Can RH generate simple html tags?

[BenMathiesen]

Hello, and thanks in advance to anyone who responds to my question.

For policy reasons, our team is creating online help in a counterproductive way.

The help begins as a Word file, then transformed into MS HTML using RoboHelp v8. The HTML pages created by RH are then processed by another (proprietary) program called RX that imposes its own style sheet on the HTML.

We use RH because RX only accepts HTML files as input. However, we would like to preserve some of the formatting from the original Word file. RX will accept and preserve several basic html tags--<b>,<i>,<sup>,<var>, and so on.  But RX will annihilate any styles and classes that conflict with its own.

So here is my question: given that we have to work in this ungainly fashion, is there any way to get RH8 to translate Word character/paragraph styles into basic HTML tags rather than CSS styles?

To take a simple example, can I get RH8 to generate <b> tags instead of <span class='MyBold'> or <span style="font-weight=bold;"> ?

Thanks,

Ben Mathiesen

[Robo_Solar]

Don't know if RH can do that.

We use a specific tool http://htmlcleaner.sourceforge.net/ to remove inline formatting, but I don't know if it suites your needs.

[Peter Grainge]

<b> has been deprecated, hence RoboHelp writing it the way it does. You cannot change that.

Have you tried saving the Word document as web page - filtered to get an HTML file? It will be awful HTML but that should please your management given what they have imposed on you.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[RoboColum_n_]

To add to what has already been offered, maybe setting Word as your default editor would help.

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The RoboColum(n)

@robocolumn

Colum McAndrew

[Peter Grainge]

Colum, the guy has enough of a headache already.

I was thinking that as he only used RoboHelp to get HTML files, he can get those direct from Word, maybe that would save him a step. Now you want to add cesspit cleaning to his chores.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Robo_Solar]

Also consider using OpenOffice.org to convert .DOC into HTML. 

It sometimes produces better html code.

[MergeThis]

Haven't there been repeated warnings, over the years, about Open Office not playing well on the same computer as RH?

Seemed that the two were violently opposed to each other.

Anyone else remember?

Good luck,

Leon

[Peter Grainge]

I think that is more when you are generating Printed Documentation from RoboHelp. It's covered in http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/printing/print_issues.htm#word_issues and the key bit is how you install OpenOffice.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[BenMathiesen]

Thanks for the information, everyone. You've been very helpful.

Ben