Template - Buttons and Logos and Skins, Oh my !

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RickD
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Leeds, Harrogate - UK

Template - Buttons and Logos and Skins, Oh my !

Unread post by RickD »

All,

First post, so go easy on me.

I have an ongoing development, which has the following that I am struggling to resolve:

(For use with WebHelp, although at this stage I think the problems are Help page development specific - but I could be wrong).

1. The existing HTML Page Template has navigation buttons defined that only appear when publishing if I don't select a skin. How do I make these available irrespective of skin choice ?

2. I have an image (log) that I would want to include on every topic header, or in the body if I so chose. The image is stored in baggage, but if I don't know how to include it everywhere without referencing it in the HTML Template, which means it will vanish if I apply a skin.

My preferred option is to have the buttons and logos saved in Baggage and referenced in my <user-defined> template, which I could then apply to all topic pages. Is this the best approach...?

Killer question - how ? :wink:

Richard
H&M Newbie
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Tim Green
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Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Richard,

Welcome to the forum!

All you really need to know here is that skins are actually just Help & Manual projects without topics. When you select a skin you replace the templates in your project with those in the skin -- so to make any changes in the skin you need to edit the templates in the skin file, which is just like editing the configuration settings and templates in a normal Help & Manual project. This is also why the template features in your project "disappear" when you use a skin -- the project templates are no longer being used at all.

To edit a skin select Open in the Application Menu (big HM logo in the top left corner of the HM window), select *.hmskin as the file type to open in the Open dialog and then open the skin file you are using. You will find the templates and other settings in exactly the same place as in any HM project.

You can store baggage files in your skin or in the main HM project, but if you store them in the skin they will be available to all projects you publish with the skin.

The same applies to your navigation buttons. If you want them in the skin you must define them in the skin file, not in the project file. You will find three free skins with some nice graphical buttons already in place in the /Templates folder in your Help & Manual program folder, and you can buy a pack of 14 professionally-designed skins with a lot more features in the EC software online shop. For more information about this Premium Pack see this page:

http://www.ec-software.com/products_hm_pluspack.html
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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CAA Cyndy
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu May 20, 2010 4:16 am
Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Just what I was looking for.

Unread post by CAA Cyndy »

Thank you so much! This has helped me too. :D
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