Restyle or remove the EWriter Application Menu but keep the buttons?

[Marc]

For users, the (orange) application menu in the EWriter Viewer window can be quite annoying if not really needed. The orange(!) color is the first thing users will notice when looking at the help system - but this is not what they should. The most prominent playe in the entire help shreen should be the place in the help topic where I as the authot put some emphasis on, such as a heahing, a warning, an image, etc.
So my questions are:
(1) Is there any place where the orange color of the menu can be changed to something less intrusive / something that matches the design of the help skin?
(2) Another option would be to remove the menu completely, but this also removes the Back and Forward buttons (browser history). However, in my opinion, these buttons are essential for the usability of an online help system. Is there any way to get rid of the menu but to keep the buttons? ( I have tried to delete the caption text, but the menu keeps its size.)

[Tim Green]

Hi Marc,

You can edit all this in Configuration > Publishing Options > eBooks > eWriter: Menus and Translation. See here for instructions:

https://www.helpandmanual.com/help/hm_w ... menus.html

[Marc]

Yes, I am aware of these options - however, the problem is that they neither let me change the color nor remove the Application button completely. After removing all the entries from the menu (which is possible) lony the Application button remains. And for this button, the Delete function is disabled!?

[Tim Green]

Hi Marc,

Just uncheck the "Include Application Menu" checkbox at the top. That removes the menu entirely.

[Marc]

Yes, it does, but the problem is that this also removes the buttons, which I definitely want to keep (see "(2)" in my initial message). How can I keep the buttons but remove the menu? (Or how can I at least give the menu a diferent color so that it is visually less dominant?)

[Tim Frost]

I do not feel quite so strongly about hiding the bright orange menu, but if there was an option to hide it, I would probably do so, and would definitely also wish to retain the Print Topic button over on the right, as well as the home. forward and back butons.

[Marc]

Hm - so I guess it is just not possible right now. What a pitty. So NOT using the eWriter format at all but plain broser-based WebHelp instead seens the only feasible option. But maybe you can put it on the whishlist because the idea and concept of the eWriter application is geat.

[Simon_Dismore]

... this also removes the Back and Forward buttons (browser history). However, in my opinion, these buttons are essential for the usability of an online help system. Is there any way to get rid of the menu but to keep the buttons?

You could publish using a skin that includes these navigation buttons, most of them do.

[Tim Frost]

The skin home/back/forward/print buttons all disappear when you uncheck the menu option.

[Tim Green]

The skin home/back/forward/print buttons all disappear when you uncheck the menu option.

A maintenance update is coming soon with the ability to configure the buttons individually and the color of the menu button.

[Marc]

This is good news! Very much looking forward to it ...

[Marc]

With the latest update, it is now possible to change the color of the menu, which is great. The controls to change the color only appear when all menu items have been deleted, which is probably a bug. (Oh - and the Reset button doesn't reset the color along with the other settings.)
It is not (yet?) possible to hide the menu but to keep the buttons. Or have I overlooked something here?
To make the toolbar perfect, one more thing seems to be missing: When a user hovers the mouse over one of the buttons, some English tooltips appear. Is there any possibility to translate these texts into other languages?

[Tim Green]

Hi Marc,

The controls to change the color only appear when all menu items have been deleted, which is probably a bug.

You just need to click on the item you want to configure to get the controls. Of course, you can achieve the same thing by deleting all the other controls, so that it gets selected automatically, if you want. However, in my experience clicking on the item is usually less work.

I'm asking our developers to look into the other points.

[Simon_Dismore]

The skin home/back/forward/print buttons all disappear when you uncheck the menu option.

I didn't explain clearly. The home/back etc buttons in eWriter aren't from a skin, they are rendered by the eWriter host.

You can achieve what you want, with the greatest degree of control, by publishing to eWriter using a WebHelp skin that contains navigation buttons.

[screenshot] WebHelp navigation buttons in eWriter.png

[Marc]

Yes, of course this is possible. However, there is one big difference with the buttons: The browse buttons in your skin and image switch from one topic to the next, according to the table of contents of your document. The buttons in the viewer window, however, are the browser history of the topics that the user has opened before. Probably you could mimic these buttons as well by using some JavaScript, but in my opinion it would break the normal user experience not to have these navigation items within the browser window itself but within the content.
So, what we need, I think, is your solution with the skin PLUS the buttons in the viewer.