Hi all
Hopefully Colum won't mind my chiming in on this as well.
Robert, Column is spot on with his statement about this being
what Conditional Build Tags are intended to address.
Perhaps it might make more sense to you if we put it in
different terms. Think of your help project as a big ole picnic
basket. Perhaps you will use the picnic basket to carry Breakfast
items, Lunch items, Dinner items or just for Snacks. In this case
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks represent the possible uses for
the basket.
You make different lists of what is inside according to
whether it's Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner or Snacks. Think of the list
as representing different TOC structures. Note that at this point
the basket still includes everything.
Conditional Build Tags and the Conditional Build Expression
are similar to using a list that says "Lunch items only". So
anything not related to lunch gets pulled out of the basket,
leaving behind only the lunch items.
I know in your case it would seem pretty straightforward to
conclude that nobody would ever want a help output that has items
not referenced by the TOC or by links in topics. And to an extent I
might agree. But there are many help files produced that have
exactly that setup and for good reasons. The reasons? Context
Sensitive Help.
Many help authors have topics inside the help that are only
referenced when the companion application issues a call for help
and instructs to display a topic that is specific to the task at
hand.
I'm not sure if I've actually helped here or just served to
muddy the murky waters even more. But please know it was an attempt
at helping.
Cheers... Rick