Can the custom button image be changed?

[Guest]

I'm using RH 7 HTML to create a .chm file. I want to change the button image on a custom button (or on the home button) but can't find a way to do this. Is it possible to do so and if so how?

Thanks so much for your help.

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

Possible? - yes
Easy? - Perhaps if you are a programmer. Not so easy for a typical help author.

Most just accept that the icons are WYSIWYG.

Cheers... Rick

[NL_Derek-GsBV5a]

There are two programmable buttons in the window of a CHM project.
(Project Setup > Windows > MyWindow > Properties)
Maybe you can use one of them. Does anyone know how they work?

--- Derek

[Pete_Lees]

Hi, Derek,

Those two buttons just link to help topics or Web pages. You can't change their button images or functionality.

It's (just about) possible to add custom buttons to the toolbar by using a third-party DLL, HWServer.dll, which you can obtain from here:

http://www.helpware.net/hwserver/

However, the procedure for using this DLL is somewhat tortuous, to say the least, and you must install it on all your users' computers. For these reasons, I'm unaware of anyone who is using it.

Pete

[Guest]

Super. Thanks for the info. Another question. I want to link the custom button to our website. I can get the link to company.com to work fine but I want to link to a specific page (ie., http://www.company.com/index.php?page=customer-care&hl=en_US). The compilation fails when I put this URL in. Is there a way to link to a specific page?

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

Are you certain the compilation is failing? I ask because links to external URLs will cause a note to be issued when compiling. Normally the note can be safely ignored.

If the compilation is truly failing, you could probably work past it by creating an HTML page you would use as a redirect. Then simply link to that page from the button.

Cheers... Rick

[Pete_Lees]

Hi,

Does the compilation fail or do you just get a bogus error message like this?

HHC5003: Error: Compilation failed while compiling http://www.company.com/index.php...

This message appears because the compiler isn't smart enough to distinguish between local topic files and Web pages that are stored remotely on a server. Thinking that everything is stored locally, the compiler displays an error message when presented with a URL that it can't resolve.

Pete

[Guest]

You are correct that when I link to company.com I get the "bogus" error HHC5003. That one I ignore. However, when I try to link to the customer care page, the .chm doesn't compile properly (shows no Tabs - Contents, Search), displays only one page.

How would I create a redirect?

Thanks again for your help. It is much appreciated.

[Captiv8r]

Hi again

To create a redirect, just create a basic topic. Then change the view to see the HTML. Near the top you should see a list of meta tags. They look like this:
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="generator" content="Adobe RoboHelp - www.adobe.com" />

So you add another tag that looks like this:
<meta HTTP-EQUIV=refresh CONTENT="0;URL=http://www.company.com/index.php?page=customer-care&hl=en_US">

Be sure to save the page before returning to the edit or WYSIWYG view.

Cheers... Rick

[Guest]

Managed to get this far but now I'm having the same issue posted by another user -- the preview works fine and the page is displayed but in the compiled help I get an error saying the page cannot be found.

Ideas?

Thanks a mil.

[Captiv8r]

Hi again

Where exactly did you place the redirect page? I ask because it's a common issue that folks stick one in a folder and forget that when they configure where the optional button goes, they forget to include the folder path.

For example, you may have pointed to simply "redirect.htm". But you actually have the page in a folder named maybe External_Links. If this is the case, the field where you specify the HTML paget or URL to open should reflect:

External_Links/redirect.htm

Hopefully that gets you squared.

Cheers... Rick

[Guest]

Yeah, works perfect now. Thanks again!