Typefi Field Instances in Typefi Writer

Typefi Field Instances were Introduced in the Typefi Writer 8.7.1 (64-bit edition).

A Typefi Field Instance is a text variable in your content that represents the value of a Typefi Field. You can use a Field Instance to insert the value of a Typefi Field anywhere in your Microsoft Word document.

What’s the difference between a Typefi Field and a Typefi Field Instance?

Field Instances are text variables in the content, while Fields are placeholder objects in the Typefi-ready template (.indd). As a writer, you might never see the Fields in the template, but with Field Instances, you can insert the value of a Field anywhere in your Microsoft Word document. Both Fields and Field Instances display the same information in the published document.

The layout designer adds Fields to the template in Typefi Designer. They choose where the Field is placed.

In Typefi Writer 8.7.0 and earlier, you, as the writer, could not insert the Field value in your document (because Fields had to be placed in the template, and Typefi clears the contents of Typefi text frames as the first step when running a job). But now, you can: Field Instances enable you to insert a Field value anywhere in your document.

If you are “roundtripping content” (converting content from Microsoft Word to Adobe InDesign and then back to Content XML), Field Instances are not carried through.

In summary:

When should I use a Typefi Field Instance?

Insert a Field Instance anytime you need to use the Field value in your text.

For example, you could use a Field Instance to:

• insert the year that a document was published (set as a Project Field) into some boilerplate text on the copyright page.
• insert a chapter title (set as a Section Field) into the “About this chapter” page.
• insert an image credit (set as an Element Field) into a paragraph that provides more information about the photographer.