January 2000: Setting the Tool Options

This Help Corner column was originally published in January, 2000, and written for RoboHELP Office Version 8.

by Char James-Tanny

In this section...

February 2000: Macros and Scripting

March 2000: Formatting Topics

April 2000: Using Dynamic Linking

May 2000: Modular Help

June 2000: Context-sensitive Help

August 2000: Using the Single-Source Wizards in RoboHelp Office

September 2000: RoboHelp Version 9 is here!

October 2000: Generating WebHelp

November 2000: Creating Glossaries

December 2000: Using Browse Sequences

Setting the Tool Options

Both RoboHELP for WinHelp and RoboHELP for Microsoft HTML Help let you customize your working environment. Some settings impact your results, while others just make for a more pleasant working experience. This month, I'll discuss the items on the General tab under the Options dialog box in both tools.

Setting the Options in RoboHELP 2000 for WinHelp

Because RoboHELP uses Microsoft Word, you need to set your options for both RoboHELP and your version of Word (95, 97, or 2000). To set your RoboHELP options, select RoboHELP | Options in Word or Tools | Options in RoboHELP Explorer. The Options dialog box displays. If necessary, select the General tab.

This screen print shows the options I set when working in RoboHELP. The following table describes the functionality of each option.


This option...	Does this...
Auto Start Word	Automatically starts Word when you launch RoboHELP. If you prefer to launch Word manually, deselect this option.
Auto Close Word	Automatically closes Word when you exit RoboHELP. If you prefer to close Word manually, deselect this option. If you open another Word document while working on a RoboHELP project, Word will not close when you close RoboHELP.
Auto Start RoboHELP Explorer	Automatically starts RoboHELP Explorer when you launch RoboHELP. If you prefer to launch RoboHELP Explorer manually, deselect this option.
You must select either Auto Start Word or Auto Start RoboHELP Explorer (or both). You cannot leave both options blank.
Auto Place Word 2000 Documents	Automatically sizes Word so that it displays next to RoboHELP Explorer. This option works for both Word 97 and Word 2000 (I couldn't test it with Word 95). If you prefer to control how Word displays, deselect this option. Then, when Word launches, the window will maintain its last size and position (which is my preference). Automatic placement works best on screens with a resolution of 1280 by 768. Next best is 800 by 600. It isn't a good option for 640 by 480, because the Word window will be too small to work effectively.
Show Tip Wizard at startup	Displays the RoboHELP Tips Help file when you first launch RoboHELP (turned on by default). Deselect this option to prevent the Tips from displaying. In addition, selecting Turn Off Tips in the Tips Help file window deselects this option.
Warn when disk space falls below XX Megabytes	Displays a warning message when the amount of free space on your hard drive is less than the specified number of megabytes. The default is 64 megabytes. This option was much more important when hard drives were smaller. If the free space on your hard drive is limited, make sure you keep this option selected so that you don't risk losing your work.
Restore Project Manager	Displays the Project Manager as you left it when you closed the project. If you don't select this, the Project Manager displays with all folders collapsed when you open a project.
Most Recently Used File List	Displays a list of projects opened in RoboHELP, starting with the latest. This list displays when you first launch RoboHELP, making it easy to open projects quickly.
Max	Controls the number of projects that display in the Most Recently Used File List. The default is 100. I tend to leave it at 100, even though I don't plan on ever opening that many projects in a year (even as a consultant!).
Delete	Deletes a project from the Most Recently Used File List after it's been selected. This option doesn't delete the project from your hard drive. (I used the Delete option to remove my projects from RoboHELP before shooting this screen print.)

Next, set your Microsoft Word options by selecting Tools | Options in Word. The Options dialog box displays. On the View tab, make sure that All is selected under Nonprinting Characters (Word 95 or 97) or Formatting Marks (Word 2000) so that the hidden text in hyperlinks displays during development.

Tip

When you want to spell-check your documents, click the paragraph mark icon (Show/Hide Paragraphs) on the Word toolbar to toggle the hidden text so that it doesn't display. Otherwise, Word's spell-checker will catch every hyperlink as either a spelling or grammatical error.

On the Save tab, make sure that the following are not selected: Allow Fast Saves (all versions), Allow Background Saves (all versions), and Automatic Save Every xx Minutes (Word 95) or Save AutoRecover Info Every xx Minutes (Word 97 and 2000).

Fast Saves is comparable to attaching sticky notes to a hardcopy document; while the changes are noted, they aren't actually inserted in place. The compiler requires all documents to be saved completely.
Background Saves use valuable system resources to save the file while allowing you to continue working in Word.
AutoRecover makes it possible to recover most of your changes (since the last time either you or Word saved your files) in the event of a system crash. However, AutoRecover uses your free hard drive space to save temporary copies of files (in addition to those created every time you click Save As RTF or Compile). If you don't have a lot of free space on your hard drive, AutoRecover can cause your system to crash, thus creating a Catch-22. If you want to make sure that your latest changes are saved in the event of a crash, click Save As RTF and turn off AutoRecover to prevent crashes.

Tip

When I teach RoboHELP classes, I ask participants to turn off the Check Spelling as You Type and Check Grammar as You Type options on the Spelling & Grammar tab. (Check Spelling displays red wavy underlines under unknown words, which is usually all your hyperlinks, and Check Grammar displays green wavy underlines under grammatical errors. Both make it difficult to see the bottom of the text.)

The Word options you set apply to every document you work on, not just your Help projects. You can always toggle them on and off as you switch between Help documents and others.

Setting the Options in RoboHELP 2000 for HTML Help

RoboHELP 2000 for Microsoft HTML Help (commonly known as "RoboHTML") is a standalone tool with both WYSIWYG and TrueCode HTML Editors.

Tip

While you can use the single-source wizards in RoboHELP 2000 for WinHelp to create HTML Help, RoboHTML lets you take advantage of HTML in your topics, including (but not limited to):

Table shading and borders
Dynamic HTML
HTML Help Controls
Font attributes (superscript, subscript, and so on)

To set your RoboHTML options, select Tools | Options. The Options dialog box displays. If necessary, select the General tab.

This screen print shows the options I set when working in RoboHTML. The following table describes the functionality of each option.


This option...	Does this...
Save without prompt	Automatically saves changed files without notifying you. RoboHTML is designed this way because only one HTML file is open at a time. If this option isn't selected, you have to confirm the save every time you switch files or compile or close the project without saving first. Be sure this option isn't selected if you want the ability to revert to a saved file.
Preview in separate window	Displays the selected topic in a separate window on top of your current project when you choose View. If this option isn't selected, the preview displays in the bottom portion of the right pane under the Topics list. In my opinion, this takes up too much space in the right pane and I can get a better idea of my display when I use a window to preview the topic.
Auto-show Compilation view	Displays the compilation pane when you click the Generate Primary Target button. You can turn off this option to preserve your development environment. However, you won't know if there are any non-critical errors in your compiled file. This option uses screen real estate to display the compilation pane. However, if you're using one of the higher resolutions (1024 x 768 or 800 x 600), it doesn't take up that much space, especially if the RoboHTML window is maximized.
Show Tip Wizard at startup	Displays the RoboHTML Tip of the Day when you first launch RoboHTML (turned on by default). Deselect this option to prevent the Tip of the Day from displaying. In addition, selecting Turn Off Tips in the Tip Wizard window deselects this option.
Use underscore in file names	Inserts an underscore in long file names (those with a space). This is necessary if you want to take advantage of the auto- synchronization feature of the Contents tab and if you want Internet Explorer to correctly display the file name. (Internet xplorer always displays "20%" when it encounters a space in a file name.) If you have already started to create a project and there are spaces in the file names, select Tools \| Convert Spaces to Underscores to change all spaces to underscores. This option updates any existing links in your project.
Warn when disk space falls below xx Megabytes	Displays a warning message when the amount of free space on your hard drive is less than the specified number of megabytes. The default is 64 megabytes. This option was much more important when hard drives were smaller. If the free space on your hard drive is limited, make sure you keep this option selected so that you don't risk losing your work.
Internet Explorer	Displays the folder where the Internet Explorer executable is located. Click the Open Folder icon to specify a different program file.
Netscape	Displays the folder where the Netscape Navigator executable is located. Click the Open Folder icon to specify a different program file.
The Internet Explorer and Netscape settings are used when you generate WebHelp. If you select File \| Run, you can choose to display your WebHelp project specifically in Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. When you select to display your WebHelp files after generating them, they always display in your default browser.
Most Recently Used File List	Displays a list of projects opened in RoboHTML, starting with the latest. This list displays when you first launch RoboHTML, making it easy to open projects quickly.
Max	Controls the number of projects that display in the Most Recently Used File List. The default is 100.
Delete	Deletes a project from the Most Recently Used File List after it's been selected. This option doesn't delete the project from your hard drive. (I used the Delete option to remove my projects from RoboHTML before shooting this screen print.)

Material in this section is taken from Sams Teach Yourself RoboHELP 2000 for HTML Help in 24 Hours by Char James-Tanny, ISBN 0-672-31625-0. Used with permission from Macmillan Computer Publishing USA.