Teach yourself or follow along in class how to create an index in a help authoring tool, such as RoboHelp, HTML Help, AuthorIT, or Doc-To-Help. Learn these procedures well enough not to need notes to perform them again, and write quick-reference-style notes in case you forget how in the future.

Learning the Procedures

Here are some miscellaneous tasks that help writers often need to know.

Specifying the default topic. Learn how to do the following:

1. Start a project, giving it a formal display name, and a file and folder name.
2. Create two topics in the same project.
3. Specify the default topic, meaning the topic that displays when you run the compiled help file. (RoboHelp 9 hint: File > Project Settings > Compile.)
4. Compile this project as a .chm file, and view it (through the help-authoring tool). Make a note of which topic displays.
5. Now, specify the other topic as the default, save, recompile, and see if it works.

Specifying the position and size of the help window. Learn how to do the following:

1. Using the same project as above, compile and view the .chm file, making a mental note about where the help window appears on tyhe screen and how big it is.
2. Specify a different size and position, ideally, a tall narrow window along the right side of the display. (RoboHelp 9 hint: File > Project Settings > Windows > Properties.)
3. Compile this project as a .chm file, and view it, checking to see if your changes take effect.

Specifying a title in the help window. Learn how to do the following:

1. Using the same project as above, compile and view the .chm file, making a mental note about the title of the help that displays in the blue title bar at the top of the help window.
2. Specify a different title. (RoboHelp 9 hint: File > Project Settings > Windows > Properties.)
3. Compile this project as a .chm file, and view it, checking to see if your new title shows up.

Writing about the Procedures

Here are the guidelines for writing about the procedures for this lesson:

• Write quick-reference notes for these tasks in the help-authoring tool you are using.
• Write these quick-reference notes "for real": include warnings about potential problems that can you trip up.
• Otherwise, you are not obliged to add a lot of explanatory detail. In "guide" information, you see lots of explanation, definitions, screen shots, and alternative methods. That's not needed or expected here.
• Just use headings, simple lead-ins, numbered and bulleted lists. For notes, use paragraphs introduced by a bolded label such as "Caution:."
• Practice good clear economical writing style. Use imperatives (commands) and second-person ("you"); avoid passive-voice and telegraphic writing styles.
• Use subheadings for the subsections of these quick-reference notes.

Revising

Your instructor will review these quick-reference notes rapidly, requesting revisions if necessary and recording an "ok" in the gradebook when no revisions are needed.