Basic Working Procedures > Configuring Your Output

In this topic:

The appearance and functionality of Browser-based Help output is controlled by the options in two Project Properties sections:

•	Project > Project Properties > Help Windows

•	Project > Project Properties > Browser-Based Help

For more information on this format see Browser-based Help in the Reference > Output Formats chapter.

Different appearance in different browsers:

It is unavoidable that your Browser-based Help output will look slightly different depending on the browser used to view it. HTML Help and Visual Studio Help / Help 2.0 are controlled Microsoft outputs that use MS Internet Explorer to render their HTML code, and your output in these formats will always closely resemble your source in the Help & Manual editor.

This is not possible in Browser-based Help. The HTML code generated is the best possible compromise between the many quirks of all the browsers now in use and compliance with the W3C specifications for XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.01 and CSS1.

Unfortunately, no browser is really compliant with all the standards. In addition to this, individual browsers often interpret the same rules and formatting tags differently.

Settings in the Help Windows section:

In Browser-based Help the help window definitions in Project > Project Properties > Help Windows only control the background colors of your topic pages and their headers, and whether the topics have headers. All the other settings there, including window size and position, are irrelevant in this format.

•	See Help Windows in this chapter for more information on the Help Windows section.

Settings in the Browser-Based Help section:

Project > Project Properties > Browser-Based Help contains the settings that are only relevant for Browser-based Help.

The most important sections are Layout, Navigation and HTML Export Options. Always at least check the settings in these sections before compiling a new project.

Editing HTML templates:

If you plan to edit HTML templates please first study the chapters Using HTML Templates and Templates and Secondary Windows.

The options in this section control the layout of your Browser-based Help. The choice between a dynamic and static TOC is now made here, not in the Navigation section.

You can also choose a 3-frame layout with a top frame in which you can insert the header of your website or any other web page. This makes it easier to integrate your help in the look and feel of an existing website.

When you choose a 3-frame layout you can either load an existing page into the top frame or edit the code for the top frame directly in the Layout section.

If you load an external page you are responsible for making sure that it is available at runtime. If you want to store it in the same directory as your help you must copy it to the correct directory on your server, along with any graphics files and other files that it uses. Help & Manual will not do this for you.

The options in this section control how Help & Manual generates the navigation for your Browser-based Help. The choice between a dynamic and static TOC is now made in the new Layout section.

You can also choose a number of other options, including:

►	Single-click or double-click functionality in the Table of Contents (TOC)

►	Whether (and how) you want the TOC to be expanded automatically when the help is opened

►	TOC indentation

►	Custom TOC icons

►	Add TOC ordering numbers

•	See Navigation in this chapter for more detailed instructions on configuring the options in this section.

•	For full details on all the settings in this section see Navigation in the Browser-based Help section of the Project Properties chapter.

These sections allow you to edit the HTML templates for the Table of Contents, Keyword Index and Full-Text Search features of your Browser-based Help. The pages using these templates are loaded into the corresponding frames in Dynamic HTML mode and generated as separate, stand-alone pages in Simple HTML mode (see Navigation).

Note that the Full-text Search feature for Browser-based Help is only available in the Professional version of Help & Manual. The Search template is locked in the Standard edition.

Editing HTML templates directly requires experience with editing HTML code. If you are just getting started with Help & Manual it is recommended that you leave the option Let me edit HTML code directly unchecked in these sections. This allows you to use the default templates while you are getting used to the program.

•	For full details on all the settings in these sections see Browser-Based Help in the Project Properties chapter.

•	For full details on using and editing HTML templates see Using HTML Templates and Templates and Secondary Windows.

•	See Compiling for an important note on compiling Browser-based Help with full-text search.

This section provides access to the HTML templates used in all HTML-based output formats. These templates define the layout of the HTML pages into which the text from your topics is inserted.

Editing HTML templates directly requires experience with editing HTML code. If you are just getting started with Help & Manual it is recommended that you leave the option Let me edit HTML code directly unchecked. This allows you to use the default template while you are getting used to the program.

•	For full details on all the settings in this section see Topic Pages in the Browser-based Help section of the Project Properties chapter.

•	For information on using and editing HTML templates see the Templates and Secondary Windows and Using HTML Templates chapters in the Reference section.

This is a shared section! The templates in Topic Pages are used for all HTML-based output formats and can be accessed in the several sections of Project Properties. However, the same templates are used for all output formats.

The options in this section control how popup topics are handled and exported in Browser-based Help. Help & Manual 4 introduces support for genuine popups in Browser-based Help with JavaScript, and you can select and configure this popup technology here.

•	For full details on all the settings in this section see Popup Topics in the Browser-based Help section of the Project Properties chapter.

•	For information on creating and using popup topics see Creating popup topics and Using JavaScript popups in the Creating and Editing Topics chapter and Using Context-Sensitive Help in the More Advanced Procedures section.

The options in this section control how your project is translated to HTML code. They have a major influence on your output and you should always check them before compiling a new project for the first time. Changes made here can cause radical differences in the behavior and appearance of your Browser-based Help output.

•	For full details on all the settings in this section see HTML Export Options in the Browser-based Help section of the Project Properties chapter.

This is a shared section! The settings in HTML Export Options are used for all HTML-based output formats and can be accessed in the several sections of Project Properties. However, the same settings are used for all output formats.