Linking and displaying topics

Linking to other topics is the basic way of creating online help. The links should be designed to aid users to find the information that they need. Over-use of links should be avoided.

There are various linking options, described here.

Jumping to another topic

This is the most basic form of link. Click a link (which may be on an image) to display a different topic. For example, jump to the TechScribe contact details page (then click Back or its browser equivalent to return here).

Links within a topic

It is possible to jump to a specific location within a topic. For example, jump to the part of this topic that describes popups.

Jumping to a particular location is not limited to the current topic. The jump could be to any topic.

Displaying information in a secondary window

Secondary windows are a nice way of showing additional information without disrupting the flow of text in the main topic. For example, view the Glossary in a secondary window.

Secondary windows are not available in Microsoft compiled HTML help or WebHelp.

Linking using a graphic

A graphic image can contain one or more hotspots. When a user clicks on a hotspot, a new topic is displayed. This is demonstrated in the following image:

Example of a hotspot on an image

Click to jump to the Glossary topic

Displaying information in a popup

Popups (like this one) are a useful way of displaying supplementary information or reminders. Unlike regular topics, they cannot be printed. Therefore, TechScribe usually provides a Glossary topic, which contains a list of all the popups that are used in the help system.

Links between popups cannot be implemented in Microsoft compiled HTML help.