Planning for Context-Sensitive Help in FrameMaker
Creating context-sensitive help requires you to collaborate with application developers. Because topic IDs and map numbers must be embedded in both the software application and in your source documents, you and the application developers must agree in advance on the values to use.
Before you create context-sensitive help topics, first confirm with your application developers that the application supports context-sensitive help. Then work with your application developers to decide how to choose the topic ID for each context-sensitive help topic:
You choose the topic IDs
You can choose a set of topic IDs and embed them in your source documents using TopicAlias markers. When you generate output, ePublisher can generate a mapping file using those topic IDs and assign a unique number to each topic ID. You can provide the generated mapping file to your application developers, who can embed the topic IDs in the application code. You can then manually maintain this mapping file, or you can allow ePublisher to generate a new file each time you generate the help. Remember to give the updated help system and mapping file to your application developers each time.
Your developers choose the topic IDs
Your application developers can choose a set of topic IDs and embed them in the application code. Then, you can get a copy of the mapping file from your application developers, specify this mapping file in your project settings, and embed the topic IDs in your source documents using TopicAlias markers. In this case, ePublisher does not generate the mapping file.
Before you begin to implement context-sensitive help, meet with your application developers to select one of these methods for assigning the topic IDs to use for context-sensitive help links. Once you choose a set of topic IDs, embed them in your source documents using TopicAlias markers and do not change them.
Last modified date: 06/11/2024