breadcrumbs

[a_neises]

I am running RoboHelp 10. My Help output is HTML, generated from the WeHelp target. The output opens in IE 10. The issue has to do with breadcrumbs.

When users launch Help from within the application, from a location that links to the Index.htm file, breadcrumbs display at the top of the window.

But, when users launch Help from a location that links to Help using context IDs, the open window cuts off the breadcrumbs. Users need to scroll up to view them. If users do not know to scroll up, they cannot navigate to other topics within Help.

How can I fix the output, so that users don't need to scroll up to view the breadcrumbs?

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

It would be helpful to know more about how your help is structured.

From what you described, it sounds as if your help is just one very long topic and the context sensitive call is opening to a bookmark.

Can you share some screen captures to illustrate?

Cheers... Rick

[a_neises]

Hey Rick,

Thanks for getting back to me. Here is how the Help is structured:

1. This is how Help displays after users click a Help button. The Help button is not associated with a context ID.

2. This is how the Help displays when users select to open a topic associated with a context ID. Note that the breadcrumbs do not appear at the top of the window.

3. The breadcrumbs do display after users click and drag the scroll bar up. My developers are asking that the topic opens so that users do not have to scroll to view breadcrumbs.

[Captiv8r]

Are you linking via Map IDs?

If so, in the Map ID dialog, are you linking to a bookmark? That's the only thing I can think of that would cause this kind of behavior.

Cheers... Rick

[a_neises]

Actually, I'm linking to topics. Here's a screen shot to illustrate:

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

I get the same result when my source material is coming in from FM. The MapID comes over as the marker text associated with a CSH marker that is positioned on the same line as the topic title. I think it gets converted to a bookmark in RH at the beginning of the line. Opening the help from the application positions the browser at the topic title – you can actually see it shift itself down from the top of the topic to the title in the pop-up. I suspect it’s something in the CSH launching JS.

[a_neises]

This makes sense: my Help is single-sourced from FrameMaker. However, my CSH markers are set up in RoboHelp, not FrameMaker.

Could this issue duplicate, under these circumstances?

[Captiv8r]

Hi there

One way to easily check for this is to examine the topic. Depending on how the bookmark was created, if one exists, you will find either a small white flag symbol or the words will be presented in the color green.

Cheers... Rick

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Yup, I’m seeing a little bookmark flag positioned exactly at the end of the topic title in the place where my CSH marker is in FM.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Just noticed something – this only seems to occur when the topic contents can’t all fit within a single window - if there’s a scroll-bar needed, the topic starts at the topic title line; if no scrolling is needed, the topic begins with the Show link and breadcrumbs at the top of the page. Hmm…

[a_neises]

Interesting. Thank you for the update. I am now testing the delete bookmarks theory, and will give an update after I post the files. I'll also check on the scrolling, to see if that duplicates in my environment.

[a_neises]

Hello,

My developers just let me know that the fix did not work. Instead, it complicated matters: after I deleted the bookmarks, the context IDs no longer work in Help.

Is there anything else we can do?

Thanks!

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Where did anyone suggest deleting the bookmarks? I think we’re just seeing an artefact of launching CSH help with a scroll bar present; if the called topic is short enough, the scroll bar doesn’t appear & the breadcrumbs and Show link are visible at the top immediately.

[a_neises]

OK! So it sounds like this can be fixed if the window containing the Help consistently opened up in a larger size. Is this correct? If "yes," is this something that I can adjust in RoboHelp settings, or is it something that needs fixing on the developer side?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

I don’t know of any tweak you can make via the RH interface – I think it has to do with the method used to launch CSH