Where can I find sample skins for HTML Help?

This forum is for all Flare issues related to the Microsoft HTML Help target.
This target produces "CHM" files in the output.
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ChoccieMuffin
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Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:01 am
Location: Surrey, UK

Where can I find sample skins for HTML Help?

Post by ChoccieMuffin »

Afternoon all.

I have been given the task of modifying our current Help output (CHM) to include "Next Topic", "Previous Topic" and "Show TOC Location" buttons that are going to be much more visible than the default ones. (This is because our current additional navigation method uses a bunch of relationship tables which are a total nightmare to update, so they've managed to get out of date. Long story, but we want to do away with the relationship tables.) I've never played with skins before, so although I've used Flare for years, with skins I'm a complete newbie.

We currently have the HTML Help toolbar, which appears at the top left of the window above the TOC. I know I can add or remove buttons from this using the HTML Help Setup tab on the Skin Editor.
My first approach was to add buttons to a topic toolbar so they were more obvious, but even though I added a topic toolbar proxy to my masterpage, it just didn't show up.
So I tried adding a WebHelp toolbar, because the Flare help seems to say that it is compatible with HTML Help. That showed up, but I really don't like how it looks so it definitely needs prettifying. I'd like to get rid of the Madcap logo at the right of the toolbar, either by deleting it completely or replacing it with our company logo, but I can't see where that is controlled from. And, as I mentioned, I'd like to include a "Locate in TOC" button, but that's not available for either the topic toolbar or the webhelp toolbar.
To make them more obvious I'd like to create my own buttons instead of the default ones, possibly with WORDS on them as the pictures aren't obvious enough (according to my internal customer).

So I thought I'd take a look at some templates on the Madcap website, (got that idea from Scott DeLoach's book) but they only have HTML5 templates available.

Any suggestions? Any pointers to some template skins? Any tips and tricks to playing around with buttons and toolbars in skins? All help gratefully received.
Started as a newbie with Flare 6.1, now using Flare 2023.
Report bugs at http://www.madcapsoftware.com/bugs/submit.aspx.
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