set with a value that doesn't reflect an actual format in the catalog. This could have been done with the FDK, of course, but there are a number of ways to do it in the interface as well. One of the simplest ways is to open the paragraph designer, "create" a new format, but deselect the option to add it to the catalog. The paragraph will then maintain the assignment of this "format," but it doesn't really exist. It's just the FP_Name property amidst the zillions of other paragraph-related properties.
Others have suggested that format overrides might be the cause, but I don't think that is quite applicable in your case. You should still be able to retrieve an FO_PgfFmt object by name, if it existed. Your problem is that the format doesn't exist. Note that in the interface, both a non-existent format and an paragraph with format overrides will show with an asterisk in the toolbar, adding to the possible confusion here.
Solution?  I think you'll need to clean up your docs   You can do this with the FDK by seeking out any paragraph with an imaginary formats, then creating a new FO_PgfFmt object with the respective properties. Or, better yet, do it once manually and be done with it.
Russ