Setting the Window Display

The Windows dialog controls the position and—depending on the target—the buttons, caption, background color, and other characteristics of output windows. Any window options not specified here will be set using the Theme Designer. See About Themes.

This dialog has three panels:

  • The left panel displays the names of the windows already created. Click on a window name to edit it in the center panel. You can also add a new window in this panel.

  • The center panel displays complete information about the window chosen on the left. From the drop-down at the top, choose the target windows you’d like to edit. Unavailable options for the window selection will be grayed out.

  • The right panel displays how each window chosen on the left will be positioned on your desktop. All windows in the left panel with selected check boxes will be displayed by default.

  1. Select the Project ribbon.

  2. From the Project ribbon group, click Windows. The Windows dialog opens.

  3. From the center panel drop-down list, choose the proper target.

  4. In the left panel, click Add New Window.

    The window will be added to the list with the default name "newwindow." Change the name by editing the Name field in the Basic section, then clicking anywhere in the dialog to change it in the list on the left.

  1. Select the Project ribbon.

  2. From the Project ribbon group, click Windows. The Windows dialog opens.

  3. From the center panel drop-down list, choose the proper target.

  4. In the left panel, click the window you wish to edit. If you would like to edit the name of the window, edit the Name field in the Basic section.

  5. Make the desired changes to the window options and click OK.

The size and position of windows in the EPUB target cannot be customized.

Use the following options to configure your HTML Help windows. Unavailable options will be grayed out.

  • Name The name of the window. It is read-only; if you’d like to create a new window, add one in the panel on the left.
  • Caption The text that will be displayed in the caption bar of the Help window.
  • Tri-pane Format If selected, enables the standard tri-pane Help format for HTML Help.
  • Left Determines the location of the left edge of the window. Works in conjunction with the Top field to determine the position of the window on the screen.
  • Top Determines the location of the top edge of the window. Works in conjunction with the Left field to determine the position of the window on the screen.
  • Width Determines the width of the window.
  • Height Determines the height of the window.
  • Save User Position If selected, stores the size and position of the window in the registry when the user modifies it.
  • Always On Top If selected, the window always remains on top of all other windows open on the desktop.
  • Maximized If selected, the window is automatically maximized when displayed.
  • Hide If selected, the Show and Hide buttons are included in the window.
  • Locate If selected, the Locate button is included in the window.
  • Previous If selected, the Previous button is included in the window. The Binary table of contents check box in the Help Targets dialog must be selected for the navigation buttons to function.
  • Next If selected, the Next button is included in the window. The Binary table of contents check box in the Help Targets dialog must be selected for the navigation buttons to function.
  • Back If selected, the Back button is included in the window.
  • Forward If selected, the Forward button is included in the window.
  • Stop If selected, the Stop button is included in the window.
  • Refresh If selected, the Refresh button is included in the window.
  • Home If selected, the Home button is included in the window.
  • Print If selected, the Print button is included in the window.
  • Options If selected, the Options button is included in the window.
  • Jump1 If selected, the Jump1 button is included in the window. The caption and URL for the button are specified in the Jump1 Caption and URL fields.
  • Caption The text that will be displayed on the Jump1 button.
  • URL The URL of the Jump1 button.
  • Jump2 If selected, the Jump2 button is included in the window. The caption and URL for the button are specified in the Jump2 Caption and URL fields.
  • Caption The text that will be displayed on the Jump2 button.
  • URL The URL of the Jump2 button.
  • Width Defines the width of the navigation pane in pixels.
  • Show Search Tab If selected, the Search tab is included in the window.
  • Use Advanced Search If selected, adds additional functionality to the Search tab.
  • Favorites Tab If selected, the Favorites tab is included in the window.
  • Hidden by Default If selected, the navigation pane is hidden by default.
  • Hide When Window Deactivated If selected, the HTML Help navigation pane will be minimized when HTML Help is not the active window.
  • Auto-synchronize Contents If selected, the heading or topic in the HTML Help table of contents is automatically synchronized with the topic in the Topic pane.

Use the following options to configure your JavaHelp windows. Unavailable options will be grayed out.

  • Name The name of the window. It is read-only; if you’d like to create a new window, add one in the panel on the left.
  • Left Determines the location of the left edge of the window. Works in conjunction with the Top field to determine the position of the window on the screen.
  • Top Determines the location of the top edge of the window. Works in conjunction with the Left field to determine the position of the window on the screen.
  • Width Determines the width of the window.
  • Height Determines the height of the window.
  • Show Contents Tab If selected, the Contents tab is included in the window.
  • Show Index Tab If selected, the Index tab is included in the window.
  • Search Tab If selected, the Search tab is included in the window.
  • Show Favorites Tab If selected, the Favorites tab is included in the window.

The manual target is not an online Help format, and has no windows.

The size and position of windows in the Help 2.0 target (used for developing output for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and 2007) cannot be customized.

The size and position of windows in the Microsoft Help Viewer target (used for developing output for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and above) cannot be customized.

Use the following options to configure your NetHelp windows. Unavailable options will be grayed out.

For NetHelp targets, the Navigation pane will be disabled for the main window because the visibility of the Contents, Search, and Index tabs is managed by editing the Theme. See About Themes.

  • Name The name of the window. It is read-only; if you’d like to create a new window, add one in the panel on the left.
  • Left Determines the location of the left edge of the window. Works in conjunction with the Top field to determine the position of the window on the screen.
  • Top Determines the location of the top edge of the window. Works in conjunction with the Left field to determine the position of the window on the screen.
  • Width Determines the width of the window.
  • Height Determines the height of the window.