Navigation provides many pathways for finding information and understanding concepts. Navigation options include taking users to other topics in the same project, to topics in other projects, to Web pages and intranet sites, and to FTP sites and newsgroups.
You can add the following navigational components to your Help topics:
Text links: A text link is a link in the form of text that performs an action when clicked. Typically, text links are underlined and displayed in a different color. When the mouse moves over the text, the pointer changes to indicate that it is a "hotspot." Clicking the hotspot takes the user to the link's destination (a topic, Web page, intranet site, etc.)
Bookmarks: A bookmark is a location in a topic that can be used as the destination for a link. Bookmarks provide a way for users to go to a specific place in a topic when they select a link.
Image links: An image link is a link in the form of an image that performs an action when clicked. Image links are commonly used as navigation controls in both online Help and Web authoring. Users click the image to "jump" to its destination. Creating image links is similar to creating text links. Usually, the image is in the form of a button that provides a visual clue to users that an action occurs when it's clicked.
Image maps: An image map is an image in an HTML topic that contains graphical links to other topics. The clickable areas in the image are referred to as the "hotspots." When users click these hotspots, the viewer displays the target topic.
Text-only popups: A text-only popup is specially formatted topic text that displays information in a popup window when clicked. This is not a true link because the popup window only displays text — not topics or Web pages. Text-only popups are useful if you want to provide a little extra detail about information in a topic without displaying it in the content. Users who want to know more can click the hotspot to read the text.
Expanding and drop-down hotspots: Expanding and drop-down hotspots are specially formatted text that expand to display additional information in the topic content when clicked. These hotspots do not display other topics. Rather, they expand to show additional information that can help users accomplish tasks. They are great design tools because you don't have to create as many topics. The information can be incorporated into a single topic and users only see the additional information if they click the hotspot text. These features are only available if the viewer supports dynamic HTML.
Link controls: Link controls are clickable objects (usually in the form of a button) that provide users with a list of alternate or related topics. They can help users find information, in case the topic they first open doesn't provide them with the exact help they need. These controls can also cross-reference other information, so users know there are additional topics they can read for reference. There are three different kinds of link controls that you can add to topics — related topic links, keyword links and ALinks (based on terms you associate with topics).
WinHelp topic controls: A WinHelp topic control is a clickable object (usually in the form of a button) that opens a WinHelp system (.HLP file) and displays a WinHelp topic. Users can navigate to any topics in the WinHelp system once it's opened. This control provides a way for you to link to WinHelp topics from HTML topics.
Browse sequences: Browse sequences allow users to move forward and backward through a series of topics arranged in a specific order. You select the topics you want to use with a browse sequence and define the order, based on what you want users to accomplish or know after browsing through the topics and reading the content. Browse sequences are useful for online tutorials because you can take users through a sequence of topics in a specific order.