Adding a link in the TOC to an external file

[Lynn_Sterchi]

I would like to be able to have a link in the TOC to an external file (like a pdf or Excel doc) that would reside on the same server as the online help project, without having to add the external file to the project as a baggage file. Basically, I would like to put in the file's address, just like you would for a URL, but RoboHelp doesn't allow me to do that. I can add a link of this type on a topic page, but I don't see how to do this in the TOC. The idea is that this file could be maintained outside of the online help project, and the online help will always link to the most current version (without having to update anything in the online help). Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks!
Lynn

[Lynn_Sterchi · Accepted solution]

Nevermind, I figured it out. I just needed to add the following to the begining of the URL address...

file://

I also needed to remember that there can be no spaces anywhere within the folder names and file name when linking in the TOC.

[RoboWizard]

Hi Lynn

And here I was about to suggest you review the link below. Silly me.

Click here to read the article

Sincerely... Rick

[Lynn_Sterchi]

Thanks Rick,

I reviewed your article and found it very interesting. It's a bit more work than my solution but I like the idea of giving the user some feedback, because I have also found that some files do take a while to load. The only hint of this that I give my user is by using a custom icon in the toc (like a .pdf icon) and then the user needs to know that the .pdf file may take a while to load. I'll give it a try and see what works best for my project. Thanks again for your help!

Lynn