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About Tables of Contents

When your end users need to find specific information in your project, the three most common methods they use are: the search feature, a table of contents (TOC), and an index.

You can create a TOC by adding books and items with links (to topics, external files, other Help systems, movies, etc.) in a structure that you think would be useful for the individual. End users then browse through a TOC to find information.

In many cases, Flare provides you with an initial TOC, which you further "build" (or create) using the TOC Editor. You can use this TOC as your primary, or "master," TOC. At some point, you may decide to add another TOC to the project. The extra TOCs that you add can then be linked to the master TOC.

For print-based output (Adobe PDF, XHTML, Microsoft XPS, Microsoft Word, Adobe FrameMaker), you need to use the TOC Editor to create a TOC just as you would create one for online output (DotNet Help, HTML Help, WebHelp, WebHelp Plus, WebHelp AIR). However, there is a fundamental difference. Performing this task for online output creates an actual TOC in the output, which people use to navigate from topic to topic. This is not the case for print-based output. Performing this task for print-based output lets you indicate which topics will be included in the output and in what order. In that sense, this TOC functions more as an outline for print-based output. Therefore, for print-based output, you can think of it as an "outline TOC." If you want to include a generated TOC in print-based output, you need to use a TOC proxy in a topic instead (see Creating a Topic for a Print TOC).

Basic Steps

Following are the tasks necessary for including a TOC in your project.

1. Add/open TOC If you do not want to use the initial TOC often provided by Flare, you can add one. And you can open an existing TOC from the Project Organizer whenever you need to work on it. See Adding a Table of Contents and Opening a Table of Contents.
2. Create TOC You can create a TOC manually or automatically, adding books and links to topics or other files. See Creating a Table of Contents or Auto-Generating a Table of Contents.
3. Edit TOC entries After you create a table of contents, you can edit the individual entries in many ways. This includes linking entries to other files, setting titles automatically, and applying condition tags. See Editing TOC Entries.
4. Enable TOC After creating the TOC, you need to enable the TOC in the skin you want to use for the target (for online output). See Enabling Tables of Contents in Skins.
5. Associate skin with target Now that the TOC is enabled in the skin, you need to associate that skin with the target you are building (for online output). See Associating Skins with Targets.
6. (Optional) Associate master TOC with a project or target In most situations, you will have one TOC that you use for a particular output (target). In that case, you simply associate the appropriate TOC with the target. If you have multiple TOCs that you want to include in the same project or output target, the TOC that you associate with the project or target serves as the "master" TOC. In your master TOC, you have the option of creating links to the other TOCs that you want to include in the output. If you do not select a TOC, Flare will use the first one in the project (if there is more than one). If you have specified a master TOC at the project level and another at a target level, the TOC at the target will take precedence. See Associating a Master Table of Contents with a Project and Associating a Master Table of Contents with a Target.

Additional Steps for Print-based Output

For print-based output, the following additional steps may necessary when working with an "outline TOC."

1. Include print topics in "outline TOC" You need to make sure that all of the topics to be included in your printed output (those that are ONLY for printed output, as well as those that are for printed AND online output) are added to an "outline TOC." See Including Print Topics in an Outline TOC.
2. (Optional) Specify chapter breaks with TOC If you are creating print-based output with page layouts, you may want to complete this task. After you create a page layout and configure its frames and settings as necessary, you need to associate the page layout with the appropriate content. In most cases, you will probably want to associate different page layouts with various entries in your "outline TOC" (so that different page layouts can be used for different parts or "chapters" in a manual). Otherwise, you would associate a single "master" page layout with an entire target or project; in that case, the same page layout will be applied to all topics in that target or project. Whenever you associate a page layout with a TOC entry, you must first create a chapter break in order to do so. See Specifying Chapter Breaks and Page Layouts.
3. (Optional) Specify section breaks with TOC If you are creating Word or FrameMaker output with master pages (or if you want to use "section" auto-numbers), you may want to complete this task. After you create a master page for print output and configure it as necessary, you need to associate the master page with the appropriate content. In many cases, you will probably want to associate multiple master pages with various entries in your outline TOC (so that different master pages can be used for different parts or "chapters" in a manual). Otherwise, you would associate a single master page with an entire target; in that case, the same page layout will be applied to all topics in that target. Whenever you associate a master page with a TOC entry, you must first create a section break in order to do so. See Specifying Section Breaks and Master Pages.

FAQs about TOCs

Following are some answers to questions you might have about creating TOCs.

  Best Practice: Try creating topics and a TOC at the same time from the TOC Editor.

See Also

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