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Creating a Table of Contents

In many cases, Flare provides you with an initial TOC, which you further "build" (or create) using the TOC Editor.

The following steps show you how to manually create a TOC by adding books and links to topics, movies, external files, other TOCs, browse sequences, or other Help systems in any kind of structure you want. You will quickly find that creating a TOC is quite an easy process. You can also generate parts of a TOC automatically, based on the folder structure in the Content Explorer or based on heading levels in your topics (<h1> through <h6>). For more information, see Auto-Generating a Table of Contents.

How to create a table of contents

1. Open your TOC. The easiest way to do this is to click the Open Master TOC button in the Project toolbar. If you do not see this toolbar, select View>Toolbars>Project.

   If you need to add a new TOC file, you can select Project>Add Table of Contents and complete the options in the dialog. After they are added, TOC files are stored in the TOCs folder in the Project Organizer. When creating a new project, Flare provides you with an initial TOC; therefore, you may not need to add one.

2. Make sure the Content Explorer is open. By default, the Content Explorer is located on the left side of the interface in an accordion structure with the Project Organizer, unless you have previously moved it and saved the new layout. You may have to click the Content Explorer bar to bring it into view.

3. (Optional) If you want to select and add multiple topics to the TOC at the same time (as opposed to one topic at a time), complete these steps:

   1. In the local toolbar of the Content Explorer, click the Show Files button .

      The Content Explorer splits into two halves.

   2. On the right half of the Content Explorer, find and select the folder and topic files that you want to include in the TOC. You can hold down the SHIFT key and select a range of files, or you can hold the CTRL key and select individual files.

      Note: Make sure you do not select the "Resources" folder in the Content Explorer, which holds your ancillary content files (e.g., images, style sheets). If you do, that folder and its contents will also be included in the TOC.

4. Drag topic files (and folders, if applicable) from the Content Explorer to the TOC Editor.

   Also, you can use the buttons in the TOC Editor local toolbar to add elements (e.g., books, topic pages) to the TOC and to determine how they behave (e.g., link them to topics, external files, other TOCs). Click here to see these buttons and a description of each. Steps for some of the more common tasks are given below:

   Button/Section	Description
   	Hides or shows special information pertaining to the editor or window pane.
   	This button toggles between "Tree View" and "Grid View" when you click it. Tree View is the traditional format of the TOC, displaying books and items in a hierarchy. Grid View displays all of the books and items in a column format, which is useful for selecting a range of entries and setting the same property information for all of those items. If you click the down arrow in the button, the following additional options are available: Show Conditional Indicators (enabled in Tree View only) If you have created and applied condition tags, clicking this button toggles between showing and hiding them in the TOC Editor. Info Bar Hides or shows special information pertaining to the editor or window pane. Columns (enabled in Grid View only) Opens the Columns dialog, which lets you configure the way the column information is shown. See Customizing Column Information.
   	Expands all of the TOC books so that you can see the items under each book (enabled in Tree View only).
   	Collapses all of the TOC books so that you can no longer see the items under each book (enabled in Tree View only). You can only see the books.
   	Click this button to create a new topic and simultaneously link it to a new item in the TOC. When you click this button, it opens the Add New Topic dialog, which you use to create the new topic, associate it with a topic template, and give it any name you want. When you are finished with this dialog, the new topic is created and it opens in the XML Editor. You can click the tab containing your TOC to return to the TOC Editor. You will notice that the item is created at the selected location in the TOC. For example, if you have a TOC book selected and then click this button, the new item will be added under the book.
   	Click this button to add a new item to the TOC. You can link the item to a topic, a TOC, a browse sequence, another Flare project, an external Help system, or a MadCap Mimic movie. The item is created at the selected location in the TOC. For example, if you have a book selected and then click this button, the new item will be added under the book. (As an alternative, you can click existing topics in the Content Explorer and drag them to the TOC Editor. Doing this creates a new TOC item with the same name and automatically links it to the topic.)
   	Click this button to add a new book to the TOC. A TOC book simply acts as a folder in your TOC to help organize it. You can then click an item (such as a topic) and drag it under the book.
   	Click this button to add a new book at the top level (i.e., extreme left) of the TOC.
   	Click this button to open the Properties dialog for whatever item is selected in the TOC. You can then specify where the item is linked, whether it should have condition tags, and other behavioral settings.
   	Click this button to move the selected item to the left in the TOC structure.
   	Click this button to move the selected item to the right in the TOC structure.
   	Click this button to move the selected item upward in the TOC structure.
   	Click this button to move the selected item downward in the TOC structure.
   	Click this button to open the selected item. For example, if you select an item that is linked to a topic and then click this button, that topic opens in the XML Editor. You can also open an item by holding your CTRL key and double-clicking the item.
   	Click this button to show or hide reports of unlinked entries.
   	Click either of these buttons to open a small window that displays how many broken or unlinked items are in the editor. Below, in the editor, a triangle icon is displayed next to broken links, and another icon that looks like a small exclamation mark is displayed next to unlinked items.
   	Click this button if you want to toggle the behavior of double-clicking an item in the TOC. The default behavior (without the toggle button selected) is that double-clicking an item will open the properties dialog, and holding down the CTRL key while double-clicking will open the file linked to the item. If you activate the toggle button, this behavior is reversed; double-clicking an item opens the file linked to it, and holding the CTRL key while double-clicking will open the properties dialog.
   	Displays the color of condition tags that are associated with the TOC entry (if any). Condition tags are used to determine specific content or files to be included in some targets but not in others. For more information, see Creating Condition Tags.

   To create a new topic and simultaneously link it to a new entry.

   1. Open your TOC.

   2. Select the location in the TOC where you want to add the new topic.

      example

      If you select a topic entry that already exists in the TOC, your new topic will be placed directly after that existing topic.

   3. In the local toolbar of the TOC Editor, click .

      The Add New Topic dialog opens.

   4. Complete the options in the Add New Topic dialog.

      1. In the Template Folders area, select one of the folders. The Templates section to the right displays the topic templates contained in the folder you selected. Click here to find out what templates are all about.
      2. In the Templates area, select one of the template files associated with the folder. The Source File field now contains the path to the template file. This file will be copied to your project.
      3. If you want to place the topic in a subfolder that you previously created in the Content Explorer, click the drop-down arrow in the Folder field and select the subfolder. Otherwise, leave the selection as "(root folder)." For more information about creating subfolders to organize your topics, click here.
      4. In the File name field, type a new name for the topic.
      5. (Optional) 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.
      6. (Optional) If you want the heading for the topic to use the default <h1> style, leave the Style field blank. Otherwise, select a style to apply to the heading in the topic.
      7. (Optional) In the Stylesheet field, select a style sheet to associate with the new topic. If you do not have a style sheet in your project, this field remains blank.

   5. Click Add.

      The Copy to Project dialog opens, displaying information about the template file that will be copied to the project.

   6. Click OK.

      The topic is added to the Content Explorer and opens in its own page in the XML Editor, and it is linked to a new entry (with the same name) in the TOC.

   7. Now simply click inside the topic page and start typing text or adding any other elements (e.g., tables, images, hyperlinks, multimedia) appropriate for the topic.

      It is also likely that you will want to apply formatting styles to the topic at this point (Making It Look Good).

      Also, you may want to adjust the placement of the TOC entry in the TOC Editor.

      Click the tab for the TOC to return to the TOC Editor. If you want to adjust the position of the topic entry in the TOC, select it and then use the arrow buttons in the local toolbar (, , , ). You can also drag and drop the topic entry to the location you want in the TOC.

   To create a new entry.

   1. Select the location in the TOC where you want to add the new entry. For example, if you select an entry that already exists in the TOC, your new topic will be placed directly after that existing entry.
   2. In the local toolbar of the TOC Editor, click . An entry called "New entry" is added to the TOC.
   3. Click once on the selected new entry and press F2 on your keyboard. The text for the entry is now highlighted.

   4. Type a new name for the entry (just as you want it to appear in the TOC output) and press Enter. The new entry is now ready to be linked to a topic, an external file, another TOC, a browse sequence, or another Help system .

      Note: Use the arrow buttons to move the entry to the left, right, up, or down as needed.

   To create a new book.

   1. Select the location in the TOC where you want to add the new book.
   2. In the local toolbar of the TOC Editor, click or (if you want the book to be placed at the far left side). An entry called "New book" is added to the TOC. Also, a new entry is added under the book because a book must contain at least one entry in order to be seen in the output.
   3. Click once on the selected new book entry and press F2 on your keyboard. The text for the entry is now highlighted.
   4. Type a new name for the book (just as you want it to appear in the TOC output) and press Enter. You can leave the book as it is, or you can link it to a topic, an external file, another TOC, a browse sequence, or another Help system. You can also rename the entry contained under the book and link it to something.

   To link an entry or book to an existing topic.

   1. Select the TOC entry or book.
   2. In the local toolbar of the TOC Editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
   3. Click Select Topic. The Open File dialog opens, displaying all the topics in your project.
   4. Select the topic to which you want to link the entry and click Open.
   5. In the Properties dialog, click OK. The entry is now linked to the topic.

   To link an entry or book to an external file.

   1. Select the TOC entry or book.
   2. In the local toolbar of the TOC Editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
   3. In the Link field, type the path to the external file (e.g., http://www.acme.com).
   4. Click OK. The entry is now linked to the external file.

   To link a TOC entry or book to another TOC.

   1. Select the TOC entry or book.
   2. In the local toolbar of the TOC Editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
   3. Click Select TOC. The Open File dialog opens, displaying all the TOCs in your project.
   4. Select the TOC to which you want to link the entry and click Open.
   5. In the Properties dialog, click OK. The icon in the TOC Editor changes to , indicating that the entry is linked to a TOC.

   To link a TOC entry or book to a browse sequence.

   1. Select the TOC entry or book.
   2. In the local toolbar of the TOC Editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
   3. Click Select Browse Sequence. The Open File dialog pens, displaying all the browse sequences in your project.
   4. Select the browse sequence to which you want to link the entry and click Open.
   5. In the Properties dialog, click OK. The icon in the TOC Editor changes to , indicating that the entry is linked to a browse sequence.

   To link a TOC entry or book to another Flare project and target.

   1. Select the TOC entry or book.
   2. In the local toolbar of the TOC Editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
   3. Click Select Flare Project and Target. The Link to Flare Project and Target dialog opens.
   4. Do one of the following:
      • Click Browse for Project. Then click Project File and find/select a Flare project to which you want to link.
        
        OR
      • Click Select Recent Project. Then select a recently opened Flare project from the list on the right.
   5. From the Select Target field, choose a specific target in the Flare project.
   6. Click OK.
   7. In the Properties dialog, click OK.
      
      For more information, see Merging Projects.

   To link a TOC entry or book to an external Help system (CHM file, Flare DotNet Help output file, or Flare WebHelp output file).

   1. Select the TOC entry or book.
   2. In the local toolbar of the TOC Editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
   3. Click Enter External Help System. The Link to Help System dialog opens.
   4. Do one of the following:
      • Enter the name of the Help system output file to which you want to link.
        
        OR
      • Click Browse. Then find and select the Help system output file to which you want to link.

   Note: If you enter a full, valid path to a Help system output file, that file is copied to your Flare project output folder when this project is compiled. If you just enter a name of the Help system output file, you will need to publish that output to the same folder as the output for the current project.

   Note: For merging CHM files—If the name of the TOC inside the linked CHM file is not "_temp.hhc," you need to add the name of the HHC file to the link, using the URL bookmark syntax (e.g., MyHelp.chm#MyToc.hhc). All of the CHM files should be in the same folder. For example, if the master project is published to C:\TestFolder\MyHelp.chm, all subsystems should be published to the folder C:\TestFolder (e.g., C:\TestFolder\AnotherHelpSystem.chm).

   Note: For merging Flare DotNet Help and WebHelp output files—You should publish the subsystems into the "Subsystems" folder in the output folder for the master project. For example, if the master project is published to C:\TestFolder\Master\Master.mchelp, subsystems should be published into the folder C:\TestFolder\Master\Subsystems (e.g., C:\TestFolder\Master\Subsystems\AnotherHelpSystem\AnotherHelpSystem.mchelp).

   5. Click OK.
   6. In the Properties dialog, click OK.
      
      For more information, see Merging Projects.

   To link a TOC entry or book to a Mimic movie.

   1. Select the TOC entry or book.
   2. In the local toolbar of the TOC Editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
   3. Click Mimic Project or Movie. The MadCap Mimic Movie Link dialog opens.
   4. Use the options in the dialog to find and select an individual movie or a movie project to which you want to link the entry. Click OK.
   5. In the Properties dialog, click OK. The entry is now linked to the movie or project.
5. Press CTRL+S or click to save your work.

Note: You can also rename a TOC entry and replace it with a variable from a variable set. To do this, click on the entry and highlight the text. Then replace it with this syntax: mcvariable:VariableSet.VariableName. For example, if your variable set is called "MyVariables" and you want to use a variable called "CompanyName," you would enter this as the name of the TOC entry: mcvariable:MyVariables.CompanyName.

Note: You can add even more TOCs to your project, building them in conjunction with the "master" TOC. This might be a good option if you have an especially large project or if you are working with other authors on the same project. For more tips on building a TOC, see About Tables of Contents.

WHAT'S NEXT?

After you create a TOC, you can edit various properties for the individual entries within it. See Editing TOC Entries.

You also need to enable TOCs in the skin you want to use for the target. See Enabling Tables of Contents in Skins.

See Also

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