Key Features

After opening a Flare project in MadCap Analyzer, the project is immediately scanned for possible issues, which are then listed in the Analyzer Summary window pane. From the Analyzer Summary window pane, you can double-click any of the issue rows. Doing this opens the appropriate window pane in the interface so that you can see more information about the reported issues and take action (e.g., fix broken links). See Viewing Current Issues.

In addition, with the File List window pane you can see all files in the Flare project you are analyzing. You can then send any of these files to the File Issues Viewer, which lets you see any issues associated with those specific topics. You can also view issues associated with all of the files associated with a specific Flare target. See File List Window Pane and Viewing Issues for Specific Files.

You can enable or disable the collection of different types of information when Analyzer scans a project for possible issues and problems. Also, by disabling scans, you may find that your system performance is improved somewhat. In addition to disabling scans, you can limit the number of results returned. See Enabling Analyzer Scans.

In the Reports window pane you can generate custom reports based on the information contained in your project, for just about any type of information that MadCap Analyzer captures. In addition, you can design the look and feel of reports, save them for future access, and open them in a browser window (where you can print them). See About Reports.

Analyzer lets you view and work with statistics from your Flare projects in the following ways. See Viewing Statistics.

• Statistics In the Statistics window pane you can view information about your project, such as the number of topics, words, segments, images, snippets, and broken links. The information is shown not only for the latest version of the project, but also for versions saved on previous days. You can use the Statistics Search Properties dialog to customize the number of days in the past to show statistics for the project.
• Charts You can view statistics in many different kinds of color charts, making it easier to see statistics at a glance. You can quickly change the type of chart that displays the information. This includes a variety of pie, donut, bar, cylinder, and line charts.

Analyzer lets you view information about links (e.g., text hyperlinks, cross-references) from your Flare projects and work with them in the following ways.

• Absolute Links Read more… In the Absolute Links window pane you can view a list of files in your Flare project containing absolute links to other files. An absolute link contains the full path to the target file. For example, let's say you have a text hyperlink that points to a file in your project like this: file://C:\MyProject\Content\MyFile.htm. (You can view this link format in the file's true code, which can be seen by using the Internal Text Editor in the source Flare project.) Because users do not have access to your local C: drive, they will not be able to use the link successfully in the output. Instead, the link should be relative to the file in your project, with dots and slashes that represent each folder level away from the current file (e.g., ..\..\MyFile.htm). You do not need to create this path manually; instead, it is automatically created when you properly insert a link by using the interface. The Absolute Links window pane allows you to find absolute links so that you turn them into relative links (by re-inserting the link). You can double-click a row to open the file in the Analyzer interface. You can also select the row and click File > Send to Flare to open the file in the Flare project. The link is highlighted so that you can easily fix it. See Viewing Absolute Links.
• Broken Bookmarks Read more… You can view a list of files with broken bookmarks. You can see the bookmark destination that the link is trying to find, the link text, the link tag, and other information. You can also open the file where the broken link is located so that you can fix it. See Viewing Broken Bookmarks.
• Broken Links Read more… In the Broken Links window pane you can view a list of files in your project where a broken link is located. You can see which file it is trying to find, the link text, the link tag, and other information. You can also open the file where the broken link is located. The broken link is highlighted so that you can easily fix it. See Viewing Broken Links.
• External Links Read more… In the External Links window pane you can view a list of files in your Flare project containing links to external files. For example, if you have a text hyperlink to a website, the file name where the link exists is displayed. By clicking the "Check" button, you can verify that all external links point to valid destinations. In addition, you can double-click a row to open the file in the Analyzer interface. You can also select the row and click File > Send to Flare to open the file in the Flare project. This allows you to fix any problems with external links. See Viewing External Links.
• Named Destinations Read more… In the Named Destinations window pane you can view all the named destinations in your project. Named destinations are created for use in Adobe PDF outputs. A named destination lets you point to a specific place in one generated and published PDF from another. In this window pane, you also have the option to either rename or delete the named destinations in your project. See Viewing Named Destinations.
• Unused Bookmarks Read more… You can view a list of all bookmarks that have been inserted in content files, but there are no links in that file or any others pointing to that bookmark. You can quickly delete any of the bookmarks that you do not plan to use. You can also double-click a row to open the file where the bookmark is inserted. See Viewing Unused Bookmarks.
• Used Bookmark Links Read more… You can view a list showing each file where a link to a bookmark is found, including the name of the bookmark, the kind of link used, and the path of the link. You can also double-click a row to open the file where the bookmark link is inserted. See Viewing Used Bookmark Links.
• View links Read more… In the Link Viewer window pane you can see what other files a particular file is linked to and from. See Viewing File Links.

Analyzer lets you work with areas of your Flare projects where snippets exist. See About Snippets and Using Snippet Conditions.

• Snippet Suggestions In the Snippet Suggestions window pane you can view content that matches existing snippets in your project, and you can quickly convert these occurrences to snippets. You can also double-click a row to open the topic in question, with the potential snippet content highlighted. See Viewing Snippet Suggestions. You can also convert frequent segments to snippets (see below).
• Snippet Conditions You can view a list of all files where snippet conditions have been applied. You can also double-click a row to open the topic in question. See Viewing Files with Snippet Conditions.

Analyzer lets you view and work with areas of your Flare projects where variables may be created, or where possible problems exist. See About Variables.

• Undefined Variables In the Undefined Variables window pane you can view a list of all files where you have variables inserted in the content, but those variables have not been defined. This might occur, for example, if you have inserted a variable in a topic and then later change the name of the variable or variable set. The old variable or set name is still used at the location where it was previously inserted in the topic; therefore, a problem exists. From the Undefined Variables window pane, you can open the topic in question and fix the undefined variable. You can also quickly rename or remove multiple variables in a single batch, add the undefined variable to the project, or map the undefined variable to an existing variable. See Viewing Undefined Variables.
• Unused Variables In the Unused Items window pane you can view a list of all variables that have been created in your project but have not yet been used in any topics or other files. You can quickly delete any of the variables that you do not plan to use. See Viewing Unused Variables.
• Used Variables In the Used Variables window pane you can view a list of variables that have been inserted in your project. The list shows not only the variables, but each topic where they have been used. You can also quickly rename or remove multiple variable occurrences in a single batch. See Viewing Used Variables.

• Variable Suggestions In the Variable Suggestions window pane you can view regular text that matches existing variables in your project, and then quickly convert these occurrences to variables. You can also double-click a row to open the topic in question, with the potential variable text highlighted. See Viewing Variable Suggestions. You can also convert frequent segments to variables (see below).

Analyzer lets you view and work with areas of your Flare projects where segments of text occur frequently. You can convert these segments to snippets or variables. See About Frequent Segments.

• Frequent Segments In the Frequent Segments window pane, you can view a list of segments that occur frequently in your project. You can see the segment text, the number of occurrences of each segment, and the number of words and characters in each segment. If you notice that certain segments are repeated numerous times in your project, you can easily convert them to snippets or variables. In addition, you can use the Frequent Segment Search Properties dialog to customize the number of occurrences and the number words in a segment to qualify it for inclusion in the window pane. See Viewing Frequent Segments.
• Similar Segments In the Similar Segments window pane you can view a list of segments of text in your project that are similar, but not identical, to each other. You may want to modify similar segments so that they become identical to each other, or even convert them to snippets. You can also use the "Start Search" button to limit or expand the list of similar segments that are displayed. See Viewing Similar Segments.
• Topics for Selected In the Topics For Selected window pane you can view a list of topics associated with a segment (as selected in the Frequent Segments window pane or Similar Segments window pane). This is simply a quick way to open a file where a particular segment exists. See Viewing Topics for a Selected Item.

Analyzer lets you view information about existing or potential styles in your Flare projects and work with the styles or content in the following ways.

• Duplicate Styles In the Duplicate Styles window pane you can view a list of all styles in your project where the same properties have been set. For example, let's say you have a style called "p.tip" and another style called "p.note." If you have specified the same settings for each of these styles (e.g., red font, 12 pt), with no other properties set, these styles will be included in the Duplicate Styles window pane. Groups or pairs of duplicate styles are displayed in alternating shaded rows (e.g., the rows for the first pair of duplicate styles are not shaded, the rows for the next group are shaded, the rows for the next group are not shaded, and so on). If you encounter duplicate styles, you may want to modify the settings for one or both styles, or you can remove one of the style classes from the stylesheet. See Viewing Duplicate Styles.
• New Style Suggestions In the New Style Suggestions window pane you can view the places in your project where you have used local formatting. MadCap Analyzer suggests that you convert these instances of formatting to new styles. You can use the Create New Style dialog to do just that. You can also double-click a row to open the file where the formatted content exists. See Viewing New Style Suggestions.
• Replace Local Style Suggestions In the Replace Local Style Suggestions window pane you can view the places in your project where you have used local formatting. MadCap Analyzer suggests that you replace these instances of formatting with existing styles in your stylesheet that match the formatting that you have applied manually. This is different from a new style suggestion in the following way: With a new style suggestion, the properties in the tag do not match an existing style exactly; therefore, Analyzer suggests that you create a new style. On the other hand, if you make formatting changes that happen to result in an exact match to all of the properties in an existing style, Analyzer suggests that you replace the formatting with that style (rather than creating a new style). See Viewing Local Style Suggestions.
• Undefined Styles In the Undefined Styles window pane you can view a list of all files where you have style classes applied to content, but those styles have not been defined. This might occur, for example, if you have created a new style class and applied it to a paragraph in a topic. Later, you remove that style class from the stylesheet. Therefore, you now have a style in a topic that is no longer defined in the stylesheet. You need to either apply a different, existing style class to that content, or you need to add the style class to the stylesheet again. You can also quickly rename or remove multiple style occurrences in a single batch, add the undefined style to the project, or map the undefined style to an existing style. See Viewing Undefined Styles.
• Unused Styles In the Unused Items window pane you can view a list of styles in your project that have not yet been applied to content in any files. If you do not use a particular style class, you can remove it from the stylesheet. You can also use the "disable" feature to hide styles that you do not want to be displayed in the stylesheet; you can access this feature from the Options drop-down button in the local toolbar of the Stylesheet Editor. See Viewing Unused Styles.
• Used Stylesheets You can include this information in a report that you generate (the information is not available in a particular window pane in the Analyzer interface, as is the case with most other types of data that can be included in a report). The report identifies any stylesheets (CSS files) in your project and lists the topics or other files to which those stylesheets have been applied. This is a useful feature if you tend to use multiple CSS files in your projects, rather than just one stylesheet. See About Reports.

Analyzer lets you view information about tables of contents (TOCs) from your projects and work with them in the following ways.

• Duplicate Items in TOC You can view a list of all files in your project that have been added more than once to a TOC using the Duplicate TOC Items window pane. See Viewing Duplicate Items in a TOC.
• Topics Not in TOC You can view a list of all topics that have been created in the project, but have not yet been linked to any items in a TOC. A drop-down filter lets you select a specific TOC to analyze, or you can select "Any TOC" to analyze all TOCs in a project. You can then add any of those topics to a TOC by dragging them from the Topics Not In Selected TOC window pane into the TOC you select and open. See Viewing Topics Not in a TOC.

Analyzer lets you view information about index markers and index links from your Flare projects and work with them in the following ways.

• Index Keyword Links In the Index Keyword Links window pane you can view a list of all index keywords used in index links throughout your project. You can also quickly rename index keywords associated with the links. See Viewing Index Keyword Links.
• Index Keyword Suggestions In the Index Keyword Suggestions window pane you can view a list of topics containing text that matches existing index keywords in your project. You can then quickly add the same index keywords to those topics. See Viewing Index Keyword Suggestions.
• Topics Not Indexed In the Topics Not In Index window pane, you can view a list of all topics where you have not yet inserted index keywords. Therefore, no references to those topics will be found in the generated index. You can also double-click a row to open the topic in question. See Viewing Topics Not Indexed.
• Used Index Keywords In the Used Index Keywords window pane you can view a list of all index keywords used throughout your project. You can also quickly rename multiple keyword occurrences in a single batch. See Viewing Used Index Keywords.

Analyzer lets you view information about condition tags from your Flare projects and work with them in the following ways.

• Undefined Condition Tags In the Undefined Condition Tags window pane you can view a list of all files where you have condition tags in the content, but those condition tags have not been defined. This might occur, for example, if you have applied a condition tag in a topic and then later change the name of the tag or condition tag set. The old tag or set name is still used at the location where it was previously applied in the topic. Therefore, a problem exists. From the Undefined Condition Tags window pane, you can open the file in question and fix the undefined condition tag. You can also quickly rename or remove multiple condition tag occurrences in a single batch, add the undefined tag to the project, or map the undefined tag to an existing condition tag. See Viewing Undefined Condition Tags.
• Unused Condition Tags In the Unused Items window pane you can view a list of all condition tags that have been created in your project but have not yet been used in any topics or other files. You can quickly delete any of the condition tags that you do not plan to use. See Viewing Unused Condition Tags.
• Used Condition Tags In the Used Condition Tags window pane you can view a list of all condition tags that have been applied in files throughout your project. The list shows not only the condition tags, but each file where they have been used. You can also quickly rename or remove multiple condition tag occurrences in a single batch. See Viewing Used Condition Tags.

Analyzer lets you view information about file tags from your Flare projects and work with them in the following ways.

• Files Without File Tags You can view a list of all content files in the project that do not have file tags. Then you can open the properties for a file and associate one or more file tags with it. See Viewing Files Without File Tags.
• Undefined File Tags In the Undefined File Tags window pane you can view a list of all files that are associated with file tags, but those file tags have not been defined. This might occur, for example, if you have associated a file tag with a topic and then later change the name of the tag or file tag set. The old tag or set name is still used for the topic. Therefore, a problem exists. From the Undefined File Tags window pane, you can open the file in question and fix the undefined tag. You can also quickly rename or remove multiple file tag occurrences in a single batch. See Viewing Undefined File Tags.
• Unused File Tags In the Unused Items window pane you can view a list of all file tags that have been created in your project but have not yet been used in any files. You can quickly delete any of the file tags that you do not plan to use. See Viewing Unused File Tags.
• Used File Tags In the Used File Tags window pane you can view a list of all file tags used in your project. The list shows the tag type and the file that it is associated with. You can quickly rename or remove multiple file tag occurrences in a single batch. See Viewing Used File Tags.

In addition to the common features already listed, Analyzer lets you view information about the following in your Flare projects.