Following are output types that will be removed in a future release of MadCap Flare Desktop. It is recommended that you use another output type (e.g., HTML5, Clean XHTML) instead of these.
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DITA
Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) file content is supported in Flare Desktop. DITA is an XML-based markup language with its own schema for authoring, producing, and delivering technical information. It is a standard of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), and it consists of a set of design principles for creating "information-typed" modules at a topic level and for using that content in various delivery modes.
DITA allows companies (especially larger ones) to maintain better consistency throughout its documentation by establishing structural rules and standards for all of its authors to follow. The idea is that writers will spend more of their time authoring content, rather than worrying about the presentation of that information.
In Flare Desktop you can generate output that produces DITA files. When you build this type of output, a DITA map file is generated, with multiple DITA files in it. The XHTML tags are converted to DITA elements. In other words, although it is considered an "output" from the standpoint of the Flare Desktop process, the end result is actually a collection of "source" files, which you can later use in another tool (or import back into Flare Desktop) to produce the final output.
WebHelp
Important WebHelp and WebHelp Plus are deprecated in Flare Desktop, which means that they are slated to be removed in a future version.
WebHelp is a Web-based Help format that is the precursor to HTML5, which is the recommended output type. It can run on almost any browser or platform. You can use WebHelp to create online documentation for the internet or an intranet, as well as for desktop applications.
The WebHelp output consists of a collection of files that you will distribute to users. The output will be displayed in the user's internet browser window. The main entry file has an .htm extension.
Key Features
Following are some of the key features of the WebHelp format:
- Multiple Browsers This format is a good choice if your users have different internet browsers on their systems.
- Multiple Languages You can produce an output interface in various languages. This is possible through the use of language skins.
- Multiple Platforms This format is a good choice if your users are working on different platforms (operating systems).
- Web-based This format is a good choice if you are writing online documentation for distribution on the internet or an intranet.
- Sitemap/Search Engine Optimization (SEO) For web-based targets, you can generate a sitemap when compiling your output. This helps with search engine optimization (SEO), making it easier for search indexing services (i.e., spiders, crawlers, or bots) to find your output. Therefore, the entire output is indexed and search engine results are improved.
Note The following browsers support WebHelp: Firefox 3.5 or later, Safari 4.0 or later, Google Chrome, and other browsers that support scripts and framesets.
WebHelp Plus
Important WebHelp and WebHelp Plus are deprecated in Flare Desktop, which means that they are slated to be removed in a future version.
WebHelp Plus is a Web-based Help format that is identical to the regular WebHelp output in most ways. However, WebHelp Plus is designed to work on a Web server running Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2003. It also uses Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and ASP.NET. To provide faster search, WebHelp Plus uses Microsoft Indexing Service or Windows Search. The benefit of publishing WebHelp Plus output is that you and your users can take advantage of some advanced features, including searching of non-XHTML content, faster server-side search, and automatic runtime merging.
The output consists of a collection of files that you will distribute to users by publishing output to a Microsoft IIS web server. The output will be displayed in the user's internet browser window. The main entry file has an .htm extension.
Key Features
Following are some of the key features of the WebHelp Plus format.
- WebHelp Features This format lets you take advantage of features and benefits available with the regular WebHelp output type.
- Sitemap/Search Engine Optimization (SEO) For web-based targets, you can generate a sitemap when compiling your output. This helps with search engine optimization (SEO), making it easier for search indexing services (i.e., spiders, crawlers, or bots) to find your output. Therefore, the entire output is indexed and search engine results are improved.
- Multiple Platforms This format is a good choice if you publish your output to a machine running Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows 7.
- Searching of Non-XHTML Content When end users perform a search in your online output, you can ensure that non-XHTML files (e.g. PDF, DOC, XLS) are included in that search. When you build WebHelp Plus output, a subfolder named "AutoSearch" is created and placed in the generated output folder. You can place non-XHTML files within the published AutoSearch subfolder (whether the non-XHTML files are linked to content from your Flare project or not). When users perform a search, those non-XHTML files will also be accessible to the users.
- Faster Searching Another benefit of generating and publishing WebHelp Plus output to a web server running Microsoft IIS is that users will find the task of performing a search to be much faster than it is otherwise. This is especially useful if you have a very large Help system.
- Automatic Runtime Merging of Flare Projects This is an easy way to merge the output from multiple WebHelp Plus Flare targets into one Help system. These targets can be originated from the same Flare project or from different Flare projects. You simply place the output files in the correct location on the server (i.e., within your parent project's AutoMerge folder). Flare Desktop then automatically merges the output from all of the targets when users access the Help. From the end user's perspective, the results are seamless, appearing as one large Help system. All of the TOCs, browse sequences, indexes, glossaries, and search capabilities for the projects are merged.
Note If you want to test WebHelp Plus on your local computer, the advanced search features of WebHelp Plus are not operable.
Note The following browsers are supported for WebHelp Plus: Firefox 3.5 or later, Safari 4.0 or later, Google Chrome, and other browsers that support scripts and framesets.
