Webhelp: how to force an index panel to display?

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Mike Linacre
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Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:12 pm
Location: Chicago
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Webhelp: how to force an index panel to display?

Unread post by Mike Linacre »

Folks: Users can Google-search my webhelp, but that takes them to a webpage without an index panel. How can I force an index panel to display? Any suggestions?
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Tim Green
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Re: Webhelp: how to force an index panel to display?

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Mike,

This is because you are using an outdated skin without the automatic link that enables users to open the full WebHelp interface. Google links to the plain topic filename (topicname.htm) instead of the syntax required for opening the full UI with the standard skins (index.html?topicname.htm). Help+Manual has an option to open the full UI automatically when this happens, but we had to turn it off because then Google stops indexing your site, because it believes you are trying to get double page views to improve your ranking.

When this happens, the current standard skins automatically display a link above the topic title in the header that the user can click to reopen with the full UI. This is OK for Google, because it is user action. You just have to use one of the current standard skins included with Help+Manual to get this. Alternatively, you can use a Premium Pack V3 or V4 skin. These skins do not have the problem at all, because they only use the topicname.html syntax, so it always works. 8)
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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