Button to close the chm

Sharpras · Post by **Sharpras** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 7:53 am

How do I create a button for the user to close (exit) the chm? I image it must be a shortcut control but I've not found any help for the parameters to be sent or the "standard windows message."
Windows XP, Flare 4.0, HTML help, need not work over a network.

Thanks,
Roger
Data I/O

Post by **LTinker68** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:24 am

If it's for HTML Help then it can't work over the network.

Are you saying you want to create a custom button that says something like "Close Help" and you want to know how to format the command?

Pete Lees · Post by **Pete Lees** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:50 am

Hi, Roger,

If you can make a topic file like the one below the target of your custom toolbar button, the help window will close when the user clicks the button.

Code: Select all

<html>
<body onload="JavaScript:Close.Click()">

   <object id="Close" classid="clsid:adb880a6-d8ff-11cf-9377-00aa003b7a11">
      <param name="Command" value="Close">
   </object>

</body> 
</html>

And see also this discussion in another forum for ways to make the help window close when the user presses the Esc key:

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/webforums/ ... id=1339304

Pete

Sharpras · Post by **Sharpras** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:21 am

Lisa, you got it. That's what I want.

Pete, I think what you are suggesting is a new topic that closes the help when that topic opens. I am putting the 'Close' button in a topic rather than in the button bar, but that shouldn't make a difference. I tried your suggestion (copying your code into the page via the internal editor) and when I attempt to save the new topic I get this error message: [XML: The 'param" start tag on line 9 does not lmatch the end tab of 'object'. Line 10, position 7.]

KevinDAmery · Post by **KevinDAmery** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:54 am

Did you copy everything? Specifically, you would need to add the java script declaration in the Body tag plus the entire object tag group. The error you're quoting makes it sound like the opening object tag isn't there.

Pete Lees · Post by **Pete Lees** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:00 am

Here's an alternative version, which adds a Close button to your topic content.

Code: Select all

<html>
<body>

<-- The rest of your topic content... -->

<object id="hhctrl" classid="clsid:adb880a6-d8ff-11cf-9377-00aa003b7a11">
   <param name="Command" value="Close">
   <param name="Button" value="Text:Close">
</object>

</body>
</html>

Like the earlier version, this uses the Close command of the HTML Help ActiveX control to close the window. I don't think that any other script or control can achieve the same result.

No idea why you were getting the error message, unless it's because the Flare editor assumes that the <param> tag requires an end-tag (which it doesn't). Still, it doesn't do any harm to close the parameter with a forward slash in the same tag (<param name="Command" value="Close"/>).

Pete

Post by **doc_guy** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:02 am

XML won't validate unless EVERY opening tag has a closing tag. So, yes, the <param> will need a closing slash to be valid XML.

That is why in Flare, you never see a <br> element. You always see a <br /> element. Same applies to the <param> element.

Post by **doc_guy** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:04 am

So, for the sake of clarity, use the following example:

Code: Select all

<html>
<body>

<-- The rest of your topic content... -->

<object id="hhctrl" classid="clsid:adb880a6-d8ff-11cf-9377-00aa003b7a11">
   <param name="Command" value="Close" />
   <param name="Button" value="Text:Close" />
</object>

</body>
</html>

and see if that works.

Sharpras · Post by **Sharpras** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:17 am

Yes. It works perfectly. That could otherwise have taken my days to figure out. I wish MadCap Flare's Help could point to resources like this.

Thanks, Pete and Paul.

Roger

Post by **doc_guy** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:34 am

Ah, but if the help system had the info, then we wouldn't have anything to do in the forums!

Glad it worked.

Richard Ferrell · Post by **Richard Ferrell** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 3:08 pm

Thanks for the suggestion, Normally Custom Javascript and buttons would be out side the scope of support, as there are many different ways to do something like this, and it would be very difficult to support.

I will submit a feature request to our dev team for more support for custom buttons and scripts.

Sharpras · Post by **Sharpras** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 3:38 pm

Richard Ferrell wrote: I will submit a feature request to our dev team for more support for custom buttons and scripts.

That would be great-- at least for a few common features like close buttons, open a second chm, printing several or all pages in chm, or whatever folks request often.

Roger

MadCap Software Forums

Button to close the chm

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