<a name="xyz"> vs <h1 id="xyz">text</h1>

[ruthhoward]

Apparently using anchors <a> to define targets for hyperlinks (<a name="xyz"></a>) is outmoded:

http://www.w3.org/TR/html5-diff/#changed-attributes

However, when you add a bookmark in Flare it adds an <a name="xyz"></a>.

Further, if your HTML contains any id definitions (in header or table elements for example) these are not seen in the bookmarks list for a target topic when you're creating a hyperlink.

I've migrated a large help set into Flare. We had started to transition from <a name> to <h1 id> in order to properly comply with HTML5 but Flare doesn't seem to support that.

Does anyone have any advice?

[LTinker68]

Flare's HTML5 isn't "real" HTML5, from what I understand, so HTML5 "standards" aren't necessarily in place or enforced in Flare. Especially since not all browsers support "real" HTML5 output. Perhaps down the road Flare will implement it, but for now they're apparently sticking with the name model. Flare uses some CSS3 styles in its HTML5 stylesheet, which are only seen in a few browsers. Other than that, HTML5 for Flare is really just talking about an online output that isn't in a frameset.

You can submit a feature request at https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... quest.aspx.

[NorthEast]

I've no advice, but that's a really good point - for anchor (a) tags, the name attribute is deprecated in XHTML and HTML5, so it shouldn't be used going forward. (Or only in WebHelp, not HTML5 help)

Flare needs to support IDs for hyperlinks and cross-references, and when inserting bookmarks.

I'll put in a feature request too.

[ruthhoward]

Thanks Dave!

[clxmichelle]

I talked to their support, and they put in another request. Perhaps if enough people do, then v10 will comply with the standard. :)

[fchapman42]

I've just started using Flare - love the new "Clean XHTML" format but am horrified by the number of error messages you get when you paste the output into a validator. The use of this obsolete attribute being one of the main culprits.

Have sent them feedback.