iFrame and RoboHelp WebHelp popup content

[maniac9999]

I just got a call from a Developer on a team asking if we can use RoboHelp with an iFrame. Essentially, it's a different way to present a pop-up window in a web app. I'm guessing the answer is "no", but I need a second opinion.

Here's the page I looked at: http://jquery.com/demo/thickbox/

Scroll down to the "iFramed Content" box, then click on the Demo tab. The Demo HTML shows you the coding they used.

Is this possible with RH X5 (what we're currently using) or RH 6? How?

Thanks,
Jim

[Gravenstein]

I've used iFrames on a very limited basis to display RH topics. The RH topics were VERY small and basic, though.

G

[MergeThis]

The other thing about iFrames in RH: their content won't get printed with the rest of the topic. (Neither will JavaScript variables.) Therefore, we stuck with default pop-ups.


Good luck,
Leon

[maniac9999]

G and Leon,

Thanks for responding. Any ideas on how I would do this?

I saw in an RH help topic called "Calling Functions from Web Pages" that the basic syntax for calling a pop-up looks like this:

function RH_ShowHelp(hParent, a_pszHelpFile, uCommand, dwdata)

with the meanings behind the parameters explained in the topic, but I'm guessing (again! - ha!) that this wouldn't be the case for an iFrame. Instead, I would point directly to an HTML topic that would need to be placed in a folder outside the build, then use the code described on the iFrame demo site to call the topic.

Essentially, I'd be making "dead end" pop-ups where a user could see the popup, read it, close it, but they wouldn't be able to print it and they wouldn't be able to navigate to the other parts of the help once they're in the pop-up. Unless... the "Show" link would display in the topic content... Am I on the right path or am I totally wrong?

Thanks again,
Jim

[MergeThis]

Yes, kinda...

An iFrame is not a popup, however. Actually, it's a lot like this reply box, where you set its size to accomodate at least a good portion of whatever content you're presenting.

See the W3C Tutorial for an example and a list of options (border, height, source, etc.).


Good luck,
Leon