Creating HTML Help

FAR provides HTML Help Express, which allows you to create HTML Help by simply selecting a folder and clicking Compile. As well as the HTML Help Project Editor which is more or less a revamped debugged MS HTML Help Workshop. 

This section takes you through a third and intermediate way of creating HTML Help using FAR. The HTML Help Wizard.

First drop your help web onto FAR. A help web is made up of a number of HTML files, images files, and so on. If you have previously created a HH project file (.hhp) then you just need to "File > Import" the existing (.hhp) project file.

Step 1:

To open the Wizard select "HTML Help Wizard" from either the "Commands" menu or the main toolbar.

Step 2: Making HTML Help

The window has three page tabs. The first page is used to create the table of contents (TOC) file and optionally an index file. The second page is used to create a .hhp project file and compile all files to a compress help file (.chm). The third page is used to make uncompress help. Which simply means adding a table of contents and an optional index to the help web by creating some HTML files with frames.

Quick Start: Click the Tick

To quickly create HTML Help you simply click all buttons displaying a red tick. 

Step 3: Table Of Contents (TOC)

Press the "Create HHC" button. FAR uses the directory structure of your drop files to create a .hhc TOC file for you in the base folder. If you already have a .hhc file then click the edit TOC mini button instead to modify the table of contents structure. The FAR TOC editor window (above) makes modifying a TOC very easy. Once the TOC is the way you want it, close the TOC editor.

Step 4: Index

If you would like an index navigation tab make sure you check the "Create .HHK" checkbox. Clicking the "Create HHK" button will take all the items in the table of contents file (.hhc) and create a .hhk index file for you. This is all that FAR does for you. You may need to use a text editor to refine the index.

Step 5: Compressed Help

Click "Create HHP File" to create a typical .hhp project file. Click "Open HHP In Workshop" to edit the project file settings. We have a project, all we need to do now is compile it to a .chm help file. Click the "Compile to CHM File" button.

Step 6: Uncompressed Help

This page takes some of the hack work out of adding a TOC and optionally an Index to your web. Again, simply click the buttons with a red tic. The shipping buttons show the extra files to ship with your web.

The first section creates a framed HTML file that uses the .hhc and .hhk files created on page one. This is suitable only for Internet Explorer which understands the .hhc/.hhk format.

The section section takes the .hhc file and creates a Netscape compatible HTML TOC file, again creating a framed HTML document to display the TOC.

The third section creates a master launch file that will open the first .hhc/.hhk navigation system if Internet Explorer 4 or above is detected, otherwise it loads the second HTML TOC navigation system.