Comparing topics with HTML pages

HTML-based Help topics and HTML pages designed for the Web are essentially the same. Both use standard HTML tags to format the information and provide functionality. However, HTML-based Help topics are more powerful because they can include HTML Help features such as related topics, keyword links, ALinks ("Related Topics" references), and shortcuts. This functionality is not available with traditional HTML editors.

The information below provides more information about the similarities and differences between Help topics and traditional Web pages.

Topics:

HTML pages:

File in HTML format

File in HTML format

Basic unit of organization in an HTML-based Help system

Basic unit of information on a Web or intranet site

Top-level overview of topics in a Help system is found from the table of contents (Contents tab)

Top-level overview of pages on a Web or intranet site is traditionally found at a site map, although users can find pages by selecting topics from a Contents tab (when using WebHelp to generate Web pages)

Users can find topics by selecting keywords from the index (Index tab)

Users can find pages by selecting keywords from the index (Index tab)

Users can locate specific information by using full-text search (Search tab)

Users can locate specific information by using full-text search (Search tab)

Users navigate to topics via hypertext links, related topic controls, ALink controls and keyword link controls

Users navigate to topics via hypertext links and related topic controls

Users can navigate through a specialized sequence of topics via browse sequences

Users can navigate through a specialized sequence of topics via browse sequences

For Help that is part of an application, users access context-sensitive Help topics by clicking Help buttons at dialogs and windows (and by using What's This? Help for fields and controls at dialogs).

 

 

 

Notes:

  • In HTML-based Help, there is another kind of page — a TOC page. This is a component of an online table of contents that opens a topic in the right-hand pane of the viewer when clicked. Pages in TOCs can be used with online Help systems, intranets, and Web sites (that use tables of contents as a primary way to navigate throughout the site).

  • Anything you can do with Help topics you can also do with Web pages and intranet content. You can also include the tri-pane window design with a Contents, Index and Search tab.