Macromedia RoboHelp HTML - 8.0 Instruction Manual

Using

ADOBE® ROBOHELP HTML 8

Last updated 3/1/2010

If this guide is distributed with software that includes an end user agreement, this guide, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. Except as permitted by any such license, no part of this guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Please note that the content in this guide is protected under copyright law even if it is not distributed with software that includes an end user license agreement.

The content of this guide is 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.

Please remember that existing artwork or images that you may want to include in your project may be protected under copyright law. The unauthorized incorporation of such material into your new work could be a violation of the rights of the copyright owner. Please be sure to obtain any permission required from the copyright owner.

Any references to company names in sample templates are for demonstration purposes only and are not intended to refer to any actual organization.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/

Adobe, the Adobe logo, Adobe AIR, Adobe Captivate, Acrobat, Dreamweaver, ExtendScript Toolkit, FlashHelp, FrameMaker, Reader, RoboHelp are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista, and ActiveX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Apple and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. Java and Sun Microsystems are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the Unites States and/or other countries. Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. Arial is a trademark of The Monotype Corporation registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and certain other jurisdictions.All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Portions of this product utilize technology created by Gilles Vollant.

This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit. (http://www.openssl.org/).

This product includes cryptographic software written by Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com).

This product includes software developed by The Independent JPEG Group.

This product contains either BESAFE and/or TIPEM software by RSA Data Security, Inc.

Portions utilize RSA Data Security, Inc. MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm.

Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, California 95110, USA.

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. Adobe Systems Incorporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110-2704, USA. For U.S. Government End Users, Adobe agrees to comply with all applicable equal opportunity laws including, if appropriate, the provisions of Executive Order 11246, as amended, Section 402 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment 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 3/1/2010

Chapter 1: Getting started

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

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

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

Services, downloads, and extras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Introduction to RoboHelp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

What’s new in RoboHelp 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Chapter 2: Exploring the workspace

Workspace overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Working with pods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Menus and toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Create or remove keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

iii

Chapter 3: Projects

Project basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Create and open projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Manage projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Manage files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Manage folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Authoring content in multiple languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Import PDF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Importing and linking Word and FrameMaker documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Importing and linking Microsoft Word documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Import FrameMaker documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Import a DITA map file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Import XML files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Import Microsoft HTML Help projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Import WinHelp projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Chapter 4: Working with topics

Create, save, and open topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Author in XHTML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Import and copy topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

View topics and design elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Master pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Manage topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Manage resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Check spelling and find and replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Last updated 3/1/2010

USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Contents

W3C compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Chapter 5: Editing and formatting

RoboHelp editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Character formatting and fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Format paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Borders, backgrounds, color, and sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Headers and footers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Text boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

User-defined variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Single-source with snippets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Chapter 6: Styles and style sheets

Style types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Manage style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Create styles for style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Table styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

List styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Apply styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Edit styles in CSS files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Delete styles from style sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Use color and images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Inline styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Chapter 7: TOCs, indexes, glossaries

TOCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

TOCs and indexes in Microsoft HTML Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Glossaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Glossary hotspots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Chapter 8: Linking and navigation

Navigation basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Create text links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Link to a pop-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Link images and multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Link View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Link maintenance and repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Link controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Text-only pop-ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

RoboHelp Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Browse sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

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Contents

Chapter 9: Multimedia and special effects

Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Adobe Captivate demos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Multimedia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Dynamic HTML and special effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Marquees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

HTML comments in topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Iframes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Chapter 10: Conditional text

Conditional text basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Conditional build tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Conditional build tag expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Chapter 11: Context-sensitive Help

About context-sensitive Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Author and developer roles in creating context-sensitive Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Map files and map IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Information for developers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

What’s This? Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Maintaining text-only topics (Microsoft HTML Help projects) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Working with text-only topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

Testing context-sensitive Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Context-sensitive Help terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Chapter 12: Generating Help and printed documents

Single sourcing basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Work with layout types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Generate, view, and publish output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Distribute the project output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Printed documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Skins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Chapter 13: Advanced program features

ActiveX controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Applets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

HTML Help controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Information types (for HTML Help) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

About ExtendScript Toolkit support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

Twisties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

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Contents

Chapter 14: Integrating with Adobe Technical Communication Suite

Importing FrameMaker documents into RoboHelp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Send PDF files for review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

Start an online meeting using ConnectNow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Chapter 15: Default keyboard shortcuts

Index ...............................................................................................................368

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Chapter 1: Getting started

Resources

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® 8 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.

A single-user retail license activation supports two computers. For example, you can install the product on a desktop computer at work and on a laptop computer at home. If you want to install the software on a third computer, first deactivate it on one of the other two computers. Choose Help

> Deactivate.

Register

Note: Register only once for RoboHelp 8.

❖ 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

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.

• 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. For a video of Community Help, see

www.adobe.com/go/learn_community_help_en.

Adobe Help Viewer 2

Adobe Help Viewer 2 is an Adobe® AIR® application that seamlessly merges the online and offline experience. When online, you get the most recently updated product Help on the web. You can also access an Adobe PDF version of Help. When offline, you access Help installed with the product on your system. Adobe Help Viewer 2 has a user-friendly interface that supports advanced navigation features. For example, you can get overviews of topics through mini TOCs and bookmark local and online content.

The search feature supports both online and offline modes. Adobe Help Viewer 2 searches content in Community Help when you are online and the Help installed with the product when you are offline. Online search suggestions offer relevant results from product Help, Adobe.com, and other websites. Offline search uses indexes to return preferred topics for key terms.

You can use the commenting feature to post your comments to Adobe.com or add notes for your own reference. Your feedback on Help content is welcome.

Note: For a video of Adobe Help Viewer, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_air_viewer2_en.

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Getting started

Opening Adobe Help Viewer

Typically, you access the Adobe Help Viewer from a product by pressing the F1 key, or by accessing the Help menu on the product interface. In addition, you can access the Adobe Help Viewer, just like any other application, from the Windows start menu.

Adobe Help Viewer interface

Adobe Help Viewer includes a top navigation bar, a two-pane Help display, and a comments pane.

Adobe Help Viewer A. Back navigation B. Forward navigation C. Favorites D. Comments E. Search F. Product list G. Browse sequence H. Online toggle button

Navigation bar includes the following controls:

Browsing History buttons View next and previously displayed help topics.

Favorites Manage favorites.

Search A search bar where you can enter any term and find its occurrences in the installed Help (offline mode), latest

web Help and Community Help (online mode). Use Community Help search to find answers to your questions from across Adobe.com and identified resources for your product.

Comments Add and view comments on any topic viewed through the viewer. If you have an Adobe ID for accessing

Adobe website such as Acrobat.com, then you can post your comments to the Adobe Community Help server. Moderators can then respond to comments and use them to keep improving the product.

Product list Select the Help system for your product from the list of installed products that support Adobe Help

Viewer.

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Getting started

Note: If there is only one product installed in your system, then the viewer turns off the Product list options.

When you select the Help system for a product from the Product Name field, or launch Help from a product, the following information appears:

• A link to the online PDF file containing the Help system.

• TOC with the home page of the Help system, if you select the Help system from the viewer. If you launch the Help

from the product which has context-sensitive Help, the context-sensitive Help page appears. You can view the next and previous topics by clicking the arrow keys

on the upper-right part of the Help pane.

Browsing Help topics

You can navigate to Help topics in the following ways:

• Select a topic from the table of contents

• Select the mini-TOC, See also references, or cross-references in the right pane

• Click the link on a search result

• Use navigation buttons in the right pane to sequentially navigate topics

• Use the links in the Favorites pane or RSS feeds

• Use browse buttons to display last viewed and next topics

• Open a context-sensitive Help topic from your product

Based on the view mode, topics you view are fed from the online Help location or the installed product Help.

Toggle online/offline mode

1 Move the pointer over the Online/Offline toggle button at the right bottom corner of the Adobe Help Viewer.

2 Click Go Online or Go Offline.

Switch between online and offline modes

If you change the setting, the previously set preference is used when launching the viewer. While online, if the viewer loses connectivity, the viewer displays an error, and shifts to offline mode. When you toggle the online/offline mode, the viewer opens the previously viewed Help page. If this page is not available or if the previously viewed page did not belong to the Help system, the home page of the Help system opens.

The content browser history is reset when you toggle the online/offline setting. The viewer displays comments for that pane based on the selected mode. Favorites and RSS feeds are common to both online and offline mode. Pre-populated favorites and RSS feeds change across products.

Managing favorites

You can bookmark any Help page in the Help system or on the Internet as a favorite. Bookmarks help you build an information repository within the viewer without having to access a browser.

Bookmarks are listed in the Links section of the Favorites pane. You can also subscribe to any RSS feed and view it. When you select any RSS feed, the viewer updates the specified RSS feed in the right pane.

Note: Adobe Help Viewer supports RSS.92, .93, 1.0 and 2.0 versions.

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Getting started

You can add links and RSS feeds of your choice and view them in both online and offline mode. Some links are prepopulated. For example, you can quickly access links to the product page, or troubleshooting RSS feeds from the Favorites pane.

View the Favorites pane

❖ Do one of the following:

• Click the Favorites icon and select View Favorites from the pop-up menu.

• Click the arrow icon (available at center left of Help pane) to display the Favorites pane.

Add a link as favorite

1 Click Add Link at the bottom of the Favorites pane.

Note: The link to current open web page or topic in Help content is pre-populated in the Add New Link dialog box.

2 Enter the link name and the URL in the Add New Link dialog box, and click OK.

Add an RSS feed

1 Click the RSS Feeds tab in Favorites pane.

2 Click Add RSS Feed at the bottom of the Favorites pane.

3 Enter the RSS feed name and the URL address in the Add New RSS Feed dialog box, and click OK.

The new RSS feed is added in the selected folder. Unread feeds appear in bold face.

You can also add links or RSS feeds using the Add or View Favorites button.

Manage links and RSS feeds

From the Favorites pane, you can do the following:

• Delete, rename, or edit a link or RSS feed using the context menu.

• Create a folder to store links or RSS feeds. You can also drag-and-drop favorites across folders.

• Delete individual link items or RSS feeds in a folder or move them to other folders before you delete a folder.

Search Help content

Adobe Help Viewer provides powerful search options. In online mode, which is the default mode, you can search across the community Help content for your product (select the Include Community Help option). Alternatively, you can search only in the selected Help system (select This Help System Only option).

Community search results include following information:

• The latest version of the complete product Help (including comments moderated by experts.)

• Community content hand-picked by Adobe and industry experts, including videos, tutorials, tips and techniques,

blogs, articles, and examples for designers and developers.

• Other content on Adobe.com, including TechNotes, downloads and updates, Adobe Developer Connection

tutorials, and more.

• A custom search on Community Help content. Adobe experts work to ensure that the top search results include a

mixture of content, including product Help.

• A product portal page called the Help and Support page to access all the components of Community Help for a

specific product.

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Getting started

Adobe Help Viewer supports search suggestions indexed by the author, Community Help moderator, and search engines. As you enter search text, you get search suggestions.

Keyword suggestions in the Search box

In the offline mode, you can search within local Help only.

Managing comments

You can use the commenting feature to add notes to any topic viewed through the viewer. You can view these comments for later reference. Alternatively, you can post the comments to the Adobe Help Community server if you are connected to the Internet.

You need an Adobe ID to post comments in the Adobe Help Community server. However, you can add comments in your local Help system in the offline mode without signing in.

View the Comments pane

❖ Do one of the following:

• Click the Comments icon.

• Click the dotted line icon at bottom center of the Help pane.

Add private comments in local Help topics

1 Click Add Comments in the Comments pane and enter your comments.

2 Select the Keep Private check box, and click Save.

Note: In the offline mode, the Keep Private check box is selected by default.

Post comments to the Adobe Community Help Server

1 Open any Help topic from the online Help system or content from a website URL for commenting.

2 Click the Sign In URL to sign in with your Adobe ID.

3 (Optional) Click the Create A Free Adobe ID link to create an account.

4 (Optional) Enter the details in Create An Adobe ID dialog box, and click Sign In.

5 Click Add Comments in the Comments pane and enter your comments.

6 Clear the Keep Private check box, and click Save.

Other resources

Online Help also includes a link to the complete, updated PDF version of Help.

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

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Download the documentation of older versions of RoboHelp from

http://www.adobe.com/support/robohelp/documentation.html.

USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

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 to help you 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 TV

Visit Adobe TV at http://tv.adobe.com to view instructional and inspirational videos.

Introduction to RoboHelp

Adobe RoboHelp 8 software is designed for developing Help systems, eLearning 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.

Worldwide, Adobe RoboHelp 8 is a leader of online Help authoring tools through innovation. New features create a more productive experience for technical communicators and their audiences.

Last updated 3/1/2010

USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Getting started

What’s new in RoboHelp 8

Authoring enhancements

XHTML support RoboHelp creates topic files in Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (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 HTML topics to XHTML when it upgrades or imports them.

You can import an XHTML or HTML topic from the File menu and open the topic to edit in HTML view directly. For detailed Help, see

Enhanced editing support in Design Editor The enhanced Design Editor in RoboHelp 8 lets you use advanced list and

table styles, drag and drop text in tables, and merge and split table cells. It provides clean code with no proprietary tags. All the RoboHelp specific code is in the form of XML standard processing instructions (PIs). For more information on lists and styles, see

World Wide Web 3 Compliance (W3C) RoboHelp 8 provides an option to validate topics and projects for W3C

compliance. It displays error messages or warnings that appear for any noncompliance with W3C. See

compliance” on page 120.

List and table enhancements RoboHelp 8 supports advanced lists and autonumbering. You can apply styles to change

the appearance of lists. See

“Author in XHTML” on page 104.

“W3C

“List styles” on page 147.

Enhanced table support allows you to insert columns and rows in a table, and cut, copy, and paste columns, rows, and cells. You can merge and split cells and insert a table within a table. See

Enhanced language support RoboHelp 8 provides multiple-language support at the paragraph, topic, and project

level. The language defined at a paragraph level takes precedence over the language defined at a topic or project level. The language that takes precedence at a level is called the effective language. The effective language is used in spellchecking, the dictionary and thesaurus, generation of the smart index, and preparation of the full-text search, not only at a project level but also at a topic and paragraph level. See

Insert HTML comments, iframe You can insert an HTML comment at any location in a topic. These HTML comments

are added in a particular format and viewed in a pop-up window. See

You can insert an iframe in an HTML topic to include another HTML page or PDF file in it. You can also access URL links to view a web page in an iframe. See

“Iframes” on page 205.

“Support for multiple languages” on page 45.

“Create and manage table styles” on page 146.

“HTML comments in topics” on page 204.

Import enhancement features

Project-based common import settings Create a standard set of conversion settings for importing Adobe®

FrameMaker® or Microsoft® Word content into RoboHelp projects and use these settings across multiple projects. These settings include FrameMaker or Word templates, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for RoboHelp projects, style mapping between FrameMaker formats or Word styles and RoboHelp styles, and all other settings specified in the Conversion Settings dialog box.

Direct import of HTML or XHTML files You can import HTML or XHTML files directly from File > Import >

HTML/XHTML File.

Enhanced FrameMaker document import In RoboHelp 8, you can import and link FrameMaker 8 and 9 books.

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USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Getting started

RoboHelp 8 maintains content integrity for imported FrameMaker content. RoboHelp retains lists, tables, images, SWF content, conditional text, variables, tables of contents (TOCs), indexes, glossaries, and user-defined markers as processing instructions (PIs). Enhancements in importing FrameMaker files allow for the following:

• Enhanced Add or Import settings from a common user interface

• New workflow

• FrameMaker template support

• Import styles for style mapping (table styles, list styles, and image settings)

• Enhanced import of vector graphics

• Import of alt text for anchored frames

• List conversion option for each style

• Import and export of settings

• Pagination on FrameMaker styles

• Custom HTML tag for each style

• Ignoring empty topics (after pagination)

• Project upgrade

Enhanced Word document import and linking RoboHelp enables you to include Microsoft Word document formats

(*.doc, *.docx, *.docm, *.rtf) as source files in RoboHelp 8. You can add Microsoft Word documents to a RoboHelp project, update them when the Word documents change, and generate different single-source outputs. The source documents as well as generated topics, CSS, images, multimedia, the TOC, the index, and the glossary are visible in RoboHelp. You can manage, preview, sync, and control Word documents from RoboHelp. You can link Microsoft Word documents in RoboHelp by copy or reference. See

“Importing and linking Microsoft Word documents” on

page 54.

DITA content import RoboHelp 8 allows for the import of a DITA map file or a DITA topic into an existing RoboHelp

project. You can also import a DITA map file to create a RoboHelp project and publish the desired output. See

“Import

a DITA map file” on page 84

Single-sourcing features

New CSS editor The style-editing interface is new, letting you change the most common properties quickly. The new

Style editor enables you to define new styles such as lists and table styles. You can define multilevel lists and autonumbering in the Style editor. Using the Style editor, you can change images in twisties, and in drop-down and expanding hotspots. See

Styles and Formatting pod The Styles and Formatting pod enables you to apply styles and lets you access the Style

editor to create a style or edit a style. See

Master pages support Master pages separate content from the layout. Master pages also act as a template for a

particular HTML topic. In RoboHelp 8, you can define the placement of headers, footers, and HTML text. You can add placeholders for breadcrumbs and mini TOCs in master pages. See

Resource Manager pod The Resource Manager stores all the common resources to use across projects and allows for

quick access and management of common resource files. See

Formatted user-defined variables A formatted user-defined variable is a single-sourcing inline element containing

styling information. Using the new Design Editor especially designed for editing variable styles, you can apply formatting on the text and insert images, multimedia, and FLA files. See

“Manage style sheets” on page 143.

“Create a style using the Styles And Formatting pod” on page 145.

“Master pages” on page 107.

“Resource Manager pod” on page 15.

“Format a user-defined variable” on page 139.

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Apply master pages or CSS in SSL Single-source layouts let you override master pages or the CSS when output is

generated. For different output results, you can apply different master pages or a different CSS to all the topics in a project. See

“Applying a master page or CSS at the time of generation” on page 110.

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Getting started

Publishing features

Adobe AIR The Adobe AIR output type allows you to generate Help in Adobe AIR format. The cross-platform Adobe

AIR Help format provides several enhancements, such as these:

• Easy navigation through breadcrumbs

• New templates and skins

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

• Rich commenting and auto-updates

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

• Ability to add and access RSS feeds

• Enhanced search

See “Adobe AIR layout” on page 269.

Search enhancements New RoboHelp search supports the following features:

• Ranking of search results

• Keyword search

• Synonym search

• Excluded topic search

• Multiple-language search

• Substring search

• Phrase search

• Customizable search results list

• Topic context in search list

• Baggage file search

See “RoboHelp Search” on page 191.

Enhanced printed documentation options Apply either a Microsoft Word template or a style sheet to the content

when you generate output.

Breadcrumbs and mini TOCs Use placeholders for breadcrumbs and mini TOCs in master pages and topics. Generate

or preview Help to automatically insert the breadcrumbs and mini TOCs. See

Glossary enhancements In RoboHelp 8, a topic always has the updated definition for a marked term. The Glossary

Hotspot wizard inserts markers for the terms defined in the glossary. It does not insert definitions. Instead, RoboHelp adds definitions when you generate previews or output. Thus a topic always has the updated definition for a marked term. See

“Glossary hotspots” on page 174.

“Insert a placeholder” on page 109.

Merged project enhancements Merged project enhancements introduce the concept of a child project referring to a

master TOC. Child projects automatically synchronize with the merged TOC, and you can see the merged TOC in the child projects.

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DHTML effects support in Safari and Firefox Some RoboHelp layouts support DHTML effects in Safari and Firefox

USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Getting started

browsers. The supported DHTML effects include Spiral In, Spiral Out, Zoom In, Zoom Out, Show, Fly In, Fly Out, and Elastic.

Twisties Use twisties in the CSS editor to enhance glossary terms, drop-down text, and expanding text. You can

change images in twisties for open and close. RoboHelp displays glossary terms, drop-down text, and expanding text with images to expand or collapse them. See

“Twisties” on page 339.

Productivity features

Scripting support In RoboHelp 8, you can create your own scripts to automate repetitive tasks and key workflows.

The Script Explorer pod enables you to execute and manage scripts, and you can execute your scripts using the command-line parameters.

RoboHelp provides a set of sample scripts that you can use right away or customize for your needs. You can access these sample scripts, such as Word Count, UDV Converter, EclipseHelp.jsx, SaveAsProjectTemplate.jsx, or Link Converter, or create your own scripts using the Script Explorer pod. See page 338.

Adobe ExtendScript Toolkit 4.0, included with RoboHelp 8, enables you to author and debug scripts.

Integration with Adobe Captivate 4, RoboSource Control 3.1, and RoboScreenCapture® Create and edit Adobe

Captivate® 4 demos and simulations from within the RoboHelp HTML application.

“About ExtendScript Toolkit support” on

While installing RoboHelp HTML 8, you have the option to install RoboSource Control™ 3.1 to control the versions of projects.

You can open and edit images using RoboScreenCapture from within the RoboHelp HTML application.

Custom To Do list RoboHelp 8 helps you manage a To Do list, facilitating addition and deletion of To Do items from

the project. By default, RoboHelp 8 supports 11 To Do list items. See

“Using the To Do list” on page 39.

Usability features

Project Manager enhancements In the Project Manager pod, you can customize the ordering of topics in folders to

define a chapter layout for the project. The Auto-Create TOC feature uses the ordering to create a logical TOC. You can sort the order of folders and topics alphabetically.

Option to install RoboHelp for Word The RoboHelp 8 installer gives you the option of installing RoboHelp for Word.

By default, the option is not selected.

File type mapping In RoboHelp 8, you can associate various file types with applications installed on your system. See

“Map file types” on page 40.

Re-create the project cache The new Re-create Project Cache option re-creates the project CPD file before opening

the project. This option ensures that you don't have to delete the CPD file manually.

Windows Explorer support Locate files and folders on your system using Microsoft® Windows® Explorer. In the

Project Manager and Project Set-up pods, right-click and select the Explore option to locate files or folders.

Desktop icons during installation You can opt to create desktop icons during installation.

Support for Adobe® Flash® content In RoboHelp 8, you can insert FLV files and play them in Flash® Player, which is

provided with RoboHelp 8.

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Additional browser support In RoboHelp 8, you can open web-based Help in different browsers such as Firefox,

USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Getting started

Safari, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. This support is improved for Firefox and Safari browsers.

Change default TOC, index, and glossary In RoboHelp 8, you have an option to set any TOC, index, or glossary as the

default.

Topic tab support You can close a topic from the topic tab by choosing File > Close, or by pressing Ctrl+F4.

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Chapter 2: Exploring the workspace

Workspace overview

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.

Multiple Document Interface (MDI) support lets you edit multiple topics concurrently. You can paste objects and selections across multiple topics. You can select horizontal or vertical tiling of topics.

RoboHelp workspace A. Design Editor B. C. D. Clubbed pods

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.

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USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Exploring the workspace

View a pod

❖ Select View > Pods > [pod name].

Types of pods

Starter pod

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

Open A Recent Project 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.

View Online Help Access the complete online Help.

Quick Tour Of RoboHelp Link to the RoboHelp product page on the Adobe website.

Project Manager pod

The Project manager pod contains various folders where you create and delete project files, or edit their properties.

More Help topics

“Project Manager folders” on page 42

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.

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

“About context-sensitive Help” on page 212

“Map files and map IDs” on page 213

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USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Exploring the workspace

Snippet 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.

Snippets are stored in a Snippet library as separate files with the .hts extension and always appear in a sorted order in the Snippet pod. 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 141

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 145

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 run time values uniquely for different variable sets while generating the output.

• Format variable values.

More Help topics

“User-defined variables” on page 138

Error List pod

The Error List pod shows buttons for errors, warnings, and messages which 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.

Resource Manager pod

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

Root folder Stores all folders or files in the root folder.

Category The Category folder is in the root folder. The contents of the Category folder, including the subfolders,

appear in the Resource Manager pod. If the Category folder is not present in the root folder, the Resource Manager pod is empty.

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File Type Lists the extensions associated with a category. (Each category has its own file type.) From the file type, you

decide which category the file belongs to.

You can preview the following files in the Resource Manager pod:

USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Exploring the workspace

• Snippets

• Images

• HTML

• XML

• TXT

• Multimedia

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 the

name/server and connect to it to publish your projects.

Servername:port/context-

Environments

A RoboHelp environment refers to the arrangement of various workspace components, such as pods, in the main application window.

Create and save an environment

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

1 Arrange pods.

2 Select File > Environment > 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 Select File > Environment > Load Environment.

2 Browse to an RHS file and select it.

3 Click Open.

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

Restore the default environment

❖ Select File > Environment > Load Default Environment.

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USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Exploring the workspace

Menus and toolbars

Customize menus

1 Right-click a toolbar and choose Customize.

2 Click the Commands tab.

3 Choose New Menu from the Categories list.

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

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

6 Type the desired menu name and press Enter.

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

8 Click Close.

9 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.

• 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.

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 18

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Exploring the workspace

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.

2 Select Customize.

3 Click the Options tab.

4 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.

2 Click the Keyboard tab.

3 Select a command category.

4 Select a command to assign to a keyboard shortcut.

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

6 Click Assign.

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 defaults, click Reset All.

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Chapter 3: Projects

Project basics

Basic workflow

1. Create a project.

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

2. 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.

3. 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).

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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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USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Projects

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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USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Projects

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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USING ROBOHELP HTML 8

Projects

• 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

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End-user system WebHelp/Pro FlashHelp/Pro Microsoft HTML

Windows XP SP4 or later, XP, Vista

Mac OS, Linux®

Web browser Web browser

with Flash Player

8.0 or 9.0

Web browser Web browser

with Flash Player

8.0 or 9.0

Help

Built-in viewer JavaHelp viewer Oracle Help

Not available JavaHelp viewer Not available AIR Help Runtime

JavaHelp* Oracle Help AIR Help

AIR Help Runtime

viewer

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

Create and open 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,

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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 29

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.

2 Select FrameMaker or Word documents and click OK.

3 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.

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

5 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.

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For information about different conversion options for FrameMaker documents, see “Conversion basics” on page 72.

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

RoboHelp styles” on page 59.

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.

1 Select File > New > Project.

2 Click the Import tab.

3 Select DITA Map File.

4 Click OK.

5 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.

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

8 Click Finish.

More Help topics

“Import a DITA map file” on page 84

“Converting Word styles to RoboHelp styles” on page 59

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.

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• 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.

• 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 153

Open a project

Open a project and view history

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.

Do Not Open Project. I Want To Make A Copy First Closes the Open Project dialog box so that you can copy your

project files. For example, you can use Windows Explorer to copy your project files and store them in the My Documents folder.

Convert Files As Needed Opens the project and converts files as you work. If you make a global change or a change

that affects more than one file, you are prompted to convert files. An example is a style sheet attached to several topics in your project. When you try to edit that style sheet, you are prompted to convert all the topics to the new format.

Convert All Files Converts all the files in your project to the new format. Don’t select this option unless you have a

saved copy of the original version.

More Help topics

“Add a RoboHelp project to version control” on page 33

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

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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.

Projects

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.

Pin a project to or remove it from the list of recent projects

Use the Pin feature to mark a project for easy access. Pin a project so that it always appears in the list of recent projects that appears in the Starter pod and in the File menu.

1 Select Tools > Options.

2 On the General tab, select a project from the Most Recently Used list.

3 Click Pin or Unpin. Click Apply.

View the history of opened files

❖ Select Tools > Options. Click the General tab.

Use this dialog box to configure options for using the program and working with project files.

Save Without Prompt (Automatic Save) 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.

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.

Check For System HTML Editor You are prompted to determine whether to set RoboHelp HTML as the default editor.

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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.

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

application.

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

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.

Show Alert On Modification Of Auto-Generated Topics from Linked Documents 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.

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>

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.

Max Maximum number of recently used files to display. The default is 10.

.cpd will be created from the project files.

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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 285

Manage projects

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.

1 From the Tools menu, select Options.

2 Click the General tab.

3 Under Options, deselect Save Without Prompt.

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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 39.

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.

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.

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

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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

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

“Master pages” on page 107.

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” on page 191

“Upgrade localized projects” on page 52

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.

1 Open the project.

2 Select File > Rename Project.

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

4 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.

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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.

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.

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.

Topics list pod Select View > Pods > Topics 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

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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.

1 Open the project in RoboHelp HTML.

2 Choose File > Version Control > Add To Version Control.

3 Select RoboSource Control and click OK.

4 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.

8 Connect to RoboSource Control.

9 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.

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).

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If a project has dependent files, RoboHelp asks to check them out. If some are already checked out, ask users to check them in.

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Merging Help projects

Using RoboHelp you can create projects in an enterprise or distributed setup where different documentation projects feed into a common project. After writers create their individual projects, you can 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.

Merging multiple projects involves these steps:

• Merging child projects in the TOC of a master project.

• Publishing merged projects (for WebHelp, FlashHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp Pro projects, and browser-based

Adobe AIR Help only).

• Automatically merging projects (for WebHelp Pro and FlashHelp Pro projects only).

Merge Help Projects

This information applies to HTML, WebHelp, FlashHelp, and browser-based Adobe AIR projects.

1 Create the master project and the projects that you want to merge.

2 Open the master project.

3 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.

4 To insert child projects, place your cursor in the TOC.

5 On the TOC pod, click the New Merged Project icon.

6 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.

7 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.

• For WebHelp/FlashHelp/Adobe AIR projects, enter the name of a WebHelp project (XPJ) or click Open to

browse to the project file.

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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.

In case of WebHelp/FlashHelp/AIRHelp, the placeholder appears as the name of the project.

8 Generate the project.

When a project having merged project references in its TOC is generated, a folder "MergedProjects" appears in the Project folder. The MergedProjects folder contains a folder for each referenced child project. In the case of WebHelp/FlashHelp, the corresponding child project has to be generated in its own folder.

9 In the Result dialog, click View to see the results and test the merged project.

10 For WebHelp projects, publish the project on the server.

Notes:

• Before distributing a merged project, make sure to generate the latest child projects.

• Associate at least one index keyword with a topic in the master project. Otherwise, the merged project index has no

entries.

• 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.

• The name MergeProjects is reserved. Do not give any folder in the project folder the name MergedProjects.

• You can combine multiple WebHelp projects at run time and store the merged project on a server. You can also

publish the merged project either at an HTTP location or on the intranet.

• If you generate a WebHelp 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 merge WebHelp projects and generate the master project using WebHelp, the child projects are available

only from the TOC (not from the index or full-text search). The child projects appear as individual books in the TOC. When users click the TOC book of the child project, the child project opens in a new browser window.

Publish merged WebHelp child projects

This information applies to WebHelp projects only.

After you merge WebHelp projects, 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.

Publish child projects

1 Merge WebHelp projects.

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2 Open a child project.

3 Generate WebHelp output type.

4 Click Next until the Publish dialog box is displayed.

5 Specify a destination. For example, //servername/Finance project/.

6 Click Finish. The layout is generated.

7 On the Result dialog box, click Publish.

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When the process is complete, a dialog box displays statistics about the publishing process and a list of files published.

8 Click Close.

9 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.

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 WebHelp and Microsoft HTML 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 in which it was published. Use

another tool to remove the old files or remove them manually.

Customize merged WebHelp/FlashHelp Pro projects

When multiple WebHelp/FlashHelp Pro projects are merged automatically using RoboHelp Server, 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.

Customize merged WebHelp/FlashHelp Pro projects

1 Ask your server administrator to deselect the Automatically Merge All Projects option in RoboHelp Server (Web

Admin interface).

2 Open the master project. Select any project as the master or select a blank project as a master project.

3 In the TOC pod, click the New Merged Project icon. The Merged Project dialog opens.

4 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.

6 Generate all the projects to update any changes.

7 Publish the master project.

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8 View the merged project from the server.

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FAQs about merging projects without a server

This information applies to WebHelp and Microsoft HTML Help projects.

Master projects Which project works best as the master project?

This depends on your projects and requirements, but here are two guidelines:

• The largest project may provide a good foundation because it contains the most information, and thus the most

comprehensive TOC. Adding child projects to the most complete TOC allows you to work in the bigger context of the Help system and organize the system more logically.

• If you do not have a project that should obviously be the master project, you can create a blank project with no

topics as a container for the child projects. The TOC of the master project can consist of references to child projects only. (The TOCs of the child projects appear in the output.)

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.

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

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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?

Yes, browse sequences are merged.

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?

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?

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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.

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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.

2 Click the General tab.

3 Click Manage.

4 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.

Edit the list of recently used files

Recently used files are listed in the RoboHelp Starter pod.

1 Select Tools > Options.

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2 Click the General tab. Set options under Most Recently Used File:

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

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

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 the Associations tab.

3 For File Associations, click Add.

4 Enter a filename extension.

5 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.

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

Add an HTML editor mapping

1 Select Tools > Options.

2 Click the Associations tab.

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3 For HTML editors, click Add.

4 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.

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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 95

“Unused files report” on page 99

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.

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

4 Press Enter.

Tips:

• Move files and folders in Project Manger by dragging.

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

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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

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.

or , to change views.

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 pop-

ups, 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.

Tables 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.

Rename folders

Use the Project Manager to rename folders.

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

2 Right-click the folder. Select Rename.

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

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4 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.

1 Select the custom folder in the Project Manager pod.

2 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.

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.

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Icon Description

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.

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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.

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 25

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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 Spell Check User Dictionary Thesaurus Auto correct

Danish (Denmark) Yes Yes Yes Yes

German (Germany) Yes Yes Yes Yes

English (US) Yes Yes Yes Yes

English (UK) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Spanish (Spain) Yes Yes Yes Yes

French (France) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Italian (Italy) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Dutch (The Netherlands) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Norwegian Bokmâl (Norway) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Norwegian Nynorsk (Norway) Yes Yes No Yes

Portuguese (Brazil) Yes Yes No Yes

Swedish (Sweden) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Croatian (Croatia) Yes Yes No Yes

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Languages Spell Check User Dictionary Thesaurus Auto correct

Portuguese (Portugal) Yes Yes No Yes

French (Canada) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Finnish (Finland) Yes Yes No Yes

Catalan (Spain) Yes Yes No Yes

Russian (Russia) Yes Yes No Yes

Bulgarian (Bulgaria) Yes Yes No Yes

Czech (Czech Republic) Yes Yes No Yes

Polish (Poland) Yes Yes No Yes

Romanian (Romania) Yes Yes No Yes

Hungarian (Hungary) Yes Yes No Yes

Greek (Greece) Yes Yes No Yes

Turkish (Turkey) Yes Yes No Yes

Estonian (Estonia) Yes Yes No Yes

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Latvian (Latvia) Yes Yes No Yes

Lithuanian (Lithuania) Yes Yes No Yes

Slovenian (Slovenia) Yes Yes No Yes

German (Switzerland) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Japanese (Japan) No No No No

Korean (Korea) No No No No

Traditional Chinese (Taiwan) No No No No

Simplified Chinese (China) No No No No

Thai (Thailand) No No No No

Vietnamese (Vietnam) No No No No

More Help topics

“Define a language for a paragraph” on page 128

“Create a topic” on page 102

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.

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2 Open an English topic, create a topic for the French language, and translate the content, including the topic title

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from English to French. (Do not translate topic filenames.)

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

4 Create a conditional build tag, such as FrenchContent.

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

6 Generate output for the French language.

7 Apply Japanese language project settings by selecting the Japanese Language.

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

9 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.

2 Select the desired language.

3 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.

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.

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3 Enter project information.

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

5 Click Finish.

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

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More Help topics

“Create and edit single-source layouts” on page 256

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.

3 Click the General tab. Click Advanced.

4 Click the LNG File tab.

5 Select the interface text. Click Edit.

Sample LNG file with default English values:

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[GlossaryTab] TabCaption=&Glossary TermCaption=&Term DefinitionCaption=&Definition For: [BrowseSequence] PreCaption=Previous PreTooltip=Previous Topic NextCaption=Next NextTooltip=Next Topic BlockTooltip=Select Browse Sequence [Common] Contents=Contents Index=Index Search=Search Show=Show Hide=Hide SyncToc=SyncToc Prev=<< Next=>> Disabled Prev=<< Disabled Next=>> Separate = | [WebHelp] Cancel=Cancel CantOpenURLorFile=Can't open URL or File CompletingContents=Completing Contents Display=Display Done=Done Find=Find IndexInputPrompt=Type in a keyword to find: RelatedTopicListPrompt=Click a topic, then click Display LoadingContents=Loading Table of Contents LoadingFTS=Reading Search Data LoadingIndex=Loading Index LoadingTOCItem=Loading Table of Contents: Searching=Searching FtsInputPrompt=Type in the word(s) to search for: Topics Found=Topics found BrowserLimitedMessage=Your browser does not support frames. We recommend that you update your browser to a version that supports frames. SuggestViewNoFrameMessage=To view the Help system without frames, click this SuggestViewNoFrameMsg2=hyperlink." TopicsNotFound=No Topics Found. //JavaScript Alerts JS_alert_appletNotLoad=Unable to load applet. If you are using an old version of Netscape, edit the prefs.js file. JS_alert_colorlimitation=WebHelp detected that your display is set to 16 colors. For full WebHelp support, set your display to use 256 or more colors. Blank_topic_text=This topic was created by WinHelp Project Conversion Wizard, and is the destination of a missing topic or broken hyperlink.

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6 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.

2 Select File > Project Settings.

3 Click the General tab and select the language.

4 Click OK.

5 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.

1 Select a language for a new or existing project.

2 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 8 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.

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

4 In the Settings tab, click the Add button.

5 Select a language from the Input Language list.

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

7 Select the desired language in the Default Input Language list.

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

9 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

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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.

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

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

File description Pre-7 filenames 7 Filenames

Phrase list Phrases.wlf ProjectName.phr

Always Ignore list AlwaysIgn.wlf ProjectName.ign

Stop list *.stp ProjectName.stp

Language file *.lng ProjectName.lng

Note: The above procedure is NOT the recommended way. The recommended way is described in “Change project

settings” on page 29

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 encrypted PDF files (files that require a password).

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• 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).

1 Select File > New > Project.

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

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

4 Enter the project information. Click Next.

5 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.

3 Select File > Import > PDF Document.

4 Select one or more PDF files. Click Open.

5 Select options in the Conversion Options dialog box.

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

7 Click Finish.

Importing and linking Word and FrameMaker documents

You can import Microsoft Word and Adobe FrameMaker documents to your RoboHelp projects. If you are using the Adobe Technical Communication Suite, you can link FrameMaker documents to your RoboHelp projects.

More Help topics

“Importing and linking Microsoft Word documents” on page 54

“Import FrameMaker documents” on page 68

“Integrating with Adobe Technical Communication Suite” on page 341

Importing and linking Microsoft Word documents

In RoboHelp, you can link and import Microsoft Word documents (files with .docx, .docm, .doc, or .rtf extensions after the filename). You can create new projects by linking to or importing 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 linking to and importing Word documents are applied at the project level. For this reason, you have consistent settings for all documents that you link to or import into 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

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:

“Word conversion settings” on page 67.

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Option Linking Importing Remarks

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Ability to update generated topics

Ability to automatically update TOC, index, and glossary changes from the source document

Ability to regenerate deleted topics

Ability to preserve changes in generated topics

Yes. You can update the generated topics whenever the source document or your RoboHelp project settings change.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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 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.

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

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

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 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 stand-alone 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

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

RoboHelp styles” on page 59.

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

“Pagination and topic naming in converted Word files” on page 62.

“Converting Word styles to

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pages, you can also suppress page numbers in headers and footers. “Convert headers and footers in Word documents” on page 59.

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 62.

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 58.

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 stand-alone unit.

For example, if a short task doesn’t make sense without some introductory conceptual information, don’t display that task as a stand-alone 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 63.

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.

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.

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• 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 change.

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.

2 Select Word Documents from the Files Of Type pop-up menu, select the Word document, and click Open.

3 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.

2 Select File > Link > Word Document.

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.

4 Right-click the linked file in Project Manager, and select Properties.

5 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 60.

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.

John Daigle provides a step-by-step introduction in Linking to Microsoft Word documents on the Adobe RoboHelp

8 video tutorials page.

Import a Word document into a RoboHelp project

1 Create a project in RoboHelp.

2 Select File > Import > Word Document.

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.

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4 In the Content Settings dialog box, set conversion options for the TOC, index, and glossary, and click Next.

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For information about various conversion options, see “Importing a Word TOC, index, and glossary” on page 58.

5 (Optional) To edit the conversion settings, click Edit.

6 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 59

For information about converting paragraph, character, and other styles, see “Converting Word styles to RoboHelp

styles” on page 59.

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.

1 Select File > Import > Word Document.

2 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.

Add To Topic Add the Word index entries to individual topics in which they appear.

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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.

1 Select File > Import > Word Document.

2 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.

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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.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under Word Document.

3 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 > Import > Word Document.

• Select File > Link > Word Document.

• Select File > Project Settings.

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 > Import > Word Document.

• Select File > Link > Word Document.

• Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under Word Document.

3 In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select the Word style from the Paragraph group.

4 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.

• 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.

• Select Pagination to create a Help topic at each occurrence of the selected Word paragraph style.

• Select or enter a user-defined HTML tag for the selected paragraph style.

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 > Import > Word Document.

• Select File > Link > Word Document.

• Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under Word Document.

3 In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select the Character group.

4 Select the Word character style from the left pane of the Conversion Settings dialog box.

5 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.

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List mapping

You can map Word lists to RoboHelp lists or HTML 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.

3 In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select the Other Settings group.

4 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 > Import > Word Document.

• Select File > Link > Word Document.

• Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab, click Edit under Word Document.

3 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 > Import > Word Document.

• Select File > Link > Word Document.

• Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab, click Edit under Word Document.

3 Select the Word table style from the left pane of the Conversion Settings dialog box.

4 Select the RoboHelp table style from the pop-up menu. Optionally, to edit the table style in RoboHelp, click Edit

Style.

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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 > Import > Word Document.

• Select File > Link > Word Document.

• Select File > Project Settings.

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.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab, click Edit under Word Document.

3 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 defining the pagination and 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.

“Convert headers and footers in Word documents” on page 59.

See

Convert TOC and index entries TOC and index entries in the Word document are converted in your RoboHelp

project. See

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

Convert references to hyperlinks You can convert the references to hyperlinks in RoboHelp topics. See “Convert

Word references to hyperlinks” on page 62.

Automatically create CSS styles from inline formatting See “Create RoboHelp styles from inline formatting” on

page 62.

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.

Note: Pagination is based on the Word paragraph styles and not on RoboHelp styles.

“Importing a Word TOC, index, and glossary” on page 58.

“List mapping” on page 61.

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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 > Import > Word Document.

• Select File > Link > Word Document.

• Select File > Project Settings.

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, and click OK.

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 > Import > Word Document.

• Select File > Link > Word Document.

• Select File > Project Settings.

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.

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 > Import > Word Document.

• Select File > Link > Word Document.

• Select File > Project Settings.

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2 In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select Other Settings.

3 In the Other Settings tab, set the topic name pattern.

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Topics are named according to the selected pattern. You can select one of the following or create a topic name pattern.

Default Uses the topic title text as the topic filename.

<$filename_no_ext>-<$paratext> 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.”

<$filename_no_ext>-<n> 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.”

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<$paratext_no_num> The name of the converted HTML topic contains the paragraph text used to demarcate the

<$paratext> 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.”.

HTML topic. For example, paragraph text “Introduction” is converted into an HTML topic named “Introduction.”

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.

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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.

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.

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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.

1 Right-click the linked document in the Project Manager pod and select Properties.

2 In the Word Document Settings dialog box, select File Update Settings tab.

3 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.

1 Select Tools > Options.

2 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 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.

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.

2 Right-click the topic that you want to delete, and select Delete.

3 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.

1 Right-click the linked Word document in the Project Manager pod and select Properties.

2 In the Word Document Settings dialog box, select File Update Settings tab.

3 On the right column, select the deleted files that you want to retrieve and click OK.

4 Update the Word document.

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Edit a linked Word document

You can edit linked Word documents directly in Microsoft Word.

1 Right-click a document and select Edit.

2 Edit the Word document in Microsoft Word.

3 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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

2 Apply context-sensitive Help markers to the required topics. See “Convert context-sensitive Help markers from

FrameMaker documents” on page 78.

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.

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.

6 Set up alternate text or captions for the images and graphics to create accessible online content. See “Create

alternate text for images” on page 84.

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 72.

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” on page 342.

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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.

2 On the Import tab of the New Project dialog box, select FrameMaker Document and click OK.

3 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.

2 Select File > Import > FrameMaker Document.

3 Select FrameMaker book (BOOK) from the Files Of Type pop-up menu.

4 Browse to select the FrameMaker book file and click Open.

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.

2 Select the FrameMaker document type that you want to import.

3 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 Documents contained within the book are converted (FM, XML, MIF, HTM, and HTML files). XHTML files

TOC Converted, if selected. See “Convert a FrameMaker TOC” on page 72.

Text insets Text insets in the FrameMaker documents are considered part of the FrameMaker document itself and

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

structure in a FrameMaker 9 book” on page 76.

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.

“Hierarchical

Index and glossary 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 73 and “Import glossary definitions” on page 73.

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Variables and conditional text

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Variables Converted. User-defined variables in FrameMaker are converted as such in RoboHelp and can be

Conditional tags Converted as RoboHelp conditional build tags. See “Conditional text” on page 206.

Equations Convert equations to images and insert them in the RoboHelp topics after conversion.

Markers

Cross-references, hypertext, URLs

Index and glossary markers Converted to an index and glossary when creating project. See “Import FrameMaker index entries” on

Topic name markers Converted if you select this option in the project conversion settings. Use topic name markers to create

Context-sensitive Help markers

Custom markers Converted. You can use these markers for delineating topics from FrameMaker source, or to pass

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 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 page 76.

page 73 and “Import glossary definitions” on page 73.

topic titles and topic filenames from the marker text. See

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 77.

processing instructions to RoboHelp for images and tables.

“Convert FrameMaker cross-reference formats to RoboHelp styles” on

“Pagination for Help” on page 77.

Formats

Paragraph formats Converted. You can map FrameMaker paragraph formats to RoboHelp styles or import the source

Character formats Converted. You can map FrameMaker character formats to RoboHelp styles or import the source

Table formats Converted. You can map FrameMaker table formats to RoboHelp styles or import the source formatting.

Footnote properties and table footnotes

Lists Converted according to the settings you define. See “List-mapping scenarios” on page 81

Page layouts

Master pages FrameMaker master pages are ignored. Master pages are used for layout, borders, and page numbers

Reference pages Ignored. However, you can use the advanced scripting support in RoboHelp to convert images and

Page layout, size, and pagination

formatting. See

“Convert FrameMaker table formats to RoboHelp table styles” on page 82.

See

Converted. Because table title and table footnotes are paragraph formats in FrameMaker, you specify conversion settings for these paragraph formats separately.

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.

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 77.

“Convert FrameMaker paragraph formats to RoboHelp styles” on page 79

“Convert FrameMaker character formats to RoboHelp styles” on page 79.

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Headers/footers Ignored. Headers and footers in FrameMaker usually contain chapter names, chapter numbers, and

Rotated text 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

Drawings Drawings created within anchored frames are converted to images. You can define the image

Anchored frames Converted to images. See “Image conversion settings” on page 82.

ALT text on images and anchored frames

Text frames, graphic frames, and images inside anchored frames

Equations Enclose equations in anchored frames so that they are converted to images when RoboHelp converts

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.

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

conversion settings. See

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

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.

them. See FrameMaker Help.

“Image conversion settings” on page 82.

“Create alternate text for images” on page 84.

Structured FrameMaker components

XML files in book Converted like FrameMaker documents.

XHTML files in book Converted like FrameMaker documents.

Content references 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

reference” on page 76.

“Content

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.

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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.

More Help topics

“Hierarchical structure in a FrameMaker 9 book” on page 353

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.

1 Select File > Import > FrameMaker Document and select the FrameMaker book or document.

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.

1 Select File > Import > FrameMaker Document and select the FrameMaker book or document.

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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

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glossary from the list.

Create New Associated Glossary Enter a name for a new associated glossary in the RoboHelp project.

Converting FrameMaker formats to RoboHelp styles

You can define how the FrameMaker formats are converted to RoboHelp styles on 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 are relevant for online output. In such cases, you can define one template that contains format definitions for all documents you want to convert.

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.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 Click the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box. Select Apply FrameMaker Template Before Import.

3 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 8

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 RoboHelp 7 project.

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When you upgrade a RoboHelp 7 project to RoboHelp 8, you can either retain the earlier document-level settings or convert to the project-level settings supported in RoboHelp 8. 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 8 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.

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.

1 Open the RoboHelp 7 project in RoboHelp 8.

2 Select File > Project Settings.

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.

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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.

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.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

3 Select a cross-reference format from the Cross Reference group in the Conversion Settings dialog box.

4 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.

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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

• 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

for online output before conversion” on page 68.

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.

“Optimizing

1 Select File > Project Settings.

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2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker document.

3 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.

Building block Converted topic name pattern

default HTML topic generated has the filename consisting of the paragraph text.

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<$filename_no_ext>-<$paratext> HTML topic generated has the filename consisting of the filename of the FrameMaker

<$filename_no_ext>-<n> HTML topic generated has the filename consisting of the filename of the FrameMaker

<$paratext_no_num> HTML topic generated has the filename consisting of the paragraph text of the

<$paratext> HTML topic generated has the filename consisting of the paragraph text of the

Topic Name Marker Topics are named after the marker applied in the FrameMaker document. Ideally, you specify

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-1Introduction.htm”

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"

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"

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"

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

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project. When you link or import the FrameMaker documents, you specify the context-sensitive Help marker in the conversion settings.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

3 In the Other Settings group of the Conversion Settings dialog box, enter the Context-Sensitive Help Marker.

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.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

3 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.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

3 On the Conversion Settings panel, select the FrameMaker format from the Paragraph group.

4 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 143.

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 Select to create a Help topic at each occurrence for the selected FrameMaker paragraph format.

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 80

“Autonumber style mapping” on page 80

Convert FrameMaker character formats to RoboHelp styles

You can map the FrameMaker character formats to character styles in RoboHelp.

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You can also edit the styles in RoboHelp.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

3 Select the FrameMaker character format from the left pane of the Conversion Settings dialog box.

4 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.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

3 In the project settings, select a FrameMaker paragraph format in the left pane.

4 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.

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

3 In the Conversion Settings dialog box, select the 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.

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>.

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Convert Autonumber To RoboHelp List Choose this option if you want to edit the generated HTML topics in

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RoboHelp or use the RoboHelp styles to control the numbering properties.

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.

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• 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".

• 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.

“List-mapping scenarios” on page 81.

See

1 Select File > Project Settings.

2 In the Import tab of the Project Settings dialog box, click Edit under FrameMaker Document.

3 Select the FrameMaker table format from the left pane of the Conversion Settings dialog box.

4 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:

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.

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• 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.

More Help topics

“Preserve converted images” on page 362

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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

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.

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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.

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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.

1 In the Project Manager pod, select the file to import into.

2 Select File > Import > XML File.

3 Select one or more XML files. Click Open.

4 Select options in the Select XML Import Handler dialog box.

5 (Optional) To set advanced options, select Import XML (CSS/XSL).

6 Click Advanced.

7 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.

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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.

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Import Microsoft HTML Help projects

When you import an HHP file, a new RoboHelp project file (XPJ) is created.

1 Select File > Open.

2 Select HTML Help Project (*HHP) from the Files Of Type menu.

3 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 23

“Third-party HTML editors” on page 123

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.

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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 151.

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.

2 Select WinHelp (*.hlp) and click OK.

3 In the Help-To-HTML wizard, define options for your HTML project.

4 Click Browse, navigate to the HLP file, and open it.

5 Click Next. Set up File options:

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Desired Result Actions

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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. Select Short Filenames. (Enter the first three characters in Prefix

Distribute the HTML project as uncompiled HTML Help (not using Adobe WebHelp)

Distribute the project as compiled Microsoft HTML Help or cross-platform Help using Adobe WebHelp, JavaHelp, or Oracle Help output.

Click Browse and navigate to the drive/folder to select it. Or enter the name of the folder in the text box.

if you want the filenames to use similar naming conventions.)

Enter the name of the start page in Start Page Name.

Do not enter information in Start Page Name.

6 Click Next. Set up Style options:

Desired Result Actions

Format HTML topics without attaching style sheets to them. Select <No Stylesheet>. All topics use default HTML styles, gray

Format HTML topics to look exactly like the WinHelp topics. Select <Embedded>. Style sheets are not attached to topics. All

Attach a custom style sheet to all HTML topics. Click Browse and navigate to the drive/folder where the style

background, black serif font.

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.

sheet file (CSS) is located to select it.

7 Click Next. Set up HTML Help options:

Desired results Actions

Specify where the Contents, Index, and Search tabs are displayed in the viewer.

Convert your WinHelp pop-up windows into standard HTML links.

Select Top, Side, or Bottom.

Deselect Display Popups In An Active pop-up window.

8 Click Finish.

Version-control projects may have more options.

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.

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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.

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.

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Import a WinHelp HPJ file into an HTML project

1 Select File > New > Project.

2 Click the Import tab.

3 Select WinHelp Project. Click OK.

4 Click the browse button, and select the HPJ file to import. Click Next.

5 Specify the output folder and filename.

6 Under Choose Source Document(s), select the Word documents you want to import.

7 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.

Reports

Export project reports

1 Click Tools > Reports. Select report type.

2 Customize the report.

Macromedia RoboHelp HTML - 8.0 Instruction Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Chapter 1: Getting started

Resources

Activation and registration

Install the software

Help with installation

License activation

Register

ReadMe

Help and support

Community Help

Adobe Help Viewer 2

Opening Adobe Help Viewer

Adobe Help Viewer interface

Managing favorites

Search Help content

Managing comments

Other resources

Services, downloads, and extras

Adobe Exchange

Adobe downloads

Adobe Labs

Adobe TV

Introduction to RoboHelp

What’s new in RoboHelp 8

Authoring enhancements

Import enhancement features

Single-sourcing features

Publishing features

Productivity features

Usability features

Chapter 2: Exploring the workspace

Workspace overview

Working with pods

View a pod

Types of pods

Starter pod

Project Manager pod

Project Set-up pod

Snippet pod

Styles And Formatting pod

User Defined Variables pod

Error List pod

Resource Manager pod

RoboHelp Server pod

Environments

Create and save an environment

Load an environment

Restore the default environment

Menus and toolbars

Customize menus

Customize toolbars

Enable and disable smart menus

Create or remove keyboard shortcuts

Create keyboard shortcuts

Remove or reset keyboard shortcuts

Chapter 3: Projects

Project basics

Basic workflow

About projects

Help project components

Files in a project

Main project file (XPJ)

Folder files (FPJ)

Single-source layout files (SSL)

Auxiliary project files (APJ)

Other types of files

About output types

End-user viewer requirements

Create and open projects

Create a project

Create a project by importing documents

Define chapter layout

Open a project

Open a project and view history

Open a project when starting RoboHelp