Using Conditions

[Doug Eaton]

I'm exploring WebHelp Mobile for the first time and will have three targets: WebHelp "for the big screen," PDF, and WebHelp mobile. As I looked at the first output (using default settings), it occurs to me that the ScreenOnly condition I use for the WebHelp target may need to be divided into two conditions: ScreenText and ScreenObject. It seems that this will allow me to exclude tables and figures that are too wide for mobile targets without losing body text that has been conditioned to appear on screen only. (Right now, I have only a "ScreenOnly" and "PrintOnly" condition.) This division would also provide the flexibility (probably rarely needed) to create two screen versions of some content objects.

Does this sound reasonable to those of you with experience with single sourcing for both mobile devices and large screens? What best practices have you discovered?

[Nita Beck]

Hey Doug (from snowy western NY)...

I don't quite get how you'd use the "ScreenText" and "ScreenObject" conditions. To what would you apply the ScreenText condition? To what would you apply the ScreenObject condition? A screen is a screen is a screen, so how will you remember which screen you're trying to size to?

I'd find it more intuitive if I had conditions called "BigScreenOnly" and "MobileScreenOnly." Most of my content would have no condition at all, content intended only for a print would have the PrintOnly condition, content intended only for WebHelp would have the BigScreenOnly condition, and content intended only for WebHelp Mobile would have the MobileScreenOnly condition. (Of course, I might want to do all I could to use styles [whether mediums or separate styles sheets) to control formatting so that I wouldn't have to set conditions at all, if the main issue is accommodating a small screen.)

But in any case, the question to you question is that, yes, it makes sense to expand your set of conditions to accommodate the differences in screen size.

[Doug Eaton]

I believe I need six conditions to control content for the PDF, normal WebHelp, and Mobile WebHelp targets: (1) unconditional content that shows in all targets, (2) content (text and graphical) that shows in print targets only, (3) text that shows in "normal" WebHelp, (4) text that shows in Mobile WebHelp, (5) images that show in "normal" WebHelp, and (6) images that show in Mobile WebHelp. Instead of one "HelpOnly" condition, I'll have four, but I think this is the only way to control the content.
I am new to this target area. Any advice is welcome.

[lacastle]

Why do you need separate conditions for text and images? you can filter file lists by type (image or html) if you need to see one or the other.

[Doug Eaton]

Regarding separate conditions for text and images: I could apply a Mobile (i.e., second) condition over the already conditional "normal WebHelp" content where I want to include that content, and I could create any needed small graphics and apply the Mobile condition to them. When setting up the target, I would just exclude my non-mobile Webhelp and print conditions and include Mobile. Likewise, when producing other targets I would exclude the Mobile condition.
Thanks, Nita and Laura, for helping me to think this through.