Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Getting
Started Guide
Version 8.0
Copyright 2012 MadCap Software. All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice. The software described in this document is fur-
nished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement. The software may be used or copied only in
accordance with the terms of those agreements. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and
recording for any purpose other than the purchaser's personal use without the written permission of MadCap
Software.
MadCap Software
7777 Fay Avenue
La Jolla, California 92037
858-320-0387
www.madcapsoftware.com
CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1
Getting Additional Help 3
CHAPTER 2 Creating a New Project 5
CHAPTER 3 Single-Source Publishing 7
Topic-based Authoring 7
Global Project Linking 8
Multiple Outputs from One Project 9
Condition Tags at All Levels 9
Snippets 9
Variables 9
Styles 10
Single-Source Images 11
CHAPTER 4 Creating Topics 13
CHAPTER 5 Editing Styles 17
CHAPTER 6 Determining the Output Type 21
Online Output Options 22
Print-based Output Options 24
Other Output Types 25
CHAPTER 7 Targets 27
APPENDIX A PDF Guides 31
APPENDIX B Output Type Comparison Table 37
i
MADCAP FLARE
ii
CHAPTER 1 Introduction
Welcome to MadCap Flare—the first native XML content authoring application, which offers the fol-
lowing.
As the following diagram shows, the Flare workflow can be boiled down to just a handful of steps. The
real strength of Flare is that you can maintain your content in one place but generate all of it (or por-
tions of it) in whatever output format works best for you.
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MADCAP FLARE
2
CHAPTER 1 Introduction
Knowledge Base
You can browse the online Knowledge Base for articles covering common support issues.
http://kb.madcapsoftware.com/
You can visit the online forums to learn from other users or share your own expertise.
http://forums.madcapsoftware.com/
You can contact the Flare support team and get answers to your specific support issues.
http://madcapsoftware.com/support/
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4
CHAPTER 2 Creating a New Project
The first step in developing a project after you launch Flare is to start a project. You can start a project
in one of several ways, such as by importing other projects or files. Following are the steps for cre-
ating a new project using the Start New Project Wizard.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareProjectCreationGuide.pdf
1. Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using.
You can use the Options dialog to switch between ribbons and the classic menu/tool-
bar layout. For more information see the online Help.
Keep in mind that the smaller the application window becomes, the more the
options in a ribbon shrink. Therefore, you might only see a small icon instead of text,
or you might see only a section name displayed with a down arrow to access the
options in it. You can hover over small icons to see tooltips that describe them. You
can also enlarge the application window or click one of the section drop-downs in
the ribbon to locate a hidden feature.
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To open the Standard toolbar from the menu view, select View>Toolbars>Standard.
2. In the Project name field, type an appropriate name for your project.
3. In the Language field select the language that you want to use for the project.
4. (Optional) If you want to integrate the new Flare project with a source control application, select Bind
to Source Control.
5. Click Next.
6. (Optional) If you have selected the "Bind to Source Control" option, click Bind Project. Then in the
Bind Project dialog, complete the fields, depending on the source control application being used.
When you are finished, click Next.
7. In the Source area, select a file as a starting point for the project. When you first get started, you will
probably want to select New from template, choose a factory template, click Next, and continue with
the rest of the steps below.
However, if you have legacy files (e.g., Word, FrameMaker, DITA HTML Help, RoboHelp) that you
want to use, you can select New from import, click the file type, and complete the fields in the new wiz-
ard that opens. For more information on each of these import wizards and the steps to complete them,
see the online Help, the Import Guide, or the Project Creation Guide.
8. Click Next.
9. From the Available Targets field, select the primary target for your project.
6
CHAPTER 3 Single-Source Publishing
Flare was designed around the concept of single-sourcing, which essentially means that you can
create content once and reuse it in many places and in many ways.
Topic-based Authoring
In Flare the focus is on developing pieces of information (topics) that are useful to readers, rather
than focusing on creating one enormous document. In other words, you can first focus on the content
and later worry about how it should be delivered to users; the two concepts are separate. Topic-
based content development allows you to take full advantage of Flare's many powerful single-sourc-
ing features. After you are finished creating topics, you can send them out individually for review
(another benefit of small topics), and when the review process is finished, you can decide how to use
the topics in the output. See "Creating Topics" on page 13.
EXAMPLE
Let's say you write 200 topics in your project. You might send some of these topics to one per-
son for review, and other topics to a different person for review. When that is finished and
you are ready, you could output 100% of the topics to one manual, 80% of them into a sec-
ond manual, and 45% of them into a third manual. Just pick and choose the content you
need for each manual.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareTopicsGuide.pdf
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You can import content and project files contained in another Flare project, thus allowing you to maintain the
information in one location but reuse it in any other project. When you use this feature to import files, you can
include or exclude particular types of files (e.g., topics, snippets, stylesheets, glossaries, targets), specific individ-
ual files, or files that have certain condition tags applied. Simply use the include/exclude methods that work best
for you.
This is different than a simple import process, because in this case, the imported files remain linked to the
source project. This allows you to make future updates to those files in just one place—in the source project file.
When you perform ongoing imports using your previous settings, Flare recognizes changes to the source files.
Therefore, the new files can be brought over, replacing the outdated files.
EXAMPLE
Let's say you are working on three different Flare projects. Within those projects, you might have 35
topics and 50 images that are identical in the three projects. In addition, you might use the same style-
sheet in each project. Rather than maintaining three different sets of identical files, you can store one
set of those files and import them into the individual projects when needed. Here are a couple of
options: (1) One option is that you could consider one of your three Flare projects as the "global par-
ent" for those shared files. (2) Another option is that you could create a new Flare project (perhaps
naming it "global"); this project could have no other purpose than to serve as a repository for the
shared files across your projects. In other words, you would not necessarily generate any output from
this parent project, but simply use it as a place to hold your shared information.
When you want to use any of the shared topic, image, or stylesheet files from the global project, you
would import them into the child project. This creates a link between the imported files and those in the
global project. Therefore, when you edit those files in the future, you would do so from the global
project and then re-import the changes (either manually or automatically) to the other child projects.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareGlobalProjectLinkingGuide.pdf
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CHAPTER 3 Single-Source Publishing
Flare allows you to generate output in a variety of online and print-based formats, creating as many different
targets as you want from the same Flare project. See "Determining the Output Type" on page 21.
You can apply condition tags at all levels in Flare—character, paragraph, file, and more.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareConditionTagsGuide.pdf
Snippets
In Flare, there are multiple ways to reuse content in different places. One method is to create a snippet.
Snippet conditions are condition tags that you can apply to content within snippets. With snippet conditions, you
can separate certain snippet content so that it displays in some topics or master pages but not in others. This
allows you to use one snippet for many purposes, rather than having to create multiple snippets. Whereas reg-
ular conditions are included or excluded at the target level, snippet conditions are included or excluded at the
topic or master page level.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareSnippetsGuide.pdf
Variables
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareVariablesGuide.pdf
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Styles
You can take advantage of cascading stylesheets (CSS files) to control the look of your output in one place. You
can apply stylesheets to individual topics, or you can use a "master" stylesheet, applying it to all files at the target
level or project level. In addition to using stylesheets for topics, you can use separate stylesheets in Flare spe-
cifically for tables inserted into topics. See "Editing Styles" on page 17.
Let's say you want one style setting (e.g., underline font) to be used for online output and another setting (e.g.,
do not underline font) to be used for printed output. You can use a medium in your stylesheet to create different
settings for the same style. When you apply a particular medium to a target, it will be used for that output.
A table stylesheet allows you to single-source your formatting by setting the properties in one place and reusing
them wherever you insert tables in your project. But what if you want the tables in online output to look one way
and the tables in your printed output to look another way? Here are two options… Solution #1—Two medi-
ums: This is the recommended solution. You can have one table stylesheet and use a medium to specify dif-
ferent settings for it—one medium is used for online output and another for print. Solution #2—Two table
stylesheets: You can insert a single table at each location, using a special version of the table style for print-
based output. This solution requires you to have two table stylesheets—one for online and one for print.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareStylesGuide.pdf
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CHAPTER 3 Single-Source Publishing
Single-Source Images
Capture is MadCap's screen capture and graphics editing application. From within Flare, you can launch Cap-
ture, add or insert a new screen capture, and edit images. Capture contains many unique features that are
especially useful for online documentation authors, including the ability to single-source images in Flare
projects. For a single image, you can provide one group of settings for online output, and another group of set-
tings for printed output.
EXAMPLE
You might want to use a resolution of 72 DPI for the image in online output, and a resolution of 300
DPI for the image in printed output. Rather than creating two separate images and using condition
tags, you can use this feature.
You can also single-source images when resizing them in Flare. This can be done through the use of styles
(applying the settings to many images at once) or local formatting (applying the settings to one image). When
you generate online output, the image will be displayed in one size, and when you generate print-based output,
the image will be displayed in another size.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareImagesGuide.pdf
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12
CHAPTER 4 Creating Topics
A topic is simply a chunk of information about a particular subject. Topics are the most important part
of a Flare project. Everything else is contained within topics (e.g., cross-references, text, images) or
points toward topics (e.g., tables of contents, indexes, browse sequences). The very reason end
users open a Help system or manual is to find information, a little direction. They find that help within
individual topics. At this moment, you are reading a topic (called "Creating Topics") that was created
in Flare and converted to PDF output.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareTopicsGuide.pdf
1. Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using.
Ribbon Select the Project ribbon. In the Content section select New>Topic.
You can use the Options dialog to switch between ribbons and the classic menu/tool-
bar layout. For more information see the online Help.
Keep in mind that the smaller the application window becomes, the more the
options in a ribbon shrink. Therefore, you might only see a small icon instead of text,
or you might see only a section name displayed with a down arrow to access the
options in it. You can hover over small icons to see tooltips that describe them. You
can also enlarge the application window or click one of the section drop-downs in
the ribbon to locate a hidden feature.
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To open the Standard toolbar from the menu view, select View>Toolbars>Standard.
2. In the File Type field at the top, make sure Topic is selected.
3. In the Source area select a file as a starting point for the topic. When you first get started, you will prob-
ably want to use a factory template.
4. (Optional) If you want to place the file into a subfolder that you previously created in the Content
Explorer, in the Folder field click and select the subfolder. Otherwise, keep the default location.
5. In the File Name field type a new name for the topic.
Note: Spaces are allowed in the file name. However, if you are publishing output to a UNIX
system, avoiding spaces in the file name is recommended. You can use underscores in place
of spaces.
6. If you want the heading for the topic to use the same text that you provide for the file name, leave the
1st Heading field blank. Otherwise, enter the text that you want to use for the heading in the topic.
7. In the Title field you can give the topic a title for the file. This does not refer to the visual title (or head-
ing) at the top of the topic. Rather, it refers to the properties title for the topic.
If you leave this field blank, the text from the "1st Heading" field will automatically be used for the title.
8. If you want the heading for the topic to use the default <h1> style, leave the Style field blank. Other-
wise, select a style to apply to the heading in the topic.
9. In the Stylesheet field select a stylesheet to associate with the new topic. If you do not have a style-
sheet in your project, this field remains blank. This field is disabled if you have applied a master style-
sheet.
10. Click Add. The Copy to Project dialog opens, displaying information about the template file that will be
copied to the project.
11. Click OK. The topic is added to the Content Explorer and opens in its own page in the XML Editor.
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CHAPTER 4 Creating Topics
12. For regular topics, simply click inside the topic page and start typing text or adding any other elements
(e.g., tables, images, cross-references, multimedia) appropriate for the topic. For topics that contain
proxies, you should remove any default text so that the topic contains only the header and the proxy
(or any additional text that you want to include).
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16
CHAPTER 5 Editing Styles
After you create a new topic, you can edit the styles within it. There are numerous features for "dress-
ing up" your output. The two basic methods for accomplishing most formatting tasks are the use of
styles and local formatting. Styles are always recommended over local formatting.
A style is a formatting designation that you can use to quickly change the appearance of your content
(such as characters, paragraphs, or tables) in multiple places at once. They allow you to separate
your content from its presentation. Styles are stored in cascading stylesheet (CSS) files, and can be
found in the Resources\Stylesheets subfolder in the Content Explorer.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareStylesGuide.pdf
2. Complete one of the following sets of steps, depending on whether you want to use the Sim-
plified view or Advanced view in the Stylesheet Editor.
Simplified The Simplified view is better for new users. It provides an easier way to
apply properties to styles, with format options available from a toolbar (similar to the
way one would use the Text Format toolbar to change the look topic content without
a style). In many cases, only the most common property options are available in the
Simplified view (e.g., font, letter/word spacing, paragraph alignment/indentation,
auto-numbering format, borders, background). One advantage of the Simplified
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view is that you can apply a property to multiple styles at the same time. You can also click a
check box to hide the properties in the editor, allowing you to see only the styles.
Advanced The Advanced view displays style classes and properties in hierarchical tree struc-
tures. It is not as quick as using the Simplified view, but it allows you to edit a great deal more
settings than are available in the Simplified view.
Warning: When editing styles, make sure the proper medium is selected in the Stylesheet
Editor before you begin (you can do this from the Medium drop-down list). Flare
remembers the last medium that you used when working in the stylesheet, so it may or may
not be the one that you want to use the next time around. If you want all mediums to use the
same setting, select the "default" medium and the properties will "trickle down" to the other
mediums. If you are not using different mediums, you do not need to worry about selecting
one when you edit styles.
a. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays (which means that the
Simplified view is currently shown in the editor). If the button displays instead,
then click it.
b. (Optional) You can click in the Show Styles field in the upper-left
corner of the Stylesheet Editor to limit which styles are shown in the editor. For example, if you
select Show All Styles, then all styles will be displayed. If you select Show Paragraph
Styles, only paragraph styles will be displayed. If you select Show Table Styles, only table
styles will be displayed.
c. From the grid in the bottom portion of the Stylesheet Editor, select a style.
d. In the local toolbar of the editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
e. Use the Properties dialog to change values for the style's properties.
f. In the Properties dialog, click OK.
a. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays (which means that the
Advanced view is currently shown in the editor). If the button displays instead,
then click it.
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CHAPTER 5 Editing Styles
b. (Optional) You can click in the Show Styles drop-down list in the
upper-left corner of the Stylesheet Editor to limit which styles are shown in the editor. For
example, if you select Show All Styles, then all styles will be displayed. If you select Show
Paragraph Styles, then only paragraph styles will be displayed. If you select Show Table
Styles, then only table styles will be displayed.
c. In the Styles section of the editor, select the style that you want to edit.
Note: If you want to limit the list of styles to only those that you tend to use in your
project, you can disable the styles that you do not want to see. This does not delete
those styles; it merely hides them from view.
e. In the Properties section, locate the specific property that you want to change.
The property name is shown in the left column. The right column is used for selecting and
entering values for the property.
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f. Click in the value column on the right side. Depending on the type of property, you can either
type the value, select it from a drop-down list, or complete the values in a dialog or popup box.
As you make changes to a property's values, you can see how the changes look in the Pre-
view section at the bottom of the editor.
20
CHAPTER 6 Determining the Output Type
The first task in developing output for your project is to determine which type of output is most appro-
priate for your needs. You might even need to produce multiple outputs and require more than one
output type.
There is a fine line between what is called "online output" and what is called "print-based" output. The
truth is that topics in virtually any of Flare's online output types can be sent to a printer, and therefore
considered print-based. Similarly, any of the print-based output types can be viewed electronically,
and therefore considered online. The real distinction between online and print-based outputs has to
do with their primary purpose. Online outputs are usually intended to be viewed on a screen, rather
than on a printed page. The idea is to show only small pieces of content at a time and allow users to
jump around to other topics or elements of the output. On the other hand, print-based output follows
a more traditional format that you would find in an actual book or manual—with the pieces of the out-
put following one after the other on pages until the end of the book (e.g., title page, table of contents,
preface, chapters, index, appendixes—with page numbers, as well as header or footer content,
shown along the way). Then there is EPUB output, which is intended to be viewed on a screen, but fol-
lows a structure closer to print-based outputs.
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http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareDNHGuide.pdf
Microsoft HTML Help This is an HTML-based Help format that runs on Windows 32-bit platforms
and requires Internet Explorer on the end users' systems. Use Microsoft HTML Help to create Help for
Windows desktop applications.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareHTMLHelpGuide.pdf
WebHelp outputs There are multiple types of WebHelp output available in Flare.
WebHelp This is a Web-based Help format that can run on almost any browser or platform.
Use WebHelp to create Help for the Internet or an intranet, as well as for desktop appli-
cations.
WebHelp 2.0 (HTML5) This is an online format that is the next generation of WebHelp. It is
similar to the regular WebHelp format; however, whereas the WebHelp format works with
HTML4, WebHelp 2.0 supports the new HTML5 specification developed by the Web Hyper-
text Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG—http://whatwg.org) and the
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C—http://w3.org). Therefore, the HTML5 format results
in better markup and offers additional features not found in the other WebHelp outputs.
HTML5 also lets you use advanced server-based features (e.g., searching of non-XHTML
files, faster search, automatic runtime merging) that are also available with WebHelp Plus.
WebHelp AIR This is a Web-based Help format that is identical to the regular WebHelp out-
put in most ways. However, WebHelp AIR uses direct integration with Adobe AIR, which is
designed to bring Web-related content to a desktop environment by taking Web files and
incorporating them into a single file to be opened locally, rather than from a server.
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CHAPTER 6 Determining the Output Type
WebHelp Mobile This is an output type that lets you deploy Web-based, XHTML output to
mobile devices. WebHelp Mobile maintains an easy and intuitive interface that fits on a very
small screen. The Home page in WebHelp Mobile output contains navigation links to access
the various panes that you can include: TOC, Index, Glossary, Search, Favorites, Browse
Sequences.
WebHelp Plus This is a Web-based Help format that is identical to the regular WebHelp out-
put in most ways. However, WebHelp Plus is designed to work on a Web server running Win-
dows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or Windows Vista. It
also uses Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and ASP.NET. To provide faster
search, WebHelp Plus uses Microsoft Indexing Service (for Windows XP and Windows
Server 2003) or Windows Search (for Windows Server 2008). The benefit of publishing Web-
Help Plus output is that you and your users can take advantage of some advanced features,
including searching of non-XHTML content, faster server-side search, and automatic runtime
merging.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareWebHelpOutputGuide.pdf
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Adobe PDF Short for "Portable Document Format," PDF is an open file format created by Adobe.
PDF files represent two-dimensional documents in a device-independent and resolution-independent
fixed-layout document format.
Microsoft Word The output is exported to Microsoft Word in one of the following file formats.
XML This is the default document format created (if you do not select one of the other for-
mats in this list).
DOC You can export Word to the standard DOC format.
DOCX This is Microsoft Word's platform-independent, open XML format.
XPS In addition to sending output directly to XPS (as described above), you can generate an
XPS file automatically when building Word output. You can do this by installing a free add-in
download from Microsoft.
PDF In addition to sending output directly to PDF, you can generate a PDF file automatically
when building Word output. Because Flare supports Microsoft Vista and Word 2007, you can
send Word output to PDF format, even if you do not have the Adobe Distiller installed.
Microsoft XPS Microsoft's XML Paper Specification (XPS) is a document format with a markup lan-
guage that is a subset of XAML for Windows Presentation Foundation. XPS is an alternative to
Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF).
XHTML XHTML is a browser-based output type that consolidates project content in an XML file. It
can be viewed online or printed.
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlarePrintedOutputGuide.pdf
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CHAPTER 6 Determining the Output Type
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26
CHAPTER 7 Targets
It is easy to confuse output types with targets, but they are two different concepts. A target is one
instance of an output type. When you build your final output, you are essentially building one or more
of the targets in your project.
In Flare you can add targets using any of the available formats, and you can make as many copies of
an existing target that you want. For example, your project might end up containing three targets that
are all based on the WebHelp output type (in addition to other targets).
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareTargetsGuide.pdf
Ribbon Select the Project ribbon. In the Content section select New>Target.
You can use the Options dialog to switch between ribbons and the classic menu/tool-
bar layout. For more information see the online Help.
Keep in mind that the smaller the application window becomes, the more the
options in a ribbon shrink. Therefore, you might only see a small icon instead of text,
or you might see only a section name displayed with a down arrow to access the
options in it. You can hover over small icons to see tooltips that describe them. You
can also enlarge the application window or click one of the section drop-downs in
the ribbon to locate a hidden feature.
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Right-click In the Project Organizer, right-click on the Targets folder and from the context
menu select Add Target.
2. In the File Type field at the top, make sure Target is selected.
3. In the Source area select a file as a starting point for the target. When you first get started, you will
probably want to use a factory template.
4. (Optional) If you want to place the file into a subfolder that you previously created in the Project Organ-
izer, in the Folder field click and select the subfolder. Otherwise, keep the default location.
5. In the File Name field, type a new name for the target.
6. From the Output Type field, select one of the available output formats. You can always change the
output type later in the Target Editor.
7. Click Add.
8. Click OK. The target is added to the Targets folder in the Project Organizer. The Target Editor opens
to the right.
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CHAPTER 7 Targets
Ribbon Select the Project ribbon. In the Build section select Build Primary>Build [name
of target].
You can use the Options dialog to switch between ribbons and the classic menu/toolbar lay-
out. For more information see the online Help.
Keep in mind that the smaller the application window becomes, the more the options in a rib-
bon shrink. Therefore, you might only see a small icon instead of text, or you might see only a
section name displayed with a down arrow to access the options in it. You can hover over
small icons to see tooltips that describe them. You can also enlarge the application window or
click one of the section drop-downs in the ribbon to locate a hidden feature.
Project toolbar Click the down arrow next to and from the menu select the
name of the target.
To open the Project toolbar from the menu view, select View>Toolbars>Project.
2. After the output files finish generating, a message asks if you want to view the output. Click either Yes
or No. If you select Yes, the generated output opens.
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30
APPENDIX A PDF Guides
Accessibility Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareAccessibilityGuide.pdf
Analyzer Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareAnalyzerGuide.pdf
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Auto-numbers Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareAutoNumbersGuide.pdf
Images Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareImagesGuide.pdf
Import Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareImportGuide.pdf
32
APPENDIX A PDF Guides
Indexing Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareIndexingGuide.pdf
Movies Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareMoviesGuide.pdf
QR Codes Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareQRCodesGuide.pdf
Reports Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareReportsGuide.pdf
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Search Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareSearchGuide.pdf
SharePoint Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareSharePointGuide.pdf
Shortcuts Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareShortcuts.pdf
Skins Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareSkinsGuide.pdf
Snippets Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareSnippetsGuide.pdf
Styles Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareStylesGuide.pdf
34
APPENDIX A PDF Guides
Tables Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareTablesGuide.pdf
Targets Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareTargetsGuide.pdf
Templates Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareTemplatesGuide.pdf
Topics Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareTopicsGuide.pdf
Variables Guide
http://docs.madcapsoftware.com/FlareV8/FlareVariablesGuide.pdf
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36
APPENDIX B Output Type Comparison Table
GENERAL
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
.NET inte- . . . . . . . . . . . .
gration
Main entry file .fm or .book .pdf .mchelp .epub .chm .xml (default) .xps .htm .htm .air .htm .htm .htm
extension
Output window Adobe Frame- Browser win- MadCap Ebook reader Microsoft Microsoft Browser win- Browser win- Browser win- Application Mobile Web Browser win- Browser win-
or application Maker dow or Adobe Help Viewer or Web HTML Help Word dow dow dow window browser dow dow
PDF Reader Viewer
Single output . . . . . . .
file possible
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Accessibility . . . . . .
supported
Compiler warn- . . . . . . .
ings
37
MADCAP FLARE
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
CSH supported . . . . . . .
Embedded CSH . . . . . . . . . . . .
supported
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Feedback sup- . . . . . . . .
ported
Search results . . . . . . . . .
GENERATED CONTENT
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Auto-numbers . . . . . . .
Breadcrumbs . . . . . .
Browse . . . . . .
sequences
Concept links . . . . . .
Keyword links . . . . . .
List of con-
cepts
List of ele-
ments
38
APPENDIX B Output Type Comparison Table
List of end- . . . . . . .
notes
Page numbers . . . . . . . .
Related topics . . . . . .
links
Relationship
links
Scripts . . . . . .
Shortcut con- . . . . . . . . . . . .
trols
Topic toolbars . . . . . .
GLOSSARIES
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Glossaries— . . . . . . .
created via glos-
sary file and
proxy
Glossaries— . . . . . .
created via glos-
sary file and
skin setting
HORIZONTAL RULES
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Horizontal rules . .
supported
39
MADCAP FLARE
IMAGES
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Images sup-
ported
Image hyper- . . . . .
links
Image maps . . . . . .
Pre-compile . . .
resized
Thumbnail . . . . . .
images
Web-safe—con- . . . . . .
vert from non—
web-safe
INDEXES
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Indexes— . . . . . . .
created via key-
words and
proxy
Indexes— . . . . . .
created via key-
words and skin
setting
Binary indexes . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bookmarks in . . . . . . . . . . . .
index entries
40
APPENDIX B Output Type Comparison Table
Index links
Search—can . . . . . . .
exclude index
entries from
search
LANGUAGE SUPPORT
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Content—dis-
play in any left
to right lan-
guage
Output inter- . . . . . . . .
face—display
in any left to
right language
(language
skins)
Output inter- . . . . . . . . . . . .
face—display
English, Possible with
French, Jap- Help Viewer
anese, or Ger- (end user
man selects lan-
guage)
Language .
skins
Separate UI . . . . . . . . . . . .
Text tab in Skin
Editor for local-
ization
41
MADCAP FLARE
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Master pages . . . .
Page layouts . . . . . . . .
MERGING OUTPUT
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Merge output . . . . . .
supported
Merge output . . . . . . . . . . .
at runtime
MISC FEATURES
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Equations
Footnotes
Object posi- . . . . . . . . . .
tioning
QR codes
Preview topics . .
in output type
Redacted text . . . . . . . . . .
42
APPENDIX B Output Type Comparison Table
Snippets
Tables
Text boxes . . .
MULTIMEDIA
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Audio . . . . .
Depends on If mobile
reader browser sup-
ports it
Movies . . . . .
Depends on If mobile
reader browser sup-
ports it
NAVIGATION LINKS
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Cross-ref-
erences sup-
ported
Cross-ref- . . . . . . .
erences—con-
text-sensitive
Drop-down text . . . . . .
Expanding text . . . . . .
Text hyperlinks
43
MADCAP FLARE
Text popups . . . . . .
Togglers . . . . . .
Topic popups . . . . . .
SEARCH
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Search— . . . . . . .
created via skin
general setting
Search— . . . . . . . . . . . .
created via skin
styles setting
Include/exclude . . . . . . .
topics in
search Only sup-
ported in
newer mobile
browsers
Index entries— . . . . . . .
can exclude
from search
Search filter . . . . . . . .
sets
Search non- . . . . . . . . . . .
XHTML files
Sitemap gen- . . . . . . . . .
eration for
search engine
optimization
44
APPENDIX B Output Type Comparison Table
Stop words . . . . . . .
Synonyms . . . . . . .
Only sup-
ported in
newer mobile
browsers
Wildcard . . . . . . . . . . . .
searches sup-
ported
SKIN SETTINGS
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
About box . . . . . . . .
Accordion . . . . . . . . . .
titles—exclude
Browser set- . . . . . . . . . .
tings
Elements (e.g., . . . . . . . .
tabs, accor-
dions)—specify
default element
45
MADCAP FLARE
Elements (e.g., . . . . . .
tabs, accor-
dions)—specify
which to
include
Feedback com- . . . . . . . .
ments, email
notifications,
user profile
Generate all . . . . . . . .
Language .
skins
Navigation . . . . . . . . .
links in stand-
alone topics
Navigation . . . . . . . .
pane settings
Separate UI . . . . . . . . . . . .
Text tab in Skin
Editor for local-
ization
Styles . . . . . .
46
APPENDIX B Output Type Comparison Table
Web toolbar— . . . . . . . . . . . .
add via skin
Web toolbar— . . . . . . . .
custom set-
tings
Window— . . . . . . .
size/position
Window—user- . . . . . . . . . . . .
defined size/po-
sition
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
TOCs—created . . . . . . .
via headings
and proxy Some ebook
readers have
built-in TOC
TOCs—created . . . . . .
via TOC file and
skin setting
Binary TOCs . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mini-TOCs
47
MADCAP FLARE
Synchronize . . . . . . .
with topics
TARGET SETTINGS
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Characters and . . . . . .
spaces—
replace with
underscores
Content . . . . . . . .
folder—omit
from output
File exten- . . . . . . .
sions—custom
Mark of the . . . . . . . . . .
Web
Startup topic . . . . . . .
Stylesheet
medium
VARIABLES
Adobe Adobe PDF DotNet Help EPUB Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp WebHelp XHTML
FrameMaker HTML Help Word XPS 2.0 (HTML5) AIR Mobile Plus
Variables—cus-
tom
48
APPENDIX B Output Type Comparison Table
Variables— .
heading
Variables—Run- . . . . . . . . . . .
ning HF
Variables—sys- .
tem
Note: If an item does not have a checkmark, that does not necessarily mean the feature is unavailable in the output. Rather, it means that the feature cannot be added in Flare. For example, search cannot be added
in Flare for EPUB output, but some ebook readers may have search built in.
49