This section configures the Full-text Search function for Webhelp output. It includes both the options for configuring the behavior of the search function and the HTML template that defines the layout and appearance of the Search pane in your Webhelp output. See Using HTML Templates for full details.
| • | Professional version feature only: Please note that the support for full-text search in Webhelp is only included in the Professional version of Help & Manual. |
How full-text search works in Webhelp
Full-text search uses an index of words found in the project, together with the locations where the words are found. This means that it is not possible to search for phrases because the index only knows about the locations of the individual words.
Searching for exact words:
You can use quotes to search for exact words. For example, cat will find cat, catalog and advocate, but "cat" will only find cat. This can be combined with wildcard characters – "cat*" will find catalog but not advocate.
Configuration options:
The configuration options for Full-text Search are quite simple but they are important because they make a major difference to how search functions. The Accent and Single-case options are particularly important for some languages.
String Constants / Translation: |
The String Constants table is a list of the texts that are used in the user interface of the Search function. You can edit the default texts in the Text column directly. HTML tags are not permitted here, you can only enter plain text. |
|
In addition to editing the string constants yourself you can also load sets of constants for a variety of different languages, and save your own constants to external files. The constants are stored in Unicode text files, so you can store your texts in any language. The files have the extension *.zlang and are stored in the \Templates\html folder in the Help & Manual program directory, which is normally C:\Program Files\EC Software\HelpAndManual5. You will find files for most common languages in this directory. |
Exclude these words from search: |
This list defines common words you don't want to include in the full-text search index to save space. This is an important point because the JavaScript full-text index has to be completely downloaded from your server by the user's browser before a search can be executed. You can add your own words and delete existing words. Just click in the list and edit, and only enter one word per line. Copy and paste is supported. Note that this list must contain at least one word. If you delete all the entries it will default to the standard entries when you save your project. |
Skip words with less than ... characters: |
This is another function that decreases the size of the index. Words with less then 3 characters are usually not very meaningful and excluding them from the search is generally recommended. |
Word-joining characters: |
The indexing function automatically treats words linked with the characters you specify here as single words. For example, if the "-" character is included here ready-mix and readymix would both be treated as the same single word. You can edit the list to add your own characters or delete existing characters. |
Enable "Sort results by date": |
When this is activated users can sort the search results by score (relevance of the topic found) or date. |
Search is accent-insensitive: |
This converts accents and umlauts to their base characters so that the search doesn't make a difference between base characters and their accented versions. This is strongly recommended for highly-accented languages like French and German, as it will make the searches much more effective for the user. |
Support for single-case languages: |
This creates a case-insensitive search index. You don't need this for western languages but it is a requirement for Asian languages. It is also helpful for languages like German in which all common nouns are capitalized. |
Simple Template Layout tab:
This mode is recommended if you do not have experience with editing HTML code!
|
This button automatically clears all your settings and the HTML template and reloads the default template. Use with caution – this function completely overwrites all your editing changes! |
Text on top of Search page: |
The text here defines what appears at the top of the Search pane in the Webhelp shown in the user's browser. HTML tags are allowed. The default code inserts the title of the Full-text Search and links to TOC and Index. Please do not change this code unless you really understand how it works. |
HTML Source Code tab:
This tab allows you to see and edit all the code of the Keyword Index template manually. Experience in editing HTML code is necessary for using this mode!
Please note that the code in this template is essential for the proper functioning of the Search function. Please don't change or delete anything that you don't understand!
|
Here too, this button automatically clears the HTML template and reloads the default template. Use with caution – this function completely overwrites all your editing changes! |
Editing window: |
The editor provides full HTML syntax highlighting to make editing easier. To enlarge the window for easier editing just resize the Project Properties window. |
See also:
Webhelp (Help Formats)
HTML Templates (Reference)
Page url: http://www.helpandmanual.com/help/index.html?hm_projectprops_htmlex_search.htm