Multpile user selected style sheets

[Guest]

Visiting the UK Disability rights Commission web site ( Disability rights Commission Website) I noticed they have the option available for users to select the CSS they wish to use on the site, using a selction of buttons. Is something similar available within RoboHelp.

I ask because our help is published with the system it supports and on our intranet. The intranet team are badgering us about the use of RoboHelp and are insistent that word and WCMS can produce better help than RoboHelp . I am working on showing them the error of their ways and additional accessibility functionality such as this would add to my case.

[Peter Grainge]

There is no built in method to allow the user to change the style sheet. The only way I can think of is to find some javascript that allows that and then put it into each page. You would publish using one style sheet but manually upload other style sheets to work with the javascript. It would only apply to the topics of course.

I don't know how the WCMS would work with Word to produce better help, my gut reaction is "that would be a first!"

[Guest]

Cheers for that, I'll look into getting some scripting written and have a play about.
Yeh, they have a bee in their bonnet about RoboHelp for some reason but I think we will, after I have calloused my head against the wall, win out. These are the same people that insist we insert 12 lines of the exact same Meta data into every HTML file in the web help. If only RoboHelp would let me put it in the topics and leave it there when I generate!

Anyway thanks again for the quick response.

[HWHomberg]

quote:

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Originally posted by: NianNorth
These are the same people that insist we insert 12 lines of the exact same Meta data into every HTML file in the web help. If only RoboHelp would let me put it in the topics and leave it there when I generate!

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You could give ReplaceEm a shot. www.boolean.ca/replace/

It can go through your .htm files and search for whatever portion you want to replace (or add to) and swap it out with something else. I've used it many times to go through sets of files and add bits and pieces here and there. It's especially helpful on files that I keep changing the user-visible content in, but want my HTML tweaks to remain the same after RoboHelp goes through and does it's thing to the code.

[Peter Grainge]

How would that work? The question is about the end user selecting the style sheet they want applied. I guessNianNorth could create say four versions of the help, have an introductory help file that has four topics with the same content but different style sheets and when the user clicks the one they like, it opens the version of the help with that style sheet.

[HWHomberg]

quote:

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Originally posted by: Peter Grainge
How would that work? The question is about the end user selecting the style sheet they want applied.

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Guess I side-stepped the original question. I meant the side-issue of RoboHelp overwriting the 12 lines of meta data NianNorth's intranet folks want in the HTML files.

[Peter Grainge]

Wondered why I couldn't follow your comment! Now I understand.

[ewriter]

I found information about how to define and use alternate css stylesheets that might be of interest at:

http://alistapart.com/stories/alternate/

You may also want to take a look at quirksmode.org for a more depressing view of the same thing :

http://www.quirksmode.org/dom/changess.html

Andrea

[Guest]

So could this be done by creating a button in the skin and having that apply the alt style sheets?

[ewriter]

Yes, I think so, but you would probably need several buttons for different font sizes. You also need a mechanism to make sure that you reference the correct frame in the frameset (parent.frames[1].frames[1]) The UK Disability Rights Commission web site resolves this issue somewhat differently. It calls the server side page with a parameter referencing the selected CSS or background alternative.

Andrea