Robohelp 7 - Context sensitive help and map ID's

Hi there,
Long time reader, first time poster. Let me just say my background is in training, as opposed to technical writing or software, so forgive me if my technical knowledge seems lacking.
My issue is that I've been presented with a bought in software product that the company I work for uses, and it's been updated. A year or so ago, we took their product, rebranded it and released it. The help was generated for our software build internally, producing a .chm file, which then mapped to their software to make it context sensitive for about 10 of 58 topics (top level only). (The original vendor provided an .ini file with some map id's)
My issue is that over the year, numerous changes have been made to the Word document, and it doesn't really resemble the original anymore. It is used to produce a manual, and from this manual, one chapter is imported into Robohelp 7 without images and converted to .chm. I've managed to import the chapter, convert it and produce the .chm file, however I am at a com-lete blank when it comes to making it context sensitive. I have several questions therefore...
1. Is it possible to create a new .chm that links to the old map id's? And if so what do I need to do?
2. Would it be possible to simply import the new Word file to the old project if the topics stayed the same? (Would there be much manual work?)
3. If these files are to be localised, what needs done to make that process as painless as possible? (The manual will be translated and we get that back)
Further details on the project. It's approx. 58 topics long, ranging from 20 sentences in one topic to approx. 250 in another. There are jump hotspots within the project, and a TOC has been produced. (I believe this makes the topic ID's sensitive?)
The old project had an .hh file with each line having the format: "#define 1001 1001", my new .hh file states "#define topic_title 1". I believe this is important and these may need to match?
The old project had a .hpt file with each line in the format: "23|1001|topic title", my new .hpt gile states: "23|topic_title|topic title". Again as these seem to refer to reference I believe they'd be important.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Nothing I've tried so far has worked
Regards,
Wazza

The construction of your call is invalid. You can use a URL with the structure path/startpage.htm#topic.htm to call a specific topic but that is not how it works with map ids. There are topics on my site about calling webhelp by various means.
I don't know where you got the trial of RoboHelp 7 but you will not be able to buy a full version as the current version is RoboHelp. Also Adobe have announced various sneak peeks of RoboHelp 9. There is a clue there.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
@petergrainge

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RoboHelp 10 Context Sensitive Help Displays Full Help File, Not the One Topic

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Whilst the HHP is required to create CHMs, it can also be used to open damaged projects. Just be aware it will only be as good as the last time you generated some help and not just CHMs.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
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I am updating a HTML help project file and having trouble adding additional mapping ID's. The .chm file works fine within the application we are using using the original data. However when I add to the .h file to add additional mapping ID's, its not working (only on the new mapping ID's I added. When I use the CSH Test application, it works fine. Its when ever I add additional mapping ID's it does not work within the application. So far Adobe hasn't been able to figure it out.
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#define HIDD_ADMIN_REPORT_9G                               906      // 0x0000038a 906
#define HIDD_ADMIN_REPORT_10A                              1000     // 0x000003e8 1000
#define HIDD_ADMIN_REPORT_10B                              1001     // 0x000003e9 1001
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#define HIDD_ADMIN_REPORT_9h                            131080
#define HIDD_ADMIN_REPORT_9i                                131081
#defineHIDD_ADMIN_REPORT_9J                                131082
#define HIDD_ADMIN_REPORT_9k                                131083
#define HIDD_ADMIN_REPORT_9L                            131084
PART of my question is - what is the // 0x0000038a 906 - mean? when I export the file it doesn't add those values
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To answer your question, I'm not sure but it may explain why the call works in the CSH Tool but not from the application. It looks like some sort of hexadecimal value. Could you ask one of your developers to take a look and see if it rings a bell?

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I was wondering if it is recommended to include the same terms and definitions used in context sensitive help and in the glossary or should I keep them seperate? Also, when I printed the glossary in RoboHelp verison 8 for HTML, I only got the terms and not the related definitions?
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Hi again
When you do this, did you try changing the dialog as shown below?
Cheers... Rick
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Peter - you're a lifesaver and I hope you're out there today . . . or somebody's out there who can help . . .
I shouldn't have said that in my last post about something being the "wackiest" thing I'd ever seen in RoboHelp. Now we have a new problem that's much more serious.
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Hi all,
I wanted to thank everyone who responded and post a follow-up to this, as well as a caution.
I felt like the world's biggest *** when I found this out, but it turns out that in my .doc files for this particular .hlp file (our project includes multiple .hlps) "Automatically Generate Map IDs" was turned on, and of course it should not have been. So the problem was on my end, not the software developers' end.
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(Unless someone knows a way that you *can* just stumble on this setting and trigger it accidentally, maybe by inserting some random character in your .hpj . . . if anyone does, I would love to know about it.)
So, especially if you just changed versions of RoboHelp, I would encourage you to be proactive and, if you don't want "Automatically Generate Map IDs" turned on, double-check and make sure nothing is selected for Automatic Map ID Generation on the "Map Files" tab of the Project Settings dialog. After what happened to me this last time around, I'm probably going to check it every time I compile. - why not add another neurosis to the list?
Thanks again - Sandy

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Hi Carenb and welcome to the RH community. Although you don't
specifically say it does sound like you are continuing to output
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The supported languages are listed in the help file, they do not include right to left languages.
There are no tools that I know of but last week there was a post that might interest you.
http://forums.adobe.com/message/2242235#2242235
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Maybe this link will help.
http://www.wvanweelden.eu/robohelp/context_sensitivity_in_webhelp
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
@petergrainge

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Hi,
What do you mean that the context sensitive topics are not in the output? RoboHelp generates your output and (in WebHelp, so the same should count for FlashHelp) puts the context sensitivity in cshdat_webhelp.htm. Your developer doesn't need to worry about this, he just has to get his call right.
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If your developer only wants to know which mapid's he has to call, you best give them your map files (the .h files).
Greet,
Willam
This e-mail is personal. For our full disclaimer, please visit www.centric.eu/disclaimer.

Setting up context sensitive help for WebHelp in web application.

Hi,
I'm working on a help system for a web application. It will include context sensitive help triggered by an icon on the screen, and the Topic will open in an iframe with a set size. The developer has already set up the iframe that pops up when the icons are clicked. He is giving me the ID for the screens with the help icons as a fully qualified java file name. I'm not sure what the correct process would be in RoboHelp to map the ID's to the topics.
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Welcome to our community
See if the link below helps.
Click here to view
Cheers... Rick
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I'm not clear on what the question is. You seem to want CSH and to not use Map IDs. That leaves other methods to which Willam has already pointed you. Essentially it's Map IDs or URLs. So are you asking if there is a method that does not involve the developers? No as it is they who must create a link of some sort from a screen to a topic.
You also say you don't give JS files, just folders and CSS. The Rh WebHelp output contains many files and folders and you have to give the whole output or the help will not work properly. Exactly what are you giving them?
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
@petergrainge

Need help with a Context Sensitive Help project

Hey everyone,
I'm the RoboHelp administrator around here - I've done some
RoboHelp projects and created the procedures, stylesheets and
templates for our company's WebHelp, WinHelp 2000, and JavaHelp
projects, but now I'm sort of the consultant for the content
authoring team that creates the help systems. I think I need to
call in some help from the forum about a project I'm consulting on.
Here's the situation: A project team here thinks they want
field-level help to support a web-based application. I've told them
"That's fine, it's possible, just don't demand that the help author
create topics for EVERY field, even the obvious ones like "Name",
"Address", "Zip", etc, since there is very, very little value in
doing that." We already have a very old help system that is being
CONVERTED to WinHelp 2000 (from a "mocked-up" version of WinHelp)
that did just that - every field in every screen was a separate
topic, even if it wasn't useful. Every topic was essentially "This
information goes in this field". As a result, we abandoned creating
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"Address1", 15 for "Address2", etc.
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fields" idea. I still think I have a chance of convincing them to
choose context-sensitive topics wisely, if it can present my case
clearly and be persuasive. I just found John Daigle's article about
context sensitive help (
http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/robohelp/articles/context_help.html)
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John!). It looks like, from first glance, that it might convince
that project team that "Whoa, this context-sensitive thing is more
than we bargained for", which is what I want them to think, since
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Jim

Here's a nice, convincing argument that I just thought of -
the only thing wrong with it is that I don't know if it's true or
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Does the end user's browser cache the .htm files for the help
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field definitions lessens the server traffic.
(Always get the server guys on your side - everywhere I've
worked, they wield a big stick!)
Also, I'm a big believer in functional help topics, but I
have compromised for some clients and included one-per-screen
conditional topics with the field labels. John, I wish I had known
about the map numbering trick back then - I would have loved to
give them F1 help.
Elisa

Is there a way to open context-sensitive help in a new window with RH10?

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The correct topic opens when I click the help link, but it opens in a pop-up window. This causes problems in Firefox and Chrome (which block pop-ups by default).
Is there anyway to force the context-sensitive help topics to open in a new window?
I've tried adding
<p><A HREF="javascript:RH_ShowHelp(0,'http:/myurl/index.htm', HH_HELP_CONTEXT, 100)" target="_blank">Help</A>
which opens an empty tab in Firefox with no content in it. And it doesn't work in Chrome either.
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Thanks,
Colleen

Hi and welcome to the forums.
Using the RoboHelp API, that is quite a bother. (Read: major pain)
Fortunately, there is a simple solution:
<a href="http://myurl/index.htm#<id=4>>newwnd=false" target="blank">Help<a/>
This link does exactly the same, only opens the help in a new browser window.
You may also be interested in my custom WebHelp API: http://www.wvanweelden.eu/blog/2012/08/03/custom-webhelp-apis
Greet,
Willam

Robohelp 7 - Context sensitive help and map ID's

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