Display Navigation Pane when linking topics Between Different Outputs

[STLRGA]

I am pretty sure I know the answer to my inquiry from some other posts which is this not do-able, but I just want to check to make sure I have not missed something. I want to be able to link directly from one topic to another, but each topic is generated from different HTML5 output settings with different conditional build tags specified. Each output is generated/published to different folders and each one has its own TOC, Glossary and Index.

The reason I want to do this is for multiple languages. Users will open the help in the default English version. If they open a specific topic that is translated (in my case to Japanese), there will be a link in the content of English version topic that says “日本語版を見る”. When they click the link, the topic will “switch over” to the Japanese translated version of the topic, including the translated TOC, Glossary, etc.

I have been able to mess with the link and it will open the translated topic, but it does not automatically show the TOC, title (frame/labels translated). Instead, I get the header that says, something like “Click here to view topic in content page”. When that is clicked, it is all good at that point, but I do not want end Users to be exposed to this extra step. This is the same behavior that occurs when opening a specific topic without going through the starter topic (usually index.htm) first. Is there anything I can do to the code for the link or whatever to get the topic to open automatically with its corresponding TOC, title, etc.?

I am using RoboHelp2017, HTML5 Responsive Indigo based output and not doing anything with CSH or merged projects.

[Peter Grainge]

If I have understood you correctly, what you are seeing is what you will get if you click this link.

www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/rh_tour/rh2017_new/rh2017_new_responsive_HTML5_layouts.htm

What you want is what you would get with this link.

www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/rh_tour/index.htm#t=rh2017_new%2Frh2017_new_responsive_HTML5_layouts...

Note the difference is the second link is calling the start page and then going on to the required page. The user only sees the target.

Now how to get the link in your project.

I set up a project on the same drive as my local copy of the RoboHelp Tour.

In one of the topics I selected some text and created a link using the File option in the dialog.

I then browsed to the topic above in the source files, not the SSL output.

The link will look wrong but OK your way back out, then double click the link you have just created and it will look like this.

../RoboHelpTour/rh2017_new/rh2017_new_responsive_HTML5_layouts.htm

If you now generate the project and put the two outputs at the same level on the server, that relative path should hold good.

I'm sure there are other ways of doing it using CSH but that seems to be what you want. Any easy way to create links from one output to another that will open the help with TOC etc.

BTW. The text Click here to view topic in content page can be changed in the project's LNG file to whatever you want.

---

See www.grainge.org for free RoboHelp and Authoring information.

@petergrainge

[STLRGA]

Hi Peter,

I followed your instructions and it was not quite working for me, although almost. The link was opening the navigation pane, but only showing the content of the index.htm file, not the specific topic I wanted. After checking the urls of a working project that was output with HTML5, I noticed it had /topic.htm#t= instead of /index.htm#t=. Based on that, I tried swapping out /index.htm#t= with /topic.htm#t= in the link and for some reason that worked. It does not seem to make sense because I have index.htm defined for the start page in the output settings. topic.htm just seems like something the output is creating, I do not see it in my authoring files?

Thanks so much for helping me get this figured out. I was just about ready to throw in the towel on this.

[DirkD007]

Hi Peter,

How did you customize the header (i.e., color, logo, title, and click here text) of the example you linked to with the first link in your post? I've noticed this header displays when I directly open individual topics using the Responsive HTML5 Layout. I'd also like to change the color, which currently is not matching the colors set in the HTML5 Screen layout. BTW, I'm using RoboHelp 2017.

[Peter Grainge]

The header in the image is not customised, it is standard Azure Blue. My

topic titles and link text are simply defined in the CSS for the topic.

What layout are you using?

Peter Grainge

www.grainge.org

@petergrainge

[DirkD007]

I'm using the Charcoal Grey layout.

My question is about the header above the topic title and the breadcrumbs. This is what I'd like to customize. In your example, you'd added a logo image and the "Click here..." text. I don't see an option to do this in the Screen Layout customization screen.

[Peter Grainge]

I'm not able to access a RoboHelp computer at the moment but the Azure Blue

layout editor lets you add a logo, I'm not sure if Charcoal Grey does. The

link appears automatically when help is called that way, at least with

Azure Blue. I think that would also work with Charcoal Grey. Double click

an output topic in File Explorer. The words can be changed in the LNG settings.

Peter Grainge

www.grainge.org

@petergrainge

[DirkD007]

LNG appears to have been relabeled "Labels." Which setting did you edit to add the text?

Thanks,

[Peter Grainge]

The one that currently has the value you see.

Sorry but I'm not at a RoboHelp machine to check.

---

See www.grainge.org for free RoboHelp and Authoring information.

@petergrainge

[DirkD007 · Accepted solution]

I found the solution to my header problem in the following article. Apparently there's an issue when opening an HTML5 RH 2015 project with Rh 2017 and then generating help. Thanks for your tip on the LNG file. That pointed me in the right direction.

Upgrade RoboHelp 2015 responsive HTML5 layout to RoboHelp 2017

[Peter Grainge]

Thanks for posting the solution. Not everyone does and then the next person with the problem is no further forward.

---

See www.grainge.org for free RoboHelp and Authoring information.

@petergrainge