Customizing navigation pane features

By default, the HTML Help viewer is set up to use the tri-pane design — the navigation pane is displayed on the left, topic viewing pane on the right, and toolbar buttons across the top of the window. The navigation pane is open by default.

You can customize the way the navigation pane works in this window so it automatically hides from view when the Help system starts or when other windows are selected. You can adjust the width of the pane (especially useful if you add or remove tabs).

You can also configure the Contents tab so it synchronizes with how the user navigates in the topic pane. For example, the user selects a page from the Contents tab and the topic opens in the viewing pane. When the user clicks a link in the topic, the new topic is displayed and the Contents tab selects the page for the new topic. From here, users can further navigate from either the topic content or the Contents tab.

To customize the navigation pane:

  1. From the File menu, select Project Settings.

  2. Click the Windows tab.

  3. Select NewWindow or the name of the custom window designed for the project.

  4. Click Properties.

  5. Change navigation pane features in Tri-pane Options.

To:

Do this:

Hide the navigation pane when the HTML Help viewer opens

Select Hide Nav Pane on Startup

Hide the navigation pane when users click outside the HTML Help viewer

Select Auto Show/Hide Nav Pane

Synchronize books and pages with topic content

Select Auto Synchronize TOC

Change the width of the navigation pane

Enter a value in Nav Pane Width (in pixels)

 

Tips:

  • To design a window that does not display the navigation pane, clear TOC & Index as a tri-pane option. (You might want to do this in a secondary window.)

  • The width you assign to the navigation pane depends on the number of tabs added to the window. Experiment with different widths to find a size that is right for your design. If you include tabs for TOC & Index, Favorites, Glossary, and Search, a good measurement to start with is 300. After you compile the project, run the .CHM and see how the navigation pane is displayed with the new width.

  • The navigation pane settings affect the first instance when users run the HTML Help system (.CHM file). Thereafter, the HTML Help engine displays the Help system using the previous state.