What is the best output format for html files for iPhones?

[dmagnum]

I'm creating html files that will be displayed on iPhone devices. Using Flare, should I convert my FrameMaker files to Flare's WebHelp output format? I just want to confirm which format is best for iPhones. Thanks.

[NorthEast]

A lot depends on what your actual content is, and what you want to deliver.
Do you want to deliver individual HTML files or a full help system?

If you just want to create individual HTML files, you can do that directly from FrameMaker.

If you want to deliver a help system, then you could import your FM files into Flare.
If you're thinking of creating WebHelp in Flare, then I'd try looking at an existing WebHelp project on an iPhone, and see how easy it is to use.

For example, try opening kb.madcapsoftware.com.
I don't have an iPhone, but I'm guessing space on screen may be an issue; the 3-pane approach works fine on a PC, but may not be ideal for a small screen. You can hide the accordion bar by default, but you still need to open it to use the contents or search.

[LTinker68]

Hopefully MadCap is working on a new template skin or output type for outputting to mobile devices. You could also submit a feature request to http://www.madcapsoftware.com/bugs/submit.aspx asking for that, as well as for the ability to load the contents, glossary, index, and search panes as if they were topics.

[dmagnum]

Thanks, Dave and Lisa. I will try to see how individual html files look first. I'll also ask an engineer here to try to incorporate a help system to see how it displays. I'll keep you posted.

[Madcap Guru]

you may want to open the Knowledge base on you Iphone and see how it looks, it can be reached at kb.madcapsoftware.com

[dmagnum]

Thanks to everyone who has replied to me so far. I have submitted an enhancement request to MadCap Flare to see if they plan to create skins for skins or output types for mobile devices.

I am still trying to create output for mobile devices, particularly iPhones. I have experimented with setting the navigation pane to use 320 pixels in width with 480 pixels in height. However, the accordion-style navigation pane (with the TOC and Search button) on the left side of the output seems to be too wide. I would like to decrease the width of that so that more content will be displayed on the right side of the device’s screen. I might also try to reduce the font size in paragraph styles in the .css. Any advice that any experts out there have will be much appreciated. Thanks.