TOC in HTML5 output does not expand automatically

[TPM_IV]

The TOC tab (Contents) in HTML5 does not expand automatically.

I've already looked at the topic "HTML5: TOC expanded pre-Flare 9, but not in 9" in this forum, but I'm not sure it applies.

I had previously submitted a Flare support request for this issue a couple of months back, and got this reply:
"If the entirety of the TOC is kept under one book, then that book will need to be manually expanded in order to see the TOC. If the TOC is not kept all under one book, then it will be opened by default, after building the output."

I must be slow, because I do not understand what this means. Nor do I understand how the issue was resolved in the above forum topic.

All I want is this: An HTML5 help system whose Contents tab expands automatically to show H1 topics when the user opens the system. The user can then manually expand the H1 heading if desired. This is standard behavior in just about every help system I have ever seen, and ever created.
Our Product Mgt have now issued a formal request to have this implemented, so my back is against the wall.
Hope someone can help!

[atomdocs]

Hi - could you post a screenshot of what you see (the error situation)?

Using default settings, the TOC should display all the items that are at the top level of you TOC (or all the items that are aligned left-most when you view the TOC file in Flare).

I think what MC support is saying, is that if you have all your TOC entries nested under one item, then you'll only see that one item when the help system loads.

There are a lot of people willing to help here, we'll help fix it if we can

[TPM_IV]

Thanks!
I have tried to nested and un-nested TOCs, with the same result: the Contents tab does not expand upon system opening.
I assume I understand correctly what you mean by 'nested'.
I have attached a screenshot to illustrate the problem:

[atomdocs]

Ok right, thanks for posting the screenshot, that helps. So the TOC panel is simply not displaying at all (in this case, my comment about nesting TOC items is not relevant - I had the wrong idea about what was going wrong). This definitely sounds buggy. What version of Flare are you using?

I don't know the fix, but here is a topic that discusses something similar:

http://forums.madcapsoftware.com/viewto ... =9&t=16800

It relates to an issue on server-based help. The issue affects HTML5 so it might be relevant.

The Knowledgebase article that the topic refers to is here:

http://kb.madcapsoftware.com/#Flare/Out ... are_V9.htm

If you contact MC support again, avoid describing the problem in terms of "TOC not expanding" - instead describe the problem as "the TOC pane not displaying", or "the TOC pane is blank". I think the response you got from support was also going off on the wrong track.

Hopefully another forum member has direct experience of this and can help.

[TPM_IV]

Thanks!
Just to clarify, I can open the TOC, and the TOC pane will display - but only if I manually click the "Contents" tab. And that's not what we want.
Will give it another go with Flare support!

[Leon Descoteaux]

In the Skin Editor, General tab, Features panel, which feature is defined as the default? You want to see "TOC (default)" instead of "Index (default)" or "Glossary (default)" in there. To change this setting, simply select the feature (in your case, "TOC") and click the "Make Default" button.

Hope this helps...

[TPM_IV]

Thanks, will give this a try; I hope this is a skin-related issue. I cannot imagine that it is hard-coded Flare behaviour.

[Kathy_123]

As I understand the question, you want to have all the books expanded in the TOC instead of collapsed.
I want the same thing,and haven't found a way to do it.