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Generate Microsoft HTML Help output

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  1. RoboHelp User Guide
  2. Introduction
    1. Get to know RoboHelp workspace
    2. What's new in RoboHelp 2022 release
      1. What's new in Update 5
      2. What's new in Update 4
      3. What's new in Update 3
      4. What's new in Update 2
      5. What's new in Update 1
    3. Fixed Issues in RoboHelp
    4. RoboHelp System Requirements
    5. Download RoboHelp on Windows and macOS
    6. Download and install Adobe app
    7. RoboHelp FAQs
    8. What's new in RoboHelp 2020 release
      1. What's new in Update 8
      2. What's new in Update 7
      3. What's new in Update 6
      4. What's new in Update 5
      5. What's new in Update 4
      6. What's new in Update 3
      7. What's new in Update 2
      8. What's new in Update 1
  3. Projects
    1. Plan your RoboHelp project
    2. Create a project
    3. Manage projects
    4. Work with topics and folders
    5. Generate reports
    6. Work with context-sensitive help
    7. Manage References
    8. Set preferences in RoboHelp
  4. Collaborate with authors
    1. Collaborate using Git
    2. Collaborate using SharePoint Online
    3. Collaborate using Azure DevOps (Team Foundation Server)
  5. PDF Layout
    1. PDF templates
    2. Design a page layout
    3. Publish PDF output
    4. Work with the common content styles
    5. Components of a PDF template
    6. Support for language variables
    7. Customize PDFs
  6. Editing and formatting
    1. Format your content
    2. Create and manage cross-references
    3. Create and manage links
    4. Single-source with snippets
    5. Work with images and multimedia
    6. Create and use variables for easy updates
    7. Work with Variable Sets
    8. Use Find and Replace
    9. Auto save your content
    10. Side-by-side editing in Split View
    11. Use the Spell Check feature
    12. Create and Edit Bookmarks
    13. Insert and update fields
    14. Switch between multiple views
    15. Autonumbering in CSS
  7. Import and linking
    1. Import Markdown files into a project
    2. Import Word documents into a project
    3. Import FrameMaker documents into a project
  8. TOCs, indexes, glossaries, and citations
    1. Create and manage a Table of Contents
    2. Create and manage an index
    3. Create and manage a glossary
    4. Create and manage citations
    5. Create and manage browse sequences
    6. Work with See Also and Related Topics
  9. Conditional content
    1. What is conditional content
    2. Create and apply condition tags
    3. Configure output presets for conditional content
    4. Optimize and manage conditional content
  10. Microcontent
    1. Microcontent
  11. Review and Collaboration
    1. Review and Collaboration
  12. Translation
    1. Translating content to multiple languages
    2. Configure a translation framework for a service provider
  13. Generating output
    1. Generate output
    2. Generate Frameless output
    3. Generate Knowledge Base output
    4. Generate PDF output
    5. Generate Responsive HTML5 output
    6. Generate Word Document output
    7. Generate Content Only output
    8. Generate eBook output
    9. Generate Microsoft HTML Help output
    10. Generate Mobile App output
  14. Publish output
    1. Publish to a RoboHelp Server
    2. Publish to an FTP server, a Secure FTP server, or a File System
    3. Publish to SharePoint Online
    4. Publish to Zendesk Help Center
    5. Publish to Salesforce Knowledge Base
    6. Publish to ServiceNow Knowledge Base
    7. Publish to Zoho Knowledge Base
    8. Publish to Adobe Experience Manager
    9. Publish to Atlassian Confluence Knowledge Base
  15. Appendix
    1. Adobe RoboHelp Scripting Reference
    2. RoboHelp keyboard shortcuts

Learn how to generate Microsoft HTML Help output in RoboHelp so that the output can serve as in-app Help of Windows desktop apps.

Master pages used in the PDF or Word output template have been renamed as Page Layout.

Master pages used for topic templates or for online outputs have been renamed as Topic Layouts.

For more information, see Templates in Adobe RoboHelp.

What is Microsoft HTML Help output

Generating Microsoft HTML output in RoboHelp helps you create in-app Help for Windows desktop apps.   

The main components of HTML Help include the following:

  • Compressed HTML: A collection of all files in the project in a single CHM file that occupies less disk space and is faster to load. You can ship this compiled file with an application or distribute it to users as a stand-alone online document.
  • HTML Help viewer: Displays compiled HTML Help (CHM file). It uses components of the Internet Explorer browser while displaying content in its proprietary window interface.
  • Layout engine: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and later supply the required components for HTML Help support.
  • HTML Help ActiveX control: Supports navigation features, such as the Table of Contents, index, and link controls (related topics and keyword links). It also supports HTML Help controls: WinHelp topic links, startup screens, and close window controls.
Note:

Please note Microsoft HTML Help output is not supported on macOS.

Configure a Microsoft HTML Help output preset

The first step in generating the output of a RoboHelp project is to create an output preset and then configure the various settings of the output preset. You can use the following settings to configure a Microsoft HTML output preset:

General

Use the following options to specify basic output settings, such as title, output path, language of UI strings, and more.

Title Specify the title for the generated output. 

You can use variables in the title. To do so, type Ctrl + 1 and select a variable from the drop-down list, and then press Enter. Note that if you have provided a variable set in the Content tab > Variable Set field, during output generation, the value of the selected variable is picked from the variable set.

Output Path Specify a location for the output. To select a location, click  . 

Ensure that the output path is NOT located inside the project folder. If the output path is inside the project folder, the output generation fails. Also the folder you select should NOT have any content that you need. RoboHelp deletes the contents of the folder before generating the output.

Save output path as relative to project: If enabled and you browse to the output path., the path to the output will now be a relative instead of absolute. 

CHM file Specify the CHM filename with extension .chm.

Language Use the drop-down list to specify a language for the tab titles in the output. Specify this setting if you want to change the specified language in project settings.

Note:

Ensure that the Windows OS language and the CHM preset language match, otherwise unsupported characters might get replaced with chars like ?, /, and so on.

Post Generation Script To run your custom script after output generation, select the script .js file from the drop-down list.

Content

Use the following options to specify content-related output settings, such as the settings for Table of Contents, index, glossary, and condition expression.

Table Of Contents Use the drop-down list to select a Table of Contents to be included in the output. This drop-down list displays the Tables of Contents available in your project. The first Table of Contents in this drop-down list is selected by default.

The set of files and their references present in the selected Table of Contents appear in the generated output.

Default Topic Click  to select the topic that displays in the Topic panel when you open the output. By default, the first topic in the Table of Contents selected for this output is the default topic.

Include Index Select this setting to include the index page in the output.

Glossary Use the drop-down list to select the glossary to be included in the output. The glossary helps your users to quickly retrieve the relevant terms in your project, with the corresponding definitions.

Condition Expression Use the drop-down list to specify the condition expression for your output. This setting allows you to easily include or exclude content depending on the desired type of output or userbase. Click  to edit the selected condition expression. You can also select None in the drop-down list to not specify any condition expression.

Variable Set Use the drop-down list to specify the variable set to use in this output. In the drop-down list, you can select <Default Variable Set> to use the project's default variable set. Variable sets help you implement output-specific use of variables. For example, you can have different variable sets for generating output for customers and internal users.

Layout

Use the following options to configure the appearance of your output.

Topic Layout Select the topic layout from the drop down menu.

Default Window Select the default window from the drop down menu for output.

Note:

After you've configured an output preset, you can access it in the Quick Generate dialog box of the authoring window or in the Output Presets panel of the publishing window.

Publish

You can publish your output to FTP, SFTP, or File System. To be able to publish your output, first configure a publish profile for the appropriate server type. For more information, see Configure a publish profile for FTP, SFTP, or File System.

After you save the publish profile, RoboHelp displays the profile in the Publish tab. To publish your output, select the appropriate publish profiles and click .

By default, only modified files are published using the chosen publish profiles since the last publish.

To publish all files, select Republish All and click . To view the publish log, in the Output Presets panel, against the appropriate output preset, choose  > View Publish Log.

Generate Microsoft HTML Help output

  1. In the authoring window of your project, do one of the following, click the Quick Generate icon  in the upper-right corner of the standard toolbar.

  2. Select a Microsoft HTML Help output preset in the Quick Generate dialog box.

  3. To configure the settings, do one of the following:

    • Click the Edit Settings icon  in the Quick Generate dialog box.
    • Click the Output tab at the left side of the Standard toolbar.

    The Output view opens.

  4. In the Output toolbar, click Output Presets.  In the Output Presets panel, do one of the following:

    • Double-click the desired Microsoft HTML Help output preset.
    • Click the  icon next to the desired output preset and select Edit.

  5. See Configure a Microsoft HTML Help output preset to configure the output settings.

  6. To save your settings, click the Save icon  in the upper-left corner of the standard toolbar in the Output view.

  7. Click the Generate Preset icon  in the Output Presets panel. 

    You can then view a progress bar next to the selected output preset in the Output Presets panel. Once the output generation is complete, a Success dialog box is visible in the lower-right corner of the screen. 

    After the output generation is complete, click  in the Output Presets panel to view the output.

    Note:

    Alternatively, you can generate the output in the authoring window. Click Quick Generate  on the toolbar, select the desired output preset, and click Generate. 

    You can then view a progress bar in the Quick Generate dialog box. After the output generation is complete, click  next to the output preset to view the output. In case the output generation failed, click  next to the selected output preset to view the error log.

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