CSH: Can several items in the application point link to a single help topic?

[SueC2009]

Is it possible for several items in a UI call the same online help topic using CSH? How woudl I set up the map IDs for that?

Many thanks.

[Peter Grainge]

Surely the item has one ID and the developers call it from multiple locations?

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@petergrainge

[Amebr · Accepted solution]

Or if not, you can assign multiple ids to a single topic.

[SueC2009]

Perhaps I wasn't concise enough in my question. Here are more details.

The software will display a number of messages, which the developer can "hook" to the online help. So let's say "message1", "message2", and so on.

Each one of these messages, in the software, will be associated with a unique map ID, so "map ID 1", "map ID 2", and so on.

In the online help file, I will have a topic for each of the messages, however, several of the messages will have to link to the same procedure topic.

So, for example, in my Help topic X, can I have both map ID 1 and map ID 2 associated to the same topic? I thought that duplicate map IDs were not allowed?

[Peter Grainge]

I am now confused.

In the online help file, I will have a topic for each of the messages, however, several of the messages will have to link to the same procedure topic.

Some messages go to a topic that no other message goes to but in some cases more than one message needs to call a particular topic, correct So why can't the developer have Message 1 call Topic A and Message 2 call Topic A using the same Map ID?

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@petergrainge

[SueC2009]

Sorry Peter, I didn't mean to confuse you!

The reason why is that there are going to be hundreds of these messages. The documentation is not all written up yet, and it's not immediately obvious which messages can be grouped into the same procedure. Design is adamant about providing the map file (they don't want me to provide it to them). So, they don't know which messages will have the same procedures (if it clears things up, the messages are error messages, and the corresponding procedures are troubleshooting procedures). So, they need to assign a unique map ID for every single message.

Then, when I create the corresponding procedures, I will see which have the same troubleshooting steps and need to group those together (to avoid having duplicated procedures).

I don't think it's possible to assign multiple topic IDs to a single topic.

I remember back in the days of Winhelp, there used to be something called an alias file, which I think addressed this type of situation, but I can't remember clearly (it was a long time ago!).

[Peter Grainge]

Thanks. As Amber says, you can assign more than one map id to a topic.

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@petergrainge

[SueC2009]

Thanks. That's excellent then!