using a graphic to link to PDF files

[kmaddox1]

I have some complicated flowcharts that don't display well online. I want to link to the associated PDF files, so customers can print them. I've finally figured out how to get the links to work (thanks so much, Peter, for an earlier post about disabling Mark of the Web when linking to baggage files). Now, I'm trying to make those links look a bit fancier than just "Click here to see a PDF." Specifically, I'm looking for a standard PDF icon that customers can click to access the PDF. Does anyone know where I can get one? Is it legal to simply take a screen shot of Adobe's icon and use that? And is the best way to link from the icon to the PDF simply to place an Image Map over the icon?

[Guest]

Kathy,

To answer your last question, using an image map is making things more complicated than they have to be. You should be able to just make the image itself a link to the PDF with target="_blank" so the PDF opens in a new window.

--Ben

[kmaddox1]

Thanks, Ben, I didn't realize you could make the image itself a link. And I answered part of my own question by Googling for "PDF Icon" and reaching Adobe's own guidelines for downloading and using the icon. So I'm set. Except for one thing--do I have to include the PDFs that I'm linking to in the top-level folder of my project? I can't seem to get things to work if they're in a lower-level "Images" folder, which is where I'd prefer to include them (since that way they'll be associated with the original Visio flowchart and the GIF image).

Thanks,

Kathy

[Guest]

What does happen if you put them in a lower-level folder and then you click one of your PDF icons? Also, can you post the HTML code for one of your icon links? Maybe the problem is there.

--Ben

[kmaddox1]

When I attempt to link to a PDF in my Images directory, I get a "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage" error when I attempt to open the link in the compiled Webhelp. Here's the offending HTML code:

<p class=PDFlink><a href="../images/AccessProductSetup.pdf"><img src="../../pdficon_large.gif"
x-maintain-ratio=TRUE
style="border: none;
width: 32px;
height: 32px;
float: none;
border-style: none;
border-style: none;"
width=32
height=32
border=0> <!--kadov_tag{{<spaces>}}--> <!--kadov_tag{{</spaces>}}-->View
PDF</a></p>

But if I edit the hyperlink to point to a file in the top-level folder, the PDF opens in the browser window as expected. Here's the HTML that works:

<p class=PDFlink><a href="../../AccessProductSetup.pdf"><img src="../../pdficon_large.gif"
x-maintain-ratio=TRUE
style="border: none;
width: 32px;
height: 32px;
float: none;
border-style: none;
border-style: none;"
width=32
height=32
border=0> <!--kadov_tag{{<spaces>}}--> <!--kadov_tag{{</spaces>}}-->View
PDF</a></p>

The only difference seems to be the location of the file. The one in the sub-folder doesn't appear to be getting put into the Webhelp output. I thought that was what the baggage files were for, but I can't seem to add a New Baggage File to any of the Baggage Files subfolders. What am I missing here?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

[Peter Grainge]

Ref not being able to add baggage files, see X5 Baggage Bug on my site.

[Guest]

I notice Peter's site has info on both X5 and 6 for this problem. I'm using RH 7, and I tried linking to a PDF in a second-level folder from a topic in the top level folder and from a topic in a second-level folder. Both worked just fine, and the PDF showed up in my baggage files in Project Manager. So Kathy, I assume you're not using v7... If not, here's a plug for RH7, where it seems the bug was fixed.

By the way, your link code suggests that the PDF is not opening in a separate window, but in your topic pane. Is that right? If that's the case (and it's not what you want), in the Hyperlink dialog, select the "Display in frame" radio button and "New Window" in the dropdown. That gives you the target="_blank" in the code. Otherwise, the user has to use the TOC or the Back button to get back to the help topic.

[kmaddox1]

Hi Ben and Peter,

I just went to Peter's site to research the baggage bug. I didn't realize it also affected RH6. Should there be an rhbag.apj file in the Image subdirectory that contains the PDFs I'm trying to link to?

As for upgrading to RH7, I tried that a few weeks ago, but quickly went back to RH6. I crashed the new software 4 times in just a few hours. Since others aren't reporting the same problem, I assume something's "wrong" with my help system or my computer or something, but I can't afford the time to research what's wrong. That'll have to wait for some lifetime (i.e. job) when I actually have leisure time.

And, yes, my link was opening up the PDF in the topic window. I'll try it the other way--thanks so much for the instructions.

[Peter Grainge]

There's just one file, in the root.

[kmaddox1]

ok. I think I got it. WIth a little manual edit of the rhbag.apj file I can now link directly to the PDFs in my Images directly. That RH6 baggage bug booger is really a big annoyance, but the workaround seems to do the trick. Thanks for all your help.