In an outline, module and section documents supply the headings for organizing the content, and topics supply the recorded steps and sounds (if applicable) for completing each task.
You can supplement your content with additional conceptual and explanatory information by linking to attachments from the documents in the outlines. Attachments can include files developed in external applications, custom web pages with descriptive text and graphics, and Internet and intranet web sites.
Types of Attachments
There are three types of attachments to which you can link documents in an outline. They include:
Packages are containers in your Library that hold one or more files. Any type of file can be stored in a package, including word processing documents, graphics, computer animations, and so on. You can link from any document in your outlines to any individual file in a package. The package file appears in the Concept pane or is launched in its native application when a user selects the link in the Player.
Note: The precise appearance and behavior of package files depends on the setup and Windows Explorer settings of the computer on which they are viewed.
Web pages are documents that you create in the Developer for displaying additional text and graphics in the Player or document output. You can create a simple web page to define a term or a more complex one that includes graphics and links to other web pages, package files, sound and external URLs.
You can also link from your content to an Internet or intranet web site through its URL address. The web site appears in the Concept pane of the Player or is launched in a new browser window when a user clicks the link, provided that the user is online and has access to the target site.
Link Attachments
You can link from your content to an attachment at the following three levels:
An attachment linked as the concept of a module, section, or topic appears in the Concept pane when the user selects the document to which it is linked from the table of contents in the Player.
Note: Some types of package files might launch in their native applications rather than appearing in the Concept pane.
When a frame of a topic is linked to an attachment, an icon representing the attachment appears in the bubble in Try It! mode or in the window in Do It! mode for that frame. The user can point to the icon to read a tooltip describing the attachment and click the icon to open the attachment. Bubble text linked to an attachment appears in the frame as a hyperlink. Users can click the hyperlinked text in the Try It! bubble or Do It! window to view the attachment. An attachment linked at the frame or bubble text level always opens in a new window.
Note: Attachments linked to frames or bubble text are not available in See It! or Know It? play mode.
Attachments can also be included in some document outputs, namely, the System Process Document, Instructor Manual, and Training Guide. The actual outcome depends on the type of attachment and the level at which it is linked. In general, package graphics, web pages, and the addresses of URLs linked at the concept and frame levels appear in document outputs; all other types of package files and the contents of URL link targets do not. See Package Behavior in Publishing, Web Page Behavior in Publishing, and URL Behavior in Publishing for more detail.
Note: The Job Aid, Test, and Test Case document outputs do not include attachments.
You can link to attachments while working in the Outline Editor (concepts only) or Topic Editor.
Once you have created a link from a document to an attachment, the link essentially becomes part of the parent document. As a result, you do not need to re-create or repair these links every time you move or reuse the parent document in your outlines. Links are also maintained if you move or copy the parent document in the Library.