MadCap Software Forums

I have used Flare 10 to create an HTML5 Target that looks great in a Web browser. But even though I've used relative measurements like em and percent, that same content is essentially unusable on a tablet and even worse on a smart phone.

I've browsed the Madcap Software Forums and looked through the available PDF Guides. So far I haven't found anything that provides a *comprehensive* overview of single-sourcing a Flare project so that it will be usable (or at least not horribly UN-usable) on any user agent.

So my questions are:

• Can anyone please point me towards something that provides a comprehensive guide to delivering a truly adaptive Flare Target?
• Can anyone please comment on how they're testing their adaptive Targets to ensure that they have a fighting chance of being at least somewhat usable on pretty much any user agent?

I suppose a variant of my first question is to ask whether "the plan" is to learn adaptive layout theory from top to bottom, then apply that knowledge to Flare? Or?

Cheers & thanks for your help,
Riley
SFO

My question arises in part because Flare's public-facing online help system is delivered in both Responsive and Non-responsive variants, each with their own URL.

Click the following link, then in the bottom of that Default system click View This Help In Non-responsive Desktop Mode to access a separate browser-friendly instance.

http://webhelp.madcapsoftware.com/flare10/Default.htm

My objective is to come up with a single URL that delivers the best output one can expect in any viewing mode regardless of user agent…

Cheers & thanks for your help,
Riley
SFO

Phlawm53 wrote:My question arises in part because Flare's public-facing online help system is delivered in both Responsive and Non-responsive variants, each with their own URL.

I suspect that's just so users can see the difference between the two formats.
(If you are using the responsive variant and drag the right edge of the window to make it narrower, at a certain width the menu bit on the left disappears, and reappears when you make the window wider again. In the non-responsive variant the menu bit doesn't disappear however narrow you make the window.)

ChoccieMuffin wrote:If you are using the responsive variant and drag the right edge of the window to make it narrower, at a certain width the menu bit on the left disappears, and reappears when you make the window wider again. In the non-responsive variant the menu bit doesn't disappear however narrow you make the window.

Thanks. So far, so good — BUT…

When the public-facing Flare 10 help system first went live it didn't include the links that enabled one to choose one of the two possible viewing modes. The absence of those links was a problem because on my laptop I needed to enlarge my browser window until it completely covered my laptop's otherwise generously sized 1366 x 768 pixels display. Evidently this was a problem for enough users that the two apparently separate versions of the help system were created.

I can accept the idea of a link or some other control that enables a view to select the viewing mode. But I do NOT want that link or control to require a second, separate instance of the help system. Which it today apparently does.

Instead, I'm researching how — if at all — one can create a single Target that is "inoffensively usable" on essentially any user agent.

Cheers & thanks 'gain,
Riley

ChoccieMuffin wrote:If you are using the responsive variant and drag the right edge of the window to make it narrower, at a certain width the menu bit on the left disappears, and reappears when you make the window wider again. In the non-responsive variant the menu bit doesn't disappear however narrow you make the window.

Thanks. So far, so good BUT…

When the public-facing Flare 10 help system first went live it didn't include the links that enabled one to choose one of the two possible viewing modes. The absence of those links was a problem because on my laptop I needed to enlarge my browser window until it completely covered my laptop's otherwise generously sized 1366 x 768 pixels display. Evidently enough users had the same problem so that Madcap deployed the two apparently separate versions of the help system.

I can accept the idea of a link or some other control that enables a view to select the viewing mode. But I do NOT want that link or control to require a second, separate instance of the help system. Which it today apparently does.

Instead, I'm researching how — if at all — one can create a single Target that is "inoffensively usable" on essentially any user agent.

Cheers & thanks 'gain,
Riley

What I meant was, you should be able to JUST use the responsive version, and set the width in pixels when the menu disappears. I haven't used it myself so I'm only going by what I've read, and I haven't tried to look at the Flare help (responsive) on a tablet because I don't have one...

I will be keeping an eye on this topic so I can learn a bit more, hope others come along with the help you need.