Adobe RoboHelp HTML 9.0 User guide

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Reklam

Using

ADOBE

®

ROBOHELP

®

HTML 9

Using Adobe

RoboHelp

HTML 9 for Windows

This user guide is protected under copyright law, furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe Systems Incorporated assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in the informational content contained in this guide.

This user guide is licensed for use under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 License. This License allows users to copy, distribute, and transmit the user guide for noncommercial purposes only so long as (1) proper attribution to Adobe is given as the owner of the user guide; and

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Notice to U.S. Government End Users. The Software and Documentation are “Commercial Items,” as that term is defined at 48 C.F.R. §2.101, consisting of

“Commercial Computer Software” and “Commercial Computer Software Documentation,” as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. §12.212 or 48 C.F.R. §227.7202, as applicable. Consistent with 48 C.F.R. §12.212 or 48 C.F.R. §§227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4, as applicable, the Commercial Computer Software and

Commercial Computer Software Documentation are being licensed to U.S. Government end users (a) only as Commercial Items and (b) with only those rights as are granted to all other end users pursuant to the terms and conditions herein. Unpublished-rights reserved under the copyright laws of the United States.

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Assistance Act of 1974 (38 USC 4212), and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the regulations at 41 CFR Parts 60-1 through 60-60,

60-250, and 60-741. The affirmative action clause and regulations contained in the preceding sentence shall be incorporated by reference.

Last updated 12/14/2011

Chapter 1: Getting started

Activation and registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Help and support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

What’s new in RoboHelp 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

What’s new in RoboHelp Server 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Chapter 2: Exploring the workspace

Workspace overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Working with pods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Menus and toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Create or remove keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Configure general settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Chapter 3: Projects

Project basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Create and manage projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Authoring content in multiple languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Import PDF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Importing and linking Microsoft Word documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Import FrameMaker documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Import a DITA map file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Import XML files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Import Microsoft HTML Help projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Import WinHelp projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Adding projects to version control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Merging Help projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Chapter 4: Working with topics

Create, save, and open topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Author in XHTML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Import and copy topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

View topics and design elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Master pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Manage topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Managing resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Check spelling and find and replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

W3C compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

iii

Last updated 12/14/2011

USING ROBOHELP HTML 9

Contents

Chapter 5: Editing and formatting

RoboHelp editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Character formatting and fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Format paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Borders, backgrounds, color, and sound

Tables

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Headers, footers, and page breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Text boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

User-defined variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Single-source with snippets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Chapter 6: Styles and style sheets

Style types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Manage style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Create styles for style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Table styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

List styles

Apply styles

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Edit styles in CSS files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Delete styles from style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Use color and images

Inline styles

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Chapter 7: TOCs, indexes, glossaries

TOCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

TOCs and indexes in Microsoft HTML Help

Glossaries

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Glossary hotspots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Chapter 8: Linking and navigation

Navigation basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Create text links

Link to a pop-up

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Link images and multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

External links

Link View

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Link maintenance and repair

Link controls

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Text-only pop-ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

RoboHelp search basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

External content search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Browse sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

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Contents

Chapter 9: Multimedia and special effects

Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Adobe Captivate demos

Multimedia

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Dynamic HTML and special effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Marquees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

HTML comments in topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Iframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Chapter 10: Conditional text

Conditional text basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Conditional build tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Conditional build tag expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Chapter 11: Context-sensitive Help

About context-sensitive Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Author and developer roles in creating context-sensitive Help

Map files and map IDs

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Dynamic editing of context-sensitive topics

Information for developers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

What’s This? Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Maintaining text-only topics (Microsoft HTML Help projects) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Working with text-only topics

Testing context-sensitive Help

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Context-sensitive Help terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Chapter 12: Generating Help and printed documents

Single sourcing basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Work with layout types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Generate, view, and publish output

Distribute the project output

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Printed documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Skins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Chapter 13: Review and collaboration

Review in Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

PDF review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

Manage comments and changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Review and collaboration in AIR Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Chapter 14: Advanced program features

ActiveX controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

Applets

Forms

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

HTML Help controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

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Contents

Information types (for HTML Help) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

About ExtendScript Toolkit support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Twisties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Chapter 15: Default keyboard shortcuts

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Chapter 1: Getting started

Adobe RoboHelp software is designed for developing Help systems, e-learning content, policies and procedures, and knowledgebases. Its enhanced editing and layout capabilities enable you to create professional looking content. You can publish this content to multiple channels, including Adobe AIR for an integrated online and offline user experience. With the support for the ePub format, you can now take your content authored in RoboHelp,

FrameMaker, or Microsoft® Word to mobile devices, e-book readers, and tablets.

Worldwide, Adobe RoboHelp is a leader of online Help authoring tools through innovation. New features create a more productive experience for technical communicators and their audiences.

For latest information about Adobe RoboHelp, visit www.adobe.com/go/learn_robohelp_product_en

Before you begin working with your software, take a few moments to read an overview of activation and the many resources available to you. You have access to instructional videos, plug-ins, templates, user communities, seminars, tutorials, RSS feeds, and much more.

Activation and registration

To review complete system requirements and recommendations for your Adobe® RoboHelp® 9 software, see the

ReadMe file on the installation disc.

Install the software

1 Close any other Adobe applications open on your computer.

2 Insert the installation disc into your hard drive, and follow the onscreen instructions.

Note: For more information, see the ReadMe file on the installation disc.

Help with installation

For Help with installation issues, see the Installation Support Center at www.adobe.com/support/robohelp .

License activation

During the installation process, your Adobe software contacts an Adobe server to complete the license activation process. No personal data is transmitted. For more information on product activation, visit the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/activation .

Register

Note: Register only once for RoboHelp 9.

❖ To register, follow the onscreen instructions in the Registration dialog box, which appears after you install the software.

If you postpone registration, you can register at any time by choosing Help > Registration.

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Getting started

Adobe Product Improvement Program

After you have used your Adobe software a certain number of times, a dialog box appears, asking whether you want to participate in Adobe Product Improvement Program.

If you choose to participate, data about your use of Adobe software is sent to Adobe. No personal information is recorded or sent. The Adobe Product Improvement Program only collects information about the features and tools that you use in the software and how often you use them.

You can opt in to or opt out of the program at any time:

• To participate, choose Help > Adobe Product Improvement Program and click Yes, Participate.

• To stop participating, choose Help > Adobe Product Improvement Program and click No, Thank You.

Adobe provides more information about the Adobe Product Improvement Program in a frequently asked questions

(FAQ) list on the Adobe website .

ReadMe

A ReadMe file for your software is available online and on the installation disc. Open the file to read important information about topics such as the following:

• System requirements

• Installation (including removing the software)

• Activation and registration

• Troubleshooting

• Customer support

Help and support

Community Help

Community Help is an integrated environment on Adobe.com that gives you access to community-generated content moderated by Adobe and industry experts. Comments from users help guide you to an answer. Search Community

Help to find the best content on the web about Adobe products and technologies, including these resources:

• Videos, tutorials, tips and techniques, blogs, articles, and examples for designers and developers.

• Complete online Help, which is updated regularly and is more complete than the Help delivered with your product.

If you are connected to the Internet when you access Help, you automatically see the latest online Help rather than the set delivered with your product. Online Help also includes a link to the complete, updated PDF version of Help.

• All other content on Adobe.com, including knowledgebase articles, downloads and updates, Adobe Developer

Connection, and more.

Use the Help search field in your product user interface to access Community Help. You can search for content within the Adobe.com site and also in websites that have useful information about your product. Moderators continue to identify the most relevant web content for your product. You can add comments to online Help and view comments added by other users.

Note: To restrict search within the product documentation, expand Search Options and select Local. Filter results by selecting the documentation from the drop-down list. You can use Ctrl + F to search within the contents displayed in the right pane.

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Getting started

Services, downloads, and extras

You can enhance your product by integrating various services, plug-ins, and extensions in your product. You can also download samples and other assets and see various resources to get your work done.

Adobe Exchange

Visit the Adobe Exchange at www.adobe.com/go/exchange to download samples as well as plug-ins and extensions from Adobe and third-party developers. The plug-ins and extensions can help you automate tasks, customize workflows, create specialized professional effects, and more.

Adobe downloads

Visit www.adobe.com/go/downloads to find free updates, trials, and other useful software.

Adobe Labs

Adobe Labs at www.adobe.com/go/labs gives you the opportunity to experience and evaluate new and emerging technologies and products from Adobe. At Adobe Labs, you have access to resources such as these:

• Prerelease software and technologies

• Code samples and best practices to accelerate your learning

• Early versions of product and technical documentation

• Forums, wiki-based content, and other collaborative resources to help you interact with like-minded users

Adobe Labs fosters a collaborative software development process. In this environment, customers quickly become productive with new products and technologies. Adobe Labs is also a forum for early feedback. The Adobe development teams use this feedback to create software that meets the needs and expectations of the community.

Adobe forums

To reach out to experts in the Adobe RoboHelp community, visit www.adobe.com/go/learn_robohelp_forum_en .

Adobe TV

Visit Adobe TV at http://tv.adobe.com

to view instructional and inspirational videos. The Technical Communications channel features videos relevant for technical communicators.

RoboHelp sample projects and output

Visit the RoboHelp resources page and download sample projects created with RoboHelp and other resources, such as workspaces and applications configured for implementing context-sensitive Help.

RoboHelp Developer Center

Visit RoboHelp Developer Center for articles written by internal and external RoboHelp users on various userrequested topics.

RoboHelp Help and Support page

Visit the Adobe Support website at www.adobe.com/support/robohelp to learn about free and paid technical support options.

Previous RoboHelp Help

Download the documentation of older versions of RoboHelp from www.adobe.com/go/learn_rh_previous_docs_en .

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Getting started

Troubleshooting tips

Before you call Customer Support, try the tips collated on www.adobe.com/go/learn_robohelp_forum_tips_en to troubleshoot RoboHelp problems.

Problem

RoboHelp X5 activation does not work.

Solution

Run RoboHelp X5 without activation.

For more information, see ts_kb403696_en-us

Some of the third-level TOC entries are missing when publishing a project to RoboHelp Server.

Follow the steps listed in ts_cpsid_90498_en-us

The Adobe RoboHelp 9 uninstaller exits with an error and does not uninstall Adobe RoboHelp 9.

Manually uninstall (remove) Adobe RoboHelp 9.

For more information, see ts_cpsid_88189_en-us

What’s new in RoboHelp 9

Authoring enhancements

Shared and linked resources Save time and boost productivity by reusing assets across authors and projects. The enhanced Resource Manager in RoboHelp 9 lets you add shared resources in Copy or Linked mode. RoboHelp supports the auto-update of linked resources if the resources are modified in the shared location. Using linked

resources helps you maintain consistency and conform to organizational and industry standards. See “ Managing resources ” on page 123.

Statuses of linked resources help identify need for update

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Getting started

Enhanced User Defined Variables and Snippets pods The User Defined Variables pod and the Snippets pod include many usability enhancements in RoboHelp 9. Both pods are now search-enabled. You can now organize snippets in categories and expand and collapse each category. Support for sorting, and enhanced preview helps you insert, edit, and manage UDVs and snippets with greater ease. Capabilities such as organizing snippets into categories and converting them to text provide you with flexibility and speed.

Search-enabled User Defined Variables and Snippets pods B.

Snippets organized in categories

Paste rich HTML content Copy and paste tables from Microsoft Word, Microsoft® Excel, and browsers. RoboHelp pastes rich HTML content with text formatting, tables, lists, hyperlinks, and images intact.

Automated CSH authoring From within RoboHelp, open the application for which you want to provide contextsensitive Help and map dialog boxes with new or existing topics. Dependency on developers is minimal because

RoboHelp extracts the context-sensitive Help IDs automatically. Updating or remapping topics is also easy because of

the seamless integration of RoboHelp and the application. See “ Dynamic editing of context-sensitive topics ” on page 232.

Note: The application needs to implement context-sensitive Help using the RoboHelp 9 CSH API. Currently, only C++

APIs on Windows are supported.

Include external content in search Specify URLs for content available outside the Help system (for example, in blogs) and map them to terms that users are likely to search for. By curating relevant content in this way, you can optimize

the search experience for users and provide easy access to user-generated content. See “ External content search ” on page 204.

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Getting started

Implementing external content search

Preview Web output in multiple browsers Preview a topic or the WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, and FlashHelp

Pro output of a project with different browsers. Multibrowser support for previewing topics and project output helps

you ensure that the content appears correctly in commonly used browsers. See “ Preview topics

” on page 114 and “ View output ” on page 307.

Support for latest devices, products, and browsers Stay up-to-date with support for the latest platforms, browsers, and devices (eBook readers, mobile devices, tablet PCs, and more). You can now import or link content from and publish output to Microsoft Word 2010 (.docx and .doc). End users can view content generated from RoboHelp in the latest version of Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.

Integration with FrameMaker 10, Adobe Captivate 5, and Acrobat 10 RoboHelp 9 supports the latest version of Adobe products such as FrameMaker 10, Adobe Captivate 5, and Acrobat 10. Leverage the latest enhancements in these products, such as support for setting a text background color at both character and paragraph levels in FrameMaker.

RoboHelp Server reports to optimize content RoboHelp Server provides a host of reports to understand how users consume the content. Take advantage of these usage analytics to optimize the content according to user needs. Now that you can include external content in search, you can even map content that’s already available outside the Help system and help users find the information they need.

For more information, see Reports in RoboHelp Server Help.

Import and linking enhancements

General import and linking enhancements In RoboHelp 9, the following enhancements apply to import and linking of both Microsoft Word and FrameMaker documents:

• Saves the relative path of the linked document RoboHelp 9 saves the relative path, instead of the absolute path, of linked documents. As a result, the links work even when the RoboHelp project and the linked Microsoft Word or

FrameMaker documents are moved.

Note: Earlier versions of RoboHelp projects that contain absolute paths of linked documents open normally in RoboHelp

9. While saving these projects, RoboHelp 9 saves the relative path.

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• Modify character and paragraph source styles While importing or linking a document, you can modify the character and paragraph styles defined in the document. In the case of linked documents, style properties modified from within Microsoft Word or FrameMaker and modified from within RoboHelp can now co-exist. In other words, you can modify the style properties that you want to override in RoboHelp and allow other style properties to be modified in Microsoft Word or FrameMaker.

RoboHelp 9 maintains two styles sheets to manage the styles of a linked document. A [topic].css file stores the styles defined in the source document. The global CSS file, by default named RHStyleMapping.css, stores the details of modifications and mapped RoboHelp styles.

RoboHelp stores each modified style with the style name WD_[original_style_name] (in the case of Microsoft Word) or FM_[original_style_name] (in the case of FrameMaker) in RHStyleMapping.css.

Note: RoboHelp hides the [topic].css files from the workspace to ensure that source styles are preserved in this file.

• Edit style sheets from within Project Settings While specifying the import settings in the Project Settings dialog box, you can now edit the CSS file you want to use for style mapping. The Edit With option lets you select an editor from a predefined list, which includes RoboHelp CSS Editor and other registered CSS editors.

• Import and export of settings from an ISF file You can now import settings from a saved ISF file or export them while importing Microsoft Word and FrameMaker documents. Any changes you make to the settings after importing the ISF file are not saved; the modified settings are used only in the current import process.

Enhanced FrameMaker import and linking In RoboHelp 9, FrameMaker document import and linking includes the following additional enhancements:

• Support for importing or linking DITA maps and DITA topics You can now import or link DITA maps (.ditamap,

.dita, and .xml) and DITA topics (.dita and .xml). For RoboHelp, a DITA map is similar to a FrameMaker book and a

Dita topic is similar to a FrameMaker .fm file. RoboHelp 9 also supports Ditaval, which means that you can now create

output based on conditions specified in the Ditaval file. See “ Apply conditions from a Ditaval file ” on page 71.

• Enhanced list import in FrameMaker import and linking In RoboHelp 9, list symbols used in unordered lists convert without any distortion. If you select Convert Autonumber To Text, RoboHelp retains the list indentation style of the FrameMaker source document.

• Enhanced table import in FrameMaker import and linking Enhancements include the import of table titles as captions, caption style mapping, import of table headers <th> tags when the table style is mapped to [source], and the ability to configure table height and width, row height, and column width.

Note: RoboHelp CSS Editor does not support caption editing. However, if you create a caption style with another editor, you can duplicate the caption with RoboHelp CSS Editor to create additional captions.

• Better conversion of Math equations, text frames, and freehand curves in FrameMaker import and linking

RoboHelp 9 uses Acrobat Distiller to convert FrameMaker Math equations, text frames, and freehand curves to images. Select the Use PDF To Generate Images option in the Conversion Settings dialog box to use this enhancement.

See “ Image conversion settings ” on page 80.

Review and collaboration features

With RoboHelp 9, collaborate in multiple ways with other authors, SMEs, and end users.

Review in Design Editor RoboHelp 9 lets you enable Track Changes in Design Editor and insert comments and changes directly in the project. Take advantage of this capability to implement peer reviews. Multiple reviewers can work sequentially and provide their feedback on the project. After the review ends, you can view and manage the

feedback from Review Pane. For step-by-step instructions, see “ Review in Design Editor

” on page 347 and “ Manage comments and changes ” on page 350.

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PDF review Create a PDF from an entire RoboHelp project or from parts of it, including topics, master pages, and snippets, and send it for review (Reviewers only need the free Adobe Reader to add comments to the PDF). After the review ends, import the comments into the project and view and manage the feedback from Review Pane. For step-

by-step instructions, see “ PDF review

” on page 348 and “ Manage comments and changes ” on page 350.

Rate topics and add comments in AIR Help Gather end-user feedback by enabling topic rating and commenting in AIR

Help (Adobe AIR Application output type). You can implement a trust-based setup on an internal server or a secure setup on a server running RoboHelp Server for users outside your corporate network. In both scenarios, RoboHelp

supports comment moderation. See “ Review and collaboration in AIR Help ” on page 352.

Publishing features

Multidevice publishing with ePub output With RoboHelp 9, generate project output for mobile devices, eBook readers, tablets, and other devices that support the ePub format. The output includes metadata conforming to ePub

specifications. See “ Generate output in the ePub format ” on page 305.

Access the ePub Generator script from A.

File menu B.

Tools menu C.

Script Explorer

Publish to SharePoint RoboHelp 9 supports publishing WebHelp, FlashHelp, and Browser based Help (Adobe AIR

SSL) output to a SharePoint site using Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path. See “ Set options for generating

WebHelp

” on page 292, “ Set options for generating FlashHelp

” on page 296, and “ Configure a server to host browserbased Help ” on page 290.

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Define SharePoint settings in layout properties

Dynamic user-centric content Publish Adobe® AIR® and WebHelp projects as integrated Help systems with different content categories. Users select the content category that's relevant for them and navigate and search within the content category. Each content category has its own TOC, index, and glossary. Creating dynamic user-centric content is useful if end users have to quickly toggle between the content for different roles, products, or variants. For example, queries that a call center agent handles sometimes pertain to different areas of system administration (for example, user administration, site administration, and content administration). The ability to view and search the system administration content as a set of modular content categories accessible from the same interface works as a time-saver where you handle queries in real time.

For information about how to create content categories, see “ Configure the Adobe AIR layout

” on page 284 and “ Set options for generating WebHelp ” on page 292.

Content category definition in SSL B.

Content category selection in the output

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Merged AIR Help The capability to merge the output of multiple projects is now extended to output generated using the Adobe AIR SSL. Both Adobe AIR output types—Adobe AIR Application and Browser based Help—support

merging. See “ Merging Help projects ” on page 96.

Enhanced search experience RoboHelp 9 ensures improved user experience by excluding unreferenced topics from the output and unreferenced baggage files from search. For a definition of unreferenced topics and unreferenced

baggage file, see “ RoboHelp search basics ” on page 203. For the steps to exclude unreferenced topics and baggage files,

see the relevant topic in “ Generate output ” on page 292.

See the following table to find the layouts that support the Exclude Unreferenced Topics From Output and Exclude

Unreferenced Baggage Files From Search options:

SSL

Adobe AIR

Output type: Browser based Help

Exclude Unreferenced Topics From Output option

Adobe AIR

Output type: Adobe AIR Application

Yes

WebHelp

WebHelp Pro

FlashHelp

Yes

FlashHelp Pro

Microsoft HTML Help

Printed Documentation

XML Output

Oracle Help

JavaHelp

Yes

Exclude Unreferenced Baggage Files From

Search option

Yes

Personalize or brand output Change colors, styles, icons, and fonts to match company branding and other

specifications with the brand new Adobe AIR Help Skin Editor. See “ Create custom skins for Adobe AIR projects ” on page 336.

Support for character encoding in SSL Enables you to set character encoding at an SSL level when the web server to which you’re publishing has a character encoding different from UTF-8. For information about how to set character

encoding for an SSL, see the relevant topic in “ Generate output ” on page 292.

Note: Character encoding in SSL is not supported for Printed Documentation and Microsoft HTML Help layouts.

Set a language for SSL Override the language setting of the project by setting a language for the relevant single-source layout. RoboHelp uses the SSL language setting for the user interface (UI) strings and language-related UI elements in the preview and generated output. For information about how to set a language for an SSL, see the relevant topic in

“ Generate output ” on page 292.

Note: Language setting in SSL is not supported for Printed Documentation and XML layouts.

Support for selection of browse sequences In WebHelp and Adobe AIR layouts, you can now select the browse sequences that you want to display. If the layout defines content categories, you can select browse sequences for each content category. Further, in WebHelp layouts, you can enable or disable browse sequences at a project level. For

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information about how to enable or disable browse sequences and select them for content categories, see “ Configure the Adobe AIR layout

” on page 284 and “ Set options for generating WebHelp ” on page 292.

Enhanced Printed Documentation output Take advantage of enhanced style mapping options to generate better PDF output and printed documentation. In addition to mapping character and paragraph styles, you can now map multilevel list and table styles to the corresponding styles in Microsoft Word.

Important: By default, list and tables styles in Microsoft Word do not have names. Create new styles in Microsoft Word and name them so the style names are available in the drop-down list in Printed Documentation layout properties.

Unnamed styles appear in the Microsoft Word styles (All) drop-down list as Unassigned

In the generated Microsoft Word document, the mapped styles retain the Microsoft Word style properties. For example, if you add a row to a table with shaded alternate rows, the newly added row has the expected shade. See

“ Mapping styles ” on page 330.

With the new Insert > Page Break option, you can add page breaks in topics. RoboHelp honors the page breaks to add new pages in the Printed Documentation output.

Hide the Rank column in search results For WebHelp and WebHelp Pro output, you can hide the Rank column in search results to allocate more space for displaying search results. The Hide Rank Column In Search Results option is

available in the Search tab of WebHelp layout properties. See “ Set options for generating WebHelp ” on page 292 and

“ Set options for generating WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro ” on page 298.

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User customization features

In RoboHelp 9, organizations deploying Adobe AIR Application output (AIR Help) can configure features such as auto-update, commenting, and moderation settings through the configuration file and settings.xml

files.

Customization through configuration file In RoboHelp 9, an author can specify a configuration file path at the time of generating AIR Help (General settings in the Adobe AIR SSL properties). When the AIR application is distributed, users can copy the default configuration file from the SSL folder to the location specified in the configuration file path and modify the default settings according to their preferences.

Users can modify the following author-specified settings in the [configuration_filename] .xml

file:

• Add the company logo and name configuration file.

Personalize and brand the Help by specifying the company logo and name in the

• Enable or disable auto-update Specify the preference for auto-update and override the author-specified autoupdate setting.

• Change the location of the auto-update XML file Specify a location to store the auto-update XML file.

• Change the location for storing comments Specify a central location of choice for storing and syncing comments.

• Change the status of new comments Specify whether new comments are to be accepted without moderation.

• Enable or disable topic rating Allow or disallow users to rate topics.

For more information, see “ Configure the Adobe AIR layout

” on page 284 and “ Distribute Adobe AIR output ” on page 321.

Customization through settings.xml Users can override the moderation setting defined in the SSL by configuring the moderation state setting in the settings.xml

file.

For more information, see “ Distribute Adobe AIR output

” on page 321 and “ Comment moderation ” on page 354.

Usability and productivity features

Sample applications with layouts configured for multichannel publishing RoboHelp 9 installation comes with two sample projects, Salesbuilder-Help and EmployeeCare. The Salesbuilder-Help project is designed to help you understand the new features offered by RoboHelp 9. The EmployeeCare project is designed to show how a knowledgebase can be created using RoboHelp 9. The layouts are set up ready for you to generate them when you have read the topics in the About folder. Both projects include the About Adobe RoboHelp 9 topic, which outlines the new features of RoboHelp 9. If a particular feature is used in the sample project you have opened, the icon appears below the feature name.

Workspace enhancements In RoboHelp 9, you’ll find a host of workspace enhancements that give you flexibility and speed. Some of the key changes are as follows:

• Easy-to-arrange pods From the context-sensitive menu of the title bar of a pod, access options such as Dockable,

Floating, and Tabbed Document to arrange pods in various ways. The menu also includes options to hide and close the pod.

• Buttons in the Tabbed Document pane to open and close topics document pane to open and close topics quickly.

Take advantage of fixed buttons in the Tabbed

• Topic drop-down list When multiple topics are open, access an open topic quickly from the Topic drop-down list.

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Names of open topics appear in the drop-down list

• Single-topic mode Deselect the Allow Editing Of Multiple Topics option in Tools > Options > General to open and edit one topic at a time.

Uncluttered Tools > Options dialog box The tabs in the Options dialog box are now displayed in a tree view in the left pane of the dialog box.

Save And Generate button for each layout The properties dialog box for each SSL now has a Save and Generate button, enabling you to save modified properties and generate output with a single click.

Suppress messages while running scripts in TCS workflows FrameMaker Server uses RoboHelp scripting APIs, and any message or alert in RoboHelp blocks the server. So RoboHelp 9 does not display unnecessary dialog boxes while running any script, especially in TCS workflows.

Read this article to find out how Tech Pub departments are using RoboHelp Server to stay ahead of the competition and enabling information collection and publication.

What’s new in RoboHelp Server 9

User interface enhancements

RoboHelp Server 9 features a fresh, aesthetically appealing user interface.

Enhanced platform support

• Support for Microsoft Access 2010

• Support for Apache Tomcat 7.x. Tomcat 7.x is currently in the beta stage.

Technical enhancements

• RoboHelp Server logs are now created in a consolidated log file (robohelpserver.log) under the

<Tomcat Home> /logs folder. All RoboHelp Server-related exceptions and warnings are logged in this file.

This new log file is generated using the Apache log4j logging framework.

If you want to tweak the size, backup limit, or format of the logs, modify the value of the relevant properties in the

• You can now host RoboHelp Server over HTTP Secure (HTTPS) to ensure secure communications between the server and clients.

• Authors can publish their RoboHelp HTML projects using HTTPS

• End users can view projects on the server over HTTPS

• The RoboHelp Server Web Administrator and reports can be viewed over HTTPS as well

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Moderation settings for Adobe AIR Help comments

Using the Web Administrator, you can now specify the following moderation settings for comments on Adobe® AIR®

Help output:

• Allow Post Anonymous

• Mark Comments As Pending

Search-related enhancements

RoboHelp Server 9 features many search-related enhancements:

Project stop list for server-side indexing Unlike RoboHelp 8, the stop list specified in a RoboHelp HTML project is now used for server-side indexing.

Project synonym list for server-side indexing Unlike RoboHelp 8, the synonym list specified in a RoboHelp HTML project is now used for server-side indexing.

Synonym highlighting Synonyms for a keyword being searched for are highlighted in the search result list. This enhancement is available only for WebHelp Pro output published using RoboHelp HTML 9.

Dynamic context in search results for server-side indexing RoboHelp Server now displays dynamic context along with search results. Apache Lucene, the text search engine library powering search in RoboHelp Server, displays the relevant words around a keyword as context in the search result list. This feature is available only for WebHelp Pro and

FlashHelp Pro projects published to RoboHelp Server with server-side indexing enabled.

• For keywords within topics, words in the immediate vicinity of the keyword in the topic are displayed as context.

• The static context of the topic is displayed for user-specified keywords. The first few words of the topic include static context.

• In the case of external resources for keywords, the URL description of the external resource is displayed as the dynamic context.

Note: For WebHelp Pro projects, dynamic context is displayed beneath a topic in the search result list, with the relevant matched text highlighted in bold. For FlashHelp Pro projects, dynamic context is displayed as a tooltip when the user hovers the pointer over any topic in the search result list.

Reporting enhancements

RoboHelp Server 9 delivers several reporting improvements that help you better optimize the value of your Help content:

• Functionality to filter reports by area

• New, intuitive names for the reports

• Improvements to the graphical representation of reports

• Functionality to export report data to the CSV format

• Flexibility to customize reports by showing/hiding columns. Column layouts can be saved across sessions.

• Fine-tuned numerical data in reports

Configuration Manager enhancements

You can now perform the following additional tasks using the RoboHelp Server Configuration Manager:

• Migrate context data from RoboHelp Server 8 to RoboHelp Server 9

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• Deploy a context in the root context

• Delete contexts

• Set up an admin account for RoboHelp Server using LDAP authentication or database authentication

• Configure LDAP settings

• Configure search indexing settings

The little things

• The Web Administrator now provides functionalities to edit and delete users. Only RoboHelp Server administrators are allowed to edit or delete users.

Note: These functionalities are useful for setting a new password if a user has lost or forgotten the earlier password.

• New Sign Out link in the Web Administrator

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Chapter 2: Exploring the workspace

Workspace overview

You create and manipulate your projects using various elements, such as pods, panes, bars, and windows. Any arrangement of these elements is called a workspace. The RoboHelp workspace includes pods, panes, and customizable toolbars and menus. Expanding menus track commands you frequently use and display them on a shortened version of each menu. You can also customize keyboard shortcuts and add new toolbars.

D E

RoboHelp workspace

A. Menu bar B. Toolbars C. Clubbed pods D. Tabbed Document pane E. Design Editor F. Workspace switcher

• The menu bar across the top contains the commands to display various menus and a workspace switcher.

• Various toolbars appear below the menu bar. Select View > Toolbars to show or hide toolbars that you require.

• The topic window or the Tabbed Document pane displays the topic(s) that you are editing currently. Select Tools

> Options > Allow Editing Of Multiple Topics to edit multiple topics concurrently. You can paste objects and selections across multiple topics. You can select horizontal or vertical tiling of topics.

The Design and HTML buttons in the topic window let you switch between Design Editor and HTML Editor.

When multiple topics are open, click the down arrow button in the upper-right corner of the Tabbed Document pane to display the list of open topics and navigate to any topic.

Right-click a tab to find options to save the active topic, close the active topic, close all topics, close all but the active topic, and create horizontal or vertical tab groups.

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• Various pods , such as Project Manager, Project Set-up, Resource Manager, and Single Source Layouts, help you complete the different steps to create the project and generate the required output. Select View > Pods to show or hide pods that you require.

Working with pods

Pods are workflow panes that you can float or dock anywhere in the application window. They provide quick access to logically grouped features from one location. For example, you can select and generate various layouts from the Single

Source Layouts pod.

RoboHelp provides access to your most frequently used pods and projects, with flexible options. You can move a pod anywhere on the screen or to a different monitor. Use the auto-hide feature of pods to show or hide them on the desktop.

View a pod

❖ Select View > Pods > [ pod name ].

Arrange pods

• Click the title bar of a pod and drag-and-drop it on the required part of the screen.

• Change the display of the pod.

1 Do one of the following:

• Click the down arrow button in the upper-right corner of a pod.

• Right-click in the titlebar of the pod.

2 Select one of the following options:

Dockable Docks the pod if it’s in the Tabbed Document state or in the Floating state

Close Closes the pod

Floating Floats the pod if it’s in the Tabbed Document state or in the docked state

Auto Hide Pins or unpins the pod if it’s not in the Tabbed Document state.

Tabbed Document Opens the pod in a new tab in the topic window.

Types of pods

Starter pod

The Starter pod provides links to common commands and product information.

Recent Projects Open recently used projects (up to ten recent projects are listed) and other projects.

Create New Select the Help type you want to generate.

Import Import a Help project, such as an HTML Help project, Word document, and all other available types.

Resources Access forums, developer centers, knowledgebase articles, and other online content.

News Announcements Access information about Adobe products.

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View Online Help Access the complete online Help.

Quick Tour Of RoboHelp Access a set of videos for a quick tour of RoboHelp features.

Project Manager pod

The Project Manager pod contains various folders where you create and delete project files, or edit their properties. It also has folders for various key project components, such as the table of contents, the index, and the glossary.

If the project has many topics, collapse the Project Files folder first to view the other folders.

More Help topics

“ Project Manager folders ” on page 39

Project Set-up pod

The Project Set-up pod contains the following folders:

Windows folder Containers for output. Custom windows for projects are stored in this folder. Modify window properties by double-clicking a window icon.

Master Pages folder Use master pages to reuse information and create a standard appearance across topics.

Skins folder Use skins with WebHelp or FlashHelp projects to change the appearance of the Help system. You can match the appearance of a company website or add interest and style to the output. Use skins to customize colors, buttons, text, fonts, icons, backgrounds, multimedia (FlashHelp projects), images for TOC icons and navigation buttons, and more.

External Content Search Map URLs and search terms to enable users find related content outside the Help system.

Context-Sensitive Help folder Container for the Map Files folder and the What’s This Help Files folder.

• Use the Map Files folder to access map files and perform most window-level context-sensitive Help tasks.

• Use the What's This Help Files folder for field-level context-sensitive Help in HTML Help projects.

More Help topics

“ Windows ” on page 341

“ Master pages ” on page 115

“ Skins ” on page 334

“ External content search ” on page 204

“ About context-sensitive Help ” on page 225

“ Map files and map IDs ” on page 226

Snippets pod

Add custom HTML code snippets to a project for insertion later into desired topics. When you modify a code snippet shared by different topics, the changes are reflected in all the associated topics.

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Snippets are stored in a Snippet library as separate files with the .hts extension. In the Snippets pod, you can organize them in categories, expanding or collapsing the categories for easy viewing. The category names appear in a sorted order in the Snippets pod and in the Insert dialog box. You can drag snippets to desired locations in a topic. You can also select snippets and then copy, duplicate, or delete them. Select the Preview option from the context menu to preview a snippet.

More Help topics

“ Single-source with snippets ” on page 152

Styles And Formatting pod

Use the Styles And Formatting pod to apply styles quickly. Select a style in the pod and apply it to the selected text in the topic. You can create and edit a style directly from the pod. Right-click the name of a style to rename, delete, or preview that style.

Note: Select Format > Styles to view the Styles And Formatting pod. You must open a topic to view the Styles And

Formatting pod.

More Help topics

“ Create a style using the Styles And Formatting pod ” on page 157

User Defined Variables pod

From the User Defined Variables pod, you can accomplish these tasks:

• Create, edit, or delete variables.

• Create, edit, or delete variable sets.

• Provide and modify runtime values uniquely for different variable sets while generating the output.

• Format variable values.

More Help topics

“ User-defined variables ” on page 149

Error List pod

The Error List pod shows buttons for errors, warnings, and messages that are displayed when you try to validate a topic or a master page. You can click these buttons to display the relevant information in the Error list. The caption of buttons shows the number of errors, warnings, and messages. You can click all of these buttons to display the relevant information.

Output View pod

The Output View pod displays important errors, warnings, and messages that RoboHelp captures while importing content or generating project output. You can use the toolbar and the right-click options to save, copy, select, or clear the log.

Toolbox pod

The Toolbox pod provides shortcut icons to access various tools that come with RoboHelp. You can also add tools.

Graphics Locator, HTML Help Studio, and Resize are some of the default tools.

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Resource Manager pod

Resource Manager stores all the common resources to use across projects and allows for quick access and management of common resource files.

Shared Locations Specify the various shared folders that store resource files to use across projects. While a shared location can contain files of any type, Resource Manager displays only those that match defined file types (Add/Edit

Categories).

Categories Specify categories to organize resources according to file types. For example, you can add a category called

Video and associate .flv, .swf, and .avi file types with it.

File Types List the extensions associated with a category. For example, for the Images category, list all the file types that you want Resource Manager to consider as images.

Linked Resources Manage linked resources (resources used in the project with links to the original versions in the shared locations). Synchronize the original version and the copy, remove links to stop automatic tracking of updates, or replace links to point to another resource of the same file type.

More Help topics

“ Managing resources ” on page 123

RoboHelp Server pod

The RoboHelp Server pod enables you to connect to RoboHelp Server. You can configure the setup for the server by selecting WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro as the primary layout.

You can enter Servername:port/context-name/server and connect to it to publish your projects.

Note: By default, RoboHelp uses the http protocol. To specify that the https protocol should be used, enter https://Servername:port/context-name/server.

Environments

A RoboHelp environment refers to the arrangement of various workspace components, such as pods, in the main application window. By saving the current workspace as a named environment, you can restore that workspace even if you move or close a pod. The names of saved environments appear in the Workspace menu on the right of the menu bar.

Create and save an environment

You can create multiple environments for a project. Only one environment is loaded at a time.

Arrange pods.

Click the down arrow button in the workspace switcher and select Save Environment.

3 Type a filename, including the .rhs extension.

4 Specify a location for the environment. The default location is C:\Documents and Settings\ [user name] \My

Documents\My RoboHelp Projects.

Note: You can exchange an RHS file with other authors.

Load an environment

1 Click the down arrow button in the workspace switcher and select Load Environment.

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Browse to an RHS file and select it.

Click Open.

Note: The last environment you used before closing RoboHelp is used the next time you open RoboHelp.

Restore the default environment

❖ Click the down arrow button in the workspace switcher and select Default Environment.

Delete an environment

❖ Do one of the following:

• Delete the RHS file from the location where it was stored.

• Click Start > Run. In the Open box, type regedit and click OK. Locate the MRUENVFile[n] variable in

HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Adobe > RoboHelp > 9.00 > Common and delete the string assigned to the variable.

Menus and toolbars

Customize menus

1 Right-click a toolbar and choose Customize.

2 Click the Commands tab.

Choose New Menu from the Categories list.

In the Commands section, click New Menu and drag it to the location where you want it to appear on the menu bar.

Right-click the New Menu item on the menu bar and click inside the Name field.

Type the desired menu name and press Enter.

Choose different categories and drag the desired commands to the menu.

Click Close.

Restart RoboHelp HTML to preserve changes.

Customize toolbars

1 Select View > Toolbars > Customize.

Note: You can also right-click a toolbar and choose Customize.

2 Do any of the following:

• To create a toolbar, click the Toolbar tab. Click New, type a name, and click OK.

• To add an item to a toolbar, click the Commands tab. Select a category, and drag a command to the toolbar.

• To edit a newly added toolbar item, right-click its icon in the toolbar and select options, such as Delete and

Name. The Begin Group option inserts a separator bar to the left of the item.

You can use an ampersand (&) in the name to add keyboard shortcuts. For example, for the Format menu, an ampersand precedes the letter "o" in “Format”. To access the Format menu using the keyboard shortcut, press

Alt + O.

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• To edit a button image, right-click the button and select Edit Button Image. Use the Button Editor tools and modify the image. Check the preview and click OK.

• To edit menus and toolbar items, click the Options tab. Set the following options as needed:

Always Show Full Menus

Select this option to show all the available menus. See “ Enable and disable smart menus ” on page 22.

Show Full Menus After A Short Delay Select this option to show few menus on starting the application and few after a short delay.

Reset Menu And Toolbar Usage Data Click this button to delete the records of all the new or modified commands you have used and restore the default settings.

Large Icons Select this option to show large icons for the menus.

Show Screen Tips On toolbars Select this option to show Screen Tips on the toolbars.

Show Shortcut Keys In Screen Tips Select this option to show keyboard shortcuts in Screen Tips.

Menu Animations Select an animation type from the pop-up menu.

More Help topics

“ Create keyboard shortcuts ” on page 22

“ Customize menus ” on page 21

Enable and disable smart menus

Smart menus display only the most frequently used commands. To access the hidden commands, click the down arrow at the end of the command menu.

1 Right-click a toolbar.

Select Customize.

Click the Options tab.

Select or deselect Always Show Full Menus under Personalized Menus And Toolbars.

Create or remove keyboard shortcuts

Create keyboard shortcuts

1 Select View > Toolbars > Customize.

Click the Keyboard tab.

Select a command category.

Select a command to assign to a keyboard shortcut.

Type the keyboard shortcut in the Press New Shortcut Key box.

6 Click Assign.

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Remove or reset keyboard shortcuts

1 Select View > Toolbars > Customize.

2 Click the Keyboard tab.

3 Do one of the following:

• To remove a keyboard shortcut, select the category and command for the shortcut to remove. Select the shortcut in Key Assignments, and click Remove.

• To restore all shortcuts to their default settings, click Reset All.

Configure general settings

❖ Select Tools > Options. Click General and set the following options to configure options for using the program and working with project files.

Set the default language and other preferences

Default Language Allows you to change the default language for every project that is created using the RoboHelp application.

Use Underscores In File Names Saves topic filenames with underscores between words (for example,

My_Help_Topic.htm). For HTML Help projects, topic filenames require underscores rather than spaces. This convention enables the book or page to synchronize with the topic content displayed at the right side of the viewer.

Automatically Check For Updates The program checks for updates when you quit the program. You can also enable this option by selecting Help > Check For Updates.

Allow Editing Of Multiple Topics Opens topics in different tabs in Design Editor and allows editing. Deselect this option to work in single-topic mode.

Clear Project Cache (.cpd File) Before Opening Any Project Controls whether the old <ProjectName> .cpd

file will be deleted each time while opening a project and a new <ProjectName> .cpd

will be created from the project files.

Auto-Compile Outdated Files When you view or publish your project, the program automatically generates your primary layout when the output files are out of date. If this option is disabled, the program prompts you to generate the primary layout if the output files are out of date.

Auto-display Output View Shows the Output View at the bottom of the program window when a project is generating.

Convert RoboHelp-edited Topics To HTML Converts XHTML topics created or edited in RoboHelp into HTML in the output. Topics created or edited with third-party editors are not converted.

Enable or disable confirmation

Prompt when a file is saved The A File Is Saved option is disabled by default. Changes to the current topic are saved when you open another topic or close the project without saving. You can disable this setting here if necessary. For example, if you change a topic and want to restore the content, you can temporarily disable the automatic save.

Prompt when auto-generated topics from linked documents are modified Allows you to enable or disable the message displayed when you modify a topic generated from the contents of a linked Word or FrameMaker document.

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Enable, disable, or reset notifications

By default, notifications are enabled. Some notifications include an option (Don’t Ask Me Again) to suppress their display.

• To enable or disable all notifications, deselect or select Tools > Options > General > Do Not Show Notifications.

• To restore all notifications to their default settings, click Reset All.

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Chapter 3: Projects

Project basics

Basic workflow

Create a project.

Every Help system has at least one project . The basic element of the project is the topic .

Author the content.

Create topics. You can add multimedia now, or later when you customize the output. Work with the application developer to start planning which topics to also use for context-sensitive Help. Context-sensitive topics appear when the user clicks a Help button in the user interface or presses F1.

Import files.

You can import HTML files, Microsoft Word files (.doc, .docx, .docm, .rtf), FrameMaker books and documents (.book,

.bk, .fm, .frm, .mif), XML files (.xml), and Adobe PDF files (.pdf).

Develop the navigation.

Based on the hierarchy , or organization scheme, of the content, create links among topics and to external content if necessary. You can also link text or images to other content. Create a table of contents that reflects the content hierarchy, and include an index that users can browse. You can also create browse sequences , paths a user can follow through Help topics. For example, if a user must read several related topics to understand a feature completely, you can link them in a browse sequence.

Customize the output.

You can apply layouts (which determine behavior and appearance) and formatting. You can also use conditional text to show or hide content, depending on user interest, application being used, skill level, and other factors. Add multimedia to make your Help more compelling and richer.

Create, test, and distribute the Help package.

Create the output so you can view the Help and check links, formatting, and so on. Test every output you intend to distribute, including printed documentation.

About projects

Projects contain the source files that become the final Help system. Help authors work with the project files, and Help users view the output. For CHM output, the project contains the content you create and the properties you set up, such as what the output window looks like. The developer determines the window for WebHelp and FlashHelp output formats, or leaves them to run in your browser window. Create folders in the Project Manager to organize topics and structure the Help system.

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Projects are collections of files. The project file (XPJ file) contains information about the content and properties of the project. Whenever you change the project, this file (and any other affected file) is updated automatically. Project files consist of the following:

Content Project files contain topics with content and information about the location of topics, images, index, TOC, and other files.

Properties Projects contain setting information, such as project title, language, and windows. When you first create a project, the basic (default) settings are used. Modify these settings according to your design needs.

Navigation Projects include a table of contents, index, and full-text search.

You can view the elements that make up a project in several places, including the Project Manager, Single-Source

Layouts pod, and Project Settings dialog box. You can also generate various reports (Tools > Reports) that identify project status, duplicate topics, files distributed with Help, and so on.

Help project components

Help systems are made up of different components that vary according to the Help format you deliver.

Projects RoboHelp HTML creates a main project file (with the extension .xpj) that contains the information about your topics, images, and other files. (Open this file to open a project.) Project files also contain the settings that affect the appearance and functionality of a Help system.

Topics The basic unit of a Help system is the topic. Topics communicate the message of the Help system, mainly through text and images. You decide the content, format, and organization of your topics.

Table of contents If a table of contents is included, users see a Contents tab or button when they open the Help system.

The table of contents presents a hierarchical outline of what the Help project contains. Users can browse and select topics to view from the Contents tab.

Indexes If an index is included, users see an Index tab or button when they open the Help system. The index displays a multilevel list of topics and keywords or phrases that you’ve specified.

Full-text search Full-text search allows users to find specific words and phrases that occur in the content.

Links and navigation Users navigate a Help system by clicking links. You design the strategy that connects your topics together. The most common links are from one topic to another. Links can also go to topics in different Help systems, different output formats, and even to a website or an application.

Styles You format topics using styles. Styles are named formats that you design and apply to control the layout and appearance of text.

Image and multimedia files Images and multimedia files enhance Help by adding graphics, sound, video, animation, and more.

Windows Windows are the frames that display topics. In certain output formats, you can customize the appearance and attributes of windows. You can also design new windows to suit your content. You can open multiple windows and from the Windows dialog box, select a window and click Activate to bring it to focus. Click Save to save the displayed window in focus. Using the Windows feature, you can rename the project title to display in the output.

Compilers The Help compiler isn’t part of the final Help file, but you sometimes need a compiler to create the Help file. For example, in Microsoft HTML Help projects, the compiler aggregates the source files and other project components. The compiler then creates one Help system file that you distribute to end users. (WebHelp and FlashHelp projects are not compiled.)

Viewers and browsers Users access the Help system from within a viewer or browser.

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Files in a project

Main project file (XPJ)

The project file (.xpj) is XML-based. You can open project files with the .mpj extension, the format for older versions of RoboHelp, but they convert to XPJ files.

Folder files (FPJ)

Each project folder has an FPJ file that lists the folder contents. RoboHelp displays only those subfolders and topics that are listed in the FPJ file of a folder.

All the subfolders have their respective FPJ files. The name of an FPJ file except the FPJ file for the project folder is same as that of the folder.

The name of the FPJ file for the project folder is root.fpj. The root.fpj file is modified if you add, delete, or rename a topic or subfolder inside the respective folder. The root.fpj file is also modified if the order of topics or subfolders is changed in Project Manager.

Single-source layout files (SSL)

A single-source layout file (SSL) is used for each single-source layout. An SSL file stores the properties of the respective single-source layout and is modified when you edit the properties. An SSL file does not get modified on generating, viewing, or publishing a single-source layout.

Auxiliary project files (APJ)

The following components have corresponding APJ files, which get modified when you edit the components:

• Baggage files

• Colors

• Conditional build tags

• Font sets

• Information types

• Map files

• Pop-up note topics

• See Also keywords

• Skins (when adding or removing skins only)

• Single-source layouts (when adding or removing single-source layouts only)

• Topic keywords

• Topic templates (when adding or removing single-source layouts only)

• Windows

Other types of files

When you modify the following components, the respective file gets modified:

• Browse sequences (BRS)

• Topics (HTM)

• TOC (HHC)

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• Index (HHK)

• Glossary (GLO)

• Image and multimedia files (filename extension varies)

• Style sheets (CSS)

About output types

RoboHelp can generate the following output types. These types have common basic characteristics but different features and viewing and platform requirements.

WebHelp Adobe WebHelp format works with virtually any combination of browser and platform for web-based or desktop applications, online Help, and online books. WebHelp also provides customizable navigation panes and quick downloads.

WebHelp Pro WebHelp Pro is used for web-based applications, with features available only in server-based Help.

WebHelp Pro provides feedback on the use of your Help system. Authors can work on separate projects and publish anytime, and projects are merged on the server at run time. RoboHelp Server is required to generate WebHelp Pro.

FlashHelp Adobe FlashHelp® uses Adobe Flash® to provide an interactive navigation pane, customizable navigation controls, Flash animation, streaming video, audio, and graphics. Users need Flash Player.

FlashHelp Pro FlashHelp Pro is used for web-based applications, with features available only in server-based Help.

Authors can work on separate projects and publish anytime, and projects are merged on the server at run time.

RoboHelp Server is required to generate FlashHelp Pro.

Microsoft HTML Help Microsoft HTML Help is used as application and stand-alone Help for Windows 98 and later, using Internet Explorer 4.x or later, and provides unique features.

Note: Due to Microsoft security changes, Microsoft HTML Help is now used where the Help has to be run on the users

PC; it cannot be installed on a server without registry changes. WebHelp and FlashHelp are used where the Help is to be run from a server. WebHelp and FlashHelp can be run locally, but it is not recommended.

XML XML output exports to Extensible Markup Language (XML) format, used to structure, store, and send information. XML files use style sheets, as well as handler files. Handler files determine how RoboHelp imports or generates the XML files, associated style sheets, and related components.

JavaHelp JavaHelp, from Sun Microsystems™, works with Java applications and is a delivery system, not an authoring tool. JavaHelp features (TOC, index, searches, controls, global search and replace, pop-ups) are created automatically, along with HTML features (links, Related Topics buttons, and image files).

Oracle Help Oracle Help for Java™ is used with applications written in any language. Oracle Help and the ICE 5 browser provide TOC, index, full-text searches, pop-ups, context sensitivity, and customizable windows, through the

Oracle Help viewer.

Printed documentation RoboHelp enhanced printed documentation provides control over structure, content, and appearance of printed documents. You can organize the content as needed, format using CSS or Word template styles, and produce formatted and structured Word documents or PDF files.

Adobe AIR The Adobe AIR output type allows you to generate Help in Adobe AIR format. Generate your content in the cross-platform Adobe AIR Help format that brings a host of enhancements, such as these:

• Easy navigability through breadcrumbs, and more

• New templates and skins

• A rich branding experience, and the ability to insert corporate logos and an About box in Help

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• Rich commenting and auto-updates

• Browser-based Help, with both offline and online content.

• Ability to add and access RSS feeds

• Enhanced search

End-user viewer requirements

End-user system WebHelp/Pro

Windows XP SP4 or later, XP, Vista

Web browser

Mac OS, Linux ® Web browser

FlashHelp/Pro

Web browser with

Flash Player 8.0 or

9.0

Microsoft HTML

Help

JavaHelp*

Built-in viewer

Web browser with

Flash Player 8.0 or

9.0

Not available

JavaHelp viewer Oracle Help viewer

JavaHelp viewer

Oracle Help

Not available

AIR Help

AIR Help Runtime

* Requires JavaHelp viewer, Sun Java 2 JDK or later, and JavaHelp 1.0 or later components.

Create and manage projects

Create a project

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File > New > Project.

• In the Starter pod, click More under Create New.

2 On the New pane in the New Project dialog box, double-click a project type. You can change the project type after your project is created.

Blank Project Customize and publish a project in any output. You can modify the window settings for WebHelp,

FlashHelp, and HTML Help outputs.

Application Help Create a Help system that you can install locally. The Application Help project has sample topics with notes on how you can customize and modify the information. For example, you can create a Help system to document information about a company product.

Note: By default, the Application Help does not use master pages or snippets but you can always add them.

e-Handbook Create a project for an electronic handbook, such as an employee handbook for a company. The e-

Handbook project template provides the relevant folders and topics for you to place company-specific information.

e-Learning Integrate and organize Captivate demos into a project. Using the layout and recommendations provided, you can create computer-based and web-based training.

Knowledge Base Create a knowledgebase that has an interface similar to a wiki page. The knowledgebase project template contains master pages that you can customize. You can also create self-updating pages.

Web Application Help Create a Help system that you can publish on a server. The Web Application Help project has sample topics with notes on creating online Help for a software application.

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Department Guidelines Create a Help system to outline guidelines for a department in a company. For example, you can create Help for a human resources department, outlining guidelines on recruitment and selection, flexible working hours, and so on.

Disaster Recovery Plan Create a Help system with samples on how to write a disaster recovery plan.

Online Manual Create an online manual for a company product or software application.

Policies And Procedures Create a handbook or a document listing policies and procedures specific to an organization.

Custom Customize a Help project template.

3 Specify options in the New Project Wizard dialog box:

• Leave Language as English or select another language to localize the project. Spell checking, indexing with the

Smart Index Wizard, and parts of the user interface are localized.

• If you select Save As Default, the selected language is used for all new projects.

4 Click Finish.

The first topic opens in the Design Editor on the right. On the left, the Project Manager opens. The first topic is selected in the HTML Files (Topics) folder.

More Help topics

“ Change project settings ” on page 33

Create a project by importing documents

1 Do one of the following:

• From the Starter pod, select a new project type from the Import list.

• Select File > New > Project. Click the Import tab and select a new project type.

2 Follow the prompts. The new project opens in RoboHelp.

Create a project using FrameMaker or Word documents

You can create new projects by importing FrameMaker or Word documents. While importing, you can map the styles of these documents to styles in RoboHelp.

1 Select File > New > Project and click Import.

Select FrameMaker or Word documents and click OK.

Select from .book, .mif, .fm, .bk, and .frm files for FrameMaker and .doc, .docx, .rtf, and .docm files for Word. You can import multiple FrameMaker or Word documents at the same time. You can import .book and .bk files one at a time.

Note: For any FrameMaker format other than MIF, FrameMaker 8 or later is required. If the correct version is not installed, you cannot import the file.

Enter the project title, filename, and location of the project.

Click Finish.

A new project wizard prompts you to select options to map the TOC, index, or glossary.

6 Select the required options, and click Next.

7 Click Edit.

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8 Select styles to map to the RoboHelp styles.

For information about different conversion options for FrameMaker documents, see “ Conversion basics ” on page 70.

For information about different conversion options for Word documents, see “ Converting Word styles to

RoboHelp styles ” on page 55.

9 Click OK.

Note: If you click Cancel in the wizard, no files are imported and the empty project remains open.

10 Click Finish.

Create a project using a DITA map file

Important: For expert users only.

Before you import a DITA map file, Java JDK and the DITA Open Toolkit must be installed and running properly.

Experience with DITA and the DITA Open Toolkit is also required.

Select File > New > Project.

Click the Import tab.

Select DITA Map File.

Click OK.

Enter the following information in the New Project wizard:

DITA Map File To Import Specify path to a valid DITA map file that you want to import and create a project. Click the Browse button to select the file.

Location Of The Project Specify path to the location of the new project.

6 Click Next.

Specify the input required on the Open DITA Toolkit Processing Options dialog box.

Click Finish.

More Help topics

“ Import a DITA map file ” on page 82

“ Converting Word styles to RoboHelp styles ” on page 55

Save projects

Save frequently while you work.

• To save individual files, select File > Save [item] .

• To save all files, click the Save All button .

Disable auto-save

By default, RoboHelp saves changes when you close the project. If you prefer, you can disable the auto-save feature.

From the Tools menu, select Options.

Click the General tab.

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3 Under Options, deselect Save Without Prompt.

Opening a project

Open a project when starting RoboHelp

❖ From the Starter pod listing recently opened projects, click the project name. If you don’t see the project you want, click Open.

You can use the following controls to locate the project you want to open:

My Places bar Find documents by using the shortcuts to the left of the Folder and Files list.

Desktop The Desktop folder lists all folders on your desktop.

My Computer The My Computer folder lists the hard drives configured on your computer.

My RoboHelp Projects The My RoboHelp Projects folder is the default working folder where RoboHelp stores all projects. This folder is placed in the My Documents folder when Adobe RoboHelp is installed. When you start

Adobe RoboHelp, projects stored in the My RoboHelp Projects folder are automatically listed in the Starter pod under the Recent Projects list. All RoboHelp projects use the .xpj filename extension.

Look in list By default, this list displays the My RoboHelp Projects folder. Alternatively, if you have accessed other folders, the last folder you accessed, is selected in this list. This list includes the My Computer, My Network Places, and My Documents folders under the Desktop folder.

Go To Last Folder Visited icon Displays the last folder you accessed. Click the arrowhead to view a list of the most recent folders you visited. This icon is disabled if you do not access a folder in the dialog box.

Up one level icon Enables you to move to the parent folder of the current folder displayed in the Look in list.

Delete icon Enables you to delete a selected folder or file. The deleted folder or file is sent to the Recycle Bin.

Create New Folder icon Enables you to create a folder under the parent folder selected in the Look in list.

View Menu icon The arrowhead enables you to choose the view in which the folder and file list must be displayed.

You can view the folders and files as thumbnails, tiles, icons, a simple list, or a list with details of the folders or files.

Tools icon Enables you to delete or rename a folder or file, add a folder or file to the My Places bar, or map a hard drive to a computer or folder on your network. You can also view properties of a folder or file.

File Namebox Enables you to specify the name of the file to access (to open, to import, and so on.)

Files Of Type menu Enables you to select the type of files to list in the folder and file list.

Open a project after starting RoboHelp

1 Select File > Open. The Open Project dialog box appears.

Note: You can also select the last ten projects opened from the bottom of the File menu.

2 Select RoboHelp HTML Help Project (.xpj) from the Files Of Type menu.

3 Locate the project file, and double-click it.

Upgrading a project

If you open a project created in a previous version of RoboHelp, you are asked whether to convert it before opening it.

Important: Make a copy of your project before converting it into the new format.

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More Help topics

“ Add a RoboHelp project to version control ” on page 95

Pin a project to the list of recently opened projects

By default, the list of recent projects that appears in the Starter pod and in the File menu displays up to the last ten projects opened. Pin a recently opened project so that it always appears in the recent projects’ list. The list displays the pinned projects and recently used projects up to the number of projects set in the Max Projects field.

Select Tools > Options.

On the Recent Projects tab, select a project from the Recently Opened Projects list.

3 Click Pin. Click OK.

Note: Click Unpin to remove a pinned project from the recent projects’ list.

Change project settings

1 Choose File > Project Settings.

2 On the general tab, change settings as needed:

Project Title Enter a project title. This title appears in the window bar of the output.

Primary Output/Layout Select a primary layout.

Language Select the default project language.

Advanced Click to create or edit lists for localization. Set options in each pane.

To Do List

Click Manage to manage the To Do list for your project. For more information, see “ Using the To Do list ” on page 36.

Index Select an option for saving keywords:

• Index File (HHK) saves new index keywords in the project index file (HHK).

• Topics saves new index keywords in individual topic files (HTM).

• Binary Index uses a binary index in Microsoft HTML Help projects.

Set options on the Stop List pane

Use the Stop List tab to modify words contained in the Stop List file ProjectName.stp. A Stop List contains common words (for example, “a” or “the”) that the search ignores for an accurate result.

Edit Select a word, click Edit. Type the new name. Press Enter. Right-click the word to display a drop-down box with the Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Select All options.

Reset To Default Removes the new entries and restores the default list.

New Adds a word. Click New. Type the word. Press Enter.

Delete Deletes a selected word.

Note: In Microsoft HTML Help projects, the stop list file can’t be larger than 512 K. If the file is larger, words at the end of the file are not included in the CHM file.

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Set options on the Phrases pane

Modify words in the Phrases file ProjectName.phr. This tab contains a phrase list the Smart Index Wizard includes in keyword searches. For example, make project settings one phrase, not two words. You can add, rename, and delete words.

Edit Select a word, click Edit. Type the new name. Press Enter. Right-click the word to display a drop-down box with the Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Select All options.

Reset To Default Removes the new entries and restores the default list.

New Click New. Type the new word. Press Enter.

Set options on the Always Ignore Words pane

Modify words in the Always Ignore Words file ProjectName.ign. This list contains “noise” words such “as,” “the,” or

“a.” The Smart Index wizard uses the list to keep the noise words out of the index.

Edit Select a word, click Edit. Type the new name. Press Enter. Right-click the word to display a drop-down box with the Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Select All options.

Reset To Default Removes the new entries and restores the default list.

New Click New. Type the new word. Press Enter.

Set options on the LNG File pane

Change text elements in the user interface for WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, FlashHelp Pro, AIR Help, printed documentation, or HTML Help output.

See the complete list of available changes you can make in the LNG file tab.

When you edit the LNG file, your changes supersede settings made in Project Settings in other locations.

❖ Select an element, and click either of the following:

Edit Modify LNG file text for each user interface element listed. In Edit mode, you can also right-click on the edited line to undo the edits, cut, copy, paste, delete, or select all.

Note: You can change the string to show expanding or collapsing mini TOCs in settings for master pages. For more

information, see “ Master pages ” on page

Reset To Default Erases the new entries and restores the default list.

Set options on the Synonyms pane

Define words as synonyms. For example, you can define “find” and “locate” as synonyms for “search.” In the generated output, when a user searches for “search,” results for “find” and “locate” are also displayed.

Reset To Default Removes the new entries and restores the default list.

Edit Select a word, click Edit. Type the new name. Press Enter. Right-click the word to display a drop-down box with the Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Select All options.

New Click to add a new word in the Synonym table and specify a synonym for it.

Delete Click to delete the Word and its synonyms.

More Help topics

“ RoboHelp search basics ” on page 203

“ Upgrade localized projects ” on page 48

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Rename a project

When you rename a project, the main project file (.xpj) and all other project files are renamed.

Note: The TOC, index, and glossary files are not renamed.

When you rename a project, the project closes and reopens. Any changes made since last saving are saved.

Note: You cannot rename projects under version control.

Open the project.

Select File > Rename Project.

In the Project Name box, enter the new project name (do not enter a filename extension).

Click OK. To make the changes take effect, the program closes and then reopens the project.

Note: If you are creating Microsoft HTML Help, the name of the compiled HTML Help file (CHM file) is based on the project filename. If you change the project name, the name of the CHM file changes as well. You can rename the CHM file to restore the old name.

Viewing projects

Help systems are displayed in a browser or viewer, depending on the output type, the application platform, and the platforms of your end users. Help systems are displayed in a main window. Users can view topics in the right pane and navigate with tabs, buttons, and toolbars in the left pane and along the top.

View your project often to test links and make sure that styles appear properly. View each single-source in the viewer required for the specified output type.

More Help topics

“ View output ” on page 307

Define chapter layout

You can define a chapter layout for a project to order topics and folders logically in the Project Manager pod. The default order is alphanumerical. You can drag folders and topics to customize the sequence. RoboHelp uses the customized order to auto-create a TOC.

Notes:

• If you rename a folder or a topic, the topics and folders retain their order.

• If you delete a topic or a folder, the remaining topics retain their order.

• If you add a new topic or a folder, it is added at the top inside the parent folder.

• If you drop a topic or a folder on a non-topic/folder item (such as CSS, image, or baggage), it moves to the last position inside the parent folder of the target.

• When you upgrade a project from an older version of RoboHelp, all the topics appear randomly. You can customize the order of topics later.

• You can right-click a folder or topic in the Project Manager pod and select Explore to open the topic or the folder in Windows Explorer.

• You can drag folders from the Project Manager pod to the TOC pod. The dragged folders convert to TOC books, and all the topics change to pages.

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• The TOC items don’t change dynamically as you change them in the Project Manager or in a topic.

Drag folders

• Drag a topic or a folder above or below another topic or folder. For linked documents, you can drag only above the linked documents.

• You cannot drag topics into or out of a linked document.

More Help topics

“ Create TOCs ” on page 165

Manage files

List topics by title or filename

1 In the Project Manager pod, open the Project Files folder.

2 Select View > By Topic Title or By File Name.

Using the To Do list

The To Do list helps you track project tasks. You can customize the list by adding, deleting, or modifying the existing

To Do tasks.

Note: To Do settings are retained when you upgrade a project from an older version of RoboHelp to a newer version.

You can generate a report on the customized To Do list.

Edit items on the To Do list

1 Select File > Project Settings.

Click the General tab.

Click Manage.

Do either of the following:

• To add a task to the list, click Add. Type the name of the task item.

• To edit or remove a task, select the task and click Edit or Delete.

Note: From the Project Settings dialog box, you cannot see the Ran Smart Index item in the default To Do list. This precaution ensures that you do not delete this item by mistake. By default, RoboHelp sets the option Ran Smart Index for all the topics on which you run the Smart Index wizard.

Update the To Do list for a topic

1 Right-click a topic in the Project Manager pod and select Properties. Click the Status tab.

2 Select or deselect items on the To Do list.

Generate a status report

You can generate a Project Status report to view the number of topics using the To Do list.

❖ Select Tools > Reports > Project Status.

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Edit the list of recently opened projects

Recently opened projects are listed in the RoboHelp Starter pod.

Select Tools > Options.

Click the Recent Projects tab.

• To change the number of files listed, specify a number in the Max Projects box.

• To remove a file from the list, select it and click Remove.

More Help topics

“ Pin a project to the list of recently opened projects ” on page 33

Add files to the Baggage folder

RoboHelp sometimes doesn’t automatically add references to external elements to the Baggage Files folder. If needed, add files to the Baggage Files folder so the external elements appear correctly in the output:

1 Select View > Pods > Project Manager.

2 Right-click the Baggage Files folder. Select New > Baggage File.

Note: If the Baggage Files folder isn’t listed, click the Toggle Project Manager View button .

3 Double-click the source file for any of the following:

• Bitmaps and icons used with HTML Help controls

• Image files used in style sheets, topic backgrounds, and scripts

• The JavaScript file that supports Dynamic HTML effects, such as pop-ups and drop-down hotspots

4 Click Yes.

Note: You can create a link to a baggage file by pressing the SHFT key while dragging and dropping it into a topic.

Remove files from the Baggage folder

To remove a file from the Baggage folder:

❖ Select the file and click Delete.

Map file types

Map file types to associate them with the applications used for editing them.

Associate a file extension with an application

1 Select Tools > Options.

2 Click File Association tab.

For associated programs, click Add.

Enter a filename extension.

Select an editor to edit documents with the specified filename extension.

When you select a program, its location appears in the Edit With box. The programs appear alphabetically.

Note: Only those programs appear in the list whose registry entry is set to “NoOpenWith.”

6 Select a program to view the file.

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You can also browse to a program not listed in the program list.

Add an HTML editor mapping

1 Select Tools > Options.

2 Click File Association tab.

For HTML editors, click Add.

Select from the recommended or other programs registered to edit or view .html or .htm files.

Note: When you select a program, its name and location appear in the Name and Location box. You can also browse for a program that does not appear in the program list.

5 Click OK. The selected program appears in the list of HTML editors.

Note: To change the HTML editor, browse and select a new program.

Remove topics from projects

Before you remove files, back up all project files and view and print reports if your project is not under version control.

To avoid broken links, don’t remove files in Windows Explorer or version control software.

1 Select one or more files:

• To remove a topic, use the Project Manager pod.

• To remove multiple topics, use the Topic List pod.

2 Press Delete. If prompted, do NOT remove references to removed topics.

Note: You can choose to remove the references, but if you do that, you do not get to review the effect of the removal in other topics. Electing NOT to remove the references, forces the links to display in Broken Links, from which you can review each topic to see if any editing is required.

More Help topics

“ Broken links report ” on page 103

“ Unused files report ” on page 107

Manage folders

Create folders

The Project Manager contains default folders for project organization. You can create folders and subfolders only in these folders: HTML Files (Topics), Images, Multimedia, Style Sheets, and Baggage Files.

Note: Do not use Windows Explorer to create subfolders to add, move, or rename files. RoboHelp does not recognize these changes.

1 Select the Project Files folder in the Project Manager pod.

Note: If the Project Files folder isn’t listed, click the Toggle Project Manager View button .

2 Right-click the folder, and select New > Folder.

Enter a name for the folder. Avoid special characters and spaces.

Press Enter.

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Tips:

• Move files and folders in Project Manger by dragging.

• You can drag topics from the Topic List into multiple folders in the Project Manager.

Project Manager folders

In the Project Manager pod, you edit, delete, and create project files. Two views are available in Project Manager. Both views include a set of commonly used options for authoring. One view displays all the project files gathered together in a single folder called Project Files; the other view groups the project files into various virtual folders based on file type. Click the Toggle Project Manager View button or , to change views.

The Project Manager view that displays project files in various virtual folders contains the following folders:

HTML Files (Topics) Stores the topics of a project. Files are sorted alpha numerically (A-Z, 0-9). You can add folders within this folder. You can use the structure to generate a TOC automatically and create browse sequences.

Images Images used in your project are stored in this folder. Image maps and their associated links (hotspots) are also listed. You can drag an image from this folder into the Design Editor to add images to topics. You can also rename images in this folder by selecting the image and pressing F2.

Multimedia All sound and video files used in your project are saved in this folder. Adobe Captivate demos (SWF files) are also stored here. You can drag sound or video files into the Design Editor to add multimedia to topics. You can also find out where the files are referenced in your project.

Style sheets Style sheets control the formatting of topics. When you change a style sheet, all topics associated with it are updated. The RoboHelp default style sheets (CSS files) and any others you add to your project are stored in this folder. Edit a style sheet by double-clicking its icon.

Baggage Files Certain files are automatically added to the Baggage Files folder in the Project Manager to display the following correctly in the generated project:

• Bitmap and icon files used with HTML Help controls

• Image files used in topic backgrounds and scripts

• The JavaScript file (ehlpdhtm.js) that supports Dynamic HTML effects such as related topics pop-ups, smart popups, and drop-down hotspots.

• The support file for skins and the navigation pane in browser-based outputs (TOC, index, glossary, and full-text search.

You can drag files from the Baggage Files folder into topics to create links to the files.

Broken Links Stores links to files that are not present in the project. To restore or remove a broken link, double-click it.

URLs Stores links to web addresses, FTP sites, newsgroups, e-mail addresses, and HTML topics in external CHM files.

From this folder, you can add a URL to an index. You can drag a URL into the Design Editor.

Table Of Contents Stores the default TOC and all other TOCs created in the project.

Index Stores the default index and all other indexes created in the project.

Glossary Stores the default glossary and all other glossaries created in the project.

See Also Double-click the See Also folder to display the See Also pod. You can add the See Also keywords in the See

Also pod.

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Rename folders

Use the Project Manager to rename folders.

Select the Project Files folder in the Project Manager pod.

Right-click the folder. Select Rename.

Type the new name. Don’t include special characters, and avoid spaces, especially for WebHelp and FlashHelp.

Press Enter.

Move folders

Use the Project Manager pod to move folders.

1 Select Project Files in the Project Manager pod.

2 Drag the subfolder to its new location.

Remove custom folders

Before you remove the folder, move any items in it that you want to keep.

Select the custom folder in the Project Manager pod.

In the toolbar, click Delete.

File and folder icons

The Project Manager icons indicate the components and files included in your project.

Note: Icons with a red check mark indicate that the file is checked out (applicable only to topics under version control).

Icon Description

Closed folders. Closed folders that contain files display a plus sign. Click the plus sign to show the folder contents.

Right-click for more options.

Open folders. Open folders display a minus sign with the contents shown below. Click the minus sign to collapse the folder.

Toggle view. Click to switch between a simplified view with fewer folders or one showing all folders.

Show/hide files. Click to select the files you want to show in the Project Manager.

Empty folders. Empty folders display no signs.

HTML files (Topics). Double-click page icons to open a Design editor. Right-click for more options.

HTML topics with bookmarks. Topics with bookmarks have a plus sign. Click the plus sign to show all bookmarks.

Missing files. A red X indicates files that the program cannot locate. These files are not in the project path. Either they have been deleted, or they are saved in a different folder of the project.

Bookmarks. Bookmarks appear alphabetically below their respective topics. Double-click to open a topic. Drag bookmarks into topics in Design Editor to create links.

Framesets. Double-click to open a dialog box for changing frame attributes.

URLs, web addresses, FTP sites, newsgroups, e-mail addresses, or HTML topics in external CHM files. Double-click to open a dialog box for adding keywords to a link. Drag URLs into topics open in Design Editor to create links.

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Icon Description

Images (GIF, JPEG, and JPG formats). Double-click to preview the image, identify topics that use it, and view file information. Drag images into topics in Design Editor to add them.

Image maps. Images with clickable links or hotspots. Click the plus sign to display links. Double-click to preview the image, identify topics that use it, and view file information. Drag the image maps into topics in Design editor to add them.

Image map links (hotspots). Double-click to identify topics that use image maps.

Sound files (AU, MID, RMI, and WAV formats). Double-click to identify topics that use them and view file information.

Drag sound files into topics in Design Editor to add them.

Video files (AVI and MOV formats). Double-click to identify topics that use them and view file information. Drag video files into topics in Design Editor to add them.

Adobe Captivate files (SWF files). Double-click to identify topics that use them and view file information. Drag Adobe

Captivate files into topics in Design Editor to add them.

Custom windows. Double-click to modify window properties.

Style sheets (CSS). Double-click to modify styles.

Text-only files For What's This? Help (.TXT format). Double-click to create or modify text-only topics files.

Map Files For Context-Sensitive Help (.HH) Includes imported map files or automatically generated files.

All map IDs. Links map IDs to HTML topics for context-sensitive Help. Double-click to work with map IDs and map files.

Table of contents folder. Shows the default and other table of contents in the project.

Table of contents folder. Expand to view the table of contents listed.

Table of contents. Double-click to open the selected table of contents pane.

Index folder. Shows the default and other indexes (if any) listed.

Index folder. Expand to view the indexes listed.

Index. Double-click to open the selected index pane.

Glossary folder. Shows the default and other glossaries (if any) listed.

Glossary folder. Expand to view the glossaries listed.

Glossary. Double-click to open the selected glossary pane.

See also. Double-click to open the See Also pane and add to See also keywords.

Baggage files (BMP, ICO, XML, JS, other image files). Files such as bitmaps and icons used with HTML Help controls, including custom buttons for link controls and startup screens. If your project includes Dynamic HTML, the file

EHLPDHTMJS is included in your Baggage Files folder. Other image files are included as well, such as topic backgrounds and scripts.

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You can map filename extensions to applications. For example, map GIF files to Adobe Photoshop ® . When you rightclick a GIF file from the Images folder and select Edit, the file opens in Photoshop.

More Help topics

“ Define chapter layout ” on page 35

Authoring content in multiple languages

You can change the language of an existing project or a new project. The language affects the window text, as well as the dictionary for the spell checker and the automatic indexing (Smart Index Wizard) customized settings.

You can also customize the display text, such as the text in browse sequence buttons, previous and next buttons, show/hide buttons, some messages, and more. The text can be anything you specify. For example, the default text

“Search” on the Search tab can be changed to “Find” in the language of your choice.

When delivering the project to translators, always provide the source files and not the output files.

Note: In HTML Help systems, the end user’s operating system must be in the same language as the one used in your project. Otherwise, the end user’s operating system overrides the language specified in your project. The dictionary and index sorting are not affected in the end user’s system.

Support for multiple languages

RoboHelp provides multiple language support at the paragraph, topic, and project level. You can set the language at the paragraph level and topic level through the RoboHelp user interface. Language defined at the paragraph level takes precedence over language defined at a topic level. Language set at the topic level takes precedence over language defined at a project level. Language defined at the project level can never take precedence over language defined at paragraph level. You can think of the prioritized language as the effective language. Effective language is used in spelling checks, in a dictionary or a thesaurus, in generating a smart index, and in preparing a full-text search.

The project language is defined at the project level. You can apply different language settings using File > Project

Settings.

You define the topic language using the Topic Properties dialog box.

You define the paragraph language using the Paragraph dialog box. Select any paragraph in the Design view and choose Paragraph from the context menu.

RoboHelp supports the following languages:

Languages

Danish (Denmark)

German (Germany)

English (US)

English (UK)

Spanish (Spain)

French (France)

Italian (Italy)

Spell Check

Yes

User Dictionary

Yes

Thesaurus

Yes

Auto correct

Yes

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Languages

Dutch (The Netherlands)

Norwegian Bokmâl (Norway)

Norwegian Nynorsk (Norway)

Portuguese (Brazil)

Swedish (Sweden)

Croatian (Croatia)

Portuguese (Portugal)

French (Canada)

Finnish (Finland)

Catalan (Spain)

Russian (Russia)

Bulgarian (Bulgaria)

Czech (Czech Republic)

Polish (Poland)

Romanian (Romania)

Hungarian (Hungary)

Greek (Greece)

Turkish (Turkey)

Estonian (Estonia)

Latvian (Latvia)

Lithuanian (Lithuania)

Slovenian (Slovenia)

German (Switzerland)

Japanese (Japan)

Korean (Korea)

Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)

Simplified Chinese (China)

Thai (Thailand)

Vietnamese (Vietnam)

More Help topics

“ Define a language for a paragraph ” on page 139

“ Create a topic ” on page 110

Yes

Spell Check

Yes

Thesaurus

Yes

User Dictionary

Yes

Auto correct

Yes

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Translation workflows

You can create content for multiple languages in a single RoboHelp HTML project by translating the English content in the same project. You can then create tables of contents, indexes, glossaries, and conditional build tags in the project for the desired languages. Finally, you can apply conditional build tags to content authored in the various languages, and generate conditional output.

Follow the steps in this workflow, which uses translation from English to French and Japanese as an example:

1 Apply French language project settings by selecting French Language.

2 Open an English topic, create a topic for the French language, and translate the content, including the topic title from English to French. (Do not translate topic filenames.)

3 Create French tables of contents, indexes, and glossaries.

Create a conditional build tag, such as FrenchContent.

Apply the FrenchContent conditional build tag to French content and topics.

Generate output for the French language.

Apply Japanese language project settings by selecting the Japanese Language.

Open an English topic, create a topic for the Japanese language, and translate the content from English to Japanese.

Create Japanese tables of contents, indexes, and glossaries.

10 Create a conditional build tag called JapaneseContent.

11 Apply the JapaneseContent conditional build tag to the Japanese content.

12 Generate output for the Japanese language.

Note: To view the Japanese output, you must change your PC’s language to Japanese.

Note: To translate a webhelp project, first make a copy of the project, open that copy in Robohelp and author in your desired language.

Compare content in different languages

1 Open topics created in different languages.

2 In Design Editor, position the topics side by side: Drag a topic tab slightly down or to the right, and release the mouse when the page icon appears. Choose New Horizontal Tab Group or New Vertical Tab Group.

Select a different language for translating a project file

1 Select File > Project Settings.

Select the desired language.

Click Advanced, and then use the following tabs:

Stop List Click New to add words that must be ignored during a text search.

Phrases Click New to add a phrase for the Smart Index Wizard to include when searching topic content for keywords.

LNG File Click Edit to modify the text for each user interface element listed.

"Always Ignore" Words Click New to add a word or phrase that the Smart Index Wizard ignores when generating the index.

Synonyms Click New to add a synonym for a word. This option enables you to search for words and their synonyms. The results are always returned for the searched words.

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Create a project with a different language

1 Select File > New > Project.

2 In the New tab, double-click Project Type. The New Project Wizard appears.

Note: To create a JavaHelp or Oracle Help project, first create a Microsoft HTML Help project, and then add a new layout to that project.

3 Enter project information.

From the Language menu, select the language. Click Save As Default to keep the language as the default.

Click Finish.

The first topic opens in the Design Editor. Generate and view your project to view the results.

More Help topics

“ Create and edit single-source layouts ” on page 270

Customizing text for localization

You can customize certain text in the user interface for WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, FlashHelp Pro, and

HTML Help outputs. Here is what you can change for each format:

WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp and FlashHelp Pro

• With a skin Customize text in the Skin Editor. If you do not change the default text (such as “Contents” for the

Contents button), the text is automatically translated using the project language setting.). If you customize text in a skin, the skin text overrides any customizations you make in the LNG file. For FlashHelp, the Flash developer uses the Skin Development Kit to customize the text.

WebHelp only

• Without a skin Edit the language file. You can localize browse sequence button text; text on the Glossary tab,

Previous button, and Next button; certain messages; and the Contents, Index, and Search tabs. For example, you can change the text on the Search tab from “Search” to “Find.”

HTML Help

You can customize browse sequence button text and all text on the Glossary tab. Change window titles in the Windows

Properties dialog box.

Edit the LNG (language) file

1 Create or open a project.

2 Select File > Project Settings.

Click the General tab. Click Advanced.

Click the LNG File tab.

Select the interface text. Click Edit.

Type the edits. Press Enter.

Notes:

• If RoboHHRE.LNG is already in your user's Windows folder, it overrides the file in the Baggage Files folder.

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• If you do not include the RoboHHRE.LNG file, or omit some values, your project defaults to the English values shown in the example.

• If you are using a skin, the default text is translated to the default language. If you customized the text in a skin, the skin text overrides customizations in the LNG file.

Change the default project language

1 Open the project.

Select File > Project Settings.

Click the General tab and select the language.

Click OK.

Generate and view your project.

Notes:

• If you use a skin, the default text uses the language setting of the project. Customized skin text overrides text settings in the LNG file.

• Localize window captions in the Windows Properties dialog (not applicable to WebHelp projects).

Language support for associated dictionaries

If your project contains content authored for multiple languages, define RoboHelp language settings in the project, topic, and paragraph separately. The effective language is used for dictionary or thesaurus association and for spell checking. For example, suppose you set the project language to UK English and the paragraph language to French for several paragraphs. The French spelling checker is activated for French paragraphs while the UK English spelling checker is used for the rest of the content.

Note: Updated language settings for each language are stored at a common location in the project folder. You can access the language settings information in the Projects\ !Language! folder.

Index localized text

Use the Smart Index wizard to index your localized project. You can assign keywords for each topic based on the topic content. The index is generated based on language and search criteria you define in the Smart Index wizard. The Smart

Index Wizard suggests keywords based on topic content.

Select a language for a new or existing project.

Follow the steps for automatically creating your index.

Universal character sets

RoboHelp enables you to create content in multiple languages. However, authoring content in a multilingual environment can be challenging when the languages span multiple Microsoft Windows code pages. Support for the

Unicode character encoding standard in RoboHelp overcomes many of these challenges.

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Without Unicode, operating systems use a code-page-based environment, in which each language script has its own table of characters. Content based on the code page of one operating system seldom translates correctly on an operating system that uses another code page. For example, suppose you are running the English version of the

Microsoft Windows® XP/Vista operating system with the German code page. Then suppose you open a plain text file created in the Japanese version of Windows XP/Vista. In this case, the code points of the Japanese code page are mapped to unexpected or nonexistent characters in the Western script. The resulting text is unintelligible.

The universal character set provided by Unicode and supported in RoboHelp overcomes this problem.

Support for Unicode text encoding standards

RoboHelp HTML supports Unicode text encoding. You can create a topic in multiple languages, regardless of the language used by the operating system running RoboHelp.

You can perform the following tasks related to Unicode:

• Author documents containing multilingual paragraphs and words. For example, you can have a set of Greek characters followed by Russian characters, and then by French text in the same paragraph.

• Use the relevant language spelling checker to check Unicode content.

• Create, open, or edit Unicode-encoded HTML and text files (UTF-8 and UTF-16 encoded files).

• Enter Unicode characters in input forms and dialog boxes.

• Generate TOC, index, and glossary by using Unicode strings.

• Convert and import text of non-Unicode encoded file types (HTML, XML, MIGF, and so on).

• Publish content to a non-English server by adding multibyte characters in the complete path name.

• Create, open, or edit Unicode-encoded HTM files (UTF-8 and UTF-16 encoded files).

• Provide Unicode-encoded input and view Unicode content in fields, dialog boxes, wizards, and forms.

Set up input languages on Windows

Before you start typing non-English text or Unicode characters in the HTML files, ensure that RoboHelp HTML 8 is running on a UTF-8 locale. Configure the regional language or locale settings on your computer to add additional languages for keyboard input, across operating systems.

Use the Windows® XP regional and language settings to add additional languages for keyboard input. These languages and speech settings appear in the Language bar on the desktop. After you select a language from the bar and a localized keyboard, you can start typing the required text in the document. Microsoft® defines the keyboard layouts.

1 Open the Control Panel and double-click the Regional And Language Options icon. The Regional And Language

Options dialog box appears.

2 Click the Languages tab.

Click the Details button. The Text Services And Input Languages dialog box appears.

In the Settings tab, click the Add button.

Select a language from the Input Language list.

Click OK. The selected language is included in the Installed Services list.

Select the desired language in the Default Input Language list.

Click Apply and click OK to save the settings and close the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box.

Click the Regional Options tab, and choose the language you selected in the Default Input Language list.

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10 Click Apply and click OK to save the settings and close the Regional And Language Options dialog box. The

Language bar appears on the desktop of your computer.

11 Open RoboHelp, and type the content. The text appears in the selected language.

You can change the language in the Default Input Language list and the Regional Options tab. The language selected in the Language bar is updated automatically to reflect your new choice.

Upgrade localized projects

If you customized a phrase, stop list, always-ignore-words list, or an LNG file in RoboHelp 6 or earlier, move the list to RoboHelp 8 or later, which uses a different file structure and extensions.

Product-level customization is moved to [install_folder] \Language in RoboHelp. For example, English is renamed as en_US and en_UK, and French is renamed as fr_FR.

The project-level customization is moved to [project folder] \!Language!\ [language folder] .

Minor customizations

1 Open Notepad.

2 Open the file to modify. These files reside in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp

[version] \RoboHTML\!Language!\en_US.

3 Open the project. Do the following:

• Edit the LNG file.

• Edit the custom word lists.

Major customizations

1 Open Notepad.

2 Open the old file in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp [version] \RoboHTML\Language.

Open the new file in a separate window in Project folder\Language.

Copy the customizations from the old file to the new file. See the table for filenames.

File description

Phrase list

Always Ignore list

Stop list

Language file

Pre-7 filenames

Phrases.wlf

AlwaysIgn.wlf

*.stp

*.lng

7 Filenames

ProjectName.phr

ProjectName.ign

ProjectName.stp

ProjectName.lng

Note:

The above procedure is NOT the recommended way. The recommended way is described in “ Change project settings ” on page

Import PDF files

You can convert an Adobe PDF file (version 1.4 or later) into a single topic or multiple topics for a new or existing project.

• You cannot import SWFs, PDF portfolios, and encrypted PDF files (files that require a password).

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• If the PDF contains 3D images, save the PDF in version 5 to import the images.

• TOCs or index field codes convert to PDF.

• Adobe Reader® or Adobe Acrobat® is not required to import PDF files.

• Sometimes fonts in PDF files do not convert correctly when imported into HTML.

Create a project by importing a PDF file

Note: You cannot import encrypted PDF files (files that require a password).

Select File > New > Project.

Click the Import tab. Select PDF Document and click OK.

Click the browse button to select one or more PDF files from a single folder. Click Open, and then click Next.

Enter the project information. Click Next.

Select options in the Conversion Options dialog box.

Topic Select how to split the PDF into topics.

Create New Topic(s) Based On Style(s) Activates the Next button. Click to select styles.

Create A Single Topic Creates one topic from the entire PDF.

Create A Topic For Each PDF Page Choose additional options.

Convert As HTML Creates a topic for each PDF page.

Convert As Image Renders each PDF page as a separate image.

Convert As Absolutely Positioned HTML (Advanced) Creates a topic for each PDF page. Positioning the content can require advanced HTML and subsequent editing can be difficult. Use this option if the other options don’t produce the results you want. This option is not recommended for printed documentation.

Image (JPG/GIF/PNG) Select the format for images converted from the PDF. To exclude images, select None.

Page Range By default, all PDF pages are converted. Alternatively, enter the page numbers on which to start and end.

Create new topics based on styles

Styles are converted based on the following:

• The most common style becomes the Normal style, which cannot be used to split topics.

• The remaining styles are ranked from largest point size to smallest. Style ranking also considers boldness (highest precedence), italics, and normal (lowest precedence).

• Styles are ordered and numbered using “Heading 1” for the dominant heading style and “PdfParaStyle01” through

“PdfParaStyleX” for all other styles. Rename these styles using this dialog.

Create New Topics Based On Lists the styles used in the PDF document.

Description Displays a description of the selected style.

Paragraph Preview Displays a preview of the selected style.

Rename Style Renames the selected style in your project.

Finish Completes the import process.

Back Returns to the Conversion Options dialog box.

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Import PDF files into a project

1 In the Project Manager pod, right-click Project Files.

2 Select the file to import into.

Select File > Import > PDF Document.

Select one or more PDF files. Click Open.

Select options in the Conversion Options dialog box.

If Create New Topic(s) Based On Style(s) was selected, click Next to select styles.

Click Finish.

Importing and linking Microsoft Word documents

In RoboHelp, you can import or link Microsoft Word documents (files with .docx, .docm, .doc, or .rtf extensions after the filename). You can create new projects by importing or linking Word documents. Or, you can use the Word documents as source files for an existing RoboHelp project. You can use this workflow to integrate content created by different authors in Word.

The settings for importing and linking Word documents are applied at the project level. For this reason, you have consistent settings for all documents that you import or link to RoboHelp projects. You can also export the conversion settings that you define and reuse them across multiple projects. Defining a set of standard settings for conversion

ensures consistency across projects. See “ Word conversion settings ” on page 64.

Steps to import a Word document into RoboHelp

1 Locate your Word document.

Optimize the Word document for import. See “ Optimizing Word documents for online output ” on page 51.

Read through the differences between linking and importing the Word document. See “ Linking versus importing

Word documents ” on page 51.

Open RoboHelp, and either create a project or use an existing project to import the Word document.

Import the Word document. See “ Import a Word document into a RoboHelp project ” on page 53.

Export your conversion settings and reuse it when you import another Word document. See “ Export conversion settings ” on page 64.

Steps to link a Word document from RoboHelp

1 Locate your Word document.

Optimize the Word document for linking. See “ Optimizing Word documents for online output ” on page 51.

Read through the differences between linking and importing the Word document. See “ Linking versus importing

Word documents ” on page 51.

Read through the options for linking Word documents. See “ Linking options for Word documents ” on page 52.

Open RoboHelp, and either create a project or use an existing project to link the Word document.

Link the Word document. See “ Link a Word document to a RoboHelp project ” on page 53.

Synchronize your linked Word document with RoboHelp when you edit your Word document. See “ linked Word documents with RoboHelp projects ” on page 61.

Synchronizing

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Export your conversion settings and reuse it when you link another Word document. See “ Export conversion settings ” on page 64.

Linking versus importing Word documents

You have two options for integrating content from Word documents into RoboHelp projects: linking and importing.

The following table lists the differences between the two methods:

Option

Ability to update generated topics

Linking

Yes . You can update the generated topics whenever the source document or your

RoboHelp project settings change.

Importing Remarks

No . When you import a Word document into a RoboHelp project, RoboHelp copies the contents of the Word document into RoboHelp project. RoboHelp generates topics based on conversion settings. If the source document changes, delete the generated topics and reimport the Word document.

Use the link option when the source Word document can change. Typically, if multiple projects share the Word document, you link the Word document.

If, however, you are bringing in content as a one-time activity, you can use the import option.

Ability to automatically update

TOC, index, and glossary changes from the source document

Yes . When you link a document, separate TOC, index, and glossary files are created and associated with the linked Word document.

When the linked Word document is updated, the linked TOC, index, and glossary files are also updated.

No.

When you import a Word document, the generated TOC is appended and index and glossary are merged into the selected TOC, index, and glossary file.

Use the link option if you want to automatically update the TOC, index, and glossary whenever these components are updated in the Word document.

Ability to regenerate deleted topics

Yes . You can delete a topic that is generated from an imported

Word document, and then regenerate the same topic when you update the Word document.

No . Import the source document again to generate the deleted topic.

Use the linking option when you share the source document across multiple projects.

Ability to preserve changes in generated topics

Yes.

You can mark topics generated from a linked Word document to ensure that the marked topics are not updated when the linked document is updated. In this way, you can preserve any changes you made in RoboHelp.

No.

When you re-import a Word document, all topics previously generated from the imported document are recreated, overwriting any changes you made in RoboHelp.

Use the link option if you need to retain updates made to both the linked Word document and the generated topics.

Ability to change the filenames and topic titles of generated files from Project Manager

No.

When you link a Word document, you cannot change the filenames or topic titles of generated files from Project

Manager.

Yes.

When you import a Word document, you can change the filenames or topic titles of generated files.

Use the import option if you want to customize the filenames andtopic titles from Project

Manager.

Optimizing Word documents for online output

If you are importing Word documents that have been published in printed or online format, consider the following before linking or importing them into RoboHelp projects.

Heading hierarchies Determine the best mapping of Word heading styles to RoboHelp styles so that you can achieve automatic pagination (splitting the document into topics) based on heading styles. If your document does not employ hierarchical heading styles, apply them before conversion. For example, you can apply Heading 1 style to standalone articles in your Word document. Then map this style to a similar RoboHelp style and define pagination to create an

HTML topic for each Heading 1 style. See “ Pagination and topic naming in converted Word files ” on page 58.

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Inline styles and style overrides You can convert inline styles to CSS styles in RoboHelp. However, converting inline

styles to CSS styles can lead to numerous styles that share the same formatting. See “ Converting Word styles to

RoboHelp styles ” on page 55.

Header and footer information RoboHelp can convert headers and footers. However, to ensure consistency across your topics, you can define a master page that contains the required header and footer information. By using master

pages, you can also suppress page numbers in headers and footers. “ Convert headers and footers in Word documents ” on page 55.

Chapter versus topic In printed documentation, the chapter is the logical and physical unit for grouping content. In online Help, the organizational unit is the topic, and users see topics one at a time. Although you can group the content into folders that expand when the user navigates the table of contents, only one topic appears on the screen at a time.

Try to provide comprehensive information without adding redundancy by grouping related topics. See “ Pagination and topic naming in converted Word files ” on page 58.

TOCs As you import Word documents, you can also import the Word TOC into the RoboHelp TOC. You can define

the topic hierarchy and represent that hierarchy in the RoboHelp TOC. See “ Importing a Word TOC, index, and glossary ” on page 54.

Context sensitivity In online Help formats, you can link specific topics to dialog boxes and other elements that users encounter in the application workflow. You can assign map IDs to topics in RoboHelp. However, you can also assign context-sensitive Help markers in Word documents using custom footnote entries. RoboHelp reads these footnote entries and assigns the map IDs to the generated topics. Ensure that topics in the source Word document are not overly fragmented. A topic must contain sufficient information to make sense as a standalone unit.

For example, if a short task doesn’t make sense without some introductory conceptual information, don’t display that task as a standalone topic. To avoid overly fragmented content, assign context-sensitive Help markers to topics at a higher level. In this way, the generated Help topic can contain the concept, the task, and any relevant graphics. See

“ Convert context-sensitive Help markers in Word to map IDs ” on page 59.

Linking options for Word documents

For linking Word documents to a RoboHelp project, you can specify one of the following options in the Import tab of project settings (File > Project Settings):

Create A Reference You create a reference to an external Word document. In this case, the source Word document is not copied into the RoboHelp project folder. It remains outside the project. You can edit and update the Word document independently in Word. Later, in RoboHelp, you can update the topics generated from the linked document.

Use the linking by reference option to bring in content that is shared across multiple projects. Because only a single copy of the document exists, any change in the source document is reflected in all projects to which this document is linked.

Create A Copy And Link You create a copy of the source document and link to the RoboHelp project. In this case, a copy of the source document is copied into the RoboHelp project and is visible in the Project Manager pod. You can edit and update the Word copy without affecting the source document. You update the topics generated from the copied Word document whenever you edit the document.

Use the Create A Copy And Link option to maintain the Word document in RoboHelp, and restrict access to the source document and allow editing only in the copy available in the RoboHelp project. For example, if you want to bring in content from a static Word document, link the document by copying it to the RoboHelp project.

Note: This option is available only when you link Word documents. When you import a Word document, RoboHelp does not keep any link to the source Word document.

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Link and import Word documents

• Create a RoboHelp project by linking to or importing a Word document. You can import DOCX, DOC, DOCM, or RTF files.

• Link or import Word documents into a RoboHelp project.

• (For linked documents) Update the generated topics whenever any of the conversion settings or the source documents changes.

HTML files are not created until you define the conversion settings and generate the Help topics. The source Word documents are unaffected by linking and subsequent editing. RoboHelp creates a copy of the linked or imported Word documents before applying the conversion settings.

Create a project by importing a Word document

You can create a RoboHelp project by importing a Word document. To import Word files, you must have Microsoft

Word installed on your computer.

Note: DOCX and DOCM formats are not supported by versions earlier than Microsoft Word 2007. See Microsoft Word

Help for more information.

1 In the Starter pod, click Word Document under Import.

Select Word Documents from the Files Of Type pop-up menu, select the Word document, and click Open.

Enter relevant details in the New Project wizard and click Finish.

Link a Word document to a RoboHelp project

1 Create a project in RoboHelp.

3 Click Browse to select one or more Word documents and click Open.

Note: To import multiple documents with separate TOCs, select them in the order they should appear in the master TOC.

Right-click the linked file in Project Manager, and select Properties.

In the Word Document Settings dialog box, do the following:

• To generate a TOC from the source document, select the Convert Table of Contents option, and specify a filename.

• To generate an index from the source document, select the Convert Index option, and specify a filename.

• To generate a glossary from the source document, select the Convert Glossary option, and specify a filename.

Note:

You can define the paragraph styles for a glossary term and definition in the project settings. See “ Convert

Word paragraph styles to RoboHelp styles ” on page

Note: RoboHelp associates the generated TOC, index, and glossary files with the source Word document. So when the source document is updated, the TOC, index, and glossary files are also updated.

6 Click OK.

Import a Word document into a RoboHelp project

1 Create a project in RoboHelp.

3 Click Browse to select one or more Word documents and click Open.

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Note: To import multiple documents with separate TOCs, select them in the order they should appear in the master TOC.

4 In the Content Settings dialog box, set conversion options for the TOC, index, and glossary, and click Next.

For information about various conversion options, see “ Importing a Word TOC, index, and glossary ” on page 54.

(Optional) To edit the conversion settings, click Edit.

Modify conversion settings according to your requirements, and click OK.

For information about converting headers and footers, see “ Convert headers and footers in Word documents ” on page 55

For information about converting paragraph, character, and other styles, see “ Converting Word styles to RoboHelp styles ” on page 55.

7 Click Finish.

Importing a Word TOC, index, and glossary

When you import a Word document into a RoboHelp project, you can also import the table of contents (TOC). Import the TOC into the RoboHelp project to retain, in Help, the navigation structure you defined in your Word document.

If you import a Word-generated TOC, the first heading becomes a book. Lower-level headings become pages (unless a book exists at a lower level).

To import multiple documents with separate TOCs, select the Word documents in the Open dialog box in the order that they should appear in the master TOC. The converted TOC is based on the {TOC} field codes of the Word document. Ensure that:

• Headings for main books have lower-level headings.

• Headings for sub-books appear under main headings and have lower-level headings.

• Headings for pages do not have lower-level headings.

For example, suppose you import a document with more styles than the TOC contains: The document contains heading levels 1 through 3, but the TOC contains only heading 1 and 2 entries. To ensure that heading 3 styles appear in the TOC, either include heading 3 in the Word TOC or auto-create the TOC in RoboHelp.

Import a Word TOC

1 Select File > Import > Word Document.

2 In the Content Settings dialog box, select Convert Table Of Contents.

3 Select one of the following options:

Add To Existing TOC Appends the TOC entries to any existing RoboHelp TOC present in the project. Select an existing RoboHelp TOC from the list.

Create New Associated TOC Enter a name for a new associated TOC that is added to the RoboHelp project.

Import Word index entries

RoboHelp creates an index based on the index markers in the document you are importing.

Select File > Import > Word Document.

Select Convert Index in the Content Settings dialog box, and select one of the following options:

Add To Existing Index Add the Word index entries to the existing RoboHelp index of the project.

Create New Associated Index Enter a name for a new associated index that is added to the RoboHelp project.

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Add To Topic Add the Word index entries to individual topics in which they appear.

Import Word glossary entries

RoboHelp creates a glossary from the Word document you are importing, based on the paragraph styles defined for the glossary terms and definitions in project settings.

Note: RoboHelp creates a glossary entry by finding a term and a definition in the specified styles in the Word document.

Consecutive instances of term styles or definition styles are rejected.

Select File > Import > Word Document.

Select Convert Glossary in the Content Settings dialog box, and select one of the following options:

Add To Existing Glossary Add the Word glossary entries to the existing RoboHelp glossary of the project.

Create New Associated Glossary Enter a name for a new associated glossary that is added to the RoboHelp project.

Convert headers and footers in Word documents

You can convert the header and footer text in your Word documents to headers and footers in the generated HTML topics.

Note: Don’t use this procedure if your projects have topics natively created in RoboHelp and imported or linked from other sources as well. Instead, use the master page feature in RoboHelp. Using master pages, you can define consistent layouts and consistent headers and footers.

In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under Word Document.

In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select Other Settings and then do the following:

• To convert the header in Word documents, select Convert Header.

• To convert the footer in Word documents, select Convert Footer.

Converting Word styles to RoboHelp styles

You can select the cascading style sheet (CSS) that RoboHelp uses to map Word styles to RoboHelp styles. RoboHelp saves all the style conversion settings in this CSS file. By default, RoboHelp uses the RHStyleMapping.css file for your project.

You can also use a custom CSS for your project. You can later edit the styles either in RoboHelp or in an external CSS editing application, such as Adobe Dreamweaver®. You can define how the Word styles convert to RoboHelp styles at the project level. All Word style definitions in the Word document appear in the mapping dialog box, irrespective of whether they are used in the document.

Select CSS for style mapping

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, do one of the following:

• Select the CSS file from the CSS For Style Mapping menu. RoboHelp lists CSS files in the root folder of your project, from which you can select a CSS file.

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• Click Add next to the CSS For Style Mapping menu, and select the CSS file that you want to use. Use this option to specify a custom CSS for your project. When you select this option, RoboHelp copies the selected CSS file into the root folder of your project, and uses the selected CSS for style mapping.

Convert Word paragraph styles to RoboHelp styles

By default, RoboHelp converts all Word styles to CSS, thus retaining the appearance and behavior of the Word styles in the RoboHelp project. If you want to ensure consistency of your online Help projects, you can map the Word styles to RoboHelp styles and edit them.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File

In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under Word Document.

In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select the Word style from the Paragraph group.

From the RoboHelp Style pop-up menu, select the RoboHelp style that you want to map to the Word style. To retain the appearance of Word text in your online Help format, select [Source].

5 Select the properties for the selected Word style. To edit the selected RoboHelp style, click Edit Style.

To mark a style for glossary

• Select Glossary Definition Style to mark the style to consider for the glossary definition.

• Select Glossary Term to mark the style to consider for the glossary term.

Note: Follow Glossary Definition Style with Glossary Term Style for a complete a Glossary Term Definition pair.

RoboHelp uses the terms marked with the selected styles, to create a Glossary.

• To set up pagination : Select Pagination (Split into topics based on this style) to create a Help topic at each occurrence of the selected Word paragraph style. For example, if you select Heading 1 and Pagination (Split into topics based on this style), RoboHelp starts a new topic at every instance of Heading 1. For more information

on Pagination, see “ Set pagination for online Help topics ” on page 59

• Using a user-defined HTML tag : Select or enter a user-defined HTML tag for the selected paragraph style.

For example:

A paragraph with style ParaStyleOne is imported in RoboHelp as Paragraph

Text .

Specifying this string as Pre for the style ParaStyleOne causes RoboHelp to import the paragraphs with the style

ParaStyleOne as <pre> Paragraph Text </pre> .

Convert Word character styles to RoboHelp styles

You can map the Word character formats to character styles in RoboHelp. You can also edit the styles in RoboHelp.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under Word Document.

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In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select the Character group.

Select the Word character style from the left pane of the Conversion Settings dialog box.

Select the RoboHelp character style from the pop-up menu. Optionally, you can do the following:

• To import the Word character style, select [Source] from the pop-up menu.

• To edit the character style in RoboHelp, click Edit Style.

List mapping

You can map Word lists to RoboHelp lists (multilevel lists) or HTML lists (basic ordered and unordered lists) in

RoboHelp. If you have defined lists as paragraph styles in RoboHelp, you can map these list styles in RoboHelp. If you do not select a style mapping option for a list, it is converted to text without list properties.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File > Import > Word Document.

• Select File > Link > Word Document.

• Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab, click Edit under Word Document.

In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select the Other Settings group.

Do one of the following:

• To convert the Word list styles to RoboHelp lists, select RoboHelp List from the Convert Word List To pop-up menu.

• To convert the Word list styles to HTML lists, select HTML List from the Convert Word List To pop-up menu.

Create custom HTML tags

You can define or apply a custom HTML tag instead of the standard tag for paragraph styles in the HTML output for the formats that you import from a Word document. You can define separate HTML tags for each format in the

Word document.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File

In the Import tab, click Edit under Word Document.

In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select a Word paragraph style, and then select User Defined HTML Tag option.

4 Type the name of the custom HTML tag or select an existing tag to use instead of the default HTML tag.

Convert Word table styles to RoboHelp table styles

You can map Word table styles to RoboHelp table styles. Alternatively, you can import the table styles as inline formatting from the Word document. Optionally, you can edit the converted table styles in RoboHelp.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File

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In the Import tab, click Edit under Word Document.

Select the Word table style from the left pane of the Conversion Settings dialog box.

Select the RoboHelp table style from the pop-up menu. Optionally, to edit the table style in RoboHelp, click Edit

Style.

Convert Word references to hyperlinks

RoboHelp can convert the references such as foot notes, end notes, captions, bookmarks, and cross-references in the

Word documents. These references appear as hyperlinks in the generated Help topics.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File

2 In the Import tab, click Edit under Word Document.

3 In the Conversion Settings group, select Other Settings, and then select Convert References To Hyperlinks.

Create RoboHelp styles from inline formatting

Even though it’s best to avoid inline formatting in your Word documents, and apply defined paragraph and character styles, you can link and import Word documents to RoboHelp. You can also create RoboHelp styles from inline formatting in your Word documents. Such styles are added to the project CSS.

In the Import tab, click Edit under Word Document.

In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select Other Settings and then select Auto-Create CSS Styles From Inline

Formatting.

Pagination and topic naming in converted Word files

In addition to splitting the document into topics and defining topic naming settings, you can do the following:

Convert header and footer Header and footer text in your word documents is converted and used in the Help topics.

See “ Convert headers and footers in Word documents ” on page 55.

Convert TOC and index entries TOC and index entries in the Word document are converted in your RoboHelp

project. See “ Importing a Word TOC, index, and glossary ” on page 54.

Map Word list styles to RoboHelp styles You can convert the list styles in Word to either RoboHelp list styles or

HTML list styles. See “ List mapping ” on page 57.

Convert references to hyperlinks

You can convert the references to hyperlinks in RoboHelp topics. See “ Convert

Word references to hyperlinks ” on page 58.

Automatically create CSS styles from inline formatting

See “ Create RoboHelp styles from inline formatting ” on page 58.

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Set pagination for online Help topics

When you import a Word document, you define how the contents of the Word file appear as topics in RoboHelp. For example, suppose your Word file contains ten topics. If each topic contains subtopics, definition lists, tasks, and tables, you can have each topic appear as a separate HTML file. If each of these topic headings is in Heading 1 style, you can have each Heading 1 topic created as a separate HTML topic. If, however, you set the pagination at Heading 2, separate

HTML files are created for each Heading 2 topic.

You can select multiple paragraph styles for pagination. For example, selecting Heading 1 and Heading 2 for pagination, causes RoboHelp to start a new topic at every instance of Heading 1 as well as Heading 2.

Note: Pagination is based on the Word paragraph styles and not on RoboHelp styles.

Even though you can set pagination for any Word paragraph style, the topic generated must contain relevant, complete information for the reader. For example, if you set pagination for Heading 3, you run the risk of creating topics with only task-level instructions. In this case, the required contextual information required to complete the task is isolated in another Heading 3 level topic. To avoid such disjointed, incomplete topics, set the pagination at a higher level.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File

2 Click Edit under Word Document.

3 In the Conversion Settings dialog box, in the Paragraph group, select the paragraph style on which to base pagination.

4 Select the option marked Pagination (Split into topics based on this style) and click OK.

RoboHelp splits the documents into topics using the specified pagination styles.

Convert context-sensitive Help markers in Word to map IDs

You can convert the context-sensitive Help markers that you insert in your Microsoft Word documents and reuse them as map IDs. You insert the context-sensitive markers using the Custom Footnote option in Word. You insert context-sensitive Help markers using the Insert Footnotes And Endnotes dialog box in Word. To insert contextsensitive Help markers, enter a custom string such as TopicAlias and then insert the map ID as the marker text. The custom string must not contain spaces or any other invalid characters. See Microsoft Word Help for more information about inserting custom footnote markers.

Sometimes Word documents that you are linking to or importing have context-sensitive Help markers. If so, you can incorporate them in the map ID header file that you generate. In the project header file, add the map IDs that you assigned to topics in your Word documents. The context-sensitive marker string is a project-wide parameter. Ensure that all Word documents that you link to or import contain the same string as the context-sensitive marker text.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File

2 Click Edit under Word Document.

3 In the Conversion Settings dialog box, in the Other Settings group, enter the context-sensitive Help marker string and click OK.

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Define the topic name pattern for generated topics

When you set heading styles for pagination, the heading text is included by default in the filename of the topic file created in RoboHelp. For example, suppose you define Heading 2 for pagination. If the Word document has two

Heading 2 topics, “Introduction” and “Beyond basics,” the topics are created as files named introduction.htm and beyond_basics.htm. The result is intuitively named HTML files that indicate the topic title. In addition to this default scheme, you can define more naming conventions. If, however, the Help system uses sequentially numbered files, such as helptopic001.html, helptopic002.html, and so on, you can define the pattern to support that convention.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File

In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select Other Settings.

In the Other Settings tab, set the topic name pattern.

Topics are named according to the selected pattern. You can select one of the following or create a topic name pattern.

Default

<$filename_no_ext>-<$paratext>

<$filename_no_ext>-<n>

<$paratext_no_num>

<$paratext>

Uses the topic title text as the topic filename.

The name of the converted HTML topic contains the following:

• The name of the Word source file without its extension

• Hyphen as the separator

• Paragraph text used to demarcate HTML topics

For example, a Word file named “Chapter.doc” with “1-Introduction” as paragraph text is converted to an HTML topic named “Chapter-1-Introduction.”

The name of the converted HTML topic contains the following:

•

The name of the Word source file without its extension

•

Hyphen as the separator

•

A sequential number

For example, “Chapter.doc” is converted to an HTML topic named “Chapter-1.”

The name of the converted HTML topic contains the paragraph text used to demarcate the HTML topic, without numbering. For example, paragraph text “1.Introduction” is converted to an HTML topic named “Introduction.”.

The name of the converted HTML topic contains the paragraph text used to demarcate the HTML topic. For example, paragraph text “Introduction” is converted into an HTML topic named

“Introduction.”

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Synchronizing linked Word documents with RoboHelp projects

After you import or link Word documents to your RoboHelp project, you generate Help topics based on the project settings. When you import a Word document into a RoboHelp project, the topics are generated immediately and appear in the Project Manager pod. However, when you link a Word document to a RoboHelp project, the topics are not generated until you explicitly generate them. Because RoboHelp maintains a live link with the linked Word document, you can update a linked Word document if the source document or conversion settings in the RoboHelp project change. Icons of the project files in the Project Manager pod indicate whether the documents are in sync with the RoboHelp topics.

Update the topics generated from linked Word documents in the following scenarios:

• Source Word documents changed after you added or linked them to the RoboHelp project.

• You changed the pagination settings in the RoboHelp project.

• You changed the styles in the RoboHelp project and want to revert them to as in the FrameMaker document.

• You updated the CSS in the RoboHelp project.

If you imported documents into the project, the Project Manager pod does not indicate the synchronization status. If either the Word documents or the conversion settings change, reimport the Word documents and overwrite the

RoboHelp topics already generated. When you update the documents, RoboHelp updates the converted HTML topics,

TOC, index, and glossary.

Word document synchronization status indicators

The following table shows the different status indicators that appear on the Project Manager pod in RoboHelp for all linked Word documents.

Icon Description

Source Word document that was linked by reference missing. The source document that you have linked to the

RoboHelp project is moved to another folder, renamed, or deleted. Locate the source document and link to the new location.

Source Word document that was linked by copy into the project is missing, renamed, or moved to another folder. Locate the source document and link to the new location.

Source Word document that was linked by reference is out of sync because of changes in the source document. Update the document.

Source Word document that was linked by copy into the project is out of sync because of changes in the source document. Update the document.

Source Word document linked by reference is out of sync because of changes in the RoboHelp conversion settings.

Update the document.

Source Word document linked by copy into the project is out of sync because of changes in the RoboHelp conversion settings. Update the document.

Source Word document linked by reference and generated topics are in sync.

Source Word document linked by copy into the project and generated topics are in sync.

Generate topics from linked Word documents

Generating Help topics from linked Word documents is a one-time activity. After you generate Help topics, you can update them whenever the source document or conversion settings change.

❖ Right-click the linked Word document in the Project Manager pod, and select Update > Generate.

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Update topics generated from linked Word documents

RoboHelp does not update linked documents automatically when you link Word documents to a RoboHelp project.

You define the conversion settings, including style mapping and pagination, and then generate the topics. Select options to update a linked document manually.

❖ From the Project Manager pod, right-click a Word document, select Update, and select one of the following:

Generate Generates HTML topics from the linked Word document for the first time. After the topics are generated, the option changes to Update.

Update Updates topics generated from the selected Word document. Only the topics that have changed are updated.

Update All Updates all topics generated from all linked documents including all Word and FrameMaker documents. Because all documents are updated, including those that you edited in RoboHelp, exercise caution when you use the Update All option.

Force Update Overwrites the current set of topics generated from the selected Word document. Use this option to force an update of the topics generated from the linked Word document after you edit the source in Microsoft

Word. This option updates all topics including those that haven’t changed.

Force Update All Updates all linked documents, including Word and FrameMaker documents, and overwrites all generated topics.

Preserve changes to a topic during an update

Normally, when you update a linked document, all topics generated from it are updated, overwriting any other changes you made in the generated topics. However, you can selectively preserve changes in generated topics and retain your edits.

Right-click the linked document in the Project Manager pod and select Properties.

In the Word Document Settings dialog box, select File Update Settings tab.

On the left column, select the files in which you want to preserve changes during update and click OK.

Set alert when editing generated topics

You can set RoboHelp to alert you when you make changes to topics generated from linked documents. When you save the changes to such topics, RoboHelp alerts you that the changes would be lost when the linked documents are updated.

Select Tools > Options.

In the General tab, select Show Alert On Modification Of Auto Generated Topics From Linked Documents and click OK.

Mark topic edits for preservation

If you enabled the alerts when saving changes to generated topics, you can mark the topic edits for preservation during an update. Topics marked for preservation during updates are automatically added to the list of preserved topics in the

File Update Settings dialog box.

1 Edit a generated topic and save the changes.

2 In the alert message that appears, select Preserve Modifications To This File and click OK.

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Delete a generated topic

When you delete a generated topic, you have two options. You can regenerate the deleted topic when you update the linked Word document or completely remove the deleted topic from your project. By default, RoboHelp regenerates the deleted topic when you update the Word document.

1 In the Project Manager pod, expand the linked Word document to display the topics generated from it.

Right-click the topic that you want to delete, and select Delete.

Do one of the following:

• Click OK to delete the topic from the project permanently. The deleted topic is not regenerated when you update the Word document.

• Select Generate This File On Next Update and click OK to delete the topic. When you update the Word document, the deleted topic is generated again.

Regenerate a deleted topic

If you delete a topic generated from a linked Word document, the topic is removed from the project. However, you can regenerate topics deleted from a linked document.

Right-click the linked Word document in the Project Manager pod and select Properties.

In the Word Document Settings dialog box, select File Update Settings tab.

On the right column, select the deleted files that you want to retrieve and click OK.

Update the Word document.

Edit a linked Word document

You can edit linked Word documents directly in Microsoft Word.

1 Right-click a document and select Edit.

Edit the Word document in Microsoft Word.

Click Save. The modified Word document now appears in the Project Manager pod with a different icon. This icon indicates that the source content is now out of sync with the topics generated from the linked Word document.

Note: Force an update of the document after you edit the source in Microsoft Word.

Delete a linked Word document

You can directly delete documents linked by copy from the Project Files folder, and you can delete the references of the documents linked by reference.

❖ Right-click a document and select Delete.

When you delete a linked file, all its associated documents, such as CSS, images, baggage files, and multimedia files, are also deleted.

Notes:

• If a referenced file is moved to a different location, its icon changes. You can restore the link to the Word document by pointing to its new location.

• Do not rename files generated after linking a Word document.

• You cannot drag the generated topics outside the parent Microsoft Word document folder to some other location in the Project Manager pod.

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Restore a link to a missing or renamed Word document

If any of the linked Word documents are moved or renamed, RoboHelp displays a missing link icon for the linked document in the Project Manager pod. You can restore the link to a moved or renamed file and have all the topics already generated from the document retained in the project.

1 In the Project Manager pod, right-click the Word document that has the missing link icon.

2 Select Restore Link To Word File, and browse to select the new location of the missing file.

Word conversion settings

You can create a standard set of conversion settings for importing Word content into RoboHelp projects and then use these settings consistently across multiple projects.

You define these settings once. For subsequent projects, import these settings to the project. In this way, you can quickly set up the project environment and publish Word content in several online formats.

These settings include:

• Cascading style sheets (CSS) for RoboHelp projects

• Style mapping between Word styles and RoboHelp styles

• Style conversion and other settings

Export conversion settings

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 On the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Export.

3 Specify a name for the RoboHelp Import Settings file (ISF) and click Save.

Import conversion settings to a project

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 On the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Browse.

3 Select a RoboHelp Import Settings File (ISF). Click Open.

Word document components converted to RoboHelp

RoboHelp converts most of the Word components when you link or import Word documents. The following tables list the major Word document components and show how they are converted in RoboHelp.

Word document component

TOC

Converted, if selected. See “ Importing a Word TOC, index, and glossary ” on page 54.

Index

Glossary

Converted, if selected. See “ Importing a Word TOC, index, and glossary ” on page 54.

You can create a Glossary in RoboHelp from selected paragraph styles in Word. See “ Importing a Word TOC, index, and glossary ” on page 54.

Equations

Equations Ignored when importing the document into RoboHelp.

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Markers

Cross-references, hypertext,

URLs

Cross References are converted to hypertext links if the Convert References to hyperlinks option is enabled in RoboHelp when importing a Word document. Else, the Cross References are imported as plain text.Unresolved cross-references and hypertext entries appear as text in online Help.

URLs become live hypertext links in the online Help output.

See “ Convert Word references to hyperlinks ” on page 58.

Context-sensitive Help markers

Converted into map IDs in RoboHelp. See “ Convert context-sensitive Help markers in Word to map IDs ” on page 59.

Formats

Paragraph formats

Character formats

Table formats

Lists

Converted. You can map Microsoft Word paragraph formats to RoboHelp styles or import the source

formatting. See “ Convert Word paragraph styles to RoboHelp styles ” on page 56.

Converted. You can map Microsoft Word character formats to RoboHelp styles or import the source

formatting. See “ Convert Word character styles to RoboHelp styles ” on page 56.

Converted. You can map Microsoft Word table formats to RoboHelp styles or import the source formatting.

See “ Convert Word table styles to RoboHelp table styles ” on page 57.

Converted according to the settings you define. See “ List mapping ” on page 57.

Page layouts

Page layout, size, and Word pagination

Headers/footers

Ignored. These elements are not applicable to online Help.

Converted. See “ Convert headers and footers in Word documents ” on page 55.

Images

Images

Drawings

Converted. PNG images are imported as is if the

Converted to images.

Allow PNG as a graphicsforma

Microsoft Word Web Options. All other images are converted to gif or jpg.

t option is selected in

Import FrameMaker documents

FrameMaker and RoboHelp together provide an end-to-end authoring and publishing workflow. This integration lets you exchange content and publish a variety of output formats such as PDF, online Help, and Help based on Adobe AIR.

Note: If you are using Adobe Technical Communication Suite, you can link FrameMaker documents to your RoboHelp projects. For more information, see Using FrameMaker with RoboHelp.

Optimizing for online output before conversion

If your authoring process in FrameMaker is optimized for print output, consider the following before linking or importing FrameMaker documents into RoboHelp projects.

Heading formats Determine the best mapping of FrameMaker heading formats to RoboHelp styles. FrameMaker documents define various heading formats specifically for print documentation. Among these formats are side heads and heading styles that start on a new page. These formats don’t apply to online formats. You generally map these heading styles to a few standard styles in the RoboHelp project.

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Page layout settings Often FrameMaker chapter templates specify an even number of pages so that new chapters begin on a recto (right) page. For online Help, ignore these pagination considerations.

Headers and footers RoboHelp ignores headers and footers during conversion, including legal text such as

“Confidential” and copyright lines. Include such text in the headers and footers in a separate step, after conversion.

Similarly, in RoboHelp, re-create watermark text or images that you used in the printed documentation. Use the master page feature in RoboHelp to make these changes.

Navigation In print, cross-references specify page numbers which are irrelevant in Help. You can map cross-reference formats in FrameMaker to a format without the chapter and page number. Converting to online Help removes chapter and section titles in headers and footers. You can enhance navigability by using breadcrumbs, back and next buttons, and a defined browse sequence instead.

Redundant content To provide context in different sections of a printed document, writers generally add redundant information such as brief summaries of concepts covered previously. Because online Help is a random-access, nonlinear medium, it requires less redundant content. Use cross-references and conditional text options to minimize redundant content in your outputs.

Chapter versus topic Printed documentation requires you to segregate content into self-contained chapters, which allow readers to logically and physically separate content. Online Help segregates content at topic level, accessed one topic at a time. Although you can group the content within chapters into folders that expand when a user navigates the table of contents, only one topic appears at a time. In this case, try to provide comprehensive information without adding redundancy by chunking related topics together.

Context sensitivity Online Help formats allow you to link specific topics to related content within the application workflow. Although you can assign map IDs to topics in RoboHelp, you can also assign context-sensitive Help markers in FrameMaker documents. RoboHelp reads these markers and assigns the map IDs to the generated topics. Ensure that sufficient information is contained in the topics that are created from FrameMaker.

For example, a short procedure as a stand-alone topic does not provide the conceptual information for the reader. To avoid creating topics with incomplete information, assign context-sensitive Help markers to topics at a higher level, so that the generated Help topic contains the concept, procedure, and any relevant graphics.

Preparing FrameMaker documents for conversion to Help

If the FrameMaker document that you are importing is an unstructured FrameMaker book, you can define a single

FrameMaker template for the conversion. You can then specify this template as the project template that overrides the formats of individual documents at the RoboHelp project level. You can also reuse the conversion settings across other projects by exporting the conversion settings.

Carefully examine the FrameMaker templates before importing the documents into RoboHelp, such as when you use a general-purpose FrameMaker template. If this template contains formats that aren’t used in the book, omit those formats in the template you use for the conversion.

1 Create a FrameMaker template that contains the formats you need in Help. Alternatively, customize the

FrameMaker template. You don’t have to apply the template manually. You can set RoboHelp to apply a selected template to FrameMaker files before they are linked or imported to RoboHelp.

In Structured FrameMaker, the element definition document (EDD) or the DTD used in the structured

FrameMaker template automatically controls formatting. Because structured FrameMaker enforces a valid structure and format, structured documents do not contain format overrides.

Apply context-sensitive Help markers to the required topics. See “ Convert context-sensitive Help markers from

FrameMaker documents ” on page 76.

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3 Enclose graphics, callouts, and graphic or text frames you created with FrameMaker graphic tools into anchored frames. RoboHelp imports only those FrameMaker graphics that are enclosed in anchored frames. By default, when you import graphics and multimedia files into a FrameMaker document, these are placed in anchored frames. On the other hand, if your FrameMaker document contains graphics that are placed in graphic frames, you should place these into anchored frames before linking or importing the FrameMaker files into RoboHelp.

Note: If the offset for an image in the FrameMaker file is set to a negative value, the image can be partly hidden in the

HTML. Change the value before importing.

4 To maintain the original quality of images, insert them in FrameMaker documents by Reference. RoboHelp copies the referenced images directly from the source if the complete image is visible inside the anchored frame. Similarly, if the images are large, insert them in the source document by reference.

5 Fix any issues in the document such as unresolved cross-references, missing fonts, and irregular numbering issues.

See FrameMaker Help for more information.

Set up alternate text or captions for the images and graphics to create accessible online content. See “ Create alternate text for images ” on page 82.

7 Apply conditional text settings in FrameMaker documents. See FrameMaker Help .

8 Edit the FrameMaker TOC reference pages to have indented hierarchical headings with different styles. See

“ Convert a FrameMaker TOC ” on page 70.

Importing FrameMaker documents

The RoboHelp workflow for linking or importing FrameMaker documents allows you to do the following:

• Create a RoboHelp project by importing a FrameMaker book. You can import BOOK or BK files.

• Import FrameMaker documents into a RoboHelp project. You can import FM files, or MIF files that are authored in FrameMaker. XML files that are part of a FrameMaker book can be imported.

Before you import FrameMaker documents, check them in FrameMaker for errors such as unresolved cross-references and format overrides. See Prepare FrameMaker documents for conversion to Help.

Create a RoboHelp project by importing FrameMaker books or documents

You can create a RoboHelp project by importing FrameMaker books or documents. Importing these files requires that

FrameMaker 8 or later installed is in your computer.

1 On the RoboHelp Starter page, click More under Import or select File > New > Project.

On the Import tab of the New Project dialog box, select FrameMaker Document and click OK.

Select the FrameMaker book or document (BOOK, BK, FM, MIF, FRM) from the Files Of Type pop-up menu, browse to select the FrameMaker book, and click Open.

Note: Use the above procedure to create a new project from scratch and import FrameMaker content in the new project.

However, linking of FrameMaker documents is not allowed in this case.

Import a FrameMaker book into a new RoboHelp project

1 Create a project in RoboHelp.

Select FrameMaker book (BOOK) from the Files Of Type pop-up menu.

Browse to select the FrameMaker book file and click Open.

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If you are importing a FrameMaker document, you can select the components that you want to import from the

Import Wizard that appears. You can select the TOC, index, and glossary, and specify the conversion settings.

Note: Use the above procedure if you already have a project with some content, and wish to import FrameMaker content.

Linking of FrameMaker document is allowed in this case.

Import FrameMaker documents into an existing RoboHelp project

1 Select File > Import > FrameMaker document.

Select the FrameMaker document type that you want to import.

Select the documents and click Open.

FrameMaker document components converted to RoboHelp

RoboHelp converts most of the FrameMaker components when you link or import FrameMaker documents. The following tables list the major FrameMaker document components and show how they are converted in RoboHelp.

FrameMaker files

Book files

TOC

Text insets

Index and glossary

Documents contained within the book are converted (FM, XML, MIF, HTM, and HTML files). XHTML files that are included in the FrameMaker book must be valid XHTML. Validate the XHTML in FrameMaker itself. All other files in the FrameMaker book are ignored. Child books, folders, and groups in FrameMaker 9 books are

converted and appear as folders in the RoboHelp projects. See “ Hierarchical structure in a FrameMaker 9 book ” on page 73.

Converted, if selected. See “ Convert a FrameMaker TOC ” on page 70.

Text insets in the FrameMaker documents are considered part of the FrameMaker document itself and are inserted as text in the RoboHelp topic. Once inserted, the content cannot be edited as a text inset in

FrameMaker but can only be edited as text within Robohelp.

Index and glossary files generated in the FrameMaker book are not converted. Instead, the index markers

and glossary markers in the imported FrameMaker documents are converted if selected. See “ Import

FrameMaker index entries ” on page 71 and “ Import glossary definitions ” on page 71.

Variables and conditional tex t

Variables

Conditional tags

Equations

Converted. User-defined variables in FrameMaker are converted as such in RoboHelp and can be redefined.

Apply relevant conditional text tags to suppress variables that shouldn’t appear in online format. For example, you can suppress the Table Continuation variable in table headers for tables that break across pages in the FrameMaker documents.

Converted as RoboHelp conditional build tags. See “ Conditional text ” on page 219.

Convert equations to images and insert them in the RoboHelp topics after conversion.

Markers

Cross-references, hypertext,

URLs

Index and glossary markers

Topic name markers

Converted to hypertext links. You can map the cross-reference formats in RoboHelp so that you can remove the volume, chapter, and page references that are not relevant in online format. Unresolved cross-references and hypertext entries appear as text in online Help. URLs become live hypertext links in the online Help

output. See “ Convert FrameMaker cross-reference formats to RoboHelp styles ” on page 74.

Converted to an index and glossary when creating project. See “ Import FrameMaker index entries ” on page 71 and “ Import glossary definitions ” on page 71.

Converted if you select this option in the project conversion settings. Use topic name markers to create topic

titles and topic filenames from the marker text. See “ Pagination for Help ” on page 75.

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Context-sensitive Help markers Converted if you select this option in the project conversion settings. Use Context Sensitive Help Makers in

FrameMaker to specify text in FrameMaker document for generating Context Sensitive Help. See “ Pagination for Help ” on page 75.

Custom markers Converted. You can use these markers for delineating topics from FrameMaker source, or to pass processing instructions to RoboHelp for images and tables.

Formats

Paragraph formats

Character formats

Table formats

Converted. You can map FrameMaker paragraph formats to RoboHelp styles or import the source

formatting. See “ Convert FrameMaker paragraph formats to RoboHelp styles ” on page 77

Converted. You can map FrameMaker character formats to RoboHelp styles or import the source formatting.

See “ Convert FrameMaker character formats to RoboHelp styles ” on page 77.

Converted. You can map FrameMaker table formats to RoboHelp styles or import the source formatting. See

“ Convert FrameMaker table formats to RoboHelp table styles ” on page 80.

Footnote properties and table footnotes

Converted. Because table title and table footnotes are paragraph formats in FrameMaker, you specify conversion settings for these paragraph formats separately.

Lists

Converted according to the settings you define. See “ List-mapping scenarios ” on page 79

Page layouts

Master pages

Reference pages

Page layout, size, and pagination

Headers/footers

Rotated text

FrameMaker master pages are ignored. Master pages are used for layout, borders, and page numbers in

FrameMaker, so they are not applicable to online Help. RoboHelp provides master page support for breadcrumbs, mini-TOCs, and headers and footers that can be selected when you publish a single source layout.

Ignored. However, you can use the advanced scripting support in RoboHelp to convert images and graphics placed in the reference pages that are associated with paragraph formats.

Ignored. These elements are not applicable to online Help. See “ Pagination for Help ” on page 75.

Ignored. Headers and footers in FrameMaker usually contain chapter names, chapter numbers, and page numbers, which are not applicable in online formats. After you generate topics in RoboHelp, you can create headers and footers in RoboHelp that allow you to place information at the top and bottom of topics.

Converted to text, such as in table cells. (Rotated text is not supported in HTML).

Images and anchored frames

Images Only converted if they are inside anchored frames. If the images are not in anchored frames, reinsert them after you have imported the FrameMaker files. By default, FrameMaker places the imported and linked images in anchored frames, so they are converted. However, images placed in graphic frames are not converted. If images contained in anchored frames are missing, RoboHelp creates blank images with the

filename in a sequential manner. See “ Image conversion settings ” on page 80.

Drawings Drawings created within anchored frames are converted to images. You can define the image conversion

settings. See “ Image conversion settings ” on page 80.

Anchored frames

ALT text on images and anchored frames

Text frames, graphic frames, and images inside anchored frames

Equations

Converted to images. See “

See FrameMaker Help .

Image conversion settings ” on page 80.

Converted. If no ALT text is provided in the FrameMaker document for images RoboHelp applies the

filename of the converted images as the ALT text. See “ Create alternate text for images ” on page 82.

Anchored frames and their content convert to images. All content within an anchored frame, including text frames, multiple images, and callouts convert to a single image. RoboHelp inserts the filename of the created image as the ALT text if no ALT text is defined for the anchored frame.

Enclose equations in anchored frames so that they are converted to images when RoboHelp converts them.

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Structured FrameMaker components

XML files in book

XHTML files in book

Content references

Converted like FrameMaker documents.

Text or files inserted into FrameMaker documents as content references appear as part of the topics where

they appear. They do not appear as references in the online Help outputs. See “ Content reference ” on page 74.

Conversion basics

Convert a FrameMaker TOC

When you import a FrameMaker book to a RoboHelp project, you can also import the table of contents (TOC). Import the TOC into the RoboHelp project to retain the navigation structure you defined in the FrameMaker book.

1 Select File > Import > FrameMaker Document.

2 In the Content Settings dialog box, select Convert FrameMaker Table Of Contents, and browse to select the

FrameMaker TOC file.

3 Select one of the following options:

Add To Existing TOC Appends the TOC entries to any existing RoboHelp TOC in the project. Select an existing

RoboHelp TOC from the list.

Create New Associated TOC Enter a name for a new associated TOC that is added to the RoboHelp project.

Styles in the FrameMaker TOC determine which TOC items become books, sub-books, or pages. The most important element in determining the level is the leftmost indent, followed by the font size and font weight. TOC entries that have indented items under them become books in the RoboHelp TOC. If all the TOC entries have the same indention, font size, and weight, the TOC in RoboHelp appears flat.

• To make a heading a main book, include indented heading levels beneath that heading, or use smaller fonts or no bold for the subsumed headings.

• To make a heading a sub-book, place the heading under a main heading. Then include indented heading levels beneath the sub-book heading, or use smaller fonts or no bold for the subsumed headings.

• To make a heading a page, don’t include any heading levels beneath that heading. Indent the page heading, or use smaller fonts or no bold.

Differences between FrameMaker and RoboHelp TOCs

You can either import the FrameMaker TOC or automatically create a TOC in RoboHelp from generated topics.

• In FrameMaker, the TOC is generated according to the heading styles that you include in the TOC. In RoboHelp, the TOC is generated according to the topic titles. If you use topic name markers in FrameMaker to name the topics when you import FrameMaker documents, filenames in RoboHelp differ from the topic titles.

• Autocreating a TOC for a FrameMaker 9 book can create multiple layers of content because of the folder structure in a FrameMaker 9 book.

• In RoboHelp, you can place a TOC placeholder in another TOC, thus allowing you to create nested TOCs.

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Import FrameMaker index entries

RoboHelp creates an index based on the index markers in the document you are importing. However, the index file generated in the FrameMaker book is not imported into the RoboHelp project.

2 Select Convert Index in the Content Settings dialog box, and select one of the following options:

Add To Existing Index Add the FrameMaker index entries to the existing RoboHelp index of the project.

Create New Associated Index Enter a name for a new associated index that is added to the RoboHelp project.

Add To Topic Add the FrameMaker index entries to individual topics in which they appear.

Note: RoboHelp does not have any Project Level setting related to Index type. Index entries can be present in a Project

Index or Topic. FrameMaker linking allows you to select the Index type from the various possible options related to

Indexing. When output is generated from RoboHelp, the index entries present in the topic and the index entries present in the selected (in SSL layout) Index are placed in the output.

Import glossary definitions

RoboHelp creates a glossary based on glossary markers in the document you are importing. The text inside the glossary marker is the glossary term, and the paragraph text that contains the marker is the definition.

2 Select Convert Glossary in the Content Settings dialog box, and select one of the following options:

Add To Existing Glossary Add the FrameMaker glossary to the RoboHelp glossary of the project. You can select the glossary from the list.

Create New Associated Glossary Enter a name for a new associated glossary in the RoboHelp project.

Apply conditions from a Ditaval file

While importing a FrameMaker DITA map, you can apply a Ditaval file. RoboHelp processes the conditions specified in the Ditaval file to filter content for import.

1 Select File > Import > FrameMaker Document and select the FrameMaker DITA map.

2 Select the .ditaval file to apply and click Open.

Converting FrameMaker formats to RoboHelp styles

You can define how the FrameMaker formats are converted to RoboHelp styles at the project level. All FrameMaker format definitions in the FrameMaker document appear in the Conversion Settings dialog box, even if they aren’t used.

You specify the following:

• FrameMaker template used for conversion. This step is optional.

• RoboHelp style sheet for style mapping.

Select a FrameMaker template for conversion

If the FrameMaker document that you are importing is an unstructured FrameMaker book, you can define a single

FrameMaker template for conversion. For example, suppose the documentation set contains a Getting Started Guide,

Installation Guide, User Guide, and an Administration Guide. These documents can have different page layouts and formats in print, none of which is relevant for online output. In such cases, you can define one template that contains format definitions for all documents you want to convert.

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You can then specify this template as the project template, which overrides the formats of individual documents at the

RoboHelp project level. You can also reuse the conversion settings across other projects by exporting the conversion settings.

Click the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box. Select Apply FrameMaker Template Before Import.

Click Browse to select the FrameMaker template you want to use for the project.

Select the CSS for style mapping

You can select the cascading style sheet (CSS) that RoboHelp uses to map the FrameMaker formats to RoboHelp styles.

By default, RoboHelp uses the RHStyleMapping.css file for the project. You can also use a custom CSS. You can later edit the styles either in RoboHelp or in an external CSS editing application such as Adobe® Dreamweaver®.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 Click the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box. Do one of the following:

• Select the CSS file from the CSS For Style Mapping menu.

• Click Add next to the CSS for Style Mapping pop-up menu, and select a CSS file.

Use this option to specify a custom CSS for the project. When you select this option, RoboHelp copies the selected CSS file into the root folder of the project, and uses the selected CSS for style mapping.

Upgrading from RoboHelp 7 to RoboHelp 9

RoboHelp 7 allowed document-level conversion settings for the FrameMaker documents that you added to a

RoboHelp project. With RoboHelp 8, the conversion settings are applied project-wide, allowing you to have a consistent set of conversion parameters. If you are opening a RoboHelp 7 project that had FrameMaker documents added by reference or by copy, you can retain the document-specific settings defined in the RoboHelp 7 project.

When you upgrade a RoboHelp 7 project to RoboHelp 9, you can either retain the earlier document-level settings or convert to the project-level settings supported in RoboHelp 9. After you upgrade your project, you cannot open the project in RoboHelp 7.

You can add or remove documents to an upgraded project with the document-level conversion settings. You can define document-level conversion settings for the newly added FrameMaker documents also. This option allows you to retain the RoboHelp 7 behavior for your upgraded project. However, to take advantage of the enhanced features of

RoboHelp 9 and its integration with FrameMaker, you should upgrade the project completely. For example, RoboHelp

7 provided limited mapping options for autonumbering and list styles. On the other hand, RoboHelp 8 allows you to map complex autonumber formats and multilevel list styles to RoboHelp styles or HTML lists. In RoboHelp 9, list and table import is further enhanced.

Note: You can discard the document-level settings any time, even if you choose to retain them at the time of upgrading.

However, discarding the document-level settings is irreversible.

Retain or discard RoboHelp 7 settings when upgrading

To retain the document-level settings for converting FrameMaker content into your RoboHelp project, you override the project-level settings of the converted project with the document-level settings inherited from the RoboHelp 7 project. By default, RoboHelp allows you to retain the document-level settings by overriding the project-level settings.

Open the RoboHelp 7 project in RoboHelp 9.

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3 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, do one of the following:

• To retain the document-level settings in the upgraded project, select the Override Project Settings At Document

Level option. This is the default behavior.

• To discard the document-level settings and use project-level settings, deselect the Override Project Settings At

Document Level option.

Edit document-level conversion settings

If you retain the document-level settings that override the project-level settings for a project converted from an earlier version of RoboHelp, you can edit these settings.

1 In the Project Manager pod, right-click the added FrameMaker document and select Properties.

2 In the FrameMaker Document Settings dialog box, select the Conversion Settings tab, and set the following.

Apply FrameMaker Conditional Text Build Expression Select to apply conditional text settings before converting the added FrameMaker document.

Convert AutoNumber To HTML List Select to convert the FrameMaker autonumbering to HTML lists in the converted HTML topics.

Context-Sensitive Help Marker Specify the context-sensitive Help marker that RoboHelp should use for generating context-sensitive Help.

User-Defined HTML Tag Select the user-defined HTML tag that you want to use instead of the standard tags in the generated topics.

Note: To select FrameMaker formats on which the user-defined tag must be applied, select the FrameMaker formats from the Project Settings dialog box.

Topic Name Pattern Specify the topic name pattern for topics generated from the added FrameMaker document.

FrameMaker Styles For Pagination Specify the list of FrameMaker paragraph formats on which pagination for online Help topics should be done. You specify the FrameMaker paragraph formats separated by commas.

Note: Pagination is based on FrameMaker paragraph formats.

Hierarchical structure in a FrameMaker 9 book

With FrameMaker 9, you can enforce a hierarchical structure and grouping within the book. You can also include child books within a book, and create folders and groups within a book.

When you link or import a FrameMaker 9 book, the Project Manager pod in RoboHelp shows the FrameMaker book’s hierarchy. When linked or imported into RoboHelp, child books inherit the TOC, index, and glossary from the parent book. See FrameMaker 9 Help for more information.

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Hierarchy of FrameMaker book reflected in the Project Manager pod when you link a FrameMaker book into RoboHelp

Convert FrameMaker cross-reference formats to RoboHelp styles

By default, all cross-reference styles in the source document are used in the generated topics without mapping. Define the mapping of these formats because FrameMaker documents can contain page and volume references in crossreferences that are not relevant to Help formats.

In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

Select a cross-reference format from the Cross Reference group in the Conversion Settings dialog box.

Select a RoboHelp style to map to it, or type the RoboHelp style field to redefine the cross-references in the

FrameMaker document.

5 Double-click a building block to append it to the RoboHelp cross-reference definition.

Content reference

Text or files that you have inserted into the FrameMaker documents as content references appear as part of the topics where they are referenced. They do not appear as references in the online Help outputs. See FrameMaker Help for more information.

Conversion settings

RoboHelp allows you to define project-wide settings for each source type. For all FrameMaker documents, you define the conversion settings only once. Similarly, the conversion settings of Microsoft Word documents remain the same for imported Word documents.

Project-wide conversion settings promote consistency not just in your project but across multiple projects. You can quickly set up a RoboHelp project without having to define individual conversion settings for paragraphs, tables, images, and so on.

These settings include:

• Defining a FrameMaker template

• Cascading style sheets (CSS) for RoboHelp projects

• Style mapping between FrameMaker formats and RoboHelp styles

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• Format conversion settings, image conversion settings, and other settings

Export conversion settings

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 On the Import tab, click Export.

3 Specify a name for the RoboHelp Import Settings file (ISF file) and click Save.

Import conversion settings to a project

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 On the Import tab, click Browse.

3 Select a RoboHelp Import Settings File (ISF file) and click Open.

Pagination for Help

When you link or import a FrameMaker document, you define how the contents of the FrameMaker file are presented as topics in RoboHelp. For example, if the FrameMaker file contains ten topics, with each topic containing subtopics, tasks, and tables, you can set each topic to appear as separate HTML files. If each of these topic headings is at Heading

1 format, you can set each Heading 1 topic to be created as a separate HTML topic. On the other hand, if you set the pagination at Heading 2, separate HTML files are created for each Heading 2 topic.

Even though you can set pagination for any FrameMaker paragraph format, follow these guidelines:

Completeness of content in the topic Ensure that the topic generated contains relevant and complete information for the reader. For example, if you set pagination for Heading 3 level paragraph, it is possible that the topic contains only the task information, without the required contextual information that is covered in another Heading 3 level topic. To avoid such disconnected topics, set the pagination at a higher level so that complete information is available in a single

Help topic.

Drop-down text Ensure that the paragraph format for the drop-down text body is not set for pagination. The

paragraphs applied with this format must accompany the drop-down text caption paragraph format. See “ Optimizing for online output before conversion ” on page 65.

Topic name pattern

When you set heading styles for pagination, the heading text becomes the default filename for the topic file created in

RoboHelp. For example, suppose you define Heading 2 for pagination, and the FrameMaker document has two

Heading 2 topics, “Introduction” and “Beyond basics.” In this case, RoboHelp creates the topics introduction.htm and beyond_basics.htm. Thus, you get intuitively named HTML files that indicate the topic title. In addition to this default scheme, you can define other naming conventions. If the filenames use sequential numbering, such as helptopic001.html and helptopic002.html, you can define the pattern for such conventions.

In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker document.

In the Other Settings tab, select one of the following:

Topic Name Pattern Topics are named according to the selected pattern. You can select one of the following or create a topic name pattern using the Topic Name Pattern building blocks provided by RoboHelp. In addition, you can add standard static text, such as “HelpTopic,” followed by sequential number as the topic name pattern.

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Building block default

<$filename_no_ext>-<$paratext>

<$filename_no_ext>-<n>

<$paratext_no_num>

<$paratext>

Converted topic name pattern

HTML topic generated has the filename consisting of the paragraph text.

HTML topic generated has the filename consisting of the filename of the FrameMaker document without the .fm extension and the topic title, separated by a hyphen. For example, the FrameMaker document named “Chapter.fm” with "1-Introduction" as paragraph text is converted to an HTML topic with the filename "Chapter-1-

Introduction.htm”

HTML topic generated has the filename consisting of the filename of the FrameMaker document without the .fm extension and the paragraph number separated by a hyphen.

For example, the FrameMaker document "Chapter.fm" is converted to an HTML topic with the filename "Chapter-1.htm"

HTML topic generated has the filename consisting of the paragraph text of the paragraph format at which pagination is set, without the paragraph number. For example, a heading

1 paragraph "1. Introduction" is converted to an HTML topic with the filename

"Introduction.htm"

HTML topic generated has the filename consisting of the paragraph text of the paragraph format on which pagination is set. For example, a heading 1 paragraph "Introduction" is converted to an HTML topic with the filename "Introduction.htm"

Topic Name Marker Topics are named after the marker applied in the FrameMaker document. Ideally, you specify the topic name as the marker text, so that topic names reflect their content. If you select this option, the pagination settings applied on the Paragraph Styles pane are ignored. Use this option to precisely control the creation of separate Help topics from the FrameMaker documents.

For example, suppose you define the topic name marker "OnlineHelp" in FrameMaker. You can apply this marker to all paragraphs that begin a new Help topic. To gain maximum flexibility in defining topic titles and topic file names, you can enter the file name and the topic title separate by the pipe symbol (|) as the marker text for each entry in FrameMaker.

Convert context-sensitive Help markers from FrameMaker documents

You can convert the context-sensitive Help markers that you insert in your FrameMaker documents and reuse them as map IDs. You specify the context-sensitive Help marker in the Project Settings dialog box before linking

FrameMaker documents. You can also specify this setting when you import FrameMaker documents. You can work with context-sensitive Help markers in FrameMaker documents in two ways:

Automatic conversion of map IDs from FrameMaker documents You apply context-sensitive Help markers in your

FrameMaker documents, and specify the marker type in the conversion settings. RoboHelp imports the markers from

FrameMaker documents and adds the map IDs from the strings contained in the context-sensitive Help markers.

Manually adding a map ID file If you received map IDs from your development team, you use these map IDs as the context-sensitive Help marker text strings for the marker to be used as context-sensitive Help marker in your

FrameMaker documents. Later, you create a map ID file by associating the map IDs from the development team and the context-sensitive Help marker text you inserted in the FrameMaker documents. You then add this file to the project. When you link or import the FrameMaker documents, you specify the context-sensitive Help marker in the conversion settings.

In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

In the Other Settings group of the Conversion Settings dialog box, enter the Context-Sensitive Help Marker.

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Apply FrameMaker conditional text build expressions

You can apply the Show/Hide settings of the conditional text build expressions to the content in your FrameMaker documents imported into RoboHelp projects. RoboHelp imports the content after applying the Show/Hide settings to the FrameMaker content. Any text that is hidden is not brought into RoboHelp project.

In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

In the Other Settings group of the Conversion Settings dialog box, select Apply FrameMaker Conditional Text

Build Expression.

Converting FrameMaker content

Convert FrameMaker paragraph formats to RoboHelp styles

By default, RoboHelp converts all paragraph formats from FrameMaker to RoboHelp CSS styles, thus retaining the appearance and behavior of the FrameMaker formats in the RoboHelp project. To ensure consistency of the online

Help projects, map the FrameMaker formats to RoboHelp styles and edit them.

In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

On the Conversion Settings panel, select the FrameMaker format from the Paragraph group.

From the RoboHelp Style menu, select the RoboHelp style that you want to map to the FrameMaker format. To retain the appearance of FrameMaker text in the online Help format, select [Source].

To edit the selected RoboHelp style, click Edit Style. See “ Styles and style sheets ” on page 155.

5 Select the properties for the mapped RoboHelp style:

Exclude From Output Select to discard the content in FrameMaker document that is applied with the selected

FrameMaker paragraph format.

Pagination (Split into topics based on this style) Select to create a Help topic at each occurrence for the selected

FrameMaker paragraph format. For example, if you select Heading 1 and Pagination (Split into topics based on this style), RoboHelp starts a new topic at every instance of Heading 1.

User Defined HTML Tag Select or enter a user-defined HTML tag for the selected paragraph format.

If the selected FrameMaker format has auto numbering properties defined, specify how auto numbering is converted.

More Help topics

“ Custom HTML tags ” on page 78

“ Autonumber style mapping ” on page 78

Convert FrameMaker character formats to RoboHelp styles

You can map the FrameMaker character formats to character styles in RoboHelp.

You can also edit the styles in RoboHelp.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

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Select the FrameMaker character format from the left pane of the Conversion Settings dialog box.

Select the RoboHelp character style from the pop-up menu. Optionally, you can do the following:

• To import the FrameMaker character format, select [Source] from the pop-up menu.;

• To edit the selected RoboHelp style, click Edit Style.

• To exclude the text in the FrameMaker document applied with the selected character format, select Exclude

From Output.

• To apply a user-defined HTML tag to the imported text in HTML output, select User Defined HTML Tag, and select the tag from the pop-up menu. You can also enter a new HTML tag. The custom HTML tag for the character format replaces the tag in the generated HTML file.

Exclude a FrameMaker paragraph format from Help topics

You can exclude the content in FrameMaker documents that has a specified paragraph format from the converted output. Use this option to remove content such as special notices that are not required in online output.

In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

In the project settings, select a FrameMaker paragraph format in the left pane.

Click Exclude From Output.

Custom HTML tags

You can define or apply a custom HTML tag instead of the standard tag for paragraph styles and tag for character styles in the HTML output for the formats that you import from FrameMaker. You can define separate

HTML tags for each format in the FrameMaker document.

In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select the user-defined HTML tag option.

Type the name of the custom HTML tag or select an existing tag to use instead of the default HTML tag.

Autonumber style mapping

Choose the conversion setting for converting autonumber formats in the FrameMaker document to the Help format.

If the FrameMaker document contains hierarchical numbered lists, you can choose one of the following:

Ignore Autonumber Choose this option if the autonumber text is relevant only in print format. The converted paragraph does not contain autonumbering. For example, suppose you ignore autonumbering for the FrameMaker paragraph format "Section2 Level." In this case, "Section 1.1: System Requirements" in the source appears as "System

Requirements" in the RoboHelp topic generated.

Convert Autonumber To Text Choose this option to retain the appearance of the FrameMaker numbered lists. The autonumber part loses its sequencing properties and appears as part of the paragraph text in RoboHelp topic.

Convert Autonumber To HTML List Choose this option to convert the autonumber to HTML lists using HTML tags such as <ol>, <ul>, and <li>.

Convert Autonumber To RoboHelp List Choose this option if you want to edit the generated HTML topics in

RoboHelp or use the RoboHelp styles to control the numbering properties.

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List-mapping scenarios

RoboHelp allows you to convert list properties of FrameMaker paragraph formats in several ways. Consider the following scenarios:

FrameMaker numbered list mapped to [Source]

The FrameMaker paragraph format autonumber property converts to a list according the autonumber conversion settings you define for that FrameMaker paragraph format.

Ignore Autonumber The autonumber part of the FrameMaker paragraph format is ignored. The converted paragraph style in the RoboHelp topic doesn't contain the list part.

Convert Autonumber To Text The autonumber part of the FrameMaker paragraph converts to text and appears as paragraph text in the RoboHelp topic.

Convert Autonumber To HTML List Autonumber format converts to list items using HTML tags such as <ol>, <ul>, and <li>.

Converted Autonumber To RoboHelp List Autonumber properties of the paragraph style convert to a RoboHelp list.

Example:

• Create a paragraph style "FM_Para1" in FrameMaker with autonumbering defined as <a+> and apply it to paragraphs. The resulting paragraphs are ordered as "a, b, c, ...."

• Map the FrameMaker paragraph format "FM_Para1" to [Source].

Generated paragraphs in RoboHelp topics have the list style applied to them, where the list has properties similar to those in the source document.

FrameMaker numbered list mapped to RoboHelp unnumbered style

You can map a FrameMaker paragraph format with autonumbering properties to a RoboHelp paragraph style that is not linked to any list style. In this case, the autonumber is converted to a list according to the autonumber conversion settings you define for the paragraph format.

Ignore Autonumber The FrameMaker paragraph autonumber is ignored and doesn't appear in the RoboHelp topic.

However, the paragraph style is mapped.

Convert Autonumber To Text The FrameMaker autonumber part is converted to text and appears as a part of paragraph text in RoboHelp topic. The paragraph style is mapped.

Convert Autonumber To HTML List The FrameMaker paragraph format is converted to HTML list items using HTML tags such as <ol>, <ul>, and <li>.

Convert Autonumber To RoboHelp List The autonumber properties of the FrameMaker paragraph format are ignored. The paragraph style is mapped.

FrameMaker unnumbered format mapped to RoboHelp numbered style

In this case, the converted paragraph has the RoboHelp paragraph style and inherits the RoboHelp list style. The

Autonumber conversion options do not affect the paragraph behavior in the RoboHelp topic.

For example:

• In the FrameMaker document, create a paragraph format "FM_Para 1" without autonumber properties.

• Define a RoboHelp list style "RH_List1" in the RH style mapping CSS.

• Create a paragraph style "RH_Para1" and link the first level of list style "RH_List1" to the paragraph style

"RH_Para1".

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• Map the FrameMaker paragraph style "FM_Para1" to RoboHelp paragraph style "RH_Para1".

The generated paragraph in the RoboHelp topic inherits the properties of the list style "RH_List1".

FrameMaker numbered list mapped to RoboHelp numbered list

The converted paragraph style has the RoboHelp paragraph style and inherits the RoboHelp list style. The

Autonumber conversion options do not affect the paragraph behavior in the RoboHelp topic.

For example:

• In FrameMaker, create a paragraph format "FM_Para1" with autonumbering defined as <a+> and apply it to a paragraph so that the paragraph has an ordered list such as "a, b, c, …."

• Define a numeric list style "RH_List1" in the RoboHelp style mapping CSS with the first level definition as <x>.

• In RoboHelp, define a paragraph style "RH_Para1" and link the first level of list style "RH_List1" to the paragraph style "RH_Para1".

• Map the FrameMaker paragraph format "FM_Para1" to the RoboHelp paragraph style "RH_Para1".

The generated paragraph in the RoboHelp topic inherits the properties of list style "RH_List1" and displays a list of type "1, 2, 3, ...."

Convert FrameMaker table formats to RoboHelp table styles

You can map FrameMaker table formats to RoboHelp table styles. Alternatively, you can import the table formats from the FrameMaker document. You can also edit the table formats in RoboHelp. Cells in the FrameMaker document that are merged (straddled) cannot be unmerged (unstraddled); however, the straddled cells appear merged in the

RoboHelp topic.

If the FrameMaker table formats contained table titles and table footnotes, convert these paragraph formats in

FrameMaker to RoboHelp paragraph styles separately. Decide whether you want to retain automatic numbering in the table title styles and specify the autonumbering properties for the mapped RoboHelp paragraph style. For example, if the table title formats in the FrameMaker documents included the chapter number, such as “Table 2-3: Quarterly

Results”, you can choose to ignore the autonumbering part and have only “Quarterly Results” appear as the table title.

See “ List-mapping scenarios ” on page 79.

In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

Select the FrameMaker table format from the left pane of the Conversion Settings dialog box.

Select the RoboHelp table style from the pop-up menu and click OK. Optionally, to edit the table style in RoboHelp, click Edit Style.

Image conversion settings

Some FrameMaker documents, especially those optimized for high-quality printing through PDF, contain images in

EPS format. Convert EPS images to web-supported image formats such as JPEG, GIF, or PNG for online Help.

You specify the following image conversion settings in the Conversion Settings dialog box:

Use PDF To Generate Images Select this option to generate web-friendly image formats from graphics linked and inserted in FrameMaker documents. You should use this option especially if you have vector graphics formats, such as EPS or AI, or graphics with text content in them.

Preserve 3D Images Select this option to convert the 3D graphics as a PDF file, with the 3D rendering intact within the

PDF file. To ensure that the 3D image retains its rendering, enable embedding in FrameMaker.

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Preferred Dimensions Specify the dimensions for the images. Select one of the following:

• Scale Scale images as a percentage of the existing size. The aspect ratio of the images is maintained.

• Width and Height Specify the absolute image size as Height and Width, in points. Select Maintain Aspect Ratio to ensure that the images are not skewed.

Note: To convert the images in FrameMaker documents to the actual dimensions of the images, specify the height and width as 0pt. The <img> tag for such images in the generated HTML does not have the height and width values. This conversion is irrespective of the dimensions of the anchored frames that contained the images.

• Maximum Dimensions Set the maximum dimensions for images in online format. Images that exceed the maximum dimensions you specify are automatically scaled down to fit the maximum size you specify. If you scale the images and specify an aspect ratio, RoboHelp scales the images within the maximum dimensions specified and maintains the aspect ratio.

Use this option to avoid large images causing the browser window to scroll horizontally or vertically. For example, if you specify the window size to be 800 x 600 pixels, you can specify the maximum dimensions to be 640 x 480, so that the images do not exceed the window size.

Margins Set the margins for the images:

• Set equal margins on all sides by setting the margin in All Sides.

• To set margins on individual sides, set the margins on each side.

Borders Set a border for the images:

• To set a uniform border on all sides, select All from the Border pop-up menu. Alternatively, you can specify the side on which you want the border to appear from the pop-up menu.

• To set the border style, select the style from the Style pop-up menu.

• To set the border color, select the color from the Color pop-up menu.

• To set the border width, select it in, in points, from the Width menu.

Format Define the image format, color depth, and quality settings for the web-supported images that are converted from the images in the FrameMaker document:

• As Is Select this option for retaining the images in the current web-supported format.

• JPG Select this option for multicolor images such as screenshots or photographs. JPG format with a high color depth provides the best online quality, but increases the file size. Select this option for photographs.

• GIF Select this option if the FrameMaker document contains only line art, such as schematic diagrams.

• BMP Select this option for screenshots and other images. BMP files provide good quality at an increased file size.

• PNG Select this option for screenshots.

JPEG Quality Set the quality percentage for JPG images.

Color Bit Depth Set the color bit depth for bitmap images. JPG and PNG formats can have either 8- or 24-bit color depth, while BMP images can be have color bit depths of 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, or 32. GIF images can have only 8-bit color depth.

Grayscale Select this option if you want monochrome images.

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Preserve converted images

RoboHelp converts the images and anchored frames in the FrameMaker documents each time the topics are updated or generated. You can skip updating the images if the corresponding images or SWF files from the corresponding anchored frames are already present in the RoboHelp project. Use this option in the following cases:

• You want to avoid regenerating the images each time the FrameMaker document is updated

• You have edited the images in the RoboHelp project using another image-editing tool, and want to prevent overwriting of the edited images

• You want to preserve the earlier generated image in the RoboHelp project even though the image in the

FrameMaker document has changed

If the order in which the images appear in the document or the image name has changed, you should clear this option and allow RoboHelp to update the images.

❖ In the Image tab of the Conversion Settings dialog box, select Do Not Re-Generate Images.

Create alternate text for images

To create accessible content, create alternate text (ALT text) for images so that visually impaired users can access the content through screen readers. If you link or import completed FrameMaker books into RoboHelp for publication, add alternate text to graphics used in the FrameMaker documents. These entries are not visible in PDF files, but they appear in online content when the mouse hovers over the images. See FrameMaker Help to learn about setting alternate text for graphics and images.

Import a DITA map file

You can import DITA map files or topics in RoboHelp to generate XHTML output. The DITA Open Toolkit processes the information in the DITA map file and provides the XHTML output. RoboHelp reads the XHTML output to generate the XHTML topics, TOC, and index. RoboHelp shows processing information of the DITA Open Toolkit in the Output View pod.

Note: RoboHelp depends on the DITA Open Toolkit to process the DITA map content. RoboHelp does not correct any errors generated by the DITA Open Toolkit. For example, if the DITA Open Toolkit does not generate XHTML 1.0 transitional compliant files, RoboHelp does not generate errors. Therefore, the XHTML topics generated from the import of DITA map file do not contain the meta tag <meta name="generator" content="Adobe RoboHelp - www.adobe.com" />

Note: The XHTML file must have well-formed XML.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File > Import > DITA Map.

• Right-click the Project Files folder in the Project Manager pod. Select Import, and then select DITA Map as the file type.

2 Select a DITA map file. Click Open.

3 In the DITA Open Tool Kit Processing Options dialog box, specify the following options:

Replace Default XSLT File For Conversion Select an XSL file to use for transforming the DITA files to XHTML instead of the default XSL file used by the DITA Open Toolkit. The equivalent parameter for the Ant processing of the DITA Open Toolkit file is args.xsl.

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Use DITA Val For Conditional Processing Specify a DITA Val file to use for conditional processing of the DITA files.

The XHTML is generated based on the Val file. A DITA Val file contains filter, flagging, and revision information.

The equivalent parameter for the Ant processing of the DITA Open Toolkit file is args.filter.

Show Index Entries In The Topics Select to show index entries (marked by <indexterm> in DITA topics) in

RoboHelp topics. The equivalent parameter for the Ant processing of the DITA Open Toolkit file is args.indexshow.

Show Image Filename In Annotation Select to add annotations to images showing the filename of the image or the full path to include in the topics. The equivalent parameter for the Ant processing of the DITA Open Toolkit file is args.artlbl.

Include Draft And Cleanup Content Select to include draft and required cleanup content (items identified as left to do before publishing). The equivalent parameter for the Ant processing of the DITA Open Toolkit file is args.draft.

Select XHTML File To Be Placed In The Header Area (hdf) Select the location of the file containing XHTML to place in the header area of the output file. The equivalent parameter for the Ant processing of DITA Open Toolkit file is args.hdf.

Select XHTML File To Be Placed In The Body Running-header Area (hdr) Select the location of the file containing the

XHTML to place in the body running-header area of the output file. The equivalent parameter for the Ant processing of the DITA Open Toolkit file is args.hdr.

Select XHTML File To Be Placed In The Body Running-footer Area (ftr) Select the location of the file containing

XHTML to place in the body running-footer area of the output file. The equivalent parameter for the Ant processing of the DITA Open Toolkit file is args.ftr.

DITA Open Tool Kit Home Directory Select the absolute location of the home folder of the DITA Open Toolkit.

Specify the valid DITA Open Toolkit home folder. You specify this location only once. It is stored in the registry.

You can change the location.

4 Click Finish.

Note: RoboHelp verifies the location of the selected files but does not validate the files as the DITA Open Toolkit processes all the information.

Import XML files

When you import an XML file into an existing project, RoboHelp creates a topic for the XML file.

In the Project Manager pod, select the file to import into.

Select File > Import > XML File.

Select one or more XML files. Click Open.

Select options in the Select XML Import Handler dialog box.

(Optional) To set advanced options, select Import XML (CSS/XSL).

Click Advanced.

Select an option:

Treat As Text Flow Import the XML file as HTML text without formatting.

Treat As XML Tree View Import the XML file in HTML tree view. HTML imports as code.

Use Customized CSS/XSL File Select a file from the pop-up menu.

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8 Click OK.

Note: If multiple imported topics have the same topic name, this error is due to the XSL file used during the import process. The XSL file used to transform the XML to HTML contains the <title> specified field. Edit the XSL file and reimport the XML file.

Select XML Import Handler

Handler Name The following are predefined handlers:

• Import DocBook As Topics A DocBook file is imported as an HTML topic.

• Import XML (CSS/XSL) If the XML file has an associated style sheet (CSS or XSL file), the file is imported as an

HTML topic. Otherwise, the file is imported as an HTML file without any display control.

Advanced Active if you select Import XML (CSS/XSL). Click for more import options.

Automatically Replace Topic(s) Imported From Previous Session Overwrites old data.

Validate XML Before Import RoboHelp validates the XML file before importing it.

Advanced XML Import Options dialog box

These options are available for importing XML with this handler only if no associated XML style sheet exists.

Treat As Text Flow Imports the XML file as HTML text without formatting.

Treat As XML Tree View Imports the XML file in HTML tree view. HTML imports as code.

Use Customized CSS/XSL File Select the customized file.

Note: You can create and edit customized handler files using the XML Handler Manager and the Handler Description

File (HDF) Editor.

About the XML Handler Manager

Handlers determine how XML is imported. Select one of the predefined handlers or create a custom handler to meet your requirements. You can select a handler when you import an XML file into a project or when you generate XML output.

The XML Handler Manager lists all Handler Description files (HDF files) that have been exported from the HDF

Editor.

Handler Description files (HDF files) Contain individual handlers and the files necessary to perform the XML transformation. The predefined HDF files are organized by type (XHMTL, for example) and contain all related handlers:

DocBook This handler type includes: Import DocBook As Topics, Export Project To DocBook, Export Topics To

DocBook.

XHTML This handler type includes: Import XHMTL (XML), Import XHTML (XHTML), Export Topics To XHTML,

Export Project To XHMTL.

XML/CSS This handler type includes: Import XML (CSS/XSL).

To open an HDF file and view the handlers in it, click the plus box to the left of an HDF file.

Edit After selecting an HDF file (XHTML, for example) or a specific handler, click to open the HDF Editor and edit a handler.

Delete After selecting an HDF file (XHTML, for example), click to delete all handlers in it.

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Import Import an existing handler.

Note: Initially a handler is an HDF file with a subfolder of support files. To bring a handler file from the HDF Editor into this program, export the HDF file as a ZDF file. Use the HDF Editor for this task.

Import Microsoft HTML Help projects

When you import an HHP file, a new RoboHelp project file (XPJ) is created.

Select File > Open.

Select HTML Help Project (*HHP) from the Files Of Type menu.

Navigate to the HHP file and open it.

You can also import FrameMaker (.fm, .book, and .mif) files, Word files (.doc, .docx), PDF files, and XML files.

Note: If you use an HTML editor other than Design Editor to author your content, you can still use RoboHelp for the project.

More Help topics

“ Create a project ” on page 29

“ Third-party HTML editors ” on page 134

Import WinHelp projects

You can import compiled WinHelp 4.0 (HLP) or the WinHelp project file (HPJ) into a project.

The HPJ file is the main organizational file, containing all the source files. When generating WinHelp, RoboHelp creates an HLP file and a CNT file. The HLP file doesn’t contain topics excluded by a conditional build expression, so the new project might not mirror the original.

You can import HLP files to HTML-based projects, but the process is easier if you have the HPJ file.

You can’t output a WinHelp file from RoboHelp HTML.

Import WinHelp Project settings

Pop-ups

Smart Popups Create links that display pop-ups that resize to accommodate content. All HTML formatting is supported.

Regular Hyperlinks Create links that open in the window in which the link appears.

What’s This Help

Text-Only Topic Files Create and save topics in text-only format (TXT). Use this option for What's This? Help topics.

Individual HTML Files Create and save topics as regular HTML topics for window-level context-sensitive Help.

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External topics

Links To External HTML Help Topic Convert external WinHelp topic links to HTML topic links in external CHM files.

Retain Keep External WinHelp Topic Links HTML topics include WinHelp Topic controls. Use this option when linking HTML topics to WinHelp topics.

Images

Converts BMP images into GIFs or JPEGs.

Bullets/Numbering

HHTML Bullets And Numbering (Recommended setting) Convert numbered lists and bulleted lists into their HTML equivalents using Pure HTML tags (<ol>, <ul>, <li>). These lists are auto-numbered or bulleted. Special paragraph formatting used in RTF files is not carried over.

Formatted Text Retain indents, line spacing, and other paragraph formats from RTF files. Convert numbered lists into hard-coded numbered lists. Convert bulleted-list items into hard-coded symbol characters.

Tips:

• Remove hard-coded numbers and bullets and replace with auto-numbered lists and bulleted lists in the Design

Editor.

• Create special bulleted and numbered list styles and apply them to paragraphs after they are converted.

WinHelp folder import options

Folder for HTML files

Do Not Create Subfolder Save all HTML topics at the root of the project folder.

Create Subfolder Save all HTML topics in a subfolder.

Create Folders Based On Source Document Names Create and save HTML topics in subfolders based on the DOC files.

Create Subfolders Based On TOC Structure Create and save HTML topics in subfolders, based on the WinHelp table of contents. Books within books are created as subfolders within folders. All topics not used in the WinHelp table of contents are saved at the root of the project folder.

Folders for images

Do Not Create Subfolder Save all image files at the root of the project folder

Create Subfolder Save all image files in a subfolder

File options

HTML File Extension Save all HTML topics using the extension selected.

Always Use Lowercase Save filename extensions in lowercase letters. Select this option for UNIX® servers.

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WinHelp formatting import options

Work with or without style sheets. Without style sheets, topics format using inline styles. For external style sheets, create new style sheets based on the formatting in WinHelp documents or select a style sheet already in use.

Inline Styles (No External Style Sheets) Convert all formatting into HTML inline styles. This option does not create or apply styles or style sheets to the topics. Formatting is handled on a paragraph-by-paragraph and character-bycharacter basis. Apply styles after importing the project. Manually apply character and paragraph attributes to new topics.

External Style Sheets (One For Each Source Document) Create one style sheet for each DOC file imported.

External Style Sheet Based On One Source Document Create a single external style sheet based on one DOC file. The style sheet uses the same names and formatting as the styles in the WinHelp documents. The HTML topic text is formatted using these styles.

External Style Sheet Based On Existing Style Sheet Link an existing style sheet to all topics. Styles in the DOC files must have a one-to-one relationship to styles in the style sheet, including style names. Apply styles to the paragraphs and characters that use them. With a one-to-one style relationship, styles in HTML topics use the same names and formatting as the styles in WinHelp documents.

WinHelp general import options

Navigation pane

TOC Contents displays books and pages in the table of contents. The index displays keywords.

Glossary Provide definitions for the Help system.

Favorites Create a personalized list of favorite topics.

History See topics viewed previously. Sets options for the navigation pane.

Search:

No Search Select this feature to disable full-text searching.

Regular View a list of topics by title.

Advanced Provide advanced full-text search capabilities including Boolean, wildcard, and nested expressions. Limit the search to previous results, match similar words, or search topic titles only.

Tab Position Select Top, Left, or Bottom.

Default pane

Set options for Help projects.

Websearch Quickly find topics on the web. A WebSearch button is added to the Help viewer.

Create Browse Sequences Transfer WinHelp browse sequences into HTML-based Help.

Ignore Secondary windows Format jumps to display the HTML topics in the viewer.

Note: Display pages from the WinHelp CNT in custom windows. HTML supports jumps from TOC pages to custom windows.

Add Keywords To Selects the location for saving keywords:

Index File (HHK) Save all keywords in a single index file.

Each Topic Save all keywords in the HTML topic files referencing them.

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Note: The project compiles a binary index when keywords are added to HTML topics. Topic keywords are automatically sorted in the index and cannot be cross-referenced. They can link only to local HTML topics. The destination topics can be displayed only in the default Help window.

Advanced

Open the HTML Help Advanced Settings dialog to further customize the viewer.

HLP and HPJ files

When you import compiled WinHelp 4.0 files, RoboHelp does the following:

• Creates an HTML-based project. Information in the HLP or HPJ file is used to create the project file (HHP) and a

RoboHelp project file (XPJ).

• Creates HTML topics. Information in the HPJ file is used to create an HTML Help file and a RoboHelp project file

(XPJ). Open the project to open the XPJ file. A separate HTML topic is created for each WinHelp topic. These files are saved in the HTML Files (Topics) folder.

• Converts WinHelp graphics to HTML images. WinHelp bitmap files (BMP, MRB) and metafiles (WMF) convert into Graphic Interchange Format files (GIF). Images that are right-aligned are left-aligned in the HTML topics.

Modify the size and placement of these images in the Design Editor.

• Converts hotspot images into image maps. WinHelp hotspot images (SHG files) convert to HTML image maps

(GIF).

• Converts WinHelp navigation to HTML navigation. WinHelp jumps convert into HTML hyperlinks. WinHelp pop-alls convert to smart ups. Browse sequences also convert. Mid-topic jumps are maintained.

• Maintains authorable buttons. Authorable text buttons, mini buttons, and graphic buttons all convert and work in the HTML topics. Modify authorable buttons in the Design Editor. Authorable buttons are known as Link Controls and HTML Help controls.

• Creates an HTML table of contents. An HTML Help table of contents (HHC file) is created from the WinHelp contents file (CNT). Modify the table of contents in the TOC Composer.

• Creates an HTML index. An HTML Help index (HHK file) is created that includes the same keywords as in

WinHelp. A new index includes keywords that match jumps in the topic.

The RTF files are used to create an HTML index that includes the same keywords. Modify keywords in the Index

Designer and use the Smart Index wizard to automate indexing tasks.

Note: This information doesn’t apply to every HLP or HPJ project.

HTML projects from WinHelp: Frequently asked questions

Will WinHelp macros work in the HTML project?

All WinHelp macros with HTML counterparts are converted and included in the HTML project. Non-standard

WinHelp macros with no HTML equivalent are not converted.

Can HTML topics open in custom windows as in WinHelp?

You can format books and pages in the TOC to display destination topics in custom windows or frames. Microsoft

HTML Help does not support links to custom windows, though you can format these links to use pop-up note windows and frames.

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Can I use tabs in HTML topics?

HTML does not support tabs and converts them to spaces. Use tables instead to position text in HTML.

How can I add spaces to position text in HTML topics?

You can edit topics in the RoboHelp HTML Editor and add non-breaking spaces to position text. However, display issues can occur if the Help window is resized. Consider using tables instead to position text in HTML.

Tables convert into HTML topics, but the columns do not resize properly and a horizontal scroll bar appears.

Use the Design Editor to resize cells and tables.

How can I fix incorrectly formatted bullet lists?

You can remove broken bitmap references from topics and use HTML bulleted styles, and adjust hanging indents. You can also use the Formatted Text option to import paragraph formatting from Word documents.

My WinHelp topics use manually numbered lists with {SEQ} fields. What happens to these fields?

HTML does not support {SEQ} fields, but recognizes number sequences and converts the lists into numbered paragraphs. You can delete these numbers and apply an HTML numbered style to the list.

What happens to nonscrolling regions?

HTML projects do not support nonscrolling regions, and the tri-pane output window does not need them.

The background in the Design Editor is gray, but in the preview window is white. How can I make the background always white?

The style sheets use a gray background (the HTML default), while the preview window uses a background specified by

your browser. To change the style sheet background, see “ Use color and images ” on page 163.

When I click a hyperlink, an error says the system cannot open the site or find the path. What does this mean?

The link is to a non-existent file or a topic in a DOC or WinHelp Help file not included in the project.

After I create the HTML project, is it ready to distribute?

Open the HTML project in RoboHelp, review the topics, TOC, index, and so forth. Preview the topics and test the links.

Will context-sensitive topics transfer into an HTML project?

What's This? topics in RoboHelp for Word can convert into text-only topics. Dialog box level topics can convert into individual HTML topics for use as window-level Help in RoboHelp.

Import a WinHelp HLP file into an HTML project

1 In the Starter pod, click More under Import.

Select WinHelp (*.hlp) and click OK.

In the Help-To-HTML wizard, define options for your HTML project.

Click Browse, navigate to the HLP file, and open it.

Click Next. Set up File options:

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Desired Result

Specify a hard drive and folder for saving the HTML project and image (GIF) files (use the same folder for both).

Limit the length of the HTML files to eight characters.

Actions

Click Browse and navigate to the drive/folder to select it. Or enter the name of the folder in the text box.

Select Short Filenames. (Enter the first three characters in Prefix if you want the filenames to use similar naming conventions.)

Enter the name of the start page in Start Page Name.

Distribute the HTML project as uncompiled HTML Help (not using

Adobe WebHelp)

Distribute the project as compiled Microsoft HTML Help or crossplatform Help using Adobe WebHelp, JavaHelp, or Oracle Help output.

6 Click Next. Set up Style options:

Desired Result

Format HTML topics without attaching style sheets to them.

Do not enter information in Start Page Name.

Format HTML topics to look exactly like the WinHelp topics.

Attach a custom style sheet to all HTML topics.

Actions

Select <No Stylesheet>. All topics use default HTML styles, gray background, black serif font.

Select <Embedded>. Style sheets are not attached to topics. All formatting is embedded in individual topics. The topic title is

Heading 1 style. All other text (regardless of the styles used in

WinHelp) is in Normal style.

Click Browse and navigate to the drive/folder where the style sheet file (CSS) is located to select it.

7 Click Next. Set up HTML Help options:

Desired results

Specify where the Contents, Index, and Search tabs are displayed in the viewer.

Convert your WinHelp pop-up windows into standard HTML links.

8 Click Finish.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Actions

Select Top, Side, or Bottom.

Deselect Display Popups In An Active pop-up window.

Tips:

• If you link a style sheet to your HTML topics, a generic style sheet file called StylesCSS is created and added into your project folder. You can modify the styles in this style sheet at any time.

• If you select Convert Numbered lists, all WinHelp topics that use numbered lists retain the numbered list formatting in the HTML topics.

HTML limitations with HLP files

Bullets Make sure that the WinHelp topics do not use bitmap references as bullets. You can select an option to keep bulleted lists. This option applies only to topics that use bullet characters and not images. If you use images, the HTML output might not include hanging indents.

HTML jumps Jumps to HTML pages are not converted. You can easily re-create the links in the Design Editor after the

HTML topics are created.

Jumps to external WinHelp topics Jumps to external WinHelp topics are stripped out of the HTML topics. If you are using WinHelp projects (especially master projects) that include external jumps, use the HPJ file instead of the HLP file.

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Macros, buttons, and shortcuts These macros convert: Jump Context, JumpId, and PopupId. Other macros are not converted. Jump Context macros that send output to a window do not convert because links that send output to custom windows are not supported. Only buttons convert for Popup Context macros. Graphic buttons retain their images, but the button is not included.

Microsoft Word HTML styles Microsoft Word HTML styles are not used to format the HTML topics.

Microsoft Word templates Word templates that are used to format RTF files in WinHelp are not converted to HTML style sheets.

Mid-Topic jumps Mid-topic jumps are converted to bookmarks. The bookmark name does not use the mid-topic jump topic ID that was created in WinHelp. Instead, it is assigned a sequence of numbers so that it can be read in the HLP file.

Multimedia files (AVI and WAV) These files cannot be converted with HLP files. You can add sound and video to

HTML topics in the Design Editor. HTML topics can use AVI, AU, MID, RMI, WAV, and other files.

Non-scrolling regions HTML-based output does not support non-scrolling regions.

Numbered lists Numbered lists use a 12-point serif font by default. You can create a numbered list style and use it to reformat numbered lists.

Related Topics buttons Related Topics keywords are translated into Related Topics terms. You see customizable buttons when you view the topics.

Secondary windows WinHelp secondary windows are not translated. Unlike WinHelp topics, HTML topics do not support links that display information in secondary windows. You can design custom windows in RoboHelp and use them to display topics selected from Related Topics buttons, Keyword Link controls, See Also controls, the table of contents, and the index.

Table of contents The HTML TOC file (HHC) does not support WinHelp pages that link to external WinHelp topics or reference macros or that contain link statements. You can link HTML TOC items to HTML topics, web and e-mail addresses, FTP sites, newsgroups, and multimedia.

What's This? Help Context-sensitive Help is not converted. What's This? Help-style topics or dialog topics are converted into regular HTML Help topics. You can import map files and assign map IDs for the window-level Help topics. For What's This? Help, you can re-enter the text from these HTML Help topics into a text-only dialog box and create text-only topics. You can also import context-sensitive Help created with the What's This? Help Composer into your HTML Help projects. If you use the HPJ file, you can transfer the context-sensitive Help topics into HTML Help.

Microsoft Word formatting Formatting that is not converted in the HTML topics includes underlining, paragraph spacing, indents, alignments, table borders, spreadsheets, background colors, and watermarks.

Tips for creating HTML projects with HLP files

• Help files for Windows 3.x and 95 and later are supported.

• HTML topics cannot use styles and formatting from the WinHelp project. All topic titles are formatted to the

Heading 1 style and the rest of the topic is formatted to the Normal style.

• Embed the formatting when selecting style options. Instead of attaching a style sheet, the HTML topics are formatted to closely resemble the formatting used in the WinHelp topics.

• A style sheet is not required. It can be created after generation.

• If the entire WinHelp project is available, create the HTML project using the HPJ file rather than the HLP file.

Import a WinHelp HPJ file into an HTML project

1 Select File > New > Project.

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Click the Import tab.

Select WinHelp Project. Click OK.

Click the browse button, and select the HPJ file to import. Click Next.

Specify the output folder and filename.

Under Choose Source Document(s), select the Word documents you want to import.

Click Finish or click Next to step through the remaining steps in the wizard.

Tips for creating HTML projects with HPJ files

• To ensure that the HTML project suits your preferences, review the steps before you start.

• All files referenced by the WinHelp project (HPJ) must be in the locations you specify before you generate the project files.

• You can create a single style sheet and apply it to all topics or use different style sheets for different topics.

• WinHelp topics can use a combination of defined styles and manual character and paragraph formatting. If so, create style sheets that use the same styles from the WinHelp topics to retain the special formats.

• You can select an existing style sheet that you use with other HTML projects. Make the style names in the WinHelp topics identical to the style names in the style sheet. Also, format the paragraphs in the WinHelp topics to use these styles. Otherwise, you'll have to apply styles from the style sheet to paragraphs in the HTML topics after the project is generated.

• You do not have to use a style sheet at all. The HTML topics include the formatting from the DOC files (as inline styles which are individually formatted paragraphs and characters). You can always create styles and apply them to topics after the HTML project is created. (If your project is large, do use style sheets to create the HTML topics.

When you revise the styles, the topics are automatically updated.)

• Run a small test project to become familiar with the options. Experiment with different options until you get the

HTML output you want.

• If you are generating a large project, decide how you want to organize it beforehand. In HTML, you have one

HTML topic file for each WinHelp topic. You have several options for organizing these files. You can save them at the root of the project folder or in a subfolder. You can create subfolders based on the DOC filenames and save the corresponding topics in them. Finally, you can save topics based on their use as pages in the table of contents.

(Folders are created for each book and subfolders are created for sub-books in your CNT file.)

• Often a project is used in combination with several other WinHelp projects (for example, as a master project). If so, create HTML projects with each HPJ file separately so that all the links work.

• After the project is generated, you often want to make a few changes to the style sheet. By default, it uses a gray background. You can change it to white by changing the document properties for the style sheet.

Adding projects to version control

Note: Authors must use the "Add to Version Control" command from within the RoboHelp authoring client app itself when adding a new project to version control. Do not add the folders and files within the RoboSource Control Explorer interface, as this might cause file corruption.

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About version control

RoboHelp works with version control software to check out files automatically (if already not in use) when you begin editing and tracks their use. You can also view files by opening them from version control without checking them out.

To work with RoboHelp, your version control software must support the Microsoft SCC API. You can use Adobe

RoboSource Control (installed with RoboHelp) or a third-party package. Either way, you perform version control tasks from within RoboHelp.

Read the following articles if you plan to integrate RoboHelp projects with Microsoft Team Foundation Server or

Subversion:

• Integrating RoboHelp projects with Team Foundation Server

• Integrating RoboHelp projects with Subversion

When you finish with a file, you can check it into version control, or let the program check in all files when you close the project. Once your changes are checked in, other authors can access them. You can also set RoboHelp to automatically check in files when you close the project.

Note: If you cannot check out a file, check if one or more files is checked out by another user. Or, check if the file is not in version control.

Many topics are linked to other topics, or part of the TOC, index, and browse sequences. When you modify a file or change the project structure, RoboHelp automatically checks out all affected, dependent files (if available). When you move a file, the author is prompted to check out the source and destination folders.

To turn off prompts when performing version control tasks manually, deselect the option on the Version Control tab

(Select Tools > Options). Files are then checked out automatically. Files not selected in the list cannot be checked out.

RoboHelp shows which files you must check out and whether they are already checked out.

Note: RoboHelp checks out all the dependent files automatically.

To undo any changes in the checked out copy of a version-controlled file, undo the checkout of the file listed. Then return to the latest copy from version control. This Undo Check Out command discards changes to the local file copy.

Version control safeguards files as you work, provides revision tracking, makes backups, and can provide file sharing and organization. All files added to a project under version control are automatically added to version control and checked out. All files removed from a project are automatically removed from version control, though file history is retained.

You can perform version control tasks from project panes: Right-click the file, select a command, select the file, and click a Version Control toolbar button. Or, select the file and then select an option from File > Version Control.

Apply version control

1 Install version control software that supports the Microsoft SCC API.

2 Work with your network administrator to address user access. See your version control software documentation.

3 Add the project to version control.

Access version control options in pods

File status pod Select View > Pods > File Status. Shows the list of files for file status and version control tasks. The

Version Control toolbar provides access to version control tasks.

Topic list pod Select View > Pods > Topic List. Use to open, view, and sort topics.

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Project Manager pod Select View > Pods > Project Manager. Displays file icons. A red check mark indicates that a file is checked out.

Note: The RoboHelp user interface is optimized for RoboSource Control, Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2005, and

Microsoft Visual SourceSafe.

Version control FAQs

How does version control work?

A Help project includes topics, graphics, style sheets, TOC, windows, and other components, each with its own file so authors can work on components independently.

How can multiple authors use version control?

• Edit project components while authors edit other components.

• View project components even while they are being worked on.

• Get the latest changes (after authors check in files).

• Configure and use version control from RoboHelp. (Using version control on your project outside RoboHelp is not recommended.)

Can single-user projects use version control?

Yes, to use revision tracking, and to centralize projects onto a network for backup.

Are multiuser checkouts OK?

Multiuser checkouts are not recommended.

Where can I set version control options for RoboHelp?

Click Tools > Options > Version Control.

Will I need my version control program outside RoboHelp?

When removing files or folders from your project, remove them from version control also. Also use your version control software to create user accounts or set program properties. You can open version control from RoboHelp.

Should I check out the project file (XPJ) to edit the project?

You don’t have to check out the XPJ file when editing. You check out the XPJ file only if you edit project settings.

Are items added to the project also added to version control?

Yes. New topics are added immediately; new folders are added when you save the project. When you rename a file or folder, it is not renamed in version control. The new item is added, but the original item remains with its old name.

Remove the item by going into version control.

Save your project whenever you add files, but be sure to check files back in to add changes to version control. Changes saved to your local hard drive aren’t added.

Are items removed from the project removed from version control?

Files are removed from version control as you delete them. Renamed items are added under their new name, but the old version remains under its old name.

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Where are the latest changes made by the team?

You can get the latest file versions (checked in by other users) when you open the project, or manually.

How can I add output files to version control?

If others need access to your output files, add them to version control.

Add a RoboHelp project to version control

When you add a RoboHelp project to version control, create a database connection when you first connect to

RoboSource Control. RoboHelp uses this connection to access the database. See Adobe RoboSource Control Help for more information.

Open the project in RoboHelp HTML.

Choose File > Version Control > Add To Version Control.

Select RoboSource Control and click OK.

If you are connecting to the RoboSource Control database for the first time from your computer, go to step 5 to create a connection. If you have connected previously, verify that the correct connection is selected in the

Connection list. Then skip to step 9.

5 From the Connection list, select Create.

6 Do one of the following:

• If the RoboSource Control Server software is on your computer, select the database connection from the list on the left

• If the RoboSource Control Server is on a server, complete the following fields:

Connection Name Enter any name to identify the database from RoboSource Control Client. If you want, you can use the database name.

Server Enter either the IP address or the unique name of the server on your local network.

Database Enter the name of the database exactly as you entered it in the Create Database dialog box.

7 Click Create And Connect.

Connect to RoboSource Control.

In the Configure Source Control dialog box, click the Browse button next to the Root Path field.

10 If prompted, enter the same password that you entered to log in.

Note: When the Login dialog box is hidden behind the RoboHelp window, your screen appears to be frozen. Use

Alt+Tab to view the Login dialog box.

11 Click the root node $ to select it, click OK, and then click Yes in the displayed message.

All your RoboHelp project files are now copied to the server-based database, and all the files are flagged as checked out to you. When you close the project, you are prompted to check the files into the database. If you answer Yes, all the files are checked in.

Note: An additional File Status pod is displayed in the RoboHelp user interface. This pod lists all the project files that are under version control and the status of each (checked in or out). Further documentation is installed with RoboSource

Control. This help file is accessed from within the RoboSource Control Explorer application.

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File check-in/check-out

When you begin to modify a project file in RoboHelp, the topic file is checked out from version control (if not in use).

If a project has dependent files, RoboHelp asks to check them out. If some are already checked out, ask users to check them in.

Merging Help projects

About merged Help projects

Using RoboHelp, you can create projects in an enterprise or distributed setup where different documentation projects feed into a common project. You can achieve multi-authoring without using source-control software because multiple writers can work on their individual projects and you merge them to create the common project. By using skins and templates in the common project, you can achieve a unified appearance in the merged projects.

The merging takes place at run time, after the projects are generated. Before merging the projects, you simply place references to other projects inside a master project (the master project does not actually contain the child projects).

You insert each reference in the master project's table of contents, placing it where you want the TOC of the child project to appear. This step gives you control over where end users access the child project and gives the appearance of a single, unified Help system. End users see a single online system complete with a table of contents, an index, fulltext search, a glossary (in WebHelp projects), and link controls.

Important: The child projects must not have content categories.

Merging multiple projects involves these steps:

•

Create a master project with references to child projects in the TOC. See “ Create a master project ” on page 97.

•

Publish the child projects. See “ Publish child projects ” on page 98.

Note: For master projects having the Adobe AIR Application output type, publish the child projects as browser-based

Adobe AIR Help.

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Browser based Help output type selection

•

(Adobe AIR Application output type only) Regenerate the output of the master project. See “ Configure the Adobe

AIR layout ” on page 284.

Note: WebHelp Pro and FlashHelp Pro projects are automatically published by RoboHelp Server.

Create a master project

This procedure applies to HTML Help, WebHelp, FlashHelp, Adobe AIR Application, and browser-based Adobe AIR projects.

1 Create the master project and the projects that you want to merge.

For ease of maintenance, the master project should ideally be an empty container or only have a default topic. The child projects should store all the content. For more information, see Which project works best as the master project?

in “ FAQs about merging projects ” on page

2 Open the master project. In the default topic, add the content that you want to display on the home page of the merged Help.

3 Select a skin. The skin of the master project is used as the skin of the merged Help.

4 Do one of the following:

• Select the default TOC of the master project from the Project Manager pod.

• Create a TOC for the master project.

5 To insert child projects, place your cursor in the TOC.

On the TOC pod, click the New Merged Project icon.

Do one of the following:

• For HTML Help projects, click the HTML Help tab in the Merged project dialog box.

• For WebHelp/FlashHelp/Adobe AIR projects, click the WebHelp/FlashHelp/Adobe AIR tab.

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8 Do one of the following:

• For HTML Help projects, select a CHM file that is already in the current project folder or browse to the location of the CHM file.

An icon with the filename is displayed in the TOC pod where you inserted the child projects. The filename is the format <CHM file> .chm::/<CHM file>.hhc. The HHC file represents the TOC of the merged CHM file. This icon appears where the TOCs of the child projects occur in the merged project. If needed, you can drag the icon to another location in the TOC and drop it into place.

• For WebHelp/FlashHelp/Adobe AIR projects, enter the name of a RoboHelp project (XPJ) or click Open to browse to the project file.

In case of WebHelp/FlashHelp/Adobe AIR projects, the placeholder appears as the name of the project.

9 Generate the master project.

When a project having merged project references in its TOC is generated, a folder "mergedProjects" appears in the

SSL output folder. The mergedProjects folder contains a folder for each referenced child project. In the case of

WebHelp/FlashHelp/Adobe AIR, the corresponding child project has to be generated in its own folder.

Note: The name mergedProjects is reserved. Do not give any folder in the project folder the name mergedProjects.

10 In the Result dialog, click View to see the results and test the merged project.

Notes:

• Merged HTML Help projects use non-binary contents files (HHC). The names of the compiled output file (CHM) and contents file (HHC) cannot include spaces. (To find out if they have spaces, look at them in your project folder in Windows Explorer. Do not rename the files in Windows Explorer, however.) If either of the filenames has spaces, open the project and rename the project file. Then, generate the project and change the name of the output file

(CHM file). The HHC filename is updated automatically when you change the project name.

• Do not assign the Binary TOC feature to your project. If you do, the external TOCs are not displayed in the

Contents tab in the HTML Help viewer.

• If you generate a WebHelp/FlashHelp/Adobe AIR output using a skin, the skin from the master project overrides the skin of the child project in the merged project. If you access the projects individually outside the merged project, the project-specific skin is used.

• If you need to add cross-project links, make sure you set up the folder structure for source projects in the same way as the folder structure of the generated and published files.

Otherwise, while hyperlinking, you need to manually construct the URL based on the folder structure of the generated and published files and specify in the Link To text box. For detailed steps, see this article .

Publish child projects

This procedure applies to Microsoft HTML Help, WebHelp, FlashHelp, Adobe AIR Application, and browser-based

Adobe AIR projects.

After you create the master project, publish the child projects to place them in the correct location. Publishing the projects enables you to view them together at run time. You can maintain child projects at different locations and merge them at a different location. You can publish the merged project to a corporate intranet, an Internet site, a local hard disk, or a network or FTP server. The output files of the merged project are stored only at the published site and not at individual child project locations.

1 Open a child project.

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2 Right-click the layout in the Single Source Layouts pod and select Generate.

Note: In the case of master projects having the Adobe AIR Application output type, select the output type Browser

Based Help for each child project.

3 For master projects having the Adobe AIR Application output type, select the output type Browser Based Help for the child project.

4 Display Publish settings.

• (Adobe AIR/WebHelp) Click the Publish tab in the layout properties dialog box.

• (FlashHelp/Microsoft HTML Help) Click Next until the Publish dialog box is displayed.

5 Specify a destination. For example,

[master_project_folder]/SSL!/[layout_name]/mergedProjects/[child_project_name] or

//servername/mergedProjects/[child_project_name].

6 Click Save And Generate. The layout is generated.

7 On the Result dialog box, click Publish.

When the process is complete, a dialog box displays statistics about the publishing process and a list of files published.

Click Close.

View the master project from its published location to see the merged Help.

View merged Help projects

1 To view the merged Help system from the local copy of the master project (instead of the published location), copy

WebHelp files of child projects to the master project's mergedProject\<ProjectName> folder.

Note: To run browser-based Help from a local drive, the installation folder must be added in the list of trusted folders

defined in the RoboHelp.cfg file of in the FlashPlayerTrust folder. See “ Distribute Adobe AIR output ” on page

2 Right-click the layout in the Single Source Layouts folder and select View. If you use this method, be sure not to use the Republish All option in the master project, which could potentially overwrite newer child project files on the network or server.

Remove merged child projects

1 To remove a merged Help project, click Delete in the TOC pod. The child project icon is removed. Regenerate (and publish if applicable) the master project to remove the child project from the output. For WebHelp projects, publish the child projects for the change to take effect.

2 Removing a child project from a master project does not remove it from a location to which it was published. Use another tool to remove the old files or remove them manually.

Customize merged WebHelp/FlashHelp Pro projects

RoboHelp Server automatically merges multiple WebHelp/FlashHelp Pro projects. The projects appear in the table of contents in alphabetical order. To nest a project TOC within the TOC of another project, you can rearrange the projects in the table of contents. You can ask your server administrator to change the order of the projects for you in

RoboHelp Server, or you can customize the projects yourself.

1 Ask your server administrator to deselect the Automatically Merge All Projects option in the Projects tab of the

RoboHelp Server (Web Admin interface).

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Open the master project. Select any project as the master or select a blank project as a master project.

In the TOC pod, click the New Merged Project icon. The Merged Project dialog opens.

In Project Name, type a WebHelp/FlashHelp Pro project (XPJ) name. Or, click Open to browse to the project file.

A reference to this project is inserted in the TOC of the current project where you clicked.

5 Click OK. An icon with the project name is displayed in the TOC where you inserted the child project. The icon is a placeholder indicating where the TOC of the child project appears in the merged project. If needed, you can drag the icon to another location in the TOC and drop it into place.

Generate all the projects to update any changes.

Publish the master project.

View the merged project from the server.

FAQs about merging projects

This information applies to Adobe AIR, WebHelp, and Microsoft HTML Help projects.

Master projects

Which project works best as the master project?

A blank project with no topics as a container for the child projects works best as the master project. If you need to include content in the master project, avoid creating cross-project links.

The TOC of the master project can consist of references to child projects only. The TOCs of the child projects appear in the output.

Can the master project include content categories?

Yes, the master project can include any number of content categories. However, the child projects must not have content categories.

How many child projects can the master project reference?

There is no limit to the number of child projects that you can reference in the master project.

Can a master project be a child project of another master project?

Yes. For example, Project A can be a master project referencing Project B, and it can also be added as a child project of Project C. Here are examples for each output type:

For WebHelp projects: To use Project A as a child project, publish it to the \mergedProjects\ folder of Project C.

For HTML Help projects: To use Project A as a child project, add the CHM file to Project C and generate the merged projects.

Where do I place the child project in the TOC?

You can place the child project anywhere in the TOC of the master project (as a subbook or a top-level book). After inserting the child projects into the TOC, you can drag them to the selected location in the TOC. However, you cannot separate or divide the child project TOC in the master TOC. The TOC of the child project appears in its entirety where you place it.

Does generating or publishing the master project update the child projects?

No. To update a child project in the merged Help system, generate the child project. In WebHelp projects, also publish the child projects to the correct folder.

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Features

Do I need to merge the index separately?

No. The updated merging function of RoboHelp merges the index automatically.

What happens if the merged projects have identical index keywords, glossary terms, or link controls?

• Index keywords

Identical index keywords are combined at run time. For example, if project A and project B both have the index keyword "Installation," this keyword contains all the topics and subkeywords for both projects.

• Glossary terms

In WebHelp projects, if the same term is used in the master project and the child projects, the definitions are combined at run time (if different, the definitions are placed on separate lines in the "Definition for" pane).

In HTML Help projects, if the same term is used in the master project and the child projects, the definition in the master project replaces the child project definition.

• See Also keywords

• In WebHelp, identical See Also keywords are not combined at run time. Each project uses its own See Also keywords. For example, even if Project A and Project B both use the keyword "Setup," topics displayed are for the individual projects only.

• In HTML Help, identical See Also keywords are combined at run time.

Can you merge browse sequences?

No, browse sequences are not merged. However, all the browse sequences defined in each merged project are available in the merged Help.

How is conditional text handled?

Child projects generated with a conditional build expression are supported in the master project. For example, if a child project defines a conditional build expression to exclude Tag A, all topics and topic content with Tag A applied are excluded from the child project and the master project.

For HTML Help projects, are links to external topics retained?

For merged HTML Help projects, index keywords, TOC books and pages, and HTML topics can all link to external topics in any of the CHM files that are included in the master project. (Remote topics are not supported in WebHelp.)

WebHelp projects

How do I distribute merged WebHelp projects?

Publish merged WebHelp projects to an intranet or a web address, a local or network drive, or an FTP server.

Where do I publish the projects?

Although you publish the master project where you normally would, the child projects are published to a special location.

What happens to references to child projects that are not published?

If you add a child project to the master project but do not publish it, the child project is not displayed when the master project is published.

HTML Help projects

What type of index should I use?

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The master project must have an index or the merged index is empty. To merge CHM files, your master project needs to have a binary index when it is generated. With a binary index, all the keywords from the child projects are merged, alphabetically sorted, and saved in the index file (HHK) of the master project. Binary format is ideal because it is highly compressed, takes up less space, and is faster to load. Index files in the child projects do not have to be in the binary format.

Set the Binary index option to the master project before merging the projects.

How do I distribute merged HTML Help projects?

Distribute the CHM files for all the projects, and save them in the same folder as the master project. When you merge projects, the CHM file of the child project is copied to the folder of the master project. Whenever you update and generate the child project, copy the updated CHM file to the master project folder.(You can do this using Windows

Explorer.) Distribute the most current versions of all CHM files.

Adobe AIR projects

How do I distribute merged Adobe AIR Application projects?

An Adobe AIR Application project is a single .air file. To distribute this .air file, copy the file from the output location to the required shared location.

How do I run merged browser-based Adobe AIR Help from a local folder?

Add the output folder in the list of trusted folders defined in the RoboHelp.cfg file in the FlashPlayerTrust folder. See

“ Distribute Adobe AIR output ” on page 321.

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Reports

Export project reports

1 Click Tools > Reports. Select report type.

Customize the report.

Click Save As.

Browse to the location where you want to save the file.

Enter a name for the file.

From the Save As Type list, select RTF or TXT.

Click Save.

Print reports

1 Select Tools > Reports.

2 Select the report type.

Customize report options.

Click Print.

Print the table of contents or index from the TOC pod or Index pod. Select File > Print.

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Send reports

You can share reports with others by sending the content as an e-mail message.

1 Select Tools > Reports.

Select the report type. The Reports dialog box appears.

Use the options available to customize the report. (Not all reports are customizable.)

Click Mail To.

Your e-mail program creates a message and the report information is added as the content of the message. Edit this text and add information as you would any other e-mail message.

5 Address and send your e-mail.

Note: If you need assistance using the Mail To feature (for example, your system prompts you to set up a profile), contact your e-mail administrator.

Generate and customize reports

All reports are available from Tools > Reports.

Broken links report

This report (available from Tools > Reports > Broken Links) finds files that contain broken links. This report is not customizable.

Notes:

• In a multi-author, version-controlled environment, ensure that you don’t link to topics that have been moved, renamed, or removed. These links will be broken.

• For a version control project, have one person test the latest version for broken links before releasing the final output.

Conditional Build Tag report

This report provides information about usage of topic-level, content-level, and TOC-level build tags in the entire project.

It displays a summary of the project. It identifies the conditional build tags used in the project. For each tag, it shows the detailed path of all topics in which the tag is used.

1 Select Tools > Reports. Select Conditional Build Tags. The Reports dialog box appears, with the Build Tags tab selected, displaying the Conditional Build Tag report.

By default, the report sorts the tags by Build Tag Name.

2 (Optional) To change the sort order, select Options. The Build Tag Report Option dialog box appears.

Select Topic, TOC, And Index Name.

Click OK. You can view the tags usage report sorted by Topic, TOC, and Index Name.

Index report

1 Select Tools > Reports > Index.

2 To customize, select from the following options:

Keywords Includes all keywords from the index.

Keywords And Topics Contains a list of keywords. Each keyword lists the topics that use it. You can discover if keywords are not linked to any topics and identify topics to remove from keywords.

Topics And Keywords Contains a list of topics. Each topic lists the keywords associated with the topic. You can identify missing keywords, inconsistent phrasing, and keywords to remove from topics.

Select Index Select an Index from the list to generate a report for the index selected.

Duplicate Map IDs report

Each map number in your project must be unique. Use this dialog to remove duplicate map IDs.

If your project includes context-sensitive Help, make all map numbers in your map files unique. If some map files use the same map numbers, the Duplicate Map IDs tab identifies them for you.

Note: If duplicate map IDs exist in your project, some of your context-sensitive Help topics might not work properly.

❖ Select Tools > Reports > Duplicate Map IDs.

Use this report to test your help project. With the RoboHelp BugHunter tool, you can test map numbers and topics.

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External Topics report

The External Topics report (Tools > Reports > External Topics) includes data on these topics:

• URLs

• Links to HTML topics in other CHM files

• FTP addresses

• Newsgroup addresses

• E-mail addresses

Tips:

• Use this report to test your links.

• Share this report with authors who use these URLs.

Glossary report

1 Select Tools > Reports > Glossary.

2 Select one of these options from the Reports menu:

Detailed Lists Terms and definitions

Overview Lists Terms without definitions

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The glossary report is shown for the glossary selected.

Images report

❖ Select Tools > Reports > Images. The Image report appears.

View An Alphabetized List Of Images Grouped under each image is a list of all topics that use it.

View An Alphabetized List Of Topics Grouped under each topic is a list of all images they include.

Map IDs report

Use this report (Tools > Reports > Map IDs) to generate a project summary. It includes the number of map IDs, topic

ID and location, map number, and map filename.

The Map IDs report provides information about all the context-sensitive Help topics that are used in your project, including map IDs and text-only topics (for What's This? Help).

First, the report displays a summary of the entire project. It identifies the number of map IDs and then gives more specific information. Each topic in the project that has a map ID assigned is listed with topic ID, map number, map filename, and topic location.

Use this report as a reference for testing Help.

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Project Status report

Generate information for a group of topics (Tools > Reports > Project Status) by selecting a specific folder from the

Folder list.

• Total number of topics completed, in progress, and ready for review

• Total number of topics in a project

• Estimated development time to author all topics

• Information on To Do items

Snippets report

Select Tools > Reports > Snippets. The Snippets report appears showing the snippets defined in the project. The

Snippets report also shows the topics in which a particular snippet has been used.

Style Sheets report

Use this report (Tools > Reports > Style Sheets) to view an alphabetized list of style sheets or topics. The list of style sheets shows which topics use each style sheet. The list of topics identifies which style sheet each topic is attached to.

To sort, choose an option from the Sort By menu.

Table Of Contents report

Use this report (Tools > Reports > Table Of Contents) to view information about TOCs. Specify the level of detail you want to see:

Detailed Includes titles of books and pages, names of linked topics, and location of files.

Overview Includes titles of books and pages and the names of linked topics.

The Table of Contents report is shown for the TOC selected.

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You can change your table of contents whenever you change topic titles or filenames.

Topic Properties report

Use this report (Tools > Reports> Topic Properties) to filter reports according to various properties. To customize the report, click Options, and select details to add:

General Folder and bookmark names and locations.

Topic Status Status, priority, time, completed To Do items, and comments.

References Links to the topic, links from the topic, map IDs, table of contents, See Also keywords, and keywords.

Advanced Information types, conditional build tags, search keywords, and style sheet, and exclude from search.

You can filter the list of topics included in the report by selecting a specific folder from the Folder list.

Topic References report

Use this report (Tools > Reports > Topic References) to track topic references. References include:

• Topic links

• TOC books and pages that use the topic

• Keywords and phrases that use the topic

Select the Folder list to generate information for a topic group.

Tips:

• Use this report to find references to remove when updating your topics.

• Before you remove a topic, you can remove all references to it. Use this report to identify the references and relink them to different topics.

• If you don't remove references when you remove a topic, this report identifies the breakable references.

Topics By Priority report

The Topics By Priority report (Tools >Reports > Topics By Priority) provides a summary of your project. It lists topics sorted by the priority assigned by the author. This information is gathered from the topic properties. Therefore, the key to making this report work for you is to change topic properties as you author.

To customize the information in this report, click Options and select the information you want to include in it. You can select a range of priorities or view all priorities. You can also filter the list of topics included in the report by selecting a folder from the Folder list.

Unreferenced Topics report

This customizable report (Tools > Reports > Unreferenced Topics) tracks unreferenced topics in the TOC, index, browse sequences, or in other topics. Use it to identify:

• Inaccessible topics (To fix, create links from other topics.)

• Topics excluded from the TOC

• Topics without index or See Also keywords (To fix, add keywords, or add the topic to a See Also keyword.)

Note: Some topics do not use references. For example, if you create window-level context-sensitive Help, topics are only accessible when end-users press F1 or click Help. They don't need references. You can identify unreferenced topics that you are using as context-sensitive Help topics.

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Unused files report

Use this report (Tools > Reports > Unused Files) to view unused files in one place. You can sort by filename or file type by selecting from the Sort By menu.

You cannot remove these files from within your project. Make a list of the unused files and their paths and then use

Windows Explorer to delete the files.

Important: Before you delete files, make a backup copy of the project in case you need to revert changes.

Note: Indiscriminate deletion of files other than what is listed by the unused files report, results in broken links, missing files and other undesirable consequences.

Unused index keywords report

Use this report (Tools > Reports > Unused Index Keywords) to track all index keywords that are not associated with topics. Use it to:

• Identify index keywords that you can remove from your project.

• Find index keywords that must be associated with topics.

• Review cross-references included in your index.

Used Files report

Use this report (Tools > Reports > Used Files) for an inventory of all files in the project.

Missing topics report

Use this report (Tools > Reports > Missing Topics) to track missing topics and several associated elements:

• TOCs, books, and pages that reference missing topics

• Index keywords and phrases that reference missing topics

Select a folder from the Folder list to generate topic group information.

Tips:

• Before you remove a topic, remove all references to it.

• If you do not remove references when you remove a topic, this report identifies the breakable references.

Variables report

Use this report (Tools > Reports > Variables) to list variables in the order they were created along with their values and information about their usage.

If you view all variables in the project, the report indicates the variables defined in Variable sets and the files in which they are used. You can also find variables that have not been used.

This report is useful when you want to remove variables. Locate all topics in which the variables are used and delete references to the variables before deleting the variables.

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URL Properties dialog box

Use this dialog box to link index keywords to URLs in your project.

Keywords Enter the word or phrase that end users must enter in the index to access the URL.

Delete Old Project dialog box

Delete the old WebHelp Pro project from the RoboHelp Server before publishing the renamed project.

Move File Into Project dialog box

Restore a broken topic link by finding a file or creating a link.

Try To Find Browse for the linked file.

Create New Create a topic and save it in your project folder to repair the broken link.

Help to HTML style options

Select The Style Sheet To Use Specifies the style sheet name to attach to all created HTML topics.

No Stylesheet Does not attach a style sheet. All topics use default formatting.

Embedded Styles Does not attach a style sheet to the topics. All HTML topics use WinHelp formatting. Formatting is embedded into each HTML element.

Convert Bulleted Lists Uses bulleted list items from WinHelp topics in topics (retains bulleted lists).

Convert Numbered Lists Uses numbered list items from WinHelp topics in topics (retains numbered lists).

Tips:

• You can modify any style sheet after you convert the project.

• Create new style sheets after converting and attach them to topics.

• Projects can include multiple style sheets.

HTML Help Advanced Settings tri-pane

Buttons

Defines the buttons/controls to include in the toolbar. Options:

Hide/Show Hides the left-tab components in the tri-pane.

Options Displays a menu of options.

Locate Synchronizes the left and right panes (when Auto Synchronize TOC is not selected).

Navigation pane

Defines how content appears in the viewer. Options:

Auto Show/Hide Nav Pane Hides the left navigation pane when end users switch from a compiled help file to a program. The content remains visible in the right pane. The left tabs can't be viewed until the user selects the window.

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Auto Synchronize TOC Formats the left and right panes to synchronize as users navigate content.

Note: Project filenames cannot include spaces. You can automatically replace spaces with underscores after you create the project.

Width Defines the navigation pane width in pixels.

Note: Project filenames cannot include spaces. You can automatically replace spaces with underscores after you create the project.

Width Defines the width of the navigation pane, in pixels.

Font

Selects a font for displaying titles on the Contents tab.

Select Opens the Font dialog box.

Default Sets the font to use your default system setting.

HTML Help Advanced Settings TOC tab

Border Add a border around the Contents pane.

Dialog Frame Add a frame around Contents pane.

Lines From Root Display lines connecting books and pages starting at the root.

Plus/Minus Squares Display plus and minus squares that open and close books.

Folders Instead Of Books For table of contents book items, display a folder icon in place of a book icon.

Single-Click To Open Book Formats book items to open with a single click. When this feature is not selected, books open with a double-click.

Lines Between Items Add lines between books and pages.

Raised Edge Format the table of contents so it looks raised from the tri-pane.

Sunken Edge Format the table of contents so it looks sunken into the tri-pane.

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Create, save, and open topics

Create a topic

1 In the Project Manager pod, open the XHTML Files (Topics) folder.

To store the topic in a specific custom folder, select the folder.

Do either of the following:

• Click the New Topic icon .

• To create the topic with a different HTML editor, right-click and select New > Topic With. Then select the editor.

Note: You can also right-click in the Topic List and select New Topic With > [editor].

4 Specify a topic title and filename.

For best results, use underscores instead of spaces in filenames, and follow the HTML file naming protocol. Avoid using these characters in filenames: \ / : * ? < > | # ", $, &, [ ]

(Apply these same conventions to folder names.)

(Optional) Select a master page.

Specify a language for the new topic.

Note: If you do not specify a language for the topic you are creating, RoboHelp uses the language setting for the project.

RoboHelp uses the language setting for a topic for the spelling checker, the thesaurus, smart indexing, and full-text search indexing. The output UI is controlled by the project language setting. For more information about language

support, see “ Authoring content in multiple languages ” on page

7 Add keywords to enable search on this topic. To separate the keywords, you can use commonly used characters, such as comma, semicolon, and space. Space works in most languages.

Note:

The keywords you specify are added to the index. For more information, see “ Topic keywords ” on page

8 Select Exclude From Search only if you do not want to display this topic in the search results.

Note: Exclude From Search is not available for Microsoft HTML Help (CHM) search.

To open a topic in a third-party editor, right-click the topic in the Project Manager or the Topic List and select Edit

With. The topic opens in the editor you specified (the Editor box still displays the editor set for the project).

More Help topics

“ Add underscores to filenames ” on page 120

Save topics

Save a topic

• Press Ctrl+S.

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• In the toolbar, click Save.

Enable or disable Save

If you deselect Save Without Prompt, you are prompted to save topics.

Select Tools > Options.

Click the General tab.

Under Options, select or deselect Save Without Prompt.

Click OK.

Rename topic files

Note: Avoid using Windows Explorer or your version control application to rename files. The Project Manager cannot update file references.

1 Do either of the following:

• In the Project Manager pod, expand the appropriate folder. Select View > By File Name. Right-click the file, and select Rename.

• In the Topic List pod, right-click the file. Select Properties.

2 Type the new name.

For best results, use underscores instead of spaces, and follow the HTML filenaming protocol. Avoid using these characters in filenames: \ / : * ? < > | # ", $, &, [ ]

If the filename has multiple words, use underscores instead of spaces.

Open topics

You can open topics in Design Editor or another editor while still using RoboHelp to add online Help features.

❖ In the Project Manager or Topic List pod, do one of the following:

• To open the topic in Design Editor (or a third-party editor you’ve set as the default editor), double-click the topic.

• To open the topic in an editor, right-click the topic and select Edit With > [editor] .

If you are prompted whether to continue with possible HTML code changes, click Yes. However, to avoid code changes from one editor to the next, edit topics in the same editor and click No.

More Help topics

“ RoboHelp Design Editor ” on page 133

“ Third-party HTML editors ” on page 134

Support for multiple document interfaces

You can open multiple topics in Design Editor. You can edit topics simultaneously, compare topics, and copy content from one topic to another.

Each open topic has a corresponding tab in the Design Editor pod. Click a tab to make its topic window active. Click the scroll arrows to scroll through tabs and reveal hidden tabs. Drag the tabs to position topic windows horizontally or vertically within Design Editor.

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Author in XHTML

You can use RoboHelp to create topic files in XHTML and project-specific files in XML. Structured authoring in XHTML ensures well-written code, closed tags, no overlapping of tags, properly quoted attributes with explicit values, and no proprietary attributes. RoboHelp upgrades all the old RoboHelp for HTML topics to XHTML when it imports them.

Note: For upgraded projects, the formatting of bulleted lists might not be correct in the output. After upgrading a project, make sure that the bulleted list style in the CSS specifies zero or a positive value for the left margin.

The RoboHelp editor creates all the topics in XHTML. All topic files are compliant with XHTML 1.0 Transitional.

XHTML generated from RoboHelp conforms to the XHTML 1.0 Transitional specification from the World Wide Web

Consortium (W3C). All topics have the XHTML 1.0 Transitional doc type:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"

"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

Every XHTML topic contains an HTML tag and an xmlns attribute value of http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml .

Note: To view the XHTML source of a topic, open the topic in the Design Editor and select the HTML view.

You can use third-party editors such as Notepad, Microsoft Word, or Adobe Dreamweaver to edit your files and retain these files in their existing format. You can edit topics using a third-party XHTML editor. RoboHelp retains its processing instructions (PI) as comments to avoid any data loss. You can use RoboHelp to edit the third-party HTML or XHTML topics and generate XHTML output.

Note: Snippets, master pages, and framesets are created in XHTML format only.

When creating a project, RoboHelp creates several project-specific files, such as APJ, CSS, and BRS files, in XML format. For example, the TOC, index, glossary, and the following project filename extensions are generated in wellformed XML:

.ali, .brs, .phr, .stp, .ign, .lng, .ssl, .xpj, .apj, .syn, .glo, .hhk, .hhc, .ppf, .fpj

These files are in the root of the RoboHelp project folder. You can open these XML files and read the data using XML processors.

Convert XHTML to HTML

1 Select Tools > Options > General.

2 Select Convert RoboHelp Edited Topics To HTML.

Selecting this option converts all the topics to HTML in the SSL output. You can generate the SSL to check whether the output files are in HTML or XHTML. XHTML pages support all the DHTML effects that can be applied using

RoboHelp HTML. HTML pages do handle DHTML effectively. Within a topic, right-click and select View or Preview

Topic. View the source of the output file or preview the topic to verify whether it is XHTML or HTML.

More Help topics

“ RoboHelp editors ” on page 133

Validate XHTML

You can validate the RoboHelp generated XHTML code against W3C specifications for compliance with XHTML

Transitional 1.0. You can select File > W3C Compliance > Validate and RoboHelp validates the topic. You can select

Validate All to validate all the topics.

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The following features are not supported in XHTML:

• Marquees in topics

• Border color in framesets

• Background sound in topic properties

Use of these features results in invalid XHTML code. Remove these features to generate valid XHTML code.

More Help topics

“ W3C compliance ” on page 131

Import and copy topics

Import topics

1 Select View > Pods > Project Manager. The Project Manager pod appears.

Open the HTML Files (Topics) folder.

To save the file in a subfolder, select the folder.

Select File > Import > HTML/XHTML File.

Navigate to the HTML/XHTML file.

Select the file. Press Ctrl to select multiple files.

Click Open.

Click Yes to copy the file into the project folder. Click Yes To All to copy the file and all its components.

Note: You can similarly import FrameMaker documents (*.mif, *.fm, *.book, *.bk), PDF documents (*.pdf), Word documents (*.docx, *.docm, *.doc, *.rtf), XML files (*.xml), DITA maps (*.ditamap), and DITA topics (*.xml, *.dita).

Copy topics into a project

1 Do one of the following:

• Select View > Pods > Project Manager. The Project Manager pod appears.

• Select View > Pods > Topic List. The Topic List pod appears.

2 Select a topic.

Right-click and select Duplicate Topic.

In the Topic Title box, type the title.

If the topic is associated with a master page, it appears in the Master Page pop-up menu. If None appears, the topic uses the default style sheet.

Click the View icon to view the master page. Or, browse to a new master page.

Click the Appearance tab to change the style sheet.

Click OK.

The new topic is appended to the project. It appears in the Project Manager.

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View topics and design elements

Preview topics

Preview topics instead of generating an entire project. Click links and Related Topics buttons, see Dynamic HTML effects, access frames and forms, and view features.

Important: If the topics contain links to PDFs, make sure that Adobe ® Acrobat ® 10 is installed on your computer.

Previewing any PDF in Acrobat 9 or earlier versions might not work correctly.

If you have multiple browsers installed on your computer, you can select a browser from the View With list from the preview window. RoboHelp displays the topic in the selected browser.

1 Do one of the following:

• Open the topic in the Design view and click the View icon on the toolbar.

• Right-click the topic in the Topic List pod or the Project Manager pod and select View.

2 (Optional) To preview conditional text areas, choose a conditional build tag expression from the menu.

Note: To change the CBT while previewing in the browser, change the CBT in the preview dialog and click Refresh in the browser.

3 Click View With and select the browser from the list of the browsers installed on your computer.

Notes

• Certain features, such as See Also controls and Keyword Link controls, do not work in preview mode - both in the

Preview dialog box and the browser.

• Text-only popups cannot be viewed in Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.

• If you close the Preview dialog box, the topic displayed in the browser appears until you refresh the browser.

• (Preview dialog box) The Back and Forward options in the context-sensitive menu help you navigate between topics that you open by clicking links in the topic you are previewing. You can also press the Backspace key.

• (Preview dialog box) If you change the topic in Design Editor and drag the Preview dialog box, RoboHelp updates the content to display the new changes.

• (Browser) If the topic you’re previewing includes a link to another topic, clicking the link opens the topic but snippets, UDVs, placeholders, and iframes are not patched and CBTs are not applied.

Define a conditional build expression

1 In the preview window, click Define.

2 Specify tags to exclude from the output:

• To move one tag, select it and click the single arrow button.

• To move all tags, click the double arrow button.

3 (Optional) Click Advanced. Select a conditional build tag from the menu. Click Add Tag. Click the AND, OR, or

NOT operators to define an expression. Click Clear to remove the expression.

NOT Excludes topics that use a named conditional build tag. NOT has the highest priority of all the build expressions.

AND Includes or excludes topics that use specified conditional build tags. AND has the second-highest priority of all the build expressions.

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OR Includes or excludes topics that use specified conditional build tags.

4 Click OK to return to the preview window.

5 To remove the condition from the preview, select None from the menu.

View design elements

❖ Select View > Show > [design element] .

Design element

Bookmarks

Appearance in the Design Editor

Paragraph markers

Table gridlines

Glyphs

Fields

Unknown tags

Conditional areas

Comments

Master pages

Note: Master pages replace templates in RoboHelp HTML 7 and earlier.

An HTML page is made up of three elements: content, layout, and styling. For single sourcing, the best practice is to separate content from styling and layout. Although CSS files help to separate styling from the content, layout remains embedded in the HTML code. By using master pages, you can separate layout and styling from the content. A master page contains the layout information and is associated with a CSS file.

A master page is a template for HTML topics. You define the placement of headers, footers, and placeholders for the body, breadcrumbs, and mini TOC. Master pages can include snippets and user-defined variables. You can create a topic using a master page or associate an existing topic with a master page. When you create a topic using a master page, the body content is placed in the resulting topic. If you apply a master page to an existing topic, the body content is ignored.

The layout information defined in the master pages is not visible in Design view. However, you do see the CSS of the master page in Design view. You can see the layout when you generate output or a preview. The topic content is placed in the body placeholder, and the layout is inherited from the master page. All placeholders defined in the master page are also populated with relevant information when you generate output.

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You can use tables to create a precise layout where each placeholder is placed in a table cell.

Body placeholder When you create a topic from a master page, the topic includes content from the master page.

Copyright information is an example. When you apply a master page to a topic, actual content of the topic replaces the body placeholder at the time of preview and generation.

Note: When you apply a master page to a topic, the header and footer of the topic are overridden by those of master pages.

Mini TOC placeholder Shows the automatically generated mini TOC at the time of generation or preview of Help topic.

Define the exact location and format of the mini TOC by designing the layout of the master page. By default, the levels allowed for a TOC layout are heading 2 to heading 6.

Breadcrumbs placeholder Shows the automatically generated breadcrumbs at the time of generation of Help topic.

The breadcrumbs are generated based on the TOC. When you preview a topic, actual breadcrumbs links are not generated and only the layout of breadcrumbs is visible.

You can apply conditional build tags to the mini TOC and breadcrumbs placeholders but not to the body placeholder.

However, you can apply a conditional build tag to the content inside or outside the body placeholder.

Create a master page

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File > New > Master Page.

• Select and right-click Master Pages in the Project Set-up pod.

Select New Master Page.

Enter a name for the new master page in the General tab.

Note: Master pages have the filename extension .htt.

Click the Appearance tab.

Select a style sheet to apply to the master page.

(Optional) Select the Background Sound options.

Click OK.

A new master page shows the body placeholder by default. You can insert mini TOCs by clicking the Mini TOC icon

and breadcrumb placeholders by clicking the Breadcrumbs icon from the toolbar in the Design editor of master pages. But this toolbar does not appear for normal pages. You can insert any number of mini TOCs or breadcrumbs at any location in the master page.

Create a master page from a topic

1 Open a topic.

2 Do one of the following:

• Right-click in the Design Editor and select Add To > Master Pages.

• Select File > Add To Master Pages

All the content in the topic is wrapped in the body placeholder. After you add a topic to a master page, any new topic created from this master page includes its body placeholder content.

When topics are associated with a master page, the style sheet, header, and footer of the master page override style properties of the topic. You can edit or change the CSS of a topic later.

Note: Use the Topic Properties option to change the master page associated with a topic.

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More Help topics

“ Headers, footers, and page breaks ” on page 147

Formatting master pages

When you generate or preview a layout, border and shading properties of the master pages override border and shading properties of topics. If the properties do not conflict, they are applied independently. For example, if you set border properties for a master page, and background color for a topic, the final output topic has both applied to it.

Edit a master page

1 Do one of the following:

• Right-click a master page in the Project Set-up pod and select Edit.

• Select a master page in the Project Set-up pod and select Edit > Edit [name of the master page] .htt.

• Double click a Master Page in the Project Set-up pod.

2 Make the desired changes.

Change the CSS associated with a master page

1 Right-click in a master page and select Properties.

2 Click the Appearance tab.

Select a style sheet from the list of style sheets available in a project.

Click OK.

Note: Select the Used In tab in the Master Page Properties dialog box to see a report of the topics associated with the master page.

Insert a placeholder

You can insert placeholders for mini TOCs, breadcrumbs, and topics in master pages. By default, a body placeholder is inserted in a new master page.

1 Place the cursor below or after the body placeholder.

2 Select Insert > Placeholder > Mini TOC or Breadcrumbs.

Note: You cannot insert a placeholder inside a paragraph as inline text or in headers or footers.

More Help topics

“ Headers, footers, and page breaks ” on page 147

Format and edit placeholders

You can format styles in placeholders using the Format Placeholders option from the context menu. Open a master page in Design view and do one of the following:

• Right-click a placeholder. Select Format Placeholder.

• Select a placeholder and click the Format Placeholder button in the Design Editor toolbar.

• Double-click in the placeholder.

• Select Format > Placeholder.

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Notes:

• If a body placeholder is deleted from the master page or does not appear, the resultant topic has its headers appear first (if at all), followed by the HTML content of the master page, the topic content, and the footer (if present).

• You cannot apply DHTML effects on the placeholders. The content inside the body placeholder is normal HTML content, so you can apply DHTML effects to it.

• You can preview the master pages to see how the placeholder content is displayed in the final output. If the associated master page has mini TOC and breadcrumbs placeholders, the mini TOC and breadcrumbs are generated at the time of preview or layout generation.

More Help topics

“ Add breadcrumbs to topics ” on page 190

Importing master pages

You can import master pages from other projects and apply them to topics in your current project. When you upgrade from RoboHelp 7 or earlier, topic templates convert to master pages when you import them. Except for the header and footer, all the content in the topic template is wrapped in the body placeholder.

Applying master pages

You can apply or change the master page to one or multiple topics at a time. Use this option to change the master page of one or more, but not all topics in your project. You can apply the master page to all topics when you generate the

Help output.

Apply a master page to a topic

1 From the Topic List, right-click the topic, and select Properties.

2 In the Topic Properties dialog box, select the General tab.

3 All the master pages in a project are listed in the Master Page menu. Select a master page and click OK. Optionally, you can do the following:

• To preview the selected master page, click the Preview icon.

• To select a master page that is not in the current project, click the Browse button.

Apply a master page to multiple topics

1 In the topic list, sort the topics by the master page associated with them.

Note: If the Master Page column is not visible, right-click a column header, and select Master Page from the menu.

2 Select the topics that are associated with the master page that you want to substitute. If you are applying master pages for the first time, select the topics that are not associated with a master page. You can also select multiple sets of topics with different master pages applied to them.

3 Right-click, and select Properties.

In the Topic Properties dialog box, select General tab.

Select the master page from the Master Page menu, and click OK.

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Applying a master page or CSS at the time of generation

Single-source layouts let you override the master page or the CSS when you generate output. For different output results, apply different master pages or a different CSS.

Each single-source layout except the Printed Documentation layout provides an option to apply master pages or CSS.

You can choose to apply a master page or a CSS across all the topics in a project.

Note: For the Printed Documentation layout, you can apply only a different CSS.

To apply to all topics, select Apply To All Topics and choose either a master page or a CSS. The Master Pages and CSS menus show all the master pages and CSS available in the project.

• If you do not select the Apply To All Topics option, the master pages associated with individual topics take effect.

If no master pages are associated with individual topics, RoboHelp applies no master pages when it generates output.

• If you choose to apply a master page, master pages associated with individual topics are overridden. The CSS associated with the master page becomes effective and overrides the CSS associated with all other individual topics.

• If you choose to apply a CSS, master pages associated with individual topics take effect. The selected CSS is applied to all the topics whether any master page is associated with them or not.

• If a master page is not associated with any CSS, the CSS associated with each individual topic becomes effective.

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Manage topics

Rename a topic

When you rename a topic, the title is updated in the topic properties. Links to the topic still work. Other references are not automatically updated. For example, you may need to edit the TOC page title in the TOC Editor.

If you create new topics using a master page, topic titles are automatically updated when you change a topic title in

Topic Properties.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select View > Pods > Project Manager.

• Select View > Pods > Topic List.

2 Select a topic.

In the toolbar, click the Properties icon . Click the General tab.

In the Topic Title box, type the new title.

Click OK. The topic title is updated.

To change the topic heading, open the topic in the Design Editor. Edit the heading text.

Note: To match the filename to the updated topic title, change the filename when you change a topic title.

More Help topics

“ Rename topic files ” on page 111

“ Manage files ” on page 36

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Update topic references

If you rename a topic title, make sure that you update the following items as indicated.

Text links The path of the link is updated, but the link text that is visible to a user is not. If link text in any topics includes the topic title, update each topic.

Topic heading If you want to change the topic heading to match the topic title, change it in the Design Editor.

Table of contents Update a book or page with the new title. In the Table Of Contents pod, right-click the book or page and select Rename. Enter the new title.

Index If the topic title is an index keyword, update the keyword in the Index pod. Right-click the keyword in the upper pane and select Rename. Type the new title.

Add underscores to filenames

If topic filenames have multiple words, you can set RoboHelp HTML to replace underscores with spaces. This convention enables TOC books and pages to synchronize with topic content displayed in the viewer.

Existing filenames aren’t affected unless you edit them.

Select Tools > Options.

Click the General tab.

Select Use Underscores In Filenames.

Change topic properties

Topics have properties that define their appearance and index keywords. You can change properties for a single topic or a group of topics.

1 Do one of the following:

• Right-click one or more topics in the Topic List pod. Select Properties.

• Right-click a topic in the Project Manager pod. Select Properties.

• Right-click a topic in the Design Editor and select Topic Properties.

2 Click a tab and make changes.

3 Click OK.

Use options on the Status tab to track topic development and manage the project. (To access the Status tab, right-click a topic and select properties. On the Topic Properties dialog box, select the Status tab.) You can also generate project reports based on properties you set.

Change topic properties on the Index tab (WebHelp Pro)

Work with keywords referenced by the topic.

Select Index Select an index to add keywords or view the related referenced keywords.

Index Keywords Create and edit keywords.

Add Add a keyword from the Index Keywords text box.

Add Existing Copy a keyword from other topics.

Delete Remove a keyword.

Replace Replace a keyword with text from the text box.

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Smart Index Open the Smart Index wizard.

Properties Open the General tab. Save the keyword in either the index file or in the current topic.

Changing master pages

To change which master page is applied to a topic, select a master page from the Master Pages menu. The default is the last master page applied to the topic. You can view the master page by clicking the View button new master page by clicking the Browse button.

or browse to a

More Help topics

“ Update the To Do list for a topic ” on page 36

“ Link a style sheet to topics or master pages ” on page 155

“ Apply conditional build tags to multiple topics ” on page 221

“ Identify the browse sequences a topic is assigned to ” on page 207

Find a topic

Find topics within your project from the Table Of Contents, Index, and Project Manager pods.

You can search on all or part of a topic title or on topic properties.

1 Click the pod to search:

• To find out which folder a topic is in, click the Project Manager pod.

• To find out where a topic is in the table of contents, click the Table Of Contents pod.

• To find out where a topic is referenced in the index, click the Index pod.

• To find out if a topic is in your project, click the Topic List pod.

2 Select Edit > Find Topic.

To conduct a simple search, click the Search tab and type all or part of the topic title next to Topic Title Includes.

To conduct an advanced search, click the Advanced tab. You can search according to the following options:

Topic Title Includes Enter text to help you find the topic by title.

File Name Includes Enter text to help you find the topic by filename.

You can search for the following topic properties:

Status Click to ignore status in the search or search for topics that are assigned to a specific status.

File Modified Click to ignore file modification dates or search for files modified before or after specific dates. You can enter a date at the right of this option.

Priority Click to ignore topic priorities in the search or to search for topics based on a specific priority assignment.

You can enter a number at the right of this option.

Note: Searching by author is not supported.

The Found Topics area has these features:

Found Topics Displays the topics that match the search criteria. Select a topic from this list to preview it or modify its properties.

View button Displays the selected topic in the Preview window.

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By Title Click to search for text in topic titles instead of in filenames.

Topics Containing <item> Displays the topics that match the search criteria. Select a topic from this list to preview it or modify its properties.

5 Click OK.

Assign a default topic

The default topic appears in the Topic panel when the Help system is opened.

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click the layout. Select Properties.

Next to the Default Topic box, click Select.

Select a topic. Click OK.

Click Save.

Generate and view the layout.

Track topic status

The status of new topics is In Progress by default. You can change this status as you work.

Status information is used in the Project Status report.

In the Topic List pod, select topics.

Click the Properties button

Click the Status tab.

Set options as needed:

Status Click the triangle to select a development stage.

Priority Enter a number.

Hours Enter a number to assign estimated or actual hours of topic development.

To Do list Select items as you complete them.

Comments Enter text.

More Help topics

“ Generate and customize reports ” on page 103

View and manage topic details in the Topics List pod

❖ In the Topic List pod, do any of the following:

• To view details about topics, choose View > Details View.

• To sort topics, click the column header.

• To select details to appear in the Topic List pod, right-click a column header, select More, and select the details.

• To view or update topic properties, select one or more topics and click the Properties button .

• To create topic references, drag topics from the list to create a table of contents, index, and See Also keywords.

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More Help topics

“ Reports ” on page 102

Work with the Tag list

The Tag list in Design view shows the hierarchical structure of the HTML page. The top of the hierarchy is on the left

(always the document). The currently selected item is on the right.

• To display the Tag list, select View > Show > Tag list.

• To select an item in Design Editor, click the item in the Tag list.

• To edit the properties of an item in the Tag list, double-click the item. Set options.

Specify formatting attributes to remove:

Tag HTML tag that creates the specified format type.

Text Text to which the formatting is applied.

Class Class (style specified in the style sheet) used in the HTML tag. Not all tags have classes assigned.

Id ID (tag for JavaScript or Dynamic HTML) used in the HTML tag. Not all tags have IDs assigned.

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Managing resources

About Resource Manager

Resource Manager helps you maintain resources such as images, multimedia, style sheets, snippets, and baggage files in a shared location on your computer or network. Multiple authors can use them across projects and manage them from the Resource Manager pod in RoboHelp.

RoboHelp provides easy ways to add resources in the shared location and the project. Drag files and folders between

Resource Manager and Windows Explorer. Drag images, style sheets, and topics from Project Manager to Resource

Manager. Drag master pages between the Project Set-up pod and Resource Manager. Drag snippets from Resource

Manager to topics (RoboHelp updates the Snippets pod).

When you drag a resource from within a project (for example, a snippet from the Snippets pod) to a shared location in Resource Manager, you export the resource and make it available to other authors. Conversely, when you drag and drop a resource from Resource Manager to a project, you import the resource (with its associated files) to the project.

Configure Resource Manager settings

1 Do one of the following:

• Select Tools > Options. Click Resource Manager.

• Select View > Pods > Resource Manager. Click the Resource Manager Settings button.

2 In the Options dialog box, specify application-level and project-level settings for Resource Manager.

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Specify application-level Resource Manager settings

1 In the Options dialog box, specify how you want to use shared resources in projects. Select either of the following options:

As Copy Inserts a copy of a shared resource in the project. Resource Manager does not notify you or update the project if the original resource in the shared location is updated.

As Linked Inserts a copy of a shared resource in the project and maintains a link between the copy (in the project) and the original (in the shared location). Maintaining a link helps Resource Manager to keep track of updates to the resource and allow you to update the resource in the project or in the shared location.

Note: If a linked style sheet includes references to other resources, RoboHelp does not track updates to the referenced resources.

2 Specify the frequency of checking updates to linked resources.

Note: Besides checking for updates according to this defined frequency, RoboHelp checks the status of linked resources when opening a project and when generating output.

3 Specify the frequency of refreshing the shared location.

Specify project-level Resource Manager settings

You can specify your preferences for the update of linked resources at a project level. For example, for project A, you can specify that Resource Manager should auto-update all linked resources if they are updated in the shared location.

On the other hand, for project B, you can specify that Resource Manager should notify you if a linked resource is updated.

To specify project-level settings for the update of linked resources:

❖ Select one of the following options:

Notify Notifies if linked resources are different from their original versions in the shared location

Do Not Notify Does not notify if linked resources are different from their original versions in the shared location

Auto-Update Project Updates all linked resources in the project with the changes in the shared location

Manage shared resources in the Resource Manager pod

Add a shared location

Add any number of resource locations as root elements in the Resource Manager pod. You can create folders under each shared location.

1 Select View > Pods > Resource Manager. Do one of the following:

• Click Add Shared Location .

• Right-click in the blank area below the displayed categories and select Add Shared Location.

2 Browse and select a folder preferably on a network or shared path. Click OK.

3 (Optional) Right-click the shared location and select New Folder. Specify a name for the folder.

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Add a category

Categories help you manage different types of resources. You can add and edit categories and associate various file types with each category. For example, you can add a category called Video and associate .flv, .swf, and .avi file types with it.

1 Select View > Pods > Resource Manager. Click the Add/Edit Categories button.

Click the Add Category button .

Enter a name for the new category and click OK.

Click the Add File Type button to add a file type for the selected category.

Notes:

• You can add file types to an existing category.

• You can edit the file types in an existing category.

• You can click Reset To Default to reset to the default view of the Resource Manager. All the user-defined categories and file types still exist in the root folder.

Show or hide contents in the Resource Manager pod

1 Select View > Pods > Resource Manager.

2 Click the Show/Hide Categories button .

Select or deselect the categories to show or hide in the Resource Manager pod.

Select one of the following options:

All Displays all the resources in the shared locations.

Linked Displays only the resources used in the open project.

Maintain shared resources

1 Select View > Pods > Resource Manager.

2 Do any of the following:

Edit You can right-click a file to edit it in the associated editor.

Explore Right-click a folder and select Explore to open the folder in Windows Explorer. You can right-click a file and select Explore to open the parent folder of the file in Windows Explorer.

Copy Copies the selected file or folder to the Clipboard.

Paste Pastes the copied file or folder to the shared location.

Delete Select Delete from the right-click menu to delete a file or a folder.

Rename Right-click a file or folder and select Rename to rename a file or a folder.

Copy to Project folder Copies the selected files to the project root folder.

Note: You must have the project open to copy the files to the project root folder.

Export Select Export from the right-click options of a file or folder to export to the selected folder in the Export

Resource Files dialog box.

Import (Folder) Imports one or more files into the selected folder.

Properties Displays the properties of the selected file or folder.

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Manage linked resources

Linked resources are shared resources used in a project. When you use a shared resource in a project, RoboHelp adds a copy of the shared resource in the project. However, it maintains a link with the shared location to track whether the master copy is updated. Deleting the master copy from the shared location does not delete the copy of the resource used in the project.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select Edit > Linked Resources.

• Select View > Pods > Resource Manager. Click Manage Linked Resources.

2 Do any of the following:

Search Searches linked resources in the project based on specified criteria.

A linked resource can have one of the following statuses:

• In sync The original shared resource and the copy used in the project are same.

• Modified in the shared location out-of sync.

The original shared resource is modified, and the copy used in the project is

• Modified in the project The copy used in the project is modified.

Note: In Project Manager and Resource Manager, resources used in the project appear with icons that indicate if the resources are in sync or out of sync.

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Resource icons indicate in-sync and out-of-sync statuses

A. In-sync resources B. Out-of-sync resource

• Modified in both locations Both the original shared resource and the copy in the project have been modified.

• Not found in the shared location The original resource is not found in the shared location.

• Not found in the project A reference to the resource exists in the project but the resource is deleted from the project folder. This scenario occurs only in the case of manual deletion of the resource.

Sync Allows you to update the resource either in the project or in the shared location.

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Remove Links Removes the links of the selected resources to the shared location. The resources remain in the project as copied resources; any updates to the master copies in the shared location must be tracked manually.

Replace Link Replaces the current link with a link to another shared resource that has the same file extension.

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Check spelling and find and replace

Note: If your project is localized, the spelling checker uses a dictionary in the selected language.

Check spelling in the TOC, index, see also list, or glossary

When the spelling checker finds an error, you can ignore the word, change it, or add it to the dictionary.

1 Open the component you want to check.

Select Tools, and then select Spell Check TOC, Index, See Also, or Glossary.

Select a suggested word or type a replacement in Not In Dictionary.

Select options.

To add a word to the custom dictionary, click Add.

Note: Online glossaries are available with WebHelp and Microsoft HTML Help.

Specify spelling options

❖ Select Tools > Spelling Options and select from the following sets of options:

Main Options

Check Spelling As You Type Checks for misspelled words as you type.

Auto-Correct When Possible Corrects misspelled words as you type. To view a list of typically misspelled words, open the Dictionary Editor dialog box.

Match Case Searches for uppercase or lowercase as indicated.

Note: The Auto-Correct When Possible and Match Case options do not work if you do not select the Check Spelling As

You Type option.

Special Options

Ignore All Uppercased Words Ignores all uppercase words.

Ignore Mixed Letters/Digits Ignores strings containing both letters and digits.

Ignore Doubles Ignores repeated words.

User Dictionary Lets you modify the existing dictionary.

Auto-correct spelling options

Auto-correction is possible only if you select the Auto-Correct When Possible option and the Check Spelling As You

Type option in the Spelling Options dialog box. (Select Tools > Spelling Options). You can define misspellings along with the correct version. For example, you can add ”r;adn” as a misspelling and define the correct spelling as ”random.”

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Note: Misspellings are not predefined; be sure to add them explicitly. This feature is Unicode-compliant. You can add words in any language, including Russian and Japanese, in the same project, a topic, or a paragraph.

Replace Specify a misspelling in the Replace box.

With Specify the correct word in the With box.

Add Click to add the word to the Auto-Correct list.

Delete Click to delete the misspelled entries.

Cancel Cancels any changes made in the dialog box fields.

OK Click to save the changes made in the dialog box fields.

View Ignore Words list

❖ Select the Ignored Words tab. Use this dialog box to view the list of words ignored during spelling checks.

Ignored Words Lists words ignored during the spelling check.

Delete All Click to delete all words from the Ignored Words list.

Delete Click to delete the selected words from the Ignored Words list.

Check spelling in topics or projects

1 Open a topic in the Design Editor. Do one of the following:

• Select Tools > Spell Check.

• Select Tools > Spell Check All Topics. (Optional) Click Skip Topic.

• Select Tools > Spell Check Project. (Optional) Click Skip.

Select a suggested word or type a replacement in Not In Dictionary.

Select options as needed.

To add the word to the custom dictionary, click Add.

Spelling check options for topics

Not In Dictionary Display the questionable word.

Suggestions Display a list of suggested spellings for the word.

If a word is not listed, enter the correct spelling in Not In Dictionary.

Add Add the word to the dictionary.

Ignore Skip the word and continue the spelling check.

Ignore All Add the word to the Ignore Word list.

Change Replace the word displayed in Not In Dictionary with the word selected in Suggestions.

Change All Replace all occurrences of the word displayed in Not in Dictionary with the word selected in Suggestions.

Close End the spelling check and close the dialog box.

Note: The Spell Check tool works for the language selected. If the selected language does not support the Spell Check tool, the tool is disabled in the Tools menu.

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Spelling check options for projects

Currently Checking Display the topic currently being checked.

Skip Skip the current topic.

Not In Dictionary Display the word not found in the dictionary.

Add Add the word to the dictionary.

Suggestions Show a list of words similar to the word not in the dictionary.

Ignore Ignore the word not found in the dictionary.

Ignore All Ignore all the suggestions for the selected word.

Change Replace the word under Not In Dictionary with the one in the Suggestions list.

Change All Change all the instances of the word.

Note: Words are added to the custom dictionary of the language the project is using.

More Help topics

“ Authoring content in multiple languages ” on page 42

Customize a dictionary

Use the Dictionary Editor to add words, for example, “RoboHelp,” to your dictionary. The dictionary is specific to the language and the user. Every language has its own dictionary, and every user can save changes to the dictionary.

Note: The Dictionary Editor is case sensitive.

Select Tools > Spelling Options.

Click the Options tab.

Click Modify.

In the Dictionary Editor, under Word, type a new entry and click Add. To delete an entry, select it and click Delete.

Note: You cannot cancel additions or deletions made in the Dictionary Editor, so the Cancel button is disabled.

Use the thesaurus

1 In the Design Editor, open a topic.

2 Select a word.

Select Tools > Thesaurus.

Select a synonym or antonym and click Replace.

Looked Up Display the word selected in the topic or type a word to look up.

Replace With Display a suggested replacement for the word.

Category Display the meaning of the word and its part of speech. If more than one category appears, select one to see different synonyms.

Synonym Display words that are equivalent alternatives to the selected word. Select a word to replace the word you looked up.

Replace Replace the current word with the new one.

Look Up Adds words in the Look Up pop-up menu.

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Close Close the dialog box.

Find and replace

Find and replace text in a topic

1 Open a topic.

2 Select Edit > Find or Edit > Replace.

Type the text in the Find box.

(Optional) Set options. Use expressions to broaden or restrict search results.

Click Find or Find Next.

Click Replace or Replace All, or ignore the selection and click Find Next.

Windows expressions

? c?rd

finds card and cord

* r*m finds ram and random

[ ] [cg]lass finds class and glass

[-] [c-g]lip finds clip and flip

@ ste@p finds step and steep

UNIX expressions

? sells?

finds sell and sells

* co*p finds cop , coop , and cp ; r.*m finds ram and random

[ ] [cg]lass finds class and glass

[-] [c-g]lip finds clip and flip

+ ste+p finds step and steep

Find options

❖ Select Edit > Find.

Find Type a word or phrase to search for (the search string).

Find Next Search for the next occurrence.

Close End the search.

Allow Regular Expressions Recognize Microsoft Word-style or UNIX-style expressions.

Match Case Limit the search to strings that exactly match the case of the entered search string.

Direction Select the direction of the search.

Backward Search up from the current insertion point.

Forward Search down from the insertion point.

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Find and replace options

❖ Select Edit > Replace.

Find What Search for this word or phrase.

Replace With Use this word or phrase as the replacement text.

Find Next Locate the first occurrence in the text.

Replace Replace selected text.

Replace All Replace all occurrences.

Close End the search.

Allow Regular Expressions Recognize MS Word-style or UNIX-style expressions.

Match Case Limit the search to strings that exactly match the case of the entered search string.

Direction Select the direction of the search.

Backward Search up from the current insertion point.

Forward Search down from the insertion point.

Find and replace text in files

Use the Multifile Find and Replace tool to globally find and replace words in a project.

Select Edit > Find And Replace In Files.

Specify the required options and click Find.

Find Search for this word or phrase.

Replace Use this word or phrase as the replacement text.

Named Specify the file type(s) to search.

Where Specify the location to search.

Case Sensitive Limit the search to strings that exactly match the case of the entered search string.

Whole Word Exclude strings that contain the entered search string.

Ignore HTML Tags Exclude HTML tags when searching in HTML files.

Make Backups Back up the original files before replacing text.

Overwrite Backups Select to allow existing backups to be overwritten when Make Backups is selected.

Include Subfolders Select to allow searching within all subfolders in the specified folder.

W3C compliance

You can validate XHTML or HTML topics for World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) compliance and view error messages, informative messages, or warnings. You can validate the following for W3C compliance:

Topics Do one of the following:

• Right-click a topic in the Project Manager pod and select Validate W3C Compliance.

• Select any topic in Project Manager view and select File > W3C Compliance > Validate. RoboHelp validates the selected topic and displays warnings or error messages in the Output View pod or the Error List pod.

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Project Do one of the following:

• Right-click Project Files in the Project Manager pod and select Validate W3C Compliance.

• Select File > W3C Compliance > Validate All.

RoboHelp validates all the HTML/XHTML topics and shows warnings or error messages for any non-compliance in the Output View pod and Error List pod. RoboHelp displays errors, warnings, and information in different situations:

• Errors appear if you have added an incorrect tag or if you have not closed a tag.

• Warnings appear if a tag is not valid for XHTML.

• Information appears when all topics are validated.

Note: You can double-click an error or a warning message in the Error List pod to open it. When you place the cursor on an error in the Error List pod, it shows the line of the topic where the error occurred.

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Reference

General pane for Oracle projects

The General pane applies to the Topic Properties and New Topic dialog boxes in Oracle Help projects.

Use the General pane to create topic titles and filenames.

Topic Title Displays in the viewer, or when viewing topics by titles in the Project Manager.

File Name Name of the topic file (default is based on the title). Displays when viewing topics by filenames in the Project

Manager.

You can automatically save filenames using underscores, letting you synchronize the TOC book and pages in the

Contents tab with content in the viewing pane.

Template Displays or selects a template for a topic. Select None to use formatting from the default style sheet. To view the displayed template, click the View button.

Editor (For Topic Properties) Shows the HTML editor for the project. Change this setting to use one other than the

RoboHelp Design Editor.

Note: Oracle Help uses topic IDs (in a map file) to make context-sensitive Help calls. You can change the ID by editing the topic META tag.

More Help topics

“ Add underscores to filenames ” on page 120

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RoboHelp editors

RoboHelp provides two editors by default: Design Editor and HTML Editor. You can also use third-party editors to edit their respective documents. For example, you can use Microsoft Word to edit a Word document linked to a project.

RoboHelp Design Editor

When you select a topic file from the Project Manager pod, the topic opens in Design Editor. Use the RoboHelp Design

Editor to perform word-processing tasks and to insert online elements, such as links, multimedia, Dynamic HTML, and See Also/Related Topics buttons. You can also add index keywords to topics, apply conditional text, create browse sequences, map IDs, and edit master pages.

You can edit any standard XHTML or HTML file in Design Editor. (You can import stand-alone HTML files into a project and edit them).

Note: To switch to HTML Editor from Design Editor, click the HTML tab.

RoboHelp HTML Editor

You can author topics in RoboHelp by writing XHTML code in the RoboHelp HTML Editor. RoboHelp HTML Editor is a text editor for XHTML and HTML tags and text.

Open RoboHelp HTML Editor

1 Select a topic file from the Project Manager pod. The topic opens in Design Editor.

2 Click the HTML tab to view the HTML code for the topic.

Undo a change

❖ Click the Undo The Last Action button.

Note: If you switch views after making a change, you can’t undo the change.

View line numbers

❖ Right-click the body of the topic and select Line Numbers.

All code lines are numbered in the HTML Editor.

Add keyword expansions

Keyword expansions allow matching keywords to appear for text you type in the editor. The closest match is highlighted. Click an entry in the list to insert it.

For example, suppose you add "RoboHelp" as an expansion. When you type "R", a list of keywords that begin with "R" appears. When you type the next letter "o," the keyword "RoboHelp" is highlighted. Click it to insert it in the HTML

Editor. Text assigned to this keyword (for example, Adobe RoboHelp) appears in the HTML Editor.

Note: If the characters you enter do not have a matching keyword, the pop-up window disappears.

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You can add keyword expansions in the HTML Editor.

1 In the HTML Editor, right-click and select Edit Expansions.

Click New.

(Optional) Enter a new keyword in the Keyword box.

Enter a caption for the keyword in the Caption box.

Enter some text in the Text To Insert text area. This text appears when you select a keyword from the list in the

HTML Editor.

6 Click OK.

Change code color

You can change the color of code in the RoboHelp HTML Editor. However, the content text is always black.

In HTML view, right-click and select Colors.

In the Color Table dialog box, select an item and specify a color for the text, highlight, or both.

Click OK.

More Help topics

“ Modify colors ” on page 141

Third-party HTML editors

Using RoboHelp with other HTML editors

When using RoboHelp with a third-party HTML editor, note the following details:

• You can edit HTML in another editor while RoboHelp is open. When you open a topic in a third-party HTML editor, RoboHelp functionality is not available. You can insert HTML code and elements, but you can’t insert or edit RoboHelp features, such as text-only pop-ups or link controls.

• Close files in the third-party editor before opening them in RoboHelp.

• If you insert an image using a third-party editor, add the image to the project Baggage Files folder. The same is true for JavaScript-based special effects with images, including accompanying .js files.

Add an HTML editor

For a list of detected HTML editors, select Tools > Options > Associations.

1 Select Tools > Options.

Click the Associations tab. Click Add in the HTML Editors area.

Do either of the following: Type the name of the HTML editor. Press Enter.

• Select an editor from the Recommended Programs or Other Programs folder. The Name and Location boxes display the information for the selected program.

• Click the browse button editor.

. Select the EXE file for the HTML editor and click Open. Type a name for the

Note: If you install a new HTML editor, you can’t add it until you restart RoboHelp.

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Remove or rename an HTML editor

1 Select Tools > Options.

Click the Associations tab.

Select an editor. Click Edit.

• To rename the editor, click Edit and type a name in the Name box.

• To remove the editor, click Remove.

Note: RoboHelp Design Editor, RoboHelp HTML Editor, and Windows Notepad cannot be changed or removed from the list.

Auto-select an HTML editor or set a default

RoboHelp can automatically open a third-party HTML editor for you. RoboHelp detects the editor to open based on the HTML file itself. The Auto Select option also lets you associate an editor with its own Meta/Generator tag to automatically open topics with the editor that created them.

Note: To find out the editor associated with an installation of RoboHelp, select Tools > Options and check the default editor setting on the Associations tab.

You can set a default HTML editor. The default editor is used for creating new topics, even if the auto-select feature is enabled.

Select Tools > Options.

Click the Associations tab. Do one or more of the following.

• Select Use Default Editor. Click Set As Default.

• Select Auto Select Editor.

3 To change the associations between editor and tag, select Auto Select. You can change the HTML editor but not the

Generator tag. You cannot remove the tags either. Choose from these Generator tags:

<None> The editor associated with this tag is used for files with no Meta/Generator tag.

<Unknown> The editor associated with this tag is used for files with Meta/Generator tags not in the Associations

HTML Editors list.

<Robohelp> The editor associated with this tag is used for files created with all versions of RoboHelp.

Change the associations between editor and tag using the following options:

Add Associate an editor and a Meta/Generator tag.

Remove Remove an association between an editor and a Meta/Generator tag.

Set Editor Display the editors in the Associations tab. Change associations between editors and Meta/Generator tags.

Set Tag Modify associations between Meta/Generator tags and editors by typing a Meta/Generator tag in the field or browsing to an HTML file that contains the Meta/Generator tag.

4 Click OK when you finish.

Notes:

• You can also use third-party HTML editors on a topic-by-topic basis, even if you set a default editor. Right-click the topic in the Project Manager pod or the Topic List pod and select Edit With.

• All editors must be associated with a Meta/Generator tag.

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Specify an editor for new topics

Specify the default editor for new topics.

In the Project Manager pod, right-click a topic. Select New > Topic With.

Select an editor. Click OK. Click the General tab, and specify options.

Select Tools > Options. Click the Associations tab. Select Use Default Editor.

Character formatting and fonts

If you format characters using the toolbar or the Format > Font option, you create inline styles. Inline styles override style sheets. For repeated use, create or modify a character style in a style sheet.

Apply or remove character formatting

❖ Select the text to format. Do one of the following:

• In the toolbar, click the tool for the formatting option.

• Choose Format > Font.

Apply color to text

1 Select text.

In the toolbar, click the arrow on the Change Font Color button .

Click a color swatch, or click More Colors to select from additional swatches or to apply a custom color.

More Help topics

“ Create styles for style sheets ” on page 157

Define advanced font options

1 Select Format > Font.

2 Click Advanced.

You can define the following advanced options for fonts:

Style Specifies that the font is displayed in either normal, italic, or oblique

Weight Defines the font weight property (to make it appear lighter or darker). The bolder and lighter values are relative to the inherited font weight, while the other values are absolute font weights. Not all fonts have all the possible display weights.

Overline Inserts a line above the selected text.

Preview Shows a Design Editor representation of how your text looks with the selected font options. The view updates as you apply different settings at the tab.

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Change character spacing

1 Select Format > Font.

2 Click the Spacing tab.

3 Select Normal, Expand, or Compress. Set options:

By (For Expand or Compress) Specify the amount of space between characters.

Position Specify a location for the text.

4 Click OK.

Change font size

1 Select the text.

2 In the toolbar, select a font size.

You can also change font sizes in navigation panes using the WebHelp Skin Editor.

Create a font set

A font set is a collection of fonts to apply in style sheets or character and paragraph formatting. For example, you can create a font set with Verdana as the first font, and then (in order) Arial® and Sans Serif as substitute fonts. If users do not have Verdana installed, the viewer uses Arial and then Sans Serif.

1 Select Format > Font Sets.

2 Click New, type a name, and click Modify. Select the first font, and click Add.

Note: Font sets are saved with projects.

Apply a font set to text

1 Open a topic in the Design view. Select the text to format.

2 Select a font.

Change font sets

1 Select Format > Font Sets.

Select a font.

Click Modify.

Add fonts from Available Typefaces or delete them from Font Set Selections.

Click OK.

Remove font sets

Note: Before removing a font set, reformat all text that uses that font set. If you don't, the font set you remove is re-created.

Select Format > Font Sets.

Select the font to remove.

Click Delete.

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Insert symbols and special characters

1 Open a topic in the Design Editor. Select a location for the character.

2 Select Insert > HTML > Symbol.

3 Double-click the symbol.

Insert a non-breaking space

❖ Place the insertion point where you want the non-breaking space. Press Ctrl+Alt+spacebar.

Format paragraphs

If you format a paragraph using the toolbar or the Format > Paragraph option, you create inline styles. Inline styles override style sheets. For repeated use, create or modify a paragraph style in a style sheet.

Align paragraphs

1 Open a topic in the Design view. Select the paragraph to align.

2 From the toolbar, click an alignment button.

Indent paragraphs

1 Click in the paragraph.

2 Do one of the following:

• In the toolbar, click the Decrease Indent or the Increase Indent button

• Select Format > Paragraph. Set indents:

in the toolbar.

• For a left or right margin indent, click Up or Down and select a number from the list.

• For a first line indent, click the triangle under Special and select First Line. Under By, click Up or Down and select a number from the list.

• For a hanging indent, click the triangle under Special and select Hanging. Under By, click Up or Down and select a number from the list.

Indent text lines

1 Select View > Show > Ruler.

In the Design Editor, insert your cursor where you want to create the indent or select the text you want to change.

On the ruler, do one of the following:

• To create a hanging indent, drag the lower marker where you want the indent to start.

Marker position for a hanging indent

• To create a first-line indent, drag the upper marker to the position where you want the text to start.

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Marker position for a first-line indent

Change margins

Follow this procedure if you want to change a single topic. Otherwise, use a style sheet.

1 Select View > Show > Ruler.

In the Design Editor, insert your cursor where you want to change the margins or select the text to change.

Drag the margin markers on the ruler.

Tips:

• In tables, apply margin settings to each cell as you move your cursor through the table.

• To specify exact margin measurements, select Format > Paragraph.

• To specify a margin setting that affects a certain style, modify your style sheet.

• Right-click the ruler to access the Snap To Tick Marks option. Select it and drag the markers on the ruler so they align with the tick marks on the ruler. To move the markers in smaller increments, deselect Snap To Tick Marks.

More Help topics

“ Create styles for style sheets ” on page 157

Change the unit of measure for the ruler

1 Select View > Show > Ruler.

Right-click the ruler.

Select a unit of measure.

Define a language for a paragraph

Select a language for the paragraph. If no language is selected, the project language applies to the paragraph.

❖ Right-click and select Paragraph. Select a language from the Language menu.

More Help topics

“ Support for multiple languages ” on page 42

Apply text wrapping

1 In the Design Editor, double-click an object.

2 Under Text Wrapping, select an option.

Note: To use Around (For Tables), the table must be left- or right-aligned.

3 (Optional) To set spacing between the object and surrounding text, click Margins.

• Enter values for the amount of space between the selected object and the surrounding text.

• Set the spacing between text and object or by entering an amount in inches. Depending on whether you select left or right text wrapping, you can enter the spacing for All Sides or Left/Right and Top/Bottom.

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4 Click OK.

Notes:

• Tables must be left- or right-aligned to use text wrapping, and they must be less than 100% in size.

• If text wrapping is applied around an image, the image cannot be aligned.

Adjust line spacing

1 Select Format > Paragraph.

2 Set Spacing options:

Before Specify the amount of space above each paragraph.

After Specify the amount of space after each paragraph.

At (for Multiple and Exactly) Enter the spacing (in points) between selected lines.

3 Click OK.

Add line breaks to paragraphs

A manual line break ends the current line and aligns the text on the next line.

Open the topic in the Design Editor. Click where you want the line break.

Select Insert > Line Break. Alternatively, press Shift + Enter.

Borders, backgrounds, color, and sound

Applying formatting without styles creates inline styles. Inline styles override style sheets.

Add or edit borders and backgrounds in topics

1 Open a topic. Select the topic or topic elements, such as paragraphs or table cells.

2 Select Format > Borders And Shading.

Click the Borders or Shading tab.

Specify border or shading options. Click OK.

Click the Save All button .

More Help topics

“ Add or edit borders or backgrounds in style sheets ” on page 163

Add borders to images

1 In the Design Editor, double-click the image.

2 Click the Image tab. Click Borders.

Set border options.

Click OK.

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More Help topics

“ Add or edit borders or backgrounds in style sheets ” on page 163

Remove borders or backgrounds

1 Open a topic.

2 Select the item with the border or shading.

3 Do one or more of the following:

• In the toolbar, click the Border Type button and select the option for no border.

• In the toolbar, click the Fill Color button and select None.

• Select Format > Borders And Shading. Click the Borders or Shading tab. Set the border to None or the fill color to Transparent. To remove a background image, remove the image name from the Image box in the Pattern area.

Add or delete horizontal lines

Add a horizontal line

You can insert a GIF image of a horizontal line or use the following procedures to add and change lines.

1 Open the topic in the Design view, and click where you want to add the line.

Select Insert > HTML > Horizontal Line.

Select line options.

• To change line length, enter a value in Width.

• To change line thickness, enter a value in Height. (The lower the number, the narrower the line.)

• To specify alignment, select a line position.

• To change line color, click Custom and select a color.

• To add margins, click Margins and choose options.

• To add a border, click Border and choose options.

Delete a horizontal line

Select the line and click the Delete button .

Modify colors

1 Select Format > Colors.

Click New. Type a name for the color.

Click Modify. Do one or more of the following:

• Click a basic color swatch.

• Click the color spectrum box and the vertical color bar to adjust the amount of black and white in the color.

• Specify values for Hue, Saturation, and Luminosity. Enter values from 0 to 255.

• Specify values for Red, Green, and Blue. Enter values from 0 to 255.

• Drag the slider to adjust the luminosity.

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• Select Snap To Safe to change the selected color to the closest web-safe color.

Remove colors

Note: Before you remove a color, reformat any text using it.

1 Select Format > Colors.

Select the color to remove.

Click Delete.

Add sound to topics

1 From the Topic List pod, select one or more topics.

2 Click the Properties button.

Click the Appearance tab.

In the Background Sound box, enter the name of the sound file. The following formats are supported:

.au Used on UNIX systems. Supported by Microsoft Windows and HTML Help.

.mid, .rmi Musical Instrument Digital Interface. Standard for synthesized sound from electronic instruments.

.wav The native sound format for Windows.

5 In the Sound Loop Count box, enter the number of times to play the sound file.

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Tables

About tables

In RoboHelp for HTML, you can create tables to organize complex data in a simplified format. You can organize various elements in a table, segregate them using different colors, or draw patterns for easy identification of different elements in a group.

Table styles allow you to choose different formats for tables. Styles can define header rows and columns, first or last rows, repeatable groups of rows or columns, margins within cells, and so on. Using Table properties, you can set margins in a table, define width and height of various cells and select different table styles. In addition to using the predefined table styles in RoboHelp for HTML, you can create your own table styles to display for different kinds of data. For example, you can have simple tables showing salary components or tables displaying the sum of salary components, tax deductions including tax saving investments. You can have some global table styles, which can be used across multiple topics.

You can import tables from FrameMaker and Word documents and map their table styles to RoboHelp table styles or retain the original styles from other formats.

You can add text in tables. You can add cross-references, images, hypertext links to the content in a table. You can apply conditional build tags to rows or columns to hide or show them in certain outputs. For example, you can have a table describing features for each of the RoboHelp outputs. You can apply a conditional build tag on each column listing the features for the specific output and display only if you generate that output.

Support for mini TOCs and breadcrumbs in Tables make them more useful for displaying content in an organized and user-friendly fashion.

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Workflow for creating a table

1 Insert a table using the toolbar or the Table menu. Then select the number of rows and columns in the table grid.

See “ Insert tables ” on page 143.

2 Select a global style to apply on the table. You can also create your own table styles using the Format > Styles option.

Note: If you do not select a table style, a default table style is applied to the table.

See “ Table styles ” on page 158.

3 Change the table properties in the Table properties dialog box. You can set the margins, align cells in the table, and apply shading and borders to the table.

See “ Edit tables ” on page 144.

Insert tables

You can insert a table anywhere in a topic or a master page, including headers and footers. You can also insert a table within a table. You can apply different table properties to the inserted table to display complex data.

Insert a basic table

1 Click where you want the table.

2 Choose View > Toolbars > Tables And Borders.

In the toolbar, click the Insert Table button .

On the table grid, drag to determine the columns and rows to add.

Click to insert the table.

Insert a custom table

1 Click where you want to add the table.

Select Table > Insert > Table.

Specify the number of rows and columns.

Select a table template, or select a custom style from CSS Styles.

Click OK.

To add a line below a table, click inside the lower-right cell of the table. When the cursor is blinking, press the Right or Down Arrow. Press Enter to begin a new line.

Inserting tables within tables

When you insert a table within a table, the second table resides in a single cell within the first table. You can change the table properties individually to differentiate the information.

The second table is 100% of the width of the cell in which you insert it. You can change this setting after you insert it.

Copy and paste tables

You can cut, copy, and paste tables.

1 Select the dotted outline around the table. Boxes around the table indicate that it is selected.

Right-click. Select Copy, or select Cut to move the table.

Right-click the destination. Select Paste.

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To add a line below a table, click inside the lower-right cell of the table. When the cursor is blinking, press the Right or Down Arrow. Press Enter to begin a new line.

Edit tables

For a demonstration of table editing, see the Table manipulation section of the Easy ways to create and manage tables and table styling video.

Insert table rows or columns

• Click in a table. Select Table > Insert > Row or Column.

• To insert multiple rows or columns, select multiple cells in the table. Select Table > Insert > Row or Column.

• Select rows or columns. Copy or cut the selection, and paste it at the new location.

• Remove tables or parts of a table. To remove a table, row, a column or a cell, select and right-click. Select Delete

[object] .

Note: You can also cut, copy, and paste rows, columns, and cells within the same table or other tables.

Edit table properties

1 Click a table.

Select Table > Table Properties.

Set options.

Set autofit table properties

1 Click a table.

Select Table > Autofit.

Select a command:

Autofit To Contents Sets the column width to the width of the column contents.

Autofit To Window Sets the column width such that the width of the table is equal to the width of the window.

Fixed Column Width Sets the column width to a fixed size.

Edit cell properties

• You can enter the amount of space between cells. If a CSS table style has the cell spacing set or row or column formatting done, this option is not enabled in Table Properties > Cell.

• Select the vertical alignment of the text within an individual cell.

Note: Setting the alignment and cell spacing using the Cell tab applies to all cells in the table.

Edit spacing within cells

Define the amount of space between the cell contents and its inside edges. Add extra padding to prevent your tables from looking crowded.

Select one or more cells to modify.

Click Format > Borders and Shading.

Click Borders tab. Click Padding.

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In the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right boxes, enter a value.

Click OK twice to apply changes.

Note: The Margins option sets the spacing around the table.

Merge or split table cells

1 Select the cells to merge or split.

2 Select Table > Merge Cells or Table > Split Cells.

You can split a cell into numerous rows and columns to create a table.

More Help topics

“ Table styles ” on page 158

Lists

Indent lists

❖ Select the list items to indent. Do one of the following:

• Click Decrease Indent and Increase Indent in the toolbar.

Note: You can also press Shift+Tab and Tab to decrease and increase indent.

• From the Format menu, select Paragraph. Type a number in Left or Right.

• (Multilevel list) On the ruler, drag the markers to set the spacing between the number or letter and the list item.

Apply bullet styles

Note: When you format lists using the toolbar or Format menu, inline styles are created. Style sheets aren’t affected.

Specify an inline bullet style

1 Open the topic in the Design Editor.

Select text.

From the Format menu, select Lists > Bullets And Numbering.

Do one of the following:

• Select a bullet style.

• To create a custom bullet, click Browse. Select a GIF file. Click OK. The file is added to Baggage Files.

Create a bullet style for a style sheet

1 Open the topic to customize a bullet style.

2 From the Format menu, select Styles.

3 In List, select All Styles.

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From Available In, select an external or embedded style sheet.

From the Styles list, select a style and click the Create New Style button

Under Style Type, select Paragraph Style.

Type a name for the new style. The name can contain letters and numbers only and cannot begin with a number.

Under Style For Following Paragraph, select (No Change).

Click Format and specify settings.

Match bullet color to text

Match color using an inline style

❖ Select the bulleted list and choose Format > Font.

The bullet and text color become inline instead of being associated with a style.

Match color using a style sheet

1 Place your cursor in the Design Editor, and select Format > Styles.

2 From the Style list, select the style, and click the Create New Style button .

Under Style Type, select Paragraph Style.

Type a name for the new style. The name can contain letters and numbers only and cannot begin with a number.

Under Style For Following Paragraph, select a style.

Paragraph styles apply to entire paragraphs and affect the font, spacing between lines, numbering, borders and shading, and DHTML effects.

Select Format > Font.

Select a color.

Click OK twice.

Select the text that you want to format. Click Bulleted List.

10 From the Styles list, select the style you created.

Remove bullets and numbering

1 Select the bulleted or numbered list items.

From the Format menu, select List > Bullets And Numbering.

Click the option for no bullets.

You can also use the Create a Bulleted List, Create a Numbered List, and Create a Multilevel List buttons in the toolbar to remove formatting.

Apply a numbering format

Note: When you format lists using the toolbar or the Format menu, inline styles are created. Style sheets aren’t affected.

1 Open the topic in the Design Editor.

Select the numbered list.

From the Format menu, select List > Bullets And Numbering.

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4 Click the Numbered tab. Select a numbering format.

Add a paragraph within a list

Use this procedure to insert paragraphs between numbered or bulleted items in a list.

1 Click at the end of the line to insert a paragraph over it.

Press Shift + Enter.

To end the line break and restart the numbering or bullets, press Enter.

(Optional) Drag the ruler at the top of the Design Editor to indent the paragraph.

Stop and start lists by clicking the Numbered List button in the toolbar.

Restart or continue numbering or lettering

After you insert a nested list, you can adjust numbering or lettering of the container list.

1 Click in the line where the new numbering or lettering sequence begins.

Select Format > List > Bullets And Numbering.

Select the Numbered tab.

In Restart Numbering At, enter the start number.

For an alphabetical list, type the numeric equivalent for the start letter. For example, type 4 for the letter D.

5 Click OK.

Headers, footers, and page breaks

Headers and footers

You can create headers or footers in topics or master pages.

If you edit or remove headers/footers, topics and master pages are affected as follows:

In a topic The changes apply to the topic.

In a master page The changes apply to all topics associated with the template.

In a topic associated with a master page You can choose whether to apply the changes to the current topic or to the master page and all associated topics.

Create or edit headers and footers

1 Open the topic or master page.

Select View > Header or Footer.

Type the content for the header or footer. Text-only pop-ups are not supported.

(Optional) To add or edit margins, borders, color, or an image, right-click in the header or footer, and select Header

Properties or Footer Properties.

Note: Any image file you select is added to the Baggage Files folder and is included in the project when you generate it.

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Click outside the header or footer.

Click the Save All button.

Remove headers and footers

1 Open the topic or master page containing the header or footer.

Click the Header button or the Footer button.

Right-click in the header or footer, and select Remove Header or Remove Footer.

Click the Save All button.

Insert page breaks

Insert page breaks in topics to start new pages in the Printed Documentation output.

1 Open the topic in the Design Editor. Click where you want the page break.

2 Select Insert > Page Break. Alternatively, press Ctrl + Enter.

Text boxes

Insert text boxes in topics

Notes:

• Select Positioning from the View menu.

• Text can flow around a text box.

• If users have Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, you can apply Dynamic HTML effects to a paragraph by placing the paragraph in a text box.

Insert a text box

1 Click where you want to insert the text box.

Select Insert > HTML > Text Box.

(Optional) Right-click the text box and click Text Box Properties. Modify the properties.

Click in the text box to enter text or insert an image or other element.

Insert a positioned text box

Precisely position information on the page, allowing other elements to flow behind the text box.

1 Select Insert > HTML > Positioned Text Box.

Select the positioned text box and drag it where you want it.

Right-click the positioned text box and select Positioned Text Box Properties. Adjust the properties.

Layer positioned text boxes

Layer positioned text boxes and specify their display order by applying Dynamic HTML (DHTML) effects.

1 Select the text box for the bottom layer.

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Select View > Toolbars > Positioning.

From the Z menu, select 1.

Repeat for additional text boxes.

Layered text boxes

Change text box properties

1 Right-click the text box. Select Text Box Properties or Positioned Text Box Properties.

2 Change the properties.

Remove text boxes from a topic

1 Select the text box.

2 In the toolbar, click the Delete button.

User-defined variables

User-defined variables store static global information that can be used repeatedly in your project, making information portable and simple to update. When you modify a variable or value, every occurrence of that variable or value is updated across the project. The User Defined Variables pod (available from View > Pods) lists all the user-defined variables in a project.

You can import documents with variables into a project.

Note: When you upgrade from previous versions of RoboHelp, variable values are converted to HTML text, and these variable values appear in the Default Variable Set.

Create a user-defined variable

For global variables, ensure that all required variables exist.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select View > Pods > User Defined Variables.

• Right-click a word in the topic. Select Add To > User Defined Variable.

2 Enter a variable name and value.

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Variable names can contain only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens, and can't exceed 255 characters. A variable value can be blank.

3 Click OK. The variable is inserted.

Press Ctrl+F9, and then specify the variable name within the curly brackets that appear in the topic. Double-click the variable to specify its value in the Variable dialog box.

Note: You can create variables only in Default Variable Set, but you can modify the variable value in other variable sets.

Create a variable set

Variable sets enable you to modify values of various user-defined variables and use them in different outputs.

Default Variable Set is the master variable set. When you insert a variable, the variable is taken from Default Variable Set.

You can create different variable sets in the User Defined Variables pod to override the values of variables in Default

Variable Set and use them in different outputs. To use a variable set other than Default Variable Set, select the variable set in the Content pane of layout properties.

Click the Add/Edit Variable Set icon.

Click Add and specify a name for the new variable set.

Click OK.

Note: You can edit and delete a variable set in the Variable Set dialog box by clicking the respective buttons.

Edit a user-defined variable

1 In the User Defined Variables pod, select a user-defined variable from the Default Variable Set.

2 Do one of the following:

• Right-click and select Edit.

• Select and edit its value in the User Defined Variables editor.

• From the Edit menu, select Edit [ variable name ].

3 (Optional) Select a different variable set.

Modify the value.

Click OK.

Note: You can format a user-defined variable in the User Defined Variables editor. The Design and HTML buttons in the editor allow you to toggle between Design Editor and HTML Editor.

Format a user-defined variable

You can format variable values in the User Defined Variables editor. You can also achieve the following using Design

Editor:

• Insert images, hypertext links, and multimedia files in the variable values.

• Apply conditional build tags to the values.

• Perform a spell-check on the variable values.

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Insert a user-defined variable

You can drag a user-defined variable from the User Defined Variables pod to the desired location in a topic open in

Design Editor. If the list of variables is long, specify the variable name or value to search the variable. You can also insert variables using the follow steps:

Place the insertion point at the desired location in a topic.

Select Insert > User Defined Variable.

Select a variable and click OK.

Specify the variable name or value to search the variable. As you type your search string, RoboHelp narrows down the variable list.

View properties of a user-defined variable

1 In the User Defined Variables pod, select Default Variable Set.

2 Select a variable.

3 Do one of the following:

• Right-click and select Properties.

• Select Edit > Properties.

4 View details (Variable Name, Variable Set, Variable Value, Description, and Used In Topics).

5 Click OK.

Delete a user-defined variable

1 In the User Defined Variables pod, select Default Variable Set.

2 Right-click a user-defined variable, and select Delete.

3 Select one of the following options:

Delete Variable And Its References Delete the variable and its references across the topics, TOC, index, SSL, and templates. No warning is shown before the deletion.

Note: Use the Variables report to locate the variables you want to remove.

Delete Only The Variable Delete the value of a variable locally. Deleting a user-defined variable in the TOC does not remove it from the index.

Note: If the variable value is overridden in the Single Source layouts file, it is removed from the variable list in the

Single Source layouts dialog box.

Delete Variable And Replace With Actual Content Delete the variable across the topics, TOC, index, SSL, and templates. The formatting rules for the variable remain the same.

Rename a user-defined variable

When you rename a user-defined variable, all instances of the variable are updated across all the variable sets, the topics, templates, TOC, index, and SSL.

Note: You can’t modify saved variable names.

1 Select View > Pods > User Defined Variables. The User Defined Variables pod appears.

2 Right-click a variable and select Rename.

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In the Variable Name field, enter a name.

In the Variable Value field, modify the value.

Click OK.

Single-source with snippets

A snippet is an element that you can single-source and reuse in various locations. It can be a paragraph of text, a code listing, an object such as an image, or an entire topic unto itself. When you create a snippet, RoboHelp adds it to the

Snippet pod as a file with the .hts extension. If you change a snippet, it is automatically updated in all topics that share it. Snippets can contain images, variables, and conditional text tags. When shared in a topic, they retain inline text formatting. CSS formatting changes according to the CSS applied in the topic containing snippet.

The Snippet pod shows a preview of all the snippets on their individual selection. Right-click in the Snippet pod to enable and disable Preview mode. Drag snippets from the pod to a topic or from Windows Explorer to the Snippet pod. You can also select one or multiple snippets and then copy, duplicate, or delete them.

Note: You can generate reports on unused snippets and delete the snippets not in use.

You can drag and drop snippets from the Snippet pod to the Resource Manager to export them to the target folder.

The exported snippet exists at a global level and is visible to every user. Drag a snippet from the Resource Manager pod to the Snippet pod and RoboHelp imports the selected snippet file and its associated files to the project.

Note: You can drag and drop a snippet in the Design Editor to edit its contents.

More Help topics

“ Managing resources ” on page 123

Create and manage snippets

• To create a snippet from scratch, select File > New > Snippet. Specify a category name (if you don’t specify a category name, RoboHelp adds the snippet to the Default category).

• To create a snippet from existing content, select text. Right-click and select Add To > Snippets. Specify a category name (if you don’t specify a category name, RoboHelp adds the snippet to the Default category).

• To view snippet properties, right-click the snippet in the Snippets pod. You can also see which topics share that snippet.

• To copy a snippet, right-click a snippet in the Snippets pod and select Copy from the context menu.

• To import a snippet, select File > Import > Snippet and navigate to the source folder.

• To export a snippet, select it in the Snippets pod, click in the toolbar, and navigate to the destination folder.

• To insert a variable in a snippet, insert the pointer and drag a variable from the User Defined Variables pod.

• To preview a snippet, right-click a snippet in the Snippets pod and select Show Preview.

Insert a snippet in a topic

1 Open a topic.

2 Do one of the following:

• From the Object toolbar, click Insert Snippet .

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• From the Snippet pod, select a snippet and drag and drop it into the topic.

• Select Insert > Snippet. Select a snippet from the list in the dialog box and click OK.

Note: Right-click a snippet in the Resource Manager and select Add to Project to add the snippet to the project.

Insert a snippet in a drop-down text editor

1 Open a topic.

Select some text to expand.

Select DHTML > Create Drop-down Hotspot And Text.

Drag a snippet from the Snippet pod and drop it in the Drop-down Text editor.

Note: You can preview the topic and click the DHTML applied text. The snippet appears in the drop-down text.

Applying conditional build tags to a snippet

Use the Conditional Build Tags pod or right-click to apply conditional text on an entire snippet or a part of it. The preview option also lets you apply a conditional tag on selected text, code, or an image. You can exclude or include a conditional build tag from the output.

Inserting variables in snippets

Choose a variable from the User Defined Variables pod or right-click in a topic and choose Insert User Defined

Variable. The snippet shows the variable value at the insertion point.

Convert a snippet to text

Convert an inserted snippet to embedded text. RoboHelp does not update the embedded text if the snippet is updated.

Click the snippet in the topic.

Right-click and select Convert To HTML Text.

Delete a snippet

1 In the Snippets pod, select the snippet you want to delete and click Delete Selected Item.

2 Select one of the following options:

Delete The Snippet And Its References Delete the snippet and its references across the topics, TOC, index, SSL, and templates. No warning is shown before the deletion.

Note: Use the Snippets report to locate the variables you want to remove.

Delete Only The Snippet Delete the contents of the snippet locally. For example, selecting a snippet in a TOC and deleting it with this option selected does not remove the contents of the snippet from the index.

Delete Snippet And Replace References With Actual Content Delete the snippet and replace the references in the project with the contents.

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Reference

META tags default editor

Click Yes to make RoboHelp Design Editor the default editor for topics without META tags. Click No to retain the current editor. The topic then opens in the selected editor.

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Chapter 6: Styles and style sheets

Style types

You can manage style sheets at the project level and apply styles at the topic level. Master pages provide the layout of a topic and help control the styling. These types of styles are available:

Inline styles A block of text and its formatting within an HTML file (topic) formatted directly in the Design Editor. If you link the file to a style sheet, inline styles override styles in the style sheet and embedded styles.

Embedded styles Style definitions saved in an HTML file (topic). If you link the file to a style sheet, embedded styles override the styles in the style sheet. You can create a character style or a paragraph style.

Styles in cascading style sheets (CSS) Style definitions stored in a CSS file. You can create a character style, a paragraph style, a list style, a multilevel list style, and a table style.

After you convert a WinHelp project to an HTML-based project, styles are available as follows:

Project created from an HPJ file You can create styles that use the same formatting as styles in Word templates. These styles are saved in style sheets that are attached to the HTML topics. If you do not want style sheets, translate the Word formatting into inline styles in the HTML topics.

Project created from an HLP file Preformatted style sheets are available to apply to HTML topics. Topics are formatted to use the default HTML styles.

More Help topics

“ Master pages ” on page 115

Manage style sheets

Link a style sheet to topics or master pages

You can associate one style sheet with any number of HTML topics, including a topic in Design view, multiple topics, or a new topic.

If you create a style sheet in a project and apply it to a new topic, all topics you create later use the new style sheet. Link a topic to another one, if necessary.

1 From the Topic List, select one or more topics.

Click the Properties icon

Select a style sheet. If needed, click the Browse button sheet.

in the toolbar. Click the Appearance tab.

to navigate to a style sheet, or click New to create a style

4 (Optional) Edit the style sheet:

Edit Add, modify, or remove styles in the style sheet.

Background Sound Add a sound clip that plays when the topic opens in the viewer or browser.

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Sound Loop Count Define the number of times the sound clip plays when the topic is opened. Select Infinite to play the sound continuously while the topic is open.

5 Click OK.

Note: Use this same procedure to link a style sheet to a topic in Design Editor.

More Help topics

“ Applying a master page or CSS at the time of generation ” on page 119

Unlink a style sheet from topics or master pages

After you unlink a style sheet from a topic, the style sheet formatting is removed from the topic.

1 From the Topic List, select one or more topics.

Click the Properties icon in the toolbar. Click the Appearance tab.

Select None in the list of style sheets, or click the browse button

Click OK.

to select a different style sheet to apply.

Create a style sheet

The new style sheet (default.css) is the default until you create a style sheet or link another style sheet to a new topic.

1 Click the Style Sheet button . If necessary, select View > Toolbars > Formatting to view the toolbar.

Select New.

In Name, type a filename and include the .css extension.

In Folder, select a location.

(Optional) To base your new style sheet on an existing one, select Copy Styles From. Select a style sheet.

Click Create, create new styles, and click OK.

Create a style sheet and topic simultaneously

1 Select File > New > Topic. Click the Appearance tab.

2 Click New.

Enter a filename and include the .css extension.

Create or edit predefined styles in the Styles dialog box.

5 Click OK.

Export a style sheet

1 Select the Design Editor.

Select Format > Export Styles.

Browse to where you want to export the style sheet.

If necessary, rename the style sheet, keeping the .css filename extension.

Note: This feature is applicable only for styles applied in a topic and not at a project level.

4 Click Save.

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Note: You can export topic-specific inline styles only.

Create styles for style sheets

Create a style in the Styles dialog box

1 In the Project Manager pod, right-click the style sheet where you want to create the style, and click Edit.

2 Click New and select a style type, for example, Paragraph style. By default, the new style is created with a default name such as Style1.

3 In the Styles box, change the default name of the style. Do not use special characters or spaces in the name.

Note: If you use special characters, RoboHelp prompts you to fix the name. Some browsers cannot read styles with names containing special characters.

Select options in the Formatting section of the Styles dialog box. Changes appear in the Paragraph Preview section.

(Optional) To set additional values, click Format, and select an option:

Font Select font families, size, and attributes, such as bold or italics.

Paragraph Set up indents, line spacing, and alignment.

Borders And Shading Use the Borders tab to set border types, color, line thickness, and spacing. Use the Shading tab to set background color and image options.

DHTML Effects Select which dynamic HTML effect to include and when to include it.

Note: If you modify a style to include a Dynamic HTML effect, resave topics attached to the style sheet. Select Tools >

Update DHTML Effects In Topics. When you resave the files linked to the style sheet, topics authored in third-party editors are converted to RoboHelp HTML. Special HTML tags are added to support specific Help features in the program.

Create a style using the Styles And Formatting pod

1 To open the Styles And Formatting pod, open a topic and select Format > Styles.

Click the Create New Style button in the Styles And Formatting toolbar, and select a style type, such as List Style.

Type the style name and click OK.

Select font and formatting options, and click OK.

More Help topics

“ Styles And Formatting pod ” on page 19

Create a style using the Design Editor

1 In the Design Editor, select some text in the topic.

2 Apply a format, such as bold.

With the text still highlighted, type a style name in the Style list in the toolbar and press Enter.

Click Create.

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Table styles

With Style Editor, you can create and customize table styles according to your requirements. Applying a table style instead of inline formatting helps you add standard and easy-to-maintain tables. If you modify a table style, all tables using that style also change.

You can modify the appearance of existing tables by applying a style. RoboHelp asks you if you want to remove inline formatting also.

For tips and workarounds related to customizing tables, see the Table section in Peter Grainge’s RoboHelp tour .

Global table styles

You can select predefined styles for a table. These styles are available globally and can be used across projects to define different tables. Global table styles are present at C:\Documents and Settings\ [user name] \Application

Data\Adobe\RoboHTML\ [version] \Templates\Tables. For Windows Vista®, global table styles are present at

C:\users\ [user name] \AppData\Roaming\Adobe\RoboHTML\ [version] \Templates\Tables.

Note: If you delete the Tables folder from the suggested location, the global table styles are still visible in the Global Styles list. You can always recover the styles from C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp

[version]\RoboHTML\Gallery\Tables.

In addition to the predefined global styles, you can copy table styles from a project folder and paste at C:\Documents and Settings\ [user name] \Application Data\Adobe\RoboHTML\ [version] \Templates\Tables. These table styles are available globally for all the projects.

Click the Apply Global Table Style icon on the Tables And Borders toolbar to apply a style on the table.

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Apply table styles

To apply a table style on an existing table, do the following:

Select an existing table in a topic.

Click the Apply Global Table Style icon on the Tables And Borders toolbar to apply a style on the table.

In the Select Table Style dialog box, select Clean Table Inline Formatting. Selecting Clean Table Inline Formatting removes any inline styles used in the table.

4 Select a style from the Available Styles list or select a global table style (table template).

5 Click OK.

Note: You can double-click a style in the Table Style dialog box to apply it to a table.

Create and manage table styles

Besides using global table styles (table templates) and predefined table styles in the CSS, you can create custom table styles to ensure consistent table layouts, borders, alignment, shading, and fonts. You can vary characteristics such as the colors, fonts, bold, italics, and alignments applied to rows and columns.

John Daigle demonstrates some easy ways to create and manage tables and table styling .

Create table styles

1 Select Format > Styles.

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Click Create New Style and select Table Style.

Name the new table style and click OK.

Apply formatting to the whole table, first or last column or row, or a group of rows or columns. From the Apply

Formatting To list, select the columns or rows to format. For example, you can make the background of the first row blue and the background of first column yellow.

Select font, size, and color.

Select border and border color.

Click Apply. The new style appears in the CSS Styles list of the Table Styles dialog box. Select this style to create tables with the same style later.

•

Notes:

Click the Apply Global Table Style icon on the Tables And Borders toolbar to apply a style to the table.

• Based on the sequence of changes, in the first and last cell of a row, the row color overrides the column color.

The appearance of a table is the result of several classes, such as Table, TR, and TD. RoboHelp applies these subclasses to the respective table item when you apply a table class. Therefore, if you want to change a table style through code or script, write a class attribute (class=”myTableClass”) in the table tag. RoboHelp applies all the table patterns for the remaining items of the table in Design Editor.

Apply conditional build tags to tables

Conditional build tags let you exclude content from output.

Select a row, column, table, or text in a table.

Select Format > Apply Conditional Build Tags > New/Multiple.

Select tags. Click OK.

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List styles

About list styles

RoboHelp provides three types of lists: HTML lists, advanced lists, and autonumbered lists. Advanced lists can be either single level or multilevel lists. You can define HTML list styling under List Styles and Advanced lists under

Multilevel List Styles. Define autonumbered lists under Paragraph Styles.

HTML lists All the ordered <ol> and unordered <ul> lists come under HTML lists.

Advanced lists Creates a hierarchical or outline list, such as numbered heading styles, with numbering such as 1, 1.1,

1.1.1, and so on. Like simple numbered lists, hierarchical numbered lists and the accompanying paragraph styles share the same formatting. The multilevel lists set up complex nested steps, such as steps, step results, substeps, and so on.

Multilevel lists define only the numbering properties. Multilevel lists do not have their formatting until they are linked to paragraph styles.

For an example of how to create a multilevel list based on a supplied style (list template), see the Outline Numbering section in Peter Grainge's RoboHelp tour .

Autonumbered lists Autonumbered lists are linked to paragraph styles. To autonumber a paragraph, you can apply autonumbering to it. To number figures or tables sequentially, define a simple numbered list format, such as Figure

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Number or Table Number. In simple numbered lists, the paragraph style and numbering styles share the same font, font size, font weight, and font color.

For a video introduction by John Daigle, see Easy ways to create lists and autonumbering on the Adobe RoboHelp video tutorials page .

Create HTML lists

1 Right-click List Style in the Styles dialog box.

2 Click New.

Name the new list.

Select a font, font size, or a color for the new list style.

Click the Create A Numbered List button to create a numbered list or the Create A Bulleted List button to create a bulleted list.

6 (Optional) Select other formatting options in the Formatting section of the Style editor.

Note: To edit a list style, select different formatting options in the Formatting section of the Style editor and preview them in the Preview section.

Create multilevel lists

1 Do one of the following:

• On the Style And Formatting pod, click Create New Style, and select Multilevel List Style. Then type a name for the new multilevel list, and click OK.

• Right-click a multilevel list style in the Style And Formatting pod, and select Edit.

2 Select a list level from the Apply Formatting To menu. List Preview displays the hierarchical order of the selected level.

3 (For multilevel lists only) Select the paragraph style to apply to the current list level.

4 Select a predefined list style from the List Style pop-up menu, or click New to create a list style. For example, you can have a sequenced list style such as Months, and you can have a sequence of all 12 months added to this sequence.

5 You can prefix a sequence or a multilevel list. To prefix a list style, enter text or numbers to prefix in the Edit Style box. To specify the level to prefix, select the level from the Insert Level menu. You can add a prefix to the level in the Edit Style box by separating the level and prefix with a separator such as a dot (.) or an angle bracket (>).

6 Apply formatting to the list style:

• Font, font size, color, highlight color, bold, italic, and underline

• List indention, space between list prefix, and accompanying paragraph text

For more information about the numbering behavior, indentation and margin control, or prefix formats, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_rh_blog_multilist_en .

Create an autonumbering style

Autonumbering is linked to Paragraph styles. You can autonumber a paragraph style and apply it as a numbered list style.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select a paragraph style in the Styles dialog box.

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• Create a paragraph style.

2 Click the Autonumber button .

3 (Optional) Select Inherit Numbering Property From Multilevel List to inherit the multilevel list style to apply autonumbering. Select the multilevel list style from the List Class pop-up menu and select the level to apply autonumbering. Click OK.

Enter a prefix for the new autonumbering style in the Format text box.

Select a predefined numbering option from the Numbering pop-up menu or select New to create a sequenced autonumbering style.

For more detailed information, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_rh_blog_autonumber_en .

Create a sequencing prefix

You can create custom sequencing prefixes to assign to Advanced lists.

In the Styles dialog box, click New.

In the Create/Edit Custom Sequence dialog box, click the plus sign to create a sequence.

Enter a unique sequence name such as Months and click OK.

Select the font for the sequence from the Sequence Font pop-up menu and click Add.

Click the Edit Sequence box and type the sequence that you want. For example, January, February, and so on. After you enter January, click Add to add February, and so on.

For more information about custom sequencing, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_rh_blog_multilist_en .

Edit a sequencing prefix

1 In the Styles dialog box, click New.

2 Select the sequence from the Sequence pop-up menu, and do one of the following:

• To edit a sequence entry, select the entry in the Edit Sequence list, and click Edit. Make your edits in the Edit

Sequence box.

• To delete a sequence entry, select the entry in the Edit Sequence list, and click Delete.

• To reorder the sequence, delete entries and reenter them in the desired order.

Delete a custom sequence

1 In the Styles dialog box, click New.

Select the sequence. Click the plus sign.

Click Yes to confirm. Then click OK.

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Apply styles

After you link a CSS file, an external style sheet, or embedded styles to a topic, you can apply styles.

1 In the Design view, do one of the following:

• Select the text to format.

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• Click inside the paragraph to format. For multiple paragraphs, select the paragraphs.

2 In the Styles And Formatting pod, double-click a style.

• Character styles apply to selected blocks of text and impact fonts and DHTML effects.

• Paragraph styles apply to entire paragraphs and impact fonts, spacing between lines, numbering, borders and shading, and DHTML effects.

• Table styles apply to the content in the tables.

• List styles apply to all numbering and bullet styles.

• Multilevel list styles apply to hierarchical lists.

To remove a character style, select the text and select a different style from the Style list. To remove a paragraph style, select the style None.

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Edit styles in CSS files

When you edit styles in a CSS file, all topics that are linked to the file are updated.

Important: You cannot use the Undo command to undo changes to a CSS file. Edit the CSS file to revert to a previous style.

Edit a style using the Styles dialog box

1 In the Project Manager pod, right-click the CSS file. Click Edit.

2 Deselect Hide Inherited Styles.

From Available In, select a style sheet.

In the Styles box, select a style.

Click Format, and select the attributes.

(Optional) Select formatting options from the Formatting section.

Click OK.

Edit a style using the Styles And Formatting pod

1 Select a style in the Styles And Formatting pod.

Click Edit Selected Item.

In the Styles dialog box, select formatting options.

Click OK.

To prevent a user-defined color from displaying in the browser background, set the Background Text style to a white background. This style is for normal topic text, such as headings and paragraphs. It controls the default settings for background images, background colors, and borders.

Delete styles from style sheets

1 In the Project Manager pod, right-click the style sheet containing the style to remove, and click Edit.

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If Hide Inherited Styles is selected, deselect it to see available styles.

From the Available In menu, select the style sheet name. For embedded styles, select the topic name.

From the Style menu, select the style to remove.

To delete custom formatting from a default style, select the style.

Click Delete.

Click Yes at the prompt.

Note: To remove a style from the style sheet or the Formatting toolbar, select None from the Styles menu.

Use color and images

Change text and link colors in a style sheet

RoboHelp incorporates changes you make to a CSS file into every topic the CSS file is linked to. You cannot undo changes to a CSS file.

Using the WebHelp Skin Editor, you can change the color of text in the TOC, index, and Search panels for WebHelp and WebHelp Pro.

1 In the Project Manager pod, right-click the CSS file. Select Edit.

Deselect Hide Inherited Styles.

From Available In, select a CSS file.

In the Styles box, select Character.

Expand Character Style, and select a link or text style from these options, among others:

Background + Text (Body) In the default style sheet, body text (normal text). This style is for text, tables, and headings in topics. This style also controls the default settings for background images, background colors, and borders.

Hyperlink (Unvisited) Hyperlink (Visited) Hyperlink (Active) The selected hypertext link.

Select Format > Font.

Under Font Color, select a color. Click OK.

More Help topics

“ Create styles for style sheets ” on page 157

“ Skins ” on page 334

Add or edit borders or backgrounds in style sheets

1 In the Project Manager pod, right-click the style sheet where you want to edit borders or backgrounds, and click

Edit.

2 Deselect Hide Inherited Styles.

From Available In, select a CSS file.

Under Other in the Styles box, select Background + Text (Body).

5 Select Format, and then select Borders And Shading.

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6 Click the Border or Shading tab, define the borders or backgrounds, and click OK.

Note: Any image file used for borders or backgrounds is added to the project Baggage Files folder and is included in the output you generate.

More Help topics

“ Add or edit borders and backgrounds in topics ” on page 140

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Inline styles

Apply or edit inline styles

1 In the Design Editor, select the block of text to format.

2 Do one of the following:

• Select a formatting option from the toolbar.

• From the Format menu, select the desired formatting from the Font, Paragraph, Bullets And Numbering,

Borders And Shading, or Topic Borders And Shading options.

Remove inline styles from text

1 In the Design Editor, select the block of text with the inline style.

2 In the toolbar, click the options menu next to the Styles box.

Options menu

3 Select Default Paragraph Font.

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Chapter 7: TOCs, indexes, glossaries

TOCs

TOC basics

About TOCs

The table of contents is a hierarchy of the folders, topics, and any subfolders in Project Manager. RoboHelp creates books from custom folders and pages from the topics in these folders. Any topics not saved in custom folders appear as pages at the first level in the table of contents.

You can reorder books and pages after you create the table of contents.

Create TOCs

Automatically create a table of contents based on the chapter layout defined in the Project Manager pod. If you automatically create a table of contents, books and pages are sorted alphabetically.

1 In Project Manager, right-click the Table of Contents folder, and select New Table Of Contents.

If the project has many topics, collapse the Project Files folder first to view the Table Of Contents folder.

Specify a name for the TOC.

(Optional) Select Copy Existing Table of Contents and browse for an existing TOC file (.hhc) to create the TOC from an available TOC.

4 Click OK. RoboHelp opens the Table Of Contents pod.

5 In the Table Of Contents pod, click the Auto-Create TOC button .

6 Select an option in the Auto-Create TOC dialog box:

Delete Current TOC Before Creating New Removes books and pages before automatically creating the table of contents. If this option is deselected, existing books and pages are included in the table of contents.

Create TOC Pages For Mid-Topic Links Creates pages in the table of contents based on bookmarks. RoboHelp makes the topic that contains the bookmark into a book and all bookmarks into pages.

7 Click OK.

Note: In Microsoft HTML Help projects, you synchronize the table of contents in window properties. Folder names and filenames, including those for topics, must use underscores rather than spaces.

More Help topics

“ Reorder TOC books and pages ” on page 167

“ Define chapter layout ” on page 35

Print TOCs

1 Click the Table Of Contents pod.

2 In the toolbar, click Print.

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3 From the pop-up menu, select the information to print.

Overview Print all book and page titles.

Detailed Print all book and page titles, the topic titles linked to each, and the folders in which the topics are located.

4 Click Properties or Page Setup to specify print options.

Create TOC books and pages

Version-control projects may have more options.

Create TOC books

1 Open the Table Of Contents pod by double-clicking the required TOC in Project Manager.

2 In the toolbar, click the New TOC Book button .

In the Book Title box, type the name to appear in the table of contents.

Click OK.

Note: A book must include at least one page for it to appear in the output.

Create TOC books and pages with targeted links

You can link books and pages in a table of contents to content that you specify. When a user clicks a book or page icon, the linked content appears in the Topic pane. You can link to topics, websites, and so on.

1 In the Table Of Contents pod, do one of the following:

• Click the New TOC Book button . Select Book With Link.

• Click the New TOC Page button .

Under Book (or Page) Destination, specify a destination:

• Select an item in the list. If needed, select from the pop-up menu and navigate to the item. You can link to items in other projects.

• To create a topic, click New Topic. Type a title, change the filename if needed, and select a master page. Link a book or page to it.

3 Click OK.

Create TOC books from pages

1 In the Table Of Contents pod, right-click a page.

2 Select Create Book From Page.

A book is created with the same title as the page. The page is placed inside the new book.

Create TOC pages by dragging

1 Open the Table Of Contents pod and the Topic List pod.

In the Topic List pod, select one or more topics.

Drag the topics into the Table Of Contents pod.

Note: Titles of topics dragged into the Table Of Contents pod are based on the topic titles. To rename a topic title, rightclick it and select Rename.

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Create TOC books and pages with user-defined variables

1 In the Table Of Contents pod, right-click and select New > Book or Page.

From the Available Variables menu, select a variable. Click Add. The variable is listed in the Page Title box.

(Optional) In the Page Title box, add a prefix or suffix to the variable. For example, add the prefix “Adobe” to the variable “RoboHelp.”

4 From the Existing Topics list, select a topic for the new page.

5 Click OK. The book or page appears in the table of contents. Its title displays the user-defined variable with the text you added.

To view or change the variable applied to a TOC item, right-click the item and select Properties.

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Edit TOC books and pages

Rename TOC books and pages

Note: If you rename a TOC page, the topic title linked to the page isn’t affected. Similarly, if you change a topic title, the name of the TOC page isn’t affected. Rename the TOC page separately, if desired.

In the Table Of Contents pod, right-click a book or page. Select Rename.

Type the new name. Press Enter.

You can also rename a book or page by changing its properties.

Reorder TOC books and pages

1 In the Table Of Contents pod, select a book or page.

2 Do one of the following:

• Drag the item to a different location.

• Click arrows in the toolbar to move the item.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Remove TOC books or pages

If you remove a page from the table of contents, the topic it links to is not deleted.

In the Table Of Contents pod, select a book or page icon.

In the toolbar, click the Delete button.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Change properties for TOC books or pages

Rename a book or page, or edit a destination, window frame, or custom icon.

In the Table Of Contents pod, right-click a book or page. Select Properties.

Make changes on the General and Advanced tabs.

Note: The primary layout controls the properties of books and pages. For example, you can add custom icons for books and pages only if the primary layout is Microsoft HTML Help.

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3 Click OK.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Manage TOCs

Manage TOCs with reports

RoboHelp provides several reports to help you manage tables of contents and resolve errors.

❖ Select Tools > Reports > [report name] .

You can save, print, copy, and mail reports.

Table Of Contents report

This report displays the hierarchy of books and pages in a table of contents. You can view parts of a table of contents by selecting a specific folder from the Folder list. If you change topic titles or filenames, you can compare them with the titles used in the books and pages.

Choose from these report formats:

Detailed Includes titles of books and pages, names of topics that are linked to them, and names of folders in which files are located.

Overview Includes titles of books and pages and names of topics linked to them.

Use this report as a project outline.

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Topic Properties report

Customize this report to display any of these items:

• Topic titles

• Filenames

• Folder names

• Books and pages that reference topics

Topic Reference report

This report tracks references to the topics in a project, including books and pages in the table of contents that are targeted to topics.

Unreferenced Topics report

This report tracks topics in a project that aren’t used in the table of contents, the index, or navigation components.

Broken Links report

This report displays the broken links in a project, grouped by file.

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Identify and fix broken TOC links

If books or pages have broken links, they appear in the Table Of Contents pod with a red X.

1 Select Tools > Resolve Broken Links.

References To Selected Topic Shows all references to the missing topic. The Open Book icon indicates broken

TOC references.

All Missing Topics Displays topics missing from the project.

2 To remove a TOC item, select it under References To Selected Topic, and click Delete.

More Help topics

“ Fix broken links ” on page 197

Multiple TOCs

About multiple TOCs

You can create multiple tables of contents for a single project. You can use this feature for single-source publishing.

For example, you can create separate tables of contents for a project that contains multiple languages or outputs for different audiences.

Note: To set a TOC as default, right-click a TOC in the Project Manager pod and select Set As Default.

If you merge subprojects into a master project, the tables of contents of the subprojects are available in the master project.

Move books and pages to TOCs

1 In the Project Manager pod, double-click tables of contents in the Table Of Contents folder.

2 Drag books and pages from one Table Of Contents pod to another.

Create multiple TOCs for a project

1 Do one of the following:

• In the Project Manager pod, right-click the Table Of Contents folder. Select New Table Of Contents.

• Click the Create/View Table Of Contents button . In the Select TOC dialog box, click New.

2 Type a name.

3 (Optional) Select Copy Existing Table Of Contents to base the new table of contents on an existing one. Click the browse button to locate the HHC file in the project folder, and select it.

4 Click OK.

By default, an empty table of contents with the same name as of the project appears in the Table Of Contents folder.

Note: Click the Auto-Create TOC button , to automatically create a table of contents.

Merge TOCs

Follow this procedure to merge the tables of contents within a project.

1 In the Table Of Contents pod, select the book or page where you want to merge the table of contents.

2 Click the Insert TOC Placeholder button . The Insert TOC Placeholder dialog box appears.

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From the Select Table Of Contents menu, select the table of contents to merge.

Click OK.

When you generate a layout, select the merged table of contents from the list in the Layout screen of the wizard. The selected table of contents appears in the output view of the Help.

More Help topics

“ Merging Help projects ” on page 96

Create browse sequences from TOCs

You can use multiple tables of contents to generate browse sequences.

Select Tools > Browse Sequence Editor.

Click Auto-Create Using TOC.

In the text box, specify how many levels for each book to include in the sequence.

From the pop-up menu, select the table of contents for the browse sequence.

5 Click OK.

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Indexes

Index basics

About indexes and keywords

You create an index by adding keywords and associating them with topics. You can spell check an index, and you can use topic To Do lists to track your work while indexing. Change the capitalization of keywords in the Index pod.

An index can include multiple levels of keywords and cross-references to other keywords. Subkeywords can be listed under a main keyword or in a Topics Found window. If a main keyword is linked to more than two topics, it needs subkeywords.

Topic keywords

Topic keywords appear the same as index file (HHK) keywords, but they are stored within individual HTML topics.

The Index Designer identifies topic keywords with a key/page icon .

When working with topic keywords, consider the following details:

• When you import topics into a project, their keywords are added to the index.

• You can copy topic keywords to other topics and create index file keywords from them.

• You can use topic keywords with Keyword Link controls.

• If you remove a topic from a project, its keywords remain in the index in bold (indicating they are not linked to a topic). The keywords don’t appear in the index until you link them to other topics.

• Topic keywords can link only to local HTML topics. The topic can appear only in the default Help window.

• Topic keywords cannot cross-reference (link to) other keywords in the index. Create the cross-reference using an index file keyword.

• Topic keywords are sorted in the index in alphabetical order. You cannot reorder the keywords.

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Additional details for HTML Help projects

• You can merge topic keywords from multiple CHM files into a master project.

• If you add index controls to topics, the index file (HHK) for the control displays only index file keywords.

Additional details for WinHelp projects

• When you convert a WinHelp project (HPJ) file to a RoboHelp project, the keywords in the WinHelp topics are saved as keywords in the index file.

Index file keywords

Index file keywords are saved in the project index file (HHK) rather than in the code of individual HTML topics. The

Index Designer identifies index file keywords with a key icon . You can create and maintain multiple indexes for a project.

When working with index file keywords, consider the following details:

• You can use index file keywords with all supported output types and with Keyword Link controls.

• Index file keywords can cross-reference (link to) other index file keywords.

• Index file keywords can link to local HTML topics, multimedia files, baggage files, bookmarks, and URLs.

Depending on the Help format, a topic can appear in the default Help window, a custom window, or a frame.

• If you aren’t creating a binary index, and the project contains no topic keywords, you can sort the keywords in any order.

• When you remove a topic from the project, index file keywords remain in the index if other topics use them. You can remove or retain the keywords, regardless of whether other topics use them.

• You can merge index files with other projects. For HTML Help, binary indexes are required to merge projects.

Keywords in binary indexes are sorted alphabetically and cannot be reordered.

• If you import topics into a project, assign index file keywords separately. Index file keywords aren’t included with topics, as are topic keywords.

• When you remove an index file keyword from an index, the keyword is also removed from topics that were assigned to it.

• If you remove a topic from a project, and you don’t remove references to the index file keywords it uses, the keywords are marked unused. (The exception is if other topics use them.) If these keywords aren’t used by other keywords, the project includes broken links.

Specify keyword types for a project

A project can include index file keywords, topic keywords, or both. To specify the type to work with, change the project settings.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

Click the General tab.

In Add New Keywords To, specify the keyword type.

• To add index file keywords, select Index File (HHK).

• To add topic keywords, select Topics.

4 Click OK.

New keywords use the type specified until you change the setting.

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Notes:

• When you add a keyword to an index, it is automatically added to the index (HHK) or topic (HTM) files.

• Index file keywords use the key icon . Topic keywords use the page icon .

Print indexes

1 Click the Index pod.

2 From the pop-up menu, select the items to print.

In the toolbar, click Print.

Click Properties and Page Setup to specify print options.

Use the Index report or the See Also report to print customizable keyword lists.

Add and link index keywords

• If you add the same keyword to an index using different capitalization, the Index Designer adds the keywords as one entry, based on the first entry.

• If the index includes index file keywords and topic keywords that are identical, the keywords are merged when you generate the project. In the Index tab, they appear as one keyword. (In the Index Designer, they appear as separate keywords.)

• When you convert a WinHelp project (HPJ file) into a RoboHelp project (XPJ file), the keywords in the WinHelp topics are saved as keywords in the index file.

More Help topics

“ Create an index automatically ” on page 177

Add index keywords using the toolbar

1 In the Index pod, do one of the following:

• To add a keyword, click the New Index Keyword button .

• To add a subkeyword, select a parent keyword from the list. Click the New Index Subkeyword button

2 Type the keyword in the text box. Press Enter.

The keyword is added to the index. It appears in bold, indicating that it is not yet linked to topics.

To quickly add a keyword and subkeywords, skip step 1 and type the keyword and the subkeywords separated by

\ and click Add Keyword.

Select View > Pods > Topic List. The Topic List pod appears.

To link the keyword to topics, drag topics from the Topic List pod to the lower panel in the Index pod.

The linked keyword changes from bold to plain text.

Add index keywords based on a topic title

1 Open the Index pod.

Select View > Pods > Topic List.

In the Topic List pod, select a topic.

A question mark icon indicates that a topic is not added to the index.

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4 Drag the topic into the upper pane of the Index Designer.

The keyword name is based on the topic title. You can rename it.

Add index keywords using topic properties

1 In the Topic List or Project Manager pod, select a topic.

Click the Properties button .

In the Topic Properties dialog box, select the Index tab.

In the text box, type a keyword. To add a subkeyword, type the main keyword, a backslash, and the subkeyword.

Click Add.

Add index keywords by selecting topic text

1 Double-click a topic to open it in the Design view.

2 Select text to use as a keyword.

3 Right-click the text, and select Add To > Index Keyword > [index] .

Copy index keywords

You can copy index keywords between topics. After copying, you can customize them to work with individual topics.

In the Topic List pod, right-click a topic and select the Properties button

Click the Index tab.

Click Add Existing.

On the left, a list of all keywords in the project appears. On the right, a list of all keywords for the current topic appears. If the topic is not yet indexed, no keywords appear.

4 Copy the index keywords to the topic:

• To copy a single keyword, select it on the left and click the single arrow button.

• To copy all keywords, click the double arrow button.

5 Click OK. The keywords are linked to the topic.

To modify index keywords you copy, select a keyword. Enter text under Index Keywords. Click Replace.

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Select an index keyword destination

You can link keywords to various destinations. When a user clicks the keyword, the destination opens in the topic pane.

1 In the Index pod, select a keyword.

Under Topics For, right-click a keyword topic.

Select Properties.

Under Existing Topics, specify a destination and click OK.

• Select an item in the list. If needed, select from the pop-up menu and navigate to the item. You can link to items in other projects.

• To create a topic as an index keyword topic, click New Topic. Type a title, change the filename if needed, and select a master page.

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• To link to another type of destination, click the Link To pop-up menu and select a destination type. Type the identifying URL, e-mail address, FTP address, or baggage filename for the destination type.

Notes:

• The Name and Link To fields are disabled when you specify topic keywords. With topic keywords, a keyword can link only to the topic in which it is stored. It uses the topic title as the name.

• Find Topic locates a topic within the project to add an index keyword topic or modify its properties.

Create index keywords with user-defined variables

User-defined variables let you create multiple versions of an index keyword.

In the Index pod, right-click a keyword. Select Properties.

From the Available Variables menu, select a variable. Click Add.

The variable is listed in the Index Keyword box.

3 (Optional) In the Index Keyword box, add a prefix or suffix to the variable. For example, add the prefix “Adobe” to the variable “RoboHelp.”

From the Topics list, select a topic to link this new keyword to.

Click OK.

Cross-reference index keywords

You can cross-reference index keywords so that when users select the cross-referenced keyword in the index, an alternate keyword appears. The user can select it to display the topic.

You can cross-reference only index file keywords.

In the Index pod, add a keyword to cross-reference. (This keyword links to the alternate keyword).

Right-click a keyword. Select Properties.

Select Cross-References. From the pop-up menu, select an alternate keyword.

The cross-reference appears in the lower panel of the Index Designer.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Edit index keywords

Move and sort index keywords

When you move an index keyword, its subkeywords are moved.

Topic keywords are automatically sorted first numerically and then alphabetically.

❖ In the Index pod, do any of the following:

• Select a keyword. Click an arrow button in the toolbar. A button is unavailable if the action isn’t allowed.

• Drag the keyword.

• Right-click a keyword. Select Sort > [sort option] .

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Note: The Sort command is unavailable with a binary index. The sort function is enabled only when the primary layout is HTML Help and the Index is set to Index File with no Binary Index. In all other layouts, the index remains sorted but for HTML output, the sorting of the index can be changed. Sorting enables the up and down keys on

Index Pod.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Rename keywords for a project

This procedure renames keywords in the index and topic keywords.

In the Index pod, right-click a keyword. Select Rename.

Type the new keyword in the text box.

Rename keywords for a topic

To rename a topic keyword referenced by a specific topic, change the topic properties. If other topics use the same keyword, the original keyword remains in the index. Only the topic you change is updated.

In the Topic List pod, select a topic.

Click the Properties button .

Click the Index tab. Select a keyword.

Type the new keyword in the text box.

Click Replace.

Change the capitalization of a keyword

1 In the Index Designer, select a keyword.

2 On the Index Designer toolbar, click the Lowercase or Uppercase button.

Remove index keywords from the Index pod

If you remove a keyword from the Index pod, it’s removed from all topics that were linked to it.

In the Index pod, select a keyword.

In the toolbar, click Delete.

Unused keywords in the index are not referenced by other topics. They appear in bold in the Index pod. You can automatically remove them.

Remove index keywords from topics

If you remove a keyword from a topic, only the topic you change is affected. Other topics that reference the keyword are still linked to it.

1 In the Topic List pod, select a topic.

Click the Properties button

Click the Index tab.

Select a keyword from the list.

Click Delete.

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Manage indexes

Manage indexes with reports

RoboHelp provides reports to use in managing indexes, such as the Index and Unused Index Keywords reports. The

Index report lets you choose options to define how the report displays information. You can display all the keywords, a list of keywords with their related topics, or a list of topics and their related keywords.

The Unused Index Keywords report lists keywords that topics do not reference. These keywords reside in the index file. Use this report to identify keywords to remove or to associate with topics.

You can save, copy, print, and mail reports.

Select Tools > Reports.

Select a report, such as Index, and view the results.

Click Close.

Identify and fix broken references for keyword topics

1 In the Project Manager pod, open the Broken Links folder.

Missing topics are listed. They appear with a red X.

2 Right-click a missing topic. Select Properties.

Keywords that reference the missing topic appear with a key icon . You can remove or relink the topic reference in the Index pod.

Remove topic references from keywords

Note: If you remove all topics from the keyword, the Index pod displays the keyword in bold text to indicate that it is unreferenced.

If you select a keyword in the Index pod, the lower panel displays all the topics that reference it. You can remove any topic from this panel to remove the keyword from the topic. The name of the topic that is no longer in the project that references the selected keyword is displayed. If you remove the topic from this panel, the broken link is removed and the index file is updated.

1 In the Index pod, select a keyword.

The lower panel of the Index pod lists the topics that reference the keyword.

2 Select a topic. In the toolbar, click the Delete button .

Remove unused index keywords

Unused keywords aren’t associated with topics. The Index pod displays unused index keywords in bold. Unused keywords don’t appear in the index.

The index keeps unused keywords after you remove topics that reference them. This way, you can assign the keywords to other topics without having to read them.

Note: This procedure doesn’t remove keywords that have one or more subkeywords.

❖ In the Index pod, select a keyword. In the toolbar, click the Delete button .

Select Tools > Reports > Unused Index Keywords to identify unused keywords.

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Apply conditional build tags to an index

1 In the Index pod, select a keyword.

Click Format > Apply Conditional Build Tag > New/Multiple.

Select tags or click Check All.

Click OK.

Automatic indexing with the Smart Index wizard

Create an index automatically

Use the Smart Index wizard to search the content of topics. Select from suggested keywords.

Note: Close third-party files before running the Smart Index wizard.

1 Select Tools > Smart Index Wizard.

2 Select the search criteria.

Find New And Existing Index Keywords Add keywords based on topic content and existing index entries.

Add Existing Index Keywords To Topic(s) Search topics for keywords already used and link the keywords to the topics.

Use Custom Search Settings Select Settings, and set custom search options. In the Smart Index Settings dialog box, you can define an effective language to find index keywords. For example, if you define the project language as

French and the paragraph language is English, the Smart Index uses English dictionary to identify keywords for the paragraph.

Note: This option is applicable for English language only.

In the Settings area of the Smart Index Settings dialog box, you can select options to include as keywords in the index. For example, capitalize or mixed words, phrases, words in a phrase or words not in the dictionary.

In the Other Settings area, you can select options to exclude as keywords from the index. For example, select verbs or adverbs to exclude and include adjectives or nouns as keywords.

3 Select items to search for index keywords.

To specify words or phrases to ignore, select Always Ignore or select Phrases. Edit, add, or delete entries.

To capitalize the first letter of the keyword, select Capitalize All New Index Keywords. (You can change the case later in the Index pod.)

Click Next.

Select Confirm Adding Index Keywords For Each Topic.

To add keywords without confirmation, select Automatically Add Index Keywords For All Topics, and click Finish.

8 (Optional) Select filter options for the search.

Folder Search topics in a specified folder.

Status Search topics by status.

Check Only New Topics (That Have Not Been Smart Indexed) Search only non-indexed topics.

9 Click Next. Suggested keywords appear for the first topic.

10 Select, deselect, rename, or remove keywords.

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To skip to the next topic, click Skip. Click Options to add verbs, synonyms, and existing index keywords.

Note: The Sentences Containing box shows the suggested keyword in the context where it is found. The Info field indicates whether the selected keyword is new or existing.

11 Click Next, and click Close in the Results dialog box.

The new keywords appear in the Index pod.

Notes:

• You can change the case of keywords and subkeywords.

• You can link keywords to destinations other than topics.

• Index keywords are different from See Also keywords.

Specify keywords to ignore

You can create a list of words or phrases that the Smart Index wizard ignores. This list is the Always Ignore list .

When the Smart Index wizard searches topics, it checks the Always Ignore list. If it finds an exact match, it ignores that match as a potential keyword.

Select Tools > Smart Index Wizard.

Click Always Ignore.

Do one of the following:

• To add a word, click New and enter text.

• To edit a word, select it. Click Edit and enter text.

• To delete a word, select it. Click Delete.

The list is stored as a WLF file in the project folder.

Note: The words and phrases that you enter are not case sensitive unless they are uppercase words or mixed-case words.

In these instances, the Smart Index wizard must find an exact match before suggesting a new keyword.

More Help topics

“ Change project settings ” on page 33

Specify common words to ignore

You can create a list of common words (such as a ) that the Smart Index wizard ignores. This list is the Stop list .

The Stop list can be only 512 characters long. Every word in the Stop list contains one added unseen character. If the character limit is reached mid-word, the entire word is not compiled.

1 Select Tools > Smart Index Wizard.

Click Always Ignore.

Click the Stop List tab.

4 Do one of the following:

• To add a word, click New and enter text.

• To edit a word, select it. Click Edit and enter text.

• To delete a word, select it. Click Delete.

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The list is stored as an STP file in the project folder.

Version-control projects may have more options.

More Help topics

“ Change project settings ” on page 33

Specify custom phrases

For greater control over the index keywords (words and phrases) suggested by the Smart Index wizard, create a custom phrase list. This list of keywords is unique to the project. For example, you can include product names.

When the Smart Index wizard searches topics, it checks the phrase list. If it finds a match in a topic that is not a keyword in the topic, it suggests the item as a keyword.

Select Tools > Smart Index Wizard.

Click Phrases.

Click New.

• To add a phrase, click New and enter text.

• To edit a phrase, select it. Click Edit and enter text.

• To delete a phrase, select it. Click Delete.

The list is stored as a PHR file in the project folder. You can edit this file in a text editor, such as Windows Notepad.

Note: The words and phrases that you enter are not case sensitive unless they are uppercase words or mixed-case words.

In these instances, the Smart Index wizard must find an exact match before suggesting a new keyword.

Look up synonyms for indexing

Note: This option is available only in English.

1 Select Tools > Smart Index Wizard.

Click Next twice.

Select a keyword.

Click Options. Select Synonyms.

The keyword appears in the Word box.

5 (Optional) Click Antonyms to see antonyms for the keyword.

Under Categories, select the best match for the word.

Under Synonyms, select a word to add as a keyword. Click Add To Topic.

8 Click Close.

To view synonyms and antonyms for additional words, type in the Word box and click Look Up.

Version-control projects may have more options.

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Multiple indexes

Create multiple indexes

You can create multiple indexes in the same project. New indexes are added to the Index folder. With multiple indexes, you can right-click any index and select Set As Default to set the index as default index. You can right-click an index and select Rename to rename the index as well.

You can copy and drag keywords across multiple indexes.

1 Do one of the following:

• In the Project Manager pod, right-click the Index folder. Select New Index.

• Click the Create/View Index File button . Click New.

Type a name in the text box.

(Optional) To copy an existing index, select Copy Existing Index. Click the browse button index.

4 Click OK.

to navigate to the

Merge indexes

Follow this procedure to merge the indexes within a project.

1 In the Project Manager pod, open the Index folder.

Double-click an index.

In the Index pod, select a keyword where you want to insert the merged index.

Click the Insert Index Placeholder button .

From the Select Index menu, select the index to insert.

Click OK.

The merged index appears with the New Index icon .

7 Double-click the icon, and click View.

The merged index appears in the Index pod.

More Help topics

“ Automatic indexing with the Smart Index wizard ” on page 177

“ Create binary indexes (HTML Help) ” on page 181

“ TOCs and indexes in Microsoft HTML Help ” on page 180

“ Merging Help projects ” on page 96

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Assign custom TOC icons (HTML Help)

1 In the Table Of Contents pod, right-click a book or page. Select Properties.

2 Click the Advanced tab.

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Under Image, Auto indicates that the book or page uses the standard icon.

3 From the pop-up menu, select an icon.

You can assign other icons to books and pages after you add the bitmap file (BMP) to your project.

4 (Optional) Select Mark As New to display the standard icon with a red star. The star indicates to users that the TOC item contains new information.

5 Click OK.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Note: The Table Of Contents pod displays all books and pages with the standard icons regardless of the selection you make at the Advanced tab. After you generate the project, you can view icons in the Contents pane.

Create binary contents files (HTML Help)

Use binary contents files for large projects to reduce opening time.

Important: Do not merge projects that use binary contents files.

1 In the Project Manager pod, double-click a table of contents in the Table Of Contents folder. The Table Of Contents pod appears.

2 Select View > Pods > Single Source Layouts.

Expand the Single Source Layouts folder.

Right-click a layout. Select Properties.

Click Edit.

Click the TOC Styles tab.

Select Binary TOC.

Click OK.

Generate the project.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Create binary indexes (HTML Help)

Microsoft HTML Help projects require binary indexes in certain cases:

• When projects have topic keywords. Topic keywords are saved in the HTML files that reference them.

• When HTML projects are merged. When you merge projects, each CHM file remains in its own project, but keywords from each index file are combined into the master project. Distribute each CHM file along with the master CHM file.

1 Make sure that Microsoft HTML Help is the primary layout.

Select File > Project Settings.

In the General tab, select Binary Index.

Click OK.

Add topic keywords (marked with a key icon

Merge subprojects if needed.

Generate and view the project.

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Version-control projects may have more options.

More Help topics

“ Merging Help projects ” on page 96

“ Generate, view, and publish output ” on page 291

Customize a TOC (HTML Help)

Select a custom font for displaying book and page titles, and synchronize books and pages with topic content. Use raised or sunken edges to give a three-dimensional look.

In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click a layout for HTML Help output.

Select Properties.

Click Edit next to Advanced Settings.

Click the TOC Styles tab.

Set style options:

Border Add a border around the table of contents.

Dialog Frame Add a frame around the table of contents.

Plus/Minus Squares Display plus and minus icons that open and close books.

Always Show Selection Display the topic selected from the Contents tab (even if this tab is not the left-pane focus).

Folders Instead Of Books Display folder icons instead of book icons.

Single-Click To Open Book Enable books to open with one click.

Raised Edge or Sunken Edge Create a three-dimensional appearance.

Lines Between Items Add lines between books and pages.

Lines From Root Displays lines connecting books and pages starting at root.

6 Specify a font.

7 Set window, frame, and other options:

• To display the topic in a custom window, select the window name from Default Window.

• To display the topic in a custom frame, select the frameset name from Default Frame.

• To use custom book and page icons, select a BMP file from Custom Image File. Make sure that you include the image path, such as C:\Program Files\Adobe RoboHelp [version] \My.bmp.

Note: For custom book and page icons, create an icon strip. See the MSDN Library on the Microsoft website.

8 Click OK.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Note: The binary TOC option is recommended only for large Help systems. It requires compiled HTML Help and doesn’t support customization or external TOC files.

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Customize an index (HTML Help)

The index type for the HTML Help project determines the index properties:

Index file keywords For index file keywords in non-binary indexes, you can customize the keyword fonts. Click the

Index tab in the HTML Help viewer.

Merged indexes If merging indexes from CHM files, select the Binary Index option.

Topic keywords If your index includes topic keywords, create a binary index.

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click a layout for HTML Help output.

Select Properties.

Click Edit.

Click the Index tab. Set properties:

Default Window Select the custom window to display topics. Custom windows can link only to index file keywords.

Default Frame Select a custom frame to display topics. Custom frames can link only to index file keywords.

Select Font Select a font name and size.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Add TOC controls (HTML Help)

When a user opens a topic, the table of contents appears.

If a topic is in a subfolder, copy the contents of the file into the subfolder before adding the control.

Open a topic in the Design view.

Click where you want to add the table of contents.

Select Insert > HTML Help Controls > Table Of Contents. The Contents control appears in the Design Editor.

To test the control, generate the project. The Table Of Contents control displays the same table of contents as in the final output.

Version-control projects may have more options.

You can link other contents files in your project. Copy the HHC file into the project if you want to select the HHC file with the TOC control.

Add index controls (HTML Help)

If your project does not support a tri-pane design, you can add an index control to a topic to make the index file available. The index appears when the topic is opened with the index control.

1 If the topic is in a subfolder, copy the index file (HHK) to the subfolder.

In the Design Editor, open the topic with the control.

Click where you want to add the index.

Select Insert > HTML Help Controls > Index.

The index control appears.

To test the index control, compile the project. The index control displays the same index as in the final output.

Version-control projects may have more options.

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You can use other index files in your project. Copy the HHK file and associated files (topics, images, multimedia) to select the HHK file with the index control.

Link keywords and TOC items to custom windows and frames (HTML Help)

Custom windows can display context-sensitive Help and links from index keywords, TOC books, and TOC pages.

Create a custom window or frame.

Do one of the following:

• In the Table Of Contents pod, right-click a book or page. Select Properties.

• In the Index pod, right-click an index file keyword. Select Properties.

Click the Advanced tab.

From the Window pop-up menu, select a custom window.

From the Frame pop-up menu, select a custom frame.

Click OK.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Note: Microsoft HTML Help doesn’t support links to custom windows from the topic, only links to pop-ups.

More Help topics

“ Link to a pop-up ” on page 192

“ Automatic indexing with the Smart Index wizard ” on page 177

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Glossaries

Create glossary terms

1 In the Project Manager pod, double-click a glossary in the Glossary folder.

In the Glossary pod, type a term in the Term box.

Click the Add Term button (plus sign) or press Enter.

The term appears in bold, indicating that it doesn’t have a definition.

4 In the Definition For panel, type a definition.

You cannot use formatted text, tabs, or returns.

For terms and definitions to appear within topics, add expanding glossary hotspots.

5 If needed, enable the Glossary tab in the single-source layout wizard so that it appears in the output. Add at least one term and its definition to enable the glossary checkbox in the single-source layout wizard.

Note: (Microsoft HTML Help) When you distribute the final output, include an HHActiveX.DLL file with the CHM file.

This DLL file is the ActiveX ® control that supports online glossaries. This file must be copied to and registered on end-user

Windows systems.

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Import glossary terms and definitions

Before importing a glossary file (GLO), print a detailed report of both glossaries. The reports can help you determine which terms exist in both glossaries and compare definitions.

1 In the Project Manager pod, select a glossary in the Glossary folder.

Select File > Import > Glossary.

Click the browse button to navigate to a GLO file.

Do one or more of the following:

• For definitions in the external glossary to overwrite matching terms, select Replace Existing Glossary

Definitions.

• Select one or more terms in the Terms In Imported Glossary list. Click Add.

• To import all terms, click Add All .

5 Click OK.

Test and print glossaries

Test the glossary in the output

1 Make sure that the Glossary pod is enabled.

2 Generate a layout.

Click View Result.

Click Glossary.

Select terms and view their definitions.

Print a glossary

1 Click the Glossary pod.

2 In the toolbar, click Print.

3 From the pop-up menu, select the information to print.

Overview Print all terms.

Detailed Print all terms and definitions.

Click Properties and Page Setup to specify print options.

Click OK.

Remove terms from the glossary

Removing terms doesn’t remove expanding glossary hotspots. Remove hotspots separately.

In the Project Manager pod, double-click a glossary in the Glossary folder.

In the Glossary pod, select a term from the list.

In the toolbar, click Delete.

More Help topics

“ Glossary hotspots ” on page 187

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Change glossary definitions

Note: If you change a definition that is used as an expanding glossary hotspot, update the project by running the Glossary

Hotspot wizard.

1 In the Glossary pod, select the term to change.

2 Edit the definition text.

Create multiple glossaries

You can create multiple glossaries in the same project. New glossaries are added to the Glossary folder.

You can copy and drag terms across multiple glossaries.

Note: You cannot delete the default glossary.

1 Do one of the following:

• In the Project Manager pod, right-click the Glossary folder. Select New Glossary.

• Click the Create/View Glossary File button . Click New.

2 Type a name in the text box.

3 (Optional) To copy an existing glossary, select Copy Existing Glossary. Click the browse button the glossary.

Click the Start Glossary Hotspot Wizard button

to navigate to

in the toolbar to mark existing glossary terms in topics.

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Merge glossaries

1 In the Project Manager pod, open the Glossary folder.

Double-click a glossary.

Click the Import Glossary button

Click the folder button

. Select the glossary to merge. Click Open.

If needed, deselect Replace Existing Glossary Definitions.

Select this option to replace existing definitions in the glossary with definitions from the merged glossary.

6 Select terms from the imported glossary list. Click the single right arrow to merge them. Click the double right arrow to merge all terms.

Note: Select terms in the current project list and click the Left Arrows to deselect terms selected for merging.

7 Click OK.

The merged glossary terms appear in the Glossary pod.

More Help topics

“ Glossary hotspots ” on page 187

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Glossary hotspots

About expanding glossary hotspots

The Glossary Hotspot wizard finds glossary terms within topics and marks them in the topics. You can mark all terms to convert to expanding hotspot when you generate or preview output.

Notes:

• Expanding glossary hotspots require Internet Explorer 4.0 or later. If they are used in a style, they require Internet

Explorer 5.0 or later. Netscape Navigator doesn’t support expanding glossary hotspots.

• The Glossary panel is not supported in Oracle Help. Definitions appear inline instead of in a hotspot.

• The glossary appears in the printed documentation and appears at the end of the page.

• Control the hotspot appearance by modifying the glossary term and character style in the Styles editor (accessible from the Stylesheets button in the Product Manager pod).

Add expanding glossary hotspots

❖ Do one of the following:

• Drag a term from the Glossary pod into a topic.

Use this method if the term doesn’t occur in the topic, or if the term isn’t in an ideal place to expand.

• In the Glossary pod, click the Glossary Hotspot Wizard button .

The Glossary Hotspot wizard finds glossary terms within topics and marks them in the topics. You can mark all terms to convert to expanding hotspot when you generate or preview output.

Preview a hotspot by double-clicking it in the Design Editor.

Update expanding glossary hotspots

The Glossary Hotspot wizard inserts markers for the terms defined in the selected glossary. It doesn’t insert definitions for terms in the topic. When you generate a preview or output, RoboHelp adds definitions for the terms. As a result, topics always have the updated definitions for marked terms.

1 Click Tools > Glossary Hotspot Wizard.

2 Select options. In the Select Term menu, select an individual term or all terms.

Confirm Marking Terms For Each Topic Select to choose which terms in topics are marked to expand as glossary hotspots.

Automatically Mark Terms For All Topics Tell the Glossary Hotspot wizard to mark all glossary terms it finds in topics to expand to glossary hotspots.

Case-Sensitive Makes search case sensitive.

Mark Only The First Instance Of Term In Topic And Unmark Subsequent Instances Select this option to turn the first marked instance of a term into an expanding glossary hotspot when you preview or generate output.

3 Click Next.

Select a term to mark in a chapter.

4 To assign the new definition to the term, select the box next to the term that does not match.

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Click Next. Repeat steps for each topic that the Glossary Hotspot wizard displays.

Click Finish.

Test expanding glossary hotspots

1 In the Topic List pod, right-click the topic containing the hotspot.

2 Click View.

Click the glossary term in the topic.

Click the term again to close the hotspot.

Unmarking expanding glossary hotspots

Unmark hotspots using the Glossary Hotspot wizard

1 Select Tools > Glossary Hotspot Wizard.

2 Select Confirm Adding Definitions For Each Topic.

Select a folder and status to search.

From the Select Term menu, select the term to remove.

Click Next.

As each topic appears, deselect the check boxes to remove expanding glossary hotspots.

Click Finish.

Unmark hotspots in Design view

1 Open the topic in the Design view. Select the term.

2 Right-click and select Remove Expanding Text.

You can click the definitions of marked glossary terms in the Glossary Definition Viewer but you cannot edit the term definition.

Note: When you upgrade a glossary from an older version, all the local changes are lost.

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Navigation basics

Navigation options

The following navigation options are available for use in Help projects.

Hypertext links Open the link destination.

Pop-ups Display an HTML topic in a pop-up window rather than in the default viewer. Pop-ups can be linked only to another HTML topic or to bookmarks.

Link controls Clickable objects that open a list of related topics. Types of link controls are See Also, Related Topics, or

Keyword Links.

Breadcrumbs These links appear on a Help page and outline the position of the page in the table of contents, or the directory structure of the project.

Browse sequences The sequence of a series of topics. You define the order of topics in the sequence.

Searches Find topics that contain search keywords. The search results appear as links in the Search tab of the navigation pane. The search keywords are highlighted in the topic pane.

In-topic navigation bars Navigation bars added to a layout using WebHelp as the output type.

Expanding hotspots, drop-down hotspots, and twisties Text links that expand to display additional information, but not other topics. These hotspots are available in browsers that support Dynamic HTML (DHTML).

Text-only pop-up A window that displays only text, not topics or web pages. Text-only pop-ups are useful for definitions or details. Unlike regular pop-ups, a text-only pop-up resides in the topic that contains it. It’s not a separate topic.

Image maps An image in an HTML topic that contains graphical links to other topics. Clickable areas in the image are hotspots.

Image links A link in an image that takes users to a destination or opens a pop-up. Creating image links is like creating text links.

Bookmarks A link that takes users to a specific place in a topic.

WinHelp topic control (Microsoft HTML Help only) A clickable object that opens a WinHelp system.

You specify many of these features through settings in the Properties > Navigation dialog box for the specific layout:

Show Navigation Pane Link In Topics Select to include a link to the navigation pane in topics that are opened through the context-sensitive Help calls.

Add Breadcrumbs Links Select to add breadcrumbs in the topic pages.

Show Merged TOC In Child Project Select to view the merged TOC in the child project.

Format Click to change the format of breadcrumbs.

Show Context In Search Result (WebHelp, FlashHelp) Select to display the context of topics in search results.

Enable Highlight Search Result Select to highlight the search results in Topics. Select the color to highlight the search results.

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Add About Box Set up information that appears in a dynamic window when users click the image in the main toolbar.

Example of About box

Browse Sequences Create browse sequences before enabling them.

Detail Change the text displayed for the in-topic navigation bar elements.

Search Input Field In Toolbar Include a search field in the main toolbar.

Synchronize Table Of Contents Synchronize the TOC with the topic in the right pane so that users see where they are in the structure.

• To synchronize the TOC automatically, click the pop-up menu and select Automatically.

• To add a button that users can click to synchronize the TOC, click the pop-up menu and select Manually.

Note: If you use custom skins, provide a button icon in the WebHelp Skin Editor.

About breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are navigational links displayed in web pages of the Help system. These links outline the position of the page in the table of contents or the directory structure of the project. You can define breadcrumbs in a master page or a topic. They can also be configured at run time to appear on the top or bottom of a page.

The user can click a portion of the breadcrumb trail to go directly to a page. For example, if the trail is Home >

Installation > Hardware Requirements, the user can click Installation to go directly to the Installation page.

Breadcrumbs are displayed in merged projects. The breadcrumb trail for a page in a merged project shows the position of the page with respect to the merged project and the master project.

For example, suppose the master project MultiCuisine contains the project AsianCuisine. AsianCuisine in turn contains the project JapaneseRecipes. The breadcrumb trail for the topic “Common Japanese Ingredients” is as follows:

Home > MultiCusine > AsianCuisine > JapaneseRecipes

Breadcrumbs are generated only in WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, FlashHelp Pro, HTML Help, and AIR Help.

For all other layouts, breadcrumbs are not generated, even if placeholders are present.

Add breadcrumbs to topics

1 Select View > Pods > Single Source Layouts.

2 Double-click the WebHelp/WebHelp Pro/FlashHelp/FlashHelp Pro layout, and do the following:

• (WebHelp) In the Navigation pane, select Add Breadcrumbs Links, and click Format.

• (WebHelp Pro/FlashHelp/FlashHelp Pro) Click Next. Select Add Breadcrumbs Links and click Format.

In the Layout area, select the placement and alignment for the breadcrumbs.

In the Text area, select or specify a name for the link to the main Help page, which appears on every topic page.

Select a separator for the Breadcrumbs.

Type a label that precedes the breadcrumbs trail. For example, you can add the static text "You are here" before the breadcrumb trail.

7 Preview the layout and formatting of breadcrumbs in the Preview pod.

8 Select a background color.

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9 (Optional) Select Use Topic Level Format to use the default format settings.

10 (Optional) Click Format to change the default font settings.

11 Click OK, and then click Finish.

In the generated WebHelp, all the topic pages show a breadcrumb trail reflecting the TOC hierarchy.

More Help topics

“ Insert a placeholder ” on page 117

Create text links

You can create links with most items you see in the Project Manager and TOC Composer. These items include topics, bookmarks, URLs, baggage files, newsgroups, FTP sites, files (such as PDF) associated with other programs, and remote topics.

Use Design Editor to create text links

1 In the Design Editor, select the insertion point for the link.

2 Click the Insert Hyperlink button .

Select an option from the Link To menu. Specify the source location in the box.

If Display In Frame is selected, select an option from the pop-up menu.

Display In Frame If the destination is a frame, this option defines the frameset for displaying the destination content. You can select the frame type or enter custom frame information. This option is unavailable for linking to topics.

Display In Auto-sizing Popup Displays the destination topic in a pop-up window rather than in the viewer or browser. The window size adjusts to the content. If you have a long topic, use a custom-sized pop-up.

Display In Custom-sized Popup Displays the destination topic in a pop-up window. To manually size the window, type a number in the Width and Height fields. If the text goes beyond the pop-up's height or width, the pop-up includes scroll bars. This option is available only for linking to topics.

Add tool tip text to appear when you hover over the link.

Select a local topic, bookmark, frame, or URL that exists in your project as the link destination. To filter the list, click the triangle.

Drag to create links

1 In Design Editor, select the item in the topic for the hotspot. Select text, an image, or a multimedia object.

2 In the Project Manager pod, open the folder containing the destination item (such as a URL in the URLs folder, or a topic in a custom folder).

Locate and select the destination item.

(Optional) Click the TOC tab to display the TOC Composer or the Project tab to display the Project Manager.

5 Drag the destination item from the Project Manager pod or Topics List pod onto the selected item in the Design

Editor.

Note: Topics with information types are not supported as links.

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More Help topics

“ Image maps ” on page 211

Link to a pop-up

You can create a link that displays an HTML topic in a pop-up rather than in the default browser or viewer. A pop-up supports HTML formatting, images, Dynamic HTML, link controls, and other HTML features of the destination topic.

When a user clicks the link, the pop-up opens and sizes to fit either the content of the topic or dimensions that you specify.

A pop-up can be used only to link to a topic or bookmark within the project.

In the Design Editor, place the cursor where you want a link, or select text or an image to define a hotspot.

In the toolbar, click the Insert Popup button .

Select Hyperlink Options.

Select a size option. If you choose Custom-Sized Pop-up, enter values in points in the Height and Width boxes.

Under Select Destination (File Or URL), select a topic

Click OK.

, bookmark , or frameset.

Note: A link within a pop-up to another pop-up doesn't work in the HTML Help viewer or in Internet Explorer.

Exclude pop-ups from full-text searches

1 Create a small HTML Help project to contain the pop-up topics.

2 Generate the project to create a CHM file.

Link to the pop-up topics in the second CHM file. (Do not merge the two Help systems.)

Distribute both CHM files to users.

More Help topics

“ Text-only pop-ups ” on page 202

Bookmarks

Use bookmarks to create incremental links within a topic. You can link to a bookmark from within the topic itself; from any other topic in your project; or from an index entry, TOC entry, or image map. The Bookmark icon appears next to bookmarked objects. To view bookmarks from the Project Manager, click the plus sign next to a topic.

Create bookmarks

1 Click left of the location for the bookmark.

2 Do one of the following:

• Click the Insert Bookmark icon .

• Select Insert > Bookmark.

3 Enter a name, without spaces, using any combination of letters and numbers.

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After you save the topic, bookmark icons appear indented under topics listed in the Project Manager pod and next to topics in the Topics List pod.

Create links to bookmarks

1 Open the destination for the link. To create a link within a topic, create a bookmark in the topic.

In the Design Editor, select the link location and then click the Insert Hyperlink button

Under Select Destination (File Or URL), select the bookmark to link to.

Click the View icon to test the link.

Note: Bookmarks are grouped with their topics.

Rename bookmarks

1 Open the topic with a bookmark. Select the bookmark, right-click it, and select Bookmark

Properties.

[bookmark name]

Edit the name and click OK.

Unassign and reassign the map ID for the renamed bookmark.

If the bookmark is used in context-sensitive Help, edit the map ID.

Locate bookmarks

1 Open a topic in the Design Editor.

2 Select Edit > Go To Bookmark.

Select a bookmark to locate.

Click Go To.

Remove bookmarks

1 Remove all links to the bookmark.

2 Select the bookmark icon in the topic. In the toolbar, click the Delete button.

More Help topics

“ Edit a map ID ” on page 229

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Link images and multimedia

Add links to multimedia clips

You can include links to image, video, sound, and other multimedia files.

1 In the Design Editor, place the cursor where you want the link, or select text or an image to create a hotspot for the link.

2 Click the Insert Hyperlink button .

In Link To, click the triangle button

Select the file to link. Click Open.

and select Multimedia.

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Add links from images and multimedia

Topics can include multimedia as links, sound or video clips, local or external HTML topics, bookmarks, web or FTP sites, e-mail, or newsgroups.

1 In the Design Editor, click the multimedia object or the image to link.

2 Click the Insert Hyperlink button .

• To link from multimedia, in Link To, click the triangle button and select Multimedia.

• To link from images, select the destination. Images can contain only one link.

Link from a sound or video object in the topic by right-clicking the object and selecting Insert Hyperlink.

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External links

Link to external topics (Microsoft HTML Help projects)

1 In the Design Editor, select a link location.

Click the Insert Hyperlink button .

In Link To, click the triangle button to select Remote Topic.

Link to external files

1 Choose a link location in the Design Editor.

2 Enter text.

Highlight the text and click the Insert Hyperlink button .

Click the triangle button next to Link To and then select File.

Browse to a file, open it, and copy it into the project folder.

Generate the file to test links to external topics.

WebHelp projects The external file must be distributed in the WebHelp folder.

Microsoft HTML Help projects The external file must be distributed with the CHM file.

Note: The external CHM file must be in the same folder as the project CHM file.

Link to WinHelp topics (Microsoft HTML Help projects)

Add WinHelp topic controls to link to a topic in a WinHelp file from an HTML topic.

In the Design Editor, click a location for the control.

Select Insert > HTML Help Controls > WinHelp Topic.

Set the button options.

Click Next. Select the WinHelp file and topic.

Click Next. Set font options for the button label.

Click Finish.

To test the project, generate it.

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Link to e-mail addresses, FTP sites, newsgroups, and web addresses

1 In the Design Editor, choose a location for the link or select text or an image to define a hotspot.

2 Click the Insert Hyperlink button .

3 In Link To, click the triangle button and then do any of the following:

• To link to e-mail, select Email.

• To link to FTP sites or newsgroups, select FTP or Usenet News.

• To link to intranets or websites, select Web Address.

Link View

Use Link view to view and navigate project links.

Navigate in the Link View pod

The icon in the center of the Link View pod represents the current topic. Lines on either side of the icon represent inbound and outbound links. Each line is color coded to denote the type of link.

1 Select View > Pods > Link View. Link View appears as a document in the Doc Pad.

2 Select the pod (workflow pane) from which to drag topics. Do any of the following:

• To display topics from the Project Manager, select View > Pods > Project Manager.

• To display topics from the TOC Composer, select View > Pods > TOC.

• To display topics from the Index Designer, select View > Pods > Index.

3 Select a topic from Topics For, and then drag it into the center of Link View. Click the previous and next buttons to view the connected links.

4 To view another topic's links, in Link View, drag a topic on top of the one in the center of the group to display all links to and from it.

Change the appearance of links in the Link View pod

Change icon sizes

1 Select View > Pods > Link View.

2 Click the Use Small Icon button .

Note: The tool tip text indicates the action you can perform on the icons.

Set Link View scroll features

1 Select View > Pods > Link View.

2 Do any of the following:

• To scroll the topic with the linked topics, click the Keep Topic Elastic button .

• To scroll hyperlinks only, click the Keep Topic Centered button .

• For large projects, click the Display Limited Links button .

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Set options in the Link View pod

Click the icons to see different types of links.

• The current topic is in the center and has a blue border.

• Inbound links appear on the left.

• Outbound links appear on the right.

Define use of the Link View window.

Icon Size Sets the size of the icons used to display topics. You can use small or large icons.

Center Topic Placement Positions the center with inbound and outbound links.

Move Center Topic With View Positions the topic to scroll with the links in the window.

Keep Center Topic Centered Keeps the center topic stationary while links move with the scroll bar.

Link maintenance and repair

Update and remove links

Open the topic containing the link. Do any of the following:

• To update the link, right-click the link, select Hyperlink Properties, and make changes.

• To remove a link, right-click the link and select Remove Hyperlink.

• To remove the link and the text, select the text and press Delete.

Manage broken links

To identify broken links, use the Broken Links folder in the Project Manager. It displays the names of deleted or missing topics that are referenced in a project.

❖ Select these options from the Tools menu to identify and fix broken links:

Show Topic Links Displays a topic in Link View.

Show Topic References Identifies references for one topic. Use this option to determine whether the topic is referenced in a TOC or index and whether other topics link to it.

Enable BugHunter For context-sensitive topics in Microsoft HTML Help systems. Use this option to diagnose problems that can occur when linking HTML Help systems to Windows applications.

Resolve Broken Links Identifies missing or deleted topics that caused broken links. Use this option to determine where the broken links originate and to restore topic links.

Edit Topic References Lets you look up references for topics in a project. Use this option to determine where references originate and to modify them.

Edit External Topic References Identifies external topics (such as remote links or URLs) that are referenced in a project. Use this option to modify or remove them from the project.

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Fix broken links

❖ Select Tools > Resolve Broken Links > References To Selected Topic.

• To fix a link, first select a link. Then click Edit, and edit or remove the hyperlink.

• To fix a TOC item, index keyword, or image map, first select the item. Then click Edit, and select a valid destination to repair the broken link.

• To remove TOC entries, select the TOC item and click Delete. The book or page is removed from the table of contents.

Note: If you use version control in a multi-author environment, some files might link to topics that have been moved, renamed, or removed by another author. If you don't have the latest version of the files, they appear as broken links.

Identify and update topic references

Identify topic references

1 Select Tools > Edit Topic References.

2 From the Topics List pod or the Project Manager pod, select a topic.

• To show references for a single topic, right-click the topic and select Show > Topic References.

• To show references for all topics in the project, select Tools > Edit Topic References. On the right, select a topic.

The left view shows all topic references.

Update topic references

❖ Select Tools > Edit Topic References.

• To fix broken links, in References To Selected Topic, select the link to repair. Click Edit or remove the link.

• To fix or remove TOC items and entries, in References To Selected Topic, select the TOC item. Click Edit and select a destination, or click Delete.

More Help topics

“ Change an image map ” on page 211

Identify and update external topic references

1 Select Tools > Edit External Topic References.

2 Do any of the following:

• To identify external references, select the topic.

• To fix broken links, in References To Selected Topic, select the link. Click Edit and make changes.

• To fix or remove TOC items and entries, in References To Selected Topic, select the item. Click Edit and select a destination, or click Delete.

Note: You cannot change index keywords from this dialog box.

More Help topics

“ Fix broken links ” on page 197

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View and test hyperlinks

View hyperlinks and identify browse sequences

In the Design Editor, right-click and select Show Topic Links. Or, use the procedure that follows.

Select View > Pods > Link View. The Link View pod appears.

Drag topics from the Project Manager pod into the Link View pod.

Click the Project Manager pod.

Open the HTML Files (Topics) folder or a custom folder, and select a topic to view.

Drag the topic into the Link View pod over the center Link View icon .

Release the mouse button to display links.

Test links in a topic

1 Select View > Pods > Topic List. The Topic List pod appears.

Right-click the topic and select View.

Click links to test them.

More Help topics

“ Browse sequences ” on page 205

Link controls

About link controls

Link controls are navigational alternatives to the TOC and index. A link control works like a link and can appear as text, a button, or an image.

Note: When you update a topic, make sure that its link controls are up-to-date. Deleting a topic or changing a topic title, topic content, or filename can affect link controls.

Link controls function in the following ways:

• Direct users to related topics and information. Link controls can save users time spent searching.

• Organize information for different kinds of users.

• Manage topic content by keeping information needed by multiple topics in a single topic and providing access to it from several places with link controls.

• Manage topic layout by inserting link controls as objects rather than as long lines of links.

Types of link controls

Related Topics Displays a list of topics that you specify. You change the related topics list by topic, according to user need. Related Topics controls require more maintenance than other link controls. If you add or remove topics, make sure that you add or remove the topics in each Related Topics control.

See Also Displays a list of topics that you group into a logical category. All topics assigned to identical See Also keywords appear in a list when users click See Also. See Also controls require less maintenance than other controls

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Keyword Links Controls that let you use index keywords for navigation within topics. Indexes group related topics based on keywords. When a user clicks an index keyword, an associated topic list appears. If you add or remove an index keyword in the index or in topic properties, the control updates within each topic that contains it. Keyword Link controls are usable with main-level, or parent-index keywords.

Keyword link properties

Assign index file keywords and topic keywords from the index file to Keyword Link controls.

Keywords In Project Display all keywords available for the control.

Keywords In Control Display keywords assigned to the control.

Add Select the keyword from Keywords In Index. Select Add.

Delete Select the keyword from Keywords In Control. Select Delete.

For HTML Help projects:

Set Remote Keywords Use keywords from other CHM files.

Note: While similar to the Related Topics control, the See Also control has the added feature of being able to leave out of its list, the topic where it is placed. In addition, it can be automatically updated in each topic containing the control. This means that the control can be copy/pasted among associated topics.

Add Related Topics controls

Changes you make to titles or filenames are not applied to the Related Topics control.

In the Design Editor, click a location for the control.

Click the Insert > Related Topics.

Choose an option to show related topics as a button, which can be a label or an image, or to show related topics as text.

From Topics In Project, select a topic and click Add. Continue to add all topics you want to appear as related topics.

Note: The URL box displays the location of the topic file linked, and Title shows the title of the topic page.

(Optional) Click Change to update the topic name in Related Topics.

Choose options to display in a Topics found dialog or in a pop-up menu.

Select an option to display the selected topic in a frame or new window.

Select display and font options.

Click Finish and then click the View button to test.

Note: (Microsoft HTML Help) If the topic contains a Related Topics control, the links might not work properly because of a known Microsoft HTML Help bug. Consider using See Also controls, Keyword Link controls, or standard HTML links.

Related Topics wizard

Use the Related Topics wizard to change how a link for a Keyword Link or Related Topics control appears: as a button with text or an image, as plain text, or as a hidden control that works with scripts.

Button Defines how a control appears in a topic.

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Label Displays a control as a square gray button with black text. The text in the box displays on the button. You can edit the label.

Image Displays a control as an image. The image filename appears in the box below this option. (You can't add a text label to an image or edit the label in RoboHelp.) To select an image, click the Browse button , and then select an image from the dialog box. Save the image as a Windows bitmap (BMP) and icon (ICO) file.

Text Displays a control as a text link (Example: More information).

Hidden (For Scripts) Hides the control. Used for a topic to which you add a script. The control isn't visible in the topic.

Work with a developer to configure a script.

(HTML Help Projects Only) If No Topics Are Associated With Any Of The Keywords, Disable The Button If you create a

Keyword Link control and then remove all the keywords assigned to the control, the control is disabled when a user opens the topic.

Choose Topic From Defines how the list of topics is displayed when a user clicks a link control.

Topics Found dialog Displays the list of topics in a Topics Found dialog box. The topic appears when a user selects a topic and then clicks Display.

Popup Menu Displays the list of topics in a pop-up menu. Users select a topic to open it.

Frame Specifies a frame in which to display a topic when the keyword is clicked. Custom framesets appear in the list.

For HTML Help projects using See Also or Keyword Link controls:

If no topics are associated with any of the specified keywords, disable the button Disables the control if there are no topics associated with the control keywords. For example, if you create a Keyword Link control and then remove all the keywords assigned to the control, the control is disabled when users open the topic.

Create, assign, and add See Also keywords and controls

Create and assign See Also keywords

1 Do one of the following:

• Double-click the See Also folder in the Project Manager pod. The See Also pod appears.

• Type the See Also keyword in the text box. Click the plus sign.

• Click the Add New See Also Keyword button icon. Type the new keyword and press Enter.

The keyword appears in bold, indicating that no topics are associated with it.

2 To assign topics to the See Also keyword, click the Topic List pod and do one of the following:

• To add the keyword to multiple topics, select a topic, drag it into the lower pod, and repeat for all topics you want to assign.

• To add the keyword to individual topics, click the Topic List pod, select a topic, click the Properties button and select See Also. Type the keyword to assign to the topic and click Add.

3 Add a See Also control to the new keyword.

Set See Also Keywords in the See Also wizard

The See Also wizard appears when you try to insert a See Also control in a topic (Insert > See Also).

See Also Keywords In Project Display a list of all available See Also keywords.

Add Select the name from See Also Keywords In Project to add.

Delete Select the name from See Also Keywords In Control to delete.

See Also Keywords In Control Display See Also keywords assigned to the control.

For HTML Help projects:

Set Remote See Also Keywords Use See Also keywords from other CHM files.

Set keywords in a remote CHM file

Note: HTML projects only.

The CHM file is copied to the project folder. Keywords are referenced only from the CHM file.

CHM File Name Enter the remote CHM file to reference.

❖ Click the Browse button to browse for remote CHM files.

Keyword Enter the keyword to reference. Type the name exactly as it is used in the CHM file.

Add Add a keyword to Remote Keywords In Control.

Delete Remove keyword from Remote Keywords In Control.

Remote Keywords In Control Display the keywords insert.

Set See Also keywords in a remote CHM file

Note: HTML projects only.

Use See Also keywords in the Help project that are used in other CHM files. The CHM file is copied to the project folder. See Also keywords are not copied.

CHM File Name The remote CHM file

Browse button Click to browse to the remote CHM file.

See Also Keyword Type the name of the See Also keyword exactly as it is used in the CHM file.

Add Add the See Also keyword to the Remote See Also keywords in the control field.

Delete Remove the See Also keyword from the Remote See Also keywords in the control field.

Remote See Also Keywords In Control Display the See Also keywords to insert into the control.

Add See Also controls

1 Create See Also keywords.

2 In the Design Editor, click a location for the control.

Click Insert Help Control

Select See Also.

Select the link options.

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Under See Also Keywords In Project, select a See Also keyword.

Click Add. Repeat for all keywords you want to add. Click Next.

Select display and font options.

Click Finish. To test the control, generate the project.

Change, reuse, or remove link controls

❖ In the Design Editor, open a topic containing the link control.

• To change a control, double-click the control and change its properties.

• To reuse a control, right-click the control and select Copy. Right-click in the destination topic and select Paste.

• To remove a control, select the control and click Delete .

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Text-only pop-ups

Work with text-only pop-ups

Text-only pop-ups are short text passages, such as definitions, that appear when a user clicks a linked term. You can insert a text-only pop-up anywhere except in topic headers and footers. For longer text passages, or if you need graphics, use a regular pop-up.

More Help topics

“ Link to a pop-up ” on page 192

Create text-only pop-ups

1 In the Design Editor, select the text.

2 From the Insert menu, select Text-Only Popup.

3 Type the pop-up text directly into the window.

Edit text-only pop-ups

1 Right-click the text-only pop-up and select Text Popup Properties.

• To edit the text, type in the Popup Text box.

• To edit background color, fonts, and margins, click in the appropriate box and make the changes. Your selections apply to text-only pop-ups you create in the future.

2 To test, click the View button and select the text-only pop-up.

Remove text-only pop-ups

❖ Right-click the pop-up and click Remove Text Popup.

Test text-only pop-ups

Test before generating

1 From the Design Editor, open the topic containing the text-only pop-up.

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Click the View button

Click the text-only pop-up.

Test after generating

1 Click the View Primary Layout icon . If you are prompted to generate, click Yes.

Navigate to the topic containing the text-only pop-up.

Click the text-only pop-up.

RoboHelp search basics

When you enter a search term in the Search box, RoboHelp displays a list of topics containing that term. The topic list sometimes provides context, depending on output type. When you view the topic, RoboHelp highlights the search term. RoboHelp search supports these features:

Keywords You can assign a keyword to a topic that does not contain that word. For example, you can assign the keyword "formatting" to a topic about fonts, styles, and point sizes. If you enter "formatting" as a search term,

RoboHelp displays that topic even though it doesn't contain the word "formatting." When ranking search results,

RoboHelp gives more weight to keywords than to search terms found in the body of a topic.

Note: Keyword search is not available in Microsoft HTML Help (CHM).

Synonyms Define synonyms to allow for variations in search terms. For example, you can define "cursor," "pointer," and "mouse" as synonymous terms. If the search term is "mouse," RoboHelp returns all topics containing the word

"cursor," with that term highlighted.

Excluding topics from search You can exclude entire topics from search by selecting the Exclude From Search option in topic properties.

Note: Exclude From Search is not available in Microsoft HTML Help (CHM).

Excluding unreferenced topics from search The Exclude Unreferenced Topics From Output option in layout properties ensures that search results are displayed only from topics that are referenced in the following project components:

• TOC

• Index

• Browse sequences

• Default topic

• CSH map IDs

• See Also keywords

• Related Topics keywords

• Hyperlinks

Excluding unreferenced baggage files from search The Exclude Unreferenced Baggage Files From Search option ensures that search results display baggage files only if they are referenced from topics through hyperlinks and the index and TOC selected in layout properties. If the Exclude Unreferenced Topics From Output option is selected,

RoboHelp considers only referenced topics; otherwise, it considers all topics in the project.

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Multiple language search RoboHelp search supports multiple languages at the project, topic, and paragraph level. For example, suppose you search for a German word in an English topic with an embedded German paragraph. If

RoboHelp finds the German word, it displays the English topic with the German word highlighted.

Substring search (WebHelp/Pro, FlashHelp/Pro) If you enable this feature, a search for "log" returns topics containing the words "catalog" and "logarithm." Substring search takes longer than whole-string search.

Note: In merged projects, substring search works when enabled in both the master project and child projects.

Phrase search To search for a phrase, enter it in quotation marks in the search box. If the search term is "color swatch,"

RoboHelp returns all topics with the phrase "color swatch".

Boolean operators in search (WebHelp) You can narrow down the scope of search by combining search terms using the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT.

Customizable search results list (WebHelp/Pro) By default, ten search results appear at a time. In these two outputs, the Search pane contains an option for the maximum number of search results to show in a list.

Topic context in search list By default, the search results list shows the first 60 characters of each topic to give context.

You can disable the display of context by using the SSL dialog box.

Note: Only WebHelp/Pro and FlashHelp/Pro support context in Help results. In Flash Help/Pro, the context appears as a tool tip.

Search Office and PDF files (WebHelp/Pro, FlashHelp/Pro) You can search for baggage files (such as PDF, Word, and

Excel files) in published output. To appear in search results, these baggage files must be referenced in a topic through a hyperlink.

Note: You must have iFilter for Microsoft and PDF installed on to enable baggage file search.

Rank search results You can rank search results based on their relevance. For example, if a word appears in the title of a topic, its rank is higher than the word in the keyword list. A topic with the word appearing in heading 1 ranks higher than the word appearing in heading 2 and is displayed first in the search results.

Hide Rank column in search results For WebHelp and WebHelp Pro output, you can hide the Rank column in search results to allocate more space for displaying search results. The Hide Rank Column In Search Results option is

available in the Search tab of WebHelp layout properties. See “ Set options for generating WebHelp ” on page 292 and

“ Set options for generating WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro ” on page 298.

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External content search

External content search enables authors to display content from specified URLs based on terms that users are likely to search. You can create a list of URLs related to a project and, for each URL, provide a set of search terms, a title, and, a description. When a user's search query contains any of these search terms, RoboHelp returns the title and description of the corresponding URL in the search results. When the user clicks it, the contents are displayed in the

Topic Pane.The URL returned in search results has the same rank as the keyword specified in topics.

Set up and manage external content search

1 In the Project Set-up pod, right-click External Content Search.

2 Use the following options to set up and manage external content search:

Edit Click Add and specify a URL, a title, search terms (separated by a comma, space, or semicolon), and a description in the editable row. Click Add to add another row. Click Save to save the entries in the

SearchOptions.xml file in the project folder.

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Import Click Import and select the SearchOptions.xml file from a project to import the external content search settings of that project into the current project.

Export Click Export and select a folder to export the SearchOptions.xml file. Exporting the SearchOptions.xml file from one project to another is useful when two projects need to allow searching similar external content.

Explore Click Explore to locate the SearchOptions.xml file in Windows Explorer. You can open the file in a text editor and make changes.

Enable external content search

You can enable external content search in the following layoutsSSLs:

• WebHelp

• FlashHelp

• Adobe AIR

• WebHelp Pro

• FlashHelp Pro

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click the layout in which you want to generate output and select Properties.

2 Depending on the layout, do the following:

• (Adobe AIR) Click View and select Enable External Content Search.

• (WebHelp) Click Search and select Enable External Content Search.

• (WebHelp Pro) Select Enable External Content Search.

• (FlashHelp and FlashHelp Pro) Click Next and select Enable External Content Search.

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Browse sequences

Create or edit browse sequences

Use browse sequences to provide a path for your readers to move through a series of topics. When working with browse sequences, keep in mind the following:

• You cannot include HTML files or external topics from other Help systems in browse sequences.

• A single topic can belong to multiple browse sequences.

• Each type of Help displays browse sequences differently. In WebHelp layouts, you can enable or disable browse sequences at a project level. In both WebHelp and Adobe AIR layouts, you can select the browse sequences that you want to display. If the layout defines content categories, you can select browse sequences for each content category.

For information about how to enable or disable browse sequences and select them for content categories, see

“ Configure the Adobe AIR layout

” on page 284 and “ Set options for generating WebHelp ” on page 292.

Create browse sequences automatically

An automatically created browse sequence replaces existing browse sequences.

Create the table of contents.

Select Tools > Browse Sequence Editor.

Click Auto-Create Using TOC.

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Enter the number of levels from the TOC hierarchy that you want to include in the browse sequence, and click OK.

Click OK. If the Enable Browse Sequence dialog box appears, click Yes.

Create browse sequences manually

1 Select Tools > Browse Sequence Editor.

Click New and then name the browse sequence.

From Available Topics, select the folder containing the topics you’re adding.

Add topics to the browse sequence.

• To move a single topic, select the topic and click Add, or click the Add Browse Sequence button to move it.

• To move a group of topics, select the folder containing the topics and click the Add All Browse Sequence button .

5 Click OK. If the Enable Browse Sequence dialog box appears, click Yes.

Remove a topic from a browse sequence

❖ From the Browse Sequence list, select the topic and click Remove.

Rename or remove a browse sequence

From the Browse Sequence list, select the browse sequence.

• To remove it, click Remove.

• To rename it, click Rename and enter the new name.

View and test browse sequences

Identify topics associated with browse sequences

1 Select Tools > Browse Sequence Editor.

2 Under Browse Sequences, click the plus sign next to each browse sequence to display the topics.

Test browse sequences

Topics that belong to multiple sequences appear within the browse sequence that is listed first in Link View.

Select View > Pods > Link View. The Link View pod appears.

Click the Project Manager tab.

In the Project Manager, open the HTML Files folder and select a topic.

Drag the topic into the Link View pod.

When a yellow line appears around the Link View icon , release the mouse button to display links to and from the topic.

If the topic is part of a browse sequence, the Previous and Next

5 Click the Previous and Next buttons to test the browse sequence.

buttons appear above and below it.

View sequences for a single topic

1 Select a topic.

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Click the Properties button

Click the Advanced tab.

Test browse sequences in a browser or view

1 Verify that browse sequences are enabled.

Click the Generate button to generate.

Click View Result and click through the browse sequence.

Identify the browse sequences a topic is assigned to

1 Open a topic in the Design Editor.

Click the Properties

Click the Advanced tab.

button.

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Chapter 9: Multimedia and special effects

Images

Image basics

Image file formats

GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) An 8-bit color format that can display 256 colors and is useful for images with a limited range of color. GIF images support the transparent attribute. They are best for grayscale photographs, cartoons, small icons, buttons, bars, lines, and bullets. They can be interlaced and animated.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) JPEG format is commonly used to display photographs and other continuous-tone images in HTML documents. If you use images with 256 colors or more, use JPEG format. JPEG files have either a .jpeg or .jpg filename extension.

BMP (Windows Bitmap) The standard bitmap image format intended for Windows, used in WinHelp applications.

Bitmap images support up to 24-bit color. When you import WinHelp projects into HTML, the bitmaps are converted into GIF or JPG format. You can use bitmaps and icon formats (ICO files) when you add link controls or HTML Help controls (custom buttons.)

MRB (Multi-Resolution Bitmap) A Windows Help image format that contains an image saved in different screen resolutions in a single file. The program imports these files from WinHelp projects and converts them into GIF images.

WMF (Windows Metafile) A vector graphics format intended for Windows systems. WMF files are commonly used as clip art for word-processing applications. The program imports these files from WinHelp projects and converts them into GIF images.

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) A bitmap image format like GIF. The most recent versions of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer support PNG.

Tips:

• Create a stationery watermark effect by displaying background colors and images from the Borders And Shading dialog box.

• When you select an image, the Cable Drum button appears . Use it to link topic items (such as images, text, and tables) with another topic item, and assign a Dynamic HTML effect to the connection.

• When you import a Microsoft Word file or an HTML file, all images are imported with the file (images must be in anchored frames.)

Note: If you generate WebHelp Pro or WebHelp output, use GIF or JPEG files.

Locate images

Use the Graphics Locator to scan hard drives and folders for image files, view thumbnails, and copy files.

1 In the Toolbox pod, double-click the Graphics Locator .

Select the graphic file format to search for.

Enter the path for the search or browse to a new location.

Click Search.

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Copy an image

1 In the Toolbox pod, double-click the Graphics Locator button .

Select an image from the Image Files list.

Browse to a destination.

Click Copy File.

View an image

To view an image, you associate the filename extension with an application:

In the Project view, select the Images folder.

Right-click an image.

Click View.

Select Tools > Options.

Click the Associations tab.

Click Add next to File Associations. Enter a filename extension.

Click Select. Browse to the application to use for editing and viewing the file type.

Add an image to a topic

You can insert files with the following filename extensions: .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, or .bmp.

Note: For Web-based Help, use GIF or JPEG files.

1 In the Design Editor, select a location for the image.

In the toolbar, click the Insert Image button

Do either of the following:

• Click the Browse button to browse to a file.

• If the image file is in the project, select a folder from the Images In Project Folders pop-up menu. Select All

Folders to see all images in the project.

4 Click OK.

Tips:

• For an image used in the project, drag it from the Project Manager\Images folder into the topic.

• To add predefined images, click the Gallery tab in the Image dialog box, select a category, and select the image. To add it to the project, click OK.

• You can paste screen captures into the Design Editor without using a third-party image-editing tool. The images are saved as either GIF or JPEG files. Press Alt + PrtScr to capture the active screen.

Add a RoboScreenCapture image to a topic

Simultaneously create and add images.

1 Move the cursor to a desired location in the Design Editor of a topic.

Click the Insert ScreenCapture button

Enter a filename for the new image.

Select a file format.

on the Object toolbar. The Insert ScreenCapture dialog box appears.

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Click OK. RoboScreenCapture opens and RoboHelp is minimized.

Select Capture > Active Window or any desired capture. The new image appears in the blank area.

Click Save .

Close RoboScreenCapture. The Image dialog box of RoboHelp for HTML appears.

(Optional) Resize the image or place borders around it.

10 Click OK.

Remove an image from a topic

• To remove an image from a topic, in the Design Editor, select the image. Click the Delete button. The image remains in the Images folder.

• To remove an image from a project, delete the file from all topics. The image is removed from the Images folder.

Edit an image in RoboHelp

1 In the Design Editor, select the image to edit.

2 Do one of the following:

• In the toolbar, click the Edit Selected Image button

• Select Edit > Edit item.

• In the Project Manager pod, right-click an image name. Select Edit.

3 Set options:

Text Wrapping Select the alignment of the image with the surrounding text.

Note: If text wrapping occurs around an image, then the image cannot be aligned. If text wrapping is set to None, then the image, or the line it is on, can be aligned.

Screen Tip Enter text to display when the user hovers the cursor over the image.

Size Click to set the dimensions of the image in pixels. In the Size dialog box, select Maintain Aspect Ratio to maintain the height to width proportion.

Margins Click to specify the space between the image and the text. You can specify the same width for the margin on all sides or a different width for left, right, top, and bottom margins.

Borders Click to add a border to the image and specify a style.

Edit an image with RoboScreenCapture

1 In the Design Editor, select the image to edit.

2 Do one of the following:

• Select Edit > Edit With RoboScreenCapture.

• Right-click and select Edit with RoboScreenCapture.

• Click the Edit with RoboScreenCapture button in the Objects toolbar.

Edit the image.

Click Save.

Note: See RoboScreenCapture Help for more information.

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Image maps

Create an image map

1 In the Design Editor, open a topic containing an image.

Right-click the image. Select Insert Image Map.

Select Rectangle, Circle, or Polygon.

The cursor becomes a cross hair .

4 Draw a clickable area within the image border.

5 In Link To, click the triangle pop-up menu destination.

. Select a file under Select Destination (File Or URL) or another

6 In Screen Tip Text, enter text to display when users hover the mouse over the image map.

7 Click OK.

The Project Manager saves the image map with the image in the Images folder. A plus sign at the left side of the

Image button indicates an image map: . Click the plus sign to see a list of all hotspots in the image map.

Hotspot links appear with the Hotspot icon .

8 To test, click the View button in the toolbar. Click the hotspot.

Change an image map

1 In the Design Editor, open the topic containing the image map.

2 Double-click the hotspot.

3 In Link To, click the triangle pop-up menu destination.

. Select a file under Select Destination (File Or URL) or another

Select OK. If prompted, select OK to copy the file into the project.

To test, click the View button in the toolbar. Click the hotspot.

More Help topics

“ Create text links ” on page 191

“ Link to a pop-up ” on page 192

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Adobe Captivate demos

Follow these procedures to launch Adobe Captivate to create demos and insert them in the project. After you insert an

Adobe Captivate SWF, you can update the SWF by opening the source from within RoboHelp.

Create an Adobe Captivate demo

1 Click the Project Manager tab. Place the cursor on the folder.

2 Select File > New, and choose Adobe Captivate Demo.

In the Topic Title box, type a host topic name.

In the File Name box, type a filename with the extension .htm.

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Click OK.

Create the demo.

Save the demo and close Captivate.

To test the demo, select or open the host topic, and click View .

Open the host topic and add additional information, such as a header, footer, background color, or title text.

Note: You cannot access RoboHelp while Adobe Captivate is open.

Insert an Adobe Captivate demo

You can link to the demo topic from other topics in the project, from books and pages in the TOC, and from index keywords. When users click the link, the demo starts.

1 In RoboHelp, open the topic where you want to insert the demo.

Place the cursor where you want to insert the demo.

From the Insert menu, select Adobe Captivate Demo. The Adobe Captivate Demo dialog box appears:

• If the demo SWF file is already in the project, select it from the Multimedia In Project Folders list.

• If the file is outside the project folder, click the Browse button the prompt, click Yes to copy the file to the project folder.

, navigate to the SWF file, and click Open. At

Click OK. An object in the topic indicates where the file was placed.

To test the demo, click View .

Edit an Adobe Captivate demo

1 Open the topic containing the Adobe Captivate demo, or in the Project Manager, expand the Multimedia folder.

2 Right-click the demo. Select Edit.

Make the changes.

Close Adobe Captivate.

Note: When you preview an Adobe Captivate demo in RoboHelp, a prompt may ask you to update the file in the project.

This prompt appears if you saved the Adobe Captivate demo outside RoboHelp to the default Adobe Captivate location.

(The default location is C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\My Documents\My Adobe Captivate Projects\.)

Update the file to apply the changes made outside RoboHelp.

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Multimedia

Add multimedia

1 Select a location for the sound or video. An object or image indicates the multimedia location.

2 Select Insert > Multimedia/Demo.

• To add a new file, click the Browse button , and navigate to the file. Double-click it. Select Yes.

• To add an existing file, select it from the Multimedia In Project Folders list.

3 Set options:

Screen Tip Replaces the multimedia file with a text label if users disable multimedia in their browsers.

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Click OK.

Create a link to the multimedia file near the object with a note prompting users to select the link if they cannot access the multimedia file.

6 To test, click the View button in the toolbar.

Note: Some file formats do not work properly in compiled Microsoft HTML Help files.

The following are the allowed multimedia file types:

• Video Files: *.avi, *.asf, *.asx, *.mpg, *.mpeg, *.mpg4, *.mpe, *.mov, *.qt, *.ra, *.rm, *.rpm, *.wmv, *.wvx

• MPEG Video Files: *.mpg, *.mpeg, *.mpg4, *.mpe

• Windows Media Files: *.avi, *.asf, *.asx, *.wma, *.wmv, *.wax, *.wvx

• Quick Time Files: *.qt, *.mov

• Real Files: *.ra, *.rm, *.rpm

• Audio Files: *.asf, *.asx, *.mp3, *.mp4, *.wav, *.au, *.mid, *.rmi, *.ra, *.rm, *.wma, *.wax

• Flash Files: *.swf

• Flash Video Files: *.flv, *.f4v

• Adobe Captivate Files: *.swf

If you use the multimedia file in other topics, add it by dragging the file from the Multimedia folder.

Note: Multimedia content might have dependencies such as Flash or video/audio players that you need to install before you can view or hear them.

Change multimedia

1 Double-click the multimedia object. The Multimedia dialog box appears.

Make the changes.

Click OK.

To test, click the View button in the toolbar.

Remove multimedia from topics

1 Click to select the multimedia object.

2 Click the Delete button.

Click Undo

to restore a multimedia object you removed.

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Dynamic HTML and special effects

Dynamic HTML (DHTML) combines the capabilities of multimedia and scripting to create visual and 3D effects. The effects you insert perform an action or move in response to user input (such as a mouse click). Keep in mind the following details when working with DHTML:

• Mouse rollover effects include Drop Shadow, Font Change, Glow, and Rock 'n Roll.

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• Page-load, page-click, or trigger activation effects include Blur, Elastic, Fade In/Fade Out, Flip

Horizontally/Vertically, Fly In/Out, Gray, Show/Hide, Spiral, and Rock 'n Roll.

• Some effects can be combined.

• For best results, use DHTML with Internet Explorer 5.0 and later.

• Dynamic effects in styles are not supported in W3C-compliant output. If you validate the code for W3C compliance, the report can indicate errors.

Note: HTML files support DHTML effects in IE and non-IE browsers, but XHTML does not support all instances of

DHTML effects.

More Help topics

“ W3C compliance ” on page 131

DHTML basics

Add DHTML effects to a topic

1 Open a topic in the Design Editor and select an element. Do one of the following:

• Select text.

• For paragraph-based effects, click inside the paragraph.

• For positioned boxes, select the text box so you see gray boxes on its edges.

2 Select DHTML > Insert/Edit Dynamic HTML Effects.

From the When list, select the event for initiating the effect.

From the What list, select the effect you want to apply.

From the Settings list, adjust the properties.

The DHTML effect appears with light gray hash marks .

To ensure that you apply the effect to the correct topic, use the Design tag list.

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Apply DHTML effects to multiple paragraphs

1 In the topic, click where you want the text box.

Select Insert > HTML > Text Box.

Right-click the box, and select Text Box Properties. Set properties.

Type text in the box.

Click to select the box.

Select DHTML > Insert/Edit Dynamic HTML Effects.

From the When list, select the event for initiating the effect.

From the What list, select the effect you want to apply.

From the Settings list, adjust the properties.

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Update DHTML effects in a topic

Update Dynamic HTML (DHTML) effects by resaving topics in either of these two situations:

• You add or modify a style to include a Dynamic HTML effect. In this case, resave all topics attached to the style sheet so that they include code for creating the effect.

• You’re able to open a project in a version of RoboHelp earlier than version 8.0.

You can resave the topics at the prompt or update them later by clicking the Design tab and selecting Tools > Update

DHTML In Topics.

Change or remove DHTML effects

1 Open the topic in the Design Editor.

2 Do one of the following:

• Select the topic with the effect that you want to change. Select DHTML > Insert/Edit Dynamic HTML Effects.

• Select the element to remove, and then select DHTML > Remove Dynamic HTML Effects.

The ePub output does not support DHTML effects. To exclude DHTML effects from the ePub output, you can use

CBTs.

More Help topics

“ Apply conditional build tags to content ” on page 221

“ Generate output in the ePub format ” on page 305

Dynamic hotspots

About DHTML hotspots

DHTML hotspots display information when clicked.

Expanding hotspot When clicked, displays additional text next to the hotspot.

Drop-down hotspot When clicked, displays additional information below the hotspot.

Add DHTML hotspots

1 Open the topic in the Design view. Select the text to use as the hotspot.

2 Do one of the following:

• For expanding hotspots, select DHTML > Create Expanding Hotspot And Text. In the Expanding Text Editor, type the text to appear in the hotspot. Click outside the window to close the editor.

• For drop-down hotspots, select DHTML > Create Drop-Down Hotspot And Text. Enter text or images in the drop-down box. Click outside the Drop-down Text Editor.

3 Click the View button to test.

Format DHTML hotspots differently from surrounding text to make them noticeable to readers.

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Remove hotspots

Note: Content inside a hotspot is removed when you remove the hotspot.

❖ Right-click a hotspot. Select Remove Expanding/Drop-Down Text.

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Change formatting of DHTML hotspots

Change the formatting in a single topic or change for all topics using a style sheet. For multiple style sheets, modify each style sheet attached to the topics that use hotspots.

Select Format > Styles.

Do one of the following:

• To change formatting in a single topic, choose Available In and select the name of the topic to change.

• To change formatting in all topics using a style sheet, choose Available In and select the external style sheet.

Under Styles, select the hotspot style to change.

Click Modify.

Click Format and select the attributes to change.

Click OK. Click Close.

Triggers and targets

About triggers and targets

Triggers are text or images that have a special DHTML effect applied. When users click text or an image that's assigned a trigger, a target appears. To open DHTML effects using triggers, first assign a trigger to text or an image. Then connect the trigger to a target and assign a DHTML effect. When working with triggers and targets, keep in mind the following details:

• Triggers and targets must reside in the same topic.

• To indicate that an item is clickable, change the font color and underline, or add text to an image.

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Trigger and target images

Assign a trigger to text or images

1 Select the text or image to assign as the trigger.

2 Select DHTML > Make Trigger. A cable drum icon

3 Connect the trigger to an image or text.

appears. Hash marks shade the text.

Connect triggers to text

1 Select the text to use as the target.

2 Select DHTML > Insert/Edit Dynamic HTML Effects.

Under When, select 1st Trigger Activation.

Select What (the effect that occurs the first time the user clicks the trigger), and then select property settings.

Select 2nd Trigger Activation and set the properties.

Click OK. A plug icon appears next to the text, indicating that it is a target.

Click the trigger and drag to connect the trigger to the target text. To connect the trigger to multiple text targets, hold down the Shift key and click the trigger. Continue to hold the Shift key and drag the mouse to the next target text.

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Connect triggers to images

1 Click the trigger image once to display the green cable drum icon .

2 Click the cable drum icon and drag to connect the image to the target image. A green line shows the connection between the trigger and target.

From the menu, select a DHTML effect.

To connect to another target, hold the Shift key and click the trigger again. Continue to hold the Shift key and drag to the next image.

5 From the menu, select a DHTML effect for the target image.

Removing triggers

❖ Right-click the topic item assigned to a trigger and select Remove DHTML Trigger.

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Marquees

Add marquees

A marquee is a moving text message.

• To place a marquee around existing topic content, select the topic content and set marquee properties.

• To set marquee properties first, click the marquee destination in the topic. Set marquee properties, and enter the marquee content.

Note: XHTML does not support Marquees.

Set or change marquee properties

1 Select Insert > HTML > Marquee.

2 Right-click the marquee, select Marquee Properties, and specify or change marquee properties.

• In Amount, select the rate at which the marquee moves. Higher number indicates faster speed.

• In Delay, select the duration in milliseconds for display.

• In Behavior, specify how the marquee moves.

Scroll The marquee moves continuously across the window.

Slide The marquee slides across the screen.

Alternate The marquee bounces from the starting direction to the opposite window border.

• In Repeat, specify repetitions of the marquee. Select Continuously to repeat the marquee as long as the topic is open.

3 Click the View button to test.

Delete marquees

1 Place the cursor on the marquee boundary.

Click the left mouse button.

Click Delete .

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HTML comments in topics

Insert an HTML comment

1 Open a topic in Design Editor.

In Design view, insert the cursor and select Insert > HTML > Comments.

In the Comment Editor, type your comment using the following format:

4 Click OK.

View an HTML comment

1 Open a topic in Design view or HTML view.

2 Select View > Show > Comments.

Comments appear as green callouts in Design view and as green text in HTML view.

3 (Design view) Move the cursor over the callout. The comment appears in a text pop-up note.

Iframes

Use iframes (inline frames) to insert PDF files or HTML files within an HTML topic. If you want to show a PDF file or an accessible URL link in an HTML page, you can insert an iframe and display the required files within the selected

HTML page.

Insert an iframe

1 Select Insert > HTML > IFrame.

2 Double-click the iframe.

Specify a name. Click the browse button to select a URL, HTML file, or PDF file to link.

(Optional) Click the Border tab to set border options.

Click OK.

Note: You can view the inserted file in the preview as well as in the generated Help.

Edit an iframe

• Double-click the iframe to change the name, the linked item, or the border.

• Drag the frame handles to resize the frame.

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Chapter 10: Conditional text

Conditional text basics

Conditional text lets you generate subsets of the content within a project for various purposes or audiences. You can create conditional build tags to exclude content from output, and then assign those tags to topics or elements within topics.

Customize printed output

Online documentation often contains elements that are not useful in a printed manual, such as text describing online features. You can tag these elements as conditional text and exclude them from the output. If the manual is a subset of the online documentation, you can apply a conditional build tag to the topics and topic content to include. Then apply another tag to the other elements. When you generate the project, you can exclude the online-only tag.

Target custom content to specific audiences

Sometimes topics pertain to products, experience levels, or types of users. Using conditional text, you can reduce the amount of information you deliver to each group. You can also eliminate notes explaining small differences between products.

Deliver versions of an application

To deliver demo, trial, and shareware versions of the application, you can omit topics in each version.

Design and test conditional text

1 Determine the types of output needed, such as printed manuals or online tutorials; consider current and future requirements. Determine whether versions for different skill levels are required.

2 Determine which conditional build tags to apply to each output type. All untagged components are included in the output. Determine whether to apply multiple tags to topics, for varied output types. For example, to deliver a manual for testers of beta software, tag the beta-specific topics with a tag such as Beta. Tag the other topics with a tag such as Printed. Then you can include beta-related topics first, and exclude them later.

Use the Topic Properties report or the Conditional Build Tag report to review the tags applied to each topic.

Determine whether to apply a conditional build tag to the entire topic or to one or more areas within a topic. For example, if you are creating a printed manual, exclude text that mentions an online glossary.

5 Decide on tag names and colors, especially if the project is large and requires multiple output types. Define tag names that describe the output, such as Print or Online. Tag colors help you differentiate conditional text areas within a topic.

6 When updating a project, determine whether to delete content that is made obsolete by single-sourcing and conditional output. For example, a project contains text (such as “for advanced users”) or images that explain which content applies to which users. You can delete these elements or use conditional text to hide them in the output.

7 Determine which TOCs or pages of a TOC to include in the output, as you apply each tag.

8 Determine which indexes to include in the output. You can create multiple indexes in a project and include each one in the appropriate output.

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9 Test the conditional tags by generating the output and viewing the results. Exclude combinations of tags you applied to topics, TOCs, or indexes. You can also preview topics, without generating, to experiment with conditional areas.

More Help topics

“ Preview conditional text areas ” on page 222

Workflow to implement conditional text

1 Create a conditional build tag.

Apply the tag to a combination of topics, topic content, TOCs, and indexes.

Define the tags to exclude from and include with the output.

4 Define the conditional build expression to include or exclude tagged topics.

The expression uses Boolean logic operators (OR, AND, NOT) to form phrases that exclude content marked with a tag.

5 Generate the output.

Managing links to excluded topics

If you exclude content from output, broken links can occur in topics that reference the excluded content. RoboHelp manages most of these links as described in the following table.

Type of link

Browse sequence

Image maps

Index

Link control

Table of contents

Result

An excluded topic doesn’t appear in the browse sequence

If an image with an image map is excluded from output, the image map is removed.

An index keyword that is linked to a topic that is excluded doesn’t appear in the Index pane.

A link control (such as a Related Topic or Keyword Link) that references an excluded topic doesn’t display the topic.

A TOC book or page that is linked to an excluded topic doesn’t appear in the Contents pane.

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Conditional build tags

Create a conditional build tag

1 Open a topic in Design Editor.

Select Format > Apply Conditional Build Tag > New/Multiple.

Click New. Type a name for the tag.

4 Assign a color to the tag by clicking the Build Tag Color button . In the color box, click a color to select it, or click Custom Color to define a new color. If you do not assign a color to the icon, RoboHelp assigns a unique color to the icon by default.

Note: Two default tags are provided in all new projects: Online and Print. You can change their color, rename them, or apply them to topics or topic content.

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Apply conditional build tags to content

Content that has a conditional build tag applied appears with diagonal hash marks in the color specified for the tag. If a project is generated using a conditional build tag expression, the topic doesn’t display the content to which the tag applies. The color of the diagonal hashing differentiates tagged areas. For a folder, no hash marks appear. You can display hash marks for topics inside a folder.

Notes:

• Remove text references to excluded topics, such as links. Hotspots are not active for excluded topics.

• You can apply a conditional build tag to topics in the TOC pod.

• Show or hide conditional text by choosing View > Show > Conditional Areas.

Verifying tags applied to topics

The Used area of the Conditional Build Tag Properties dialog box lists the topics using a tag. The Level column shows how a tag is applied:

<Topic> Applied to a topic.

<Content> Applied to topic content.

<Both> Applied to both topic and content.

The File column lists the file containing the tagged information.

❖ Right-click a conditional build tag in the Conditional Build Tag pod and click Properties.

Apply conditional build tags to a topic

1 Select View > Pods > Topic List. Select the topic.

2 Click Format > Apply Conditional Build Tag, and select a tag.

Apply conditional build tags to multiple topics

1 Select View > Pods > Topic List.

2 Select multiple topics.

Click the Properties icon in the Project toolbar, and then click Advanced.

In the Conditional Build Tags (Topic Level Tags) pod, select a tag. Click OK.

Apply conditional build tags to topic content

1 Open a topic in the Design Editor.

Select topic content.

Click Format > Apply Conditional Build Tag.

Select a tag and click OK.

Apply multiple conditional tags to topic content

1 Open a topic in the Design Editor.

Select topic content.

Click Format > Apply Conditional Build Tag > New/Multiple.

Select tags or click Check All. Click OK.

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Apply conditional build tags to a folder, index, or TOC

1 Do one of the following:

• To apply tags to a folder, select a folder in the Project Manager pod.

• To apply tags to an index, click the Index folder in the Project Manager pod. Select a keyword or subkeyword.

• To apply tags to a TOC, click the Table of Contents folder in the Project Manager pod. Select a book or a page.

If you apply tags to the entire TOC, the TOC is unavailable in the output. If you apply them only to pages in the

TOC, the TOC is available. The tagged pages are not.

Click Format > Apply Conditional Build Tag > New/Multiple.

Select tags or click Check All. Click OK.

Apply conditional build tags to placeholders

❖ Do one of the following:

• Select a placeholder placed in a master page and select Format > Apply Conditional Build Tag > [new tag].

• Right-click a placeholder in the master page and select Apply Conditional Build Tag > [new tag].

Note: You can apply conditional build tags on snippet instances as well but not on snippets.

Preview conditional text areas

To check the format of a topic with a conditional text area, preview it using a conditional build tag expression you have already defined. You can also define a conditional build tag expression while previewing the topic.

1 Open a topic in the Design Editor.

Select View > View Item.

Do one of the following:

• To preview an existing expression, choose it from the Conditional Build Tag Expression menu.

• To define and preview a new expression, click Define, and select tags to exclude from the output. Click OK.

To remove the conditional build tag expression from the preview, select None from the Conditional Build Tag

Expression menu.

Hide and view conditional text

Items with conditional build tags applied appear in the Design Editor with diagonal hatching in the color specified for the tag.

Conditional text is always visible in the Design Editor, but you can hide the diagonal hatching.

❖ In View > Show > Conditional Areas, do one of the following:

• To hide the conditional text, deselect the option.

• To show the conditional text, select the option.

Remove conditional build tags

1 Do one of the following:

• To remove conditional build tags from a topic, select one or more topics in the HTML files folder of the Project

Manager pod.

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• To remove conditional build tags from topic content, open a topic in the Design Editor. Select topic content.

• To remove conditional build tags from a TOC, click in the TOC pod. Select one or more books or pages.

• To remove conditional build tags from an index, click in the Index pod. Select a keyword or subkeyword.

2 Click Format > Apply Conditional Build Tag > New/Multiple.

Deselect tags or click Clear All. Then click OK.

To remove conditional build tags from a project, click Project. Expand the Conditional Build Tags folder, click a tag, and select Delete. Then click OK.

Before removing a conditional build tag from a project, run a project report to determine the topics affected.

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Rename conditional build tags

1 Right-click a tag in the Conditional Build Tags pod.

2 Select Rename, and enter a new name in the box.

3 Press Enter. Topics using this tag are updated with the new name.

Make sure that the conditional build expression is updated with the new build tag name before you regenerate the project.

Conditional build tag expressions

Define conditional build tag expressions

An expression is a set of instructions. Expressions specify topics to include or exclude from the output. You can define a basic expression that excludes tags, or a complex expression with Boolean operators, such as AND, OR, NOT.

Users cannot access topics or TOCs that are excluded from output. Index keywords and TOC entries do not appear.

RoboHelp removes links to the topic and removes the topic from link controls. It removes links to bookmarks inside areas tagged as excluded. Tags applied to topic content do not affect TOC, index, or link controls.

Make sure that you have a single-source layout in which to store the expression. If needed, create a layout or modify a default layout.

You can bypass build tags and generate output including all topics in the project whether build tags have been applied or not. Select None in the Conditional Build Tag list, in the Options wizard, while generating the project.

1 Create a conditional build tag. Apply it to topics or topic content.

In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click a layout and select Properties.

Click Define, and define a basic or advanced expression.

Click Save.

Remove a conditional build tag expression

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click a layout, and select Properties.

2 In the Conditional Build Expression list, select None. Then click Save.

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Advanced conditional build tag expressions

If you define advanced conditional build tag expressions using Boolean operators, use these guidelines for customizing output. You can also let the program create them for you using the basic method.

Desired Result

All topics to which one tag has been applied

All topics to which multiple tags have been applied

All topics to which any combination of tags has been applied

All topics except those topics to which one tag has been applied

All topics except those topics to which multiple tags have been applied

Action

Use the tag name. For example: Tag1

Use AND with the tag names. For example: Tag2 AND Tag3

Use OR with the tag names. For example: Tag3 OR Tag4

Use NOT with the tag name. For example: NOT Tag2

Use NOT in combination with AND with the tag names. For example:

NOT Tag1 AND NOT Tag2 AND NOT Tag4

Note: Topics and topic text to which you have applied no conditional build tag are included in the output.

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Chapter 11: Context-sensitive Help

About context-sensitive Help

A context-sensitive Help (CSH) topic provides information about the user interface of an application relative to the task a user performs. For example, CSH topics provide details about fields and controls in dialog boxes, descriptions of windows or screen objects, and explanations of messages. The user accesses a CSH topic by pressing F1, clicking a

Help button, selecting from a menu, or clicking a question-mark icon.

The process of creating and implementing context-sensitive Help typically involves the content author and the application developer. To specify context-sensitive topics, the author creates map IDs and map files . When a user accesses context-sensitive Help, a map number and Help file name are sent to the Help engine . The engine matches the map number to a topic ID and an HTM filename so that the correct topic appears.

The final step in the process is to test the context-sensitive Help. RoboHelp HTML provides several tools you can use in addition to testing context-sensitive Help in the application.

Window-level topic Describes windows, dialog boxes, and messages in an application. Each window-level topic is in

HTM format and stored in a file with the extension .htm. It can contain text formatting, links, images, and other features. These topics are more detailed than field-level topics because they describe the user interface components.

Users access these topics by pressing F1, clicking Help buttons, and selecting from menus.

If a custom window is not included with the application Help, context-sensitive topics appear in the HTML Help viewer.

Field-level (What's This?) topic (WinHelp and Microsoft HTML Help projects) Briefly describes a field. A user accesses the topic by clicking a question-mark icon, and then clicking a field in a dialog box. In RoboHelp, field-level topics are called What’s This?

topics.

Note: WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, FlashHelp Pro, and AIR Help do not support What’s This Help. WebHelp window support is available only with the context-sensitive Help API (Application Programming Interface).

Airplane Help Offline Help unsupported by an Internet connection. To use RH_ShowHelp , associate the offline Help system with the function RH_AssociateOfflineHelp . This step tells the function how to operate if no Internet connection is available. Individual calls to RH_ShowHelp must specify offline Help. Both RH_ShowHelp and

RH_AssociateOfflineHelp are in the support files. Use airplane Help to provide back-up Help when an Internet connection fails.

Note: RH_ShowHelp is a programming function that a developer uses to display a help topic using rules found in

RoboHelp's CSH API.

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Author and developer roles in creating contextsensitive Help

Author

Writes the Help topics that describe how to use application components such as windows, dialog boxes, fields, and controls.

Developer

Builds the components (windows, dialogs, fields, controls) that make up the application.

Imports map files and assigns map IDs to each context-sensitive Help topic. Communicates to the developer any unclear assignments or changes in assignments.

Generates the map files that contain the map IDs and gives them to the author.

or or

Obtains map files that contain the map IDs from the author.

Creates map files and assigns map IDs to each context-sensitive Help topic. Exports map files to the development environment when complete and notifies the developer of any changes.

Generates the project to include the context-sensitive Help topics with the output.

Writes code that calls the correct Help topics from within the application (based on map IDs included in the map files).

Tests the context-sensitive topics in the application. Repairs errors in the Help system.

Notifies the author when changes are made to the application (or map files) so that the Help project can be updated and regenerated. Repairs errors in the application code.

On the Authoring home page of Peter Grainge’s website , you can find information about four methods of calling

WebHelp:

• Using URLs

• Using map IDs

• Using map IDs in merged WebHelp

• Using topic IDs

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Map files and map IDs

About map numbers, map files, and map IDs

Map number A numeric value associated with a topic ID. Map numbers and topic IDs are saved in map files. Map numbers are used with applications to specify a topic for calling context-sensitive Help. Whether application developers use map numbers, topics IDs, or both depends on the programming language they use.

Map file A text file containing topic IDs and map numbers. You associate map IDs and map files with topics. As author, if you receive a map file from your developer, assign a map ID from the map file. If you manually create a map file, either auto-generate or manually create the map ID. A project can include multiple map files. Map files use the extensions .h, .hh, and .hm. The default map file is BSSCDefault.h.

Map ID A string that pairs a topic ID with a map number. For example:

#define ID_SetupScreen 101

• ID_SetupScreen is the topic ID.

• 101 is the map number.

• ID_SetupScreen 101 is the Map ID.

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An Icon indicates the status of a map ID:

• Blue icons indicate that map IDs match topics.

• Yellow icons indicate that map IDs do not match any topics.

• Locked icons (blue or yellow) indicate that the map ID is in a map file that is locked. It cannot be assigned or unassigned.

Create map IDs, auto-generate map IDs, or import map files to use map IDs. A unique map ID must be assigned to each topic ID. Assign a map ID to a Help topic to display the Help topic in context-sensitive Help.

Mapping table A mechanism that maps fields and controls in dialog boxes to map numbers. The mapping table is programmed into the application to provide context-sensitive Help functionality.

Managing map files

Create a map file

Map files are text files that include a map ID list. Map filenames use the .h extension. When creating filenames, use underscores instead of spaces, and avoid using these illegal characters: \ / : * ? < > | # ", $, &, [ ]

Authors or developers can create the map file. If the developer creates the map file, the author then imports it.

Note: RoboHelp also supports dynamic context-sensitive mapping of dialog boxes and topics. This approach eliminates

the need for technical authors to manually keep track of map IDs. See “ Dynamic editing of context-sensitive topics ” on

You can lock a map file to make it read-only.

1 Open the Project Set-up pod.

Expand the Context-Sensitive Help folder.

Right-click the Map Files folder.

Choose New Map File.

Enter a name.

Click OK. The file is added to the Map Files folder.

Note: Obsolete files potentially contain map numbers used for updated files.

Import a map file

1 Do one of the following:

• Click File > Import > Map File.

• Expand the context-sensitive Help folder in the Project Set-up pod.

Navigate to the map file. Make sure that it’s unlocked.

Double-click the map file to add it to the project Map Files folder.

Export a map file

1 In the Project Set-up pod, expand the Context-Sensitive Help folder.

2 Right-click the Map Files folder.

3 Select Export Map Files.

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Select the programming languages to save the map files to.

Specify a location for the map file. Click OK.

When you export a map file, the original file remains in your project.

Lock or unlock a map file

Locked map files are read-only files. Do not add, remove, or change map IDs in locked map files. Do not modify the file if Remove Unused Map IDs is selected. If you do, you can possibly lose changes in the files. Imported map files are locked by default.

Select View > Pods > Project Set-up.

Expand the Map Files folder (or a custom folder in the Map Files folder).

Right-click the map file.

Select Properties.

Select the Locked option. To unlock the file, deselect the Locked option.

Click Close.

Remove an obsolete map file

Obsolete map files sometimes contain map numbers used for updated files. These map numbers can dynamically call a wrong topic. Delete unused map files to prevent this issue.

1 Open the Project Set-up pod.

Expand the Context-Sensitive Help folder.

Expand the Map Files folder.

Select the map file.

Click Delete.

Remove an unused map ID

Your map files must be unlocked to use this option. To remove unused map IDs:

• Expand the Context-Sensitive Help folder in the Project Set-up pod.

• Right-click the Map Files folder.

• Select Edit.

• Do the following:

Map Files Select the map files from which to remove unused map IDs.

Select All Click to remove unused map IDs from all map files.

Clear All Click to deselect all map files and not remove unused map IDs.

Managing map IDs

Create a map ID

1 Open the Project Set-up pod.

2 Expand the Context-Sensitive Help folder.

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Expand the Map Files folder.

Double-click All Map IDs.

In Map File, click the Down Arrow and select a map file to store the map ID.

Click the Create/Edit Map ID button .

In Topic ID, type a word or phrase to identify the topic.

In Map Number, type a number.

Note:

You can create individual map IDs per topic or auto-generate using the Auto Map button. See “ Auto-generate a map ID ” on page

Edit a map ID

You can assign or unassign topic map IDs, create new map IDs and files, and automatically map ( auto-map ) IDs. You can sort the topics by column.

1 Open the Project Set-up pod.

Expand the Context-Sensitive Help folder.

Right-click the Map Files folder.

Select Edit Map IDs.

5 Choose from the following options:

Map File List available map files (including imported map files).

<All Map Files> Display all map IDs.

<Project Map File> Display map IDs in the default map file BSSCDdefault.h. The map IDs for deselected map files reside in BSSCDefault.h.

Map file icon Click to open the New Map File dialog box and create a custom map file. Map numbers for custom map files are numbered automatically.

Map # Display the map number of the topic ID. Map numbers reside in map files (.h, .hh, .hm).

Topic Display the topic assigned to the map ID.

Hide Used IDs Show unassigned map IDs.

New icon Create a map ID. The ID is appended to the map file selected in Map File.

Edit icon

Delete

Edit the selected map ID.

Remove the selected map ID. Before removing the ID, click Unassign to prevent a broken link to the topic.

Options Customize topic auto-mapping.

Assign Assign the selected topic to the selected topic ID. This button is available when a topic is selected on the right and a map ID is selected on the left.

Unassign Disassociate the map ID from the topic on the right.

Auto Map Assign a map ID in the custom or default map file (BSSCDefault.h). Select a map file and a topic. Click Auto

Map. This button is available only when you select <Project Map File> or a custom map file. If you auto-map a map

ID and a map file is not selected, the map ID resides in the default map file (BSSCDefault.h).

• The program assigns the topic title or filename as the topic ID and assigns a map number. Click Options to customize auto-mapping.

• You cannot assign multiple topics to a map ID. You can assign multiple map IDs to a topic.

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Topic Lists the project topics. To filter the list, click the triangle folder.

•

• Properties icon

Preview icon

Show all topic IDs assigned to the topic.

Display the topic.

. Select All Folders, Top Level Folder, or a custom

Note: If you assign a map ID to a bookmark, you see a misleading error message indicating that the file does not exist.

Disregard the warning. The topic does exist.

Reassign a map ID

Update the map ID if the Help topic doesn’t open, if the wrong topic opens, or if the developer changed the application that in way that affects the map IDs.

1 Select a map file under Map IDs in the Edit Map IDs dialog box.

Click Create/Edit Map ID.

Do one of the following:

• Reassign the map ID. Under Map ID, select the map ID. Click Unassign. Select another topic and click Assign.

• Change the topic ID or map number. Double-click the map ID and change the desired value.

Auto-generate a map ID

You can generate map IDs using a custom map file or the default map file (BSSCDefault.h). Before you generate map files, check with the developer to determine naming conventions.

In the Project Set-up pod, expand the Context-Sensitive Help folder.

Expand the Map Files folder.

Double-click All Map IDs.

In Map File, click the triangle button.

Select a map file.

Set options for naming and numbering map IDs. By default, the application assigns the topic title or filename as the topic ID and assigns a map number.

In the Topic field, select the topic.

Click Auto Map to create a map ID.

If necessary, double-click the map file to edit it.

10 Provide a copy of the map file to the developer.

Generate a map ID

The IDs reside in the map file you select from the Edit Map IDs dialog box.

❖ Click Options in the Edit Map IDs dialog box.

Prefix Map IDs With Select to enter a value at the beginning of each map ID.

Make Uppercase Select for uppercase auto-generated map IDs.

Start Numbering With Select to enter a starting number for map numbers.

Notes:

• Setting these options does not affect existing map IDs.

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• By default, the application assigns the topic title or filename as the topic ID and assigns a map number.

• Auto-generating map IDs is available when you select <Project Map File> or a custom map file. If you auto-map a map ID and do not select a map file, the map ID resides in the default map file (BSSCDefault.h).

• You cannot assign multiple topics to a map ID. You can assign multiple map IDs to one topic.

Assign a map ID to a topic

Note: RoboHelp also supports dynamic context-sensitive mapping of dialog boxes and topics. This approach eliminates

the need for technical authors to manually keep track of map IDs. See “ Dynamic editing of context-sensitive topics ” on

Open the Project Set-up pod.

Expand the Context-Sensitive Help folder.

Expand the Map Files folder.

Double-click All Map IDs.

In Map File, click the Down Arrow and select the map file that contains the map ID.

Select the map ID to assign.

Select the topic.

Click Assign.

Click Close.

10 Generate the project.

11 Test the window-level topics with the application.

Unassign a map ID

1 Open the topic.

Click the Properties button .

Click the Advanced tab.

Click Assigned Map IDs.

Select the map ID to unassign.

Click Edit Map IDs.

Click Unassign.

Click Close.

Generate the project.

10 Test the window-level topics with the application.

Note: If you assign map IDs to bookmarks and remove the bookmarks from the topics, manually unassign map IDs from the bookmarks.

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Dynamic editing of context-sensitive topics

RoboHelp supports dynamic editing of the context-sensitive topic associated with an application dialog box. If no topic is associated with the dialog box, you can either dynamically map an existing topic with the dialog box or create a new topic and then map it with the dialog box.

Note: To use this feature, you must open the application from within RoboHelp. Also, the application must implement context-sensitive help using the RoboHelp 9 Context-Sensitive Help API. Currently, only C++ APIs on Windows are supported.

Usage scenarios

Mapping dialog boxes with Help topics requires close collaboration between developers and technical authors.

Normally, developers define map IDs for dialog boxes in the code and communicate them to technical authors.

Technical authors then manually associate the map IDs with Help topics.

Dynamic context-sensitive mapping of dialog boxes and topics eliminates the need for technical authors to manually keep track of map IDs. Instead, technical authors can open the application and associate the relevant Help topic dynamically with a dialog box.

This feature also greatly facilitates Help integration testing and troubleshooting. Technical authors can readily test whether all dialog boxes are mapped to the correct Help topics. When a mismatch is found, they can quickly fix it and associate the dialog box with the correct Help topic.

Map an application dialog box with a topic

1 Open the Help project for the application in RoboHelp.

2 Click File > Context-Sensitive Help > Open Application.

Browse and select the executable file (.exe) for the application. Click Open.

Once the application has launched, browse to an application dialog box with context-sensitive Help mapping. Press

F1 or click the Help button.

5 In the CSH Options dialog box in RoboHelp, select a map file from the Project Map File pop-up menu.

Note: The CSH Options dialog box appears only if you launched the application from within RoboHelp using File >

Context-Sensitive Help > Open Application.

6 Do one of the following:

• If you want to map an existing topic in the RoboHelp project with the dialog box, select Map To Selected Topic and select a topic for the mapping from the right pane.

• If you want to create a new topic and map it with the dialog box, select Map To New Topic.

• If you want to edit the contents of the topic currently mapped with the dialog box, select Edit Mapped Topic.

• If you want to remove the current mapping between the dialog box and a Help topic, select Remove Mapping.

7 Click OK.

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Information for developers

The API shares parameters with HTML Help and WinHelp. You can create custom dialog boxes.

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Note: "Custom dialog boxes" refers to the feature that the projects using these APIs have to create their own dialog boxes based on their requirements.

Call your Help projects with the function RH_ShowHelp . The source code for this function is contained in the support files which you import into your development project. Languages supported are Visual Basic, C/C++, JavaScript, and

Java. The files are in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp [version] \CSH API. The files are:

• CSH API\RoboHelp_CSH.vb (Visual Basic)

• CSH API\RoboHelp_CSH.cpp (C/C++, dependent on the .h)

• CSH API\RoboHelp_CSH.h (C/C++, dependent on the .cpp)

• CSH API\RoboHelp_CSH.js (Web pages - HTML/JavaScript)

• CSH API\RoboHelp_CSH.java (Java applications)

RH_ShowHelp has four parameters as shown in the following table:

Parameter hParent a_pszHelpFile uCommand dwData

Description

Handle to calling dialog HTML Help Only: This parameter closes the Help dialog when the calling window is closed.

Help Source (depends on the Output type)

For Webhelp/FlashHelp: "Path to project start page"

For Webhelp Pro: "http://<ServerName>/roboapi.asp"

For HTML Help: "Path to .CHM file". To specify a dialog, use ">WindowName" at the end of the parameter.

Constants:

HH_DISPLAY_INDEX Displays Index pane and default topic.

HH_DISPLAY_SEARCH Displays Search pane and default topic.

HH_DISPLAY_TOC Displays Contents pane and default topic.

HH_HELP_CONTEXT Opens topic associated with map ID in dwData parameter.

To obtain the map ID, export the map file for the programming language. Use HH_HELP_CONTEXT in the uCommand parameter.

Program Help for Visual Basic applications

This information is for developers connecting context-sensitive Help topics to Visual Basic applications.

Open the project in Visual Basic.

If the map files were created in RoboHelp, ask the Help system author to export the map files from RoboHelp to

Visual Basic.

Include RoboHelp_CSH.vb with your project. The function RH_ShowHelp is defined in RoboHelp_CSH.vb.

Add a reference to the Microsoft Internet Controls.

To launch the Help system, call RH_ShowHelp with uCommand set to HH_DISPLAY_INDEX , HH_DISPLAY_SEARCH , or

HH_DISPLAY_TOC and dwData set to "0".

6 Set the value of the Help source parameter (according to the Output type) in a string variable called

StrPathAndWindow as follows:

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Note: In the following examples, the API shares the same parameters regardless of output type. The only change made is the location of the Help file.

WebHelp/FlashHelp Stores the full path to the start page and a dialog name in a string variable called

StrPathAndWindow. An example of this string is "C:\Program

Files\MyApplication\WebHelp\MyStartPage.htm>MyWindow.”

WebHelp Pro Stores the full path to the server and a window name in a string variable called StrPathAndWindow.

Check with the web administrator to determine whether the project name is required. (The project name is required if the Auto-Merge option in the RoboHelp Server Configuration Manager is set to Off.)

An example of this string is http://<servername>/robohelp/rest/search?project=<projectname>&quesn=<search-query>

HTML Help Stores the full path to the CHM file and a dialog name in a string variable called StrPathAndWindow.

An example of this string is “C:\Program Files\MyApplication\MyHelp.chm>MyWindow.”

Do not hard-code the string variable StrPathAndWindow.

7 To call a Help topic, call the function RH_ShowHelp with a_pszHelpFile set to StrPathAndWindow , uCommand set to HH_HELP_CONTEXT , and dwData set to the map ID of the topic.

RH_ShowHelp syntax

RH_ShowHelp syntax

RH_ShowHelp(hParent As Long, a_pszHelpFile As String, uCommand As Long, dwData as Long) As

Boolean

Example:

To open the topic mapped to number 1:

Public cshObject as new RoboHelp_CSH .RH_ShowHelp Me.HWND, StrPathAndWindow, cshObject.HH_HELP_CONTEXT, 1;

Notes:

• In WebHelp Pro projects, the new context-sensitive Help API is supported only with RoboHelp Server.

• Create one global RoboHelp_CSH object to use for all context-sensitive Help calls.

Airplane Help for Visual Basic applications

If using Airplane Help, associate offline Help before making function calls.

Syntax

Public Function RH_AssociateOfflineHelp(pszPrimaryHelpSource As String, pszBackupHelpSource As

String) As Boolean

Example strOnline = "http:// www.mycompany.com/roboapi.asp?project=myproject" strOffline = "C:\Program Files\My App\WebHelp\StartPage.htm"

Public cshObject as new RoboHelp_CSH ' Should be global object cshObject. RH_AssociateOfflineHelp strOnline, strOffline

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Program Help for Visual C++ applications

This information is for developers connecting context-sensitive Help topics to C++ applications.

1 Open the project in the C++ IDE.

Add RoboHelp_CSH.cpp and RoboHelp_CSH.h to the project.

Link the wininet.lib and hhctrl.lib libraries to the application. Look for the hhctrl.lib library in the CSH API subfolder of the installation folder.

If you are using Microsoft Visual C++ with MFC, set the RoboHelp_CSH.cpp file so that it doesn’t use precompiled headers.

Prevent RoboHelp_CSH.cpp from using precompiled headers

Visual Studio 6

1 Select Project > Settings.

2 Select Robohelp_Csh.Cpp.

On the C/C tab, change Category to Precompiled Headers.

Select Not Using Precompiled Headers.

Click OK.

Visual Studio .NET

1 Right-click Robohelp_Csh.Cpp. Select Properties.

2 In the C/C folder, select Precompiled Headers.

3 Select Not Using Precompiled Headers.

Function calls from Visual C++ applications

Note: Connect context-sensitive WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, FlashHelp Pro, or HTML Help topics to Visual C++ applications.

Note: You can call the context-sensitive help from other languages too. Visual C++ is given as an example here.

RH_ShowHelp syntax int RH_ShowHelp(HWND hParent, const char * a_pszHelpFile, unsigned int uCommand, DWORD dwData)

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Parameter hParent a_pszHelpFile uCommand dwData

Data type

HWND const char * unsigned int

DWORD

Description

Handle to calling the dialog box HTML Help Only: Close the Help dialog box with the calling window.

Help source For Webhelp/FlashHelp: "Path to project start page" For

Webhelp Pro: "http://

[ServerName]

/roboapi.asp"

* For HTML Help: "Path to .CHM file"

To specify a dialog box, use ">WindowName" at the end of this parameter.

Constants:

HH_DISPLAY_INDEX Displays Index pane and default topic.

HH_DISPLAY_SEARCH Displays Search pane and default topic.

HH_DISPLAY_TOC Displays Contents pane and default topic.

HH_HELP_CONTEXT Opens topic associated with map ID in dwData parameter.

To obtain the map ID, export the map file for the programming language.

Use HH_HELP_CONTEXT in the uCommand parameter.

RH_OpenHelpTopic Syntax

Call "RH_OpenHelpTopic” function to open a Help Topic in WebHelp or FlashHelp.

int RH_OpenHelpTopic(const TCHAR * a_pszHelpMainPage,

const TCHAR * a_pszTopicRelPath);

Parameter a_pszHelpMainPage

Data type const char *

Description

Help source For Webhelp/FlashHelp: "Path to project start page" . To specify a window, append ">WindowName" at the end Path to the project start page.

Relative path of the topic corresponding to the main page.

a_pszTopicRelPath const char *

To open to the default topic, make a Help call that sets uCommand to HH_DISPLAY_INDEX , HH_DISPLAY_SEARCH , or

HH_DISPLAY_TOC , and dwData to "0". In WebHelp Pro systems, default window settings for default navigation buttons override the HH_DISPLAY constant.

Call a context-sensitive Help function for AIR Help

Note: The AIR Help API is provided for many languages including JAVA, VC.NET, CS.NET, VB, VB.NET. The following example shows how to invoke the AIR Help API using Visual C++.

Call RH_AIR_ShowHelp function to show AIR Help Application.

int RH_AIR_ShowHelp(const TCHAR * a_pszViewerPath, const TCHAR * a_pszHelpId, const TCHAR * a_pszWindowName, unsigned long ulMapNum, const TCHAR * a_pszMapId, const TCHAR * a_pszTopicURL);

Parameter a_pszViewerPath

Data Type const char *

Description

Path to the installation directory of AIR Help Application.

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Context-sensitive Help a_ pszHelpId a_pszWindowName ulMapNum a_pszMapId a_pszTopicURL const char * const char * unsigned long const char * const char *

(Optional) ID of help content to be viewed in Viewer. It is specified in

.helpcfg file.

(Optional) Customized output window name.

Context-sensitive map number

(Optional) Context-sensitive map ID. If specified it takes priority and ulMapNum is ignored.

(Optional) URL of the topic to appear. If specified, this parameter takes priority over ulMapNum and a_pszMapId.

The return value is 0 for a successful result and non-zero if any error occurs.

RH_GetAIRAppPath

Call RH_GetAIRAppPath function to get AIR Help Application.

TCHAR * RH_GetAIRAppPath(const TCHAR * a_pszAppId, const TCHAR * a_pszPublisherId);

Parameter a_pszAppId a_pszPublisherId

Data Type const char * const char *

Description

Help app ID, specified in RoboHelp during AIR generation.

ID corresponding to the digital certificate used for signing the AIR application.

The return value path of the AIR application. The user can call the function free() to free up the memory.

Note: Data Type can also be const wchar * for Unicode enabled applications.

Call a context-sensitive function for WebHelp, FlashHelp, or FlashHelp Pro

The following example assumes the full path to the WebHelp/FlashHelp start page and a dialog box name are stored in a string variable called StrPathAndWindow. An example of this string is “C:\\Program

Files\\MyApplication\WebHelp\MyStartPage.htm>MyWindow.” Do not hard-code this string.

Note: Export the map files to the location.

Example:

To open the topic mapped as number 1:

RH_ShowHelp(GetSafeHwnd(), strPathAndWindow, HH_HELP_CONTEXT, (DWORD)1);

Note: If using airplane Help, associate the offline Help before making calls.

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Call a context-sensitive function for WebHelp Pro

1 Call the function.

The following example assumes the full path to the server and a window name are stored in a string variable called

StrPathAndWindow. The project name is required if the Auto-Merge option is set to Off. The value of this string is http://<servername>/robohelp/rest/search?project=<project-name>&quesn=<search-query> for getting the URL for a given keyword.

For getting the context-sensitive information, the URLs are http://servername>/robohelp/rest/robowindow?wtype=ctx

&context=<id>[&area=<area_of_publishing>&type=project_type>] or http://servername>/robohelp/rest/robowindow?wtype=prj&window=<windowname>[&area=<area_of_p ublishing>&type=<project_type> ]

Note: Export the map files to the location.

Example:

To open the topic mapped to number 1:

RH_ShowHelp(GetSafeHwnd(), strPathAndWindow, HH_HELP_CONTEXT, (DWORD)1);

2 Run and test the Help call.

Note: If using airplane Help, associate the offline Help before making calls.

Call a context-sensitive function for HTML Help

1 Call the function.

The following example assumes the CHM file and a window name are stored in a string variable called

StrPathAndWindow. The value of this string indicates the path to the CHM file, such as C:\Program

Files\MyApplication\MyHelp.chm>MyWindow.

Example:

To open the topic mapped as number 1:

RH_ShowHelp(GetSafeHwnd(), strPathAndWindow, HH_HELP_CONTEXT, (DWORD)1);

2 Run and test the Help call.

Notes:

• If using airplane Help, associate the offline Help before making calls.

• In WebHelp Pro projects, the Help API is supported only with RoboHelp Server or RoboEngine 3.0 or later.

Overriding the default MFC Help Handler

This topic is for Visual C++ developers who create MFC-based applications.

• As stated in the RoboHelp_CSH.h header file, the wininet.lib and hhctrl.lib libraries must be linked into the application. The hhctrl.lib library can be in the CSH API folder in the RoboHelp installation folder.

• Include the RoboHelp_CSH.cpp file in your project.

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• To use the RoboHelp API instead of the default MFC Help handler, override the WinHelp function in your mainframe class. By default, Visual Studio calls this class CMainFrame, and you can use the class wizard inside

Visual Studio to create the function override.

• After overriding the function and including RoboHelp_CSH.h, replace the contents of the function with this code.

(Set the path to your Help file properly. The example shows RoboHelp Server-based Help.)

Note: Modify the path to server-based Help according to your project. In this example, the path applies to RoboHelp

Server Help. See the rest of the API documentation to determine parameter values for each command and specify secondary windows for context-sensitive Help calls.

CWaitCursor wait; if (IsFrameWnd()) {

// CFrameWnd windows should be allowed to exit help mode first

CFrameWnd* pFrameWnd = (CFrameWnd*)this; pFrameWnd->ExitHelpMode();

}

// cancel any tracking modes

SendMessage(WM_CANCELMODE);

SendMessageToDescendants(WM_CANCELMODE, 0, 0, TRUE, TRUE);

// must use top level parent (for the case where m_hWnd is in DLL)

CWnd* pWnd = GetTopLevelParent(); pWnd->SendMessage(WM_CANCELMODE); pWnd->SendMessageToDescendants(WM_CANCELMODE, 0, 0, TRUE, TRUE);

// attempt to cancel capture

HWND hWndCapture = ::GetCapture(); if (hWndCapture != NULL)

::SendMessage(hWndCapture, WM_CANCELMODE, 0, 0);

// Set the path to server-based help

CString csOnlineHelpPath = _T("http://myserver/RoboAPI.asp");

// Translate the nCmd from WinHelp commands to RoboHelp commands unsigned int nRHCmd; switch (nCmd) { case HELP_CONTEXT: nRHCmd = HH_HELP_CONTEXT; break; case HELP_CONTENTS: nRHCmd = HH_DISPLAY_TOC; break; case HELP_CONTEXTMENU: nRHCmd = HH_TP_HELP_CONTEXTMENU; break; case HELP_WM_HELP: nRHCmd = HH_TP_HELP_WM_HELP; break; case HELP_FINDER: nRHCmd = HH_HELP_FINDER; break; default: nRHCmd = nCmd; break;

}

// finally, run the RoboHelp Help engine if (!RH_ShowHelp(pWnd->m_hWnd, csOnlineHelpPath, nCmd, dwData))

AfxMessageBox(AFX_IDP_FAILED_TO_LAUNCH_HELP);

Visual C++ developers using Visual Studio .NET

• As stated in the RoboHelp_CSH.h header file, the wininet.lib and htmlhelp.lib libraries must be linked into the application.

• Include the RoboHelp_CSH.cpp file in your project.

• To use the RoboHelp API instead of using the default MFC Help handler, override the HtmlHelp function in your mainframe class. By default, Visual Studio calls this class CMainFrame, and you can use the class wizard inside

Visual Studio to create the function override.

• After overriding the function and including RoboHelp_CSH.h, replace the contents of the function with the following code. (Set the path to your Help file accordingly. The example shows server-based Help.)

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CWaitCursor wait;

// Get the path to the Help system

CWinApp* pApp = AfxGetApp();

ASSERT_VALID(pApp);

// Set the path to server-based help

CString csOnlineHelpPath = _T("http://RoboHelp Server:port/robohelp/server");

PrepareForHelp();

// must use top level parent (for the case where m_hWnd is in DLL)

CWnd* pWnd = GetTopLevelParent();

// finally, run the RoboHelp Help engine if (!RH_ShowHelp(pWnd->m_hWnd, csOnlineHelpPath, nCmd, dwData))

AfxMessageBox(AFX_IDP_FAILED_TO_LAUNCH_HELP);

Note: In WebHelp Pro projects, the new context-sensitive Help API is supported only with RoboHelp Server or

RoboEngine 3.0 or later.

Airplane Help for C++ applications

Syntax void RH_AssociateOfflineHelp(const char * a_pszPrimaryHelpSource, const char * a_pszBackupHelpSource)

Example m_sOnline = "http://www.mycompany.com/roboapi.asp?project=myproject"; m_sOffline = "C:\Program Files\My App\WebHelp\StartPage.htm";

RH_AssociateOfflineHelp(m_sOnline, m_sOffline);

Note: To specify different window names for online and offline Help, you can map windows to RH_AssociateOfflineHelp.

Follow this example for Visual Basic: strOnline = "http://www.mycompany.com/roboapi.asp?project=myproject>RemoteWindow1" strOffline = "C:\Program Files\My App\MyHelp.chm>LocalWindow1"

Public cshObject as new RoboHelp_CSH ' Should be global object cshObject. RH_AssociateOfflineHelp strOnline, strOffline strOnline = "http://www.mycompany.com/roboapi.asp?project=myproject>RemoteWindow2" strOffline = "C:\Program Files\My App\MyHelp.chm>LocalWindow2" cshObject. RH_AssociateOfflineHelp strOnline, strOffline

Note: WebHelp Pro context-sensitive Help API is supported only with RoboHelp Server or RoboEngine 3.0 or later.

Program Help for Java applications

This information is for developers connecting context-sensitive Help topics to Java applications.

1 Open the project in your Java IDE (integrated development environment).

Add RoboHelp_csh.java to the project.

Call the function defined in RoboHelp_csh.java using any needed parameters.

Note: Airplane Help is not supported in the Java API.

Function calls from Java applications

In the following examples, the API shares the same parameters regardless of output type. The only change made is the location of the Help file.

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Parameter hParent a_pszHelpFile uCommand dwData

Data Type int

String int int

Description

Reserved for future versions. Use 0.

Help source For Webhelp/FlashHelp: "<Path to project start page>" For

WebHelp Pro: "http:// [ServerName] /roboapi.asp"

*Optional: Specify dialogs using ">WindowName" at the end of this parameter

Constants:

HH_DISPLAY_INDEX Displays Index pane and default topic.

HH_DISPLAY_SEARCH Displays Search pane and default topic.

HH_DISPLAY_TOC Displays Contents pane and default topic.

HH_HELP_CONTEXT Opens topic associated with map ID in dwData parameter.

Topic map ID (defined in Edit Map IDs in RoboHelp). To obtain the map ID, export the map file for your language (use HH_HELP_CONTEXT in the uCommand parameter).

To launch the Help system (open to the default topic), make a Help call that sets uCommand to HH_DISPLAY_INDEX ,

HH_DISPLAY_SEARCH , or HH_DISPLAY_TOC , and dwData to "0". In WebHelp Pro systems, default window settings for default navigation button override the HH_DISPLAY constant (however, the Help system still opens to the default topic).

Call a context-sensitive function for WebHelp, FlashHelp, or FlashHelp Pro

1 Call the function.

RoboHelp_CSH.RH_ShowHelp(0, StrPathAndWindow, RoboHelp_csh.HH_HELP_CONTEXT, 1);

Where the full path to the WebHelp/FlashHelp start page and a window name (optional) are stored in

StrPathAndWindow. (Never hard code this string.)

Note: "Do not hard-code" here suggests that it should be left as a variable which should be taken as input from the user in order for the code to be reusable, for opening different help files.

2 Run the application and test the Help call.

Call a context-sensitive function for WebHelp Pro

1 Call the function.

RoboHelp_CSH.RH_ShowHelp(0, StrPathAndWindow, RoboHelp_csh.HH_HELP_CONTEXT, 1);

Where the full path to the RoboHelp server and a dialog box name (optional) are stored in StrPathAndWindow.

(The project name is required if the Auto-Merge option is set to Off in the RoboEngine Configuration Manager.)

Examples of this value are “http://RoboHelp Server:port/robohelp/server” or “http://RoboHelp

Server:port/robohelp/server?project=MyProject>MyWindow.”

To open the topic mapped as number 1:

RoboHelp_CSH.RH_ShowHelp(0, StrPathAndWindow, RoboHelp_csh.HH_HELP_CONTEXT, 1);

2 Run the application and test the Help call.

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Program Help for web pages

This information is for developers connecting context-sensitive Help topics to web pages.

1 Talk to the Help author to determine the following:

• Who provides the map numbers.

• If the project has context-sensitive Help.

• Where the Help system resides (locally or on a server).

2 Open your web pages.

Link the pages to RoboHelp_csh.js.

Call the function contained in RoboHelp_csh.js wherever you call Help from the website.

Program Help for web pages (WebHelp/Pro)

Use the context-sensitive Help support files. These files allow developers to call built-in functionality.

The example below shows one way to declare a JavaScript function that displays a secondary dialog. The ShowHelp function shows the specified topic in a custom window with the attributes defined by the strHelpOptions variable.

var strHelpOptions = "location=no"; strHelpOptions += ",toolbar=no"; strHelpOptions += ",menubar=yes"; strHelpOptions += ",status=yes"; strHelpOptions += ",scrollbars=yes"; strHelpOptions += ",resizable=yes"; strHelpOptions += ",top=0"; strHelpOptions += ",left=0"; strHelpOptions += ",width=400"; strHelpOptions += ",height=400"; function ShowHelp(strUrl)

{ window.open(strUrl, "Help", strHelpOptions);

}

To use ShowHelp , place the above script between the </HEAD> and <BODY> tags in the HTML file. Include an anchor tag like the following where users can get help:

Help!

This tag makes a hyperlink with the text Help! When an end user clicks the hyperlink, widget.htm opens in a secondary browser.

Function calls from web pages

Note: This information is for developers connecting context-sensitive WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, or FlashHelp

Pro topics to web pages.

In the following examples, the API shares the same parameters regardless of output type. The only change made is the location of the Help file.

RH_ShowHelp syntax function RH_ShowHelp(hParent, a_pszHelpFile, uCommand, dwData)

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Parameter hParent a_pszHelpFile uCommand dwData

Data Type var var var var

Description

Reserved for future versions of API. Use "0."

Help source For WebHelp: "<Path to project start page>" (Can be local or on a server) For WebHelp Pro: "http:// [server name] /roboapi.asp"

*Optional: To specify a window, use ">WindowName" at the end of this parameter

Constants:

HH_DISPLAY_INDEX Displays Index pane and default topic.

HH_DISPLAY_SEARCH Displays Search pane and default topic.

HH_DISPLAY_TOC Displays Contents pane and default topic.

HH_HELP_CONTEXT Opens topic associated with map ID in dwData parameter.

Map ID of the topic displayed. To obtain the map ID, the author can export the map file for a programming language using HH_HELP_CONTEXT in the uCommand parameter.

RH_OpenHelpTopic Syntax

Call the "RH_OpenHelpTopic" function to open a WebHelp/FlashHelp topic.

function RH_OpenHelpTopic(a_pszHelpMainPage, a_pszRelTopicUrl)

Parameter a_pszHelpMainPage

Data Type var

Description

Help source for WebHelp/FlashHelp: "Path to project start page". To specify a window, append ">WindowName" at the end Path to the project start page.

Relative path of the topic corresponding to the main page.

a_pszRelTopicUrl var

To launch the entire Help system (open to the default topic), make a Help call that sets uCommand to

HH_DISPLAY_INDEX , HH_DISPLAY_SEARCH , or HH_DISPLAY_TOC , and dwData to "0". In WebHelp Pro systems, default window settings for default navigation buttons override the HH_DISPLAY constant.

Call a context-sensitive function for WebHelp Pro

1 Call the following API for getting the context-sensitive information from the server.

The following example assumes that you have stored the full path to your RoboHelp server and a window name

(optional) in a string variable called StrPathAndWindow. The project name is required if the Auto-Merge option is set to Off in the RoboEngine Configuration Manager. Examples of the value of this string are “http://RoboHelp

Server:port/robohelp/server” or “http://RoboHelp Server:port/robohelp/server?project=MyProject>MyWindow.”

Note: Ask your technical writer which windows to call. Also, if the writer creates the map files, ask the writer to export the map files to the location.

For example:

To open the topic mapped as number 1:

Click for Help (map number 1)

2 Run the application and test the Help call.

Note: In WebHelp Pro projects, the new context-sensitive Help API is supported only in RoboEngine 3.0 or later.

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Call a context-sensitive function for WebHelp or FlashHelp

1 Call the following API for getting the context-sensitive information from the server.

http://servername>/robohelp/rest/robowindow?wtype=ctx&context=<MAP ID>

For example:

To open the topic mapped as number 1, change the <MAP ID> with 1.

2 Run the application and test the Help call.

Program Help for .NET

.NET basics

Supports all forms of RoboHelp Server with .NET development:

• Creates web services, WebForms, and WinForms.

• Provides comprehensive support for .NET Framework.

• Operates as a self-contained .NET web service.

• Provides APIs to support Help development in Visual C .NET, C# .NET, Visual Basic .NET, and ASP .NET.

• Ensures that existing context-sensitive Help supports .NET requirements.

RoboHelp Server with .NET is designed to create applications for desktops, intranets, or the Internet and to support the development of these applications.

Create server-based Help within the .NET environment and generate real-time analysis of end-user activity in a Help system. Use with Visual C .NET, ASP .NET, Visual Basic .NET, or C# .NET to integrate Help systems.

Context-sensitive Help support files for .NET

Support files for programming context-sensitive Help allow you to import code and enter variables instead of writing the code. The context-sensitive Help API for .NET supports Visual C++ .NET, ASP .NET, Visual Basic .NET, and C# .NET.

The API shares parameters with HTML Help and WinHelp. Custom windows are supported. Context-sensitive Help works without any modifications.

Import file for the corresponding language from the respective folders at:

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp 9\CSH API

C# .NET

C# .NET is an object-oriented language that enables C and C++ programmers to transition to the new .NET environment while providing integration with existing applications. Components can be converted into XML and run using any language on any operating system.

ASP .NET

ASP .NET is part of the .NET Framework for building web applications and XML web services. ASP .NET pages use a compiled, event-driven programming model to generate markup such as HTML, WML, or XML. It allows the separation of application logic and user interface. You can use any .NET language, such as Visual Basic .NET or C#

.NET, to create ASP .NET pages and AS P.NET XML web services files containing server-side logic.

Make a Help call

Use the context-sensitive Help code samples that Adobe provides.

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Make sure that context-sensitive Help function calls specify the online Help in the individual calls to RH_Showhelp .

When a remote Help call is made, the online version of the Help system appears. If connecting to the Internet is not possible, offline Help appears.

Call context-sensitive Help for WebHelp or FlashHelp from C# .NET

1 Include the RoboHelp_CSH.cs file in the project.

2 Call the RH_ShowLocalHelp (hParent, strtHelpURL, strWndName, nCommand, nData) function.

Parameter hParent strHelpURL strWndName nCommand nData

Data Type

Object

String

Int

Description

Handle of the parent window.

Help source for WebHelp; specifies the path to the project start page.

Name of the window to be opened.

Class constants.

OptionConstants.CSH_DISPLAY_CONTEXT

Opens the topic associated with the map ID in the nData parameter

OptionConstants.CSH_DISPLAY_TOC

Displays the Contents pane and the default topic

OptionConstants.CSH_DISPLAY_INDEX

Displays the Index pane and the default topic

OptionConstants.CSH_DISPLAY_SEARCH

Displays the Search pane and the default topic

Displays the map ID of the topic. To obtain the map ID, you can export the map file for a programming language using OptionConstants.CSH_DISPLAY_CONTEXT in nCommand.

Call context-sensitive Help for WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro from C# .NET

1 Open VisualStudio.

2 Do one of the following:

• Select File > New > Project.

• Open a C# .NET project.

Add a button named Help.

Navigate to the context-sensitive Help supporting files in C:\Program Files\[RoboHelp Install Folder]\CSH

API\CS.NET.

Copy the RoboHelp_CSH.cs file.

Paste the files to the C# .NET project.

Right-click the Reference folder. Select Add Reference.

Select .Net tab > System.Web.Services.Dll.

Click OK.

10 Right-click the Reference folder. Select Add Reference.

11 Select c:\windows\system32\msxml2.dll

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12 Select OK.

13 Double-click the Help button.

14 Copy C# .NET context-sensitive Help example code and paste into the code.

15 Add using RoboHelpAPI to the top of the document.

16 To test, compile, and run the project, select the Help button.

Call context-sensitive Help for WebHelp or FlashHelp from ASP .NET

1 Include the RoboHelp_CSH.cs file in the project.

2 Call the RH_ShowLocalHelp (hParent, strtHelpURL, strWndName, nCommand, nData) function.

Parameter hParent strHelpURL strWndName nCommand nData

Data Type

Object

String

Int

Description

Handle of the parent window.

Help source for WebHelp; specifies the path to the project start page.

Name of the window to be opened.

Class constants.

OptionConstants.CSH_DISPLAY_CONTEXT

Opens the topic associated with the map ID in the nData parameter

OptionConstants.CSH_DISPLAY_TOC

Displays the Contents pane and the default topic

OptionConstants.CSH_DISPLAY_INDEX

Displays the Index pane and the default topic

OptionConstants.CSH_DISPLAY_SEARCH

Displays the Search pane and the default topic

Displays the map ID of the topic. To obtain the map ID, you can export the map file for a programming language using OptionConstants.CSH_DISPLAY_CONTEXT in nCommand.

Call context-sensitive Help for WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro from ASP .NET

1 Open VisualStudio .NET.

2 Do one of the following:

• Select File > New > Project.

• Open an ASP.NET project.

3 Navigate to the context-sensitive Help supporting files in C:\Program Files\[RoboHelp Install Folder]\CSH

API\ASP.NET.

Copy the RoboHelp_CSH.cs file.

Paste the supporting files to the ASP.NET project.

Right-click the Reference folder. Select Add Reference.

Select .Net tab > System.Web.Services.Dll.

Click OK.

Add a button in the application.

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10 Double-click the button.

11 Copy the ASP.NET context-sensitive Help example code. Paste it into the code.

12 In the code, add using RoboHelpAPI .

13 To test, compile and run the project. Select the Help button.

Call context-sensitive Help for WebHelp or FlashHelp from Visual Basic .NET

1 Include the RoboHelp_CSH.vb file in the project.

2 Call the RH_ShowLocalHelp (hParent, strtHelpURL, strWndName, nCommand, nData) function.

Parameter hParent strHelpURL strWndName nCommand nData

Data Type

Object

String

Int

Description

Handle of the parent window.

Help source for WebHelp; specifies the path to the project start page.

Name of the window to be opened.

Class constants.

CSH_DISPLAY_CONTEXT

Opens the topic associated with the map ID in the nData parameter

CSH_DISPLAY_TOC Displays the Contents pane and the default topic

CSH_DISPLAY_INDEX Displays the Index pane and the default topic

CSH_DISPLAY_SEARCH

Displays the Search pane and the default topic

Displays the map ID of the topic. To obtain the map ID, you can export the map file for a programming language using CSH_DISPLAY_CONTEXT in nCommand.

Call context-sensitive Help for WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro from Visual Basic .NET

1 Open VisualStudio.NET.

2 Do one of the following:

• Select File > New > Project.

• Open a Visual Basic .NET project.

3 Navigate to the context-sensitive Help files for ASP .NET in C:\Program Files\[RoboHelp Install Folder]\CSH

API\VB.NET.

Copy the RoboHelp_CSH.vb file.

Paste the supporting files to the ASP .NET project.

Right-click the Reference folder. Select Add Reference.

Select .Net tab > System.Web.Services.Dll.

Click OK.

Right-click the Reference. Select Add Reference.

10 Select: msxml2.dll

11 Select OK.

12 Add a button in the application.

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13 Double-click the button.

14 Copy the Visual Basic .NET context-sensitive Help example code and paste it into the code.

15 To test, compile and run the project. Select the Help button.

Locate the RoboHelp Server with .NET samples

1 Select Start > Programs > Robohelp Office Pro For .Net Development Kit.

2 Select the sample for the application language.

Name

RoboHelp Server CSH.NET VC Sample

RoboHelp CSH.NET VB Sample

RoboHelp CSH.NET C# Sample

Language

Visual C++ .NET

Visual Basic .NET

C# .NET

Specify the URL (WebHelp Pro)

1 In code samples, find the string with the name: m_strServer

2 Assign the server address to m_strServer: http://server.com/robohelp/rest

3 Specify a project name.

m_strProject = P1

4 Specify the window name in the variable m_strParamValue .

Note: STRPRIMARY specifies the primary Help system and STRBACKUP specifies local Help. For Visual Basic .NET,

Visual C++ .NET, and C# .NET the application is on the client, allowing both online and offline Help systems. For ASP

.NET, all information is on a Web server. Specify a WebHelp Pro online Help system as a primary Help system and a

WebHelp online Help system as a backup.

Web services provided in RoboHelp Server with .NET

RoboHelp Server provides the following two services using the REST web services.

Robowindow Requests the server to get the window properties and context Help URL. See code details.

Search Performs the sentence search and returns results. See code details.

Steps without using support files

WebHelp Pro

WebHelp Pro is an uncompiled output type that is RoboHelp Server-based and supports standard Help features (such as TOC, index, and search). A browser is not required to view the output. In addition, WebHelp Pro provides end-user feedback reports on how people are using your system and other features available only with RoboHelp Server.

WebHelp Pro projects require RoboHelp Server for context-sensitive Help.

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Display content

An ASP file is included for viewing content. The default hyperlink is http://<RoboHelp Server>/Roboapi.Asp. You can pass a parameter to the ASP file:

• project=Project_Name

• context=MapNumber

• url=URL

For example:

• This URL displays default content from the server: http://<RoboHelp Server>/Roboapi.Asp

• This URL displays the project_name project (merged with any other projects): http://<RoboHelp

Server>/robohelp/rest/search?project=<project-name>&quesn=<search-query>

• This URL displays content for map number 101: http://<RoboHelp Server>/

/robohelp/rest/robowindow?wtype=ctx&context=<id>&project=<project name>

Advanced window control

When opening context-sensitive WebHelp Pro from a browser, use the context-sensitive Help API and support files.

WebHelp

Context-sensitive Help for Visual Basic applications

Use this information to connect context-sensitive WebHelp or WebHelp Pro topics to Visual Basic applications.

The sample code here uses a function called Showhelp that opens a local or remote topic regardless of the browser type.

The ShowHelp function has two parameters: strTopic takes a URL or local filename as a value, and bIsLocal takes a Boolean value. It indicates whether the first parameter is a local filename ( TRUE ) or remote URL ( FALSE ). If the file is local, ShowHelp tells the browser to find the file in the Help subfolder of the application folder.

Public Function ShowHelp(strTopic As String, _ bIsLocal As Boolean) As Boolean

Dim strDir As String

If bIsLocal Then

' Get registry entry pointing to Help strDir = App.Path + "\Help\"

End If

' Launch topic

Dim hinst As Long hinst = ShellExecute(Me.hwnd, vbNullString, _

strTopic, vbNullString, _

strDir, SW_SHOWNORMAL)

' Handle less than 32 indicates failure

ShowHelp = hinst > 32

End Function

To call ShellExecute , declare the function. For example:

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Private Declare Function ShellExecute Lib _

"shell32.dll" Alias "ShellExecuteA" _

(ByVal hwnd As Long, _

ByVal lpOperation As String, _

ByVal lpFile As String, _

ByVal lpParameters As String, _

ByVal lpDirectory As String, _

ByVal nShowCmd As Long) As Long

The ShowHelp function requires an explicit filename or URL. But for context-sensitive Help, it is better to code the application to use context IDs rather than explicit topic names. Use the following sample function, ShowHelpContext , which maps integer context IDs to topic name strings, then calls ShowHelp to launch the topic.

Public Function ShowHelpContext(nContextId As Integer) As Boolean

Dim strTopic As String

Dim bIsLocal As Boolean bIsLocal = True

Select Case nContextId

Case HH_GADGET_DIALOG strTopic = "gadget.htm"

Case HH_WHATSIT_DIALOG strTopic = "whatsit.htm"

Case HH_WIDGET_DIALOG strTopic = "widget.htm"

Case HH_TECH_SUPPORT: strTopic = "http://www.mycompany.com" bIsLocal = False

Case Else strTopic = "unknown-context.htm"

End Select

ShowHelpContext = ShowHelp(strTopic, bIsLocal)

End Function

..............................................................................................................................................

Using ShowHelpContext makes maintaining context-sensitive Help much easier because, if a topic name changes, only one function must be modified. Declare context IDs (for example, HH_GADGET_DIALOG ) as constants that can be shared among the program modules that use context-sensitive WebHelp or WebHelp Pro.

Const HH_GADGET_DIALOG As Integer = 1

Const HH_WHATSIT_DIALOG As Integer = 2

Const HH_WIDGET_DIALOG As Integer = 3

Const HH_TECH_SUPPORT As Integer = 4

Connect context-sensitive WebHelp and WebHelp Pro topics to Visual C++ applications

Note: This information is for developers who must connect context-sensitive WebHelp and WebHelp Pro topics to Visual

C++ applications.

The sample code provided here uses a function called ShowHelp that opens a local or remote topic regardless of the browser type.

The ShowHelp function has two parameters: szTopic takes a URL or local filename as a value, and bIsLocal takes a

Boolean value. It indicates whether the first parameter is a local filename ( TRUE ) or remote URL ( FALSE ). If the file is local, ShowHelp tells the browser to find the file in the Help subfolder of the application folder.

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BOOL ShowHelp(LPCTSTR szTopic, BOOL bIsLocal)

{

TCHAR szDir[MAX_PATH] = ""; if (bIsLocal)

{

// Get directory of application

DWORD dw = GetModuleFileName(AfxGetInstanceHandle(), szDir, MAX_PATH);

TCHAR* pchEnd = _tcsrchr(szDir, '\\') + 1;

ASSERT_POINTER(pchEnd, TCHAR);

*pchEnd = '\0';

// Append subfolder name

}

_tcscat(szDir, _T("Help"));

// Open topic

HINSTANCE hinst = ShellExecute(NULL, //no parent hwnd

NULL, // open szTopic, // topic file or URL

NULL, // no parameters szDir, // folder containing file

SW_SHOWNORMAL); // yes, show it

// handle less than 32 indicates failure return hinst > (HINSTANCE)32;

}

.......................................................................................................................................

BOOL ShowHelpContext(int nContextId)

{

CString strTopic;

BOOL bIsLocal = TRUE; switch (nContextId)

{ case HH_GADGET_DIALOG: strTopic = _T("gadget.htm"); break; case HH_WHATSIT_DIALOG: strTopic = _T("whatsit.htm"); break; case HH_WIDGET_DIALOG: strTopic = _T("widget.htm"); break; case HH_TECH_SUPPORT: strTopic = _T("http://www.mycompany.com"); bIsLocal = FALSE; break; default:

} return ShowHelp(strTopic, bIsLocal);

} strTopic = _T("unknown-context.htm"); break;

...........................................................................................................................................

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Using ShowHelpContext makes maintaining context-sensitive Help much easier because if a topic name changes, only one function has to be modified. The context IDs (for example, HH_GADGET_DIALOG) should be declared in a header file that can be shared among the program modules that use context-sensitive WebHelp or WebHelp Pro. This can be the same file where the prototypes for ShowHelp and ShowHelpContext are defined.

Programming HTML Help in applications

Note: Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

Window-level Help for Windows applications

• To call a topic using a map number, make a call to the HTML Help API using the following syntax:

HWND HtmlHelp(Window(), "c:\path\helpfile.chm", HH_HELP_CONTEXT, Number);

• To call a topic using a filename, make a call to the HTML Help API using the following syntax:

HWND HtmlHelp (Dialog(), "c:\path\helpfile.chm", HH_DISPLAY_TOPIC, "topicfile.htm");

What’s This? Help for Windows applications

The method for programming What’s This? Help depends on the way the context-sensitive Help was created.

• If the Help was created in RoboHelp as text-only topic files, see your software development kit for details.

•

If the Help was created in What’s This? Help Composer, see “ Create What's This? Help ” on page 259.

Note: For more information, see the HTML Help API Reference at http://msdn.microsoft.com/enus/library/ms670068(VS.85).aspx

Window-level Help for non-Windows platforms

• Use WebHelp to display context-sensitive Help topics for C++ and Visual Basic applications, Java applications, and

Web pages. For more information, see “ WebHelp ” on page 249.

•

Use JavaHelp to display context-sensitive Help topics for Java applications. For more information, see “ Create context-sensitive JavaHelp ” on page 254.

• Use Oracle Help to display context-sensitive Help topics for Java applications, or applications written in other

programming languages. For more information, see “ Create context-sensitive Oracle Help ” on page 255.

Note: If you must use your HTML Help output as a backup to a WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, or FlashHelp Pro system that is on a server, use Adobe's airplane Help.

Context-sensitive HTML Help function call

Sample code:

HtmlHelp(hWnd, /*Window handle of program or dialog*/

"CSHHelp.chm", /*Name of the CHM file*/

HH_HELP_CONTEXT, dwMapNumber); /*Map number from map file*/

HtmlHelp(hWnd Program or dialog box window handle. A window handle identifies a window so the HTML Help engine discovers what application is performing the action.

CSHHelp.chm Compiled HTML help file. It includes context-sensitive help. Give the developer this file for use with the application.

HH_HELP_CONTEXT This is the command sent to the HTML Help engine for window-level Help. (A command such as HH_TP_HELP_WM_HELP is used for What's This? Help.)

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Dwmapnumber A map number from the map file.

Troubleshoot window-level Help

Note: Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

Problem

Error message

Cause

Resolution

Wrong Help topic opens.

Command: HH_HELP_CONTEXT

Processing C:\Project Folder\HelpProject.chm

Map Number: 2750

File: Folder_Name\Topic_Name.htm

Incorrect map ID.

Update the map ID.

Generate the project and retest.

OR:

Cause

Resolution

Wrong or outdated map file.

Ensure everyone is using the correct map file.

If the correct map file is used, unassign the map ID for the topic.

Remove the old map file and import the new map file.

Assign new map IDs.

Generate and retest.

Problem

Error message

Cause

Resolution

Topic is not displayed.

1. No message

2. Command: HH_HELP_CONTEXT

Result: HH_HELP_CONTEXT called without a [Map] section

3. Command: HH_HELP_CONTEXT

Processing C:\Folder Name\Project_Name.chm

Result: Cannot find 180010 in C:\Folder Name\Project_Name.chm

No assigned map ID.

If the map file does not exist, the message "HH_HELP_CONTEXT called without a [Map] section" appears.

For developer-supplied map files, import the map file. Assign the map IDs.

If the message "Cannot find 180010 in C:\Folder Name\Project_Name.chm" displays, update the map ID.

Generate and retest.

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Problem

Error message

Cause

Resolution

Problem

Error message

Cause

Resolution

Topic does not appear or wrong topic appears.

1. Command: HH_HELP_CONTEXT

Processing C:\Project Folder\Project_Name.chm

Map Number: 1

File: Folder_Name\Topic_Name.htm

2. Command: HH_HELP_CONTEXT

Processing C:\Project Folder\Project_Name.chm

Result: Cannot find 180010 in C:\Project Folder\Project_Name.chm

Wrong map number used in the call.

Print the Map IDs report and give it to the developer.

Use this file to correct map number assignments.

Topic appears in wrong dialog box.

"HTML Help Author" opens and displays, "The window name 'window' passed to HH_GET_WIN_TYPE has not been specified."

Wrong dialog name used in the call or author did not inform the developer that a custom window was created for the topics.

Ensure the developer knows about the custom dialog.

Generate and retest after the application updates.

Problem

Error message

Cause

Resolution

Topic is not displayed.

1. Message is not displayed

2. Command: HH_HELP_CONTEXT

Result: HH_HELP_CONTEXT called without a [Map] section

Map file or map number is missing.

For developer-supplied map file, restore or update the map file.

Generate the and retest.

Create context-sensitive JavaHelp

Use the context-sensitive Help API and support files to call built-in functionality, rather than creating functions to display topics.

Context-sensitive JavaHelp requires custom code from your developer.

A printed copy of the .JHM file may help your developer.

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Example: public class ContextHelp

{

private HelpSet hs;

private HelpBroker hb;

public boolean ShowHelp(String strTopic, String strHelpSet){

if (hb == null) {

ClassLoader loader = getClass().getClassLoader();

URL url;

try {

url = HelpSet.findHelpSet(loader, strHelpSet);

hs = new HelpSet(loader, url);

}

catch (Exception e) {

return false;

}

hb = hs.createHelpBroker();

}

hb.setCurrentID(strTopic);

hb.setDisplayed(true);

return true;

}

Test context-sensitive JavaHelp

Testing context-sensitive JavaHelp involves authors and developers.

Compress The Project Compile the project and create a .JAR file. Give the .JAR to your developer.

Test Context-Sensitive Topics Test topics in the application to ensure they appear in the correct dialogs and windows.

Resolve Errors Work with your developer to solve any problems.

Create context-sensitive Oracle Help

Note: This information is for developers who need to connect context-sensitive Oracle Help topics to applications.

The context-sensitive Help API and support files let you call built-in functionality instead of having to create the functions to display topics.

Oracle Help supports context-sensitive Help, but your developer must write and customize the code to make it work.

A working example of a Java application with context-sensitive Help is shown below. To run the example:

1 Ensure that you have the Oracle Help for Java components and the Sun Java 2 SDK or later.

Copy and paste the code below into a file called CSHDemo.java.

Compile the file (for example, javac CSHDemo.java).

Run the Java applet (for example, java .cSHDemo <Oracle Help Helpset file>). The Oracle Help helpset file parameter is the fully-qualified path to the helpset file. As an example, if you create an Oracle Help helpset file named

"sample.hs" and saved it in "C:\myFiles," the command to run this application with your helpset file would be: java CSHDemo C:\myFiles\Sample.hs

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Sample context-sensitive Java application

/*********************************************************************************

* Oracle Help Context-Sensitive Help Sample Application

* This application is intended to demonstrate a few methods for invoking

* context-sensitive Help with Oracle Help.

* USAGE: CSHSample <full path to helpset file>

*********************************************************************************/ import oracle.help.Help; import oracle.help.CSHManager; import oracle.help.library.Book; import oracle.help.library.helpset.HelpSet; import oracle.help.navigator.Navigator; import java.awt.*; import java.awt.event.*; import java.net.URL; public class CSHSample extends Frame implements ActionListener

{

private Help helpObj;

private Book bookObj;

private CSHManager contextManager;

private MenuItem exitMenu;

private MenuItem contentsMenu;

private MenuItem searchMenu;

private MenuItem indexMenu;

// Constants set to TopicIDs from map file for Helpset passed in

// via command line.

public static final String LABEL = "what_is_a_label_htm";

public static final String FIELD = "what_is_a_text_field_htm";

public static void main(String[] args)

{

if (args.length != 1) {

System.err.println("Usage: CSHSample <full path to helpset file>");

System.exit(1);

}

Book bookObj = null;

String filename = args[0];

// Expects filename format to be: "file:/[<drive>:/]dir/<helpset_file>"

// e.g., "file:/c:/myPath/myHelp.hs"

if (filename.charAt(0) == '/')

filename = "file:" + filename;

else

filename = "file:/" + filename;

try {

bookObj = (Book) new HelpSet(new URL(filename));

}

catch (Exception e) {

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System.err.println("CSHSample Error: " + e.getMessage());

System.exit(1);

}

CSHSample sampApp = new CSHSample(bookObj);

sampApp.setVisible(true);

}

// Class Constructor

public CSHSample(Book bookObj)

{

super("CSH Sample Application");

setResizable(false);

setSize(300, 200);

// Create Help Objects

try {

helpObj = new Help(false, false);

contextManager = new CSHManager(helpObj);

contextManager.addBook(bookObj, true);

}

catch (Exception e) {

System.err.println("CSHSample:: Failed While Creating Help object");

e.printStackTrace();

System.exit(1);

}

/********************************************************************

* Add UI Components

*******************************************************************/

MenuBar menubar = new MenuBar();

Menu filemenu = new Menu("File");

exitMenu = new MenuItem("Exit");

filemenu.add(exitMenu);

exitMenu.addActionListener(this);

menubar.add(filemenu);

Menu helpmenu = new Menu("Help");

contentsMenu = new MenuItem("Help Contents");

contentsMenu.addActionListener(this);

helpmenu.add(contentsMenu);

indexMenu = new MenuItem("Topic Index");

indexMenu.addActionListener(this);

helpmenu.add(indexMenu);

searchMenu = new MenuItem("Full Text Search");

searchMenu.addActionListener(this);

helpmenu.add(searchMenu);

menubar.add(helpmenu);

setMenuBar(menubar);

Panel mainPanel = new Panel();

add(mainPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);

// Add label

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Label label = new Label("Country:", Label.LEFT);

mainPanel.add(label);

// Set context help for component. TopicID = LABEL

// Pass the component with the associated TopicID to the CSHManager Object

contextManager.addComponent(label, LABEL, true, true);

// Add TextField

TextField field = new TextField(15);

mainPanel.add(field);

// Set context help for component. TopicID = FIELD

// Pass the component with the associated TopicID to the CSHManager Object

contextManager.addComponent(field, FIELD, true, true);

/********************************************************************

* End: Add UI Components

*******************************************************************/

addWindowListener(

new WindowAdapter()

{

public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e)

{

setVisible(false);

System.exit(0);

}

);

}

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)

{

Object source = e.getSource();

if (source == exitMenu) {

setVisible(false);

System.exit(0);

}

else if (source == contentsMenu) {

// Show Help; Display Contents tab

Navigator[] navs = contextManager.getAllNavigators();

if (navs != null)

contextManager.showNavigatorWindow(navs[0]);

}

else if (source == indexMenu) {

// Show Help; Display Index tab

Navigator[] navs = contextManager.getAllNavigators();

if (navs != null)

contextManager.showNavigatorWindow(navs[1]);

}

else if (source == searchMenu) {

// Show Help; Display Search tab

Navigator[] navs = contextManager.getAllNavigators();

if (navs != null)

contextManager.showNavigatorWindow(navs[2]);

}

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Note: Oracle Help uses topic IDs (in a map file) to make context-sensitive Help calls. You can change the topic ID by editing the topic's META tag.

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What’s This? Help

About the What's This? Help Composer tool

The What's This? Help Composer tool installs with RoboHelp. It supports both WinHelp authored in RoboHelp for

Word and Microsoft HTML Help.

This tool scans applications and generates projects. It reads program files and creates context-sensitive Help topics for all controls and fields in dialog boxes. It can add suggested text to each Help topic to save authoring time.

Supported files for Microsoft HTML Help:

• Program files (EXE)

• Dynamic Link Libraries (DLL)

• ActiveX controls (OCX)

You can add context-sensitive Help to any RoboHelp project. The result is a single text-only file (Context.txt) that contains text used for each context-sensitive Help topic that you create.

What's This? Help and Microsoft HTML Help

Creating a What's This? Help project for Microsoft HTML Help does the following:

• Creates a Context.txt file, which contains the context-sensitive topics.

• Attaches the Context.txt file to the project.

• Stores the Context.txt file in a database, updated when you edit the topics.

• Saves Dialog.cid and Context.h files (contain topic IDs) in the project folder. The developer uses these files.

• Stores the Context.txt file in the What's This? Help Files folder, in the Context-Sensitive Help folder. Double-click the Context.txt file to open the What's This? Help Composer for editing.

Note: Deleting any of these files from Project Manager removes the What's This? Help project from your HTML Help project.

Use What's This? Help Composer for context-sensitive Help

• Open the HTML Help project, then select this file to open it in What's This? Help Composer.

• Compiling the HTML Help project also complies the context-sensitive topics into your project, as part of the CHM file.

• See What's This? Help Composer's online Help system.

Create What's This? Help

1 Open the RoboHelp project.

2 Select File > New > What's This? Help Project.

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3 Select an application. This is the name of the executable file (.exe), dynamic link library (.dll), or ActiveX control

(.ocx).

Click Browse. In Files Of Type, select the file format.

Navigate to the folder that contains the application. Double-click the application file to select it.

Click Next. The name and location of the project file appear.

All What's This? Help Composer projects are titled "Context.txt" and are saved in the same folder as the HTML

Help project.

7 Click Next. The names of all files containing dialog boxes for the application appear. These files are in the same folder as the application (or they are called by the application). The files listed are included in the What's This? Help project. You can remove unwanted files. If you are unsure about what files to use, consult your application developer.

Click Next. What's This? Help Composer can generate Help topics for default buttons such as OK and Cancel.

To include these topics, select Yes, Create Default Help Text For This Project.

10 Click Finish.

The application's files are scanned and a database of information is generated. After a few moments, the new project opens in What's This Help Composer and a summary report appears. You can view this report, copy it to the

Windows clipboard, and print it.

11 When you finish working with the summary report, click OK.

All the components of the dialog boxes and windows are identified in the Dialog Boxes pane. You can start authoring What's This? Help topics.

12 To return to RoboHelp and work on the HTML Help topics, save the What's This? Help project and close the program.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Tips:

• To work on the What's This? Help topics, open the Help project in RoboHelp, and then open What's This? Help.

• Before you start a What's This? Help project, consult your developer to determine details that might affect the application files and the way you author topics.

Import What's This? Help projects

You can import existing What's This? Help projects intended for C and C++ applications into your Microsoft HTML

Help projects. You can use only one What's This? Help project with an HTML Help project.

1 Open the RoboHelp project.

Select File > Import > What's This? Help Project.

Navigate to the What's This? Help project file's (.chj) folder. Double-click to import it.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Notes:

• All What's This? Help project files are saved in the project folder.

• To update What's This? Help topics, edit the Context.txt file. This file is in the Project Manager, in the Text-Only

Topic Files folder (in the Context-Sensitive Help folder). This file cannot be renamed.

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• To open your project in What's This? Help Composer, double-click the Context.txt file.

Open What's This? Help projects

1 Open the project in RoboHelp.

Select View > Pods > Project Set-up.

Select Edit > What's This? Help Project. The project opens in What's This? Help Composer.

Note: Only HTML Help systems that are intended for C or C++ applications are supported by What's This? Help

Composer.

Remove What's This? Help from a project

1 Open the HTML Help project.

Select View > Pods > Project Set-up. The Project Set-up pod appears.

Open the Context-Sensitive Help folder.

Open the Text-Only Topics folder.

Select Context.Txt (the What's This? Help file).

Click Delete .

Version-control projects may have more options.

Note: You can restore a What's This? Help file. The What's This? Help project file (.CHJ) remains in your project folder, and you can import it into your project to create a CONTEXT.TXT file. See Importing What's This? Help projects into

HTML Help projects.

Test What's This? Help with BugHunter

Note: BugHunter is for use with Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

1 Before testing, verify that the following requirements are met:

• The application used with the Help topics is available on the authoring system.

• What's This? Help topics exist in the HTML Help project (CHM file).

• The application is programmed to use HTML Help.

• A copy of the map file is available for use in testing.

2 Generate the HTML Help project so all the What's This? Help topics are included in the CHM file. Copy the file into the same folder as the application.

Select Tools > Enable BugHunter.

Start the application and open a dialog box to test.

Click the question mark icon and click a field or control.

Test HTML Help API

Test map numbers and window-level topics with map IDs in Microsoft HTML Help projects. To run the test, you must have access to the application. To recompile the CHM file after using this tool, close the program and reopen the project.

Select A Compiled HTML Help File Specifies the HTML Help (CHM) file to use.

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Command Test a map number or a topic. HH_DISPLAY_TOPIC requires the relative path and filename in the HTML

File field.

Dialog (Optional) Identifies the custom window for topic content. Use only if you have a custom window for displaying window-level Help topics.

HTML File The HTML file to test for with HH_Display_Topic.

Map Number The map number to test for HH_Help_Context.

Troubleshoot What's This? Help

Note: Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

Before you test What's This? Help with BugHunter, right-click in the BugHunter pane and select Options > Display

Options. Deselect Only Window-Level Help Messages.

Problem

Error message

Cause

Resolution

Topic does not appear.

No message

Author did not create a text-only topic (for a field or control in a dialog).

Create a text-only topic for the field or control in the dialog box.

For developer-supplied map files, import the file first, then create text-only topics.

Compile the project. Retest using the updated CHM file.

Problem

Error message

Cause

Resolution

The wrong What's This? Help topic appears in a field or control.

Command: HH_TP_HELP_WM_HELP?HH_TP_HELP_CONTEXT_MENU

Processing: Project_Name.chm

Control ID: 1174

Help ID: 1003

File: Folder_Name/FileName.TXT

Developer incorrectly handled a message that requests What's This? Help.

Provide the Map IDs report to the developer.

Text-only topics are indicated by Text-only Popup MapID.

Compile the project. Retest using the updated CHM file.

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Problem

Error message

Cause

Resolution

The wrong topic or no topic appears.

No message or

Command: HH_TP_HELP_WM_HELP?HH_TP_HELP_CONTEXT_MENU

Processing: Project_Name.chm

Control ID: 1174

Help ID: 1003

File: Folder_Name/FileName.TXT

A map number in the map file is missing its matching topic ID.

A topic ID is matched to the wrong topic.

If the problem is caused by a missing topic ID, correct the map file.

If the developer supplies the map file, update the map file.

For an auto-generated map file: Open the Context-Sensitive Text-Only Topics dialog box. Select the map number. Enter the topic ID. Click Add/Update.

If the problem is caused by a topic ID matched to the wrong topic, remove the text-only topic. Create one for the topic ID.

Compile the project. Retest using the updated CHM file.

Maintaining text-only topics (Microsoft HTML Help projects)

When changes are made to the application, update your text-only topics to reflect these changes. (If you use What's

This? Help Composer, most of these maintenance issues apply.)

Changes in the application affect the following:

• The map files used in your project.

• The content in your text-only topics that explain how to use the application's features.

• The text-only topic files (.TXT) you create for What's This? Help.

Type of Change

Obsolete features (dialog boxes, message boxes, and windows are removed from the application).

Updated and improved features (a dialog box is changed to include new controls, some fields are removed).

Action

Remove the text-only topics from the text-only files (.txt).

New features (for example, new dialog boxes are added).

New map files (for new features).

Updated map files (for new or existing features).

Edit the content of the text-only topics so they accurately explain how to use the features or if fields were removed from dialog boxes.

Create new text-only topics.

Import the map files into the project before creating the text-only topics.

Update the existing map file by removing the obsolete map file and importing the updated one.

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Notes:

• If you are creating text-only topics and window-level topics, avoid using the same map file for both.

• Each time you update your context-sensitive Help, test all topics that have been changed or added.

Working with text-only topics

Create text-only topics

When creating text-only topic files for Microsoft HTML Help, you create topics and write content in the same dialog box. If using map files from your developer, import them before you begin.

1 Select View > Pods > Project Set-up. The Project Set-up pod appears.

Open the Context-Sensitive Help folder.

Right-click the What's This? Help Files folder. Select Create/Import Text-Only Topic File.

In File Name, enter a name for the topic file. If you imported a map file, use its name (Pizza.h and Pizza.txt).

Click Open.

Select a topic ID for the first topic to create:

• When auto-creating a map file In Topic ID, enter the topic ID.

• When importing a map file, select the topic ID from the list.

Sample of Topic ID entries

7 In Topic Text, enter topic content. This text appears in a popup when users request help for the field or control:

Sample of Topic Text

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❖ Click Add/Update.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Tips:

• Topics or added code are not needed for OK, Cancel, Save, Open, and other buttons associated with Windows dialogs.

• HTML Help projects can include multiple .txt files.

Edit text-only topics

1 Select View > Pods > Project Set-up. The Project Set-up pod appears.

2 Open the Context-Sensitive Help and What's This? Help Files folders.

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Double-click the topic file (.TXT).

Select the topic from the Topic ID list.

Edit the text in Topic Text.

Click Add/Update.

Version-control projects may have more options.

You can edit map numbers in this dialog.

Test text-only topics

Testing text-only topics requires access to the application.

• If you auto-generated map files, give these files to your developer.

• When done testing, compile the Help. Provide your developer with the CHM file.

• Install the latest version of the application, including the latest CHM file.

• If installing the latest application from a network or CD, replace the existing CHM file with the new copy when you compile. Copy the CHM file into the folder with the application EXE file.

• Print a Map IDs report as a checklist for testing dialog boxes. Print the text-only topics file that matches topic IDs to topics.

Tips:

• Use BugHunter to test application calls.

• Use the Duplicate Map IDs to resolve problems with repeated map numbers.

Remove text-only topics

You can remove text-only topics in Microsoft HTML Help projects when changes to dialog box controls and fields affect context-sensitive Help.

Select View > Pods > Project Set-up. The Project Set-up pod appears.

Open the Context-Sensitive Help and What's This? Help Files folders.

Double-click the topic file (.txt).

Select the topic to remove.

Click Delete.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Tips:

• If your developer provides updated map files, replace them before removing the topic.

• Removing text-only topics leaves the topic ID and map number in the map file. You can remove unused Map IDs if you no longer need them.

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Remove text-only topic files

Remove text-only topic files (.txt) from Microsoft HTML Help projects when you no longer need them.

1 Select View > Pods > Project Set-up. The Project Set-up pod appears.

Open the Context-Sensitive Help and What's This? Help Files folders.

Select the topic file (.txt).

Click Delete.

Open the Map Files folder.

Select the map file (.H) associated with the removed .txt file.

Click Delete. The topic file and its map file are deleted.

Version-control projects may have more options.

Testing context-sensitive Help

Test with the Context-Sensitive Help tool

The Context-Sensitive Help tool simulates Help calls from an application.

In the Toolbox pod, double-click CSH Test.

Do one of the following:

• To test server-based Help, select Online.

• To test local Help, select Offline.

3 Do one of the following:

• For server-based Help, enter the server location and project name by using the following syntax for FlashHelp Pro: http://RoboHelp Server/robohelp/server?project=MyProject&area=area-name&type=flashhelp

For WebHelp Pro, use the following syntax: http://RoboHelp Server/robohelp/server?project=MyProject&area=area-name&ver=1

• For local Help, click the Browse button, and select a Help file.

4 (Optional) Enter a window name.

Click the map file icon and select a map file.

Click the triangle and select a map number.

Click Show Help.

If Help is working correctly, the topic associated with the map number appears.

Test with BugHunter for HTML Help

Note: Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

BugHunter is a troubleshooting tool to test context-sensitive Help topics and diagnose problems. During testing,

BugHunter captures and displays calls that the application makes.

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Note: Before you start using BugHunter, you must launch Html Help Workshop once. To launch Html Help Workshop, double-click the hhw.exe file in the Html Help Workshop install folder.

Use BugHunter for the following tasks:

• Test Help buttons, F1 Help, or What's This? Help.

• Track the causes of errors.

• Copy data to the clipboard or annotate it and save it in a text file.

• Discover why the wrong topic appears.

• Determine if a particular map number is used.

• Determine if a window-level Help topic has a map ID assigned.

Start and close BugHunter

1 Select View > Pods > BugHunter.

2 Do one of the following:

• To start capturing data, right-click inside the pane and select Enable BugHunter.

The output dialog box displays capture data while the program is enabled. When you activate Help in an application's dialog box, messages from BugHunter appear in the output window. Right-click in the pane to copy, annotate, or save the data.

• To clear the pane, right-click inside it and select Clear All. Data remains in the pane until you clear it.

• To stop capturing data, right-click inside the pane and deselect Disable BugHunter.

Interpret BugHunter data

BugHunter data resembles this example:

C:\APPLICATION FOLDER\HELP_FILE.CHM, Custom Folder\Help_Topic_Name.htm, HH_HELP_CONTEXT,

10253, Topic launched

Multiple lines of data resemble this example:

Project: C:\APP FOLDER\HELP_FILE.CHM

File: Custom Folder\Help _Topic_Name.htm

Command: HH_HELP_CONTEXT

Map Number: 10253

Result: Topic launched

Interpret the data as follows:

Project Application location. Filename of the HTML Help that contains the called Help topic.

File Folder and subfolders where the .htm topic exists.

Command The command name sent to HTML Help.

10253 Map number.

Result Activity summary. “Topic launched” indicates that the topic map ID matches the application code.

Customize the BugHunter pane

❖ Right-click inside the BugHunter pane and click Options.

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View map numbers in hex format

1 Select Tools > Options. Click the BugHunter tab.

2 In Display options, select Map Numbers In Hex.

Test in the application

To test context-sensitive Help in the application, follow these guidelines:

• If you auto-generated map IDs in RoboHelp, export the map files and provide them to the developer. Update the application to use the map IDs, if it doesn’t already.

• Generate the project. Provide the output files to the developer.

• If you designed a custom window for displaying window-level topics, inform the developer. The application requires coding to display topics this way.

• Install the latest version of the application, or access the Web application. If you install the latest build of the application from a network drive or CD, you can replace the output file with the new copy each time you generate.

Put the output files in the same folder as the application EXE file.

• Print the Map IDs report. Use it as a checklist for testing dialog boxes.

• In the application, click Help or press F1 to verify that the correct Help topic opens in each dialog box.

• Update any map IDs that did not work and check the following:

• Ensure that the correct map ID is assigned.

• Ensure that the topic has a window assigned to it.

• Generate the project to retest edited topics.

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Context-sensitive Help terms

ALI file A project file that is automatically created in the project folder when you add, update, or remove map IDs. It shows the topic ID/topic match (for example: ID_ABCForm=ABC.htm).

CHM file The file created when an author compiles a Microsoft HTML Help project. All the files in the project, including context-sensitive Help topics and map files, are compressed and saved in this file.

Header file A developer's term used to see map files. Developers create header files, which are text files containing a list of topic IDs and their corresponding map numbers. Header files use the .h, .hh, or .hm extension. When a developer provides the author with header files, the author needs to import the files into the project.

HHCTRL.OCX (Microsoft HTML Help projects) The Microsoft ActiveX control that contains the HtmlHelp() application programming interfaces. Developers ensure that HHCTRL.OCX is invoked when users request Help.

HH_HELP_CONTEXT (Microsoft HTML Help projects) Using this HTML Help API command, calls can be made to the application using the map number.

HTML Help API (Microsoft HTML Help projects) The application programming interface for Microsoft HTML Help that allows a Help window from an application to display. The HTML Help API contains commands for developers to specify the type, style, and position of Help windows.

HTML Help translator (Microsoft HTML Help projects) A mechanism in Microsoft HTML Help that looks up context-sensitive Help topics when users request help in applications.

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HTML Help viewer (Microsoft HTML Help projects) The default window used to display compiled Microsoft HTML

Help (CHM files). Authors can also design a separate custom window to display context-sensitive Help topics.

Prefix Characters affixed to the beginning of topic IDs (for example, in the topic ID, Idd_Mytopicid, "IDD_" is the prefix). Development tools that generate map files use a default prefix. When you generate map files in RoboHelp, you can specify a prefix. Prefixes are not mandatory, but they are useful for organizing topic IDs.

RH ShowHelp RoboHelp API function used to call context-sensitive Help topics. You can call this function for

WebHelp Pro, WebHelp, and HTML Help.

Support files (WebHelp and WebHelp Pro projects) Adobe provides support files that allow developers to import code and enter variables. Each supported language has a corresponding support file with functions to use for calling

WebHelp Pro or WebHelp projects and displaying individual topics for context-sensitive Help.

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Reference

BugHunter tab of the Options dialog box (HTML Help)

Display options

Window-Level Help Messages captures messages only for window-level Help.

Clear this option to test What's This? Help.

Map Numbers In Hex Displays map numbers in hexadecimal notation rather than decimal format.

Each Message On A Single Line Displays output on a single line. Multiple lines organize the data by the type of information.

Example (single line)

C:\APPLICATION FOLDER\HELP_FILE.CHM, Custom Folder\Help_Topic_Name.htm, HH_HELP_CONTEXT,

10253, Topic launched

Example (multiple lines)

Project: C:\APPLICATION FOLDER\HELP_FILE.CHM

File: Custom Folder\Help_Topic_Name.htm

Command: HH_HELP_CONTEXT

Map Number: 10253

Result: Topic launched

Color options

Select the color for displaying Help, error messages, prompts, annotations, and the window background color.

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Single sourcing basics

About single-source layouts

Single-source layouts act as templates for different versions of the project output. RoboHelp provides single-source layouts for each output type.

Typically, when generating a different version of the project (such as an online tutorial), you use different settings for the output. You can save these settings in single-source layouts. After creating the layout and defining output settings, generate, view, or publish output whenever needed, singly or in batches.

Layouts save settings and preferences for each version of the project, helping to ensure consistency. Conditional tags and conditional build expressions let you create different output for different versions of a project.

More Help topics

“ Work with layout types ” on page 272

Specify the primary layout

A primary layout is the default layout that you set for the work environment. It lets you generate output without specifying additional options. The primary layout contains settings for the output type with which it is associated. It controls project windows, the table of contents properties, and other project entities.

In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click a layout.

Select Set As Primary Layout.

The primary layout is labeled in the Single Source Layouts pod.

Note: If you create new windows, the window type is based on the default layout. For more information, see this article .

Create and edit single-source layouts

Create or duplicate single-source layouts

A duplicate layout retains the settings of the original.

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, do one of the following:

• To create a layout, click the Create Layout button .

• To duplicate a layout, click the Duplicate Layout button .

2 In the Layout Name box, type a name.

3 For a new layout, select an output type from the pop-up menu.

Note: You cannot change the output type of a duplicated layout.

4 Click OK.

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5 For a new layout, set options in the Properties dialog box that appears. Click Save.

Edit single-source layouts

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click the layout.

2 Select Properties.

3 Set options. Click Save.

Note: You cannot change the Output Type of a layout. Create a layout instead.

Rename a single-source layout

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click the layout.

2 Select Rename.

3 Enter the name.

More Help topics

“ Work with layout types ” on page 272

“ Generate, view, and publish output ” on page 291

Remove single-source layouts

Removing a layout does not affect other parts of a project.

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click the single-source layout. It cannot be the primary layout.

2 Select Delete.

About excluding unreferenced topics from output

A project meant for single sourcing can include topics that are not relevant in all types of output generated from the project. For example, a project with multiple TOCs includes topics that are not relevant to the output that you generate based on a single TOC. In such a case, excluding unreferenced topics from the output ensures that users find only the relevant topics in navigation and search.

RoboHelp considers a topic unreferenced if the topic is not referenced by the following project components:

• TOC

• Index

• Browse sequences

• Default topic

• CSH map IDs

• See Also keywords

• Related Topics keywords

The Exclude Unreferenced Topics From Output option is available in Adobe AIR, WebHelp, WebHelp Pro,

FlashHelp, FlashHelp Pro, Microsoft HTML Help, XML Output, Oracle Help, and JavaHelp layouts.

More Help topics

“ Generate output ” on page 292

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Work with layout types

WebHelp layout

About WebHelp

WebHelp is an uncompiled output type that ensures that users can view web-based or desktop application Help in any browser and platform. It supports standard Help features and provides customizing capabilities.

You can author content in another HTML editor, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, and still take advantage of the

WebHelp navigational and organizational Help features.

WebHelp also provides client project merging and a context-sensitive Help API.

For older browsers that don’t support DHTML (used to display the navigation pane), WebHelp displays the navigation pane using another supported format.

Differences between WebHelp and Microsoft HTML Help

WebHelp

Supported by a web browser

Uncompiled set of output files

Runs on any platform

Ideally suited for server-based distribution

Microsoft HTML Help

Relies on Microsoft HTML Help engine for support

Compiled and compressed (CHM file)

Requires 32-bit Windows platforms

Workarounds required for server-based distribution

Mac OS limitations for WebHelp

• Mac OS filenames have a 32-character limit.

• Output is displayed as HTML lists instead of DHTML.

• BMP image files don’t appear properly.

Add or remove search highlights in WebHelp

In a WebHelp system, search results are highlighted by default in the displayed topics. You can set the highlight color according to your preferences.

Note: WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, and FlashHelp Pro projects use the same procedure to enable Search highlight.

Double-click the WebHelp layout.

Click Navigation.

Select or deselect Enable Highlight Search Result.

When search result highlighting is enabled, click the color picker box and select a highlight color of your choice from the pop-up menu.

Creating Section 508-compliant WebHelp

Section 508-compliant output facilitates Help access for users with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments.

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Text-to-speech utilities read the contents of the active window, available options, or text you type. These utilities and screen review aids translate onscreen text to speech or to a dynamic, refreshable, Braille display. This technology can provide keyboard assistance or shortcuts, captions for speech and sound, and visual warnings such as flashing toolbars.

Consider the following when you create Section 508-compliant WebHelp:

• WebHelp systems generated with the Section 508 option open in all supported browsers. However, view output with Internet Explorer to ensure compliance.

• For master projects generated using pure HTML or Section 508-compliant WebHelp, the subprojects are available only from the TOC if you merge WebHelp systems. They are not available from the index or full-text search.

Subprojects appear as a book in the TOC. When users click the subproject TOC book, the subproject opens in a new browser window.

WebHelp features that support Section 508 compliance

• A Section 508 Compliant option that provides alternative text for images, dynamic elements, frames, forms, and so on. Visually impaired users using assistive software can hear where they are in the output and what they are selecting.

• Alternative text is provided for images of TOC books, pages, and the plus/minus icons, TOC/Search/Index tabs or panes, navigation buttons, and buttons from design-time controls.

• Other elements with alternative text include expanding and drop-down text, triggers and targets, and pop-up menus.

• Navigation frames that assistive software can read.

• Generation of HTML tables so that assistive software can identify row and column headers.

• Online forms that assistive software can read.

• Output that more than one mode of operation and information retrieval can use. For example, mobility-impaired users can use the keyboard or mouse. No features require auditory, visual, or mobility ability alone.

Guidelines to ensure Section 508 compliance in Help systems

• WebHelp is compliant for framesets and navigation. Make sure that other elements in topics are compliant.

• If the Help system contains form buttons or multimedia elements, such as images and audio, provide visual equivalents, such as screen tips so that assistive software can read from the screen.

• Construct information with multiple methods of access to accommodate disabilities. Offer information in color in an alternative way that doesn’t use color.

• Use basic external style sheets so that documents are readable if the style sheet is unavailable.

• If a web page uses applets, include a link to the location where users can download the appropriate reader.

• Document keyboard shortcuts and other methods of accessibility.

• Do not use HTML Help controls.

More Help topics

“ Generate, view, and publish output ” on page 291

“ Microsoft HTML Help layout ” on page 276

“ Create custom skins for WebHelp and WebHelp Pro projects ” on page 337

“ Merging Help projects ” on page 96

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WebHelp Pro and FlashHelp Pro layouts

About WebHelp Pro and FlashHelp Pro

WebHelp Pro and FlashHelp Pro layouts deliver server-based output for web and applications. To publish this output to a server, RoboHelp Server must be installed.

WebHelp Pro is an uncompiled output type that supports standard Help features.

You create WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro projects in RoboHelp, authoring content, adding features, and customizing the appearance. When you're ready to view and test the output, generate the project. RoboHelp creates output files in a single folder within the project folder.

RoboHelp Server-based Help offers these advantages:

Increased speed The Contents, Index, and Search tabs appear more quickly.

Usage information logged in a database Access the database to improve applications.

Runtime project merging Merge multiple projects at runtime or when accessing the Help system from a server.

Window properties Server access accommodates Toolbar, Menu, Location Bar, and Status Bar options. To set these tool properties, double-click a window in the Windows folder of the Project Set-up pod.

About RoboHelp Server

RoboHelp Server lets you create, deliver, and measure web-based Help systems. It stores information about how users navigate and interact with the Help system and produces reports. RoboHelp Server hosts and displays any content you create with RoboHelp.

Authoring Tool

RoboHelp HTML

Project A Project B Project C

Database

MS Access

Oracle

MS SQL Server

Reports

RoboHelp Server

Servlet Container

Apache Tomcat

Web Server

IIS / Apache HTTP Server

Users

RoboHelp Server interaction with Help-building components

Convert desktop Help to WebHelp Pro

1 Contact the server administrator or IT department to ensure that RoboHelp Server is installed and to learn its name.

2 Find the path or location of RoboHelp Server and specify it in the project.

Open the project in RoboHelp. Set WebHelp Pro as the output.

Connect to the server by publishing the project files.

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To access the server, enter its domain name in the browser address bar. Ask the server administrator for the URL.

View the output. To view reports, click the Usage Reports tab in the program window. Click Connect Now.

More Help topics

“ Specify the primary layout ” on page 270

“ View output ” on page 307

“ Publish output ” on page 309

FlashHelp layout

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About FlashHelp

FlashHelp solves DHTML limitations for browsers and platforms and high-security firewall issues. Users need only

Flash Player 8 or later and a web browser to view the Help system. Nearly all browsers have Flash Player installed.

Flash Player is free and can be downloaded from www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer .

FlashHelp supports the traditional tri-pane Help system layout (toolbar on top, navigation at left, content at right). It can also generate Help systems in a vertical orientation that minimizes the required screen area by stacking the navigation above the Help content.

FlashHelp consists of these layers:

Presentation Layer Uses Adobe Flash for its platform-neutrality and configurability.

Navigation Layer Uses XML data structures to define and control elements such as the table of contents, index, glossary, and full-text search.

Content Layer Uses HTML and related technologies to render content with full fidelity.

A skin is required for the FlashHelp output. Use the default RoboHelp skin, specify a skin from the gallery, or create a custom skin with the Skin Development Kit (SDK) provided with RoboHelp.

More Help topics

“ Skins ” on page 334

Project source files for FlashHelp

Note: When distributing HTML Help systems, include the CHM file, and all linked secondary CHM files, HLP files, and

CNT files.

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Project source files (generated at the top level of the project folder)

Other project files (created when building and generating a project)

Filename extension

*.chm

(HTML Help only)

Description

Compressed output for compiled HTML Help, used to view the Help system.

CHM files added as subprojects to a master project must also be in the same folder as the master project.

Text-only topics file added to context-sensitive Help in the What's This? Help Composer. CONTEXT.txt

(HTML Help only)

*.fhs

*.hlp

(HTML Help only)

*.hhp

*.htt

*.htm, *.html

*.skn

(WebHelp, WebHelp Pro only)

*.txt

Log file

(HTML Help only)

*.txt

Text-only topics

Information about FlashHelp skins.

WinHelp file compiled if the project includes links to WinHelp topics. Not included in the CHM file and must be shipped separately. (For WinHelp 4, also distribute the .cnt file.)

Created when generating a CHM file.

Topic template file.

Topic content.

Information about WebHelp or WebHelp Pro skins.

Project compilation log.

Text-only file for context-sensitive Help topics (What's This? Help), included in the compiled CHM file.

Microsoft HTML Help layout

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About Microsoft HTML Help

Microsoft HTML Help is an online Help standard based on HTML.

HTML uses tags to mark elements, such as text and graphics, in a document with display instructions. HTML Help includes HTML documents (HTM files) for the topics, along with project source files. You use RoboHelp to add features such as links, a table of contents, an index, special effects, and related topics buttons.

You distribute a compressed file (CHM) to users that they view in the HTML Help viewer.

The main components of HTML Help include the following:

HTML Help ActiveX control Supports navigation features such as the table of contents, index, and link controls (related topics and keyword links). It also supports HTML Help controls: WinHelp topic links, startup screens, and close window controls.

Layout engine Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and later supply the required components for HTML Help support.

HTML Help viewer Displays compiled HTML Help (CHM file). It uses components of the Internet Explorer browser while displaying content in its proprietary window interface.

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Compressed HTML A collection of all files in the project in a single CHM file that occupies less disk space and is faster to load. You can ship this compiled file with an application or distribute it to users as a stand-alone online document.

Generating Microsoft HTML Help

The RoboHelp Help compiler processes all source files into a distributable format, which can then be tested or distributed.

You can generate the output at any stage in the project.

Compiler Messages

The compiler displays messages, statistics, and compiling errors during generation. If the compiler finds problems with the source files, error messages appear:

Notes Conditions that probably do not cause a serious problem in the output. Note numbers range from 1000 through 2999.

Warnings Conditions that result in defective output. For example, if the compiler cannot locate an image, it displays a warning and continues generating. Warning numbers range from 3000 through 4999.

Errors Conditions that stop the compiler. You can't generate the output until you correct the error. Error numbers range from 5000 through 6999.

Internal Errors Errors caused by the HTML Help Workshop program. Internal error numbers are 7000 and greater.

Link TOC books or pages to custom windows (Microsoft HTML Help)

1 Right-click a topic in the TOC pod, select New > Book or Page, and click the Advanced tab.

2 Specify the options for displaying the TOC book or page:

Window Specify the custom window in which the topic is displayed.

Frame Specify the frame in which the topic is displayed. Custom framesets appear in this list.

Comment TOC comments are not visible to users.

Image Select custom icons for displaying the book or page in the TOC. Click and press the

Down Arrow key to move through the list of available icons. Select different icons for the closed book state and the open book state.

Note: Generate and view the Contents tab in the HTML Help viewer to display custom icons.

Mark As New Displays a red star with the TOC book or page icon to indicate new items to end users. The standard icons look like the following:

• New book

• New page

Use Information Types This option is only available when Book With Link is selected on the General tab. Select it to use a TOC book or page with information types.

Information Types Click Add to select topics for the information type. Click Edit to change an information type, and click Remove to delete an information type.

Types Display book or page information types.

3 Click OK.

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Extract CHM files

You can extract source files from a compiled Microsoft HTML Help file (CHM).

In the Toolbox pod, double-click HTML Help Studio.

Select File > Open, and then select a CHM file. Click Open.

Do either of the following:

• To extract an individual file or folder, select it and click the Extract button .

• To extract all files, click the Extract button. Select All Files.

4 Specify a destination for Extract To.

5 Click Extract.

Rename CHM files

The CHM filename is based on the project filename (.xpj).

In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click HTML Help. Select Properties.

In Output Folder And Filename, type a name for the file, including the .chm extension.

Click Save.

The CHM file is renamed the next time you generate Help.

Find HTML Help files and components

1 In the Toolbox pod, double-click Find HTML Help Files or Find HTML Help Components.

2 Click Search.

To rearrange or resize columns, drag their headings or separator bars.

Replace CHM files

1 In the Toolbox pod, double-click HTML Help Registration.

The Name column lists CHM files that are currently registered on the authoring system.

Select the CHM file to replace.

Click Edit.

Click the browse button and navigate to the replacement CHM file.

Select the file, and click Open. Click OK.

Note: Replacing a CHM file does not affect how users view the Help project.

Register or unregister CHM files

Sometimes compiled Microsoft HTML Help files (CHM) are registered if they are used with applications. You register

CHM files on the authoring system. Registering the files doesn't affect how users view the Help project after it's distributed.

❖ In the Toolbox pod, double-click HTML Help Registration.

• To register a CHM file, click Register. Navigate to the CHM file, and click Open. Click OK.

• To unregister a CHM file, select it and click Unregister. Click OK.

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JavaHelp layout

About JavaHelp

JavaHelp is a compressed output type that works with applications written in the Java programming language.

JavaHelp and Java applications run on various platforms.

RoboHelp provides support for the JavaHelp format and automatically creates all Java-based Help features and the

HTML-based features such as HTML content and hypertext links. You can also leverage existing WinHelp and HTML projects to create JavaHelp systems. A file compression feature is available for distributing the JavaHelp system.

JavaHelp is a compressed file (JAR file) or a set of files used to run a Help system for a Java application. RoboHelp copies all the files to distribute into the JavaHelp folder, or into a JAR file if you choose to compile Help.

Authoring requirements

• Sun Java 2 SDK or later

• JavaHelp 1.1.3 or later

User requirements

• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.2.1 or later

• JavaHelp 1.1.3 or later

Generate JavaHelp output

Generating JavaHelp saves the source files in the project subfolder JavaHelp (default).

When you generate JavaHelp files, RoboHelp can translate Related Topics controls into controls specifically for

JavaHelp.

1 Place the Bsscjhrc.jar file in the application extensions folder, or in the class path passed to the Java Virtual Machine

(Java.exe).

2 Incorporate related topics controls in the topics.

3 Generate the output.

Note: If question marks appear instead of Related Topics controls, the Bsscjhrc.jar file is not in the correct location.

More Help topics

“ Generate output ” on page 292

Merge JavaHelp projects

❖ Add a reference to an external HelpSet file (.hs) when you generate the output.

Adding the reference merges all elements in the external HelpSet file with the existing project.

Note: You can add external navigation views (TOC, index, search) as remote views. However, adding the reference to an external HS file adds all views, with other project files, to the existing project.

JavaHelp limitations

Capitalization Supports all caps and small caps.

Custom colors Some custom colors don’t appear accurately in the JavaHelp viewer.

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Expanding glossary hotspot definitions Appear inline.

Fonts Fonts are automatically set to JavaHelp default fonts. Font size is unsupported.

Forms Only simple forms appear properly in the JavaHelp viewer.

Framesets Unsupported.

HTML files generated by Word 2000 or later Unsupported.

HTML Help controls Supports WinHelp topic, Shortcut, Table of Contents, Index, Splash Screen, Close Window, and

HHCTRL Version.

Images Don’t appear consistently in compressed JavaHelp. Background images and image maps are unsupported.

Links Supports links to e-mail addresses, FTP sites, and external files.

Lists Only simple bulleted or numbered lists appear properly in the JavaHelp viewer.

Multimedia Supports sound files, such as WAV or MIDI, and video files, such as AVI.

Paragraph alignment Supports tags, such as P align=”center”.

Plain text Supports non-HTML files.

Pop-up links The pop-up note window does not have a bottom border if the entire pop-up note is contained within the content frame. This limitation does not apply to text-only pop-up notes.

Special effects Supports ActiveX controls, DHTML, JavaScript, startup screens, and Visual Basic scripts.

Style sheets Support for partial cascading style sheets is provided with JavaHelp 1.1. (External style sheets work correctly.) You can use level 1 cascading style sheets with the Sun Java 2 JDK or later, or Swing 1.1.1 with Sun Java 2

JDK or later.

Table attributes The following attributes are unsupported:

• Values set in the initial tag (TABLE) of a table override cell width specifications.

• The table width attribute (TABLE WIDTH) functions when specified in absolute pixels, but not in percentages.

• When used within the TABLE tag, the background color attribute (BGCOLOR) does not function.

• When used within the TABLE tag, the break tag (BR) causes the table cell to expand by the number of BR tags used.

Note: This feature is supported in JavaHelp 1.1.3 and later.

• Table alignment cannot be set precisely.

Text animations and effects Unsupported.

Oracle Help layout

About Oracle Help

Oracle Help is an output type that works with applications written in Java or any other programming language.

Oracle Help is a compressed file (.jar) or a set of files used to run a Help system for an application. When you generate

Oracle Help, the files to distribute are created in a single output folder.

Authoring requirements

• Oracle Help components, version 3.2.2, or 4.1.2 or later

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Note: Version 3.2.2 is built using the Oracle internal Java GUI tool kit called EWT. Version 4.1.2 is built using Java

Foundation Classes. The functionality, APIs, and supported file formats are the same in both versions. To build applications using JFC, or to build custom navigators for the Help project, use version 4.1.2 or later. If developers are using Oracle products, use version 3.2.2.

• Sun Java 2 SDK or later

• Java Runtime Environment (JRE), version 1.2.1 or later

Oracle Help includes the Oracle Help components, the Oracle Help viewer, and API documentation for developers.

User requirements

• Oracle Help components (version 3.2.2, or 4.1.2 or later)

• The Oracle Help project (as either a compiled JAR file or a folder containing individual source files)

• Sun Java SDK (version 2 or later) or Java Runtime Environment (version 1.2.1 or later)

Note: When compiling Oracle Help, make sure to set the encoding type to utf-8 (-Dfile.encoding=UTF8) while calling the java compiler command. This ensures that the help is properly generated and can be displayed on all systems.

Update topic IDs for Oracle Help

Oracle Help uses topic IDs (in a map file) to make context-sensitive Help calls. You can change the topic ID by editing the topic meta tag.

Open the topic in the HTML Editor.

In the meta tag area, insert the new topic ID in the NewTopicID tag.

Notes:

• If two topics have the same topic title, the latter is assigned another ID when you generate. For example, TopicID becomes TopicID1.

• If two topics have the same topic ID meta tag, a warning is displayed in the Output View pod when you generate.

• If a topic has no title or meta tag specifying the topic ID, RoboHelp creates a topic ID based on the filename.

Set the topic window for Oracle Help

Specify a window in which topics appear by editing the topic meta tag in the Design Editor. If you specify no window, the default window is used.

Open the topic in the HTML Editor.

Edit the meta tag.

meta name = "window-type" content = ["window name"]

Oracle Help remote views

Oracle Help uses views to define the contents of the Navigator left pane: TOC, keyword index, and full-text search.

You can also add remote views to Oracle Help projects. A remote view is an external table of contents, index, or fulltext search database. Use remote views if you are merging smaller projects into one master project. You can specify that a remote view remain in its own tab, or merge with an existing view. By default, Oracle Help merges all views having the same engine, type, and label.

Oracle Help makes an important distinction between labels and titles:

Labels Assigned to tabs.

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Titles Assigned to top-level books or nodes in the TOC.

Merge Oracle Help projects

❖ Add a reference to an external HelpSet file (with the .hs extension) when you generate Oracle Help.

Adding a reference to an external HS file adds all views, with other project files, to the existing project.

Oracle Help indexes

One level of indenting is supported. Users can search for keywords in the list. As keywords are selected, topics are listed in the lower pane. Double-clicking a topic in the lower pane displays its content in the topic window on the right.

You can import external indexes and merge them using Oracle Help remote views. You can create separate tabs for each index or you can merge them.

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Example of an Oracle Help index

Oracle Help full-text search

Oracle Help displays search results by relevance, not alphabetically. You can import full-text search databases from other projects using Oracle Help remote views.

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Example of an Oracle Help full-text search

Oracle Help limitations

Not all limitations apply to every Oracle Help project.

Capitalization Supports all caps and small caps.

Expanding glossary hotspot definitions Appear inline.

Fonts Limited font support.

Glossary pane Unsupported if you use Glossary Designer.

HTML Help controls Supports WinHelp topic, Shortcut, Table of Contents, Index, Splash Screen, Close Window, and

HHCTRL Version.

Links Supports links to e-mail addresses, FTP sites, and external files.

Lists Only simple bulleted or numbered lists appear properly in the Oracle Help viewer.

Multimedia Supports sound files, such as WAV or MIDI, and video files, such as AVI.

Plain text Supports non-HTML files.

Special effects Supports ActiveX controls, DHTML, JavaScript, startup screens, and Visual Basic scripts.

Unsupported DHTML appears as plain text in generated Oracle Help projects.

Text animations and effects Unsupported.

XML layout

RoboHelp uses handlers to convert XML to HTML and import XML files into topics. Handlers can also export topics or even entire projects as XML. You can create or customize XML handlers using the HDF Editor.

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The following predefined handler files are available:

Import DocBook As Topics Imports the selected DocBook files as HTML topics.

Import XHTML (*.XML) Imports the selected XHTML files as HTML topics.

Import XML (CSS/XSL) If the selected XML file has an associated style sheet (CSS or XSL file), this handler imports the

XML file as an HTML topic, including formatting. If the selected XML file lacks an associated style sheet, this handler converts the XML file to an HTML file without formatting. This import option also provides advanced import options.

You can import the XML file as text flow or tree flow or select a customized CSS or XSL file.

Note: If all the HDF files (and therefore handlers) have been deleted, you cannot access the XML import or output functionality. Use the XML Handler Manager to import an HDF file containing a handler or reinstall RoboHelp to enable this functionality.

More Help topics

“ Set options for generating XML output ” on page 304

“ Import XML files ” on page 83

Adobe AIR layout

You use the Adobe AIR layout to generate Help as an Adobe AIR application, browser-based Help (with the theme and skin of an Adobe AIR application), or a packaged data file that can be viewed in an AIR Help viewer.

Adobe AIR is a cross-platform runtime for building and deploying applications that connect the desktop to the web.

Note: On Linux, the AIR Runtime is not supported after Version 2.6. AIR Help will still run on Linux using Version 2.6.

For a list of benefits of generating output in the Adobe AIR layout, see “ About output types ” on page 28.

For more information about Help applications using Adobe AIR, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_rh_article_airhelp_en .

Configure the Adobe AIR layout

You configure the Adobe AIR layout from the Adobe AIR option in the Single Source Layouts pod. In the Adobe AIR dialog box, you can select the output type, configure the installer settings, and define how the Help content is presented to the users.

❖ Select Adobe AIR from the Single Source Layouts pod and do one of the following:

• Right-click and select Properties from the context menu.

• Select Edit > Properties.

More Help topics

“ Merging Help projects ” on page 96

“ Distribute Adobe AIR output ” on page 321

“ Hosting updates for AIR Help ” on page 312

“ Create custom skins for Adobe AIR projects ” on page 336

“ Review and collaboration in AIR Help ” on page 352

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Select Help output

You can select one of the four output options for Adobe AIR:

❖ In the General tab of the Adobe AIR dialog box, select the output type:

Adobe AIR Application Generates Adobe AIR output as embedded Help. The Help system is created as a single AIR application installer. You can install the AIR application locally or distribute it to your users. Users can update their installed Help system based on Adobe AIR whenever an update is available on the web. For more information about autoupdates, see the AutoUpdating section in the Adobe AIR Help article by Peter Grainge.

Note: You need JRE 1.6 or higher installed on your system to install the Adobe AIR application.

Browser Based Help Generates browser-based Help as an Adobe Flex application that you can use as online or embedded Help. You can upload this output to the server with specific configurations. Users can view this Help using a browser with Adobe Flash plug-in 9.0 or later installed.

Note: Browser-based Help does not support Adobe AIR application features such as commenting, favorites, resources,

RSS, and auto-update.

AIR Application And Browser Based Help Generates the Help system in two formats simultaneously: Adobe AIR application and browser-based Help. You can view the AIR application after installing it on your computer. You can view the browser-based Help by uploading it to a server. The two Help systems are independent of each other.

Help Content Only Generates the Help system as a data file (RHA) that you can view in a Help viewer. Use the Help

Viewer wizard in RoboHelp to create a Help viewer. To view multiple files in a single view, you can write the location of all those files in a HelpConfig file.

Note:

For the syntax of the HelpConfig file, see “ Create and locate a Help content configuration file ” on page

For a step-by-step description of how to merge the output of multiple projects into a single .air file, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_rh_merge_rha_en .

Configure Help settings

❖ In the General tab of the Adobe AIR dialog box, set the following.

Output Location of AIR File Click Browse to select a folder for the Help application installer (AIR file) and specify a name. By defa-ult, RoboHelp names the Help application installer by appending .air to your project name.

Output Location of Start Page (Browser-based Help Only) Specify the first page to display in browser-based Help.

Help Title Specify a title for your Help application. This title appears in the title bar of the Help and in Program

Files.

Version Specify a version number for the generated Help application. Typically, you set 1.0 as the version number for the initial release of your Help application, and increment the version number for subsequent releases. The incremental version numbers help your users identify updated Help content in their local installations.

Help ID Specify a unique identifier for the Help application. The Help ID can be alphanumeric and include periods and hyphens.

Note: When you deliver updated Help, change only the version number. The installed AIR Help uses the combination of Help ID and Version to identify whether a later version of Help is available.

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Configure the Help application installer

You configure the settings for the Help application installer.

❖ In the General tab of the Adobe AIR dialog box, set the following under the Installer Settings group:

Digital Certificate A digital signature ensures that the Help system (or its updates) has not been altered or corrupted since it was created. All Adobe AIR applications require a digital signature and can't be installed without one. If your organization has purchased one from a certificate authority, click Browse to select it. Otherwise, click

Create to create a self-signed (and reusable) certificate. See “ Create a self-signed digital certificate ” on page 291.

Password Enter the password assigned to the digital certificate.

Include Timestamp Select to include a timestamp on the digital certificate. The timestamp provides information on how long the certificate is valid.

Program Menu Folder Specify the program menu folder name. For example, on Windows, the string that you specify is appended to form the path Start > Programs > [program menu folder name] > [Help system title] .

Create content categories

Create content categories to publish the output as a package of user-centric Help systems (for example, a package of

Help systems for different user roles, geographies, products, or platforms).

End users view the output as an integrated package of Help systems and have the flexibility to select the Help system they want to access from a drop-down list. Each Help system has its own TOC, index, browse sequences, and search.

❖ In the Content Categories tab of the Adobe AIR dialog box, do the following:

• To create a content category, click New and specify a name.

• To rename a content category, select the category. Click Rename and specify another name.

• To delete a content category, select the category and click Delete. Click Yes to confirm.

• To change the order of the content categories in the drop-down list from which users select, use Up or Down keys.

• To specify a content category as the default catgory, click Set As Default.

Configure content

You configure the presentation of content in the Help application. If you’ve created content categories, configure the presentation of content for each category.

❖ In the Content tab of the Adobe AIR dialog box, set the following for each content category:

Content Title Specify a title for the content category. The title appears in a drop-down list and helps users to navigate to a content category.

Note: If you’ve not created content categories, skip this field. RoboHelp uses the title you specified in Help Settings in the General tab.

Table Of Contents

Select the TOC to be displayed in the generated Help. See “ TOCs ” on page 165.

Index

Select the index to be displayed in the generated Help. See “ Indexes ” on page 170.

Glossary

Select the glossary to be displayed in the generated Help. See “ Glossaries ” on page 184.

Variables Set

Select a variable set to override the default variable set in the generated Help. See “ User-defined variables ” on page 149.

Default Topic The topic that appears when Help opens. By default, the first topic in the table of contents is the default topic.

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Language Specify the output language for the layout if the language is different from the language of the project.

RoboHelp uses this language setting for the UI strings and language-related UI elements in the preview and generated output.

Encoding Specify the character encoding format if the web server to which you’re publishing has character encoding different from UTF-8.

Map Files Specify the map files that contain topic IDs associated with map IDs to provide context-sensitive Help.

Browse Sequences Select the browse sequences for this content category.

Conditional Build Expression

Specify a conditional build expression to apply to the output. See “ Conditional build tag expressions ” on page 223.

Apply To All Topics Specify whether to apply a master page or a CSS to all the topics. If you do not select the Apply

To All option, the master pages associated with individual topics become effective. If no master pages are applied

to topics, they are generated as is. See “ Applying a master page or CSS at the time of generation ” on page 119

Exclude Unreferenced Topics From Output Select this option to exclude any topic that exists in the project but is not the default topic in the layout or is not referenced from the selected TOC, index, or browse sequence, or any referenced topic.

Note: RoboHelp displays the unreferenced topics that are excluded from the output in the Output View pod.

Exclude Unreferenced Baggage Files From Search Select this option to exclude any topic that exists in the project but is not referenced from the selected TOC or any referenced topic (if Exclude Unreferenced Topics From Output is selected). If Exclude Unreferenced Topics From Output is deselected, RoboHelp excludes baggage files that are unreferenced from any topic in the project.

Set the Help viewer window and branding options

Appearance settings define the appearance for the Help viewer window.

❖ In the Adobe AIR dialog box, select the Template group and set the following:

Template Select a template from the pop-up menu.

Skin Select a skin from the pop-up menu. Alternatively, click Gallery to select a skin from the skins available for the selected template. You can preview a skin before selecting it.

Copyright Specify the entity that owns the copyright of the Help application. This entity is usually the name of the company publishing the Help content. The copyright notice appears in the About box (Help > About).

Description Specify a description for the Help. The description appears in the About box (Help > About).

Favicon (Browser-based Help) Specify an icon to associate with the Help system. The icon appears in the browser tab.

Width and Height Set the width and height of the Help window.

Specify Branding options Click to specify an icon for your Help system in different sizes and specify other branding options.

The following sizes are used by the operating system to display the Help system icon in predefined locations, such as the title bar, the taskbar, and the About box:

• 128x128

• 48x48

• 32x32

• 16x16

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If you do not specify your own icon, the operating system defaults are used. For best results, provide an image for each of the specified sizes. In addition, make sure that the icons look presentable in both 16- and 32-bit color modes.

Icon files must be in the PNG format.

You can also display your company logo in the top-right corner of the Help application and copyright information or any brand-related information in the status bar. The image size for the logo is 32x32.

Template for the Help application

Choose the template that you want to use for your Help application. You can select one of the following three templates:

Note: Templates are not applicable if you selected the Help Content Only output type.

Classic Help The Classic Help template divides the page into a top pane, left pane, and a content pane.

Multi Tab Accordion The Multi Tab Accordion template divides the page into a top pane, left pane, and a content pane.

Uni Pane The Uni Pane template divides the page into a top pane and a content pane.

All the templates have different appearance and navigation options. They also have some common features. These features are support for TOC, index, glossary, search, print, and the Content pane. The following table shows the differences among three types of templates:

Features

How do I

See “ Browse sequences ” on page 205.

Classic Help

Yes

Search results that show context No

Showing/hiding the left pane Yes

Viewing status bar Yes

Multi Tab Accordion

Yes

Uni Pane

Yes

Note: Press F11 to show or hide the left and top panes.

You can choose any of the templates to use in the Help system and preview it before generating it.

Note: You can customize a template. By default, all the available options for content display and navigation in a template are selected.

Configure content presentation

You configure how the Help application behaves when a user uses it.

❖ In the Adobe AIR dialog box, select the View group, and set the following:

Enable Highlight Search Results Select to enable highlighting of search results. Topics that match the search criteria appear with the search term highlighted. Click the Text pop-up menu to set the highlight color.

Enable Substring Search Select to have search results include not only the exact search string but also text in which the string is embedded. For example, a search for “log” returns topics containing the words “catalog” and

“logarithm.” A substring search takes longer than a whole-string search.

Hide Rank Column In Search Results Select to not display the Rank column in search results.

Show Context In Search Results Select to have the search results displayed along with the first few lines of the topic.

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Enable External Content Search Select to display content from identified URLs outside the Help system. For

information about how to specify URLs and associate them with search terms, see “ External content search ” on page 204.

Enable Auto Update Enables the AIR application to synchronize the AIR file installed on a desktop with the current content on the network drive or an HTTP server location. Do one of the following:

• Content updates within your network Select File from the Type menu and click Browse to select the folder and file with the content updates.

• Content updates outside your network Select HTTP from the Type menu and enter the URL of the XML file that contains the updates to the Help contents.

The Auto-update feature helps your users update the Help application whenever an update is available. You can

send the auto-update in the form of an XML file or host it on a web server. See “ Hosting updates for AIR Help ” on page 312.

• Add Click to specify Mac OS and Linux locations to update the installed Help if you are hosting the XML file on a local or network drive.

Add Resources Select and click the Add button to add external links that appear in the Favorites group in the Help application.

You can add resources such as technical support pages, knowledgebase articles, RSS feeds, and related websites.

Show Online Content Specify a server URL from where the viewer picks up the online Help. This option is applicable only if you select the output type as Adobe AIR Application or AIR Application And Browser Based Help.

Note: If you select this option, make sure that you publish browser-based Help to the location pointed by the server

URL. Otherwise, the AIR application shows offline content.

Configure collaboration

Collaboration settings are available for Adobe AIR Application only.

❖ In the Adobe AIR dialog box, select the Collaboration group, and set the following:

Enable Topic Rating Enables users to rate any topic on a scale of 0-5 stars.

Enable Commenting Select to enable commenting.

Enable Comment Moderation Select to allow acceptance or rejection of comments by authorized users

(moderators).

Note:

When you distribute the output, make sure that you share the moderator password. See “ Distribute Adobe AIR output ” on page

Set Location For Comments And Topic Ratings Depending on whether you want a trust-based system or user authentication, select one of the following options:

• Select Network Folder. Click Browse to choose the shared network folder where the comments will be stored.

Click Add to add locations on Mac and Linux systems if required. See “ URL formats for Windows, Mac, and

Linux ” on page 323.

Specify the password that moderators need to provide to access the moderation dashboard.

Select Pending or Accepted to specify how you want to handle unmoderated comments. If you select Pending, unmoderated comments are not displayed to users.

Storing comments in a shared network folder is suitable in trust-based work environments, where shared reviews by internal stakeholders are part of the content development process.

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• Select RoboHelp Server and specify the server URL.

Storing comments on RoboHelp Server enables you to authenticate users before allowing them to view or post comments.

Configuration File Path Specify the path and name of the file that stores the configuration for comment syncing and auto-update. When the AIR application is distributed, users can copy the default configuration file from the

!SSL folder of the project to the location specified in the configuration file path and modify the default settings according to their preferences. For example, they can disable commenting or change the location of storing comments.

You can enter the path in any of the following formats:

• A relative path (relative to the install folder)

• An absolute location, such as a shared network drive or a file location in the user drive

• A web URL pointing to the location where you’ve posted the XML file

Configure a server to host browser-based Help

You can directly upload the generated browser-based Help to a server. Consult your system administrator for information about which server to use.

Note: Server configuration is not applicable if your output type is Adobe AIR Application.

1 Select Server in the Adobe AIR dialog box.

2 Click New. Specify the following options in the New Destination dialog box:

Descriptive Name Name for the server to publish the Help system to. For example, if you are publishing a Help system for internal review, enter “Internal Review Server.”

Connection Protocols Select the protocol for connecting to the server or the sharing platform. Select FTP, HTTP,

File System, or SharePoint.

These are the FTP server connection details:

• Hostname Enter the host name of the FTP server.

• Port Enter the port number. Typically, FTP connections use the default port, 21.

• User ID and Password If your FTP server requires user authentication, enter the user ID and password that your system administrator provided for you.

• Anonymous User Select Anonymous User if your FTP server allows anonymous FTP. You do not require a user

ID and password for connecting to the FTP server.

Specify these details for the HTTP server connection:

• Host Name Enter the host name of the server.

• Server Directory Enter the directory on the HTTP server to place the Help system contents. Some HTTP servers require a trailing slash (/) at the end of the path.

Select File System and enter the destination path if you have access to a network path where you can directly upload your Help system contents.

For the File System server connection, specify the destination path.

For the Microsoft SharePoint server connection, specify the SharePoint directory path. If the SharePoint site path is mapped as a network drive on the system or added in network paths, you can use the browse button to select the network path.

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3 Set the following options:

Check For Deleted Files Check for files that have been deleted from the destination.

Prompt Before Overwriting Files Receive a warning before overwriting files on the server.

Republish All Republish all files to the destination, overwriting existing files on the server.

Note: If you are setting options for a master project, and a copy of the subproject is in the output folder, ensure that

Republish All is not selected.

4 To publish Help, click Save And Generate.

Notes:

• For merged Help systems, publish individual projects to the same location. Do not use Republish All in the master project.

• Set layout options once and automatically generate the primary layout by selecting the Generate button.

• Generate or publish multiple layouts in a batch.

• If the output is corrupt, check if any topic file has the & character. Rename the topic and regenerate the output.

• For a list of video formats supported in Adobe AIR output, see http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/402/kb402866.html .

Create a self-signed digital certificate

You can create a digital certificate to test or privately distribute the Adobe AIR Help application. However, if you distribute Help through your website, be sure to procure a digital certificate from a certificate authority (CA), such as

Thawte or VeriSign. Use the digital certificate to sign the Help system.

Digital certificates from certificate authorities can be verified through the web. They assure end-users that the Help application installer is genuine and free from malware. See www.adobe.com/go/learn_air_digital_certificate for more information.

1 Click Create near the Digital Certificate label.

2 In the Create Self-Signed Digital Certificate dialog box, enter the following details:

Publisher Name Specify the name of the publisher. Usually, it is the name of your company. If you are creating a

Help application based on Adobe AIR for another company, specify the name of your client. Optionally, you can specify the organizational unit and organization name.

Country Select the country of the publisher.

Type Select the encryption standard for the digital certificate. The 2048-RSA standard provides stronger encryption than the 1024-RSA standard.

Save As Click Browse to select a folder and save the digital certificate that you created. Self-signed digital certificates are saved with a .p12 extension.

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Generate, view, and publish output

Generate output to view it and test links, browse sequences, and other elements. Generating output also updates files containing information about the project and the output files.

Publishing the output (WebHelp and FlashHelp only) places the output files or folders at a specified location. The location can be a website, the local hard drive, or a network folder.

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You can use a combination of WebHelp and WebHelp Pro output or Adobe AIR Application and Browser Based Help output to deliver Airplane Help, which is a popular name for integrated offline/online Help. Read this article to find out how to implement Airplane Help with WebHelp and WebHelp Pro output.

Delivering Airplane Help with Adobe AIR Application and Browser Based Help output is easier. Make sure that you select the Show Online Content option and publish Browser Based Help output to the location pointed by the server

URL that you’ve specified. See “ Configure the Adobe AIR layout ” on page 284.

Generate output

You generate output to your local hard drive. When you generate a layout output for the first time, a new subfolder is created for the generated output files. It is in the project folder under \!SSL!\ [layout name] .

Note: Each time you generate output, RoboHelp deletes the output folder files created in the last session. If you add or hand-code files in the output subfolder, copy them to another location before you generate output.

1 In the Single Source Layouts Pod, right-click the layout. Select Generate.

Set options according to the layout type.

Click Finish.

Tips for optimal project generation

• Work locally, not from a network.

RoboHelp must access all of the files in your project when generating the output. If a project consists of thousands of files, even a minor delay caused by network traffic compounds as RoboHelp attempts to access each file. These delays can adversely affect the generation times.

• Exclude the project folder from virus scan.

Note: Turning off virus-scanning software increases speed but is not recommended for security reasons.

• Ensure that your system has sufficient memory.

More Help topics

“ Navigation options ” on page 189

“ User-defined variables ” on page 149

Set options for generating WebHelp

1 In the General tab of the WebHelp Settings dialog box, set the following options:

Title Bar Specify the title you want to display in the title bar.

Favicon Specify an icon to associate with the Help system. The icon appears in the browser tab.

Output Folder And Start Page Specifies a location and start page for the Help files. To choose a location for the output folder, click the browse button . To select a start page other than the default for the Help project, enter it using the .htm extension. The start page is a frameset for Help content to which file developers link when calling the Help system from an application.

Use Lowercase File Names Create filenames that use only lowercase letters. This option is recommended for UNIX users.

Note: Don’t select this option for merged projects. Links to topics in other projects will convert to lowercase, whereas the topic filenames will remain the same. The mixed cases create broken links on UNIX.

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2 In the Content Categories tab, create content categories to publish the output as a package of user-centric Help systems (for example, a package of Help systems for different user roles, geographies, products, or platforms).

• To create a content category, click New and specify a name.

• To rename a content category, select the category. Click Rename and specify another name.

• To delete a content category, select the category and click Delete. Click Yes to confirm.

• To change the order of the content categories in the drop-down list from which users select, use Up or Down keys.

• To specify a content category as the default catgory, click Set As Default.

3 In the Content tab, set the following options for each content category:

Content Title Specify a title for the content category. The title appears in a drop-down list and helps users to navigate to a content category.

Note: If you’ve not created content categories, skip this field. RoboHelp uses the title you specified in Help Settings in the General tab.

Table Of Contents

Select the TOC to be displayed in the generated Help. See “ TOCs ” on page 165.

Index

Select the index to be displayed in the generated Help. See “ Indexes ” on page 170.

Glossary

Select the glossary to be displayed in the generated Help. See “ Glossaries ” on page 184.

Variable Set

Select a variable set to override the default variable set in the generated Help. See “ User-defined variables ” on page 149.

Default Topic The topic that appears when Help opens. By default, the first topic in the table of contents is the default topic.

Language Specify the output language for the layout if the language is different from the language of the project.

RoboHelp uses this language setting for the UI strings and language-related UI elements in the preview and generated output.

Encoding Specify the character encoding format if the web server to which you’re publishing has character encoding different from UTF-8.

Map Files Specify the map files that contain topic IDs associated with map IDs to provide context-sensitive Help.

Browse Sequences Select the browse sequences to display.

Conditional Build Expression If you have conditional tags in the project, click Define to specify conditional build

expressions. See “ Conditional build tag expressions ” on page 223.

Apply To All Topics Select this option to apply master pages or CSS at the project level:

• Master Page The selected master page overrides the settings of all the individual topics with or without a master page applied to them in the project. The CSS and layout of the master page override the CSS and appearance of all the topics. If the selected master page does not have a header or footer, no topic displays a header or footer irrespective of if it had one header or footer defined.

• CSS The master pages associated with individual topics become effective. The selected CSS overrides all the topics and their CSS irrespective of whether they are associated with a master page or not.

See “ Applying a master page or CSS at the time of generation ” on page 119.

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Note: RoboHelp displays the unreferenced topics that are excluded from the output in the Output View pod.

4 In the Navigation tab, set the following options:

Skin Selection (Optional) Browse to a skin in the project, or click Gallery to select one from the Skins Gallery.

Apply skins to customize the colors, buttons, text, fonts, and icons in the output.

Note: The Skin option is disabled if you select the Section 508 Compliant Output option. Use the Traditional Style -

No Skin option.

In-Topic Navigation This option is enabled if you have selected the Traditional Style - No Skin option. Click Edit to access options to include or exclude Show/Hide buttons for the Navigation pane and to include or exclude browse sequences in topics.

W3C Compliant Topics For W3C-compliant topics, this option passes the topics through an HTML validator.

Note: Dynamic effects in styles aren’t supported in W3C-compliant output.

Add Mark Of The Web Mark of the Web is a comment in the HTML markup for a web page. Internet Explorer 6 and later reference this comment to determine the security zone for the page on the user’s computer. Select this option to avoid having Internet Explorer block the output.

Note: Before merging projects, ensure that the Mark Of The Web option is either selected or deselected for the projects.

Section 508 Compliant Output Select to deliver Section 508-compliant WebHelp. Output cannot include skins or other features such as DHTML.

Optimize Speed For Select the option by which most users access Help. XML formats reduce load times by downloading only the data immediately needed. For example, the Contents pane fills quickly by initially downloading only enough data to fill the pane. The rest is downloaded in time for the user to move down the list.

• Web Site (Internet) Select if access is from a website. Assumes slower connections, uses data in smaller pieces, and requires more WebHelp files.

• Local PC or Intranet (Internal Network) Select if access is from an intranet or a local computer. Assumes faster connection, uses data in larger pieces, and requires fewer WebHelp files.

Preferred Format Specify how WebHelp handles Dynamic HTML (DHTML) and how end users access Help. The option you choose depends on user environment, such as the types of browsers and firewalls used.

• DHTML > Pure HTML Uses Dynamic HTML when supported, pure HTML otherwise. If users have firewalls that block Java applets, select DHTML > Pure HTML, which eliminates Java applets from Help.

• Pure HTML Displays Help using list-based, pure HTML in all browsers. However, Pure HTML reduces navigation functions.

Toolbar Buttons Select navigation toolbar buttons to appear in the left pane.

Synchronize Table Of Contents Synchronize the TOC with the topic in the right pane so that users see where they are in the structure.

• To synchronize the TOC automatically, click the pop-up menu and select Automatically.

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• To add a button that users can click to synchronize the TOC, click the pop-up menu and select Manually.

Note: If you use custom skins, provide a button icon in the WebHelp Skin Editor.

Add Breadcrumbs Links Select to add breadcrumbs in the topic pages.

Format Click to change the format of breadcrumbs.

Enable Browse Sequence Specify whether the output should display browse sequences.

Show Navigation Pane Link In Topics Select to include a link to the navigation pane in topics that are opened through the context-sensitive Help calls.

Show Merged TOC In Child Project Select to view the merged TOC in the child project.

Search Input Field In Toolbar Include a search field in the main toolbar.

Add About Box Set up information that appears in a dynamic window when users click the image in the main toolbar.

Example of About box

5 In the Search tab, set the following options:

Enable Substring Search If you enable this feature, a search for "log" returns topics containing the words "catalog" and "logarithm." Substring search takes longer than whole-string search.

Enable Highlighting In Search Results Select to enable highlighting of search results. From the pop-up menu, select a color for the highlight.

Enable External Content Search Select to display content from identified URLs outside the Help system. For

information about how to specify URLs and associate them with search terms, see “ External content search ” on page 204.

Show Context In Search Results Select to have the search results displayed along with the first few lines of the topic.

Hide Rank Column In Search Results Select to not display the Rank column in search results.

6 In the Publish tab, set the following options, and then click Save And Generate.

Servers Specify a server location for the output. To publish to a SharePoint site, click New and select SharePoint.

Enter the UNC path of the folder on the SharePoint site (If the folder is mapped as a network drive, click Browse to select the drive).

Options Specify how to handle changes to files in the output:

• Check For Deleted Files If selected, RoboHelp HTML checks for files that have been deleted from the destination location and republishes them.

• Prompt Before Overwriting Files If selected, RoboHelp prompts you before overwriting files.

• Republish All Select to republish all files to the destination target. For master projects with a copy of the subproject in the subfolder, do not select Republish All. You then avoid overwriting output files already published to the same location.

Note: If you change the destination to a new host, specify the user ID and password and save the password in the registry, if necessary.

More Help topics

“ Dynamic HTML and special effects ” on page 213

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Set options for generating FlashHelp

In addition to the standard generate options, set the following FlashHelp options, as necessary:

1 Set the following options, and then click Next.

Title Bar Specify the title you want to display in the title bar.

Favicon Specify an icon to associate with the Help system. The icon appears in the browser tab.

Output Folder And Start Page Specifies a location and start page for the Help files. To choose a location for the output folder, click the folder button . To select a start page other than the default for the Help project, enter it using the .htm extension. The start page is a frameset for Help content to which file developers link when calling the Help system from an application.

Use Lowercase File Names Select if you want to create filenames that use only lowercase letters. This option is recommended for UNIX users.

Conditional Build Expression If you have conditional tags in the project, click Define to specify conditional build expressions.

Skin Choose from the skins in the project, or click Gallery to select one from the Skins Gallery. Skins let you customize the output by changing the colors, buttons, text, fonts, and icons. A skin is required for FlashHelp output.

Note: The Skin option is disabled if you select the Section 508 Compliant Output option. Use the Traditional Style -

No Skin option.

Table Of Contents Select a table of contents to display in the generated Help.

Index Select an index to display in the generated Help.

Glossary Select a glossary to display in the generated Help.

Variables Select a variable set to override the default variable set values in the generated Help.

Language Specify the output language for the layout if the language is different from the language of the project.

RoboHelp uses this language setting for the UI strings and language-related UI elements in the preview and generated output.

Encoding Specify the character encoding format if the web server to which you’re publishing has character encoding different from UTF-8.

Default Topic The topic that appears when Help opens. Click Select to specify a topic. By default, the first topic in the table of contents is the default topic.

Note: RoboHelp displays the unreferenced topics that are excluded from the output in the Output View pod.

W3C Compliant Topics For W3C-compliant topics, this option passes the topics through an HTML validator.

Note: Dynamic effects in styles aren’t supported in W3C-compliant output.

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Note: Before merging projects, ensure that the Mark Of The Web option is either selected or deselected for the projects.

Auto-Manage Flash Security RoboHelp automatically adds the output path to the local-trusted sandbox for Flash

Player for the machine to ensure compatibility with Flash security features.

Apply To All Topics Select this option to apply master pages or CSS at the project level:

• Master Page The selected master page overrides the settings of all the individual topics with or without a master page applied to them in the project. The CSS and layout of the master page override the CSS and appearance of all the topics. For example, if the selected master page doesn’t have a header or footer, topics won’t either.

• Web Site (Internet) Select if access is from a website. Assumes slower connections, uses data in smaller pieces, and requires more WebHelp files.

• Local PC or Intranet (Internal Network) Select if access is from an intranet or a local computer. Assumes faster connection, uses data in larger pieces, and requires fewer WebHelp files.

2 Set the following options, and then click Next.

Toolbar buttons Select items to include as toolbar buttons. Click Up or Down to reorder buttons, and click Set As

Default to specify the default button.

Navigation Select the navigation items you want to include in the output.

Additional Options Select the following options as desired:

• Browse Sequences Enables support of browse sequences if you created them. The window contains Previous and Next buttons. Use skins to customize the browse sequences.

• Search Input Field In Toolbar Adds the Search button to the toolbar. Use skins to customize the Search Input

Field.

• Synchronize Table Of Contents Indicates in the table of contents the location of the viewed topic.

• Add About Box Click Add to specify information that appears in an About window that the user opens from the main toolbar.

Search Options Specify search options for the generated Help:

• Enable Highlight Search Result color for the highlight.

Select to enable highlighting of search results. From the pop-up menu, select a

• Show Context In Search Result Select to have the search results displayed along with the first few lines of the topic.

• Enable Substring Search If you enable this feature, a search for "log" returns topics containing the words

"catalog" and "logarithm." Substring search takes longer than whole-string search.

• Enable External Content Search Select to display content from identified URLs outside the Help system. For

information about how to specify URLs and associate them with search terms, see “ External content search ” on page 204.

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3 Set the following options, and then click Save And Generate.

Server Specify a server location for the output. To publish to a SharePoint site, click New and select SharePoint.

Enter the UNC path of the folder on the SharePoint site (If the folder is mapped as a network drive, click Browse to select the drive).

Options Specify how to handle changes to files in the output:

• Check For Deleted Files If selected, RoboHelp HTML checks for files that have been deleted from the destination location and republishes them.

• Prompt Before Overwriting Files If selected, RoboHelp prompts you before overwriting files.

Note: If you change the destination to a new host, specify the user ID and password and save the password in the registry, if necessary.

Notes:

• If you generate a project using an earlier version of a Skin Gallery skin, click Yes to cancel the generation and then update the skin. If you click No, you can generate using the skin, but without new FlashHelp features.

• To update the skin, download the skin again from Community Help, see the SDK documentation, or contact the

Flash developer.

Set options for generating WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro

1 Set the following options, and then click Next.

Note: The order of some options varies according to the type of output you generate.

Project Name Differentiates multiple versions of a project on a server, if you merge projects.

Favicon Specify an icon to associate with the Help system. The icon appears in the browser tab.

Conditional Build Expression If you have conditional tags in the project, click Define to specify conditional build expressions.

Note: The Skin option is disabled if you select the Section 508 Compliant Output option. Use the Traditional Style -

No Skin option.

Table Of Contents Select a table of contents to display in the generated Help.

Index Select an index to display in the generated Help.

Glossary Select a glossary to display in the generated Help.

Variables Select a variable set to override the default variable set values in the generated Help.

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Language Specify the output language for the layout if the language is different from the language of the project.

RoboHelp uses this language setting for the UI strings and language-related UI elements in the preview and generated output.

Encoding Specify the character encoding format if the web server to which you’re publishing has character encoding different from UTF-8.

Default Topic The topic that appears when Help opens. Click Select to specify a topic. By default, the first topic in the table of contents is the default topic.

Default Window The container in which the Help displays. By default, the Help system opens in the user default browser window.

Note: RoboHelp displays the unreferenced topics that are excluded from the output in the Output View pod.

Apply To All Topics Select this option to apply master pages or CSS at the project level:

2 Set the following options, and then click Next.

Enable External Content Search Select to display content from identified URLs outside the Help system. For

information about how to specify URLs and associate them with search terms, see “ External content search ” on page 204.

Enable Highlight Search Result Select to enable highlighting of search results. From the pop-up menu, select a color for the highlight.

Show Context In Search Result Select to have the search results displayed along with the first few lines of the topic.

Hide Rank Column In Search Results (WebHelp Pro) Select to not display the Rank column in search results.

W3C Compliant Topics For W3C-compliant topics, this option passes the topics through an HTML validator.

Note: Dynamic effects in styles aren’t supported in W3C-compliant output.

Note: Before merging projects, ensure that the Mark Of The Web option is either selected or deselected for the projects.

Add About Box Click Add to specify information that appears in an About window that the user opens from the main toolbar.

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Auto-Manage Flash Security (FlashHelp Pro) If selected, the generated output path is copied to the local-trusted sandbox of Flash Player. Because of security changes in Flash 7 and later, place SWF files in the trusted security sandbox of Flash Player. RoboHelp maintains the RoboHelp [version] .cfg file in the FlashPlayerTrust folder.

Note: Dynamic effects in styles are not supported in W3C-compliant output.

Show Print Button In Skin (FlashHelp Pro) Displays the Print button in the output.

Show Navigation Pane Link In Topics Includes a link to the navigation pane in topics opened through contextsensitive Help.

Add Breadcrumbs Links Select to add breadcrumbs in the topic pages.

3 Set the following options, and then click Save And Generate.

Servers Specify a server location for the output. Enter Servername:port/context-name/server or https://Servername:port/context-name/server depending on the protocol you want to use. RoboHelp uses the http protocol by default.

Options Specify how to handle changes to files in the output:

• Check For Deleted Files If selected, RoboHelp HTML checks for files that have been deleted from the destination location and republishes them.

• Prompt Before Overwriting Files If selected, RoboHelp prompts you before overwriting files.

Note: If you change the destination to a new host, specify the user ID and password and save the password in the registry, if necessary.

Set options for generating Microsoft HTML Help

❖ Set the following options, and then click Save And Generate.

Select Output Folder And File Name Specifies a location and start page for the Help files. To choose a location for the output folder, click the browse button . To select a start page other than the default for the Help project, enter it using the .chm extension.

Conditional Build Expression If you have conditional tags in the project, click Define to specify conditional build expressions.

Table Of Contents Select a table of contents to display in the generated Help.

Index Select an index to display in the generated Help.

Glossary Select a glossary to display in the generated Help.

Variables Select a variable set to override the default variable set values in the generated Help.

Language Specify the output language for the layout if the language is different from the language of the project.

RoboHelp uses this language setting for the UI strings and language-related UI elements in the preview and generated output.

Default Topic The topic that appears when Help opens. Click Select to specify a topic. By default, the first topic in the table of contents is the default topic.

Default Window The container in which the Help displays. By default, the Help system opens in the user default browser window.

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Note: RoboHelp displays the unreferenced topics that are excluded from the output in the Output View pod.

Add Breadcrumbs Links Select to add breadcrumbs in the topic pages.

Optimize CHM File Size Reduces the size of the CHM file.

Advanced Settings Click to specify custom styles for the table of contents and index.

Apply To All Topics Select this option to apply formatting at the project level:

• Master Page The selected master page overrides the settings of all the individual topics with or without a master page applied to them in the project. The CSS and layout of the master page override the CSS and appearance of all the topics. For example, if the selected master page doesn’t have a header or footer, topics won’t either.

Set options for generating Oracle Help

1 Set the following options, and then click Next.

Select Output Folder And Filename Name and location of output files.

Use Lowercase Filenames Recommended for UNIX users or users accessing files on a UNIX server.

Conditional Build Expression Click Define to specify conditional build expressions.

Default Topic Click Select to select a topic to display when the Help opens.

Navigation Pane Specify the tabs that appear in the Help navigation pane.

In-Topic Navigation Bar Options for the navigation bar.

Output Specify the type of Oracle Help output:

• Uncompressed Oracle Help With Source Files Generates HS files and individual source files.

• Compressed Oracle Help Generates JAR and HS files.

• Compressed Oracle Help With Source Files Generates JAR and HS files, and individual source files.

Note: Generating Oracle Help source files empties the Oracle Help output folder.

Table Of Contents Select the table of contents to display in the output.

Index Select the index to display in the output.

Variables Select a variable set to override the default variable set values in the generated Help.

Language Specify the output language for the layout if the language is different from the language of the project.

RoboHelp uses this language setting for the UI strings and language-related UI elements in the preview and generated output.

Encoding Specify the character encoding format if the web server to which you’re publishing has character encoding different from UTF-8.

Note: RoboHelp displays the unreferenced topics that are excluded from the output in the Output View pod.

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Apply To All Topics Select this option to apply formatting at the project level:

• Master Page The selected master page overrides the settings of all the individual topics with or without a master page applied to them in the project. The CSS and layout of the master page override the CSS and appearance of all the topics. For example, if the selected master page doesn’t have a header or footer, topics won’t either.

2 Set the following options, and then click Next:

Label Text displayed when the mouse hovers over the view name. Leave empty to use default text.

Image Click the browse button to select an image to use in the toolbar.

3 Set the following options, and then click Next:

Title (Optional) Specify text that appears in the viewer. Leave the boxes empty to use default text (Contents, Index,

Full-Text Search).

Image Click the browse button to select an image that appears next to the table of contents title.

4 Click Add to specify a remote view for the TOC, index and Search. Enter view properties, and then click Next:

General tab Set the following options:

• Name (Optional) A unique name for the remote view.

• Type Remote view type: TOCNavigator, KeywordNavigator, or SearchNavigator. Oracle Help merges views with identical labels and view types.

• Engine Format of the data file for the view.

• Data File Path (filename or URL) to the remote view.

Optional tab Set the following options:

• Text Specify the tab label and view title. Leave the boxes empty to use the default text (Contents, Index, Full-

Text Search).

• Image Click the browse button to select an image to use in the toolbar.

Map Reference tab Click the browse button to add a pointer to the map file for the remote view.

To merge an external HelpSet file (.hs) with the project, specify the path in SubHelp Sets, and click Add.

Click Save And Generate.

If the JavaHelp JDK Requirement dialog box appears, select one of the following options:

Note: This dialog box appears if Sun Java 2 JDK or later isn’t installed.

Generate without Full-text Search Click to generate output without full-text search functionality.

Locate Java SDK Install Folder Click to browse to the Java JDK install folder. Click Network to locate and map the folder on a network drive.

Set options for generating JavaHelp Help

1 Set the following options, and then click Save And Generate.

Select Output Folder And Filename Name and location of output files.

Use Lowercase Filenames Recommended for UNIX users or users accessing files on a UNIX server.

Conditional Build Expression Click Define to specify conditional build expressions.

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Default Topic Click Select to select a topic to display when Help opens.

In-Topic Navigation Bar Specify options for the navigation bar.

Table Of Contents Select a table of contents to display in the output.

Index Select an index to display in the output.

Glossary Select a glossary to display in the output.

Variables Select a variable set to override the default variable set values in the generated Help.

Language Specify the output language for the layout if the language is different from the language of the project.

RoboHelp uses this language setting for the UI strings and language-related UI elements in the preview and generated output.

Encoding Specify the character encoding format if the web server to which you’re publishing has character encoding different from UTF-8.

Note: RoboHelp displays the unreferenced topics that are excluded from the output in the Output View pod.

Version Specify the JavaHelp version.

Compress Select from the following options:

• Uncompressed JavaHelp With Source Files Generates HS files and individual source files.

• Compressed JavaHelp JAR Generates JAR and HS files.

• Compressed JavaHelp With Source Files Generates JAR and HS files, and individual source files.

Note: Generating JavaHelp source files empties the JavaHelp output folder.

Apply To All Topics Select this option to apply formatting at the project level:

Advanced Navigation view properties and merging options.

2 If the JavaHelp JDK Requirement dialog box appears, select one of the following options:

Note: This dialog box appears if Sun Java 2 JDK or later isn’t installed.

Generate without Full-text Search Click to generate output without full-text search functionality. The JavaHelp

SubHelpSets dialog box appears.

Merge an external JavaHelp HelpSet (HS file) into the project.

• Subhelp sets Enter the full path (filename or URL) to the HelpSet (.hs) file.

• Add Add the specified HS file.

• Update Change the location of a SubHelpSet file already added. Highlight the file, change the path in the

SubHelpSet box, and click Update.

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• Remove Delete the selected SubHelpSet file.

Locate Java SDK Install Folder Click to browse to the Java JDK install folder. Click Network to locate and map the folder on a network drive.

You can define the viewer class for a given MIME type by specifying the following information.

Type Enter the MIME type.

Class Enter a Java class for viewing the MIME type.

Set options for generating XML output

❖ Set the following options, and then click Save And Generate.

Select Output Folder And File Name Name and location of output files.

Conditional Build Expression Click Define to specify conditional build expressions.

Select Export Handler Advanced options include the following:

• Export Project To DocBook Exports the entire XML project to DocBook format.

• Export Topics To DocBook Exports only the topics to DocBook format.

• Export Project To XHTML Exports the XML project to XHTML format. All topics are converted to XHTML files.

For DocBook options, click Advanced to set additional options:

• Content Only Exports only the meaningful content (text and data) contained in the project or topic. No

DHTML effects are included.

• Full-Featured Export Exports the entire project or topic contents (text and data and their related display format). All DHTML effects are included.

Table Of Contents Select a table of contents to display in the output.

Index Select an index to display in the output.

Glossary Select a glossary to display in the output.

Variables Select a variable set to override the default variable set values in the generated Help.

Encoding Specify the character encoding format if the web server to which you’re publishing has character encoding different from UTF-8.

Note: RoboHelp displays the unreferenced topics that are excluded from the output in the Output View pod.

Apply To All Topics Select this option to apply formatting at the project level:

• Master Page The selected master page overrides the settings of all the individual topics with or without a master page applied to them in the project. The CSS and layout of the master page override the CSS and appearance of all the topics. For example, if the selected master page doesn’t have a header or footer, topics won’t either.

More Help topics

“ XML layout ” on page 283

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Generate EclipseHelp

EclipseHelp contains a bunch of HTML files with an XML-based TOC and a plugin.xml file. Eclipse uses the plugin file to display the Help from Help > Help Contents.

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File > Generate > EclipseHelp.

• Select Tools > Scripts > EclipseHelp Generator.

2 Select the folder where you want to store the EclipseHelp output.

3 Specify the following information:

Title A title for the output. By default, RoboHelp displays the project name.

Provider Name The name of the company.

Version The version number of the output.

ID A unique ID for the output.

4 Click Generate.

Generate output in the ePub format

The ePub format helps you to distribute content to mobile devices, eBook readers, and tablets. Adobe Digital Editions,

Calibre, and the ePub Reader plug-in with Mozilla Firefox are some ePub readers.

Adobe Digital Editions reader software is free and can be downloaded from the Digital Editions product site.

RoboHelp creates a single .epub file containing the XHTML-based content. The exported file includes the JPEG

thumbnail image that you specify for the cover page of the document (see “ Run the ePub Generator script ” on page 306). This thumbnail is used to depict the book in the Digital Editions Reader library view.

More Help topics

“ Apply conditional build tags to content ” on page 221

ePub resources

Read this article by Neil Perlin to get an overview of ePub, RoboHelp’s support for ePub, and some best practices.

For a list of top features of ePub, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_rh_blog_epub_en .

For more information on the ePub format, see www.idpf.org

For guidelines for creating well-formed and well-formatted ePub documents, refer to www.adobe.com/go/learn_rh_epub_best_practices_en (Best Practices Guide in ePub format).

See the blog Digital Editions for information about Digital Editions.

Prepare for generating the ePub output

1 Download a zip executable for Windows from http://stahlforce.com/dev/zip.exe

2 Review your project content and apply CBTs to content not supported by the ePub format (such as drop-down or expanded text).

Create the TOC for the ePub output.

In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click XML Output and select New Layout. Specify a name and click OK.

Select the TOC you created for the ePub output.

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Note: The ePub output does not support indexes and glossaries.

6 Select or define the conditional build expression.

7 Click Save.

The sample projects available in your installation (accessible from the Starter pod) contain layouts that are configured for ePub output. Check the settings of these layouts.

Run the ePub Generator script

1 Do one of the following:

• Select File > Generate > ePub Output.

• Select Tools > Scripts > ePub Generator.

Specify a location to store the ePub output.

Select the XML layout that contains the settings for the output.

In the Metadata tab, specify metadata to conform to the Open Packaging Format (OPF) specification :

Title A title for the output. By default, RoboHelp displays the project name.

Author(s) (Optional) The name of the author. To specify multiple author names, use comma as the separator.

Publisher (Optional) The name of the entity responsible for making the output available, for example, the author or the organization.

Tag(s) (Optional) The keywords to associate with the content.

Rights (Optional) A statement about rights, for example, a copyright notice.

Description (Optional) A description of the content.

ISBN (Optional) An identifier conforming to the ISBN specification.

Publish Date The date of publishing the output. Follow the format specified in Date and Time Formats .

Language The language in which the content is written. For information about the format, see Dublin Core

Metadata Element Set .

5 In the Cover Page tab, browse and select the image you want to display on the cover page of the ePub output.

6 In the Zip Location tab, specify the location of the zip executable for Windows.

Note: If zip.exe is not available on your computer, click Open In Browser to download zip.exe for Windows.

7 Select Open ePub In Default Application.

8 Click Generate.

Batch-generate output

Batch-generating output eliminates the need to wait for each output to finish processing before starting the next one.

You can publish output from different layouts to different locations. Batch-processing saves time if you use conditional build tags to test, view, or distribute different outputs.

Layouts are processed in the order they appear in the Batch Generate dialog box.

Important: During generation, RoboHelp deletes the output folder files created in the last session. If you add or handcode files in the output subfolder, copy them to another location before generating the output.

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click a layout.

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Select Batch Generate.

Select the layouts for the outputs to generate.

Click Generate or Publish.

Notes:

• Generating WebHelp or WebHelp Pro requires a browser.

• To generate printed Word documents for the first time, enable macros in Word.

• Publish is available only if destinations for the selected WebHelp layouts are defined.

• Check the status of a generation in the Batch Generate dialog box. For a status of Failed, check the compiler messages in the lower pane to resolve the problem. For WinHelp projects, generate the project in the Layout wizard and use Error wizard to locate the problem.

• View published WebHelp or WebHelp Pro output from the server to see changes and server-dependent features.

View output

❖ Do one of the following:

• If the output is already generated, in the Single-Source Layouts pod, right-click the layout and select View. If prompted, click Yes to regenerate the output before you view it.

• If you have generated the layout, click View Result. After viewing, you can click Done, or publish the output to the location specified in the layout by clicking Publish.

• First publish the master project and view the master project from the published location to see the merged system. To publish the project, click Publish.

Note: If the Publish button is disabled, add a destination in the Publish dialog box when generating or editing.

View WebHelp, WebHelp Pro and FlashHelp Pro output

To preview a WebHelp Pro or FlashHelp Pro project locally without publishing to the Adobe RoboHelp Server, open it in a web browser. You can’t preview the index, table of contents, links, and browse sequences locally.

You also can test the published project, including all server-dependent features, by viewing it from the server.

View the project in the browser to test links, images, browse sequences, and other elements.

Note: Chrome security settings do not allow loading HTML pages from a local disk. To view output in Chrome, launch

Chrome from the command line in access file allowed mode (Chrome.exe -allow-file-access-from-files).

View WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, and FlashHelp Pro remotely

1 Open the project, and ensure that the appropriate layout is the primary layout.

2 Select File > View > Primary Layout From Server.

View WebHelp, WebHelp Pro and FlashHelp Pro locally

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click the layout. Do one of the following:

• To view the output in the default browser, select View. If prompted, click Yes if you want to update the output.

Otherwise click No.

• To view the output in a selected browser, select View With and choose one of the browsers installed on your computer.

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Different browsers render CSS-based content differently. Multibrowser support for previewing topics and project output helps you test whether the content appears correctly in commonly used browsers.

2 If a Limitations dialog box appears, click OK. The dialog box lists features that you cannot view without being connected to a server, such as the Search button and Windows properties.

The project opens in the default browser.

Important: If the topics contain links to PDFs, make sure that Adobe ® Acrobat ® 10 is installed on your computer.

Previewing any PDF in Acrobat 9 or earlier versions might not work correctly.

To view a merged Help system from the master project local copy, copy the subproject WebHelp files to the master project mergedProject\[project name] folder. Right-click the layout in the Single Source Layouts pod. Select View. Do not use the Republish All option in the master project.

View compiled Microsoft HTML Help

1 In the Single Source Layout pod, right-click Microsoft HTML Help.

2 If prompted, click Yes if you want to update the output. Otherwise click No.

Note: To see inbound and outbound links by topic, select View > Pods > Link View.

More Help topics

“ View topics and design elements ” on page 114

Help Viewer Wizard

Help Viewer Wizard enables you to generate an AIR Help viewer (AIR file) and installer, define the content appearance, and specify other settings.

Generate an AIR Help viewer

1 Select View > Pods > Toolbox.

2 Double-click to start Help Viewer Wizard.

3 Specify the required information.

Note: Just select the path for the file and enter any name as the file name.

Specify a version number and an ID.

Create a self-signed digital certificate. See “ Create a self-signed digital certificate ” on page 291.

Click Finish.

Copy the Help content file

❖ Copy the Help content file (RHA) to your computer. It can be in any location, but the installer needs to remember the location.

See “ Select Help output ” on page 285 for information about how an RHA file is generated.

Install the Help application

The AIR Help viewer is an AIR file that installs the Help application.

Go to the C:/Program Files/ [folder name] .

Double-click the AIR file.

Go to the same folder and double-click the EXE file.

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Create and locate a Help content configuration file

The AIR Help viewer must be associated with the Help content file to display content in the selected format. Create an

XML file with a .helpcfg extension to associate the RHA file with the AIR Help viewer. Save the file at the same location as the installed AIR file. The AIR Help viewer uses the .helpcfg file to locate the path to the Help content file and then displays the Help content.

Repeat the XML code for every Help file that you want to display with the Help viewer.

For example, an XML file that contains the Help content configuration contains the following line of code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>

</contents>

Attribute name

ID label onlineurl offlineurl useoffline

Attribute value

The unique string that distinguishes a Help data file from other Help data files in the viewer. You can use this ID to call the CSH API or to start the AIR Help viewer.

The label for Help content when the Help viewer contains multiple Help data files. The Help viewer displays this string in the selected Help content.

The online URL of the Help content that is hosted on a server.

The offline location of the Help file if locally installed Help is available.

Optional setting. If you set this attribute to “true,” the AIR Help viewer picks offline Help content when you launch the Help application. If no offline Help is available, then you don’t need this attribute in the Help content configuration file.

Note: The name of the .helpcfg file can be set to any name. The name does not need to match the name of the .air or .exe file in the installation folder.

Publish output

You can publish output for WebHelp and FlashHelp projects. After you specify an output location, publish the output whenever needed. Publish multiple versions of a project (including to multiple locations) using batch-processing.

You can select to publish only the files that changed since they were last published.

In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click the layout and select Properties.

Do the following:

• (WebHelp) Click Publish.

• (FlashHelp) Click Next until the Publish dialog box appears.

3 Specify a publishing destination by doing one of the following:

• Select or edit an existing destination from the Servers box, set options as necessary, and click Save.

Check For Deleted Files If selected, RoboHelp HTML checks for files that have been deleted from the destination location and republishes them.

Prompt Before Overwriting Files If selected, RoboHelp prompts you before overwriting files.

Republish All Select to republish all files to the destination target. For master projects with a copy of the subproject in the subfolder, do not select Republish All. You then avoid overwriting output files already published to the same location.

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Note: If you change the destination to a new host, specify the user ID and password and save the password in the registry, if necessary.

• To specify a new destination, click New. Type a descriptive name and set options as necessary. Click OK.

Connection Protocols Specify the type of transfer protocol to use to reach the new destination. Select File System to publish files to a local or network drive. For FrontPage Enabled, first install and customize Microsoft

FrontPage and its server extensions. For the Microsoft SharePoint server connection, specify the SharePoint directory path. If the SharePoint site path is mapped as a network drive on the system or added in network paths, you can use the browse button to select the network path.

Merging Help Systems To publish a subproject to the MergedProjects folder, specify the following information:

• In Host Name, enter the IP address or URL.

• In Web Name, type the name of a web on the server (or the empty string for the root web).

• In Server Directory, enter the path to the master project: /.../ [master project] /MergedProjects/ [subproject] .

This path resides on the server after the master project is published.

Options Options depend on the selected connection protocol.

• Server Name Server on which to publish files. You can use an IP address.

• User ID Specifies the user ID to connect to the host.

• Password Specifies the password for the user ID. The network system administrator can provide this information.

• Save Password Saves the password so you do not need to enter it when you publish the files. (Saving the password enters the password into the registry. It is not encrypted.)

• Port Port to use when connecting to the host.

• Anonymous User Publishes the files as an anonymous user that does not require a password. If you supply a password or other anonymous information such as an e-mail address, deselect this option. Type Anonymous in the user ID box, and type a password in the Password box.

• Server Directory Specifies the destination directory on the server. The default is a forward slash.

• Web Name The name of a FrontPage Web on the server selected in Host Name. (No initial slash is required for subwebs.)

Note: Web Name is used only if FrontPage Server Extensions are installed on the server. Otherwise, the files are published to the server directory specified using FTP://.

• Destination Path (HTTP protocol) Path to the location to publish the files.

4 In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click the layout, and select Publish. If prompted, choose whether to generate and include changes before publishing.

5 Click Close.

View the output from the server to see changes and server-dependent features.

Generate and publish output from the command prompt

Command-line generation publishes layouts without opening RoboHelp, or automatically in a scheduled batch.

Command-line and batch generation and publishing can occur simultaneously.

Note: To access the command prompt from within RoboHelp, click Start > Programs > Adobe RoboHelp [version]> Tools

> RoboHelp Command Prompt.

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Open the application from the command prompt

1 At the command prompt, enter the command in the following format: rhcl myproject\myproject.xpj

2 Access the output files in the default output folder.

Generate layouts from the command prompt

• To generate a single layout to the default output folder (!SSL!), enter the command in the following format: rhcl [project path] [-l] [layout name]

• To generate a single layout to a custom output folder, enter the command in the following format: rhcl [project path] [-l] [layout name] [-o] [path of custom output folder]

• To generate all layouts to the default output folder (!SSL!), enter the command in the following format: rhcl [project installation path] [-b]

• To generate all layouts to a custom output folder, enter the command in the following format: rhcl [full or relative path of the RoboHelp project] [-b]

Publish layouts from the command prompt

❖ Enter the command in the following format: rhcl [project path] [-p] [server name][user name][password]

The server name, user name, and password are optional.

Command prompt options

Commands must start with rhcl and include the project path and name. Enter commands using the following format: rhcl [-?] [-h] [project path] [-l] [layout name] [-p] [server name:user name:password] [-o]

[output folder path] [-d] [-b] [-g]

Not all options are required when entering a command.

-l Generates a layout. Specify the layout name (for example, -l FlashHelp). The application generates the primary layout if a layout is not specified.

-p Publishes a layout. Configure all publishing destinations using the New Destination dialog box.

“ Indicates spaces.

-o Sends the output to a folder.

-d Displays layout and publishing destination names at the command prompt.

-b Generates the layouts set for batch generation. Outputs to the output folder for a particular single-source layout.

-h Displays Help.

• rhcl

• rhcl -h

• rhcl -?

-g Specifies a log filename.

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If you specify this option with the rhcl command, rhcl writes the output into the specified log file. The output is not sent to the console. The specified log filename cannot contain Unicode characters. If a file by this name exists, that file is overwritten.

Hosting updates for AIR Help

After you publish your initial Adobe AIR application, you can correct and revise the content as needed. By default, when a user launches the Help application, it displays the online content, so the displayed Help contains your updates.

When you generate a new version of an Adobe AIR application, a Help content configuration file is created along with the output. This XML file is unique for each version of the Help application. It contains information about the location of the published Help application, the Help ID, and the version number. Place this XML file with the Help application installer on the specified shared server location for users. When a user’s installed version checks for updates from this location, the Help application is updated.

Create and host an update

1 Right-click Adobe AIR in the Single Source Layouts pod, and select Properties.

2 Specify the updated information for your Help content.

Since you are updating existing Help content, retain the Help title and Help ID of the Help output you configured earlier, but update the version number.

3 In the Adobe AIR dialog box, select the View group and select Enable Auto Update, if it is not enabled already.

4 Specify the location of the updated Help content configuration file (XML file) that is hosted on a shared location or web server.

To distribute Help updates within your network, select the file path. To distribute outside the network, select a web server location.

5 Update any other parameters you require, such as resource tabs.

6 Generate the Help output formats.

Post an update

You can post an update for the Adobe AIR application at the specified web server address (HTTP location) or in the network folder.

❖ Generate Help and then post the updated Help application installer and the associated XML file to the web server or folder.

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Distribute the project output

After you create and test the project output, you distribute it to the developer or publisher. The output you deliver depends on the project. By default, the output for distribution is in the project subfolder. (For Microsoft HTML Help, the output is compiled into a single CHM file.)

Some RoboHelp tools provide Help functions through DLL and OCX files. Be sure to distribute these files. They must be included with the installer for the Help system.

DLLs required by a RoboHelp application are listed in application Help. Redistributables are listed in Redistrb.Txt in the Redist folder in RoboHelp [version] Program Files.

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Note: Add the output to version control to provide accessibility to others.

Distribute WebHelp

For Help systems published to a central location, only the information relevant to the current inquiry is downloaded to user browsers. The system can also be stored locally.

By default, all WebHelp output files are placed in a project subfolder (!SSL!/WebHelp). The WebHelp folder includes subfolders. Do not rename or move any of these folders.

• To distribute WebHelp with an application, copy the WebHelp Folder and its contents to a location designated by the developer. Let the developer know the name of the start page (HTM file).

• To publish WebHelp files to a server, website, or other network location, publish subprojects to the correct folder in the MergedProjects subfolder.

• When distributing WebHelp as a stand-alone product, copy the WebHelp folder and its contents to a CD, a server, or any location on user systems. Let users know which start page (HTM file) to select to view the Help system.

Output files in the WebHelp folder

Generating WebHelp creates the following output files in subfolders of the project folder.

Note: Do not import WebHelp-generated HTM files into the project. They are for runtime uses only.

File cshdat_robohelp.htm

cshdat_webhelp.htm

default.css

default.skn

EHLPDHTM.JS

.GIF files

NewProject.htm

NewProject.log

NewProject_csh.htm

NewProject_rhc.htm

webhelp.jar

whestart.ico

whfbody.htm

whfdhtml.htm

whfform.htm

whfhost.js

whform.js

whframes.js

whgbody.htm

Description

Data for context-sensitive Help

Legacy support for context-sensitive API

Style sheet

Default skin

JavaScript for advanced functionality such as Dynamic HTML effects

Images for skins, navigation, and browse sequences

Project start page

Lists all necessary files

Legacy support for context-sensitive API

Supports context-sensitive API

Supports applet-based WebHelp

Internet Explorer Favorites menu icon

Full-text search lower pane

Full-text search frameset

Full-text search upper pane

JavaScript for full-text search

Index and full-text search fields

Framesets

Glossary terms

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whproxy.js

whres.xml

whskin_banner.htm

whskin_blank.htm

whskin_frmset01.htm

whskin_frmset010.htm

whskin_info.htm

whskin_mbars.htm

whskin_papplet.htm

whskin_pdhtml.htm

whskin_plist.htm

whskin_tbars.htm

whst_topics.xml

whstart.ico

whstart.js

whstub.js

whtbar.js

whtdhtml.htm

File whgdef.htm

whgdhtml.htm

whghost.js

whhost.js

whibody.htm

whidhtml.htm

whiform.htm

whihost.js

whlang.js

whmozemu.js

whmsg.js

whnjs.htm

whphost.js

whproj.htm

WHPROJ.JS

Description

Glossary definitions

Manages glossary terms and definitions

Supports glossary

Lists and loads files in index and glossary

Index lower pane

Index frameset

Index upper pane

Supports index

Language support

Netscape Navigator functions

Message type definition and structure

Displayed when JavaScript disabled

Determines project contents

Project data

JavaScript that supports WHPROJ.HTM

XML project data

Framework support

Applet support (custom fonts and colors)

For logo dialog box- About author (skins)

Internal support file (same as _blank.htm) (skins)

Frameset separating navigation pane, navigation bar, and topic (skins)

Frameset separating navigation bar and navigation pane (skins)

System information page (skins)

Supports navigation bar (skins)

Navigation pane for applet (skins)

Navigation pane for Dynamic HTML (skins)

Navigation pane for Pure HTML

Toolbar (skins)

Parses topics during generation

WebHelp icon

Supports start page

Framework support

Supports navigation bar

TOC body

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File whthost.js

whtopic.js

whutils.js

whver.js

Description

Supports TOC

Supports in-topic navigation bar

Supports common functions

Determines browser version

Output files in the Whgdata subfolder

Files in !SSL!\Webhelp\Whgdata are used with Pure HTML WebHelp.

File whexpbar.gif

whlstf0.htm

whlstfl0.htm

whlstg0.htm

whlsti0.htm

whlstt0.htm

whlstt1.htm

whnvf30.htm

whnvf31.htm

whnvf32.htm

whnvf33.htm

whnvl31.htm

whnvl32.htm

whnvl33.htm

whnvp30.htm

whnvp31.htm

whnvp32.htm

whnvp33.htm

whnvt30.htm

whnvt31.htm

whnvt32.htm

whnvt33.htm

Description

Sets default navigation pane width

Full-text search body

Level 2 full-text search letters

Glossary terms

Index terms

Contents (part 2)

TOC frame

Index frame

Full-text search frame

Glossary frame

Level 1 index letters

Level 1 full-text search letters

Glossary letters

TOC navigation pane

Index navigation pane

Full-text search navigation pane

Glossary navigation pane

TOC tabs

Index tabs

Full-text search tabs

Glossary tabs

Output files in the Whdata subfolder

Files in !SSL!\Webhelp\Whdata are for DHTML versions of WebHelp on older browsers.

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whidx.htm

whidx.js

whidx.xml

whtdata0.htm

whtdata.js

whtdata0.xml

whtoc.htm

whtoc.js

whtoc.xml

File whftdata0.htm

whftdata.js

whftdata0.xml

whFull-text search.htm

whFull-text search.js

whFull-text search.xml

whfwdata0.htm

whfwdata.js

whfwdata0.xml

whgdata.js

whGlossary.htm

whGlossary.js

whGlossary.xml

whidata0.htm

whidata.js

Description

Full-text search data - HTML support

Full-text search data - JavaScript supporting WHFDATA0.HTM

Full-text search data - XML support

Full-text search index data - HTML support

Full-text search index data - JavaScript supporting whFull-text search.htm

Full-text search index data - XML support

Full-text search keywords - HTML support

Full-text search index data - JavaScript supporting whfwdata0.htm

Full-text search keywords - XML support

Loads glossary term definitions

Glossary index data - HTML support

Glossary index data - JavaScript supporting whGlossary.htm

Glossary index data - XML support

Index data for non-XML browsers

JavaScript supporting WHIDATA0.HTM

Index data - XML version

Index of index data - HTML support

Index of index data - JavaScript supporting whidx.htm

Index of index data - XML version

TOC data - HTML support

TOC data - JavaScript supporting whtdata0.htm

TOC data - XML support

TOC index of TOC - HTML support

TOC index of TOC - JavaScript supporting whtoc.htm

TOC index of TOC - XML support

Output files in the Whxdata subfolder

Files in !SSL!\Webhelp\Whxdata are used in Java applet and DHTML versions of WebHelp on newer browsers.

File whftdata0.xml

WHFTS.XML

WHFWDATA0.XML

WHGDATA0.XML

WHGLO.XML

Description

Full-text search data

Full-text search index data

Full-text search keywords

Glossary definition data

Glossary index data

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File

WHIDATA0.XML

WHIDX.XML

WHTDATA0.XML

WHTOC.XML

Description

Index data

Index of index data

TOC data

TOC index of TOC

Distribute FlashHelp

Users need a browser and Flash Player 8.0 or later to view FlashHelp. If the Help system is stored locally, the.

By default, all FlashHelp output files are placed in a project subfolder (!SSL!/FlashHelp). When you generate

FlashHelp, you can specify the name of the folder where the FlashHelp source files are located, and the name of the start page.

If the project includes subfolders, the FlashHelp folder includes these subfolders with the files in them. Do not rename or move any of these folders to keep the project structure intact.

Distribute FlashHelp with an application

❖ Copy the FlashHelp Folder and its contents to a location designated by the developer. Let the developer know which

.htm file is the start page.

Publish FlashHelp to a disc, server, or desktop

1 Copy the FlashHelp folder and its contents to a disc, server, or local desktop.

2 Let users know which start page (.htm file) to select to view the Help system.

Output files for FlashHelp

Output files are created when you use RoboHelp to generate FlashHelp. During project generation, output files are saved by default in a subfolder named FlashHelp.

Output files in the FlashHelp folder

File cshdat_WEBHELP.htm

*.css

*.FHS

WF_TOPICS.CSS

EHLPDHTM.JS

.GIF files

<ProjectName>.htm

<ProjectName>_csh.htm

<ProjectName>_rhc.htm

wf_favicon.ico

Description

Legacy support file for context-sensitive API

Style sheet

FlashHelp skin file

Style sheet for customized topic scroll bars. Generated based on settings in FlashHelp skin

Contains JavaScript functions that RoboHelp uses for advanced functionality such as Dynamic HTML effects

Images for skins, navigation, and browse sequence images

Project start page

Legacy support file for context-sensitive API

Context-sensitive Help API support file

Icon for Favorites menu in Internet Explorer

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File

WF_*.HTM

SKIN_*.SWF

WFRES.XML

WHPROJ.XML

whmozemu.js

WF_MASTER.JS

wf_dispatcher.js

whtopic.js

whutils.js

whver.js

Description

FlashHelp run time FLA files

Skin files

Localization file (generated from LNG file) that contains all strings loaded into FlashHelp at run time

Project file used by the DHTML version of FlashHelp to load navigation data

Functions supported in Netscape Navigator

JavaScript file required for FlashHelp run time

Topic support file (In-topic navigation bar)

Utility file for common functions

Determines browser version

Output files in the whgdata subfolder

File whexpbar.gif

whlstf0.htm

whlstfl0.htm

whlstg0.htm

whlsti0.htm

whlstt0.htm

whlstt1.htm

whnvf30.htm

whnvf31.htm

whnvf32.htm

whnvf33.htm

whnvl31.htm

whnvl32.htm

whnvl33.htm

whnvp30.htm

whnvp31.htm

whnvp32.htm

whnvp33.htm

whnvt30.htm

Description

Used to size default navigation pane width

Body of full-text search

Letters for full-text search level 2

Glossary words list

Index words list

Contents list part 1

Contents list part 2

TOC frame

Index frame

Full-text search frame

Glossary frame

Index letters level 1

Full-text search letters level 1

Glossary letters

TOC navigation pane

Index navigation pane

Full-text search navigation pane

Glossary navigation pane

TOC tabs

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File whnvt31.htm

whnvt32.htm

whnvt33.htm

Description

Index tabs

Full-text search tabs

Glossary tabs

Output files in the whxdata subfolder

The output files in !Sl!\Flashhelp\whxdata are XML data files used in Java applet and DHTML versions of FlashHelp running on later browsers.

File whftdata0.xml

WHFTS.XML

WHFWDATA0.XML

WHGDATA0.XML

WHGLO.XML

WHIDATA0.XML

WHIDX.XML

WHTDATA0.XML

WHTOC.XML

Description

Full-text search data file

Full-text search index data file

Full-text search keyword data

Glossary definitions data file

Glossary index data file

Index data file

Index of index data file

TOC data file

TOC index of TOC file

Note: Do not import FlashHelp-generated HTM output files into the project. They are used for runtime purposes only.

Distribute Microsoft HTML Help

1 Distribute the following system Help files to the developer for installation with the program executable (EXE) file.

Or, distribute the files for stand-alone use.

Note: Users can run stand-alone Microsoft HTML Help by double-clicking the CHM file in Windows Explorer.

CHM A single distributed Help system in a single Help file, in addition to any CHM files for subprojects to the master project. These child CHM files aren’t compiled into the master CHM.

HLP, CNT If the project includes links to topics in a compiled WinHelp file, distribute the HLP and CNT files. They are not compiled into the master CHM file

DOC, PDF, XLS If the project includes links to external files, distribute the external files. They are not compiled into the master CHM file unless they are added to the Baggage Files folder.

2 The application developer distributes the following support files, depending on the features used in the project and the versions of Windows that users have.

• Microsoft HTML Help Support Files Built-in components.

• HHActiveX.DLL is an Adobe ActiveX control that provides support for online glossaries and browse sequences.

Install and register the HHActiveX.DLL file on user systems. Copy this file from C:\Program

Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp [version] \RoboHTML into the same folder as the CHM.

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• If the Help system includes third-party ActiveX controls, install and register the component support files for the user systems. Users copy the ActiveX control files into a custom folder, placing the path for the alternate folder before the .ocx or .dll extension, and then register the files.

Note: The Adobe licensing agreement lets you redistribute Microsoft HTML Help and Internet Explorer files with the

HTML Help output.

Register ActiveX controls

If the project provides ActiveX controls, provide these instructions to users so they can register the controls that you distribute with the Help system.

Choose Start > Run.

To register the HHActiveX.DLL file, type the following command, specifying the HHActiveX.DLL path, and click OK: regsvr32 [path] hhactivex.dll

3 To register third-party ActiveX controls, type the following command: regsvr32 [activex_name.dll or activex_name.ocx]

More Help topics

“ Create a project ” on page 29

“ Manage files ” on page 36

“ ActiveX controls ” on page 355

Distribute JavaHelp

Distribute the following files and components:

• If the project is compressed, distribute the JAR file.

• If the project is not compressed, distribute all source files in the output folder.

• JavaHelp 1.1.3 or later components.

• Java Runtime Environment file (JRE), or have users download it from the Sun website.

• If the project contains related topics buttons, distribute the Bsscjhrs.jar file.

Output files for JavaHelp

Output File

.HS

.JAR

default.css

projectname_ndx.xml

projectname_map.xml

projectname_toc.xml

Description

HelpSet file. Points to a set of map files and defines associated navigational views (TOC, index, and search).

Compressed JavaHelp file (optional) containing all project output.

Default cascading style sheet file applied to all project topics.

Index file describing content and layout for the index view.

Map file associating Help topic IDs to HTML files with relevant content, and Window Types. Used in the API for context-sensitive calls, TOC, and index.

TOC file describing content and layout for the TOC view.

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Distribute Oracle Help

When you generate the output, you can compress all source files into a single JAR file. The JAR file is used for software application Help, and for distribution as a stand-alone product.

❖ Include the following components when you distribute Oracle Help:

• If the project is compressed, the JAR file

• If the project is not compressed, all files and subfolders in the OracleHelp output folder

• JavaHelp 1.1.3 or later components

• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK)

Output files for Oracle Help

File

.HS

.JAR

default.css

Projectnumber_fts.idx

Projectnumber_nd.xml

Projectnumber_lnk.xml

Projectnumber_map.xml

Projectnumber_toc.xml

Description

HelpSet file. Points to a set of map files and defines associated navigational views (TOC, index, and search).

Compressed Oracle Help file (optional) containing all project output.

Default cascading style sheet file applied to all project topics.

Full-text search file containing the full-text search database.

Index file describing content and layout for the index view.

File containing associative links (See Also controls) to topics associated with See Also keywords.

Map file associating Help topic IDs to HTML files with relevant content, and Window Types. Used in the API for context-sensitive calls, TOC, and index.

TOC file describing content and layout for the TOC view.

Distribute XML output

During generation, CSS, XSL, XML, HTM, and GIF output files are created in a subfolder in the project folder. Other files include the following:

Output files In XML_Output folder

EHLPDHTM.JS

NewProject.htm

NewProject.log

Description

Contains JavaScript functions for advanced functionality

Project start page

Output file that lists all necessary files

More Help topics

“ View output ” on page 307

Distribute Adobe AIR output

Distribution of Adobe AIR output depends on the output type you select.

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Output type

Adobe AIR Application

Browser Based Help

AIR Application And Browser Based

Help

Help Content Only

File(s) to distribute

AIR (.air) file generated in the output location

Required on user computers

AIR Runtime

See Adobe AIR Runtime Distribution

All files generated in the output folder Flash plug-in 9.0 or later

When distributing browser-based Help as a standalone

Help system, copy the output folder and its contents to a

CD, a server, or any location on user systems. Let users know the start page (HTM file) to select to view the Help system.

See Configure FlashPlayerTrust to run local browser-based Help.

Separately distribute:

AIR (.air) file generated in the output location

All files generated in the output folder

AIR Runtime

Flash plug-in 9.0 or later

RHA (.rha) file generated in the output location AIR Runtime

Configure FlashPlayerTrust to run local browser-based Help

To run browser-based Help from a local drive, the installation folder must be added in the list of trusted folders defined in the RoboHelp.cfg

file in the FlashPlayerTrust folder.

Select Start > Run.

Type %appdata%\Macromedia\Flash Player\#Security\FlashPlayerTrust\

Open the RoboHelp.cfg

file in a text editor.

and click OK.

Add the path to the local folder in which the browser-based Help files are stored.

Moderator password and configuration file path

When you distribute Adobe AIR output, make sure that you share the moderator password and configuration file path that you specified while generating the output.

Organizations deploying the output need the password to enable moderation and allow moderators access to the moderator dashboard.

They also need the configuration file path to save the configuration file after configuring comment syncing and autoupdate according to their preferences. If the configuration file path is relative, the same AIR Help file can be installed in different locations with different configurations.

Configuration file attributes

Organizations deploying AIR Help can now configure commenting and auto-update according to their preferences.

Copy the default configuration file from the !SSL folder of the project to the location specified in the configuration file path and modify the default settings.

The configuration file contains the following settings: config topicrating Enables or disables topic rating. Valid values are yes or no.

commentsync: Enables or disables commenting. Valid values are yes or no. updatecommentlocation: Specifies the path that AIR Help uses to synchronize comments when an OS-specific update comment location is not specified.

windowsupdatecommentlocation: Specifies the shared location on Windows computers where comments are to be stored and synced.

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linuxupdatecommentlocation: Specifies the shared location on Linux computers where comments are to be stored and synced.

marknewcommentsaspending Specifies if new comments should have the status ‘Pending’ or ‘Accepted’. Valid values are yes or no.

Note: Pending comments have to be moderated before users can see them.

autoupdate: Enables or disables auto-updating. Valid values are yes or no.

windowsupdatexmllocation: Specifies the location of the auto-update XML file on Windows computers.

macupdatexmllocation: Specifies the location of the auto-update xml file on MAC OS computers.

linuxupdatexmllocation: Specifies the location of the auto-update xml file on Linux computers.

updatexmllocation: Specifies the location of the auto-update xml.

Note: RoboHelp checks for this attribute before checking for the OS-specific updatexmllocation attribute. If this attribute is present, RoboHelp does not check for OS-specific updatexmllocation attributes.

logoimage: Specifies the location of the image file that will be used to display a logo in AIR Help.

companytext: Specifies the company name that is displayed in the status bar of AIR Help (for example, Powered By

Adobe RoboHelp).

URL formats for Windows, Mac, and Linux

While configuring the Adobe AIR Application collaboration settings, specify the paths in the following formats:

Windows

File on hard disk file:///C:/config.xml

Mac file:///Applications/config.xml

Linux file:///etc/config.xml

File on network drive file:////robohelpserver/config.xml

file:///Volumes/robohelpserver/config.xml

file:///media/robohelpserver/config.xml

About modifying the status of new comments

Authors set the status of new comments to Pending or Accepted at the time of generating Adobe AIR output.

Users can access the settings.xml

file present in the network location for storing and syncing comments and change the default status of new comments. If the status is set to Pending, new comments have to be moderated. Otherwise, new comments are accepted without moderation and displayed to users.

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Printed documents

About printed documents

Online output and printed documents share source files. Similarly, you can generate PDF files and print documents from the same source files.

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Organize and customize content

Design a printed document based on only part of the project or the entire project. Determine where topics go in the document by arranging the pages and books during generation. Base printed document structure on the project TOC or select topics from custom folders in the Project Manager.

Map project styles to Word

Control how styles are used in printed documents with style mapping. Copy project styles directly to a Word document. Any applied project style retains the style in Word. You can alternatively skip style mapping and use topic styles.

Types of Word documents to create

Individual documents Separate Word files for the title page, table of contents, glossary, and index. A separate document is also created for each root-level book (chapter) and page in the printed table of contents.

Master document An optional document that links to the individual documents. Familiarity with master documents in Word is recommended. Do not edit this file; it contains only field codes referencing the documents. Do not use a master document for large manuals.

Single document One Word file containing the title page, TOC, chapters, glossary, and index.

Printed document structure

• Books and pages at the root level of the printed document begin a new chapter.

• Subbooks and pages that are not at the root level of the printed document continue uninterrupted.

• For books that link to pages, the link destination is placed directly after the book in the printed document.

• Pages that link to a destination other than a topic are not available to use in the printed document.

• Organize sections of the printed documentation output in the Section Layout dialog box.

Conversion of online features

RoboHelp converts many common project features. It removes others, including ActiveX controls, borders, Dynamic

HTML, headers and footers, JavaScript, link controls, and topic borders. The following table provides conversion details for specific features.

Feature

Bullets and numbering

Conditional build tags

Drop-down hotspots and expanding hotspots

Expanding glossary hotspots

Font sets

Forms

Conversion notes

Converted (except image bullets).

Topics and topic content that are excluded with conditional build tags and expressions are removed.

If specified, expanding text and drop-down text appears inline. Map a style to hotspots so that they look different from the other text.

Selecting expanding text and drop-down text in the printed output converts and displays inline. Map a style to hotspots so that they look different from the other text.

Word uses the first font. If the first font does not exist, Word creates a default font.

Converted to HTML in Word. Third-party forms are removed from documents.

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Feature

Images

Marquees

Positioned text boxes

Shading

Text boxes

Conversion notes

Specify whether you want to place or embed images. Placed images are included in an images folder in the output folder. Embed images if you want to place them within the document. Images can be included in headings, and then they also appear in the printed TOC.

Converted as text in Word.

Converted and placed at the end of the document or the bottom of the page.

Fills but not patterns are converted.

Converted and resized to fit text only.

Page setup

RoboHelp assigns default page settings to the printed documentation in Microsoft Word.

Body page settings

Starting Page All documents start on an odd-numbered page. If the document ends on an odd-numbered page, a blank page is added at the end of the document. The blank page lacks a header, footer, or page number.

Headers Headers repeat at the top of each page and are blank on the first page of sections. The name of the document appears on even-numbered pages, left-justified. The name of the root chapter appears on odd-numbered pages, rightjustified.

Footers Footers repeat at the bottom of each page and contain page numbers. Page numbers are left-justified on evennumbered pages and right-justified on odd-numbered pages.

Page Numbers Page numbers are located in footers and are generally Arabic (1, 2, 3, and so on). The TOC document uses lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, and so on).

Additional settings

To create Microsoft Word documents, note the following details for the source files and set them up accordingly.

Title page

• The title page uses settings from the document.

• Specify a default title page when you generate the printed documentation.

• The name of the document (which appears on the title page) is the printed document name you define in the Print

Document General dialog box. This dialog box appears when you double-click the Printed Documentation layout.

• The header and footer are blank.

• The title page contains no page number.

• The title page document uses the style TitlePageTitle that is copied to the Word document.

• The filename is Chapter_{##}_Title_page.doc.

• When you add the file, copy it to the project folder if you want RoboHelp to generate a copy in the output folder.

Table of contents

• The TOC is based on the heading levels of topic titles and the printed document structure hierarchy. You can define the printed document structure in the Print Document Content dialog box.

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Note: You can also create a TOC from the Project Manager. Right-click a topic in the TOC pod, and choose Auto-

Create TOC. Topics from the Project Manager are automatically promoted or demoted in heading style depending on their placement in the printed document structure.

• Most TOCs have multiple levels of headings, showing a hierarchy, or structure, of information to help users find information more quickly.

• TOC 1 – 9 are the styles used for TOC entries.

• Table Of Contents Page Title is the style used for the title of the TOC.

• Page numbers for the TOC document are lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, and so on).

• The filename is Chapter_00_Table_Of_Contents.doc.

Chapters

• Chapter files contain the topics you specified in the Print Document Content dialog box. Root-level topics and books create new documents (except if you select the Single Document option when you generate).

• Page numbers for chapter documents are Arabic (1, 2, 3, and so on).

• The filename is Chapter_{##}_{Book or Page Name}.doc.

Glossary

• The glossary is based on the terms and definitions in the project. If no terms and definitions exist in the project, a glossary document is not generated.

• To convert expanding glossary hotspots, click the Start Glossary Hotspot wizard icon in the Glossary toolbar in the

Glossary pod. You can specify whether definitions are converted to inline text, and whether inline text appears in the paragraph where the term appeared.

• The glossary document uses three styles that are copied to the Word document:

Glossary Heading The style used for the header letters (A, B, and so on). If the project has a specified language, the header letters are localized in that language.

Glossary Label The style used for the glossary terms.

Glossary Definition The style used for glossary definitions. Definitions appear on the same line as terms, with a hanging indent for subsequent lines.

• Page numbers for the glossary document are Arabic (1, 2, 3, and so on).

• By default, the filename is Chapter_{##}_Glossary.doc. ## is the number after the last chapter number.

Index

• The index is based on the keywords and subkeywords in the project. Topic keywords are included only if the associated topics are generated in the output.

• Index styles are based on the style Index Heading and Index 1-9 in the Word template you select for the printed documentation.

• By default, the index is indented with two columns. If the project has a specified language, the header letters are localized in that language.

• Page numbers for the index document are Arabic (1, 2, 3, and so on).

• The filename is Chapter_{##}_Index.doc. ## is the number after the glossary chapter number. If the document contains no glossary, it is the number after the last chapter number.

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Accessory pages

• An accessory page, such as an acknowledgment, appendix, foreword, or copyright, retains its original formatting.

• The filename is Chapter_{##}_{Document name}.

• When you add the file, you can copy it to the project folder. A copy is also generated in the output folder.

• Add new sections using the Section Layout dialog box.

Images

You can handle images in these ways:

Embed In Documents Keep images within the document. Embedding images creates larger DOC files that are not dependent on outside image files.

Link To Documents Reference the images outside the document (creates smaller DOC files that reference outside image files). Image files are copied and stored in the Images folder in the printed document output folder.

Images in heading styles are removed. Change settings to include images in headings.

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Organize and customize document content

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, double-click Printed Documentation.

2 In Printed Document General, set general options for the printed document.

Name Specify the name of the document. This name is used in the document headers and on the title page.

Location Specify the path for Word documents. PDF documents also are saved to this location. Creates the printed documentation files under !SSL!\ [layout name] in the project folder. Click the Browse button to browse to a different folder. Click OK.

Note: Printed Word documentation supports both DOC and DOCX formats.

PDF Settings Set PDF properties.

Settings Select options for document files creation.

• Generate Individual Documents Create a separate Word file for each chapter and section of the document. A chapter is any book or page at the root level of the TOC specified in the Print Document Content dialog box.

• Generate A Single Document Create one Word file that contains the title page, TOC, chapters, glossary, and index.

Note: If Generate Individual Documents is selected, click Create Master Document to enable viewing of all documents.

• Retain Hyperlinks Select to retain hypertext links.

• Start Each Topic On A New Page Select to create page breaks.

Images Set image options.

• Embed In Documents Keep images within the document.

• Link To Documents Reference the images outside the document. Image files are copied and stored in an Images folder in the printed document output folder.

By default, images that are included in heading styles are removed. To select to include them, click the Advanced button and select Images In TOC.

Define Click to specify conditional build expressions.

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Content Select TOC, index, and glossary to display in the generated Help.

Variable Set Select a variable set for the printed document.

Advanced Specify detailed TOC, glossary, and text options.

Note: If you apply inline formatting to a heading, the inline style does not appear in the document unless you select the Styles in TOC field. Note that the inline style then also appears in the document TOC.

3 Click Next.

4 In Print Document Content, under Topics, click the pop-up menu to display and select topics.

Show All Topics Displays all topics regardless of conditional build tags.

TOC Displays all topics in TOC

Folder buttons To show topics in the Project Manager pod, select the folder button for a custom folder, a Top Level

Folder, or All Folders. (View topics by title or filename.)

5 Under Topics, select the topics to add and design the TOC.

Select Maintain HTML Heading Levels to disable automatic mapping. Heading style levels are retained. If the printed document structure does not match the structure in the Chapter Layout column, rework it in Word.

Drag and drop topics from the left to the right. The topic icon on the left turns blue to indicate that the topic is added.

Topics excluded in the General dialog box using conditional build tags have a gray icon in the Chapter Layout column.

Missing topics are displayed with a broken page icon .

6 Under Chapter layout, edit or reorganize the content.

To add a new book, click the New Chapter button. To move a book or page, click the arrow buttons.

Moves an item to a higher level in the TOC.

Moves an item to a lower level in the TOC.

Moves up an item up in the TOC.

Moves an item down in the TOC.

7 Click Next to set the section layout for the document.

The Section Layout column displays the default sections. You can remove a section, and add topics or existing

Word documents as new sections. You can also reorder the sections.

Click to remove a section.

Select a topic in the left column and click this icon to add the topic as a section.

Click to add a Word document as a section. Locate the file, select it, and click Open.

Click to edit in Word if the selected section is a Word document. The changes are included in the printed document.

Use the arrow buttons to position a section in the printed document.

8 Do one of the following:

• Select Next to map styles.

• Save changes.

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• Select Finish to generate. When the PrintDoc.dot macro message displays, click Disable Macros to continue.

When the PrintDoc.dot macro message displays, click Disable Macros to continue.

Notes:

• All Microsoft Word documents must be closed.

• Document content changes do not affect TOCs.

• TOCs updated in the TOC Composer do not affect the chapter layout.

• To use the updated TOC, click Remove All. Then click Add All.

Prepare for printed documents

Printed document organization

• Before generating, print a Table of Contents Report. Choose Tools > Reports > Table Of Contents. Place a check mark next to the topics for the printed document so that you can easily identify them when the document is generated.

• For large documents (over 700-800 pages), create individual documents. Place more books at the root level in the printed document structure to create more DOC files. Otherwise, the printed document includes only several large files.

Styles and formatting

Ensure that both project styles and template styles are ready for generating.

Apply styles to all topic text

When using a Word template for printed documentation, ensure that all topic text has a style applied from an external style sheet.

Inline formatting does not map to styles in Word and is converted as inline formatting.

Embedded styles do not map into Word. They are converted to inline styles. If any topics use embedded styles, link an external style sheet to the topic and apply styles to the text.

Apply styles to topic headings

To treat topics as separate sections instead of continuing text, ensure that all topic headings have a Heading Style. Also place them at the root level of the printed document structure.

If a custom heading does not use the RoboHelp heading style names in the format Heading [number] , the topic doesn’t appear in the TOC. To solve this problem, modify one of the RoboHelp heading styles with settings from the custom heading style.

Use styles consistently

Printed documentation maps styles in the project to styles in Word.

Apply project styles consistently throughout the topics. For example, instead of applying inline styles, such as bold, to text, apply a character style that uses bold. Consistency ensures that the printed TOC converts as expected and that you can update styles globally later, if needed.

Select a template

• Custom template

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• RoboHelp Style Mapping.dot template

• A Word default template

Add new styles to the template

Analyze project styles to see how they map to Word. Create new styles as necessary. Consider the following:

Missing styles After conversion, drop-down and expanding text appears as inline text, for example.

Character styles Styles can be mapped only to template styles of the same type. Create a matching character style before generating. Mapping is easier when template and project style names match. For example, create Word character styles.

Conditional text

Define conditional build expressions to exclude topics or topic content from printed documentation. Excluded topics are denoted with a gray question mark icon in the Print Document Content dialog box.

More Help topics

“ Define conditional build tag expressions ” on page 223

Single-source layouts

Use with conditional build tags to customize output and save the settings.

Share style mappings from a printed documentation layout with other authors to ensure consistency. Import style mappings (ZPL file) into the project, or export mappings to another location.

Mapping styles

Mapped styles

Non-mapped styles are formatted as they appear in the Design Editor. Style maps are saved in a ZPL file.

Heading styles

For heading mapping to occur, a standard HTML heading style must be applied to topic titles. If custom heading styles aren’t named in the format Heading <number>, they are not treated as headings.

Heading styles are automatically mapped to Word heading styles. To disable automatic mapping, select Maintain

HTML Heading Levels in the Print Document Content dialog box. Heading style levels are retained, regardless of their position in the Print Document Content dialog box.

RoboHelp considers the RoboHelp project style applied to the heading and the placement of the topic in the printed

TOC hierarchy.

Generating a printed document TOC exactly like the project TOC creates Word documents with identical heading styles and an identical TOC hierarchy. When the hierarchy of the TOC changes, the automatic process takes over and assigns heading levels.

• Books and pages at the root level are always Heading 1. If the project heading style is lower (such as a Heading 2), it is adjusted up.

• Books and pages with Headings 2 – 6 are adjusted according to their level in the printed document structure and their project heading style. Different project heading styles are adjusted as needed.

• Books and pages with Headings 7 – 9 are automatically mapped to Word Headings 7 – 9 styles.

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• Books that link to pages are treated like topics.

RoboHelp makes these heading adjustments when it creates the printed document TOC.

Paragraph styles Paragraph styles can be mapped only to paragraph styles in Word. They apply to font attributes, line spacing, numbering, and borders and shading.

Character styles Character styles can be mapped only to character styles in Word. They apply to font attributes.

Multi-level list styles Multi-level list styles in RoboHelp can be mapped only to multi-level list styles in Word. The individual levels of the multi-level lists are mapped automatically. For example, the style for the level 3 items in the

RoboHelp list are mapped automatically to the style for the level 3 items in the list in Word.

Table styles Table styles in RoboHelp can be mapped only to table styles in Word.

Embedded styles Embedded styles that are not defined in the external style sheet are applied inline in the Word document. They are not available for global use.

Inline styles Inline styles are applied inline in the Word document and are not available for global use in the template.

Unmapped styles

The following styles aren’t available for mapping:

• Background + Text (BODY). These style settings are applied inline.

• Heading styles.

Unmapped styles denoted by Unassigned - Use Style In Project in the Print Document Appearance dialog box are added to the Word document. This style has the same attributes as the project style. To access the Print Document

Appearance dialog box, double-click a printed documentation layout in the Single Source Layouts pod, and click Next three times.

Style naming

Mapped template styles retain the name of the Word template style.

Styles that RoboHelp adds

If title page title, TOC title, and glossary definitions, terms, and headings are defined in the selected Word template,

RoboHelp maps them to the Word document.

Duplicate styles

If the project has multiple style sheets with duplicate style names, the most frequently used style is mapped.

Map styles

1 Double-click Printed Documentation in the Single Source Layouts pod, and click Next until Print Document

Appearance appears.

Project styles appear on the left. Matching template styles appear on the right. If a matching style is not found, you see [Unassigned - Use style in project]. Heading styles, which are mapped automatically, are not listed.

2 Under Microsoft Word Template, select a template already in the project or another template option from the popup menu.

(None) Use The Project's CSS Styles Formats from topics, not from a template.

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Use Microsoft Word Templates In the Select Template File dialog box, open a template. Choose copy to the project folder or overwrite an existing template. Click Yes to enable quick access to the template. To share the template with other authors and maintain it in one location, click No.

Style Mapping. dot Uses default template.

Browse Lets you select a custom template not yet in the project, or browse to the location of a ZPL file from another layout. Click Browse Files to browse to the location of the desired template. Select copy to the project folder or overwrite an existing template.

Note: If the template you select has the same name as one of the default Word templates, _RHT is added to the custom template name.

3 Under Project’s CSS Styles, select a project style to map to a template style. A sample of the selected style is displayed underneath Preview.

Project’s CSS Styles (All) Displays all styles in the project.

Project’s CSS Styles (Used Only) Displays only the styles used in the project.

Character Preview the font attributes of a style.

Paragraph Preview the font attributes and spacing of a style.

Description Preview a text description of a style.

4 Under Microsoft Word Template Styles, select the pop-up menu to display template styles.

Microsoft Word Styles (All) Displays all styles in the template including Word defaults.

Microsoft Word Styles (User Defined) Displays only user-defined styles.

Note: Styles must be mapped to other styles of the same type. For example, character to character, paragraph to paragraph, table to table, and multi-level list to multi-level list.

5 Select a style, and map all desired project styles, selecting them from the pop-up menu of the selected Microsoft

Word style.

6 Map all desired project styles.

Click Finish to generate.

When the macros message appears, click Always Trust Macros From This Publisher. Then click Enable Macros.

Printed documentation files appear under !SSL!\ [layout name] in the project folder.

9 Click View Result to view the output, or click Done.

Microsoft Word opens the document. Depending on the settings selected, the TOC, master document, or a single document is displayed.

Export style maps

Ensure that the project styles are all mapped to the same Word template styles.

Open the project.

Create a printed documentation layout.

Map the styles. Save the settings.

In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click the layout containing the style map to export. Select Export

Preferences.

5 Browse to the destination for the style map. Click Save.

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Import style maps

Share style maps to ensure that the project styles are all mapped to the same Word template styles.

In the Single Source Layouts pod, right-click the printed documentation layout. Select Import Preferences.

Browse to the exported style map (.zpl file).

Select Open.

• If the template associated with the style map is not in the project, select Yes to copy it to the project folder.

• Select Yes to overwrite the template.

When you generate output, the imported style map is used.

4 To edit the style map after it is imported, right-click the layout. Select Properties. Set options and click Next for each screen of the Properties dialog box.

5 Click Save.

Generate PDFs

PDFs retain links, bookmarks, formatting, graphics, fonts, special characters, and colors.

Generate a PDF

1 Open the project.

2 Click File > Generate > PDF.

Generate a PDF with setup options

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, double-click the printed documentation layout.

In the Output Format area, select Generate Adobe PDF.

Click PDF Settings. Set options.

Select options on each screen to set up the chapter layout, the section layout, and the styles. Click Next to progress through the screens.

Click Finish.

(Optional) Click View Result.

Generate printed documents

You can create printed documentation and single-source layouts, and generate PDF files simultaneously with printed documents.

If no template is used, every document retains the formatting used inside the topics.

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, double-click the printed documentation layout.

Select options in the Print Document General dialog box.

Arrange the document structure in the Print Document Content dialog box.

Map Microsoft Word styles in the Print Document Appearance dialog box.

Copy hand-coded or added files to another location before generating the layout.

Click Finish. Click Disable Macros.

Click View Result. Select individual documents or a single document in the Print Document General dialog box.

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By default, printed documentation files are created under !SSL!\ [layout name] in the project folder. Templates are saved in the root project folder.

Note: Some list items do not convert properly when generating printed documents with 1500 or more list items without

Microsoft Office 2000 SP-2 or later installed.

Specify default printer options

You can configure the default printer settings from within RoboHelp. The options that are available vary according to the selected printer.

Note: The settings you specify affect how documents print in other Windows applications.

Settings include:

Paper Size Specifies the size of the paper.

Paper Source Specifies the location of paper in the printer. Options vary according to the printer. Examples of paper source are upper tray and envelope feed.

Orientation Specifies if the orientation is Portrait or Landscape.

Margins Specifies left, right, top, and bottom margins in inches.

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Skins

About skins

Use skins to change the appearance of Adobe AIR, WebHelp, and FlashHelp systems. Skins apply to the left side of a window and the toolbar across the top of the output. Customize the Help system by changing colors, buttons, fonts, and icons, and by adding backgrounds and logos.

RoboHelp includes predefined skins in the RoboHelp Skins Gallery.

Edit skins

Follow this procedure to edit WebHelp and AIRHelp skins from within RoboHelp. Changes to skin properties take effect the next time you generate using the skin. If you localize a project, default skin text is translated using the project language setting. If you edit skin text, RoboHelp overrides customizations in the LNG file.

Note:

FlashHelp skins are edited with FlashHelp Skin Development Kit. See “ Customize FlashHelp skins ” on page

In the Project Set-up pod, expand the Skins folder.

Right-click a skin. Select Edit.

Depending on the skin type, WebHelp Skin Editor or Adobe AIR Help Skin Editor launches. Set options, as needed.

Note: Some options aren’t available, depending on the output type.

4 Click OK.

5 Click Update View to view changes in the dialog box. Click Preview to view the changes in a separate window.

Tips:

• Use URL icons for website links, or use folder icons instead of book icons.

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• To use TOC icons that are a different color, browse to the Image Gallery. The gallery is in C:\Program

Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp [version] \ RoboHTML\gallery\images\Books_and_Pages. You can also edit the image color in a graphics editor.

• When generating a project with custom toolbar items, select the custom button in the Navigation dialog box.

• To remove a button from a skin without deleting the image file, clear the option when you generate the project. Do not clear it in the WebHelp Skin Editor.

• Additional files, such as image files or JavaScript files for buttons, reside in the Project

Folder\!SkinSubFolder!\<Skin Name>. The skins reside in separate subfolders in the !SkinSubFolder! folder.

• To specify a script that uses other files (such as HTML files or image files), copy these files to the skin subfolder under !Skinsubfolder!.

More Help topics

“ Create custom skins for WebHelp and WebHelp Pro projects ” on page 337

“ Create custom skins for Adobe AIR projects ” on page 336

Add skins to the gallery

Store or reuse skins across projects by adding them to Skins Gallery.

In the Project Set-up pod, expand the Skins folder.

Right-click a skin. Select Add To Gallery.

Import skins

When you import Adobe AIR AHS files, WebHelp SKN files, or FlashHelp FHS files, all associated files are added to the skins subfolder. You can also import a compressed AHZ (for Adobe AIR), ZKN (for WebHelp), or FHZ (for

FlashHelp) file.

1 In the Project Set-up pod, right-click the Skins folder. Select Import.

Navigate to a skin file or a compressed skin file.

Select the file. Click Open.

(Optional) Type a name and filename for the skin.

Click OK.

You can select this skin the next time you generate output.

Export skins

Exporting a skin saves it as a compressed file that contains the skin and its associated files.

1 In the Project Set-up pod, expand the Skins folder.

Right-click a skin. Select Export.

Navigate to the location for the exported skin. Click Save.

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Delete skins

1 Do one of the following:

• To delete a skin from the project, select it in the Skins folder in the Project Set-up pod.

• To delete a skin from the gallery, select the skin in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp

[version] \RoboHTML\Sqskinsext\Gallery.

2 Press Delete.

Preview skins

You can preview skins for WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, and FlashHelp Pro projects.

1 In the Project Set-up pod, expand the Skins folder. Select a skin.

2 In the toolbar, click the View button .

Compile skins

Each template for the Adobe AIR layout has an associated style sheet called exStyle.css. You can locate this file in

[Project folder] \!SkinSubFolder!\ [skin name] and directly modify the styles in a text editor.

RoboHelp stores the default exStyle.css file in [Install folder]\AIRHelpExt\skins\[skin name]\SkinTemplate. Refer to the comments in this file while editing a style sheet.

After you modify the style sheet, compile the CSS file to generate a SWF file.

1 In the Project Set-up pod, expand the Skins folder.

2 Right-click a skin. Select Compile.

Create custom skins for Adobe AIR projects

Adobe AIR Help Skin Editor helps you create and edit skins for Adobe AIR projects.

1 In the Project Set-up pod, right-click the Skins folder. Select New Skin.

2 Do one of the following:

• Select Create Skin From Gallery. Click OK. Click the Adobe AIR tab. Select a skin. Click OK.

Note: Adobe AIR project skins are associate with templates. So selecting a skin also means selecting the template with which the skin is associated.

• Select Create Custom Adobe AIR Skin. Select a template and specify a skin name. Click OK.

3 In Adobe AIR Help Skin Editor, fine-tune the palette, the font style, and the icon set.

Fine-tune the palette

Select a palette from the available palettes and fine-tune it by changing the colors of various parts of the template. Use the Hue, Saturation, and Contrast values to make finer adjustments.

1 In Available Palettes, click a palette. Use the Next and Previous buttons to browse through palettes available in

RoboHelp Gallery.

2 Change the background colors to customize the palette. Do any of the following:

• Move the pointer over each background color. The preview shows where the color is used.

• Click a background color and select another color from the color picker.

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• Adjust hue, saturation, and contrast with the sliders. Selecting the check box below a background color lets you adjust the hue, saturation, and contrast for only that color.

Note: You can save a customized palette in the gallery. Specify a name for the customized palette in the Selected Palette box and click Save. You can also remove customized palettes by deleting the XML file from %Application

Data%\Adobe\RoboHTML\[version]\AIRSkinEditor\ColorThemes.

Modify font properties

Font properties include font type and font color.

1 Select a font from the drop-down list in Font Properties.

2 Select a style and click the color picker box.

Style 1 Sets the font of text displayed on the header, footer, and main taskbar.

Style 2 Sets the font of disabled and mouseovertext.

Style 3 Sets the font of pod text.

Customize icons

Each template includes an icon set. You can change the icon set and edit the icon set by replacing existing icons with new icons. You cannot add or delete icons from an icon set.

While replacing icons, maintain the default icon dimensions for best results. For example, if the dimensions of the default Add Comment button are 16x16, make sure that the new image has the same dimensions.

Note: Supported file types for icons are .jpg, .gif, and .png.

• To change the icon set, click Select New Set. Select an icon set from the drop-down list and click Select.

• To edit the current icon set, click Edit Current Set. Select the icon you want to customize. Click Browse and select the image file that contains the new icon. Click Apply after you have replaced the image for each icon state.

Note: If you cancel editing the skin after selecting a new icon set or applying changes to icons, these changes are not canceled.

Create custom skins for WebHelp and WebHelp Pro projects

The custom skin is saved as an SKN file to [Project folder] \!SkinSubFolder!\ [skin name].

If you create a custom skin from a gallery skin, the gallery skin remains unchanged.

In the Project Set-up pod, right-click the Skins folder. Select New Skin.

Do one of the following:

• Select Create Custom WebHelp Skin. Click OK.

• Select Create Skin From Gallery. Click OK. Select a skin. (Optional) Click Preview to view the selected skin.

3 Click the Toolbar tab. Set options, as needed:

Note: Some options aren’t available, depending on the output type.

Main Lists items that appear on the main toolbar.

Add custom toolbar item (WebHelp and WebHelp Pro only) Click to add a custom button to the main toolbar.

In the Custom Toolbar Item dialog box, define the text, image, or both for the button on the Text tab. Type spaces before or after the text to add space between the edge of the button and text.

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On the Action tab, define a link or a script for the button:

• Link Link the button to a URL. Type the path or click the Browse button copied to the skins folder (ProjectName\!SkinSubFolder!\YourSkin).

For JavaScript, specify the function calls for these actions:

to browse to it. Linked files are

• Onload Specify a function to call when the page containing the button is loaded (MyFunction())

• OnMouseOver Specify the function to call when the pointer is over the button.

• OnClick Specify the function to call when the button is clicked.

Under Advanced, add or remove dependent files for the custom toolbar item when using the multi-author feature.

• Dependencies Lists the dependent files already added. Click Add to specify the name of another dependent file.

• Add Browse to the location of a dependent file. Click OK. External files are copied to the project folder automatically.

• Remove Remove a dependent file from the Dependencies list. An image in the custom toolbar cannot be removed. Files are removed only from the RoboHelp software, not from the hard disk.

• Inline JavaScript Write function definitions for custom button functions in the project.

• External JavaScript File Browse for and select the file.

Remove custom toolbar item Click to delete a selected custom toolbar item.

Contents, Index, Search, Glossary Select the button to change and click the Edit button to edit the button text or to place an image on the button.

Search Input Double-click to edit the field that appears in the toolbar and the Search pane. The button options apply to both the toolbar and the Search pane. The Caption and the Text Box Width apply to the toolbar only. The box can be from 10 to 40 characters wide.

About Select and click Edit to change which image is displayed in the upper right of the main toolbar. Specify an

About Button image, which is copied to the Skins folder. Then specify the following information, as needed for the output format:

• Image Select an image to display at the left of the About box.

• Company Enter the company name, which is displayed below the logo. This text is a hypertext link to a URL specified under URL.

• Copyright Enter a copyright notice.

• URL Enter a web address for the company website.

• Title Image Specify an image to display at the top of the About box. Keep the image smaller than 211 by 60 pixels.

• Author Identify the system or give more information to users.

• E-mail Enter the e-mail address of the author.

Navigation Bar Modify the items directly under the main toolbar , .

Previous Topic, Next Topic, Sync TOC, and Hide Navigation Component Select the item to change and click Edit to change the image for the button.

The Previous and Next buttons let users move back and forward through a series of topics you define in browse sequences. You can change the image shown for the buttons when they are enabled and disabled. Enabled indicates that the user can click the button for more topics. Disabled indicates that no topics exist in that direction.

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You can change the image for the Sync TOC button. When you generate, select Synchronize TOC (Manually) to ensure that the button appears on the navigation bar.

Note: The Hide Navigation Component button does not appear in all versions of Netscape Navigator when the output uses a skin.

4 Click the Navigation tab. Click the browse buttons to select images, and specify other settings as needed:

Note: The toolbar is automatically resized to accommodate images. Images are tiled in backgrounds for the content and label region backgrounds.

Topic/Page Select an image for TOC topics.

Remote URL Select an image for links not in the project.

Background Image Select an image to use in the background of the content region. The images are tiled.

Hover Color Select a color to display when the pointer moves over links.

Click OK.

To rename the selected skin, right-click, select Rename, and type a name in the Name box.

Note: You cannot rename skins in the gallery.

7 Click Update View to view changes in the dialog box. Click Preview to view the changes in a separate window.

8 Click OK. Type a name and filename for the skin, including the .skn extension.

You can use the skin the next time you generate output.

To share a skin file (SKN) with others, define all customizable elements of the skin beforehand so that other authors can include or exclude certain elements when they generate output.

Customize FlashHelp skins

You can customize FlashHelp skins by replacing elements in an existing skin with elements from another skin. If you’re a skilled Flash developer, you also can create a skin with Adobe Flash or the RoboHelp Skin Development Kit.

The SDK includes instructions for using the kit and tips and tricks.

Customize or create a skin with Flash

Use an existing compressed skin file (FHZ) from the RoboHelp Skin Gallery or create one.

1 Download the Flash SDK from www.adobe.com/go/learn_rh_flash_sdk_en and make changes to the skin.

When finished with skin editing, share the compressed skin file (optional). Then, import the skin into the project.

Preview the skin.

When generating a FlashHelp layout, select the skin from the FlashHelp Options dialog box.

Modify the skin without Flash

FlashHelp skins are composed of Flash skin files (SWF files). Each SWF file is used for different skin elements, such as toolbar buttons and icons. Use Windows Explorer to replace individual SWF files in an existing skin with the SWF files of another.

1 Ensure that the project contains all the skins to use by importing them.

Navigate to !Skinsubfolder!\ [skin name] .

Open the skin subfolder that contains the SWF files to copy.

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Right-click the SWF file and select Copy.

Open the skin subfolder containing the SWF files to replace.

Paste and replace the files.

In RoboHelp, when you generate the project, select the newly modified skin in the FlashHelp Properties dialog box.

When project generation has finished, click View Result to test the skin.

Select and preview WebHelp or FlashHelp skins from the Skin gallery

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, double-click a FlashHelp layout.

2 Click Gallery.

Select a skin. Click Preview to view it. Then click OK to select it.

Click Finish to generate the FlashHelp output.

The skin is added to the project and appears in the Skins project subfolder with a Flash icon .

FlashHelp vertical-style skins

In vertical-style skins, toolbar icons have tool tips. Tool tips appear when the mouse hovers over the button.

Prefix the names of these skins with “Vertical,” such as Vertical-Breeze.

Note: Vertical-style skins do not have a Search field in the toolbar.

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Windows

RoboHelp supports WebHelp and FlashHelp windows for use with the context-sensitive Help API.

Create or edit windows

Note: This procedure applies to WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, FlashHelp Pro, and HTML Help.

1 Specify the primary layout.

In the Project Set-up pod, right-click the Windows folder. Select New Window.

Type a name and caption in the text boxes.

Set options. Many of the options are common to all the output types.

Placement To change placement visually, point and click inside the sample window. To change size visually, point to a border in the sample window. To use exact measurements, in Placement, enter values in Top and Left for the position (percent of the browser window). To resize, enter values in Height and Width.

Windows To Display Selected windows appear in the preview area of the upper-left corner.

5 Click OK.

For JavaHelp and Oracle Help projects, set navigation pane options when you generate output.

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More Help topics

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WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, FlashHelp Pro Options

In addition to the standard Window Properties options, WebHelp Pro provides the following options. In WebHelp

Pro and FlashHelp Pro, you can view settings after the project is published to the server.

Buttons Click the up and Down Arrows to change button order as the buttons appear in the browser. Select the buttons to include. You can customize these buttons or add new buttons using skins.

Set As Default Click to set the selected button as the default. Contents is the default.

WebSearch Displays the WebSearch button. This button is available only if enabled in the project.

Browse Sequences Enables support of browse sequences if you created them. The window contains Previous and Next buttons. Use skins to customize them.

Search Input Field In Toolbar Adds the Search button to the toolbar. Use skins to customize the Search Input Field.

Use Default Browser Settings Select to use the user default browser size, toolbars, placement, and other properties.

When deselected, the standard browser toolbar, menu, location bar, and status bar are available.

• Resizable Selecting this option lets users resize the window. This setting is available when used with the contextsensitive Help API.

• View Select One Pane to display the topic pane. Select Two Pane to also display the navigation pane.

HTML options

In addition to the standard Window Properties options, HTML Help provides the following options:

Buttons (HTML Help) Select buttons to display.

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Button Description

Opens and closes the navigation pane.

Hide/Show

Opens the previous topic.

Back

Opens the next topic in a pre-viewed sequence.

Forward

Stops a web page form displaying.

Stop

Updates the topic content.

Refresh

Shows the default web page.

Home

Opens menu access to Home, Show, Back, Stop, Refresh, Print, and Search Highlight On/Off.

Options

From the Contents tab, prints pages, headings, and subtopics or the entire TOC. From the Index or

Search tab, opens the Print dialog box.

Locate

Click to synchronize books and pages in the Contents tab with the topics in the right pane. This option differs from Auto-synchronize TOC, which synchronizes books and pages with topics as users view topics.

Opens a web page, intranet site (defined with a URL) or help topic (defined by its filename if included in the same file).

Jump1

Opens a web page, intranet site (defined with a URL) or help topic (defined by its filename if included in the same CHM file).

Jump 2

Tri-pane Tabs And Windows Select tabs to include in the navigation pane. If you select TOC And Index and the project does not include a TOC, the HTML help viewer does not display the Contents tab.

• TOC And Index Displays the Contents and Index tabs in the navigation pane. A navigation pane requires these tabs.

If you do not select this option, the navigation pane options are unavailable.

• Favorites Displays the Favorites tab in the navigation pane.

• Glossary Displays the Glossary tab in the navigation pane.

• Search Displays the Search tab in the navigation pane.

• Adv Search Enables users to search for topics using Wildcard and Boolean characters.

• Browse Sequences Enables support if you have created browse sequences.

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• Default Tab Select the tab to display when the HTML Help project opens.

• Tab Position Select a default location for the window tabs.

Tri-pane Options Set properties for the onscreen appearance and behavior of the panes.

• Hide Nav Pane On Startup Hides the navigation pane. Click Show to open it.

• Auto Synchronize TOC Synchronizes books and pages in the Contents tab with the topic displayed in the right pane.

(For this feature to work properly, the Always Show Selection option must be active. To check if it is active, open the single source layout and click Advanced Settings Edit. In TOC Styles, verify that Always Show Selection is selected.)

Make sure that the filenames have underscores, not spaces.

• Remember Window Size And Position Notes the last size and position of the viewer.

• Auto Show/Hide Nav Pane Automatically hides the left pane when users switch focus from the HTML Help viewer to a program. The topic content remains visible but the left tabs are temporarily closed from view. These tabs appear as soon as the HTML Help viewer is clicked.

Note: If you select Auto Show/Hide Nav Pane, click Advanced Properties > Extended Styles, and select Top-Most window.

This option prevents the right pane from being hidden behind the open application.

• Nav Pane Width Enter the width in pixels. The width to assign depends on the number of window tabs.

• Advanced Properties Specify advanced HTML windows properties on the Destinations, Styles, and Extended

Styles tabs. Some options require coding in the application.

Advanced window Destinations properties

Default Assign default topic.

Home Define the URL to display when clicking Home.

Table Of Contents Assign an alternate contents file (.HHC).

Index Assign an alternate index file (.HHK).

Button 1 Label Assign a label to Button 1.

Custom Button 1 URL defines the destination for Button 1.

Note: Custom 1 button does not reference external CHM files if Internet Explorer 5.5 is installed.

Button 2 Label Assign a label to Button 2.

Custom Button 2 URL defines the destination for Button 2.

Advanced window Styles properties

System Menu Includes a system menu. Window style ID is WS_SYSMENU.

Minimize Box Includes a minimize box. Window style ID is WS_MINIMIZEBOX.

Maximize Box Includes a maximize box. Window style ID is WS_MAXIMIZEBOX.

Clip Siblings Specifies whether the window covers other sibling windows. Window style ID is WS_CLIPSIBLINGS.

Clip Children Specifies whether the window covers other children windows. Window style ID is

WS_CLIPCHILDREN.

Vertical Scroll Includes a vertical scroll bar. Window style ID is WS_VSCROLL.

Horizontal Scroll Includes a horizontal scroll bar. Window style ID is WS_HSCROLL.

Popup Uses pop-up menu windows. Window style ID is WS_POPUPWINDOWSTYLE.

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Minimize Minimizes application when window is open. Window style ID is WS_MINIMIZE.

Maximize Maximizes application when window is open. Window style ID is WS_MAXIMIZE.

Border Displays border around window. Window style ID is WS_BORDER.

Dlg Frame Displays window in a dialog frame. Window style ID is WS_DLGFRAME.

Visible Creates a visible window. Window style ID is WS_VISIBLE.

Thick Frame Displays window using a thick frame style. Window style ID is WS_THICKNESS.

Disabled Disables a window so that it does not accept user input. Window style ID is WS_DISABLED.

Advanced window Extended Styles properties

Tool Window Sets the window for use as a floating toolbar. Window style ID is WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW.

Client Edge Creates a 3D border with a sunken edge. Window style ID is WS_EX_CLIENTEDGE.

Static Edge Creates a 3D border for windows that does not accept input. Window style ID is WS_EX_STATICEDGE.

Transparent Makes the window transparent. Window style ID is WS_EX_TRANSPARENT.

Accept Files Lets the window accept drag-and-drop files. Window style ID is WS_EX_ACCEPTFILES.

Control Parent Lets users navigate among child windows using the Tab key. Window style ID is

WS_EX_CONTROLPARENT.

Context Help Adds a clickable question mark to the title bar that changes the cursor to a question mark pointer.

Clicking in a child window then displays a WM_HELP message. Window style ID is WS_EX_CONTEXTHELP

Right-to-Left Order Displays window text using the right-to-left reading order properties. Window style ID is

WS_EX_RTLREADING.

No Parent Notify Specifies that a child window does not send the WM_PARENTNOTIFY message to its parent window when created or destroyed. Window style ID is WS_EX_NOPARENTNOTIFY.

Right -aligned Text Specifies generic right-aligned properties. Window style ID is WS_EX_RIGHT.

Left Scroll Bar Places a vertical scroll bar left of the client area. Window style ID is WS_EX_LEFTSCROLLBAR.

Top-most Window Places the window above all non-topmost windows, even when the window is deactivated.

Applications can use the SetWindowsPos member function to change this position. Window style ID is

WS_EX_TOPMOST.

To test this feature, generate and view the CHM file. When the HTML Help viewer opens, select a window. The viewer remains the topmost window.

Adding HTML buttons

You can add extra buttons that link to intranet, websites, and HTML pages. You can add a home button and two jump buttons to any URL. These buttons appear at the top of the HTML Help viewer.

Add a home button

1 In Windows Properties, click Buttons > Home.

Click Advanced Properties.

On the Destinations tab, in Home, enter the URL.

Click OK > OK.

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Add a jump button

1 On the Windows Properties dialog box, select Button 1.

2 Click Advanced Properties.

On the Destinations tab, in the Button 1 label, enter label text for the icon displayed in the window (optional).

In Custom Button 1 URL, enter the link website address.

Click OK > OK.

Notes:

• Custom windows without a navigation pane do not support custom buttons. If you select options such as Back,

Forward, or Hide/Show, these buttons do not appear when you test Help topics.

• Website links to custom windows must include the tri-pane design (navigation pane).

• From the HTML Help viewer or window, Home buttons and URLs look like the following:

Home

Button 1

Button 2

Edit windows for JavaHelp and Oracle viewers

The JavaHelp viewer includes a customizable navigation pane and a content pane. To omit the navigation pane, clear the TOC, Index, and Search settings. If you do not create a TOC or index, clear the corresponding settings.

Click Project.

Double-click the single-source layout.

Set options for the navigation pane and in-topic navigation bar.

Options for JavaHelp viewers

Desired Result

Specify the location for browse sequences and WebSearch.

Actions

Select Top Right, Bottom Left, or Bottom Right.

Specify the appearance of browse sequences or WebSearch controls.

Select Button or Text.

Specify JavaHelp output type.

Uncompressed JavaHelp With Source Files to create HS and individual output files.

Compressed JavaHelp to create .JAR and .HS files.

Compressed JavaHelp With Source Files to create .JAR, HS, and individual output files.

Options for Oracle viewers

Desired result

Add (or remove) the Contents tab from the navigation pane.

Action

Select or clear TOC.

Add (or remove) the Index tab from the navigation pane.

Add (or remove) the Search tab from the navigation pane.

Select or clear Index.

Select or clear Search.

Enable WebSearch. (Select to provide access to WebSearch from the

Help viewer.)

Select WebSearc.h

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Desired result Action

Enable browse sequences (If you create browse sequences in the project, select this feature so functionality is available in the browser.)

Select Browse Sequences.

Specify the location for the in-topic navigation bar.

Select Top Right, Bottom Left, or Bottom Right as the location.

Specify the appearance of the in-topic navigation bar.

Select Button or Text as the style.

Assign a default window

If the project doesn’t include custom windows, the settings for New Window are used to display Help. If no windows are in the project, Help is displayed using the default settings of the browser or viewer.

1 In the Single Source Layouts pod, expand the Single Source Layouts folder.

Double-click a layout that uses WebHelp Pro or HTML Help.

In the Default Window menu, select the custom window.

Remove a window

1 In the Project Set-up pod, expand the Windows folder.

2 Right-click a window. Select Delete.

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Chapter 13: Review and collaboration

At different stages of content development and even after delivery, you need input from various stakeholders, such as other authors, SMEs, editors, and end users. RoboHelp enables effective collaboration among all these roles by providing multiple ways of gathering, tracking, and addressing feedback.

Review in Design Editor

Insert your review comments directly in a project. You can also enable the Track Changes mode and edit the content.

Display the Review toolbar

The Review toolbar includes buttons for the following tasks:

• Add a review comment

• Edit a review comment

• Enable the Track Changes mode

• Accept this change and move to the next

• Reject this change and move to the next

• Move to the previous change or review comment

• Move to the next change or review comment

To display the Review toolbar:

❖ Select View > Toolbars > Review.

Enable the Track Changes mode

To review a project in Design Editor, open the project and edit the contents in the Track Changes mode.

Important: RoboHelp does not track formatting and structure changes. For example, if you underline a word or delete a row from a table, the changes are not tracked.

❖ To enable the Track Changes mode, do any of the following:

• Select Review > Track Changes.

• In the Review toolbar, click the Track Changes icon .

Configure review settings

• To change the color of inserted text, right-click an instance of inserted text, and select Inserted Content Properties.

Select a color. Select Set Color As Default.

• To change the color of deleted text, right-click an instance of deleted text, and select Deleted Content Properties.

Select a color. Select Set Color As Default.

• To change the color of review comments, right-click a comment, and select Review Comment Properties. Select a color. Select Set Color As Default.

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• To set the name you want to display as the reviewer name, select Tools > Options > General. In the Reviewer Name box, type the reviewer name.

Note: Relaunch RoboHelp to load the modified settings.

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PDF review

Create a PDF for review

The Create PDF For Review option in the Review menu lets you create a PDF that reviewers can review with the free

Adobe Reader. The PDF stores a tagged structure of the RoboHelp project, enabling you to import comments back in the RoboHelp project.

Note: To ensure that comments are imported correctly, avoid updating the project after creating the PDF.

You can save the PDF locally or send it to the reviewers by e-mail. If you have Acrobat X Pro installed on the same computer, you can upload the PDF on Acrobat.com or share it in a network location.

Select Review > Create PDF For Review.

(Optional) To include topics based on a topic status, select the topic status from the drop-down list.

Select the topics, master pages, and snippets that you want to include in the PDF.

Note: The order of topics in the Create PDF for Review dialog box and in the PDF created is same as that in the Project

Files folder and not in a TOC. If a different order is required, arrange the topics in the Project Files folder in the required order with drag-and-drop.

RoboHelp alerts you if you select a topic that is linked to Microsoft Word or FrameMaker document and the content is outdated.

Note: An image map applied in a circle is converted as a hyperlink in the largest square inside the circle. Image maps applied in polygons are not converted. Iframes are not converted; only placeholders appear. Tables, images, and other elements that do not fit in a page are cropped. Dynamic HTML, such as drop-down text, is not included in the PDF created for review.

4 Select one of the following options:

Create A Local PDF: Creates a PDF and saves it to a location you specify. You can use the PDF for self- review or copy it to a shared location so other reviewers can add their feedback.

Attach For E-Mail Review Creates a PDF and attaches it to a new e-mail message open in your e-mail client. You can complete the message and send it to the reviewers.

Send For Shared Review Creates a PDF and uploads it to Acrobat.com or a network location for shared review.

Note: This option is enabled in RoboHelp if Acrobat 10 Pro is installed on the same computer. In Technical

Communication Suite installations, the option is enabled in RoboHelp if Acrobat 9 Pro or above is installed on the same computer.

5 Select Enabling Commenting In Adobe Reader.

Note: This option is enabled in RoboHelp if Acrobat 10 Pro is installed on the same computer. In Technical

Communication Suite installations, the option is enabled in RoboHelp if Acrobat 9 Pro or above is installed on the same computer.

6 Click OK.

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Embed SWFs in review PDF

To ensure that the PDF for review includes the SWFs inserted in the project, do the following:

1 Select Tools > Options > General.

2 Select Embed SWF In Review PDF.

Note: When you create a PDF for review without selecting this option, the PDF contains placeholders where SWFs are inserted in the project.

Add comments to SWFs

If the PDF for review contains SWFs that you can play and pause, you can add comments to individual slides. However, when RoboHelp imports the comments, it removes the slide association and places all the comments added to a SWF file above the SWF file in Design Editor. It also displays each comment as a separate entry in Review Pane.

To indicate the context of a comment, add the slide title or text to describe the slide (for example, Command menu slide: Move the pointer away from the selected menu item).

Choose Comments > Show Comment & Markup Toolbar.

Click Pause where you want to add a comment.

Select the Sticky Note commenting tool and click the slide to add the comment.

Click Play to continue the review.

Import comments from PDF

• Select Review > Import Comments From PDF.

About PDF comments imported in Design Editor

The following table shows how each type of PDF comment is imported in Design Editor:

PDF

Sticky note

Callout

Comment inserted on highlighted text

Inserted text

Deleted text

Replaced text

Editor

Review comment

Inserted text in Track Changes mode

Deleted text in Track Changes mode

Combination of deleted and inserted text

Note: If a comment or track change has been imported from a review PDF, any changes to that comment or track change is not imported on further import of comments from the same PDF.

Import of comments added to SWFs

RoboHelp imports the comments added to SWFs and places them near the inserted SWFs. You can track the comments from the Review Pane pod. The comments are not associated with slides.

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Import of comments added to placeholders, snippets, and headers and footers

For mini TOCs, breadcrumbs, snippets, and headers and footers in master pages, RoboHelp places comments above or below these elements. It does not insert the comments in the location where they were added in the PDF. Insertions and deletions are also imported as sticky notes.

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Manage comments and changes

You can review the comments and accept or reject them directly in Design Editor. You can also view the comments and changes as a list in the Review Pane pod, filter them in different ways, and accept or reject them. You can set a status for each comment in Review Pane.

Review Pane pod

Review Pane displays the comments and changes made directly in Design Editor as well as the comments imported from a reviewed PDF.

To display the Review Pane pod, do one of the following:

• Select Review > Show Review Pane.

• Select View > Pods > Review Pane.

Note: If you’re inserting comments or editing the content in the Track Changes mode, click in Review Pane to refresh the contents of Review Pane.

Review Pane displays the following information about each comment or change:

Icon Displays an icon indicating a comment or the type of change, for example, inserted text and deleted text.

Reviewer Displays the reviewer name as configured in Acrobat (for review comments) or in Tools > Options (for

tracked changes). See “ Configure review settings ” on page 347.

Modified Displays the last modified date and time for the comment or change.

Details Displays the comment or change in plain text.

Status Displays the status of the comment.

Note: RoboHelp supports three types of statuses: Accepted, Rejected, and None. When you import a PDF in which statuses are set, RoboHelp converts the Canceled and Completed statuses to None.

Type Displays Review Comment or the type of change, Inserted and Deleted.

Path Displays the topic in which the comment or change is present.

• To show or hide columns, right-click the Review Pane pod and select Show Columns. Select the columns.

• To sort the comments and changes on the type of information displayed in a column, click the header of that column.

• To access the previous or next comment in Design Editor, click the Previous icon and the Next icon in the

Review Pane toolbar.

Filter comments and changes

❖ Click the Filter Entries icon in the Review Pane toolbar, and select one of the following options:

Hide All Hides all comments and changes in Review Pane as well as in Design Editor.

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Show All Displays all comments and changes in Review Pane as well as in Design Editor.

Show By Type Enables you to select one of the three views: All Types, Review Comments, and Track Changes. All

Types displays both comments and changes in Review Pane. Review Comments displays only comments in Review

Pane. Track Changes displays only insertions and deletions made in the Track Changes mode in Review Pane.

Show By Reviewer Enables you to filter comments and changes by specific reviewers. RoboHelp creates the reviewer list from comments and changes available in the project.

Show By Status Enables you to select a status and view only comments with that status.

Show For All Topics Displays comments and changes in all the open topics or only the active topic.

Group comments and changes

❖ Right-click the Review Pane pod, and select Group By. Select one of the following options:

• Color

• Reviewer

• Modified

• Status

• Type

• Topic

• Path

Select None to remove grouping.

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Reply or set a status to a comment

• To reply to a comment, right-click the comment and select Reply To Review Comment.

Note: RoboHelp displays the replies as child comments in Review Pane.

• To set a status, select the comment, and click the Set Status icon in the Review Pane toolbar. Select Accepted,

Rejected, or None.

Accept or reject changes

You can review the changes made by reviewers in Review Pane, and accept or reject a change. In both cases, RoboHelp updates the content as well as Review Pane. For example, if you accept a change of type Deleted Text, the text marked for deletion is deleted from the content and the entry in Review Pane is deleted.

To accept changes, do one of the following:

• (All changes) Select Review > Accept > Accept All.

To accept all changes only in a selected topic, select Accept All From <topic_name>.

• Select a change of type Inserted Text or Deleted Text in the topic. Select Review > Accept > Accept And Move To

Next, or click the Accept And Move To Next icon in the Review Pane toolbar.

• Select a change of type Inserted Text or Deleted Text from Review Pane, and click the Accept And Move To Next

in the Review Pane toolbar.

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To reject changes:

• (All changes) Select Review > Reject > Reject All.

Note: To reject all changes in a selected topic, select Reject All From <topic_name>.

• Select a change of type Inserted Text or Deleted Text in the topic. Select Review > Reject > Reject And Move To

Next, or click the Reject And Move To Next icon in the Review Pane toolbar.

• Select a change of type Inserted Text or Deleted Text from Review Pane, and click the Reject And Move To Next icon in the Review Pane toolbar.

Delete comments

Do one of the following:

• Select the comment in the topic. Select Review > Delete Review Comment.

• Select the comment in Review Pane, and click the Delete Review Comment icon in the Review Pane toolbar.

Note: If you delete a comment, RoboHelp deletes the comment from Review Pane as well as from the content. If the comment has replies, the replies (child comments) are also deleted from Review Pane.

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Review and collaboration in AIR Help

Rating, commenting, and moderation capabilities in AIR Help (Adobe AIR Application output) let you implement review and collaboration in flexible ways. Depending on your requirement, you can choose between a trust-based internal setup and a server-driven, secure external setup. Similarly, you can enable or disable moderation, allow or disallow anonymous comments, and choose to work online or offline (with the ability to publish comments saved in offline mode).

Topic rating

If you are delivering Help as an Adobe AIR application, you can enable topic rating to gather user feedback. Users can rate any topic on a scale of 0-5 stars. The AIR Help application saves the topic rating for each user in a shared network drive location (same as the location for syncing comments) or on a RoboHelp server and loads the ratings at the time of viewing a topic.

When a user opens a topic, the user sees the average rating for that topic. Users need to hover the mouse over the rating widget to see their own rating. If a RoboHelp server is set to save topic ratings, users are authenticated before providing rating. In offline scenarios, topic rating is saved in the local user database and a status is shown in the AIR Help application status bar. When the user goes online the next time and is authenticated by the server, the unsynced items are automatically synced.

To enable topic rating, see “ Configure collaboration ” on page 289.

Commenting

Store comments in a shared network folder

If you want to provide a trust-based collaboration framework for internal users, specify a shared network location to store comments. Users can read and add comments if they have read/write access to that network location. Comments from each user are stored in a separate XML file at the location.

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For information about how to specify a shared network location, see “ Configure collaboration ” on page 289.

Store comments on a RoboHelp server

If you want to allow commenting by users outside a corporate network, store comments on a RoboHelp server. The server authenticates users before allowing them to read or add comments.

Note: RoboHelp Server provides user authentication through both database and LDAP.

Key steps to implement and use collaboration using a RoboHelp server

1 (Author) In RoboHelp HTML, generate AIR Help with the following layout settings:

• Enable Topic Rating

• Enable Commenting

• Enable Comment Moderation

• In Set Location For Comments And Topic Ratings, select RoboHelp Server and specify the server URL.

For more detailed steps, see “ Configure collaboration ” on page 289.

2 (Administrator) In RoboHelp Server Web Administrator, sign in as an administrator and click Settings >

Moderation. Specify the following settings:

• Select Allow Post Anonymous if you want to let users comment anonymously on Help content.

Note: RoboHelp Server authenticates all users. When anonymous posting is enabled, users have the option to post a comment without their usernames being displayed.

• Select Mark New Comments As Pending if you want to display user comments only after a moderator approves them.

For more detailed steps, see Using RoboHelp Server 9 .

(User) Launch the AIR Help application. Click Show/Hide Comments Pod and add comments. See “ Add comments ” on page 354 and “ Moderate comments ” on page 354.

Configure preferences for comments

Users can configure the following preferences for comments in AIR Help (output):

Always Use Log-In Name For Reviewer Name If comments are stored in a shared network folder, users can specify the name they want to display with their comments. By default, RoboHelp displays the user name as defined in the user area.

Note: If comments are stored on a RoboHelp server, RoboHelp uses the login name.

Use Default Location To Sync Comments Users can select this option to specify a new location for storing comments.

The default location is the location specified at the time of generating AIR Help.

Receive Comments From Shared Folder Users can select this option to receive all comments automatically when the

Comments pod is displayed after launching AIR Help.

Show Moderation Pod Users can select this option to enable the moderation mode if they have moderator privileges.

In trust-based commenting (shared network location), moderators only need access to the password specified by the author at the time of generating AIR Help. In server-based commenting, moderators need admin privileges.

Note: Users can enable the moderation mode only if the author has enabled moderation at the time of generating AIR Help.

Delete All Comments Select to delete all comments from your local database. When you click Send And Receive after selecting this option, all your comments are deleted from the shared location or the RoboHelp server.

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Add comments

Users can add comments if commenting is enabled when generating the Adobe AIR output. Comments are stored locally until you click Send To Server or Send and Receive option.

Click Show/Hide Comments Pod to display the Comments pod.

To add a comment, click Show/Hide Add Comment. Enter the comment and click Save.

Click Send And Receive to publish saved comments.

Comment moderation

Regardless of whether you store comments in a shared network location or on a RoboHelp server, RoboHelp supports comment moderation. If moderation is enabled, the status of an unmoderated comment is Pending or Accepted as set in the SSL. A rejected comment can be seen only by the user who added the comment.

Enabling moderation

Authentication

Status of new comments

Shared location

Disabled by default

RoboHelp server

Enabled by default

Admins can modify the settings using the Admin UI on

RoboHelp Server

Not required to read or add comments Required to read or add comments if anonymous commenting is not allowed

Required to moderate comments

Moderator password is provided by authors and can’t be changed

Admin privileges required to moderate comments

The Mark New Comments As Pending option set on the server determines the status of new comments.

Moderators can modify the settings.xml

file in the location where comments are centrally located.

If the moderation state attribute is set to ‘on’, new comments remain in the Pending state until they are moderated. If it is set to ‘off’, all new comments are marked Accepted by default and are not queued for moderation. A moderator can still reject or delete the comments later.

Moderate comments

In the AIR Help output, do the following:

1 Click Preferences.

Click Comment.

Specify the password.

Select Show Moderation Pod. Click OK.

Use the following options to filter comments:

View All list Select Pending, Rejected, or Accepted to filter comments by status.

Comments By list Select an author name to filter comments by an author.

Comments For Current Topic Click to view comments on the current topic only.

Comments For All Topics Click to view comments on all topics.

Click Accept, Reject, or Delete to moderate a comment.

Click Send And Receive to synchronize the comments with the shared location or the server.

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Chapter 14: Advanced program features

ActiveX controls

About ActiveX controls

ActiveX controls are Microsoft Windows-based applications that you can plug into projects. They are small, precompiled, modular, and reusable. Web developers use ActiveX controls to extend the functionality of their HTML pages. You can use ActiveX controls to extend the functionality of topics.

ActiveX controls work exclusively in browsers that support ActiveX technology. Microsoft Internet Explorer and the

HTML Help viewer support these controls. Netscape Navigator does not support ActiveX controls.

RoboHelp includes several ActiveX controls for HTML Help functionality, including link controls and HTML Help controls. You can add other ActiveX controls. ActiveX controls can perform credit card transactions, spreadsheet calculations and provide database communications.

Some ActiveX controls are included with projects. For example, the HHCTRL.OCX provided by Microsoft is a required ActiveX control. It enables the table of contents, index, and full-text search.

Note: Copy ActiveX controls to and register them on user systems. ActiveX controls are not included in compiled CHM files. For WebHelp and WebHelp Pro projects, Internet Explorer 4.0 or later supports ActiveX controls.

Add design-time controls

Note: This information applies to Microsoft HTML Help projects.

1 Insert the cursor in the topic where you want to place the control.

Select Insert > HTML > Advanced > Design-Time Control.

From the list of controls, select a control to insert into the project.

Click OK.

Types of HTML Help ActiveX controls

Calendar Control When users open a topic with a calendar control, a calendar appears in the text. Users can select months and years to view and print.

Custom Buttons Users can download the latest information from a database or the latest version of the application with custom buttons.

Banner When users open a topic that contains a banner, they are directed to the content. The banner lets you design and test text, images, and icons to display at designated intervals in a topic.

Chart Lets users draw charts that they can view and print. They can change the chart properties by selecting options and check boxes. They can also enter data to display in the chart or graph.

Calculations Lets users enter data, for example, in an online test. Users can obtain test results and view results (the correct answers to each question).

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You can insert any ActiveX control registered on the system into topics in projects. To add other ActiveX controls, install and register the ActiveX control on the system before using it.

Add ActiveX controls

For the controls to work, distribute and register Custom ActiveX.ocx files on the user systems. (The RoboHelp license allows you to distribute these controls.) By default, the controls are at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp

[version] \Redist.

1 Insert the cursor in the topic where you want to place the control.

Select Insert > HTML > Advanced > ActiveX Control.

Select the ActiveX control to add and click OK.

Double-click the ActiveX control to edit its appearance and properties. HTML Help doesn't support all ActiveX controls, and some controls don't have properties dialog boxes.

Customize ActiveX control properties

1 Double-click the ActiveX control in the topic to open the Properties dialog box, and view ActiveX control properties including the following:

Code Source Provides an address (URL) for the latest copy of the ActiveX control (if it is not on the local system).

Data Source Provides an address (URL) that specifies where the ActiveX control searches to find any of its data arguments.

ID Displays the identification of the ActiveX control (if it includes an ID).

2 Click the ActiveX Control tab, and click Add to specify the following properties. Then click OK.

• In Name, select the property type to add from the list of customizable properties for the ActiveX control.

• In Value, enter a value for the selected property.

3 Click the Margins tab, and specify the margins.

4 Click the Borders tab. Under Settings, select Box or Custom.

The Custom setting lets you add a border of a different size and color to each side of the ActiveX control. Specify line style and border color and thickness, and preview the selections.

5 In the Size tab, specify the following Size properties:

• Enter Preferred Width and Height in pixels (px) (default) or percentages (%).

• Click Maintain Aspect Ratio to keep the height and width proportional.

Remove ActiveX control properties

1 In the Design Editor, double-click the ActiveX control to open the Properties dialog box.

Select the name or value of the property to delete.

Click the Delete button.

Customize the calendar control

1 Select Insert > HTML > Advanced > ActiveX Control.

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2 Select Calendar Control [version] . The control appears in the Design editor, as shown in the following example:

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Double-click it and change the available settings in the ActiveX Control tab.

To change the font color for weekday headings, click Add in the ActiveX Control tab.

Select Dayfontcolor, enter a color value, and click OK.

To view the calendar, click the View button .

Applets

1 Select Insert > HTML > Advanced > Applet.

2 Add the following information:

Code The class files to use.

Code Base Path to the selected class files. If the applet is in the project folder, leave this field blank.

Name Name for the class files. Assign applet names for several applets to communicate with each other.

Alt Text alternate text used if the browser cannot display the applet.

Parameters Name and value of parameters defining variable elements of an applet, such as background color or font.

Add Opens a dialog box to enter the name and value of applet parameters. Examples of name and value are FontType and FontType=Arial respectively.

Edit Opens a dialog box to edit parameters.

Delete Removes selected parameters.

Size Sets object width and height.

Margins Sets object margins.

Borders Sets a border around the object.

Notes:

• To use an applet in a topic, move the applet to the project folder before adding it.

• Most applets are class files. Work with the developer to obtain class files for the applet.

• To add class files to version control, manually add them to the Baggage Files folder.

• Applets work only in WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, and FlashHelp Pro projects.

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Forms

Workflow to create forms

Note: Forms created in the Design Editor must have a corresponding Common Gateway Interface (CGI) script on the server.

Add the form and set form properties.

Add specific form elements.

Link to a script that acts on the data that the user enters. This step requires a CGI script written in a scripting or programming language.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Add a form to a topic

1 Select a location where you want to insert a form.

2 Select Insert > HTML > Form > Form. A rectangular box is inserted to hold the form elements.

Set form properties

1 Right-click inside a form and select Form Properties.

2 Set the following options in the Form tab, and then set Size in pixels and Margin, Border, and Shading options.

Click OK.

Action In the Form Action box, enter the address to use to carry out the action of the form.

Method From the Method list, select the method to use for sending form data to the server.

• Post Sends the data through an HTTP post transaction

• Get Appends the arguments to the action URL, and opens it as if it is an anchor.

Name In the Name box, enter the form name.

If you want to include a background image or pattern, click the Browse button to locate the image to use.

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Form elements

Form elements are available from the Design Editor.

Text Field Lets users type text in a form. You can enter default text in the field to guide users, or you can leave the field empty.

Multi-Line Text Field Lets users enter over one line of text in a form field.

Hidden Field Lets users add names and values for hidden fields.

Password Field Lets users apply password protection. When users type in the box, the viewer displays the password as a series of asterisks (*) for confidentiality.

Radio Button Lets users select only one alternative from a group. Options are presented in a list, one of which is selected by default. Clicking a new button clears the previously selected item.

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Check Box Enables users to select any combination of alternatives. Check boxes can represent a group of nonexclusive choices.

Button Lets users insert a plain button on the form, designate the caption, and perform customized actions defined by the author.

Submit Button Lets users submit a completed form to a server.

Image Button Lets users insert a custom image on top of a button that performs an action when clicked.

Reset Button Lets users reset the form to its initial state.

Drop-Down Menu Lets users insert a drop-down menu in the form. Users can select one or more items, depending on how you configure the drop-down menu.

Add and edit text fields

1 Select a location in the form to insert a text field or multi-line text field, and select Insert > HTML > Form > Text

Field. You can also select Insert > HTML > Form > Multi-Line Text Field.

2 For a text field, double-click the element to open the Text Field dialog box, specify the following properties, and click OK.

Control Type Indicates the type of field.

Control Identifier Indicates the name to associate with the field. Not displayed on the form. The CGI program uses it to identify the form element. To include a label next to the text field, type the text in the Design Editor.

Initial Text Displays text when the form opens. (If you select Password under Control Type, all characters in this field appear as asterisks.)

Preferred Width Sets the width of the field.

Length Limit Sets the maximum number of characters that users can enter.

3 For multi-line text fields, double-click the element to open the Multi-Line Text Field dialog box, specify the following properties, and click OK.

Control Identifier Name for the field. Not displayed on the form, but used to identify the form element. To include a label next to the text field, enter text in the Design Editor.

Rows Number of rows in the field.

Columns Number of columns in the field.

Initial Text Text that appears when the form opens.

Add special fields

1 Place the cursor where you want to insert the field.

Select Insert > Fields and Variables.

Select the type of field from the Value list:

Date Day, month, year or combinations of the day, month, and year

Time Time of day (including AM or PM, if desired)

Title Topic title or other text

File Filename format

Variable Name and value

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Select a format for the field from the Format list.

(Optional) Click New. A line with the default formatting is added at the end of the Format list. Type a name for the new format in the Current Format box. The Example column displays how the field appears in the topic.

6 Click OK. The field is added to the topic.

Select Auto-Update This Field to update the field upon opening the topic .

To view topic fields, from the View menu, select Show, and choose Fields.

Add buttons to forms

1 Select a location to insert the button, select Insert > HTML > Form > Button, and double-click the placeholder button that appears.

2 In Control Type, select the type of button:

Submit Button (Caption) Appears as a standard button and sends the form to the CGI script for processing.

Submit Button (Image) Appears as a custom image and sends the form to the CGI script for processing.

Reset Clears the form of any entries made by the user.

Plain Button Lets you customize the action the button performs.

3 In the Control Identifier box, type the button name.

In the Button Caption box, type the button caption.

If you select Submit Button (Image), specify a screen tip in the Screen Tip box.

If you select Submit Button (Image), specify a button in Button Image Path.

Click OK.

Add image buttons

1 Place the cursor inside the form to contain the button.

2 Select Insert > HTML > Form > Image Button, and click OK.

Enter an image name, select an image from the Images In Project Folder, or choose an image in the Gallery tab.

To specify screen tip, button caption, and size, double-click the image and select or enter the desired values.

Add check boxes

1 Select a location in the form to insert a check box.

Select Insert > HTML > Form > Check Box.

Double-click the check box, and specify the check box options:

Control Type Select Check Box.

Control Identifier Type the name to associate with the check box.

Control Value Enter the value for the control.

Select This Control Is Initially Selected Makes the option a default selection when the topic is opened.

4 Click OK.

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Add radio buttons

1 Select a location in the form to insert a radio button.

2 Select Insert > HTML > Form > Radio Button.

3 Double-click the radio button and specify the properties:

Control Type Select Radio Button.

Control Identifier Type the name to associate with the radio button.

Control Value Enter the value for the option.

Select This Control Is Initially Selected Makes the option a default selection when the topic is opened.

4 Click OK.

Add drop-down menus

1 Select a location in the form for the menu.

2 Select Insert > HTML > Form > Drop-down Menu.

Double-click the drop-down menu.

Set options for the Drop-down Menu tab:

Control Identifier Type a name for the menu. This name is not displayed. It is used to sort data from the form. Use the Design Editor to add a label next to the menu.

Rows Set how options display. For example, set to 1 to show one item at a time.

Allow Multiple Selections Lets users select multiple options.

5 Set options on the Options tab:

New Lets you specify a new label. Enter a name in the Label field, and a value in the Value field.

Selected Marks the option as a default.

6 Click OK.

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Frames

About frames and framesets

Design framesets to customize navigation:

Frames Divide the viewer into separate regions for separate topics.

Framesets Allow some topics to change while topics in another frame remain stationary.

The frameset tells the viewer how to display the frames and which topics to display inside each frame. Topics that are displayed in the frames are the frame source topics. You can use framesets as regular HTML topics.

You can have multiple frames in a frameset. Because screen space determines how many frames are practical, too many frames give the viewer a cluttered look. Sometimes only parts of words appear inside each frame. Numerous frames cause increased load times.

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Notes:

• Printing is restricted to one frame at a time, although you can print the entire project from the viewer or browser.

• Target hypertext links to specific frames.

• Hypertext-linked external topics or URLs sometimes display incorrectly.

• Framesets are saved in the HTML Files (Topics) folder in the Project Manager. A square icon indicates frameset files.

More Help topics

“ Create text links ” on page 191

Create framesets

1 Select View > Pods > Project Manager.

Right-click Project Files and select New > Frameset, and click a template.

Enter a title. The title becomes the filename. Click Next.

4 Define the properties for each frame in the frameset:

• In Name, enter a name.

• From the All Folders pop-up menu, select the file or URL to attach to the frame. The selection appears in the

Initial File field.

• Design the frame, specifying values for the height, width, frame margins, and border color. Specify the following options, and then click Finish:

No Resize Prevents users from resizing the frame.

Scrolling Controls the display of scroll bars inside the frame.

• Auto Displays a scroll bar if the entire topic content can be viewed only by scrolling.

• Yes Always displays scroll bars.

• No Does not display scroll bars.

New Topic Creates a topic and assigns it to a frame.

Change frames and framesets

1 Select View > Pods > Project Manager.

2 In the HTML Files (Topics) folder, double-click the frameset file.

Note: If the folder isn’t visible, click the Toggle Project Manager View button .

3 Make changes.

Note: You cannot select a template for a defined frameset. To use a different template, create a frameset.

Change the size of a frame

Note: This procedure does not change the default settings.

1 Drag the cursor to the gray line between the two frames (frame divider).

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2 After the cursor has changed, drag the frame divider left or right to make one frame larger and the other frame smaller.

Remove framesets

If you accidentally delete a frameset, you can import it back into the project if it has not been removed from the hard disk.

Select View > Pods > Project Manager.

Expand the HTML Files (Topics) folder.

Select the frameset file to remove.

Click the Delete button .

Deleting a frameset in the TOC, or one that is referenced by a hypertext link, moves the frameset to the Broken Links folder. To add it back into the project, right-click and select Restore.

Link framesets to books or pages

1 Select View > Pods > Project Manager.

Double-click the Table Of Contents folder.

Right-click a table of contents in the folder, and click the New TOC Book toolbar.

Enter a title to appear in the TOC, and select Book With Link.

or New TOC Page tool in the TOC

Select a frameset from Existing Topics, and click OK.

Link to topics in frames

1 Ensure that the frameset is open in the browser or viewer.

2 Open a topic and select the text to link.

Right-click and select the Insert Hyperlink button .

In Link To, click the triangle pop-up menu to select a type of destination.

Or, select the topic or URL from Select Destination (File Or URL).

5 In the Display In Frame pop-up menu, select the destination. This option defines the frame for displaying content.

Page Default (None) Opens the topic in the same frame as the Help file window.

New window Opens the topic in a new browser window.

Same Frame Opens the topic in the same frame as the current topic.

Parent Frame Opens the topic in the link parent frame and hides the original topic.

Whole Page Opens the topic in the Help file window, replacing the original topic or frameset.

6 Click OK.

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HTML Help controls

Reuse HTML Help controls

HTML Help controls are portable. You can copy the controls into topics and change them to suit their locations.

In the Design Editor, open the topic that contains the control to reuse.

Right-click the control and select Copy.

Open the topic that needs the control.

Right-click the place for the control and select Paste.

To change the control, double-click it.

Add WinHelp topic controls

Note: You cannot call topics with the @ character in the title from a Related Topics control in compiled HTML Help files.

1 In the Design Editor, click a location for the control.

Select Insert > HTML Help Controls > WinHelp Topic.

Set the button options.

Text Inserts a standard gray button with black text. Edit the text for the button in the text field.

Image Inserts a BMP or an ICO file. Click the folder button to browse to the file. Select the file and copy it into the project.

Hidden Inserts a control that is not visible in the topic. This option does not insert the control as an object in the topic.

4 Click Next. Select the WinHelp file and topic.

Help Specifies the Help file. Click Yes to copy the HLP file into the project folder. If the WinHelp system includes a table of contents file, click Yes to copy it into the project folder.

Display As Popup Displays the WinHelp topic in a pop-up menu.

Window Specifies the type of window.

Specify Topic Defines topic by topic title, topic ID, or map number.

Click Next to set the font options for the button label.

Click Finish. Compile the Help system to test.

Distribute the HTML Help system with the HLP and CNT files.

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More Help topics

“ Add design-time controls ” on page 355

Add index controls

Note: Applies to Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

The tri-pane design includes an Index tab, where users can access keywords.

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If the project does not support a tri-pane design, you can add an index control to a topic to make the index file available. The index appears when users open the topic with the index control.

If the topic is in a subfolder, copy the index file (.HHK) to the subfolder before you add the control.

In the Design Editor, click the place in the topic to add the index.

Select Insert > HTML Help Controls > Index.

To test the index control, compile the project. The index control displays the same index as in the final output.

You can use other index files (HHK) in the project. Copy the HHK file and associated files (topics, images, multimedia) to select the HHK file with the index control.

Add table of contents controls

Note: Applies to Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

When users open a topic, the TOC appears.

If a topic is in a subfolder, copy the contents of the file into the subfolder before adding the control.

1 In the Design Editor, click the place in the topic to add the TOC.

Select Insert > HTML Help Controls > Table Of Contents.

To test the control, first generate the project. The Table Of Contents control displays the same table of contents as in the final output.

You can link other contents files in the project. Copy the HHC file into the project to select the HHC file with the TOC control.

Add splash screens

Note: Applies to Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

You also can include splash screens when topics open. You can use Windows bitmaps (BMP) and GIF images.

1 In the Design Editor, open the topic to display the splash screen when opened.

Select Insert > HTML Help Controls > Splash Screen.

From Image File For Splash, click Browse and navigate to the image to use in the project.

Highlight the image file and click Open.

In Duration Of Splash Display (Seconds), set the amount of time that the image remains on the screen.

Click Finish. To test the splash screen, preview the topic.

You see a Splash object that identifies its location in the file. This object is not displayed in the viewer. When the topic is opened, only the image is displayed.

Add shortcuts

Note: Applies to Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

In the Design Editor, click the place in the topic to add the shortcut control.

Select Insert > HTML Help Controls > Shortcut.

Set the button options.

Text Inserts a gray button that performs the action.

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Image Inserts a custom image (BMP or ICO) that performs the action.

Hidden Inserts a control that is not visible in the topic.

4 Click Next to set up shortcut functionality.

Program To Run Specifies the program to run from the control. Navigate to the drive/folder where the EXE file is located and double-click it.

Program Parameters Defines command-line arguments to apply when the program runs, if needed.

Window Class Of Program Window Specifies the window class.

Topic To Display Specifies a topic to display if the program cannot be located.

5 Click Next to set the font options for the button label.

6 Click Finish.

Add HHCTRL version controls

An HHCTRL version control shows the version number of the Microsoft HTML Help on a user system.

1 In the Design Editor, click the place in the topic to add the control.

Select Insert > HTML Help Controls > HHCTRL Version.

Select button options.

Text Inserts a gray button with black text that performs the action. Use the existing label or edit the text.

Image Inserts a custom image (BMP or ICO) as the button.

Hidden Inserts a control that is not visible in the topic. See the developer for a script that closes the window. You can also add scripts to topics.

Click Next to set the font options for the button label.

Click Finish.

Preview the topic to test the HHCTRL version control.

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Add close window controls

1 In the Design Editor, click where you want to add the close window control in the topic.

Select Insert > HTML Help Controls > Close Window.

Set up the button options for the control.

Text Inserts a gray button that performs the action when selected. Edit the text to appear on the button.

Image Inserts an image that performs the action when selected.

Hidden Inserts a control that is not visible in the topic. See the developer for a script that closes the window. You can add scripts to topics.

4 If you are adding a standard button, click Next and set up the font options for the button label. You can assign a different font, style, and size.

5 Click Finish.

To test the close window control, compile the Microsoft HTML Help project.

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Change HTML Help controls

Note: Applies to Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

1 In the Design Editor, open the topic with the control.

2 Double-click the control.

Right-click a control and select Design-Time Control Properties to change properties.

Remove HTML Help controls

1 In the Design Editor, open the topic that contains the control to remove.

2 Select the control.

3 Click Delete.

Click Undo to restore a control that you removed by mistake.

Information types (for HTML Help)

Information types are designed for HTML Help (CHM Help) only.

About information types (HTML Help)

Information types control which books and pages a user can access from the Contents tab in the HTML Help viewer.

They are an optional feature that you can use in Microsoft HTML Help projects only.

You first define categories and add information types to them. Then assign topics (pages or books) to the information types. From the Contents tab in the HTML Help viewer, users can customize books and pages that appear in the table of contents. If you do not assign an information type to a topic, the topic appears in the HTML Help viewer regardless of user customization.

A category is a way to group information types, such as job description or skill level. You can create up to 10 categories and 32 information types.

Information types fall into two categories:

Inclusive All information types from a category are available to users.

Exclusive Restricts users so they can select only one information type from a category. For example, you can assign

Exclusive classifications by skill level, so that users can access only the Help topics that pertain to their skill level.

With the current version of Microsoft HTML Help, it is not possible to filter Index and Search tabs to support information types. Users cannot access a topic from the HTML Help index that is not in the information types that they select.

For a detailed explanation of information types, see Strategies for Using Information Types in HTML Help by Rob

Houser.

Define categories and information types (HTML Help)

1 Select Edit > Information Types.

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In the Category field, enter a name.

Classify the category:

Inclusive Users can select any combination of information types in a category.

Exclusive Users can only select one information type in a category.

Hidden Users do not see these topics in the TOC. They cannot customize information types to filter them. If you are assigning topics to information types for context-sensitive Help, select this option.

Click Add Category. Repeat steps 2 through 4 to add more categories.

Select a category to add information types.

In Information Type, enter an information type.

Click Add Info Type. Repeat steps 6 and 7 to add more information types in the same category.

Click OK.

Assign information types (HTML Help)

After creating information types, assign them to books or pages in a TOC.

Note: Make sure that Microsoft HTML Help is set as the primary layout.

In the Project Manager pod, double-click a table of contents in the Table Of Contents folder.

In the TOC pod, right-click the book or page, and select Properties.

Click the Advanced tab.

Select Use Information Types.

Click Add and select a topic to associate with the selected book or page.

Select an entry in Information Types and click Types.

Select an information type.

Access information types from the HTML Help viewer

When users open Help systems, the system prompts them to select information types. All topics not assigned to information types are available from the index.

1 Click the Contents tab.

Right-click inside Contents and select Customize.

Select Custom.

Click Next. The list that appears depends on the Exclusive or Inclusive classification of the information types.

Select any combination of information types, and click Next.

Click Finish. The Contents tab is updated to display only pages that correspond to the information types selected.

If the Help system displays in the Internet Explorer browser, you can use information types as long as the first topic includes the TOC ActiveX control.

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Edit information types (HTML Help)

Change categories for information types (HTML Help)

1 Select Edit > Information Types.

From the list of categories, select one.

Click in the Category box and edit the text.

To change its classification from Inclusive to Exclusive or Hidden, click the option. Then click the Change button.

Remove categories from information types (HTML Help)

When you remove a category, you also remove its associated information types.

Select Edit > Information Types.

From the list of categories, select one to remove.

Click Delete Category. The category along with all its information types are deleted.

Remove information types (HTML Help)

Remove information types from books and pages (HTML Help)

1 In the Project Manager pod, double-click a table of contents in the Table Of Contents folder.

2 In the TOC pod, right-click the book or page, and select Properties.

Click the Advanced tab.

From Information Types, choose the topic folder.

Click Remove to remove assignments.

Remove information types from categories (HTML Help)

1 Select Edit > Information Types.

From the list of categories, select the one that includes the information type to remove.

Select the information type.

Click Delete Info Type.

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Scripts

About scripts

Scripts are coded instructions that tell the HTML Help viewer or browser how to react to events. Scripts add power and more functionality to HTML Help systems, intranets, and websites.

Two common supported scripting languages are VBScript and JavaScript. The scripting used is the same kind used by web pages. Scripts are uncompiled. You can view them in the RoboHelp HTML Editor. Because they are uncompiled, they do not require a dynamic-link library (DLL).

Because HTML Help does not support macros, use scripts to provide the same functionality that macros provide for

WinHelp systems. Application developers can provide scripts for you to plug right into the topics.

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Note: Add support files used in scripts (such as image files) to the Baggage Files folder to include in the project.

Add a script to an HTML topic

1 In the Design Editor, click the place in the topic to add the script.

Select Insert > HTML > Advanced > Script.

In the Source tab, enter the scripting code.

• If you first copy the script to the Clipboard, you can click inside the Source tab and paste the data into the box.

You can also type the script directly into the box.

• Enclose the script within comment tags  for compatibility with all browsers.

Select the Tag tab, select a Name or Value tag to edit, and select Edit Name or Edit Value.

Change the tag, as needed, and click OK. The value can be VBScript or JavaScript.

The icon indicates where the script is inserted in the topic. To edit the script, double-click the icon.

6 Test the HTML file after you generate output.

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About ExtendScript Toolkit support

Create your own scripts to automate repetitive tasks and time-consuming workflows. For example, you can write a script that counts the images used in a RoboHelp project.

RoboHelp provides a set of sample scripts that you can use or customize. You can access these sample scripts from

Tool > Scripts.

EclipseHelp Generator

Use this script to generate EclipseHelp output. For a step-by-step procedure, see “ Generate

EclipseHelp ” on page 305.

ePub Generator

Use this script to generate ePub output. For a step-by-step procedure, see “ Generate output in the ePub format ” on page 305.

Image Extension Updater Use this script to update the file extension of image paths referred across topics in a project.

By default, the script converts file extension .bmp to .png in each topic. You can update the script to convert different extensions.

Note: The script updates the name of the image file referred in the topic; it does not create any image. The images with the new extension should be present in the location where the original images reside.

Link Converter Use this script to convert an anchor link href target across all the files in a RoboHelp project. For example, define a link to convert www.adobe.com to www.adobe.com/support/ across all the Help files in a project.

See the script file for more information.

Master Page Import Use this script to import master pages.

UDV Converter With UI Use this script to convert a keyword into a user-defined variable and change its value across all files in a project. Enter a keyword, a user-defined variable name, and its value.

UDV Converter Use this script to convert a keyword into a user-defined variable and change its value across all the files in a project. See the script for more details.

Word Count Generator Use this script to get a word count for an opened RoboHelp project. It provides a word count by topic and by project. To run the Word Count script, right-click the script and select Run. The word count summary appears in the Output View pod.

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Project Template Generator Use this script to save a RoboHelp project as a template for creating similar RoboHelp projects.

Reference Page Image Updater Use this script to insert images of reference pages in topics generated through

FrameMaker document import. For more details, see the DESCRIPTION section in the script file header.

Style-based Index Generator Use this script to create style-based index entries for keywords present in the topics of a project. The styles need to be specified in the script. The script searches all the keywords with the mentioned styles in each topic and creates index entries for them. By default, the script creates entries for h1 (Heading 1) and "h2"

(Heading 2) styles. The style array in the script should be updated with the desired style names.

Creating scripts

You can write scripts and debug them using the Script Explorer of the ExtendScript Toolkit.

John Daigle provides a step-by-step introduction in Automating tasks with built-in scripting on the Adobe RoboHelp video tutorials page .

For information about the methods covered in the Data Object Model, see Adobe RoboHelp Scripting Guide .

Manage script folders

Create a script folder Create a folder for storing specific scripts. For example, you can store scripts that record data in one folder and scripts that display output in another folder.

Note: The sample scripts are stored in the \RoboHTML\presets\scripts folder of your RoboHelp 9 installation.

Drag folders You can drag folders into and out of the Script Explorer.

Import and export You can export and import folders in different projects and locations. To import or export a folder, it must contain at least one script file.

Manage script files

Create a script file Create a script file and specify a name.

Edit Right-click a script in the Script Explorer or Windows Explorer to edit it using ExtendScript Toolkit. Double-click a script file to edit it using a third-party editor.

To add a third-party editor, go to Tools > Options, click the Associations tab, and add the .jsx filename extension for the third-party editor.

Import and export Export a script file to or import it from a computer or a network.

Drag script files Drag a script file into different folders on a computer or a network.

Run scripts

Using the command line You can run scripts by entering a command in the following format:

Robohtml.exe -x [scriptfilenames]

You can specify multiple script filenames, separated by a space, to run one script after another. If the filename path contains a space, enclose the filename path in single or double quotation marks.

Using the Tools menu You can use the RoboHelp scripting samples available at Tools > Scripts or create new scripts to run them; see the ExtendScript Toolkit documentation.

Using Windows Explorer Double-click a script to open it in the ExtendScript Toolkit and run it.

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Using ExtendScript Toolkit Start RoboHelp directly from the ExtendScript Toolkit and run your scripts. To start

RoboHelp, select Adobe RoboHelp [version] from the ExtendScript Toolkit pop-up menu. Click the Click To Connect

To Target Application to run RoboHelp. The icon is green to indicate that RoboHelp HTML is running.

Note: If you don’t select Adobe RoboHelp in the ExtendScript Toolkit, and you try running a script, an error occurs.

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Twisties

Use twisties to enhance glossary terms, drop-down text, and expanding text with images for open and close. Users will see different images when they open or close glossary, drop-down, or expanding text.

Add or change images in a hotspot

1 Select Drop-down hotspot style in the Styles dialog box.

Expand Character styles to view the Drop-down hotspot style.

Click the Select Twisties Images button .

Select an image to display closing drop-down text and one image to open a drop-down hotspot.

Select an option to place the images either at the Start Of Text or End Of Text. Similarly, you can change images for expanding text.

Add or change images of glossary terms

1 Select a glossary term style in the Styles dialog box.

2 Click the Select Twisties Images button .

3 Select an image to display closing drop-down text and another image to open a drop-down hotspot. Select different images to differentiate between opening and closing a hotspot.

4 Select an option to place the images either at the Start Of Text or End Of Text. Similarly, you can change images for expanding text.

Removing Twisties images

❖ To remove images from glossary terms or drop-down hotspots, click the Clear button in the Select Twisties Images dialog box.

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Chapter 15: Default keyboard shortcuts

Adobe RoboHelp HTML provides shortcuts to help you quickly work in documents without using the mouse. Use these shortcuts in Design Editor. Additional keyboard shortcuts appear next to the command names in menus.

Note: To use certain shortcuts, you must select text first. Those cases are marked with an asterisk (*).

Keyboard shortcut Task

Basic operations

Open project

Save All

Undo

Redo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Close All

Select all

Find

Replace

Go to bookmark

Print from active pane

Help

Spell check active pane

Thesaurus

Create a topic

Duplicate a topic

Edit item

Close a topic

Rename

Paragraph markers

Preview topic

Insert hypertext link*

Insert image

Insert text-only pop-up window*

SHIFT+F7

Ctrl+T

Ctrl+D

Ctrl+E

Ctrl+F4

CTRL+SHIFT+8

CTRL+W

CTRL+K*

CTRL+G

CTRL+ALT+P

CTRL+O (letter O)

CTRL+S

CTRL+Z

CTRL+Y

CTRL+X

CTRL+C

CTRL+V

Delete button

Ctrl+Alt+X

CTRL+A

CTRL+F

Ctrl+H

CTRL+P

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Task

Open Project Settings dialog

Open Topic Properties dialog

Display Conditional Build Tag dialog*

Text formatting in Design Editor

Bold

Italicize

Underline

Format – Paragraph menu

Format – Font menu

Font change

Increase font size to next size in menu*

Decrease font size to previous size in menu*

Increase font size by 1 point*

Decrease font size by 1 point*

Styles in Design Editor

Apply a style*

Apply the Normal style

Apply a Bullets or Numbering style

Apply Heading 1*

Apply Heading 2*

Apply Heading 3*

TOC pod

Move book or topic up in the table of contents

Move book or topic down in the table of contents

Move book or topic to the left in the table of contents

Move book or topic to the right in the table of contents

Index pod

Change index keyword to lowercase

Change first letter of index keyword to uppercase

Review Pane

Add a review comment

Version Control

Refresh version status on File Status tab

*Select text first.

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Keyboard shortcut

CTRL+SHIFT+/

ALT+ENTER

CTRL+N

CTRL+B

CTRL+I

CTRL+U

CTRL+SHIFT+D

CTRL+D

CTRL+SHIFT+F

CTRL+SHIFT+>

CTRL+SHIFT+<

CTRL+]

CTRL+[

CTRL+SHIFT+S

CTRL+SHIFT+N

CTRL+SHIFT+L

ALT+CTRL+1

ALT+CTRL+2

ALT+CTRL+3

CTRL+Up Arrow

CTRL+Down Arrow

CTRL+Left Arrow

CTRL+Right Arrow

CTRL+L

CTRL+J

CTRL+ALT+M

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