TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Mid-Topic Jumps and Keywords From:"NIVA Inc." <NIVA -at- MAGI -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 14 Mar 1997 14:30:42 -0500
On Wed, 12 Mar, Laura Lochridge asked about:
> Mid-Topic Jumps and Keywords
> <snip> can anyone tell me if there are any pitfalls that I should be aware of?
Laura:
The number of lines that follow the final embedded target in a topic need to fill the help window. Otherwise, when you jump to the target, the target line will not appear at the top of the help window, but part way down the window instead.
Now, I know that a "line" is variable in help files, but you can make an informed guess by knowing the typical size of the help window (can be specified in the project file, although the user can always resize), and the formatting characteristics of your help text.
Here's a "for instance": The text following an internal target occupies about 6 lines of the help window (as sized when the user opens it). The help window holds about 20 lines (as sized when the user opens it). When you jump to the internal target, the first 14 lines of the help window will show the information that precedes the target, and the last 6 lines will show the information that the user really wants.
Moral: Always include enough hard returns (or whatever) at the end of a topic with internal targets so that the last target will display at the top of the window when called. Can look dopey, but puts the information where it counts.
Cheers,
Ann Fothergill-Brown
Senior Editor
NIVA Inc.
Canada's Leading Documentation Firm
mail -at- niva -dot- com http://www.niva.com
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
