1.Insert the graphic in your topic.

2.Open the hotspot editor:

Hotspot editor in the Open Image dialog

•Double-click on the graphic and then click on the Hotspots... button

OR

•Right-click on the graphic and select Picture > Edit Hotspots in the context menu.

3.Click on one of the Insert Hotspot tools (this will insert a new hotspot in the top left corner of the graphic). These include tools for Topic Links, Internet Links, File Links and Script Links.

4.Move and resize the hotspot with the mouse and select the hotspot style (Rectangle or Ellipse). You can also enter the precise size and position of your hotspot as pixel values.

5.Select and enter the hotspot details. These are exactly the same as for ordinary links in topics.

Editing hotspots:

To edit a hotspot just double-click on the graphic and open the Hotspots editor again.

You don't have to do anything special to create a link to a popup topic. A topic defined as a popup will automatically display as a popup when you link to it, so you just need to create a normal topic link and choose a popup topic as the target.

See Creating popup topics for full instructions on how to create and use popup topics. All the instructions here apply for links in hotspots, which are essentially exactly the same as normal links.

By default the hotspot area will be made visible in the CHM, WebHelp or eWriter output so that the user can see where it is, and it will also respond on mouseover to indicate that it is active. This is a good solution when your images don't contain areas that are clearly meant to be clicked or tapped.

If you prefer the hotspots to be invisible so that the clickable areas are indicated by your graphics you can turn this feature off. Then the hotspots will be completely invisible and will only change the mouse cursor on mouseover.

For WebHelp and eWriter Help:

In the Project Explorer navigate to Configuration > Publishing Options > WebHelp > HTML Export Options. Disable the option Highlight hotspots in pictures.

For HTML Help/CHM help files and Visual Studio Help:

In the Project Explorer navigate to Configuration > Publishing Options > Microsoft HTML Help > HTML Export Options. Disable the option Highlight hotspots in pictures.

The Align buttons arrange all the selected hotspots in a row, aligning them to first hotspot that you select:

1.Use Shift+Click to select all the hotspots you want to align. The hotspots will be lined up with the first hotspot you select.

2.Select one of the two Align tools to align the hotspots vertically or horizontally.

The alignment tools are activated when two or more hotspots are selected.

In Help+Manual 3 and earlier, hotspots were stored in Impict IPP graphics files and in files in the standard Microsoft SHG format. If you convert HM3 projects containing these graphics to the current Help+Manual format the hotspots will be converted correctly.

However if you insert old IPP or SHG graphics containing hotspots in a current Help+Manual project the hotspots will not be available. If you want to use hotspots in these graphics you must re-enter them using the hotspot editor following the instructions above.

HTML Help:

Supported (JavaScript and four standard Winhelp macros)

Visual Studio Help:

Same as HTML Help but all external file links are explicitly forbidden in Visual Studio Help.

WebHelp:

Supported (JavaScript but no Winhelp macros, JavaScript support also depends to a great extent on the user's browser, so use with caution)

eWriter for Windows eBooks:

Same as in WebHelp

ePUB eBooks

Hotspots are included in the ePUB specification but most ePUB readers (both hardware and software) do not support them so they should be avoided

Kindle eBooks

Kindle eBooks do not support images with hotspots

Adobe PDF:

Hotspot topic links are supported, no support for script or macro links

Word DOCX:

No support for graphics hotspots.