Can I display a topic's content beneath a twisty?

[Panitzke]

Hello, I am having a number of issues:

1. I am trying to use twisties in RH 8, and all the instructions I find online haven't helped. The functionality seems to be missing.

2. I would like to be able to link topic content to a twisty, so that when the user clicks to drop down, an entire topic shows beneath. See the example below. How can this be done?

Thanks in advance!

[Peter Grainge]

Difficult to comment without knowing what you have looked at.

Try the RoboHelp Tour on my site for the twisties method provided by RoboHelp and look at Twisties for another method that allows you to select which dropdowns have twisties.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Panitzke]

Thanks Peter,

I couldn't find instructions for exactly what I am trying to do on your website.

I don't want to enter content into the expanding text field, then format it. I want to place content from already formatted topics into the expanding text.

In other words, rather than a user clicking a link and it opening up a new page of content, I would like that content to appear inline on the same page, where it can be minimized/collapsed again when the user has the information they need.

Does this make sense?

If there is information on your website for this, please post a direct link.

Thanks very much!

[Peter Grainge]

When a user is in a topic you can have hotspots that:

Display text below the hotspot - Dropdowns

Display text alongside - Expanding text

Change the topic displayed - Links

I think you want the user to click a hotspot and then have the content of another topic appear below the hotspot, correct?

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

ringe

[Panitzke]

Yes, that is what I would like to do-- and I would like that content to be opened and closed by a twisty near the hotspot.

A use scenario is as follows:

There are three tasks as prerequisites for this task:

> Task 1

> Task 2

> Task 3

(Remaining primary task content)

When the twisty is clicked, it would look like this:

There are three tasks as prerequisites for this task:

> Task 1

V Task 2

      To do this prerequisite task, do the following:

          1. Do this

          2. Do that

          3. Complete these fields

Header 1	Header 2

> Task 3

(Remaining primary task content)

This way, when the user has finished with the prerequisite task, they can collapse those instructions with the twisty and carry on with the primary task at hand.

Please see also the screenshot I posted originally. That is the functionality I am trying to replicate.

Hopes this helps clarify things!

[Peter Grainge]

What you describe is a Dropdown hotspot (that can also have a twisty) but the difficulty is you are wanting that content to be another topic.

What is the problem with a conventional dropdown where when the hotspot is clicked, additional text is displayed below the hotspot in the way you want?

Take a look at Twisties 2 and click the demo.

http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/twisty/twisty.htm

It sounds like what you want other than you saying the content has to come from another topic.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Willam_van_Weelden · Accepted solution]

Hi,

You can add an iframe in a dropdown. Insert > HTML > iFrame. Link that to the topic you want. You will have to play around with the size of the iFrame and you may get scroll bars when the iFrame is too small.

Greet,

Willam

[Panitzke]

Hi,

I think the Iframe is the ticket, though for less complex topics I may take Peter's advice and just copy/paste content into the drop-down text.

The primary and ongoing problem is that standard Twisties are no where to be found in Robohelp 8. I followed the advice found in this discussion and had no luck. That twisties button is nowhere to be seen!

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/690081?tstart=1

The advice seemed to work for that user, but it did not for me. Any idea why I can't find that button?

[Peter Grainge]

Setting up twisties in RoboHelp 8 is described in the RoboHelp Tour. Did you try a search there?

Look under RoboHelp 8 New Features. All it is going to give you is the twisty image against all dropdowns. What you get in the dropdown is either text you enter there or the iFrame if you go that route.

You will only see the iFrame menu option if you have a topic open.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Panitzke]

Hello,

Sorry, I am on Robohelp 7. That is totally my fault for the poor communication!

I see now that twisties are new in 8 and that explains why I cannot find them. I tried to use the Twisties 2 script but it didn't work and is too complex a process for how often I'd have to do this.

Thanks very much for your time and dedication!

Abbey

[Willam_van_Weelden]

That also explains why you can't insert the iFrame. You can still use iFrames in RoboHelp 7, but you need to manually insert the HTML for that.

Greet,

Willam

[Panitzke]

Likewise, I wanted to add, there is no Insert > HTML > iframe. I don't have that option either.

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

Perhaps you have already made these discoveries, but I didn't see them so will add. Apologies if I managed to miss them.

On the DHTML drop downs. Sometimes folks think they are "stuck" with having to use that silly little window to make all the edits in. YUCK! My preferred way of creating drop down stuff is to create it directly in the topic in the exact place where it will ultimately appear. That way you have full editing capabilities. Once you are satisfied with the appearance, select it all and cut it to the Windows Clipboard. THEN open the silly little dialog and PASTE the Clipboard contents into the dialog. Your life will be much easier and your blood pressure lower when you work that way.

The "easy" way I always inserted an Inline frame in to version 7 and earlier was by taking this approach.

Place the cursor on a blank line where you wish to insert the inline frame. Type XXX. Select the XXX and change to HTML view. You should see something like this:

<p>XXX</p>

Then change it so it looks like this:

<iframe>XXX</iframe>

Return to Design View and it should look like this:

Click a corner sizing handle and drag the frame until it is larger.

Now you can double-click the inline frame in the topic and a properties dialog should display that allows you to configure the other options.

Hopefully this helps... Rick

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