Link from external to any topic, with Nav - how?

[kevinmcl]

All,

Back in the days before Flare talked HTML5, I created Flare WebHelp.
The employer supplied an EXTERNAL front page (START_HERE.html) from which the customer could launch the Help or could open some local non-help documents, or could link to certain external resources.

I had three requirements of that page, regarding my Help.

1) that it launch the WebHelp page that PLM and Tech-Support had determined was the overall most useful, most-desired starting page.
2) that it launch several other pages for groups of customers who needed other starting points
3) that clicking either type of link in the external (non-Flare) START_HERE.html page would yield identical look-and-feel - that is the chosen page would launch with Navigation

I had links to accomplish that, as follows:

Code: Select all

<a href="./helpdirectory/startpage.htm" target="_blank">Our Product Help System </a>

... which opened the "startpage.htm" that was set in Flare, which was surrounded by the navigation frame.

Code: Select all

<a href="./helpdirectory/startpage.htm#StartTopic=content/windows_install.htm" target="_blank">Click for Windows installation instructions</a>

... which opened a specific non-startpage page in the depths of the Webhelp, which was also opened surrounded by the navigation frame.

I probably got that from somebody on this forum.
If I just linked to some random internal topic without the "#StartTopic=content/whatever....", it opened the desired page, but without the surrounding navigation frame.

Now that my projects all output HTML5 Help, both those links above open only the startpage.htm, if at all.
In the example, the customer would now never see the Windows install page. They could click any of the help-related links on my EXTERNAL-not-Flare.... START_HERE.html page, and all of them would do one of two things:
1) IE9 labors for a while and then presents the startpage.htm inside the nav frame (doesn't see the "#StartTopic=content/whatever....")
2) other browsers labor for a while and then present the nav-frame containing a Not Found message instead of a page.
How can I replicate what I had before, where the navigation stuff is launched but populates with a named page, rather than startpage.htm or an error??

Is there a pass-through syntax that works with the new web output? What keyword should I have searched?

Thanks,

-kevin

PS: I'm testing a theory that as soon as I click [ Submit ], I'll remember exactly what I'm looking for.

[NorthEast]

To display your help topics from HTML5 help, use the URL method described in the help topic for CSH calls.

The following link uses a CSH call to open this topic:

http://webhelp.madcapsoftware.com/flare8/Default.htm#cshid=CSH/HTML5_CSH_Calls/CSH_Calls_HTML5_Developers.htm

So your link might look something like this (assuming startpage.htm is the output name of your help):

./helpdirectory/startpage.htm#cshid=windows_install.htm
(Note - you don't include content folder)

I'm not sure where you got the StartTopic method from; it's not even the correct way to make a CSH call for WebHelp, and definitely won't work for HTML5.

[kevinmcl]

Thanks. That worked.

But.... the old one worked for years 'n' years. Wrong or not.

But, it DID require the content folder to be included in the path.