RoboHelp is the industry standard for Help authoring. It's the preferred program if you are a Help author, technical writer, or programmer tasked with creating Help systems for desktop or Web-based applications.
RoboHelp 8 HTML has the letters HTML in its name; therefore, many people think that RoboHelp is a Web Page development tool (much like Adobe Dreamweaver)—it is not. Although you could create terrific Web sites using RoboHelp, its primary mission is to let you quickly, and easily, create Help systems.
By the time you have completed this action-packed book (many people can finish in two or three days), you will have mastered the essentials skills that will allow you to create a RoboHelp Help system in several output (including WebHelp, FlashHelp, HTML Help and Adobe Air). You will learn how to create master pages, cascading styles sheets, dynamic HTML effects, forms, frames and more.
This book includes the following RoboHelp HTML 8 concepts:
Introduction to RoboHelp
- Create a Blank Project
- Explore the Pods
- Explore the Toolbars
- Load the Default Environment
- Save an Environment
- Retitle and Rename the Project
- Edit a Topic
- Edit a Topic Headline
- Rename and Delete Topics
- Create a TOC Book
- Add, Delete and Rename TOC Books
- Organize a TOC
- Add Pages to TOC Books
- Generate a Project
Adding Content and Creating Project Structure
- Create a WebHelp Project
- Import an HTML File
- Import a Word Document
- Import a FrameMaker Document
- Rename Topic Titles
- Create Project Folders
- Auto-Create a TOC
Topic Formatting
- Apply a Style Sheet to a Topic
- Apply Styles to Selected Paragraphs
- Create a New Style Sheet
- Create a Font Set
- Use Inline StylesUse Spell CheckFind and Replace Text
- Link to a Word File
- Generate 508 and W3C Compliant WebHelp
FlashHelp, Links, PDFs and Popups
- Generate FlashHelp Output
- Create a New Toolbar
- Add Commands to a Toolbar
- Insert Hyperlinks
- Insert Bookmarks
- Import a PDF Document
- Insert Auto-Sizing Popups
- Insert Custom-Sized Popups
- Insert a Text-Only Popup
- Use Link View
- Resolve Broken Links
Graphics and Multimedia
- Add Graphics to a Help Project
- Add an Image Margin
- Rename an Image
- Add a Background Image
- Add Hotspots to a Graphic
- Add Sound to a Topic
- Import and Format Topics
- Insert an Adobe Captivate Demo
- Create a Screen Capture
Build Tags, Variables and Snippets
- Create Conditional Build Tags
- Define a Build Tag Expression
- Create a New Table of Contents
- Create a Variable
- Insert and Edit a Variable
- Create a Snippet
- Add a Snippet to a Topic
Tables and DHTML
- Insert a Table
- Insert a Table Row
- Create a Table Style
- Add a Horizontal Line
- Insert a Symbol
- Add a Bulleted List
- Format a Heading with a Fade in DHTML Effect
- Apply Fly in DHTML Effects
- Work With Positioned Text Boxes
- Create a Trigger
Indexes, Search Terms, Glossaries and Docs
- Run the Smart Index Wizard
- Remove and Add Index Entries
- Add Keywords via Topic Properties
- Add Subkeywords to the Index
- Create a See Also Keyword
- Insert a Link Control
- Add Custom Search Terms
- Add Glossary Terms
- Generate a Report
- Generate Printed Documentation
Forms and Frames
- Insert a Form
- Add Form Radio Buttons
- Add HTML Code to a Topic
- Add a Form Check Box
- Insert a Drop-Down Menu into a Form
- Add a Multi-line Text Field to a Form
- Add Form Submit and Reset Buttons
- Name a Form and Set an Action
- Import HTML Files
- Create a Frameset
- Modify Frameset Attributes
- Link Topics into Frameset Regions
Skins and Master Pages
- Attach a Skin to a Layout
- Create a Custom Skin
- Customize the Search Highlight Color
- Create a Master Page
- Edit a Master Page
- Add a Breadcrumb Placeholder to a Master Page
- Add a Mini TOC Placeholder to a Topic
- Publish a Project
Windows, Browsing and CSH
- Create a Custom Window
- Create a Browse Sequence
- Review a Web Application’s Source Code
- Publish a WebHelp Project
- Review Source Code
- Create a Custom WebHelp Window
- Create a Map File and Assign Map IDs
Scripts and AirHelp
- Run a Script
- Edit a Script
- Create an Adobe AIR Layout
- Output Browser Based AIR Help
- Output Adobe AIR Application Help
- Use the Help Viewer Wizard
plus there's an End-of-Course Project that will challenge your new RoboHelp skills!
Kevin Siegel is the founder and president of IconLogic, Inc. He has written more than 100 step-by-step computer training books including: Essentials of Adobe Captivate 6, Essentials of Adobe Captivate 5, Essentials of Adobe Captivate 4, Essentials of Adobe Captivate 3, Essentials of Macromedia Captivate, Essentials of RoboDemo 5, Essentials of RoboDemo 4, Essentials of RoboDemo 3, Essentials of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, Essentials of QuarkXPress 7, Accelerated QuarkXPress 6, Essentials of Adobe InDesign CS3, Essentials of Adobe PageMaker 7 and Essentials of Adobe RoboHelp 8 and many more.
Kevin spent five years in the U.S. Coast Guard as an award-winning photojournalist and has more than 24 years experience as a print publisher and technical writer. He is a certified technical trainer, has been a classroom instructor for more than 18 years and is a frequent speaker at trade shows and conventions.
Kevin has been recognized by Adobe Systems, Inc., as one of the Top Five Most Highly-Rated Adobe Certified Instructors Worldwide.