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Alphabetize TOC in RoboHelp 8

Guest
Oct 18, 2009 Oct 18, 2009

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Hello,

In RoboHelp X5, when you auto-create a TOC, the books and pages are displayed in alphabetical order by default. Does anyone know how to alphabetize the TOC in RoboHelp 8? I have a fairly large TOC and I'd like it to be alphabetized each time I auto-create it before a publish. Is this possible?

Thanks!

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , Oct 21, 2009 Oct 21, 2009

Solved with some assistance from Adobe.

The icon that shows AZ is not an AZ - ZA toggle. Its two states are Sort by Name (A-Z only) and Custom Sort.

Auto-create TOC is always based on the Custom Sort order.

So if you want an A-Z toc, you need to custom sort the folders into that order. If you do that, then toggling the icon will have no effect as your custom sort will be alphabetical and, obviously, the sort by name is alphabetical.

Obvious? No. I have suggested the bubble text is clearer and that t

...

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Community Expert ,
Oct 19, 2009 Oct 19, 2009

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The automated TOC should follow the folder order so that if that has been customised, as you can in RH8, then your TOC will follow that order.


See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

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Guest
Oct 19, 2009 Oct 19, 2009

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I inserted a screen shot below. I sorted the project manager files alphabetically (i.e., clicking the AZ button). But then when I go to auto-create the TOC, it produces the books/pages in a different order--one that does not match the project manager. I think I may be missing something. Is there another pod in which you order the files that translates to the order created in the TOC? Is that what you meant by folder order, Peter?

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5798/projectcp.png

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Community Expert ,
Oct 19, 2009 Oct 19, 2009

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I'm beginning to suspect a bug.

I created some folders and alternate clicks are not reversing all the folders, just some!

Sorry but what I described is the theory of how it should work. Whatever folders you have in Project Manager should translate to books in an auto TOC.


See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

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Guest
Oct 20, 2009 Oct 20, 2009

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Thanks Peter. I was expecting it to work like you described, which is how it seemed to function in X5. The sort function works for me in the Project Manager, but doesn't seem to translate fully to the auto-created TOC--some of the folders seem sorted while others do not.

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Advisor ,
Oct 20, 2009 Oct 20, 2009

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Might it work if you open every folder (expand all pluses) before you attempt the procedure? Sometimes RH needs a little nudge.

Can't hurt...

Good luck,

Leon

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Guest
Oct 20, 2009 Oct 20, 2009

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Thanks for the suggestion, Leon. Unfortunately, it doesn't look it matters if the Project Manager folders are open or not--it still doesn't sort the TOC in the same way that the Project Manager is sorted.

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Community Expert ,
Oct 21, 2009 Oct 21, 2009

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Solved with some assistance from Adobe.

The icon that shows AZ is not an AZ - ZA toggle. Its two states are Sort by Name (A-Z only) and Custom Sort.

Auto-create TOC is always based on the Custom Sort order.

So if you want an A-Z toc, you need to custom sort the folders into that order. If you do that, then toggling the icon will have no effect as your custom sort will be alphabetical and, obviously, the sort by name is alphabetical.

Obvious? No. I have suggested the bubble text is clearer and that the icon should change according to the state. Please submit a feature request yourself as the more people who report a bug or request a feature, the more likely it is to be actioned. Please follow this link.

http://www.Adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform&product=38


See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

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Guest
Oct 23, 2009 Oct 23, 2009

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Thanks Peter. I tested what you said and, indeed, it does work: the auto-create TOC seems to use the custom order in the Project Manager. In addition to the suggestion you made, it would also be nice to have the option of auto-creating the TOC from the A-Z sort order as well. Then, I wouldn't have to go to the trouble of manually resorting hundreds of topics. It's not as big of an issue if you are creating a project from scratch in RH8. But, in my case, where I used a project created in X5, it's alot of extra work. I'll add that suggestion to the queue.

Thanks for your response, as always!

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Guest
Oct 26, 2009 Oct 26, 2009

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You should not have much trouble "manually resorting hundreds of topics". Simply drag & drop the Project Files folders from the Project Manager pod into the Table of Contents pod.

If all files within the Project Files are in alphabetical order, your job is done.

If the files within the Project Files are not in alphabetical order, you can simply:

  • delete the files for that folder in the TOC
  • display the files for that folder in the Topic List
  • sort them by file name or title
  • select them all
  • drag them into the empty folder in your TOC

I hope that makes it a bit quicker for you.

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Guest
Oct 26, 2009 Oct 26, 2009

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Thanks for the tip. Knowing that I can sort the Topic List alphabetically by topic title and then drag the sorted topics into a TOC book will help in the short term--until I can resort the topics in the Project Manager. Oddly enough, if you sort the Project Manager alphabetically and drag one of its folders onto the TOC, the folder shows up custom sorted rather than alphabetized--only works from the Topic List.

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Guest
Oct 19, 2009 Oct 19, 2009

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Out of interest, you want to auto-create an alphabetical TOC "before a publish", but are you publishing the help with that alphabetical TOC?

I always think that part of my role as an author is to produce the user assistance in a logical structure to help the users understand the applications that I document. I create a TOC based on what the software does and group relevant topics to show how it hangs together. I then use the Topic List to check that all (relevant) topics are in the TOC and then add any topics I have missed before I publish.

Using an index often helps when I want an alphabetical list, although I realise this requires more work on indexing and is often less than perfect.

I am always interested to hear other perspectives.

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