Browse Sequence Editor

[liz0910]

Hello,
I'm updating an HTML Help project that already had a browse sequence developed. The person who originally created the file no longer works here and I'm trying to figure out what he may possibly have done when creating the browse sequence. The order of folder names within the editor (what contains the topics for that particular group of topic pages) is not alphabetical. It appears in the order listed in a certain section of the Table of Contents.

However, I know that RH 5 (which he used and I still have) and RH 7 (which I'm currently using) automatically sort by alphabetical order and display that when generating the Help File. The browse sequence then begins with the first option that is actually the last option in his original help file. Is there any way to do the same thing again-order the browse sequence and avoid the alphabetical order, by any chance? Or any ideas as to what could have possibly been done to have originally achieved that?

Thanks, in advance, for any help and ideas.
-Liz

[MergeThis]

You say: "However, I know that RH 5 (which he used and I still have) and RH 7 (which I'm currently using) automatically sort by alphabetical order and display that when generating the Help File."

I don't think browse sequence editors in any HATT use an alpha sort: that would defeat the entire purpose of the sequence, don't you think? My RH X5 app certainly doesn't.

Try this:

1. With RH project closed, copy the .brs file to another folder (simply for backup).
2. In RH open the Browse Sequence Editor.
3. Click the "Auto-create using TOC" button under the right pane.
4. Click OK (to delete the existing sequences).

That should do it, but if not you still have the old .brs backup from step 1.


Good luck,
Leon

[liz0910]

Hi Leon,
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I tried following the steps you mentioned but it had the same result. The alphabetized order that I mentioned related to the parent sequence pages and not topic pages contained within each main topic when creating the browse sequences. Sorry if it's written a bit unclearly.

The TOC of the help file has a main book called 'step by step configuration' within that are separate sub-books which are the one's I'm creating the sequences for. The first sub-book is "system" and the following is "media." When doing the auto-create from TOC in browse sequence it puts the contents and folder labeled "media" before "system" even though that's not what's in the TOC. If I manually create the Browse Sequence it for some reason does the same. When the HTML file is generated the first sequence is the sequence for "media" and the second listing is for "system."

The help file for the browse sequence editor mentions that it displays all browse sequences in alphabetical order but as you mentioned, I thought it could be possible to create sequences in the order that books appear in the TOC.

Has that worked for you? Creating two browse sequences with separate topics--Both folders named differently in the Editor, and trying to reverse or change the order with a sequence folder labeled something with an "m" for instance being displayed after something labeled "s" (as an example.just a random choice)?

Thank you again for your help. I very much appreciate it.

[MergeThis]

It doesn't matter that RH is storing those browse sequence groupings by alpha, because they are each standalone entities; also, those grouping names are not seen by the users, anyway. They can be named the same as your books, but don't have to be.

As to the sub-book issue, you need to decide how you want your browse sequences to work. That is, do you want each sub-book to be its own standalone sequence, or do you want all topics in each "outer" book to be its own sequence instead?

If the former, leave the auto-genned sequences alone. If the latter, drag each topic (in the right pane) out of its sub-book and under the "outer" book. Once those sub-book sequences are empty, you can Remove them. This pretty much replicates how you'd edit a TOC, as a matter of fact.


Good luck,
Leon

[Captiv8r · Accepted solution]

Hi Leon and Liz

Leon, just an observation from the sidelines here, but I suspect a basic disconnect is occurring. I think you may be talking oranges and Liz may be talking tangerines. IIRC, you pretty much exclusively deal with WebHelp, no?

Just looking over what Liz has reported, I am sensing that perhaps .CHM is the output format in use. And browse sequences appear vastly different in .CHMs than they do in WebHelp. End users actually do see the sequence names in a .CHM file because of the way it presents the browse sequences.

Liz, I created a small project in X5 and rearranged the browse sequence. While I was not able to change it as you described by using the Browse Sequence Editor, I was able to rearrange the sequences using Windows Notepad by opening the .BRS file and editing directly. I then upgraded the project from X5 to 7 and it seemed to leave the sequence alone. So it would seem a simple upgrade isn't sufficient to destroy things. But if you make any modifications using the Browse Sequence Editor, it will indeed re-sort the list. So if you desire it in the other order, you will need to edit it using Windows Notepad. This is nothing introduced by version 7. It was the same way in X5 as I recall.

Hopefully this was somewhat helpful to you... Rick

[liz0910]

Hey Rick,
Yes, it was a .CHM file and so the labels for the browse sequences did appear. I just tried following the steps that you took where I created the browse sequences in the editor but then after generating the .CHM, I used Notepad to change the order. I ended up going back to RoboHelp just to re-generate the project, without going to the editor, and it was successful. Thank you so very much for the help!