Using HTML Help Systems

Help information for software is often presented in HTML format. You can read and navigate these Help systems just like Web sites on the Internet. A type of help system called HTML Help is used in many different kinds of programs, including JAWS for Windows. In addition to presenting information as HTML pages, an HTML Help system can also have an index, full text search capability, glossary, table of contents, and other features. In this section, you will learn how to use the comprehensive search and navigation features of HTML Help systems.

Table of Contents

The table of contents is one of the best ways to browse the various subject matter contained in the Help system. A table of contents contains one or more books. Books contain several related topics. In the following exercise, you will use the JAWS Help system to learn how to navigate the table of contents:

  1. In the JAWS window, open the Help menu and choose Help Topics.
  2. Hold CTRL and press the TAB key until you hear "Table of Contents page." Notice that there are four tabs in this pane: Table of Contents, Index, Search, and Glossary.
  3. Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to explore the table of contents. As you move through the table of contents, you are moving through books in a tree view. Each book is currently closed, so you cannot see what topics it contains.
  4. Select the book Using the Internet with JAWS and then press RIGHT ARROW to open it.
  5. Use the DOWN ARROW key to explore the topics contained in this book. Notice that in addition to several topics, this book contains two other books. When you press down arrow the first time you hear JAWS say, "Level one." If you continue to press DOWN ARROW you will eventually hear JAWS say "Level zero, keystrokes book closed." Level zero is the top level. As you open and close books and topics, JAWS will announce when you change levels. There are five level 1 topics beneath the book Using the Internet With JAWS.
  6. Select the book Navigating Web Pages and press RIGHT ARROW to open it.
  7. Press DOWN ARROW to move to the next level. JAWS will tell you that you have moved to level two. You can think of these different levels as having a type of outline structure. Continue pressing DOWN ARROW until you select the topic Navigation Quick Keys. Press ENTER to open this topic. The information it contains is displayed in the topic pane on the right side of the window.
  8. Press F6 to switch to the topic pane. JAWS automatically begins reading the text in the topic pane. You can use the standard JAWS reading and navigation commands to read this topic. You can use any command or feature that you can use in Internet Explorer, such as pressing INSERT+F7 to view a list of links or pressing H to move from one heading to another.
  9. When you are finished reading you can press F6 again to move back to the tree view of books and topics. F6 is a command that switches between the two panes of the window.

Index

The index of an HTML Help system lets you search by keyword. Indexes are useful for finding specific information about certain subjects. In the following exercise, you will use the JAWS Help system to learn how to find information in an index:

  1. In JAWS, open the Help menu and choose Help Topics.
  2. Hold CTRL and press the TAB key until you move to the Index tab.
  3. Let's assume you want to look up information about how to work with an HTML graphic. Type the word "Graphic."
  4. The Help system has selected the closest matching keyword, which is "Graphic Label." This isn't the keyword you are looking for. Press the DOWN ARROW key to select Graphics, which is the next closest match in the alphabetical list of keywords.
  5. Press ENTER. There is more than one Help topic associated with this keyword. Press DOWN ARROW to select HTML Images, and then press ENTER.
  6. Press F6 to move to the topic pane and read the information on HTML images.
  7. Press F6 to move back to the keyword entry box. Delete the word "Graphic" and type "Help" to move to that word in the list.
  8. Press DOWN ARROW to select the next keyword, which is "F1." Since alphabetically "F" comes before "H," it appears that the list is no longer in alphabetical order. However, "F1" is actually a subkeyword of the term "Help." In fact, all of the keywords between "Help" and "Help Menu Overview" are subkeywords of "Help." Subkeywords are used to provide more specific information about a broad or generic topic. For example, an index could have the term "Dogs" followed by the subkeywords "German Shepherd," "Golden Retriever," "Black Labrador," and so on.
  9. Continue pressing DOWN ARROW until you select Using Help. Press ENTER and then press F6 to move to the topic pane so you can read the information.

Searching the Help System

You can use a full-text search to find information on keywords that don't appear in the index or to find all topics where a certain word or phrase is used. A full text search is not as precise as using an index. In the following exercise, you will use the JAWS Help system to learn how to work with the full text search feature:

  1. In JAWS, open the Help menu and choose Help Topics.
  2. Hold CTRL and press the TAB key until you move to the Search tab.

Note: If you are continuing from the exercise above you may need to press F6 to move back to the left side of the window first.

  1. Type the phrase, "HTML Tables," and then press ENTER.
  2. Press ALT+T to move to the list of topics that contain the words you searched for. Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to explore this list. Notice that far too many topics were retrieved by the search. This is because the HTML Help system was looking for any topics that contained either the words "HTML," or "Tables."
  3. Press ALT+W to move back to the keyword entry box. Type quotation marks around the phrase "HTML Tables" and press ENTER to retry the search.
  4. Press ALT+T to view your results. Notice that only a few topics were found this time. Select the topic HTML Tables and press ENTER. Then, press F6 to move to the topic pane so you can read the information.
  5. To find out exactly where the phrase, "HTML Tables" appears in this topic, press CTRL+F. Type "HTML Tables" and then choose Find. You will move to a line of text that contains the current search phrase. You can verify this by reading the current line with INSERT+UP ARROW. Press F3 to move to each instance of this phrase and repeat the Say Line command to hear the new text that is found. For more information on the JAWS Find feature, see Using the JAWS Find Command.

Glossary

The glossary contains a list of terms and their definitions. Help systems often use glossaries to explain terminology used in the program or to provide supplementary background information. In the following exercise, you will use the JAWS Help system to learn how to use a glossary:

  1. In JAWS, open the Help menu and choose Help Topics.
  2. Hold CTRL and press the TAB key until you move to the Glossary tab.

Note: If you are continuing from the exercise above you may need to press F6 to move back to the left side of the window first.

  1. Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to explore the list of glossary terms. Notice how the terms are arranged in alphabetical order.
  2. Press H to move to the section of the list containing terms that begin with the letter "H."
  3. Press DOWN ARROW until you select HTML.
  4. Press ALT+D to move to the definition pane. Use the standard JAWS reading commands to read the definition for "HTML."
  5. Press ALT+T to move back to the list of glossary terms. Continue browsing through the glossary and read the definition for any term that interests you.

Printing HTML Help Topics

To print any topic in an HTML Help system, do the following:

  1. Select the topic that you want to print in the table of contents, or find the topic using the index or search feature. If you use the index or search feature, be sure to press F6 to move to the topic pane before continuing.
  2. Press the APPLICATION Key (the third key to the right of the spacebar on most keyboards) and then choose Print.
  3. Select the printer you want to use and then press ALT+P to print.

Moving Back to the Previous Topic

While browsing through an HTML Help system, you can do the following to return to the previous topic:

  1. Press ALT+O to open the Options menu.
  2. Press B to choose Back.

Tip: In JAWS Help, you can press ALT+B to move to the "Back" link at the bottom of each page. Press ENTER to activate this link and return to the previous page.

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