Project Properties Reference > HTML Help

This section enables you to add or overwrite sections of the .HHP project file used to generate your HTML Help output. (See HTML Help project files for details). Normally you will never need to use this feature but there may be situations where you want or need to make changes to your HTML Help output by making changes or additions to the .HHP file.

Please only use these feature if you understand .HHP files and how to edit them. You can find information on the sections and settings in the documentation distributed with Microsoft HTML Help Workshop.

HTML Help TOC options:

Below the Extended .HHP Settings editing window are some additional options with which you can adjust the appearance and behavior of the TOC in the Microsoft HTML Help viewer:

Display plus/minus icons:
Activates or deactivates the +/- icons displayed to the left of closed/open chapter icons ("books") in the HTML Help viewer's TOC.

Draw lines between items:
When this is activated fine dotted lines are displayed between related items in the TOC, making it easier see which topic belongs to which chapter in complex TOCs.

Track selection (mouseover effect):
When this is activated an underline is displayed below topic entries in the TOC when the user moves the mouse over them. This makes it easier to be sure which topic you are going to click on.

Only expand a single heading:
When the user selects a new chapter any other chapters on the same level in the TOC that are open will be closed automatically. This is useful for complex help documents with lots of chapters, because it is easier to navigate in the TOC if you do not have multiple chapters open.

Use Baggage for files referenced in your own code:

If you are a power Help & Manual 3 user you have probably quite often used Extended .HHP Settings for graphics files and other files referenced in HTML and script code entered manually (e.g. in your HTML Templates or inserted with Insert > Plain HTML Code). This was necessary to tell the compiler to include files referenced in your own code in your .CHM output.

This is no longer necessary in Help & Manual 4. You can now use the Baggage section in Project Properties > Common Properties to add external files to your project and they will then be automatically included in your .CHM file when you compile to HTML Help. See Using Baggage Files for more information.

How to add entries:

To add entries to the .HHP file enter the section heading name in upper case and enclosed in square brackets, followed by the settings you want to add or change, entering one setting per line with a hard line break (Enter) at the end of each line. Don't enter any section heading more than once.

Example:

This example shows some of the Extended .HHP settings we used for the Help & Manual 3 help, before the Baggage section was available.

About paths to referenced files:

When Help & Manual compiles your project all the necessary HTML Help project files, including the .HHP file, are generated in a temporary directory called \~tmpchm and then fed to the Microsoft HTML Help compiler. This directory is created in your project directory, which is the directory containing your .HMX project file.

This means that all file paths entered in the Extended .HHP settings must be relative to this directory, because that is where the .HHP file is located. In the example above, for instance, the files referenced are located in the project directory, which is one directory up from \~tmpchm. This is why ..\ must be prefixed to each file reference so that the compiler can find the files.

If your files are stored in other locations you must adjust the relative paths accordingly. Storing them in the project directory is usually the simplest solution, however.