'Advanced' folder

[BruceMcNaughton]

Hi,

I have a web help project that is published to a specific web site ... I have just made a mobile version of the same site and see it has been placed in an /Advanced folder.

I have the ability to keep the two sites separate ... this works fine ... however, I was wondering if there is a way to use webhelp and webhelp mobile from the same domain.

My question is ... what is the 'best practice' way to inform users that there is an iPhone version of the site available. e.g. do they go to the main site and see a button or do I need to provide people with the start file for the mobile version.

(I also need different Masterpages for the web and mobile).

Thanks in advance!! BTW: Mobile version is quite impressive!!!

Regards,
Bruce

[LTinker68]

There are a couple of options for this. One is to just put a link on the home page of the main site that says "Mobile Version" and a link on the mobile version that says "Full Site" or "Main Site".

Ideally, though, there should some code on both sites that checks the browser being used and automatically directs the user to the appropriate site. I haven't done this myself so I don't know the exact steps, but I know it can be done. The web server itself may be able to do the redirection so that you don't have to add code yourself -- you'd have to talk to your IT guys about that.

Even if you do the second methods, I've seen some sites that have a link on the mobile site that goes back to the main site and I think I've seen a full main sites with links to the mobile site, so you could also do that method, but it would be better for the end user if you implemented the second option, although it'll take more work on your side or on IT's side.

[BruceMcNaughton]

Hi,

Many thanks for the idea of where to put the link. One underlying question about the way Flare builds the output.

Has the advanced folder been added to allow for both the mobile output build and the normal webhelp build to reside in the same domain? Or should I keep the Mobile output separate from the normal webhelp? (by separate I mean ... in two separate domains ... for example ... http://www.process-aide.com (the normal webhelp) ... and mobile.process-aide.com (a special subdomain for the mobile build?)

I could not find any information on how to use the Advanced folder... (note: I tend to copy files to the server using a different FTP package so don't use the normal publish route).

Regards, Bruce

[LTinker68]

I'm not sure what you mean about the advanced folder. If you don't change any default settings in the target, each output type will build to a separate folder under a main Output folder. If you set publishing settings, you'll want each target to upload to a different website or to two different sub-folders under the main website. Most websites that I've seen, however, tend to have different URLs. The main site might be http://www.yoursite.com while the mobile site is http://mobile.yoursite.com or http://m.yoursite.com. If you go that route, though, then it'll depend on how your web server is configured as to where the files have to go. You'll need to ask your IT people or your web host provider about where the files should go. It has nothing, really, to do with Flare, beyond telling Flare where to publish the files, if you use its built-in publishing feature.

[BruceMcNaughton]

Hi,

The '/Advanced' folder was created by Flare 6 along with a '/Basic' folder. I was not sure what they meant and how they worked. I now see that the Index.htm file determines whether the browser is advanced or basic.

The normal top level folders are also included in the output.

I guess my question is now whether all three types of output can be handled in the same domain http://www.mysite.com and that the index.htm will determine the right content to use.

Regards, Bruce

[LTinker68]

I guess my question is now whether all three types of output can be handled in the same domain http://www.mysite.com and that the index.htm will determine the right content to use.

I'll have to bump that to someone else. I haven't played with the mobile output enough to be able to answer. I'm not sure if basic vs. advanced is related the type of mobile device is accessing the help (my guess) or if it's related to mobile vs. full help access. I'm more inclined to think it's the former instead of the latter, since the latter would mean you'd either need to open it up to change a link so it points to your full version, or there would be a field in the mobile target where you can specify the link to use. Plus the latter option would vary widely depending on the type of web server is hosting the help and how the web host or IT department configured the server and sites under it.