You, the user, make the choice of when a publisher will update its edition
file. Generally, the two choices are to update the edition either:
- automatically when the file containing the publisher is saved, or
- manually when the Send Edition Now button is pressed from the
Publisher Options dialog.
Different applications may have different options. Links between publishers
and their edition files are effective until they are specifically canceled.
If an edition file is thrown away without canceling the link, a new edition
file will be created when the document containing the publisher is saved.
You cannot directly change the edition files, though you can open them to
examine their contents. When you open an edition, the contents of the file
are displayed and you get a dialog box asking if you want to open the
publisher, presumably to make changes.
You also make the choice of when a subscriber will receive edition updates.
Again, there are generally two options; a subscriber may update:
- automatically when the file containing the subscriber is opened, or
- manually when the Get Edition Now button is pressed from the Subscriber
Options dialog.
If you cancel a subscriber, the current information will remain, but it
will no longer be updated. If a subscriber's linked edition file has been
removed, a warning dialog is issued.
The System software keeps track of which edition files are linked to which
publishers and subscribers, in the same way it keeps track of alias files.
If an edition file is moved, the system updates its pathname. Making a
copy of an edition file does not copy its linkages, however.
Publishing is different from program linking. Publishers update an
intermediate file, and subscribers update from that intermediate file. In
program linking, an application sends commands (AppleEvents) directly to
another application; there is no intermediary.