Adding Registered and TM symbols to User Defined Variables

[Ejung]

Is it possible to add Registered or Trademark symbols to the User Defined variable value? All of our help files are single sourced into 2 or more product brands so I am excited about this new RH7 feature (I upgraded from X5). But if I can't add these symbols, then this feature is as useful to me as the new RH logo.

[Peter Grainge · Accepted solution]

Hi Eilan

I just tried one unicode character and it appears to work just fine in both webhelp and CHMs.

I went to Start | Run and entered "charmap". Selected a symbol and entered it as the variable value. In the variable dialog it appeared as a square but back in RH it displayed correctly in the WYSIWYG editor, in preview, in webhelp and in a CHM.

The fact that the symbol does not display correctly in the variable list can be overcome by clever titling of the variable.

And what's wrong with the logo? :-)

[Ejung]

You're brilliant, Peter! Thank you. Thank you.

[Peter Grainge]

It did occur to me that the symbol need not be part of the variable. For example you need the Trademark symbol always, it's just who owns it that changes.

[Ejung]

Unfortunately, one brand uses a Registered mark while another uses the TM. So in the Single Source Layouts property box for each brand, I can now enter this information once and automatically generate the correct brand. Yipee!

[Peter Grainge]

Gotya.

[tlcraig]

Hi. I was excited to find this topic, as I have just started experimenting with User Defined Variables in RH7 (just upgraded from 2002) and am trying to do this very task.

But I think I'm missing something... I open Character Map, click the TM mark, click Select, click Copy, go to my User Defined Variables dlg box in RH7, right-click and Paste the character into the Variable Value box. A weird looking symbol is displayed. I assume this is normal, per your answer, but after generating the HTML Help and viewing the .chm, the weird symbol (rather than the TM mark) is still displayed.

[Ejung]

I didn't see a 'weird character' when I copied it from Character Map to either the User Defined Variables table or the Variables table in the Single Source Layout. I can see the TM or R (albeit small). When you paste the copied symbol on Notepad, does it past the TM symbol? Did you make sure that the Font drop down displays Arial (and not Symbol)? If you do, you'll be pasting a weird symbol. If you can't find TM, enter "Trade mark" (note the space) and click Search. Copy that TM to RH and see what happens. Good luck!

[tlcraig]

It was the fact that I did not have "Arial" selected from the Font drop-down box!! Thank you Ejung for mentioning this small detail that solved my problem!