Help Systems – The Logical Blog

July 23, 2015

Adobe RoboHelp 2015: Dynamic Filters

by Willam van Weelden

A few weeks ago I showed you how to use named Conditional Build Expressions to include or exclude content from your output. RoboHelp 2015 has a new feature to make tags even more useful: Dynamic Filters.

With traditional Conditional Build Expressions you choose to exclude specific content from your output. Once you generate the output, content is included or excluded from the output. If you use build tags to target multiple audiences, you have to create an output for every audience. Enter Dynamic Filters: With dynamic filters readers dynamically switch the information they want to see.

In the image above there are four holiday destinations in different countries. No country is selected in the Filter by area at the left so the reader sees all of the available content. If the reader selects US, only the content for the US (Mesa Verde, CO) is shown.

With Dynamic Filters you can create a single output where users themselves decide which content they need. You can use this to group content by user role, by module, or by locale.

Add Dynamic Filter to Output

Tag the content in RoboHelp.
Go to the Output tab and select your Responsive HTML5 Single Source Layout.
Select Use Dynamic Content Filter in the output.
Click Customize to open the Dynamic Content Filter dialog box.
From the Define area, click Add criteria button to open theTags and Expressions dialog box. (The Add criteria button is the second icon from the left.)
Select the tags and expressions you want to include as a filter.
Click the OK button.
Click Save to close the Dynamic Content Filter dialog box.
Click Save and Generate to generate your output.

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? Come join me for my live, two-day online RoboHelp class (held once each month). And if you'd like to learn more about Dynamic Filters, check out my new 3-hour mini course: Adobe RoboHelp: Advanced Content Reuse.

July 13, 2015

Adobe RoboHelp 2015: Conditional Build Tags and Named Expressions

by Willam van Weelden

A project can easily contain thousands of topics. When you generate a layout, all of the topics are generated. But what if you want to exclude several topics from being generated? Using Conditional Build tags, you can mark topics or topic content. When the time comes to generate, you can choose to create conditions that control which tagged content is generated. Using conditions, you can maintain one large project but generate multiple layouts; each layout can have unique content. Content that is excluded from a layout is not seen by your users.

Tagged content appears in RoboHelp 11 and earlier as text with diagonal lines (first image below). In RoboHelp 2015 tagged content appears with an overline. The overline makes it much easier to read the content and see which content is tagged.

The downside of tagged content in RoboHelp 11 and earlier is that you can only create Conditional Build Expressions that show which tags are excluded. A Conditional Build Expression is a list of tags to exclude from your output. These expressions can get confusing because it is not always clear which tags to exclude for which situation. For example, a company has two divisions: East and West coast. Based on the name of the tag below, will the tag exclude content from the East coast or the West coast?

With RoboHelp 2015 you use common sense names to easily distinguish which Conditional Build Expression you need in which situation.

To create a Named Conditional Build Expression, choose Project > Pods > Conditional Build Tag and then click Create a new build expression.

The Define Conditional Build Expression dialog opens. Double-click a tag to exclude the tag from the output and then click Save.

Name the expression and click OK.

If you have existing Conditional Build Expressions, you can easily change their names. Open the Conditional Build Tags pod (choose Project > Pods > Conditional Build Tag).

Click Create a new build expression.

From the Define Conditional Build Expression dialog box, select an expression from the Expressions drop-down menu.

Click Rename this expression.

Name the expression and then click OK.

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? Come join me for my live, two-day online RoboHelp class (held once each month). And check out my new 3-hour mini course: Adobe RoboHelp: Advanced Content Reuse.

June 11, 2015

Adobe RoboHelp 2015: First Look

by Willam van Weelden

Adobe released RoboHelp 2015 last week, a major upgrade sporting several enhancements. This week we take a first look at some of the big changes.

Ribbon Based Interface

The menu has been redesigned to make RoboHelp easier to use. Options are sensibly arranged and menu inconsistencies have been cleaned up. Lesser known features like search synonyms are much easier to find and use.

RoboHelp 2015 new interface

Small improvements, such as working with tables, make editing content much easier.

One of my favorites is the Locate Item tool. Open a topic and select an image or a Captivate movie. Click the Locate Item tool and the item will be highlighted in the Project Manager.

Locate item

Skins and Layouts

RoboHelp 2015 includes new WebHelp skins and Responsive HTML5 layouts. The WebHelp skins are clean and modern. Both WebHelp and Responsive HTML5 support Right-to-Left languages. Though for WebHelp you will have to use one of the six new skins.

New skins

The Responsive HTML5 Layouts have more customization options. It is now possible to choose which panes to include in the output, just as with WebHelp. The layouts have Facebook share and Twitter buttons included as well.

Responsive properties

New layout

Important Enhancements:

Named Conditions: Sensible names for Conditional Build Expressions.
Dynamic filters: Conditional Build Tags on steroids. Dynamically switch Conditional Build Expressions in your output for fine grained control.
Improved search results: Control the topic preview text in search results.
Mobile App output: Create a mobile app without any coding.
Right-to-Left: Output for right-to-left languages.
Find and Replace: The Find and Replace pod has new powerful features.
Scalable video: Adobe Captivate videos scale in Responsive HTML5 output.

I've mentioned what I consider to be the most important enhancements in RoboHelp 2015. Stay tuned for articles on each of these enhancements in the weeks to come.

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? We offer a live, two-day online RoboHelp class once a month. Feel free to contact us to learn other ways to meet your RoboHelp training requirements.

May 14, 2015

Adobe RoboHelp: Merging WebHelp

by Willam van Weelden

I've previously taught you how to create links between Merged HTML Help projects. This time, let's tackle merged WebHelp. Merging WebHelp differs from merging HTML Help in that you select the RoboHelp project to merge instead of the output.

Prepare a Master Project

Open the master project's table of contents and click New Merged Project.
On the FlashHelp/WebHelp/Multiscreen/Adobe AIR tab, click the Browse button and open the RoboHelp project you want to merge.
Click the OK button to merge the project. (The child project will appear in the master project's TOC.)
Save your project and generate your master project.

Generate Merged Projects

Once you've created the master project, you need to generate the merged projects to the correct folder in the master project's output folder.

When you generated the master project, RoboHelp created the following folder structure:

Folder structure

For every child project, place the WebHelp output into the mergedProjects\<project name> folder. (Meaning that the child project called Child 1 has to be placed in the folder WebHelp\mergedProjects\Child 1.)

Generating

Once you generate all child projects to the correct location, open the master project output to see the results:

Final, merged project

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? We offer a live, two-day online RoboHelp class once a month. Feel free to contact us to learn other ways to meet your RoboHelp training requirements.

February 18, 2015

Adobe RoboHelp: List Images

by Willam van Weelden

When you create a list, there are several list styles you can use in RoboHelp: bullets, squares, lowercase alphabet, and numbers. But RoboHelp brings one more great feature: you can use images instead of bullets.

Create a List Style with Custom Images

On the Project Manager pod, double-click your style sheet to open the Styles dialog box.
Right-click List and choose New.
Enter a name for the list style and press [enter].
Click the Create a bulleted list button.
Select the list images option.
Click the browse button to open the Image dialog box.
Select the image you want to use as a bullet and click OK.
Then click the OK button to save your changes.

Apply an Image List Style

Open or create a topic, and then create a regular bulleted list.
Select the list.
Right-click and choose Bullets and Numbering.
Go to the Custom tab and select your list style in the left section.
Click the OK button to apply your list.

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? We offer a live, two-day online RoboHelp class once a month. Feel free to contact us to learn other ways to meet your RoboHelp training requirements.

January 29, 2015

Adobe RoboHelp: Embed a Vimeo Video

by Willam van Weelden

I have previously taught you how to embed YouTube videos in a RoboHelp project. While immensely popular, YouTube is not the only video site. This week, let's focus on embedding videos located on the Vimeo website.

First, access the Vimeo site, locate the video you'd like to use, and then click the Share button located on the video.

Next, go to the Embed field and copy the embed code.

Vimeo: Embed Code

Now that you've got the embed code copied, the rest of the work occurs in RoboHelp. Go ahead and open a RoboHelp topic, switch to HTML mode, and then paste the embed code in the topic as shown below.

Adobe RoboHelp: Embed code added to RoboHelp's HTML.

Lastly, you'll need to edit the HTML just a bit. In the src attribute, type http: in front of the url.

Adobe RoboHelp: HTTP added.

Save the topic, generate the layout, and open the topic in your browser to see the embedded video.

Adobe RoboHelp: Embedded Vimeo video.

Note: Vimeo includes a hyperlink with a description below the video. Retain this link unless you have the correct license for removing it.

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? We offer a live, two-day online RoboHelp class once a month. Feel free to contact us to learn other ways to meet your RoboHelp training requirements.

October 3, 2014

Adobe RoboHelp: Multilevel List Sub-Numbering

by Willam Van Weelden

A few weeks ago I showed you how you can use multilevel lists to easily create complex lists with multiple levels. But multilevel lists are far more powerful than I could show you in a single article. This week, I'm going to expand on the multi-level list theme by teaching you how to add sub-numbers to lists:

Sub-numbering is important for many procedures and legal documents. You simply can't have sub numbering in RoboHelp without multilevel lists, unless you want to manually type in all sub-numbers. But with multilevel lists, you control this behavior right from the style sheet!

To add sub-numbering to a Multilevel List, first Create a multilevel list. Then, on the Project Manager pod, double-click your style sheet to open the Styles dialog box.

In the Styles dialog box, select your multilevel list. From the Apply Formatting To drop-down menu, choose a level that will use the sub-numbers.

Click in the Edit Style field and, from the Insert Level drop-down menu, choose 1.

Click OK to close the Styles dialog and save your changes.

And that's it. From this point forward, any of your multilevel lists can include sub-numbering (as shown in the image below):

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? We offer a live, two-day online RoboHelp class once a month. Feel free to contact us to learn other ways to meet your RoboHelp training requirements.

August 20, 2014

Adobe RoboHelp: Get the New Responsive Layout

by Willam Van Weelden

One of the hottest new features introduced in Adobe RoboHelp 11 is Responsive HTML5 layouts. The Responsive HTML5 output dynamically changes the way the content is presented based on the device the reader is using. For example, while a reader on a desktop might see a traditional table of contents on the right side of the page, someone using a smart phone will see a table of contents that is optimized for touch:

Responsive HTML5 output uses Screen Layouts, the skins for HTML5 output. With these skins you can control how your output will look for your users.

If you have used Responsive HTML5 before, you may have seen the following layout in the gallery:

The image above shows the Responsive Layout as it was delivered when RoboHelp 11 was released. You'll be happy to know that Adobe released an update of this layout with the RoboHelp 11.0.1 patch.However, even if you have installed the patch you may still be using the old layout.

While Adobe provided instructions on how to manually install the new Responsive HTML5 layout, they are hidden away in the release notes and you likely missed them. If so, here they are:

Close RoboHelp.
Using Windows Explorer, search for%appdata%\Adobe\RoboHTML.
(The RoboHTML folder hidden within your AppData folder opens.)
Rename the folder 11.00 to 11.00_old.
(A new 11.00 folder will be created when you restart RoboHelp.)
Start RoboHelp.

You can now use the improved Responsive Layout for your output:

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Looking to learn RoboHelp? We offer a live, two-day online RoboHelp class once a month. Feel free to contact us to learn other ways to meet your RoboHelp training requirements.

February 4, 2014

Adobe RoboHelp 11: Responsive HTML5

by Kevin Siegel

When I teach my two-day Adobe RoboHelp class, students quickly learn that they need to generate a Layout (via the Single Source Layouts pod) before they can deliver usable Help content to their users.

During the class, attendees learn the strengths and weaknesses of each type of layout. For instance, they learn that WebHelp is excellent if users will be accessing the Help content over the internet and they're using computers running Windows or the Mac OS.

WebHelp, while offering excellent cross-platform and cross-browser support, does not support users who are using mobile devices such as the iPad or iPhone.

When Adobe released RoboHelp 10, one of the biggest innovations was Multiscreen HTML5. Since content generated using the Multiscreen HTML5 layout displays across mobile devices, Help authors can support all sorts of display sizes. The problem with Multiscreen HTML5 is that prior to generating the content, RoboHelp developers need to take the size of the user's display into account. In addition, customizing the look and feel of the Multiscreen HTML5 layouts isn't easy since you don't have access to an area like the WebHelp Skin Editor (which makes customizing a WebHelp skin a snap).

Adobe RoboHelp 11, which was just released a few weeks ago, added a new, very exciting layout to the Single Source Layouts pod: Responsive HTML5. With this layout, you don't have to take the variety of screen sizes users might use into account. If the user is viewing your content on a desktop, they will automatically see an appropriate arrangement of the screen components; if they view your content on an iPhone or Android phone, they will see the components resized and rearranged in a layout to best suit the smaller display size.

Here's how Responsive HTML5 works. First, visit the Single Source Layouts pod and double-click the Responsive HTML5 layout. The layout appears by default within new RoboHelp projects. In legacy projects that have been upgraded to RoboHelp 11, click the Create Layout tool (shown below). Select Responsive HTML5 from the Output type drop-down menu and click the OK button.

Similar to WebHelp, you can specify an initial look and feel for your Responsive HTML5 layout by clicking the Gallery button.

There are two designs in the Gallery area and you can download more via the link at the right of the dialog box. In addition, as you'll see in a moment, you can easily customize the layout.

After selecting a layout from the Gallery, you will be presented with a series of screens that allow you to easily customize many components that make up the original design. What I really like about this area is that the Adobe engineers have labelled everything so you know what each area controls.

Generate the layout and it will open in your default web browser like WebHelp, FlashHelp, or Multiscreen HTML5. In the image below, I'm viewing the Responsive HTML5 output on a desktop computer and the display is pretty large. With a larger workspace, notice that there is a navigation area at the left of the browser window.

In the image below, I've resized my browser window to a size more appropriate for a tablet (such as the iPad, Kindle Fire or Microsoft Surface). Notice that the navigation icons have bounced to the right, responding automatically to the size of my display.

And in the image below, I've resized my Help window again. This time the navigation icons have dropped to the bottom of my display.

As I continued to resize the browser to simulate various screen displays, the icons got smaller and were positioned appropriately for the size of the display.

Adobe RoboHelp 11: Responsive HTML5 on a small display.

Of all the layouts I've used in RoboHelp over the years, I firmly believe that Responsive HTML5 is the absolute top of the mark. While WebHelp is currently the industry standard when it comes to generating Single Source Layouts, I expect Responsive HTML5 to vault into the top spot very quickly.

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Looking for training on Adobe RoboHelp? IconLogic offers live, online Adobe RoboHelp classes each month for both RoboHelp 10 and the new RoboHelp 11. We can also bring the same great training onsite to your facility. Interested? Contact us for details.

January 22, 2014

Adobe RoboHelp 11: Sharing Resources via Dropbox

by Kevin Siegel

Adobe released Adobe RoboHelp 11 last week. Over the next few weeks, I'll be covering some of hottest new features. This week: sharing resources via the Cloud (specifically, with Dropbox).

Sharing resources isn't a new concept in RoboHelp. In fact, the Resource Manager pod has been around for the past few versions of RoboHelp. What's new in RoboHelp 11 is the ability to specify a Dropbox as a folder on the Resource Manager.

To begin, visited Dropbox.com and created an account. I also created a folder in Dropbox and set it up as a share object (both tasks, creating and sharing the folder, were simple and took mere seconds).

Once my Dropbox account had been set up, I started RoboHelp 11 and chose View > Pods > Resource Manager. From the top of the Resource Manager pod, I clicked the Add Shared Location tool.

In the Add Shared Location dialog box, I clicked theLocation type drop-down menu and selected Dropbox. (Each time I've performed this step over the past few weeks, RoboHelp has consistently loaded my Dropbox folder and Path for me. Alternatively, you can click the Browse button and manually locate your Dropbox folder.)

The next step was to add content to my shared Dropbox folder on the RoboHelp Resource Manager. My shared Dropbox folder is called SharedRoboHelpTopics. When I dragged a topic (Alcohol_Policy) to the shared folder, I was delighted to see that in addition to the topic, the Cascading Style Sheet being used by the topic (policies.css) was also added to the shared folder.

One of my team members (Biff Bifferson), who is located in another state, was working on a RoboHelp project and needed to use some of my content. While we don't share a network connection, we both have Dropbox accounts. I accessed my Dropbox account and sent Biff an invite to my SharedRoboHelpTopics folder.

Biff checked his email and added the SharedRoboHelpTopics folder to his Dropbox. Biff then used RoboHelp's Resource Manager pod to add his Dropbox as a Shared Location.

Since his Dropbox included my shared folder, Biff's Resource Manager immediately displayed my shared resources.

To add my shared content to his RoboHelp project, Biff right-clicked the Alcohol_Policy topic on the Resource Manager pod and chose Add to Project.

Like magic, my content was now being used in two projects in two different locations. What do you think? Cool?

But then… then… I edited the topic on my computer. (I know, crazy right?)

My Resource Manager alerted me that my shared assets weren't synchronized (via the red icon shown in the image below). When content isn't synchronized, it's likely that team members aren't using the same content.

Because I wanted to ensure that both Biff and I were working with the same assets, I right-clicked the topic on my Resources Manager and selected Sync.

Green check marks indicated that all was well between the content in my RoboHelp project and the assets in my Dropbox. But I was curious to learn if Biff actually got the updated content in his project. And if so, what was his experience? Was it painful?

It turns out that Biff's experience was almost, well, routine. He told me that when he opened his project with RoboHelp 11 later that day, he was greeted with the Linked Resource Notification dialog box shown below. All he had to do was click the Update button and his content was automatically synchronized with mine. In a word… that's awesome!

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