Context Sensitive Help

[Guest]

OK, bear with me. We have an application we've designed. We have a Help link. Click the link and the Help file opens on the default Topic I have specified. However, the project manager wants the topic that opens in the Main Frame to be context-sensitive as follows: I'm on page X, I click Help and the Help project opens on page X (in the Main frame) rather than the default page I've setup. I've created Map IDS for the topics for which the manager wants this functionality to apply. The engineer can't figure out how to implement this functionality. Current functionality: user is on page X, user clicks Help, Help file opens with default topic in Main frame, Topic X opens in a second window on top of Main frame.

I won't understand the solution (I'm not a programmer), but any info I can pass on to the engineer would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks/Geoff

[RoboColum_n_]

Hi gwgarp and welcome to the RH community.

Can you start by confirming you are using WebHelp as your output and also tell us what the application has been written in as both these will help us answer your query.

Typically most (but by no means all) people on these forums are Technical Writers so may not be able to help with the syntax of an application call. All you need to do is provide them with the map file containing the mapids and the programmer should do the rest.

[Guest]

Greetings Coulm:

JavaScript and yes I've created a WebHelp project. And thanks for your time.

Best/Geoff

[mr_scribbler]

Hi Geoff...assuming you are producing WenHelp, have you read the article on Peter Grainge's site called "Calling WebHelp Topics Using Map IDs"?

http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/calling_webhelp/using_map_ids.htm

BTW - you dont need to be a developer to understand and follow it.

[Guest]

Mr. Scribbler:

Thanks. This seems sensible. I'll forward it to the programmers and get back to the forum as required.

Very appreciative.

Best regards/Geoff