Context-Sensitive Help

CHEAT SHEET

Context-sensitive Help (CSH) is a way to tie your existing topics or micro content with specific areas of a software interface. When users click a particular part of the interface (e.g., a Help button), the topic or micro content pertaining to it opens.

General Information	Process (If Author Provides Header File)	Process (If Developer Provides Header File)
Who is Involved? Planning Context-Sensitive Help Header Files Alias Files	Author Add a header file to the project. Author Add an alias file to the project. The alias file lets you populate the header file through a user-friendly interface. Author Create and assign identifiers (IDs). (Optional for HTML5) Create a skin to use in CSH, set an ID for it, associate it with the appropriate IDs, and in the target set all skins to be generated. Author Associate the alias file with the target. This is necessary only if you have created more than one alias file. Author Provide the developer with a copy of the header file (or at least the CSH IDs within it) and the skin ID (if you are using one). Author Generate output and provide the developer with a copy of the output files. Developer Make CSH calls using information in the header file and the skin ID, if applicable. Developer Create a new build of the software application. Author Install the new software build and test the CSH.	Developer Create the header file (or at least individual CSH IDs) and send to the author. Author Add the developer's header file to the project. Author Add an alias file to the project. The alias file lets you populate the header file through a user-friendly interface. Author Assign IDs for the header file. (Optional for HTML5) Create a skin to use in CSH, set an ID for it, associate it with the appropriate IDs, and in the target set all skins to be generated. Provide the developer with the skin ID. Author Associate the alias file with the target. This is necessary only if you have created more than one alias file. Author Generate output and provide the developer with a copy of the output files. Developer Make CSH calls using information in the header file and the skin ID, if applicable. Developer Create a new build of the software application. Author Install the new software build and test the CSH.

General Information
Who is Involved? Planning Context-Sensitive Help Header Files Alias Files
Process (If Author Provides Header File)
Author Add a header file to the project. Author Add an alias file to the project. The alias file lets you populate the header file through a user-friendly interface. Author Create and assign identifiers (IDs). (Optional for HTML5) Create a skin to use in CSH, set an ID for it, associate it with the appropriate IDs, and in the target set all skins to be generated. Author Associate the alias file with the target. This is necessary only if you have created more than one alias file. Author Provide the developer with a copy of the header file (or at least the CSH IDs within it) and the skin ID (if you are using one). Author Generate output and provide the developer with a copy of the output files. Developer Make CSH calls using information in the header file and the skin ID, if applicable. Developer Create a new build of the software application. Author Install the new software build and test the CSH.
Process (If Developer Provides Header File)
Developer Create the header file (or at least individual CSH IDs) and send to the author. Author Add the developer's header file to the project. Author Add an alias file to the project. The alias file lets you populate the header file through a user-friendly interface. Author Assign IDs for the header file. (Optional for HTML5) Create a skin to use in CSH, set an ID for it, associate it with the appropriate IDs, and in the target set all skins to be generated. Provide the developer with the skin ID. Author Associate the alias file with the target. This is necessary only if you have created more than one alias file. Author Generate output and provide the developer with a copy of the output files. Developer Make CSH calls using information in the header file and the skin ID, if applicable. Developer Create a new build of the software application. Author Install the new software build and test the CSH.

Example You are creating an online Help system for your company's software application. This application contains a dialog called "Properties" that users open to specify settings for a particular element. In your Help project, you have written a topic to explain this Properties dialog. By creating CSH, users will be able to open that specific topic by clicking a Help button on the Properties dialog (or by pressing F1 when it is open).