summary -- Indexing in Dreamweaver?

[Claudia Fugalli <Claudia -dot- Fugalli -at- marshmc -dot- com>]

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! 

ok here's the deal -- 
My basic question was whether it was a good idea to use Dreamweaver to 
create an on-line Help file. But just yesterday the other tech writer 
quit, and since I have only six weeks to do this project I won't have 
as much time as I thought to experiment with creating the navigational 
elements myself. So I'll be sticking with the tool I'm most familiar 
with, which is RoboHTML. Alas.... 

However, I did get a lot of helpful info for anyone else who wants to 
try this -- 


1. Some tools that can help you build an HTML-based index: 

Most people recommended The HTML Indexer:  http://www.html-indexer.com 
They have a demo+tutorial that you can download.
Here's what the guy who works there wrote:
"HTML Indexer is intended for precisely 
the situation you describe, in which you create and edit your HTML Help 
source
files directly in an HTML editor (rather than exporting them from 
FrameMaker or
some other proprietary format).
So, create your help source files in Dreamweaver, and index them using 
HTML
Indexer--as long as you don't open a file in both programs at the same 
time,
you'll be fine." 

I also got these suggestions --
"We use CINDEX for our online indexing.  It is great!  And not that
expensive.  It works great with existing tools like RoboHTML and
Dreamweaver."   http://www.indexres.com/cindex.html

"For indexing, have a look at Microsoft's HTML Help Workshop
 
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/tools/htmlhelp/wkshp/download_main.htm
 ).
Its free, and will provide you with frameset containing a table of 
contents
and index that will work in any browser. The finished result is a bit 
ugly,
but I am sure that it can be worked on." 



2. Directions for downloading some helpful Dreamweaver extensions:  

* If you are using version 3.0 (and not 3.01) go to the Macromedia
Dreamweaver website and download the patch for 3.01 - it includes a few 
good
patches.

http://www.macromedia.com/support/dreamweaver/ under Downloads
Download it and run it (remember to close Dreamweaver first.)

* Then register for the Macromedia Exchange for Dreamweaver.
* When you can get into the Exchange (I'm sorry I do not remember if you
have to wait for them to e-mail you something, or what) Download the
Extension Manager (it's on the first page) and install it.

Then return to the Exchange and:
* Select Navigation from their drop down list of items.
The Navigation Extensions include: Menu Builder by Rabi Sunder Raj, 
Previous
Page Link by David G. Miles and Table of Contents by Scott Richards.

The table of contents extension allows you to automatically generate a 
list
of all A NAMES, or one level of headers. (as an aside, if you want to 
use A
Names as your links, remember to use underscores (_) instead of spaces 
- you
can't see the difference on screen, but it does make your HTML readable 
by
more browsers).

* Click on the file to download it.
* And launch the Extension Manager (if it doesn't open automatically) in
Dreamweaver to handle the installation of your Extension.



-Claudia
Claudia -dot- Fugalli -at- marshmc -dot- com



[[orig. message: 

Dearest whirlies -- 

I'm in the process of creating Help for a Web-based application that 
stores insurance data. 
After a few weeks of RoboFrustration (and browsing the techwr-l 
archives) I decided to learn Dreamweaver and use that instead of 
RoboHTML. 
While so far Dreamweaver seems like the coolest thing ever, I'm 
wondering how I'm going to handle the index. 

In particular, my questions are --
1. Can any of you suggest a useful tool or plug-in that would help me 
generate an online index for a project done in Dreamweaver?   
2. The Help file for this version will have about 80-100 topics; by the 
next version (when they put the rest of the app. on the Web) there will 
be over 300. Is Dreamweaver an appropriate tool to use for a project 
this size? ]]