RE: Linking to online help topic

[Odile Sullivan-Tarazi <odile -at- mindspring -dot- com>]

Being an infrequent poster and only a passing lurker, I don't know 
anyone on this list, and so anything I have to say really reflects 
that ignorance.  Still.  My reaction to Bill's response (sorry, Bill, 
I don't know you) was essentially that of Kathleen's.  It opens 
tersely, it asks no questions of the original petitioner, it reads 
like a shot from the hip.

I'm not a tools person, but I understood the original question 
perfectly.  At least, I think I did.  Julie is working with online 
help developed in RoboHELP X5.  She wants to know whether it's 
possible for the help to open not in one topic window, but in two 
windows: one for the TOC, index, and search capabilities; one for the 
topic.

Not being a tools person, I wouldn't know whether there's information 
missing in this question -- whether someone, in order to answer it in 
detail, would need to know something more about the tools 
environment.  I know I've seen the sort of help she describes.  I do 
not know the details of how it is coded and built.  But if there is 
something missing from the original question, I would not have 
thought that something would be "what kind of help is it."  I'm not 
sure I understand that question.  "Kind" as in what product is it 
for?  "Kind" as in what tool is it being developed in?  (But that 
question has already been answered, in the original post.)  "Kind" as 
in how it's structured, what writing philosophy it follows? 
Ordinarily, I would have said the latter, or something like it -- 
particularly as the tool has already been named and since Bill does 
not ask for *more* information on "kind" but suggests instead that he 
has as yet *no* information on "kind" -- but that interpretation does 
not fit the context.

So, from out of left field, and not knowing anyone involved, that was 
my take on it.  FWIW.

Er, and no insult intended toward anyone.

Odile




At 6:38 AM -0700 9/23/05, John Posada wrote: