Add Topic/File

Creates a new topic file in the Table of Contents (TOC) or the Project Files section. See Creating new topics.for more details.

Insert New Topic or Chapter dialog:

This dialog is displayed when you select one of Add Topic options. It creates a new topic, a new chapter or a TOC item linked to web page or another help file.

dlg_newtopic

Topic /Chapter:

Creates a new topic with a TOC entry (in the TOC) or a new topic file without a TOC entry (in Project Files). The topic automatically becomes a "chapter" as soon as it has sub-topics.

When you select the function in the Project Files section you can only add topic files, no other options are available.

Position:	Position of the new topic in the TOC relative to the current topic.
Topic heading:	The title of the topic in the TOC. This text is also entered as the topic header (in the box above the editor).
Topic ID:	This is the "address" of the topic. It is never seen by the user and must be unique. It is the XML file name of the topic file and used to generate the HTML file name for the topic in HTML-based output formats. Use only English ASCII characters and numbers. Foreign characters, spaces and special characters will cause problems in some output formats.
HTML template:	The HTML page template to be linked to the topic. This will usually be Default unless you have created additional templates.
Topic Class:	Whether the topic is a normal topic or a popup topic. You can only select the Popup class in the Topic Files section of the Project Explorer. You cannot create popup topics in the Table of Contents section.
Create in :	The folder in the Project Files section where you want to store the new topic file.
Topic template:	Normally new topics are empty. If you wish, you can specify a template file here containing standard text, tables, images and any other content. You must create template files first, otherwise nothing will be displayed here.
TOC Icon:	Select the icon for the topic in the TOC. In WebHelp the custom Help+Manual icons will be used. Microsoft HTML Help CHM files can only use the standard Microsoft CHM icon set, which Help+Manual matches to the most similar custom icons.

Multiple topics:

Allows you to enter multiple topics at the same time, for example by pasting a list of topic titles that you want to use as captions. Each line of text entered in the Item Captions: field will create a new topic with that text as the caption in the TOC. The topic IDs are generated automatically from the caption texts.

Position:	Position of the first new topic in the TOC relative to the current topic.
Headings:	Each line of text you enter here creates a new topic. Press Enter to create a new topic line. Press Tab or use the indent buttons on the right to create sub-topics.
Create In:	The folder in the Project Files section where you want to store the new topic file.
Topic Template:	Normally new topics are empty. If you wish, you can specify a template file here containing standard text, tables, images and any other content.

TOC Link: Link to web address or an existing topic

This option can create two types of links:

Link to a topic in this project:

Creates an additional link to an existing topic in the current project. See Multiple TOC entries for one topic for more details on this subject.

Link to a web address:

Instead of displaying a topic this displays a web page with the URL you enter here. You must include the http:// prefix if the address, otherwise it won't work.

After creating the TOC entry you can specify the target of the link on the right:

TOC link targets in different output formats:

WebHelp:	Web links in the TOC are no longer recommended for WebHelp. In the future, they will not work in responsive, single-page layouts because there is no topic frame where a web page can be loaded. They will just open in a new window instead. •Topic frame displays in the topic frame, if there is one. Otherwise it will open in a new browser page or tab. •Top frame replaces the WebHelp entirely with the linked web page. •New window opens the link in a new browser window or tab.
HTML Help/CHM:	Web links in the TOC always open in the topic frame in CHM files. The target window setting is ignored.
eWriter Help:	Web links in the TOC are not recommended in eWriter Help. They can be opened in the topic frame but the embedded browser will often not provide good results with external websites. It is much better to put web links in the body of your topics and configure them to open in an external browser window in the eWriter settings.
PDF and Word DOCX:	Web links in the TOC are not supported and are ignored in these formats. The TOC entries are not included in the TOC.
Kindle/Mobi ePUB eBooks	Web links in the TOC are not supported and are ignored in these formats. The TOC entries are not included in the TOC.
Visual Studio Help:	Web links and external links in the TOC are not permitted in these formats. The TOC entries are not included in the TOC.

Link to External Help (CHM only!)

Instead of creating a new topic file this creates a TOC item that is a link to a topic in another CHM help file. When the user clicks on the TOC entry the topic from the other help file is displayed.

This only works in HTML Help!

The target topic must be the same format as the main help file – you can't link between help files of different formats.

Position:	Position of the chapter node in the TOC relative to the current topic.
Heading in Table of Contents:	The title of the item in the TOC.
Help file:	The Help+Manual project file (.hmxp, .hmxz) or the help file (.chm) containing the topic you want to link to.
Target topic:	The topic you want to link to.

Web Link:

Creates a topic that references a web page on the Internet:

•In eBooks selecting the topic in the TOC opens the referenced web page in an external browser window.

•In HTML Help and WebHelp selecting the topic the page can be opened inside the help viewer, as part of the help, or in an external window.

•In PDF and Word DOCX the topic is ignored and is not included in the output.

Position:	Position of the item in the TOC relative to the current topic.
Heading:	The title of the item in the TOC.
Target address:	The URL of the HTML page you want to link to. If this is not a local file you must enter the fully-qualified URL, including the http:// prefix.

Include Help Project:

Inserts a placeholder for another Help+Manual project, turning the current project into a master/parent project. When you publish the master project the TOC of the child project will be added to that of the master project.

Position:

Position of the first topic of the external project in the TOC relative to the current topic.

Project file:

The the .hmxp or .hmxz project file that you want to include

Merge content on publishing / runtime:

These settings are only relevant for HTML Help (CHM). All other formats are always merged when they are published.

For more details see Working with Modular Help Systems.

Merge content on publishing:
This merges the selected project with the project you are inserting it. The result is integrated help that is the same as help produced from a single project. You do not have to publish your child projects separately when you use this method. However, you must take steps to ensure that you do not have duplicate topic IDs and help context numbers in your projects, otherwise you will experience unexpected errors in your help.

Merge content at runtime:
Supported in HTML Help (CHM) only. This merges the child help file modules into the TOC of the master when the help is opened on the user's computer. The child help files must be published separately. If these help file modules (CHM) are present in the same folder as the master help file their TOCs will be merged with the master TOC and the effect is the same as one help file containing all modules. If the modules are not present on the user's computer they will not be included in the TOC.

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Insert New Topic or Chapter dialog: