Many times a help system needs to link to one or more external files to provide additional content. For example, a policies and procedures guide might link to Excel spreadsheets for submitting expense reports or Word documents that provide forms to be used to request services. A help system might include a PDF document of the entire help system to provide users with the option to create a printed version of the help.
In this tip, I want to talk about linking to external files. I will explain how to use baggage files in a RoboHelp system. And I'll talk briefly about the RoboEngine.
The first part of linking to an external file is putting the file someplace where the user can access it. For a WebHelp or FlashHelp system, you can put the external file on a web server. It doesn't have to be on the same web server as the help as long as the users can access it from their location. For instance, if you have an internal help system on the corporate intranet, you can place the external documents anywhere on the intranet (or even on the internet, if you want customers to have access to those files). By putting the files on a web server, you will be able to specify a URL when you create the link in RoboHelp.
If you link to an external file other than HTML files, the link will require that the user has the appropriate software to open the file type you are linking to.
1. Select the link text.
2. Click the Insert Hyperlink icon.
3. Select Web Address for the link type.
4. Type or paste the URL for the external document.
5. From the Target list, select New Window.
6. Click OK to create the link.
7. Click the Preview icon to test the link.
If you want to keep the external file with the help system when it is published, you need to add the external file as a baggage file and then link to it in the help system. Adding a file as a baggage file ensures that it will be published with the help system. Using baggage files is especially important when distributing help to a local desktop or CD.
1. Right click on the Baggage Files folder on the Project tab, and select New Baggage File.
2. Locate the baggage file and click Open to add it to the project.
Adding a baggage file literally adds it to the Baggage Files folder and copies the file into your project folder. Once the file is added to the Baggage Files folder, it will be distributed with your help project.
3. Highlight the link text and drag the file from the Baggage Files folder to the selected link text to create the link.
Now the link to the baggage file is created. You can Preview the topic to test the link.
With the RoboHelp Server (previously called the RoboEngine) installed on a server, you can add external files to your WebHelp or FlashHelp project and have the Search tab also search the contents of those files (PDF, DOC, XLS, PPT, and HTML). All you have to do is create an HTTP or FTP link to the external files and the RoboHelp Server will scan them and add them to the search index. You can also put external files in a special folder on the RoboHelp Server and have that folder scanned so those external documents are included in the search. In my opinion, this ability to search external files is one of the coolest features of the RoboHelp Server.