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Please post all questions and comments regarding Help & Manual 7 here.

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Gillian Tronson
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Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2017 7:30 am

navigation to previous topic

Unread post by Gillian Tronson »

Hi - when one accesses "Help" from the program for which you are writing Help files, there are big "block arrows" on the screen - but they don't operate as I was expecting. So for example you have created a document as such:
Section A
Section B
Section C
Section D
Section E

You click on a link in Section A which then navigates you to a place in Section E. Pressing the "back" block arrow just takes you back to the section before Section E, i.e. Section D. I was expecting it to take you back to where you clicked the link in Section A!!!! There is another "back" button (the Windows default button I think) that takes you back to Section A - but the arrows on the main screen (left, up and right) are very confusing - is there a way to make them operate so that they navigate back to where you were, or if not then remove them from the screen?
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Tim Green
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Re: navigation to previous topic

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Gillian,

Unfortunately, you don't say what help format you are using. Also, you have posted in the Help+Manual 4 forum -- are you really still using Help+Manual 4?

If you are referring to WebHelp (displayed in a web browser) or HTML Help (CHM help for Windows programs) then there are always two different sets of navigation buttons. The browser toolbar buttons (in WebHelp) and the viewer buttons (in the CHM viewer toolbar) navigate through the browsing history -- the topics that the user has visited in the current session. The navigation buttons in the topic header navigate through the normal order of the topics in the table of contents. This is normal and users are generally familiar with it.
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Gillian Tronson
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2017 7:30 am

Re: navigation to previous topic

Unread post by Gillian Tronson »

Hi Tim - I'm using Help & Manual 7.3.2
Gillian Tronson
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2017 7:30 am

Re: navigation to previous topic

Unread post by Gillian Tronson »

Tim sorry forgot to mention I'm creating and editing help files for a medical software system.
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Tim Green
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Re: navigation to previous topic

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Gillian,

I have moved the topic to the Help+Manual 7 section where it belongs.
I'm creating and editing help files for a medical software system.
The type of software is not really relevant. What matters for your questions is the help format you are creating with Help+Manual(CHM, WebHelp, PDF etc), which you haven't mentioned. However, if it is CHM or WebHelp then the information I have already provided should answer your questions.
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.
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Martin Wynne
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Re: navigation to previous topic

Unread post by Martin Wynne »

Hi Gillian,

The navigation buttons in the topic header are to allow the Help to be read as a User Manual, from one topic to the next in order, or back to recap the previous topic.

If instead you use the Help as a context help system, clicking links between topics, the navigation buttons in the browser address bar are used to run back through the recently viewed topics without regard to their position within the Help.

regards,

Martin.
Gillian Tronson
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2017 7:30 am

Re: navigation to previous topic

Unread post by Gillian Tronson »

Thank you Martin and Tim
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