Contextual Help Implementation Guide
Learn about contextual help types and plan your contextual help implementation.
Contextual Help Types
Contextual Help Linking to Related Content
Applications may provide related content in another window, tab, or pane.
Clicking Help opens the Help pane where you can browse through related help articles.
Embedded Contextual Helps
Applications may provide embedded content that directs you to the relevant documentation section.
If you're placing an order through Amazon.com and you click the Help link from your Shopping Cart, it directs you to the relevant help content.
Contextual Help Providing Hover Text
Applications may provide information through tooltips when you hover over interface elements.
On the easyDITA Pricing page, if you hover over a feature, the information about that feature appears.
Conceptual Help Providing Text in Fields
Applications may provide guidance text in forms and fields.
On the easyDITA Free Trial page, some fields show explanatory text.
Implement a Contextual Help
Assign unique IDs to topics or topic elements and map these IDs into applications.
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Assign IDs to the documentation first and then provide the IDs to software developers who map the IDs into the application.
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Obtain the IDs mapped into the application from software engineers and then assign the IDs in the documentation.
Contextual Help Implementation Guidelines
Contextual helps come in different forms so they may be developed and implemented in various ways.
Implementation Types
You can implement contextual help into applications in different ways, for example by:
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Publishing a contextual help as an online asset that is linked to in an application
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Integrating a contextual help with an application interface
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Embedding a contextual help into a desktop application or web application
General Guidelines
Keep the following general guidelines in mind when implementing a contextual help:
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Determine how the users access the help content in the application or on the website.
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Assign meaningful unique IDs to the elements that you want to map into the application or website.
For example, Section_ProjectManagement, Procedure_SavingYourProject, or ChangePasswordScreen_LoginField
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If you want to map a topic into multiple places in an application or multiple applications, you can add several unique resource ID elements to the topic.
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The IDs remain assigned to the topics and topic elements even if you change their contents.
Assign IDs to Topics
Assigning unique IDs is necessary to map topics into applications or websites.
Mapping a topic is useful if you plan to provide a link to a help page that gives information on a specific part of an application.-
Multiple applications or websites
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Multiple places in an application or on a website.
Assign IDs to Topic Elements
Assigning unique IDs is necessary to map topic elements into applications or websites.
Mapping a topic element, for example a phrase element, into an application is useful if you want to display your content in a field or another application interface element.Publish a Resource
You can publish your topics or maps to various formats.
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