linking to drop-downs

[livetoski]

Two questions regarding drop-down text:

1. Can I cross reference directly to these? I don't see it when I try to, and am wondering about having to insert a bookmark in order to cross reference to a drop-down.

2. Context Sensitive help: can I link directly to a drop-down, and have it expand?

Thanks. Linda

[akennedy]

I am also eager to find out if it's possible to link directly to a drop-down AND have it expand (while any surrounding drop-downs remain collapsed). I'm importing a word doc that has many small paragraphs which I want to make drop-downs. I would like to have the ability to cross reference directly to them, and have them expand so that the linked info isn't camouflaged amongst a sea of other collapsed drop-downs. Flare v6 doesn't seem to be able to do this. Does anyone know of a way, possibly a work around?

To answer question 1 (two years later), I've found that the only way to cross reference to a drop-down is to place a bookmark just before the drop-down heading.

Thanks,
Alex

[i-tietz]

If you place the bookmark inside the Dropdown body, the Dropdwon opens when you jump to to the bookmark, with one exception: if the link jumping towards the bookmark is in the same topic.

You can link to bookmarks in alias files (=contextsensitive help), in topics, in cross references, , in TOCs and even in the index of a HTML Help (skin -> tab HTML Help Setup -> Index Options).

[akennedy]

Thanks for the swift reply and for the tip, i-tietz. I think this will work.

The only issue is that if the jumping off point is a cross-reference, then it adopts the name of the first sentence in the body of the dropdown, instead of the title. I can work around it by changing the cross reference to a link (which allows me to type in the caption). But then the links appear in a paler shade of blue than the cross-references; they looks funny in a list of cross-references. I'm thinking the best thing to do is switch all the cross-references to links.

Thanks again,
Alex

[NorthEast]

If you place the bookmark inside the Dropdown body, the Dropdwon opens when you jump to to the bookmark, with one exception: if the link jumping towards the bookmark is in the same topic.

Actually, linking to a bookmark in the same topic does work - in both WebHelp and HTML Help outputs (Flare v6).

[i-tietz]

But then the links appear in a paler shade of blue than the cross-references; they looks funny in a list of cross-references. I'm thinking the best thing to do is switch all the cross-references to links.

Just create a new link class and assign it to those links - that way you can change the colours to the colours you use for cross references.

[akennedy]

Oh, okay. Thanks!

[ThomasH]

If you place the bookmark inside the Dropdown body, the Dropdwon opens when you jump to to the bookmark, with one exception: if the link jumping towards the bookmark is in the same topic.

Actually, linking to a bookmark in the same topic does work - in both WebHelp and HTML Help outputs (Flare v6).

Sorry for digging up such an old topic, but I can't seem to find any way to link to a bookmark inside a drop-down text which is in the same topic. (HTML5 WebHelp)
What I get if I do that is a link that seems like it doesn't do a thing if you click it, as long as the drop-down text is collapsed. If the drop down is expanded the link works as designed. Is there any way to expand the drop-down and jump to the bookmark?
Any input appreciated!

[i-tietz]

Javascript.

I use a javascript that rewrites that sort of links so that the whole topic is reloaded when a link like that is triggered. "Ugly" side effect: All other dropdowns in that topic are closed ...
There might be a way to carry the information which dropdown is open and which one's closed over the reload process, but I didn't really look for it yet. So far I have to say: You will have to opt for the "lesser" evil - whatever that is for you.

[ThomasH]

Well thank you for the quick reply.
That's not really the answer I was hoping for, but thank you anyway for the explanation.

I guess I'll go ahead and try to avoid linking inside the same topic. I don't want to write an extra script for this circumstance which doesn't occur that often anyway.

Thank you nonetheless!

[Msquared]

Just in case anyone is interested and finds this post while searching for posts about expanding drop-downs that are targets of hyperlinks, as I did earlier today.

I've devised a way that, although slightly clunky, does appear to work, for HTML output at least, in IE, Firefox and Chrome. I've not tried it in HTML5. It works for links to drop-downs in the same topic, and also for links to drop-downs in other topics.

The trick seems to be to use a hyperlink to reference into a bookmark at the very start of the drop-down body. Since many of my drop-down bodies are actually snippet blocks, and I definitely didn't want to put the bookmark in the snippet, this wasn't as simple as it seemed. I had to add an extra paragraph at the start of the drop-down to contain the bookmark. I devised an extra paragraph style that is almost, but not quite, hidden, so the bookmark is still there, but you would have to count pixels to spot it.

I set color: transparent; font-size: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.5pt; which gave me what I wanted to ensure the bookmark was present in the output but didn't show.

If you use a hyperlink rather than a cross-reference, you can control the text that displays with the link and set it to something helpful. If you use a cross-reference the link will contain whatever text you have used in the paragraph that the bookmark indicates, and that's the text I've gone to great pains to hide using the style above. So that probably isn't what you want to display.

Of course, if you are also single sourcing a print output, you will want to have online-only and print-only conditional versions for each cross-reference, since you will probably want the print version to be a cross-reference to the drop-down header header, and will probably want to apply a style that picks up the header text.

It is a bit clunky, I know, but seems to work well enough in the output.

[NorthEast]

I set color: transparent; font-size: 0.5pt; line-height: 0.5pt; which gave me what I wanted to ensure the bookmark was present in the output but didn't show.

Be careful with that - the text may be transparent, but it'll still be be included in the search results, and it'll be revealed by the search highlight.

[Msquared]

Good point. I can't hide the text altogether, as I think that would hide the bookmark too. But since the text is irrelevant and is only there to ensure the bookmark doesn't get dropped, I could make it something that won't show up in search results - a space would probably do or a full stop.

The bit that matters is the text that is displayed with the hyperlink that references the bookmark, and I set that separately to something meaningful.

[btwrites]

"The trick seems to be to use a hyperlink to reference into a bookmark at the very start of the drop-down body. Since many of my drop-down bodies are actually snippet blocks, and I definitely didn't want to put the bookmark in the snippet, this wasn't as simple as it seemed. I had to add an extra paragraph at the start of the drop-down to contain the bookmark. I devised an extra paragraph style that is almost, but not quite, hidden, so the bookmark is still there, but you would have to count pixels to spot it. "

Yes, I stumbled upon this myself. The situation is this: I have a topic with many drop-downs in it; I created a hyperlink to one of the drop-downs. But when I click on the hyperlink, the drop-down I want is there, but it is expanded and all other drop-downs below this one are also showing and they are expanded. I've attached a screenshot for reference. Is there a way to fix this?

[Msquared]

Can you post the actual code for one of the drop-downs that you are hyperlinking to, and also the code for the hyperlink itself, please?

[btwrites]

Per your request, here is the code for the hyperlink and the drop-down. Appreciate your help!

Code for the Hyperlink:
<p><a name="HIPPA"></a><b style="text-decoration: underline;">H</b>ealth <b style="text-decoration: underline;">I</b>nsurance <b style="text-decoration: underline;">P</b>ortability and <b style="text-decoration: underline;">A</b>ccountability <b style="text-decoration: underline;">A</b>ct (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets, to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and health care delivery, to promote the use of medical savings accounts, to improve access to long-term care services and coverage, and to simplify the administration of health insurance.</p>

Code for the Drop Down:
<MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownHotspot>Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)</MadCap:dropDownHotspot>
</MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownBody>
<p><a name="HIPPA"></a><b style="text-decoration: underline;">H</b>ealth <b style="text-decoration: underline;">I</b>nsurance <b style="text-decoration: underline;">P</b>ortability and <b style="text-decoration: underline;">A</b>ccountability <b style="text-decoration: underline;">A</b>ct (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets, to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and health care delivery, to promote the use of medical savings accounts, to improve access to long-term care services and coverage, and to simplify the administration of health insurance.</p>
</MadCap:dropDownBody>
</MadCap:dropDown>

[Msquared]

Thanks. Your code looks very similar to mine, which works as I described.

The screenshot you show is from Flare's Preview, isn't it? I find that doesn't always work the same as the real thing. Does the real think work OK?

And are you creating WebHelp or HTML5 output? Mine is still WebHelp, so perhaps there's a difference there.

Sorry I've not been much help . . .

[btwrites]

Hi, Marjorie I tried posting this earlier. Hope this works. Appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks!

CODE FOR DROP-DOWN WITH HYPERLINK IN IT

<MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownHotspot>Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)</MadCap:dropDownHotspot>
</MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownBody>
<p><a name="HIPPA"></a><b style="text-decoration: underline;">H</b>ealth <b style="text-decoration: underline;">I</b>nsurance <b style="text-decoration: underline;">P</b>ortability and <b style="text-decoration: underline;">A</b>ccountability <b style="text-decoration: underline;">A</b>ct (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets, to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and health care delivery, to promote the use of medical savings accounts, to improve access to long-term care services and coverage, and to simplify the administration of health insurance.</p>
</MadCap:dropDownBody>
</MadCap:dropDown>

DROP-DOWN CODES FOR REMAINING DROP DOWNS
</MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownBody>
<p><b style="text-decoration: underline;">H</b>ealth <b style="text-decoration: underline;">I</b>nformation <b style="text-decoration: underline;">E</b>xchange (HIE) is the electronic transmission of <b style="text-decoration: underline;">P</b>rotected <b style="text-decoration: underline;">H</b>ealth <b style="text-decoration: underline;">I</b>nformation (PHI) information across and between organizations. Might also be referred to as a Health Information Organization (HIO).</p>
</MadCap:dropDownBody>
</MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownHotspot>Health Information Service Provider (HISP)</MadCap:dropDownHotspot>
</MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownBody>
<p><b style="text-decoration: underline;">H</b>ealth <b style="text-decoration: underline;">I</b>nformation <b style="text-decoration: underline;">S</b>ervice <b style="text-decoration: underline;">P</b>roviders (HISP) provide secure connections between Health Information Exchanges (HIE) for the secure exchange and transmission of health information between two or more Health Information Exchanges.</p>
</MadCap:dropDownBody>
</MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownHotspot>Knowledgebase</MadCap:dropDownHotspot>
</MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownBody>
<p>Knowledgebase is the online User Help Guide for Uprise.</p>
</MadCap:dropDownBody>
</MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownHotspot>Location</MadCap:dropDownHotspot>
</MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownBody>
<p>A location is one branch that falls under the entire organization. There might be many locations under one organization or only one location. This could include a stand-alone lab, distribution center and/or a corporate office.</p>
</MadCap:dropDownBody>
</MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownHotspot>Managed Care</MadCap:dropDownHotspot>
</MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownBody>
<p>A managed health care system is one with administrative control over health care services in a medical group practice with the goal of eliminating redundant facilities and services and to contain costs. Health education and preventive medicine are emphasized.</p>
</MadCap:dropDownBody>
</MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDown>
<MadCap:dropDownHead>
<MadCap:dropDownHotspot>Multi-Location</MadCap:dropDownHotspot>
</MadCap:dropDownHead>