Re: HTML-help help: where do I start?

Subject: Re: HTML-help help: where do I start?
From: Glen Warner <gdwarner -at- ricochet -dot- net>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 10:59:04 -0700



Becca Price <becca_price -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:

(*snip*)

> Can anyone recommend a good book to get me started on
> understanding HTML-help? I'm pretty knowledgable about
> WinHelp, but haven't worked in HTML Help before.

Alas, there's only one book out (right now, anyway) and that's
Wexler's "Official Microsoft HTML Help Authoring Kit."

There is a brief tutorial at www.about.com's tech writing page (check
under the link on the left for HTML Help).

You might also check here:

http://www.htmlbasedhelp.com/resources/index.html

This should provide a few links to a few useful pages.

I did download a .pdf from one of these links, entitled "Creating HTML
Help with Microsoft's HTML Help Workshop" (78 pages; haven't looked
through it yet (forgot I had it, actually). I can e-mail it to you if
you like.

> We'll be using Microsoft's HTML Help Workshop and
> probably Front Page as the HTML editor (although I may
> bring in my copy of DreamWeaver...)

One weird thing I've noticed about HTML Help Workshop ... was twice
when I added a few pages (text, graphics, sleazy JavaScript) to my
project, I was able to view the pages just fine -- until I compiled
the project. When I clicked on the new pages, I got the error "This
page can not be displayed." The first time, I was able to remove the
pages, recompile, replace the pages, and recompile, and then I was
able to view my pages just fine in he .chm.

The second time it happened, my original "solution" didn't work.
Instead, I had to completely rebuild my project.

Fortunately, it was only about twenty pages.

> I figure that the best way to take the files out of
> HDK and into HTML Help will be to simply put the Word
> files into HTML - any comments about this?

Doable; may require some tweaking, though. Popups are
JavaScript-based instead of based on a Word footnote symbol.

> now for the hard question: one help file will be able
> to be called from 2 different applications. Is there
> a way to make the text in the title bar change
> depending on where the file is called from?

Not sure on this one. Probably some sort of API call would do the
trick ....

--gdw

> Thanks!
>
> Becca

Obligatory .sig:

"If it's not on fire, it's a software problem."
--Your IS Department





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