Page punctuation

[Nhaps]

Due to lack of more examples in the manual, I am still in need of help with page punctuation. I need a format string that can address these two variables:
(year), 58 = if page is present in temp citation (@58), then BE must add comma plus space.
(year) = if page is not present in temp citation, then BE must suppress comma plus space.

[Jon]

There are plenty of examples in the user guide for how to deal with empty fields. Look in the user guide section on formatting for conditional groups. You could do something like this

{(d), p^(d)}

Jon
Sonny Software

[Nhaps]

I think I can pinpoint the problem now. The page "@58" I described above within a temp citation has no symbol for me to work with in the format. The page is arbitrary, so any comma plus space needs to be entered within the temp citation itself. This would look like this: "@, 58". Is this reasoning right? It works fine for me.

[Jon]

No, that's not right. What comes before and after cited pages should be defined in the format (Citation Options tab, Common Settings).

Jon
Sonny Software

[Nhaps]

Ok, I am putting the most frequent punctuation in Citation Options-Common Settings. Next I am trying to work with the exceptions.

[Jon]

Again, the user guide has all the information about this. You can override the format settings by using putting the ad hoc punctuation in backslashes immediately after the @:

{temp cite@\; p:\15}

Jon
Sonny Software

[Nhaps]

With "@\:\" I was able to override the format settings. Thank you for your patience, Jon. Even after reading the format part on the manual I still struggle sometimes with issues. This is a powerful program, and the formatting is not for the faint of heart.

[Jon]

Actually, setting up most formats is pretty easy. Where it gets complicated is when there are lots of special cases, many ad hoc, as you do. I can answer questions (on the forum or via tech support), but the best practice is to take a half hour or so and read through the section on formatting (which gives many examples). With that as background, you can figure out most of what you need, and if you can't at least we'll be speaking the same language when you (by you, I mean anyone) need support.

I'm glad you've worked things out.

Jon
Sonny Software