TCS3.5 > FM10 to RoboHelp: Handling 'more info' help links in FM

[Jang F.M. Graat]

Steve,

Using conditional text to blend something in or out on the RoboHelp side does not seem to be the most author-friendly method.

I think the more elegant solution would be to include some ExtendScript in RoboHelp to process the info that is included in the FrameMaker files. If you are using structured FrameMaker, define a couple of special-purpose elements to allow clean definition of the 'see more' links in the FrameMaker source. If you are using unstructured FM, define special-purpose paragraph formats to do the same. Either way, you should be able to have a script on the RoboHelp side pick up the special purpose elements or formats and turn them into genuine 'Related topics' links.

ExtendScript is part of RoboHelp out of the box and does not require a whole lot of programming experience. Should you need some help after all, just drop me a line and I will see what I can do for you.

Kind regards

JANG Communication
Technical Documentation Specialist
Amsterdam - Netherlands
Tel.  +31 20 755 8466
Cell +31 6 5478 1632
http://www.jang.nl

> Hi All,
> 
> We're in the process of starting to use FM10 (as part of Adobe TCS3.5) to create user guides and (via TCS3.5 > RoboHelp 9) online help. One concern we have is, in FrameMaker, how to handle a 'For more information see:' list of links to other related help topics we currently have at the bottom of each help topic. The only way I can think of is to include a 'For more information see:' section in the FM template and deploy that (suitably completed and conditionally text-tagged) at the end of each perceived 'help' section in the FM file.
> 
> Any thoughts or suggestions for a more elegant solution would be much appreciated.
> 
> Thanks - Steve
> Steve Whalley
> Technical Author