Customising Adobe AIR Help

[Nick27]

RH 8 HTML.

Is it possible to customise the output of an Air help file?

I want to do a few things:

1. Set the column width of the TOC so it is wider
2. Change color schemes if possible
3. Make my title page appear when first opened - but not be a topic (in the same way the RH8 help file does it)
4. Remove the 'pop up' that comes when I hover over a topic, the title pops out above itself, it just looks strange and I dont like it.
5. Set an indent on the text displayed in topics so it is further from the column that seperates the TOC and topics. I tried to do this with a master page but it didn't work with AIR.
6. Also, is there anywhere to get more AIR skins??

Thanks.

[Peter Grainge]

I have moved this to the AIR Help category partly to help you get an answer and partly to help others find answers later on. Please use the correct forum categories.

To do most of what you want, you would probably need the same resource Adobe used, an AIR developer.

1] I don't think so.

2] You can select Themes and Skins. What is supplied is what you get, except as above.

3] This is what I see when I open the help and that is a topic. Not sure what you want here.

4] What popup?

5] Edit the body tag in your CSS.

6] Either get that developer or wait. These are still early days for AIR help and I expect Adobe will create more as time progresses.

The more people who request a feature, the more likely it is to be actioned. Please follow this link to advise Adobe of what you want.

http://www.Adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform&product=38

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

[Nick27]

OK thanks for the move, hope I can get some answers. Buty I guess I probably need to get a developer involved 😕

3 - The topic Using RH HTML 8, displays as the main page, but it isnt a topic that you can go back to once you have moved away from it using the TOC. You can get back to it with the triangle navigation buttons on the top right of the topics only.

4 - my Help that RH creates looks different from this, very different. There is a column seperating the TOC from topics, and when you mouse over a topic, a popup showing the topic name comes up. this is redundant as if shows the topic title text ontop of the same topic title in the TOC.

Thanks.

nick

[Peter Grainge]

3] As per the other thread you are in, not all topics are in the TOC. That does not stop them being topics. That was behind my point of not everyone wanting the TOC to control what is in a project. There are topics you want accessed from the index, the search or other topics, but not from the TOC. Using RH8 is one such topic. A moment ago you wanted only topics in the TOC, now you want topics not in the TOC.

4] I thought you were talking about the supplied help, not home brew. Another example of where Adobe have customised things. Not sure if there is a setting for that.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

[Guest]

Catching up on all AIR Help discussions after months of being derailed by another project... FYI that I just submitted the following as a feature request:

Please open code to us to customize our AIR Help files like you do your own (TOC width, context in Search results, etc.). If you empower technical writers to do at least some basic customizations, it will go a long way in getting the AIR Help format out there. I'm sticking with it for now, but if I get too frustrated with the limitations or my client and/or their Beta testers have negative feedback, we'll go back to CHM before they release their product.

I encourage all others producing AIR Help to do the same! Adobe does listen. After all, I requested this separate AIR Help forum, and though it took a while, they delivered!

Now to catch up on RJ's blog and the great info Peter has posted on Grainge.org

Cheers,

Katie

Katie Carver

Senior Technical Writer

Phoenix, AZ

[Peter Grainge]

Katie

Thanks for the kind words but this request will not get heard here. The correct place is through the wish list.

http://www.Adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform&product=38

The reason the AIR Help category got added was that Rick Stone, fellow moderator, brought it to Adobe's attention follwing requests such as yours, rather than them seeing your post. Sorry. The good bit though is that you are right that Adobe do listen,  you just have to speak into their good ear.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

Follow me @petergrainge

[Guest]

Oops, I was unclear... I did post that to the wish list you referenced earlier in this thread, Peter. I was encouraging others to do the same and just thought I'd paste what I actually submitted here 🙂

Good to know that you and Rick also pass on requests! I had seen the "Ask and ye shall receive" response to my original post requesting the AIR Help forum and assumed that was an Adobe person (Captiv8r - is that Rick?)

Katie

[Captiv8r]

LOL, Rick has many identities.

• Captiv8r
• RoboWizard
• Magus
• Goober

Cheers... Rick

Helpful and Handy Links RoboHelp Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form Begin learning RoboHelp HTML 7 or 8 within the day - $24.95! Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training SorcerStone Blog RoboHelp eBooks