1. Chapter 1 Understanding JavaHelp

   1. What Is JavaHelp?

   2. Using JavaHelp for Online Documentation

   3. Understanding the Files in a HelpSet

   4. Following the JavaHelp Process

   5. Installing JavaHelp on Your Computer

   6. Seeing JavaHelp in Action

   7. Deciding How to Present a HelpSet

   8. Deciding How to Install a HelpSet

   9. Encapsulating HelpSet Files

   10. Finding More Information on JavaHelp

2. Chapter 2 Creating Your First HelpSet

   1. Creating the HelpSet's Directory Structure

   2. Creating HelpSet Data and Navigation Files

   3. Creating Help Topic Files

   4. Checking Your Work

   5. Testing the Finished HelpSet

3. Chapter 3 Planning the JavaHelp Project

   1. General Planning Tasks

   2. Planning Tasks Specific to JavaHelp

4. Chapter 4 Preparing Help Topics

   1. Planning Your Help Topics

   2. Creating Help Topics and Applying Appropriate HTML Tags

   3. Writing Effective and Meaningful Help Topics

   4. Using Preexisting HTML Topic Files

5. Chapter 5 Creating HelpSet Data and Navigation Files

   1. Understanding XML

   2. Creating the HelpSet File

   3. Assigning Map IDs to Help Topics

   4. Specifying the Navigation Components

6. Chapter 6 Enhancing the HelpSet

   1. Creating Pop-up and Secondary Windows

   2. Customizing the Navigation Facility

   3. Merging HelpSets

7. Chapter 7 Using the JavaHelp API for Advanced Presentation Options

   1. The TypeFacer Application

   2. Invoking Help with a Button, Menu Item, or Key

   3. Using Screen-Level Context-Sensitive Help

   4. Using Field-Level Context-Sensitive Help

   5. Embedding Help into the Application

8. Chapter 8 Deploying the Help System to Your Users

   1. Encapsulating the HelpSet

   2. Delivering All the Required Files

   3. Ensuring Basic Java Support

9. Chapter 9 Using Third-Party Help-Authoring Tools

   1. How JavaHelp Relates to Third-Party Tools

   2. How Third-Party Tools Work

10. Chapter 10 Glossary

1. Colophon

Mary Anne Weeks Mayo was the production editor and copyeditor for Creating Effective JavaHelp. Nicole Arigo and Jane Ellin performed quality control reviews. Emily Quill proofread the book. Anna Snow provided production support. Ellen Troutman-Zaig wrote the index.

Hanna Dyer designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The image of the flashlight was photographed by Kevin Thomas and manipulated in Adobe Photoshop by Michael Snow. The cover layout was produced by Emma Colby using QuarkXPress 4.1, the Bodoni Black font from URW Software, and BT Bodoni Bold Italic from Bitstream. The inside layout was designed by Alicia Cech and David Futato.

Text was produced in FrameMaker 5.5.6 using a template implemented by Mike Sierra. The heading font is Bodoni BT; the text font is New Baskerville. The illustrations that appear in the book were created in Macromedia Freehand 8 and Adobe Photoshop 5 by Robert Romano and Rhon Porter.

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects.