A context-sensitive Help (CSH) topic provides information about the user interface of an application relative to the task a user performs. For example, CSH topics provide details about fields and controls in dialog boxes, descriptions of windows or screen objects, and explanations of messages. The user accesses a CSH topic by pressing F1, clicking a Help button, selecting from a menu, or clicking a question-mark icon.
The process of creating and implementing context-sensitive Help typically involves the content author and the application developer. To specify context-sensitive topics, the author creates map IDs and map files. When a user accesses context-sensitive Help, a map number and Help file name are sent to the Help engine. The engine matches the map number to a topic ID and an HTM filename so that the correct topic appears.
The final step in the process is to test the context-sensitive Help. RoboHelp HTML provides several tools you can use in addition to testing context-sensitive Help in the application.
Window-level topic
Describes windows, dialog boxes, and messages in an application. Each window-level topic is in HTM format and stored in a file with the extension .htm. It can contain text formatting, links, images, and other features. These topics are more detailed than field-level topics because they describe the user interface components. Users access these topics by pressing F1, clicking Help buttons, and selecting from menus.
If a custom window is not included with the application Help, context-sensitive topics appear in the HTML Help viewer.
Field-level (What's This?) topic
(WinHelp and Microsoft HTML Help projects) Briefly describes a field. A user accesses the topic by clicking a question-mark icon, and then clicking a field in a dialog box. In RoboHelp, field-level topics are called What’s This? topics.note: WebHelp, WebHelp Pro, FlashHelp, FlashHelp Pro, and AIR Help do not support What’s This Help. WebHelp window support is available only with the context-sensitive Help API (Application Programming Interface).
Airplane Help
Offline Help unsupported by an Internet connection. To use RH_ShowHelp, associate the offline Help system with the function RH_AssociateOfflineHelp. This step tells the function how to operate if no Internet connection is available. Individual calls to RH_ShowHelp must specify offline Help. Both RH_ShowHelp and RH_AssociateOfflineHelp are in the support files. Use airplane Help to provide back-up Help when an Internet connection fails.note: RH_ShowHelp is a programming function that a developer uses to display a help topic using rules found in RoboHelp's CSH API.