Microsoft Help 2.0 Targets

Use the following options to configure your Help 2.0 output. Please note that this output is only used for developing help for Microsoft Visual Studio 2002-2008.

For more information on Targets and how to distribute them, see Doc-To-Help Outputs and Deliverables.

Basic

Name: The name of the target, which will also appear in the list on the left of the dialog box. This is the internal name for the project; the name used as the label on the final output is set in the Advanced section. This name is also used when you select a target using the Select Target button in the Target ribbon group.

Base name: If you would like your Target output to have a different name than the project name, enter it here.

Style sheet: The cascading style sheet used to format the target. This style-sheet controls the formatting of the Target for HTML source documents. Target CSS styles will override any matching styles in the Source CSS. (The style sheet can also be changed using the Target CSS button in the Target Design ribbon group.)

Template: The Word template used to format the target. This template controls the formatting of the Target for Word source documents. Target template styles will override any matching styles in the Source Template. (The template can also be changed using the Target Template button in the Target Design ribbon group.)

Theme: The theme or “skin” used for the target. Themes are created/edited in the Theme Designer. (The theme can also be changed using the Theme button in the Target Design ribbon group.)

Attributes: The Attributes or Expression this target includes in the final build.

Folder: The folder where the target output will be stored in your Doc-To-Help project. If you change the name of the folder after generating this target, you should delete the original folder to avoid confusion.

Localization

Locale: Specifies the language in the target files. Each target has its own way of specifying language. For example, HTML Help has a Language option in the [OPTIONS] section of the project file (.hhp). Some common values for this property are as follows:

• English (U.S.) — 1033

• English (U.K.) — 2057

• French — 1036

• German — 1031

• Italian — 1040

• Spanish — 1034

CodePage: Defines the windows codepage number to be used by the help file. This integer is most commonly used when producing help files in foreign languages, providing special character sets for translation on the screen or in print.

Charset: Specifies one of the character set aliases listed in HTML Character Sets and Named Entities. Used for localization.

Background

Color: Displays the current color setting for the target help window. To change the color, click the adjacent button to select or define a color. If you change a System color for a NetHelp or JavaHelp Target, Doc-To-Help will display a message box about System colors and Windows. This message can be turned off using the Doc-To-Help Options dialog box.

Image file: Displays the image file to be used as a background in the target help window. To insert a background image, click the adjacent button to open the selection dialog.

Repeat image: Specifies how the background image is arranged in the target help window. Options are Tiled, Horizontal, or Vertical.

Advanced

Caption: The text displayed in the Caption bar of the Help window.

Color Reduction: Determines the color threshold for images embedded in Word source documents. This setting has no impact on images used in HTML source documents.

• Keep original color format — Images are not converted.

• Reduce to 16 Colors — Images with more than 16 colors are reduced to 16.

• Reduce to 256 Colors — Images with more than 256 colors are reduced to 256.

Image format: Determines the storage format in the Help target of the images used in Word source documents. This setting has no impact on images used in HTML source documents.

• Original format — All graphics are stored in the original format without conversion.

• JPG always — All graphics are stored in JPG files.

• JPG if transformed — Graphics are converted to JPG if they undergo any transformation when the help target is built.

• PNG always — All graphics are stored in PNG files.

• PNG if transformed — Graphics are converted to PNG if they undergo any transformation when the help target is built.

Graphics scaling: Determines the scaling applied to the graphics in Word source documents. This setting has no impact on images used in HTML source documents.

For graphics embedded within Word documents, Scale in target and Scale in build options are equivalent, the size of the picture is the same as it is displayed in Word. For linked graphics, options Scale in target and Scale in build also produce pictures of the same size, the size it is displayed in Word. The only difference between them is that quality of scaling (resampling) can differ for some images. With Scale in build option, Doc-To-Help is responsible for resampling the image, and with Scale in target option that task is left to the browser that displays the online help target. Choose whichever produces best results. For WinHelp targets, Scale in target and Scale in build options are equivalent for all graphics, the resampling is performed by Doc-To-Help.

• Do not scale graphics — Graphics are displayed at their original size. If graphics are rescaled in the source Word document, they are reset.

• Scale in target — Graphics stay the same size as they are displayed in Word (where they may be scaled). Linked graphics are scaled by the viewer (browser) displaying the online help target. Linked image files remain at their original size; scaling is delegated to the browser by setting the IMG tag dimensions.

• Scale in build — Graphics stay the same size as they are displayed in Word (where they may be scaled). Linked graphics are scaled by Doc-To-Help when the help target is built; the linked image file is resampled to the required size.

XML transformation: This property allows you to insert boilerplate content or code into every Help topic, for example: headers, footers, or code that automates analytics. Custom XHTML code can be added inside the <head> element, above the topic title, or at the end of topic text. Click the Wizard button to open the Transformation Wizard dialog box and enter your custom code. Existing configuration files can be selected by clicking the ellipsis button.

Graphics scale with fonts: When selected, all graphics in Word source documents are resized proportionally when the system font size is changed (for example, changing the Text Size in your browser). This setting has no impact on images used in HTML source documents.

Overwrite CSS: If selected, the existing cascading style sheet will be overwritten when building the Help target. This check box should be selected by default.

Generate XHTML: If selected, the online help output is generated as XHTML. (For NetHelp 2.0, Mobile Help, and Eclipse Help targets, XHTML output is generated by default.)

Namespace: Specifies the Help 2.0 namespace that is used to register the Help file after a successful build. If this field is empty, the Base Name is used. If the Base Name field is empty, the file name of the project itself is used. Please note, the Namespace and Parent Namespace only affect Help file registration on the author's machine. Registration on the user machine is handled by standard Help 2.0 means, with Windows Installer.

Parent Namespace: Specifies the namespace for the built help collection to plug into. Usually, that will be the namespace of the Visual Studio .NET Combined Collection. Set this property if you want the built Help to be automatically registered as a plug-in for Visual Studio help. For example, for Visual Studio .NET 2003, set Parent Namespace to "MS.VSCC.2003". Please note, the Namespace and ParentNamespace fields only affect Help file registration on the author's machine. Registration on the user machine is handled by standard Help 2.0 means, with Windows Installer.