One of the best ways to work with your project is by dragging and dropping. Drag and drop functionality provides quick ways to add links, images, create pages in the table of contents, keywords for indexes, add shortcuts to your favorite programs (in Tools), rearrange TOC and index items, move files in and out of folders, and view topic links graphically.
RoboHELP provides extensive right-click support. From any component, you have a shortcut for accessing numerous menu options to get your work done. You can even get help about the item you're using from right-click menus.
The WYSIWYG Editor makes it easy to author. The WYSIWYG Editor is like using your favorite word processor with the added power and control of desktop publishing. All the HTML code is generated behind the scenes while you focus on the topic content. You can quickly create and format text, work with tables, add links, images, and more, without worrying about any HTML coding.
If you are an experienced HTML developer, you can view and modify the HTML tags by using the TrueCode Editor. It works like a simple text editor, allowing you to enter, remove, and copy HTML tags and their associated text. It displays HTML tags in color-coded syntax and includes wordwrapping and a 1,000-level undo feature.
The Project Manager provides an entry point for viewing and working with the files in your project. It displays an expandable/collapsible hierarchy of folders that organize topics, images, style sheets, and other project files into manageable groups. You can create, remove, and move both folders and files in the Project Manager. Use it to store files into logical categories so you can develop relationships among topics and effectively manage your project.
The TOC Composer uses the books and pages metaphor to organize topics into groups. You can drag and drop topics to quickly create pages, right-click and add new books and pages, and rearrange their order with toolbar buttons. To save time, you can even let the program auto-create a table of contents for you.
You can build your keyword list right in the Index Designer, drag and drop topics into it, and create a multi-level, sorted index. It shows you the results as you create it, so testing and editing is a snap. You can work with both index file keywords and topic keywords. The Index Designer marks each kind of keyword with a different icon so they are easy to identify. With a right-click menu, you can sort the entire list of keywords, or a selected group. You can quickly identify all topics that are linked to keywords and add and remove topic links at the same time.
The Smart Index Wizard is an automated solution for producing online indexes. It greatly simplifies index preparation — whether you need to enhance an existing index or create an entirely new one. It automates tasks that you would normally do by hand, streamlining the process and helping you become more productive. It searches your topics based on criteria you specify and suggests existing keywords used in other topics, as well as new keywords, based on the topic content.
Link View allows you to graphically view the structure of your project. It works like a navigation map, displaying all topic references and topic links. What's more, you don't have to waste time chasing after links because Link View moves from one topic to the next and shows the link flow as you navigate. It "red flags" broken links as you move around so you can quickly isolate and fix them.
The Topic List displays a sortable list of each topic and its properties. Use it to quickly find topics and select them. You can choose to filter the list by selecting custom folders. You can also sort topics by their file names, titles, TOC or Index references, status, or modification dates. Drag and drop topics from this window into the TOC Composer to create pages, into the Index Designer to create keywords, and into different folders in the Project Manager to move files. You can also select multiple topics to change the properties of several topics at the same time.
Topic preview shows you how your topics will look and behave before they are compiled. It's a quick and easy way to test the topics in your project. You can preview the topics in a separate window or view them directly below the Topic List. The right-click menu provides help functionality when you are using Topic Preview so you can move backward and forward or print topics.
You have fast and powerful features at your fingertips to check the spelling in your topics. Depending on how you like to work, you can run a thorough spell check of all topics in your project. Or, if you prefer to proof topics as you work with them, you can spell check each one individually.
The Browse Sequence Editor allows you to create logical sets of topics that users can browse by clicking on navigation buttons in the HTML Help viewer. Browse sequences can provide structure, especially within a large project, and are also useful when designing tutorials. You can easily create browse sequences by dragging and dropping topics. If you want to save even more time, let the Browse Sequence Editor auto-create browse sequences for you, based on books and pages in your table of contents.
There are numerous reports for tracking the progress of your project and helping you isolate problems so you can easily resolve them. You can customize these reports to suit your needs and view them online or from printed hard copies. What's more, you can send them to other authors, export them into different file formats, and copy the content into other files.
You'll find a variety of useful tools to help you with many authoring tasks. You can use them to search multiple topics and replace text, copy images into your projects, resize images and save them in different graphic formats.
In addition, you can keep everyday tools at hand and launch them without having to leave the program and open the Windows Explorer or Programs menu. You can create tool icons for your favorite programs (for example, Microsoft Word, Paint Shop Pro) so they are quick and easy to launch, right from the Tools tab.
Here's a list of the flexible program components that are designed to help you work efficiently.