Check this if you'll be adding code (or don't like smileys).
To confirm that you are human write OK in the box: (by the way we have several filters in place and we monitor everything, so don't loose time)
shortcuts (IE and NS6 only): hit alt+s to send, alt+p to preview, or alt+r to reset
Topic Summary
Posted by: Support Staff
Posted on: Mar 9th, 2005, 10:37am
The behavior of the CHM file depends on the MSWindows release that's installed on your system - the file itself includes just your data (and if your pages were in French, they remains in French)
As for images, yes, they are tiled. Try to use a larger image, or an image easy-to-tile (we provide several ones as clip art)
Posted by: Alex
Posted on: Dec 5th, 2008, 5:14am
I'm just following through the guide to create help file from Paper Killer. I'm trying to create the help file in the chm format.
When I start the export pages option, it starts the export but that brings up a couple of message.
Help compiler not found. See www.visualvision.com/help/ in order to get it. If already installed but this error persists, run it then open manually the .HHP file.
The second message: I follow the link to install the Help compiler on your website, but all the links are broken, so I searched for the help complier in google and installed it, during the install it says that a more recent version of the complier is already installed.
Then when I try to run the export again it comes up with the same message and doesn't finish the emport/create me the .chm file that I need.
I have tried doing the export on 3 machines, 2 with XP and 1 with Vista and they all give the same messages.
I have installed the help complier to the C:\ of each machine and the paper killer document I want to export is located on a network location and the local C:\, not sure that would make much difference but just noting it.
On most new computers it says that the HTML Help is already present (because it attempts to install the compiler *and* the HTML Help viever, I believe).
In any case, with a correct installation of the HTML Help compiler, it would own the .HHP extension so PaperKiller would run it automatically.
If it does not, you must do what the program says:
- run PaperKiller and run the export; ok it may say it can't run the HTML Help workshop, but it will export the needed file in the path you choose; memorize / write down this path (e.g. c:\mytemphelpsourcefiles\ ). The important thing is that PaperKiller has prepared all the needed files
- run the MS HTML Help workshop (if there is, you can run it, it should be under Start >Programs >HTML Help Workshop; if you don't know where it is, use the MSWindows Start >Find feature and search for the file that should be hhw.exe) run it, and use File >Open and go to the path where the files prepared by PaperKiller are, you will find yourprojectname.hhp (it will see only it)
- then within the MS HTML Help workshop use File >Compile (there are also other options that you may learn to use) and (if everything is correct: for example you should have defined a Table of Contents with Hypertext >Predefined page order - TOC) it will create the CHM file
Posted by: Support Staff
Posted on: Dec 5th, 2008, 5:29am
alternatively, you could open the export folder (e.g. c:\mytemphelpsourcefiles\ ) then right click with the mouse on the yourproject.hhp file, then select "Open with..." from the pull down menu... then you tell MSWindows that HHP files must be opened with hhw.exe (you can choose the program from a list, or browsing the hard disk searching for the file, and there is a checkbox "always open with this program")
If you do this, MSWindows will know how to do with .hhp files, and PaperKiller will be able to run automatically the Html Help Workshop...
Posted by: Alex
Posted on: Dec 5th, 2008, 6:26am
I've managed to produce the CHM file with your help, though when I open it, it only shows the first page of the manual I'm producing. There is no page options down the right and because of that the search option comes up blank when searching.
I have not really looked into the 'Predefine Page Order - TOC' section, would this be like creating a table of contents in Microsoft Word, where you select a title on a page and set it as a header and then generate the table of contents so it would then produce the TOC with the Header and page number?
When looking into the Predefined Page Order - TOC section it gives me all the pages for our manual (see attached screenshot) just not sure if there is anything else I need to do here so that when I create the.chm file it contains all the pages as opposed to the first screen.
Thanks for your help so far!
Posted by: Support Staff
Posted on: Dec 5th, 2008, 6:46am
With the predefined page order - TOC you can organize your pages in a tree-view. You can add to the tree all the pages, organized usually in chapters.
There is a button that you can press to "refresh" the tree, by pressing that button the program will delete the tree, and will put a simple tree without chapters and with all pages listed. Then you can create chapters and drag-drop pages within a given chapter...
As said, if you don't create a tree, the CHM will have nothing to show apart the first page (by the way somebody may like it, and may just be fine placing links between pages).
Also, for activating the search feature, you must define keywords with Hypertext >Keywords (you define a global list of keywords, then, page by page, you can assign some of the global keywords to a given page)
Posted by: Alex
Posted on: Dec 8th, 2008, 5:13am
Good morning,
I spent some time sorting out the TOC - I created loads of chapters and then put the pages into these chapters.
Going back to your comments about exporting the pages, I export the pages, ignorning the HTML Help messages - then when I open HTML help and go to 'file, open', you said when I looked to the folder in which I exported the pages, it would find the .hhw.exe file, when doing this it looks for Files of Type: Project Files.hhp, HTML Files .htm and then all files. All files is the only Files of type that gives me any options, which lists all the manuals images and then 3 files, MANUALNAME.CNT, MANUALNAME.HPJ and MANUALNAME.rtf.
The CNT file when you try to open in HTML Help Workshop just brings up a notepad with what seems to be a list of my chapters/pages mixed in with some code. The HPJ File you can open and then processes multiple files, which then brings up all the files in HTML Workshop, I then go to file and compile option, which should then create the .chm file I need but I get this information on the right hand side of the Help Workshop:
Microsoft HTML Help Compiler 4.74.8702
Compiling c:\PKTEST2\.chm
HHC5003: Error: Compilation failed while compiling Qtac_Manual_v1.3.1TEST.hhk.
The following files were not compiled: Qtac_Manual_v1.3.1TEST.hhk
It creates the .chm file in the specified folder but again it only creates the front page.
Hope you are well,
Alex.
Posted by: Support Staff
Posted on: Dec 8th, 2008, 5:35am
> when I looked to the folder in which I exported the pages, it would find the .hhw.exe file
Hi! No, the hhw.exe file is somewhere in your PC and it is the HTML Help Workshop compiler program. (If you can't find it, search for it with Start >Find. It is where you installed the HTML Help compiler, or where the existing installation did put it. But oh well if you did run it, this means you found it).
What we said is that in the H H W you must use File >Open, and open the yourproject.hhp file (you see the file extensions such as .hhp if they are not disabled in the MSWindows file explorer Folder options "hide known extensions" must be unchecked). If there is no .hhp file then something in the export was wrong / you did some mistake.
> , when doing this it looks for Files of Type: Project Files.hhp, HTML Files .htm and then all files. All files is the only Files of type that gives me any options, which lists all the manuals images and then 3 files, MANUALNAME.CNT, MANUALNAME.HPJ and MANUALNAME.rtf. >
From the file extensions I guess you used the export as WinHelp. WinHelp is not for CHM, is for HLP and it requires the WinHelp compiler, it's another thing. Use Export >HTML Help to obtain .hhp and the other files needed for the H H W.
Posted by: Alex
Posted on: Dec 8th, 2008, 5:49am
Ah ok, sorry, HHK HTML Help workshop!
Ok, sorted it, its complied and prouduced the .chm file with everything in, few amendments to do but it's almost there.
Was trying to create it as a WINHELP file when we needed the HTMLHelp COmplier - Was going off a print out someone else gave me.
Thanks for all your help, much appreciated!
Alex.
Posted by: Alex
Posted on: Dec 22nd, 2008, 4:22am
Morning,
Created the files I needed and everything was ok, just looking into creating an index now. Looking through your help files there doesn't seem to be anything about building an index for the exported chm file.
Any ideas?
Hope you are well!
Posted by: Alex
Posted on: Jan 5th, 2009, 2:17am
*bump*
Any comments on the Indexing questions?
Hope you are well.
Posted by: Support Staff
Posted on: Jan 5th, 2009, 3:08am
if you are talking about the Keywords, you should define them with Hypertext >Keywords.
the table of content / index can be created with Hypertext >Predefined page order - TOC
to create a index page that contains hyperlinks to other pages you can use the normal link features, or also Insert >Contents
Posted by: Alex
Posted on: Jan 7th, 2009, 2:36am
What I mean by an Index is when you export the pages and complie them into a .chm file, it has an option for an Index, which should list every individual section I have in my document. I have set up chapters and a TOC and thats all fine and keywords are set up and you can search for them in the .chm file but its just an Index I need to sort.
I have no options in the Insert menu that mentions 'Contents'.
Again, thanks for your help.
Posted by: Support Staff
Posted on: Jan 7th, 2009, 3:53am
Sorry I still don't understand exactly what you refer to. I try to be exhaustive so you will be able maybe to help me understand.
HTMLHELP SPECIFIC THINGS Within a HtmlHelp CHM file you create there are 3 tabs.
The first one list the Table Of Contents and you know how to create it.
The second one lists keywords (Hypertext >Keywords to define a list and assign some to each page) and, optionally (you can activate this with the Options tab in the HTMLHelp export dialog) can list also page titles as keywords. Of course, if you do not use keywords and you activate the page titles as keywords option, this tab will only list page titles alphabetically, so it will be like an alphabetic index.
The third tab is the search dialog and performs generic searches (full text)
OTHER THINGS Maybe you just mean that you want to add a specific page that will contain a link to all other pages. Then you may put this page on the top of the toc. To do this, HyperPublish has the automatic feature Insert >Contents that is not available in PaperKiller - sorry if we mentioned it. However you can create an index manually. You should just write manually the title of each page, one per line, then you highlight each title, then you use Insert >Link or you click the right mouse button and you may use the Quick link feature to link to the last visited pages. Ok a bit boring if the thing is big, but we always recommend HyperPublish for big things (there is a upgrade discount)
Posted by: Alex
Posted on: Jan 7th, 2009, 7:13am
I have three options in my .CHM File: Contents, Index and Search. The Contents is all set up and fine, the third option; search, you can type in a word, for example pensions and it finds all the examples in the manual for Pensions, which is good as its like searching for keywords but I didn;t have to set any key words up.
I tried setting up a few Hypertext words then exporting the files again to a chm file and searching in the index option but again nothing.
The old manual we have has an index feature, which is basically just a list of all the seperate pages from the old manual in alphabetical order. I tried looking at the Insert > Link option which is helpful but makes no changes to the HTML Help Complier CHM file in reagrds to the 2nd tab which I have, that being Index.
If there is nothing else, then not to worry its something that I can leave out with little issue.
Again, again, thanks for your help!
Posted by: Support Staff
Posted on: Jan 7th, 2009, 7:17am
I copy from above
The second tab lists keywords (Hypertext >Keywords to define a list and assign some to each page) and, optionally (you can activate this with the Options tab in the HTMLHelp export dialog) can list also page titles as keywords. Of course, if you do not use keywords and you activate the page titles as keywords option, this tab will only list page titles alphabetically, so it will be like an alphabetic index.
so to have something in the second tab (index) you must either:
1) define keywords with Hypertext >Keywords (see also manual)
2) before exporting, in the Options tab of the export dialog, enable "use page titles as keywords"
What you call "index" technically is called "keywords" by MS (probably for compatibility for the old help format, HLP)
Posted by: Alex
Posted on: Jan 7th, 2009, 10:09am
Sorted! Yeah it was that option in 'OPtions' before exporting.
That should be everything, sorry to have bothered you! Thanks for your help and hope you're cool!
Home
Help
Search
Members
Login
Register
