Reuse Text With Placeholders
Write a value once, use it everywhere, and change it in every guide by editing a single row.
Where They Live
- Click the guide title at the top of the editor.
- Open the Placeholders tab.
Two tables, and the difference between them is the whole feature. Add a key and a value, and Folge saves as you type: the Saved label next to the buttons is the only confirmation you get.
- Global Placeholders: Shared by every guide you have. This is where a company name belongs.
- Guide Placeholders: Belong to this guide only, and override a global with the same key. So one guide can have its own owner while the rest keep the default.
Type the key without the brackets. The [[ and ]] either side of the box are there to show you what it will look like in use.
Using One
Write [[Company]] into a step description, a text block, a step title, or the header, footer and cover page of an export template. Folge swaps in the value when it renders the guide.
Nothing is substituted while you edit, so the guide still shows [[Company]] in the editor. Use Preview on the step, or export, to see the real value.
Adding a Lot at Once
Bulk edit replaces the row-by-row form with a text box, which is much faster than clicking Add Placeholder twenty times.
- One per line: Company = Northwind Logistics GmbH
- Quote anything with spaces: "Escalation contact" = "Dana Whitfield, ext 4471"
- Paste from a spreadsheet: Two tab-separated columns work directly, so a list someone keeps in Excel goes straight in.
If a line cannot be read, Folge names the line number and its contents rather than failing silently.
Not the Same as the Built-In Ones
PDF headers and footers accept [[Guide_Title]], [[Page_Number]] and four others. Those are built into Folge, are not in these tables, and cannot be changed. See Put your branding on a PDF.
The placeholders on this page are yours: any key you like, any value, and they work in the body of the guide as well as around it. The syntax is the same, so pick key names that will not collide, and avoid reusing the built-in names.
Worth Setting Up Early
- Anything that might get renamed: Systems, teams, products, job titles. These are what change.
- Anything that repeats across guides: A support address, an escalation path, an office location.
- Not one-off text: A value used once is clearer typed out. Placeholders earn their keep on repetition.
What this is good for
- A system gets renamed and you have it typed into forty guides.
- Every guide ends with the same support address, and the address changes.
- One guide needs a different owner from the company-wide default.
Make guides like this one
Folge captures a screenshot on every click, so a guide writes itself as you work.
