TOC in merged WebHelp project

[brenwine]

Hi, I'm fairly profficient in HTML Help but am pretty new to WebHelp. We have to merged HTML Help projects that we would like to publish as WebHelp also. I've tried it out and just can't get it to work the way I want. I have two problems in particular.

1) Can you control the name of the parent TOC entry that references the child project? When I merge the child into the parent, the name of the child project appears automatically in the parent TOC. Our project names aren't user-friendly, so I'd like to change the name in the parent TOC but can't figure out how.

2) When I click the child TOC entry in the parent project, the child project opens in a new browser window. I want it to open in the same window as the parent, within the context of the parent project. Is there a way to make it do that?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Brenda

PS-We're on RoboHelp X5 if that matters.

[Guest]

Hello Brenda,

I think Peter's Merged Webhelp instructions will answer all your questions. Click here to be directed to the relevant page.

Hope this helps,

Brian

[brenwine]

I looked at this solution on Peter's Web site yesterday, but I'm not sure that it applies to us. What I'm trying to do is see if we can use a project that we already use for generating HTMLHelp for generating WebHelp also. So our projects, including the parent/child relationships, already exist. Our parent project contains actual content, so I don't think we can create a "dummy" parent project to mimic the structure that Peter suggests--we'd end up with children nested within children, which I understand won't work. We only have a few parent-to-child links anyway, so I'm not sure the structure that Peter suggests is necessary for us at all.

So... what I need to know is how to get it to work using the structure that RoboHelp creates automatically.

Thanks!

[Peter Grainge]

Your project name shouldn't be seen by users. In the parent TOC the placeholder will have the parent project name but in the final output, what you will see their is the child TOC, not the project name.

The child TOC should not be in the parent TOC, just the placeholder. Sounds like you have not got the right set up.

Brian has given you the link to my site and I think if you work through that topic, you will find what you need to do.

[brenwine]

That's what I expected--that what I was seeing in the parent project TOC was just a placeholder that would be replaced with the actual child TOC in the output. That's how our HTMLHelp works. But when I generate the output, I see the same child placeholder in the parent TOC and clicking it makes the child project open in a new browser window. I have it set up the way the RoboHelp instructions say to do it.

[Peter Grainge]

I don't follow why you would end up with children within children.

You could use the structure I propose but without the redirect. Just make sure that project has no links to or from any child project. Your existing parent then becomes a child like all the others. I believe that would work for CHM output as well.

However, you say you have few parent / child links so you can live with what you have.

That sort of brings us back to your original questions. Your different structure will not affect those points so you should be able to glean those answers from the topic.

See my previous answer re the project name. The child opening in a new window sounds like you are pointing to its start page, rather than the topic your want displayed. Come back and clarify those issues if not resolved.

[Peter Grainge]

I think we are playing leapfrog here! I'll wait until I know you have seen my latest post.

[brenwine]

I still can't figure it out. It's as if the merged TOC entry in the parent project isn't being constructed properly. If the placeholder entry in the parent TOC is supposed to be replaced by the TOC from the corresponding child project, that is definitely not happening. From your Web site and your responses here, it sounds like that part of it should be automatic. I don't know what else to do to resolve that issue--I'm adding the merged WebHelp project to the parent TOC by following the RoboHelp instructions, which are the same as your instructions. And you say, "The child opening in a new window sounds like you are pointing to its start page, rather than the topic your want displayed." But I'm not pointing to any page/topic in particular. It's just whatever the TOC entry in the parent project is pointing to automatically. Is there a file that I can check to see if my merge references in the parent TOC are set up right?

[Peter Grainge]

Can you mock up this problem with a couple of new projects? If you do that, either you will discover the problem yourself or you can send it to me and hopefully I can resolve it.

[brenwine]

I must be missing something really obvious. I created a brand new parent and child project. I merged the child into the parent TOC. When I generate and publish the output, I have the same problem--I see the child project name in the parent TOC instead of the child TOC itself, and clicking it opens the child project in a new window.

[Peter Grainge]

OK that makes it easier. Zip up that parent and child and send it over.

[brenwine]

I've sent them to the e-mail address on your Web site. Thanks!