Add an image to a Style?

[Guest]

Hi,

I am trying to achieve the following. Does anyone know the best way to do this?

Throughout my manual I am going to have different blurbs of important information that I am calling Notes. It seems like a pretty standard thing. What I've done so far is to create a new style called "notes". I set it to an italic font with a border and shading. It looks good. However, I want to have an image of a sticky note with each one. Do I just have to insert it manually everytime?

I think I do but I guess you never know...

thanks

[johnmccallum]

I tried to do this once but couldn't get it to work. I'm no style sheet expert, so I'm not saying it can't be done. I remember trying to use an image instead of a standard bullet (there seems to be an option for this in RH's style sheet editor) and read (in RoboHelp's help file) that "image loading" must be turned on but could not find out how to do that.

John

[Guest]

I can't get it to work either, but I tried doing a background image and then having padding so that the text would be to the right of the image instead of on top of it.

When you say manual, are you also referring to making this work in Word? I don't think that a style with a background image would move across to Word, but someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

Specifying a custom bullet image may work. John, did you say elsewhere that you use RH 2002? It may be easier in later versions, and a bullet image would be more likely to go across to Word correctly.

--Ben

[RoboColum_n_]

Like John I tried this once as I had a project whose client demanded a custom bullet image. It worked quite well in a CHM file even though I felt it distracted from the text. What you want is slightly different. I think the key to this is getting the padding around the image and on the stlye correct. It will probably require some trial and error before it's right.

I am also wondering if you could handle this with a two column table with no border. The left hand cell would have the note image and the right hand cell your text. Just a thought.

[Guest]

I tried with the custom bullet actually before I even read these responses. That image didnt convert over to Word. Also, it puts the bullet outside of the border.

Anyway, I find it's actually easy to just Insert> Image.

Thanks!

[Guest · Accepted solution]

I too have tried (and taking on board what Colum says) you can either use a paragraph style or use a table with a graphic insterted.

Unfortunately RH lacks the firepower of Framemaker in this regard where one could add a graphic as part of a style.

I also haven't been able to do this in RH. Personally I find the paragraph style easier as it can be applied automatically.....

[johnmccallum]

I actually use a table as Colum suggested for something like this. That, of course, is more difficult to insert than an image. However, I never thought about using a snippet for this (I don't have them in my version). Could one add the table with image as a snippet and still be able to write in one of the table cells? I'm just wondering if the snippets work that way. Are they inserted as actual blocks or as references until compiled?

John

[RoboWizard]

Hi John

While it's an excellent thought, I don't believe Snippets will allow it. Here's why. The table would likely contain different information wherever it was placed. When you insert a snippet, you have to simply accept what the snippet contains. You can't change it unless you change the snippet. Then it changes for all topics where the snippet has been inserted.

You might use a Snippet for something like a standard disclaimer.

Cheers... Rick

[johnmccallum]

Thanks, Rick.

That's how I thought they worked but I wasn't sure. Thought they might have been more like a clipboard.

John