Glossary terms but no definitions?

[JupiterJones]

I've created a number of glossary entries, configured as "popup". The terms are highlighted in the CHM as desired, the popups work.

There also is a "Glossary" symbol in the HTML Help TOC. If I expand it, I can see all the glossary terms. But where are the definitions??? If I click on a term, nothing happens. What can I do to display the corresponding definition? A pure list of terms is rather useless...

JJ

[JupiterJones]

Could someone please confirm whether Flare behaves as intended or whether I am missing something?

Thank you!
JJ

[LTinker68]

I haven't built HTML Help in a long time and I'm starting one now, but I'm not at the creating-a-glossary stage. However, even if I were, I don't have glossary term definitions popup from topics. I just have the glossary pane. Or in the case of HTML Help, the glossary "book".

If you switch a couple of the glossary terms to an option other than popup, do those terms then expand in the glossary book? I'm guessing because of the way HTML Help creates a glossary that it can't have a popup definition and have it expand in the glossary book. If changing a couple of terms to not being popups works, then you might have to make a choice -- either you have all glossary terms be popups in the topic and don't have a glossary book, or you don't link glossary terms in the topics and just have the glossary book.

That's one of the downsides to HTML Help -- it's way behind the times.

[KevinDAmery]

I usually use expanding text for glossary terms. Also, I don't bother with a glossary screen at all - I think collecting all of your terms in one place is one of those print conventions that really isn't much use for online formats. (Ever met an end user who wasn't a tech writer who actually sat and tried to absorb all the terms in one sitting? I haven't...) For online formats, the only time I link away from the current page is to another related topic. Since you can embed definitions in the topic itself, sending them to a dedicated page is unnecessary and potentially distracting (how many unsophisticated users follow a link to the glossary page then don't know how to get back to the relevant topic?)

I do use a glossary chapter in print output, because in print you can't embed the definitions without detracting from readability.

My $0.02

[LTinker68]

I come at it from another point of view. I think clicking on a term and having its definition expand or popup interferes with the flow of the sentence. I invariably have to read the sentence twice because I lost the thread of what I was reading when I clicked on the glossary term and read its definition. Plus it's difficult for the user to determine which link will popup/expand a definition and which will take him to a new topic or web page. You can use different colored text for the links, but that's too subtle a distinction for most users.

I view the glossary pane/book as being similar to the search and index -- optional features that provide additional information or ways to access information. If the user wants to take advantage of the option, he/she can, but otherwise, he/she can ignore it.

That's my $.02.

[KevinDAmery]

Plus it's difficult for the user to determine which link will popup/expand a definition and which will take him to a new topic or web page. You can use different colored text for the links, but that's too subtle a distinction for most users.

Mine have the toggler graphic at the end, so they don't look like traditional links but do look like something interactive. I think Flare automatically adds the graphic if you using expanding text rather than popup text.

And just to pick a nit, does an expanding section really break the flow of a sentence more than navigating to an entirely different page does? I would think that the sentence no longer being on screen would have an even bigger impact on being able to read it

[LTinker68]

And just to pick a nit, does an expanding section really break the flow of a sentence more than navigating to an entirely different page does?

I don't make the jump right then. If I can't figure out from the sentence or context of the page what it is, then I'll switch to the glossary. It's no different than coming across an acronym and opening a web browser to go to acronymfinder.com.

Plus you can always use the back button to get back to the topic you were just reading. Although I'm not sure how well HTML Help does that.

[KevinDAmery]

And just to pick a nit, does an expanding section really break the flow of a sentence more than navigating to an entirely different page does?

I don't make the jump right then. If I can't figure out from the sentence or context of the page what it is, then I'll switch to the glossary. It's no different than coming across an acronym and opening a web browser to go to acronymfinder.com.

Ok.... but if I have to do either of those I'm still going to re-read the sentence again when I get back. So I'm not sure what the knock on expanding text is, really.

[LTinker68]

Could just be a stylistic issue. If it does add a graphic to indicate it's expanding text, then I wouldn't have liked having that there. And if you remove the graphic, then you're back to just having hyperlink colors to distinguish destination versus expanding text effect, which I wouldn't have liked either. (It's obviously been awhile since I've played with expanding text.)

Different strokes and all that. Don't think there's a right or wrong either way, otherwise there wouldn't be so many options you could choose between (or combine).

[KevinDAmery]

What, you mean I can't force everyone in the world to use my stylesheet? Sheesh, that's no fun....

[JupiterJones]

I've found the reason for the missing definitions:

For the print version I had added a topic with a glossary proxy, saved as "glossary.htm". The project is still in planning and testing state, so it had not been excluded for the online target yet.
Apparently, the glossary book and terms in the HTML Help TOC are linked to a file named "glossary.htm" - just like my print glossary topic. And therefore only the headline "Glossary" of this topic was displayed. Strange....
After I renamed my print glossary topic (or excluded it by condition), a click on the glossary book or one of the terms opened the "real" glossary online page with expandable definitions.

I agree, for online a separate glossary page is certainly not so important. But if you can have it "for free" - why not...
For the term format inside topics I would prefer popups, may be expanding text, but no links to other topics.

JJ