Creating Online Help (Part 2): Strategies and Implementation

Developing Your Navigation

Developing your navigation in a Help system is the third major step to creating a Help project. HTML-based Help systems provide a number of approaches to navigation.

Hyperlinks to Related Topics

Hyperlinks to related topics are analogous to cross-references in print documents but are much faster and more convenient, and so are more likely to be used. Consider these ideas when using hyperlinks:

• Avoid using hyperlinks if you intend to work with related topic controls instead. Hyperlinks are more difficult to maintain than related topic controls.
• Don't create hyperlinks out of the same text within the same topic when a single reference is enough. Avoid creating more than four or five hyperlinks to related topics. Otherwise, users might feel overwhelmed by information.
• Consider using hyperlinks to display additional information in pop-up windows or secondary windows. That way your hyperlinks won't abandon the current topic and abruptly change your user's point of view.
• Don't create index entries that go more than three levels down.

Hyperlinks and Related Topic Controls

Four kinds of links are available inside HTML Help and WebHelp:

Standard Hyperlinks: Familiar to most Help authors and users, standard hyperlinks typically appear as blue hypertext, turning the user's pointer into a hand when it moves over the hyperlink. Selecting a hyperlink directly accesses another topic (see Figure 14).

Figure 14. List of standard hyperlinks to related topics

See Also Controls: Instead of creating multiple hyperlinks to access related topics, Help authors can use a See Also button or link to show a list of related topics in a dialog box or pop-up window (see Figure 15). The list of topics is created by associating topics with a See Also keyword, and then creating a button or link that displays those topics associated with the keyword. The See Also control is smart: If remove a topic belonging to a See Also control's list from the Help system, the reference to the topic in the list is dropped automatically. Additionally, the user's current topic is omitted from the list of related topics. This makes it possible to copy and paste See Also control buttons into multiple topics.

Figure 15. See Also control displaying a list of related topics in a dialog box

Keyword Link Controls: Like the See Also control, the Keyword Link control saves Help authors from the need to create multiple hyperlinks to other topics from within the same topic. Instead, the Keyword Link control makes it easy to create a button within a topic that activates either a pop-up window or dialog box to display multiple hyperlinks to those related topics. The list of topics is based on the topics already associated with a specific index entry or keyword. The Keyword Link control is smart: If you remove a topic associated with a Keyword Link control from the Help system, the reference to the topic is automatically removed from the control's list. Additionally, the user's current topic is omitted from the Keyword Link control's list. This makes it possible to copy and paste Keyword Link control buttons into multiple topics.

Related Topic Controls: Unlike the Keyword Link or See Also control, the Related Topic control enables Help authors to choose related topics individually to appear in a pop-up window or dialog box. The Related Topic control creates buttons or links within topics that activate a list showing multiple hyperlinks to related topics. With some exceptions, these buttons or links are usually placed at the bottom of a topic (see Figure 16). The list of topics associated with a Related Topic control button is created in RoboHelp by selecting the topics with the Relate Topic Wizard. If a topic associated with a Related Topic control's list is removed from the Help system, the reference to the topic is automatically removed from the list. Inside WebHelp, the user's current topic is omitted from the list of related topics. This makes the Related Topic control smart inside WebHelp. (Related Topic controls, however, are not smart inside HTML Help.)

Figure 16. Related Topics control displaying a pop-up list of related topics

Browse Sequences

Browse sequences offer users the ability to browse through a series of related topics in a sequence organized by the Help author, like pages in a book (see Figure 17). The type of browse sequences available in RoboHelp HTML accommodates multiple sequences and allows topics to belong to more than one sequence. You have the option of organizing your browse sequences the same way your TOC is organized or else creating custom sequences. For example, you may decide to create browse sequences based on overview style topics encompassing the entire Help system. Or you may create a sequence that browses through the entire Help system, moving from one group of related topics to another. Ultimately, well-constructed browse sequences help users scan for information in a Help system easily.

Figure 17. HTML Help browse sequences illustrated in RoboHelp HTML Help

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