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Creating Web Help / Creating a Web Help System |
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HelpSmith allows you to compile your help project as a customizable Web Help system that can be accessed with a regular browser program on any platform including desktop computers and mobile devices.
Compile a Web Help System
1.On the Project tab, in the Project group, click Compile.
2.In the Compile Project dialog, in the Output Format box, select Web Help.
3.If necessary, select build tags and other options that you want to apply to this compilation.
4.Click OK.
Remark: You can also access the Compile Project dialog by pressing F9.
Quick Compilation with the Previous Options
You can skip the Compile Project dialog and apply the previously used options including the build tags that were selected for this output help format:
1.On the Project tab, in the Project group, click the lower half of the Compile button.
2.In the popup menu, under Quick Compilation, click Web Help.
Batch Compilation Mode
If necessary, you can use the batch compilation mode that allows you to compile documentation in multiple output formats or to generate different versions of the same help file (by using build tags) with a single click. You can visit this topic for more details on how to add a new compilation task.
Web Help Output Directory
When you compile a Web Help system, you can use the default output directory or specify a custom location of your help system.
By default, HelpSmith puts the files of the compiled Web Help system to the "WebHelp" folder located in the same directory as the project file. If your help project has never been saved, HelpSmith will use your Windows "My Documents" folder as the default output directory.
Publishing a Web Help System
The output folder defined for Web Help stores all the files of the help system and it is the folder that you need when you want to publish the entire hep system on a web server, in a shared folder of your local area network, or to distribute it to other people.
Accessing a Web Help System
A Web Help system can be viewed on any platform that includes a full-featured browser program such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, etc.
Integration with a Website or Application
A Web Help system created with HelpSmith supports URLs parameters that you can use to integrate it with your website or application and provide Context-sensitive Help. For more details, please refer to this topic.
Customizing a Web Help System
You can customize the appearance, behavior, and other settings of a Web Help system according to your own needs. The following topics describe different categories of the Web Help-related options:
Using JavaScript and CSS in Web Help
HelpSmith allows you to include and use JavaScript and CSS files in help topics and in the HTML layout of your Web Help system, add HTML attributes to the page elements, and also to insert custom HTML code into a help topic. These capabilities can be used to implement non-standard functionality in HTML-based documentation, or to apply any special formatting attributes.
Built-in Web Server for Testing a Web Help System
HelpSmith includes a built-in web server that allows you to test your Web Help system on the local computer through the http:// protocol as if it was accessed from the final web server.
Using a web server eliminates any security restrictions of modern web browsers associated with running a web page from the local computer directly (through the file:// protocol) that could make some functions of the Web Help system work incorrectly.
The local web server runs automatically when you generate a Web Help system.
If necessary, you can control and configure the local web server in HelpSmith settings as described in this topic.
Creating a Web Help System for Use on the Local Computer
If you compile a Web Help system that will be located and accessed from a web server only (through the http:// or https:// protocol), you can enable the Load data dynamically option. This mode provides faster loading of the help system since it will load data (e.g. TOC, keyword index, topic table, search index, etc.) dynamically through an AJAX request. However, this method does not work without a web server.
Therefore, if you compile a Web Help system that will be accessed from the local computer directly (through the file:// protocol), you should disable the Load data dynamically option. In this mode, the Web Help system will load data statically, which works both on a web server and on the local computer.
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