Problem with (screenshot) imeges that include hotspots

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chfrmeyer
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 5:07 pm

Problem with (screenshot) imeges that include hotspots

Unread post by chfrmeyer »

In my H&M projects I frequently use screenshots that

a) include an number of hotspots
b) are located in toggles to expand when needed and otherwise stay collapsed so as not to obstruct other contents of a help topic.

(Note: For "historical" reasons the graphics with hotspots are usually located in topics of their own that are included as topic snippets in the toggles in question.)


With version 7 of Help&Manual I encounter the following problems:

1.
When scrolling vertically in the HTML (CHM) help window, images with hotspots do not move together with the rest of the topics (text or images without hotspots).
Text below an image with hotspots will sometimes disappear beneath an image with hotspots in the process of vertical scrolling.

2.
When such a hotspot is located in a toggle ant the toggle is not initially expanded when the topic displays, expanding the toggle initially displays blank space only. It takes an additional "mouse over" or "mouse to the edge of the topic window" to make the image in the expanded toggle appear.

However, please note this peculiarity: The 2. problem described above occurs with images that are aligned "With text" ("Im Text" in German). It does not occur with images aligned left of text. In the past, I had my reasons for replacing "left of text" alignment with "in text".

Also, after checking again, I can definately say that these problems do not occur with Version 6.x of Help&Manual.

Another note: With Verskion 7, shaded rectangles appear to mark the hotspots in an image when I mouse-over the image. I first had to get used to this, but in the meantime I appreciate the way hotspots in an image are marked. I only wonder whether the shading could be made a bit lighter - more transparent for what is beneath.
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Tim Green
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Re: Problem with (screenshot) imeges that include hotspots

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Chfr,

(Funny name, how do you pronounce it?)

Before doing anything else, please make sure that you are using the current version of Help & Manual 7. Since this is a new release, updates are going to be released quite frequently in the first period. You can check your installed version with Help > About. The current version is 7.0.5 Build 3681. If you need to update you can download the latest installer from

http://www.helpandmanual.com/downloads.html?upd

Just install on top of your current version to update. You can also check for updates with the Update (Cloud) tool in the Welcome section at the top of the Project Explorer on the left.
When scrolling vertically in the HTML (CHM) help window, images with hotspots do not move together with the rest of the topics (text or images without hotspots).
Text below an image with hotspots will sometimes disappear beneath an image with hotspots in the process of vertical scrolling.
This and your second problem are both caused by using a really old skin, probably still one based on Help & Manual 5. Those old skins are no longer compatible with Help & Manual 7's new HTML5 output. You need to start with one of the updated skins included with Help & Manual 7, then the problem will go away. Using this old skin would have been a bad idea in Help & Manual 6 as well, because it wouldn't have any of the updates for better online security etc.
Another note: With Verskion 7, shaded rectangles appear to mark the hotspots in an image when I mouse-over the image. I first had to get used to this, but in the meantime I appreciate the way hotspots in an image are marked. I only wonder whether the shading could be made a bit lighter - more transparent for what is beneath.
You can turn this off in Configuration > Publishing Options > WebHelp > HTML Export Options (Highlight hotspots in pictures). The opacity of the mask when the mouse is not over it is already only 1%, so it really can't be made any less than that. The opacity on mouseover is currently 30%, which really shouldn't be a problem on most machines.

If you do want to change it you need to add your own copy of the CSS code for this to the HTML page template in your .hmskin file (not in the project template, that won't get used when you are using a skin). This is the code as generated by Help & Manual:

Code: Select all

/* CSS for responsive image maps */

.hmImageMap a.hmHotspotRect { display:block; position:absolute; border: 1px solid transparent; background:#000; opacity:0.01; filter:alpha(opacity=1)  }
.hmImageMap a.hmHotspotEllipse { display:block; position:absolute; border-radius:50%; border: 1px solid transparent; background:#000; opacity:0.01; filter:alpha(opacity=1) }
.hmImageMap:hover a.hmHotspotRect {opacity:0.3; filter:alpha(opacity=30); }
.hmImageMap:hover a.hmHotspotEllipse { opacity:0.3; filter:alpha(opacity=30); }
a.hmHotspotRect:hover { border:1px solid #000; background:#FFF; opacity:0.3; filter:alpha(opacity=30) }
a.hmHotspotEllipse:hover { border:1px solid #000; background:#FFF; opacity:0.3; filter:alpha(opacity=30) }
You need to add this to the <head> </head> section of the skin you are using AFTER the reference containing the <%STYLESHEET%> variable, so that your version redefines the official version. Adjust the opacity values in the code without changing anything else, then put it inside an existing <style type="text/css"> </style> block if there is one, or add the style tags before and after the code if there isn't.

Note that there are two types of opacity value. The one preceded by filter:alpha uses integer values from 1 to 100, the straight opacity: value uses 2-place decimal values from 0.01 (1%) to 1.00 (100%).
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
chfrmeyer
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 5:07 pm

Re: Problem with (screenshot) imeges that include hotspots

Unread post by chfrmeyer »

Hi Tim

I understand that my problem is a "skinny" problem...

Well, I never have used skins. My first attempt at trying one of the standard (non-premium package) skins with Version 6 I aborted pretty quickly, deciding to be happy with the project file default.
(If it works, don't fix it" - ever heard that one?)

I'm not really inclined to spend to much time trying out ojne Skin after another (and sticking to Version 6 is no, option on the long run), so are there some particular skins that you'ld suggest?
(I do have the premium pack license, but have not yet taken a peek at Version 3)


Regards

Christoph
(my normal human name behind the cryptified user id, followed by Friedrich as second name).
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Tim Green
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Re: Problem with (screenshot) imeges that include hotspots

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Christoph,
(If it works, don't fix it" - ever heard that one?)
And if it's not working, you need to fix it. 8) You will have the same problem if you are using the old templates from an old project, even if you are not using a skin. To fix this, make sure that you delete any baggage files in your project and then reset all your templates to the defaults so that you get the new standard templates to replace your old ones.

Reset all the following items:
  • Configuration > HTML Page Templates > Default
  • Configuration > Publishing Options > WebHelp > Layout (reset and set to the "Integrated" option)
  • Configuration > Publishing Options > WebHelp > Table of Contents / Keyword Index / Full Text Search
I'm not really inclined to spend to much time trying out ojne Skin after another (and sticking to Version 6 is no, option on the long run), so are there some particular skins that you'ld suggest?
The skins you should try out are located in the \Templates\HTML Skins folder in the Help & Manual program directory. It just takes a few seconds to try one out if you use a small test project and set Help & Manual to display the result automatically after publishing.I really don't think it would be good idea to try to tell you what you should like... :?
(I do have the premium pack license, but have not yet taken a peek at Version 3)
That's probably a good thing, because Version 3 hasn't been released yet. It will be a few more weeks...
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
chfrmeyer
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 5:07 pm

Re: Problem with (screenshot) imeges that include hotspots

Unread post by chfrmeyer »

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your suggestions.

Resetting the "Configuration > HTML Page Templates > Default" and then re-grafting the modifications I had done to the HTML page template of previous-version Help&Manual did the trick and got rid of my problem.

I'm not sure whether I'll use the code section you "gave" me to readjust the opacity of highlighting hotspots in pictures. For the time being I'll leave it as it is.

Thanks again.

Christoph
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