Modifying TOC Topics

Editing Pages

If you need to edit a selected page topic, either double-click the selected item or click the "Edit Topic" toolbar button and a Topic window will appear with the selected item's properties. The Visual TOC Builder also includes icon buttons for "Source File", "Keyword Tags", and "Description Tag". Double-click on a Topic's "Keyword Tags" icon or "Description Tag" icon to edit that Topic's keywords or description. Control-click (Mac) on a Topic's "Source File" icon to Edit or Preview that HTML file. Double-click a Topic's "Source File" icon to open it in your default editor.

Beyond editing the topic's name and TOC location, you need to assign a valid HTML page to the topic, so that when users click on the topic, the TOC knows what help page to display. There are also fields for assigning keywords and descriptions to the selected topic, which are very important so that users can search your help pages and find the right results. Keywords are also used by help formats that support indexes by listing linked keywords alphabetically.

Keywords should be separated with commas. For example: "first word, second word, third word". This comma-delimited format allows HelpLogic to support multiple word keyword phrases and Apple Help keyword conventions. Take special care to craft meaningful keywords and keyword phrases since they are not only used in searches but they will also be listed alphabetically in a help index. For example, in Web-based Help, your TOC keywords are displayed as an alphabetical index in the Index tab, and the Search tab's search engine scans your TOC keywords to find related page matches.

Editing Chapters

If you need to edit a selected chapter topic, either double-click the selected item or click the "Edit Topic" toolbar button and a Topic window will appear, allowing you to edit the chapter name and TOC location.

Renaming Topics

To rename a topic, click the arrow button at the top right of the TOC column and choose "Rename Item" from the options menu. This contextual menu can also be accessed by using your right mouse button or control-click a single button mouse.

Moving Topics

To rearrange your topics into the sequence you want, move each selected TOC Page or Chapter via drag and drop to another position or into another TOC Chapter. Moving a selected topic into a different parent chapter can also be done by clicking the "Edit Topic" toolbar button and in the Topic window, change the "Located in" pulldown menu to the new chapter location.

If your TOC is ever displayed incorrectly after a drag and drop move, you can fix this by choosing "Refresh List" from either the Topics menu or the TOC contextual menu (top right column arrow).

Deleting Topics

Deleting a selected topic can be done by clicking the arrow button at the top right of the TOC column and choosing "Delete Item" from the options menu. This contextual menu can also be accessed by using your right mouse button or control-click a single button mouse. Deleting a chapter deletes all of the pages nested within it. Please note that deleting a topic permanently erases it from the TOC.

Saving Your Work

To save your current TOC, you can either use the standard keyboard shortcut Command-S (Mac), or select "Save" from the "File" menu.

Refreshing the List

All changes should be reflected in the TOC column, but if, for some reason, the TOC column does not reflect your most recent changes, simply click on the arrow button at the top right of the column to display an options menu. From that menu, select "Refresh List" to update the TOC column.

File Properties

Select a page topic from the TOC column and its HTML source file path is automatically displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the main project window. The Visual TOC Builder also includes icon buttons for "Source File", "Keyword Tags", and "Description Tag". Single click on a Topic's "Keyword Tags" icon or "Description Tag" icon to view that Topic's keywords or description respectively in the bottom status bar. Single click on a Topic's "Source File" icon to view that Topic's source file path in the bottom status bar.