context sensitive help with Oracle Forms

[akennedy703]

Hello,

I am a new Robohelp user. I am having some issues with Context Sensitive help.

Our developers use Oracle Forms, and would like to call each of our Context Sensitive help documents from the Oracle form individually, using the .htm file name which I've generated.

However when the form is opened directly (when NOT accessed via the 'main' page), the frames do NOT appear. Instead some little link appears entitled "Show" and we have to click there to see the frames.

Anyone seen this before, and is there a way to modify in an automated fashion, so that "Show" won't appear?

I'm interested in either
1. Getting rid of "show" altogether and maybe putting in a button to guide the user to the main page from the Context Sensitive help pages, if they want to go there, if the context sensitive help page doesn't answer all their questions or...
2. Getting rid of "show" and having the frames appear, like they would if the page had been accessed via the Help application, had the user accessed the Help app. from the main screen.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can offer!!

Alan

[Peter Grainge]

See the topic on my site about calling webhelp using urls.

[akennedy703]

Thanks...you understood me perfectly.

I see on this page the following text:
"Disadvantage of direct calls
The help will open without the navigation pane or the toolbar. Unless you have changed the RH defaults, there will be a Show link at the top of the page which will open the navigation pane and toolbar."

This is my problem exactly, I am only seeing the Show link.

My question is about the phrase "Unless you have changed the RH defaults...". Exactly which RH defaults should I change to get rid of that Show link, and see the Nav panes when I pull up the page?

[Peter Grainge]

When you generate the help there is a check box Show Navigation Pane Link in Topics. If you clear that, then Show will not appear. However, if you don't call your help in the right way, the user is then stuffed as there will be no TOC panel AND no link. If you call the help in the right way, they will not see the link anyway. Clearer now?

[akennedy703]

Yes, I understand.

For the user to EVER see the navigation frames therefore, in this direct-call bmanner of retrieving help files, I should probably make sure that we call help files in the 'right way' (the way specified in your site) and then maybe insert a button or something to take the user to the 'home' form, or to show the nav frames. I just think that show link makes the form look incomplete.

As stated somewhere on here, I'm a new RH user, and took the time/effort to learn all about map ids. So the fact that the developers want to instead do 'direct calls' to my help forms threw me for a loop, hence my desperate questions. But hey, I'm flexible! :-)

[Peter Grainge]

I am not sure you are following me.

If your developer makes a call to the startpage, then the help will open with the navpane and the default topic.

If your developer makes a call with the formula startpage.htm#path/target_topic.htm it will open the help with the navpane but instead of the default topic, you will see the specified topic. There is no need to insert a button or anything else. If the user wants the home page, they will click that in the TOC or they will click whatever else you want.

You can add a Home Page button to the navbar but the point is you don't need to, it is an option.

If I am not understanding the issue, please restate it. Happy to try again.

[low_right]

quote:

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Originally posted by: Peter Grainge
If your developer makes a call with the formula startpage.htm#path/target_topic.htm it will open the help with the navpane but instead of the default topic, you will see the specified topic.

---

We have been using this method for some time now on Windows as well as Macintosh and it has been working perfectly -- up until we tried it with IE 7 (7.0.6000.16386) on Vista. Now it opens startpage.htm with the navpane but it just displays the default topic instead of the specified one.

This is with FlashHelp generated by RoboHelp v6. Haven't tried it with RH v5 content.

Anyone seen this and have a solution?

[HKabaker]

akennedy,

Peter's method (tried and true) always opens the "tripane" layout showing the target topic. The user can hide the TOC pane, so long as you have put the "X" in the lower toolbar. No need for the in-topic "Show" button.

Perhaps you want only the topic to display at first (navpane closed) with the "Show" link visible. The user can opt to expand the layout or keep it closed.

That would be different, and doable.

Harvey

[Peter Grainge]

My suspicion is Vista as the method is still working for us under IE7. No solution I have seen as yet.

[low_right]

quote:

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Originally posted by: Peter Grainge
My suspicion is Vista as the method is still working for us under IE7. No solution I have seen as yet.

---

Yes. This is working fine on IE7 on XP.

I have done some more digging and have found that it works fine if using a site on the web to serve the content ( http://www.mydomain.com/test.htm?#context/context.htm). However, I need to access the FlashHelp files on the user's local hard drive, which doesn't work. It seems to be some kind of security thing in Vista since IE7 displays "Restricted Sites" in the status bar. It's ironic that it works when accessing the web but not the local hard drive!

I have also determined that the Show link no longer works. "Restricted Sites" appears in the status bar in this case as well.

[Peter Grainge]

I'm no security expert but I don't think it odd that stuff on a website is prevented from accessing stuff on the hard disk. I'd be pretty miffed if someone could do that.

[low_right]

quote:

---

Originally posted by: Peter Grainge
I'm no security expert but I don't think it odd that stuff on a website is prevented from accessing stuff on the hard disk. I'd be pretty miffed if someone could do that.

---

Who said anything about a website accessing the local hard drive??

IE7 is allowing the display of my RoboHelp generated FlashHelp content with the page.htm#context_page.htm technique when it is served from the web. It won't allow access with this technique if the FlashHelp content is on the local disk drive. That's the equivalent of opening an HTML file on your hard drive by typing in file:///C:/.... and IE7 is disallowing it. I would trust a file residing on my local hard drive a bit more than one on some site on the Internet, wouldn't you? ;-)

Anyway, the fact remains that I'm still having trouble getting this context sensitive help technique to work under Vista.

[Peter Grainge]

I thought you meant your webhelp on the server was trying to access something on the local drive.

Have you selected the Mark of the Web option?

[low_right]

quote:

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Originally posted by: Peter Grainge
I thought you meant your webhelp on the server was trying to access something on the local drive.

Have you selected the Mark of the Web option?

---

I figured it was a misunderstanding. :-)

Yes. I have the mark of the web option selected. And I have a proper configuration file in FlashPlayerTrust. Content displays fine if I open page.htm. It just doesn't open the correct page when I try to open page.htm#context/context_page.htm. The default page is displayed instead of context_page.htm.

Again, this is ONLY on Vista. It works fine on all other platforms and browsers that I have tested (including IE7 on XP).

[low_right]

Originally, the page.htm#conext/page.htm technique was simply opening the default page for page.htm. Then, all of a sudden, it began opening a blank page with "Restricted Sites" in the status bar as I reported in a previous post.

I tried out two other RH projects that work exactly the same way and they work as the first one did originally -- they open the default page but not context/page.htm and they do NOT have "Restricted Sites" in the status bar. So, I may have accidentally told IE or Vista that my first project is restricted. I have no idea. So that looks like a red herring.

Anyway, the fact remains that the page.htm#conext/page.htm technique works in Vista only if the FlashHelp content is served from the web but not if accessed as local files.

[Peter Grainge]

Sorry but I cannot offer anything helpful. Anyone else?

[low_right]

quote:

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Originally posted by: Peter Grainge
Sorry but I cannot offer anything helpful. Anyone else?

---

Thanks for trying Peter. I really appreciate it.

I might have a better chance if I start a new topic with a different title. So, that's what I'm going to do.

[RoboWizard]

Hi Peter

Not until we see a version designed to actually be used on Vista. I don't know about you, but I don't even have Vista installed. And I'm holding out until it works with RoboHelp and Captivate and my other apps.

Cheers... Rick