These steps go through the steps in general plus specific steps in parentheses for the TortoiseSVN client for Windows Explorer (currently version 1.6.10), which I use. The TortoiseSVN steps explain what to do in Windows Explorer.

1. Commit all current changes to the repository (right-click in folder > SVN Commit).
2. In RH, make sure no links or other references point to the file you want to delete. (To check this, go to Tools > Reports > Topic References to run a link report. Then remove the links that are listed.)
3. Click the topic in Project Manager.
4. Press Delete. (Note that if there are still references to a topic, when you press Delete, the confirmation pop-up asks about removing those references. I recommend you go back to step 1 so you don’t have to find and fix a bunch of broken links.)
5. Click Yes. This deletes the file from your hard drive and from RH’s awareness.
6. Update your folder to pull the file back in from the repository (right-click in the folder that contained the file, and then click SVN Update).
7. Delete the file (right-click file > TortoiseSVN > Delete).
8. Commit the change (right-click in folder > SVN Commit).

Worry about these steps only if you check your output in to Subversion as well:

9. Generate and then publish help to your hard drive (check out my post on making WebHelp and FlashHelp output work correctly with Subversion).
10. Delete the old file (right-click file > TortoiseSVN > Delete).
11. Commit the changes (right-click > SVN Commit).

Related entries:

• Changing a Topic File Name in RoboHelp and Subversion
• Tech Tip: Checking WebHelp/FlashHelp Output Files in to Subversion
• The Case of the Missing Help Topics; or, Version Control Comes Through

These steps go through the steps in general plus specific steps in parentheses for the TortoiseSVN client for Windows Explorer (currently version 1.6.10), which I use. The TortoiseSVN steps explain what to do in Windows Explorer.

1. Commit all current changes to the repository (right-click in folder > SVN Commit).
2. In RH, right-click the topic, and click Properties.
3. On the General tab, change the file name.
4. Click OK.
5. Add the new named file to the repository (right-click > TortoiseSVN > Add).
6. Commit the new file (right-click > SVN Commit).
7. Update the folder containing the file to pull the old version of the file back to your hard drive (right-click in folder > SVN Update).
8. Delete the old version of the file from the repository (right-click file > TortoiseSVN > Delete).
9. Commit the change (right-click in folder > SVN Commit).
10. Update the file’s map ID if needed by deleting the old reference and then adding the new file.

Complete these steps only if you check your output in to Subversion as well:

11. Generate and then publish help to your hard drive (check out my post on making WebHelp and FlashHelp output work correctly with Subversion).
12. Add the file with the new name to the repository (right-click > TortoiseSVN > Add).
13. Delete the file with the old name from the repository (right-click file > TortoiseSVN > Delete).
14. Commit the changes (right-click > SVN Commit).

Note: If you’re using Tortoise SVN on Windows 7 and run into a “can’t move” error in Tortoise, see the solution at http://schleichermann.wordpress.com/2009/12/09/svn-tortoisesvn-cant-move-the-file-or-directory-is-corrupted-and-unreadable-windows-7/. The comment from Tom on Feb. 16 2010 is especially helpful.

Related entries:

• Deleting a Topic from RoboHelp and Subversion
• Tech Tip: Checking WebHelp/FlashHelp Output Files in to Subversion
• The Case of the Missing Help Topics; or, Version Control Comes Through

Here’s the code that I put together to make the header image conditional based on the category, with some substitutes put in so you can change things based on your needs). Add this code to header.php:

<div id="header">
<?php if (in_category('1')) { ?>
<img src="http://www.mysite.com/images/header1.jpg">
<?php } elseif (is_category('Category Name')) { ?>
<img src="http://www.mysite.com/images/header1.jpg">
<?php } else { ?>
<img src="http://www.mysite.com/images/header2.jpg">
<?php } ?>
</div>

Notice two things:

• This code is set up for two conditions to show header1.jpg. You can swap out the category number or name for yours. (To see a category’s number, in your WordPress console’s Categories screen, mouse over the name and look for the tag ID in the URL that appears in your status bar.) You could also add as many different conditions as you like.
• This works with an image placed directly in the div. I don’t know enough PHP to know if I can have it change a background image in the CSS.

Related entries:

• Why Waiting to Upgrade WordPress Can Be Beneficial
• The Basics of Configuring Your WordPress Blog (Guest Post)
• An Experiment with WordPress as a Help Site

WordPress is a powerful blogging tool with many customizable options. From the moment you log into the dashboard, you have many choices of how to configure your blog. How you configure these settings will affect how you experience WordPress and how readers experience your blog.

Themes

One of the first things you should consider doing is visiting the Appearances menu to choose a theme. Theme variations on WordPress include sidebars on the right or left, fixed or flexible width layouts, customizable menus, customizable headers, and multiple columns. The first impression visitors get of your blog is the layout, so it’s important to pick something appropriate to your content and the audience you expect to draw.

Settings

Once you have a theme in place that is to your liking, click through the Settings menu. Here you can set your blog title, time zone, the time and date format for posts, and comment moderation preferences. These are all basic settings that should be configured before you begin using your blog.

Widgets

After setting up the basics, you may want to look at the Widgets that WordPress has to offer. Widgets are add-ons that appear in the sidebar of your blog and can enhance its layout. Adding a list of blogs you follow, sharing relevant links, incorporating your Twitter feed, and allowing users to search your blog are just a few of the things that can be done with Widgets. Like the theme, which Widgets you choose may depend on the content and intended audience of your blog. Drag the Widgets you wish to use into the Sidebar section to activate them and access configuration options.

Profile & Settings

How you experience your blog is just as important as how your readers do, so make sure to configure your personal settings. Pick a color scheme for your dashboard, enable and customize proofreading options for posts and pages, and make sure your basic account details are correct. And don’t forget to update your profile settings, as well, to choose what information to share when people view your WordPress profile.

Pages

A WordPress Page is a static page used for pertinent or unchanging information. For example, if your blog is for a business, you may wish to set up a page with information about your company. This type of content remains applicable over time and is something you want your readers to have easy access to. Creating a page for such information allows it to stand alone rather than getting lost in your post archives.

Tools

If you want to import content from your previous web hosting provider that you blogged on and wish to host it elsewhere, the Tools menu is the place to go. From here you can also export your existing WordPress posts for use as backup or import a previous WordPress backup into your new blog.

Plugins

WordPress gains even more options through hundreds of available plugins. Add, activate, and upgrade plugins on the Plugins page. For suggestions on plugins to start with, see Nicholas Cardot’s “The 15 Best WordPress Plugins to Use in 2010.”

Security

Now that you have your blog configured, you want to keep it secure. Make sure your password contains a strong combination of upper- and lower-case letters, as well as numbers. If at some point you have to access your blog from an unsecure network such as public wi-fi, consider resetting your password the next time your have access to a secure connection. Never share your password with anyone for any reason, especially via electronic means such as e-mail.

The WordPress blogging tool is easy to configure and offers a variety of options for new and seasoned bloggers alike. Once you’ve completed the setup, you’ll be ready to share your blog with potential readers all over the web.

Related entries:

• Why Waiting to Upgrade WordPress Can Be Beneficial
• WordPress Tip: Swapping Images Based on Category
• Guest Post on I’d Rather Be Writing

Specifically, when I got past entering the serial number and telling the installer where to install the programs, I got to a page saying “Preparing to Install…” The Install button was disabled for about ten seconds, and then it was enabled. If I clicked it, the same thing happened. It was one of those “how to keep an idiot busy” situations.

I installed Windows XP Service Pack 3 and got some help disabling the anti-virus software on the computer (which I didn’t have rights to do). So if you encounter this problem, try these first (if you’re running Vista, try Service Pack 1).

After trying a lot of different things with one of my department’s technical support reps, we managed to install Fireworks only. After that, I could install Dreamweaver and Acrobat 9. But nothing else would go. I even tried searching on Adobe’s site for some information and found a forum thread that wasn’t completely resolved.

If you’ve heard anything about Adobe technical support’s reputation, you probably don’t blame me for waiting so long to call them. That, and their phone number is virtually impossible to find on Adobe.com. So after hunting for it for a while (I found it once before), I googled for it. And I came across a helpful site called contacthelp.com that listed the number and other information.

So I called and got someone whom I’d guess is from Asia. He didn’t sound real excited, but after he spent a few minutes looking for the solution after I’d explained the problem, he pointed me to KB article #403995. This article explains how to run the CS4 Clean Utility to wipe out any extraneous files that could be interfering with the installation. I discovered that I had Adobe ExtendScript Toolkit 2 and also the CS4 version from somewhere. I wiped them out using this utility. Lo and behold, CS4 installed successfully.

Chalk one up for Adobe support. According to the Adobe page on contacthelp.com, some people come away extremely dissatisfied (to put it mildly), and others have a good experience. Adobe support seems to be hit and miss, but their reputation is largely negative. I understand that it’s impossible for one person to know everything about every Adobe product, so perhaps it’s a training issue with getting the information. But that KB article should have come up in the results when I searched broadly for information about the CS4 installation. There’s probably some work behind the scenes to do there. But ever the helpful type, I went back to that forum thread and posted a link to the KB article. And this post here increases the chances that someone having this same problem will find a timely resolution.

Apparently, this was an issue with CS3 because there is a CS3 cleanup utility. So look for this solution for the next Creative Suite as well if you hit this problem.

Related entries:

• The Technical Communicator Getting Involved in User Forums

However, I realized why it can be good to wait a little while to upgrade something like WordPress. After I installed the new version, I got an error similar to the one displayed at menoob.com in a post about the issue.

I followed the suggestion there, though I used FileZilla to change the plugin file name. (Fortunately, of all the plugins that could have failed, this one isn’t critical.) Bam! I could sign in to my admin site. My thanks to the menoob guy.

When I ran into this error, I was frustrated for a minute. But I realized that since WP 2.8 has been out for a few weeks, there had to be someone else who had encountered the problem, figured out the solution, and posted it. I was right.

That’s my personal reason for not updating immediately when a new release is available. There could be problems, and it’s best to let more tech-savvy people take the bull by the horns and blaze the trails. (Now there’s an interesting image.)

Of course, if everyone followed this philosophy, no one would ever upgrade software because they’re busy waiting for someone else to do it first. But I’m glad there are those who don’t mind sticking their necks out and then finding the solutions to problems for the rest of us. So I will likely continue to drag my feet—but keep just ahead of the next upgrade.

Related entries:

• WordPress Tip: Swapping Images Based on Category
• The Basics of Configuring Your WordPress Blog (Guest Post)
• An Experiment with WordPress as a Help Site

This procedure involves getting the styles for the TOC entries matched up correctly with various heading levels.

1. In the .indd file where the TOC will appear, create styles for the TOC entries; for example, TOC Level 1, TOC Level 2. Include any justification and tab leaders. I’ve found that to get the entry to run across the page, you have to choose Right Justify on the Indents and Spacing page of the Paragraph Style Options dialog. On the Tabs page, I also click the Right-Justified Tab button and put a space and a period in the Leader field. (The space keeps the periods from looking jammed together when I generate the TOC later.)
2. If the TOC is in a separate document from the rest of the content, import the paragraph styles (for example, heading 1 and heading 2) that you want to match to the TOC entries.
3. Go to Layout > Table of Contents Styles.
4. Click New.
5. Enter a name. The Title is the text that will show up at the top of the TOC, so enter something like “Contents.” In the Style box, pick the paragraph style that you want to use for the title—probably the same as whatever your level 1 heading is.
6. The Styles in Table of Contents section is for telling the TOC what text you want to show up. You choose the paragraph styles, and the TOC pulls in all text in those styles. Click a style in the Other Styles list and click Add. You have to select the styles in the order or hierarchy that you want them to show up in the TOC.
7. With a paragraph style selected in the Include Paragraph Styles box, set up how the entry should appear using the Style section. Choose one of the TOC styles you created in step one. For Between Entry and Number, I choose the Tab Character so it shows the space and period.
8. Under Options, I select Create PDF Bookmarks and Include Book Document (if I’m doing a book, of course).
9. Click OK. Then when you generate the TOC, go to Layout > Table of Contents, pick the TOC setup you just created, and then generate it.

No related posts.

When I discovered that the topics were missing, I knew the wrong thing to do would be to import the corresponding output files. For WebHelp, RH inserts JavaScript and possibly other code into each topic in the output, and if you import an output topic, you have to deal with stripping out that extra code so it isn’t duplicated later.

I keep the files for this particular project with the designer’s prototype repository, and I keep a set of the prototypes on my hard drive so that I can access them without a connection if necessary. The set of files I actively work from are outside that folder on my hard drive. To solve the problem, I looked at the Subversion log for the last revision before the files were deleted.

Hey, that’s what version control is for.

When I found that revision, I pulled it down and then imported those topics back into my open project. Bingo, RH accepted them, and everything looks good again. Fortunately, they weren’t topics that I changed recently. As far as I know, those three topics don’t really have anything in common, other than they were in the same folder. But there were probably over a dozen other topics that this didn’t happen to. So I’m stumped. The important thing is that I know how to solve this problem if it rears its head again.

Of course, thanks to version control, I can check the log to see if I was the one who deleted them or not…

Related entries:

• Tech Tip: Checking WebHelp/FlashHelp Output Files in to Subversion
• Deleting a Topic from RoboHelp and Subversion
• Changing a Topic File Name in RoboHelp and Subversion

Like usual when I’m speaking in public, I was nervous beforehand, my mouth went dry within the first few minutes, and after that I was fine.

Overall, comments were good. Someone went as far as to say that our presentation gave him the most specific information in the three years he’s attended the Summit. We had a full room, and three people watched from the hall. On the other hand, an anonymous (according to Tom) person tweeted that our presentation was more frustrating than interesting and lacked a moderator and concreteness. I’m not sure why the person chose to be anonymous; I hope it wasn’t a fear of some kind of backlash. Tom and I aren’t going to turn around and send hate-tweets.

It was a good experience, but after something like that, I feel like not presenting for the next five years. It’s a lot of buildup to that one hour, and then afterward I second-guess my performance. As Tom pointed out as we discussed it later, that piece of negative feedback did make us think about how to do better. If the world had no naysayers or detractors, maybe we’d have less motivation to improve things.

Still, the topic is something we think is important, and there isn’t much information out there in the way of quick reference writing strategies. If you google “quick reference guide,” you get a bunch of examples of them—but nobody’s suggesting to you how to go about creating them.

Our objective in this presentation was to give people specific strategies for deciding when to use quick reference guides, developing the content, and designing them. I’d like to point out that we don’t recommend them for all situations, just that you consider them for your projects and documentation sets.

Tom and I agreed to provide our proceedings document on our blogs so that they could reach a wider audience. I’ve provided it as a PDF download accessible here. With Tom’s permission, I’ve made some modifications based on some pieces we had to leave out due to the limited space in the proceedings, as well as things that came out as we prepared for the presentation and talked afterward. I also added the cartoon we had in the presentation. I hope you enjoy.

If you’re interested in some quick reference guide templates in InDesign file format, visit Tom Johnson’s template page.

Related entries:

• Try a Quick Reference Guide for Short-Term Documentation Needs
• Quick Reference Guide Q&A
• Quick Reference, Videos, and FAQ in Front; Help in the Back

I’ve been trying to figure out how to get my default list styles in a Word template to align the way I want so when I output from RoboHelp to Word, they’ll automatically take on that alignment. (Come to find out that there’s no way to tweak the list styles for “Normal.” Lameness.)

I know the Word-to-RH import and RH-to-Word output have been improved in RH8, but that doesn’t help me right now.

Anyway, while I was messing with this list problem, my eyes opened and saw the reason for bad Word output.

In the past, my Word output looked bad because I used my CSS file, and Word ignored most of my specifications for paragraph and list item spacing and indentation. It didn’t carry paragraph borders over, either. It would take way too much reformatting to make it look right.

My epiphany was this: The reason those things were ignored is that I had them specified in pixels.

I reworked a style sheet for my user guide project that I’m trying to author in RH. I redid everything either in points or inches. This included paragraph borders where I had them—I changed the 1px thickness to 1pt. When I reran the Word output, bang! Word paid attention to my styles much more closely.

It took some cycles of tweaking the style sheet and generating the output to get things the way I want them. I still have some alpha lists that aren’t aligning correctly, and I think it has something to do with the way they’re specified in the HTML. I discovered that after any interruption of an ordered list, such as a secondary list or an indented (non-numbered) paragraph, I have to specify the start number or else Word doesn’t recognize that the primary list resumed.

I also did some experimenting with styles for the TOC, but I haven’t gotten those to work yet. However, a quick reformatting of the TOC isn’t a killer. I’ll also be playing a bit with headers and footers. I’m much more encouraged after today that I can make my printed documentation output from RH presentable.

What about projects where you’ll have the same content going to both online help and printed documentation? You probably don’t want all point and inch declarations in the CSS. I’d say in this case, create a second style sheet with the inch/point styles (I actually am using a second style sheet for the user-guide-only topics). Then before you run the Word output, use the Topic List pod to select all topics and change the style sheet to the one for print in one fell swoop. Then use the Topic List pod to change the style sheet back before running HTML output.

Related entries:

• Tech Tip: Checking WebHelp/FlashHelp Output Files in to Subversion
• An XML Experiment Fizzles
• Deleting a Topic from RoboHelp and Subversion