MadCap Software Forums

Okay, here’s one for you CSS experts.

Flare does not seem to be rendering CSS correctly, even though it seems okay in the browser. Someone tell me if I’m doing something wrong.

I INDENT my whole procedure 4.5em.

Then I indent my “step title” paragraph style -4.0em. I also change p ...

Answer: Yes.

This was easier than I thought.

1. Create a new book inside the master TOC.
2. Open Properties for that TOC item (right-click, Properties)
3. Select Basic-->Link-->Select TOC..
4. Select the TOC that the book should link to.

If your WebHelp system contains several products that might perform similar functions, how do you name your topics?

Here's a sample WebHelp Table of Contents:

-Product A
--Posting Charges with Product A
--Parrying with Product A
--Product A Setup and Installation
-Product B
--Posting Charges with ...

While building TOCs for different targets, is there any way to add one TOC as a folder in another TOC?

More details:
I have a master WebHelp that includes several different products: A, B, C, and D.

I also build a WebHelp for just ONE of those topics: C.

I just created a detailed TOC for the C ...

Hi,
For some reason, the "View Primary" button has started opening my WebHelp in Internet Explorer instead of my default browser (Firefox.)

I feel like this was working fine yesterday... but maybe I'm confused.

Anyone know where this is set? I've double-checked, and Firefox IS my default browser ...

Ooo!
Hey, I just discovered that the "Exclude Accordion Title" check box on the WebHelp Toolbar section of the Skin editor will remove the "TOC" title.

So, that tells me that what I thought was an element of the Toolbar is actually somehow part of the Accordion.

So, I went rooting into the ...

The knowledge base and the forums have some information about this, but it is scattered and I'm frustrated.

I'm pasting what I understand, and what I don't understand, here for anyone else stuck on this issue.

First, the simple stuff! To change the Logo file in the upper-right hand corner of Flare ...

Hi,
I would like to use CSS to make an iPhone-Friendly Flare output target (in addition to our WebHelp and PDF versions).

I'm a newbie at every aspect of this, but after looking around a bit, it doesn't look too crazy.

Can someone with a bigger brain point me in the right direction or offer some ...

Huzzah!

Let the countdown begin...
-d

Gosh,
I strongly disagree with the prevailing sentiment here.

I put screenshots into everything. Every step of every procedure has a corresponding screenshot. My experience is that people barely ever read text anymore. The screenshot shows them exactly where to click, something words can never do ...

Nobody knows for sure when Flare 4 is released, but it is expected to come out during fall or later this year. Word 2k7 allows for automating the PDF generation. You can use any of the freeware PDF creation tools (typically a virtual printer driver) or import the .doc file into OpenOffice.org and ...

Of course, I am not in a beta, not in the company, etc

Actually, that raises an interesting question:

Does anyone know if a closed or private Beta of BLARE/Flare has begun?

Obviously NDAs mean folks shouldn't talk about potential release dates or future features or any of that jazz... but can ...

Flame?
The complete Madcap BONFIRE package?
The Madcap Conflaguration?!?

:-)

Summer starts on June 21st! Heh heh.

I know that for "logistical reasons" I definitely can't buy Flare until I can verify that the PDF output will meet our needs... but I'm fairly certain it will.

Looking forward to ...

Neat!
Conceptually, that all makes sense to me... but I definitely lack the technical ability to really put the process into action.

Anyone know if that technique has been implemented somewhere?

Anyone ever try to convert Flare's XML files directly to PDF, using another processor or a perl script?

Yep... according to the Blaze demo I attended last week, Blaze is a subset of Flare 4. The Flare product will include ALL the functions of Blaze.

And I agree with your general sentiment: I really wish they would hurry. Flare is shaping up to be a kickin' single-source, topic-based help solution ...

Just an opinion here:

As with most things, I always say: Buy the program you need, and don't worry about the upgrades. I used to agonize that when I bought a computer, a faster one would come out a month later. And I was always right. :-) If Flare 3 does what you need, buy it without regrets.

Some ...

Thanks RamonS... no worries, I do understand. Our company has an informal ban on Microsoft related products or workflow for exactly those reasons. ODF is a good idea, agreed.

My frustration is that I'm hunting for a good single-sourcing documentation solution... and it looks like I'll have to wait ...

Yep yep. I'm not arguing... I'm just whining.

Thanks, though!
-d

I'm just... dumbfounded.

I was really digging this product, and now I learn that it can't generate any kind of printable media? It can't even create a .doc file?

So depressed.

*sigh*

Back to the drawing board...
-d

Do I need to have Microsoft Word installed to export to a Microsoft Word format?

That seems ludicrous, but an error message suggests it is true.

I can convert Word documents into PDF using TextEdit/OpenOffice/etc. I don't need Word. But Flare somehow NEEDS MSWord in order to do its export?

If the ...

Thanks for the thought, Ramos!

I have hundreds of manuals currently marked up in DocBook (which I can compile into HTML). I am trying to find a way to import them to Flare effectively.

Thanks! I'll probably submit a feature request... it would be logical (IMHO, of course) to bring HTML import up to the same level as Word import... make the processes more uniform. And, selfishly, I have hundreds of manuals to import.

I've heard that there is some kind of batch import tool ...

Yep, I reckon I'll use snippets...

1. Incidentally, would you say that the need for variables, in addition to snippets, is largely conceptual as opposed to functional? Seems like the USE of snippets and variables is a bit like rectangles and squares... though the conceptual difference would be ...

<i>For question 1, mapping isn't necessary with HTML files. When you import a Word or Frame document, the mapping tells it which tag type to apply to specific styles. Since HTML documents already have tags applied (i.e. p tags, h1 tags, ol tags, etc.) there really isn't anything to map. All you have ...