It's Not Just Help. . .
So How Does It Work?
HTML Topics & Templates
CSS
DHTML
Project File (.hhp)
Contents File (.hhc)
Merging Modular Files
Accelerating Links
Distribution & Installation
HTML Help Resources on the Web
Types of CSS
Cascading style sheets are simply lines of ASCII text describing properties (such as font-family, text-align, color) of individual HTML elements (such as paragraphs <P>, headings <H1>, and anchoring links <A>).
These lines of ASCII text can be stored in various locations, depending on the type of style sheet. HTML Help works best with the following three types:
- Linked style sheets are stored in separate text files. They provide the most efficient approach for HTML Help.
- Embedded style sheets are ASCII lines added to the <HEAD> section of each HTML file.
- Inline styles are lines placed within the HTML file next to the text they affect.
The CSS recommendations include a fourth type—imported style sheets—theoretically supported by IE 4 and above. However, in practice, imported style sheets are difficult to implement and don’t really add any functionality not covered by linked style sheets.
The cascade
If a single HTML file contains multiple types of style sheets, the “cascading” aspect determines which style sheet type takes precedence. Simply stated, inline style sheets override all others, followed by embedded and then linked style sheets.