Information types provide a great way for you to customize topics and define how your information will accommodate the needs of your users. Information types dictate what books and pages users can access from the Contents tab in the HTML Help viewer.
You define categories, add information types to these categories, and then assign topics to the information types. From the Contents tab in the HTML Help viewer (or browser), users can customize the books and pages that are displayed in the table of contents by customizing information types.
A category is a way to group Information types together. An information type is a way to classify topics. Examples:
Your application is used by people with different job functions — hospital admitting clerks, nurses, and doctors. A possible category is JOB DESCRIPTION. Information types that belong in this category include ADMITTING CLERK, NURSE, and DOCTOR. All topics that pertain to admitting clerks are assigned to the ADMITTING CLERK information type, and so on.
Your application is used by people with different levels of experience. A possible category is SKILL LEVEL. Information types that fall under this category include BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, and ADVANCED.
Your application contains a variety of topic types. A possible category is TOPIC TYPE. Information types that fall under this category include PROCEDURES, TUTORIAL, and CONCEPTS.
In addition to categorizing Information types, they also fall into two classifications:
Inclusive: All information types from a category are available to users — they can select one or more information type that belong to that category. In the example above, Inclusive classifications would be appropriate to assign to the TOPIC TYPE category where you want users to be able to pick one or more information types that provide information about using the application such as TUTORIAL and CONCEPTS.
Exclusive: Restricts users so they can only select one information type from a category. In the example above, Exclusive classifications would be appropriate to assign to the JOB DESCRIPTION category where you only want users to have access to the Help topics that pertain to their job functions (ADMITTING CLERK, NURSE, etc.) and not to multiple job functions.
You can use any combination of categories, information types, and Inclusive and Exclusive classifications with your HTML Help topics.