16.10.2 Specifying CSH mappings

To provide CSH when DITA2Go generates Help files for your project:

  1. Give each target topic a <data /> element that contains a symbolic ID. In your DITA document, insert a <data /> element in each topic that will be the target of a call from the application program. The name is topicalias and the value is the symbolic ID for the topic. Insert a separate <data /> element with a unique symbolic ID for each call from the application. Put the <data /> element in the topic, after the root and before the title. For example:

    <topic id="framistans">
    <data name="topicalias" value="IDH_framistan" />
    <title>Framistan maintenance</title>
    ...
    </topic>

    DITA2Go also supports Omni Systems TopicAlias PI markers of the form:

    <?dthtm TopicAlias="IDH_about" ?>

    and native FrameMaker DITA CSH PI markers of the form:

    <?FM MARKER [TopicAlias] IDH_about?>

    as well as DITA-FMx <data /> elements of the form:

    <data datatype="fm:marker" name="TopicAlias" value="IDH_about" />

  2. Create or obtain a map file (possibly except JavaHelp and Oracle Help for Java; see §20.12 Setting up CSH for JavaHelp or Oracle Help).
  3. Specify prefixes that identify CSH links (HTML Help or OmniHelp). List topic-name prefixes in the configuration file, to identify TopicAlias PI markers intended for CSH use. If you do not specify any prefixes, all TopicAlias PI markers are included.
  4. Map the appropriate application-provided number to each symbolic ID. For C/C++ applications, usually the developer provides a map file. If not, for WinHelp or HTML Help you can use a simple syntax described in the Help provided for those Help systems. Otherwise, for each Help call in the program, add a line of the following form to the map file:

    #define symbolic_ID numeric_ID

    You cannot map multiple numeric IDs to the same symbolic ID; each entry in the map file must specify a different symbolic ID. If you need CSH links to the same Help topic from more than one point in the application, include in the topic a separate TopicAlias PI marker with a unique symbolic ID for each such Help call.

  5. Add a map-file entry to the Help project file (WinHelp or HTML Help). In the [MAP] section of the Help project file (MyDoc.hpj or MyDoc.hhp), add a line of the following form to identify the map file:

    #include MapFileName.h

DITA2Go creates a CSH link destination from each TopicAlias PI marker whose name starts with one of the prefixes you specified in Step 3, or all the TopicAlias PI markers if you did not specify any prefixes. Make sure the symbolic IDs in the TopicAlias PI markers are spelled the same way as in the map file.

By default, DITA2Go removes punctuation and spaces from the TopicAlias PI marker content. If your HTML-based Help system requires CSH IDs that use characters such as periods, set the following option:

[HTMLOptions]
; UseRawNewlinks = No (default, remove punctuation, spaces)
;  or Yes (as is)
UseRawNewlinks=Yes

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Next Topic:  16.11 Setting up a dynamic modular Help system

Parent Topic:  16.10 Setting up Context Sensitive Help (CSH)

Sibling Topics:

16.10.1 Understanding how CSH works

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