Welcome to my tech world
Greetings! I am a tech writer with a side interest in scripting JavaScript/jQuery for our help file (CHM file). While I consider myself a beginner in JS scripting, I have ventured into the realm of dynamic theme swapping within CHMs by loading different .css files for light/dark/classic themes. You can follow my progress on the matter through this discussion thread on the Adobe forums: )
Project Scope and Requirements
- Our users frequently lack internet access.
- The CHMs are locally stored on their machines, so any solution needs to be standalone.
- Note that CHM files operate using IE 7 as the backend.
- We utilize RoboHelp 2015 as our authoring tool.
The Dilemma at Hand
While the CHM successfully loads various CSS stylesheets, the challenge lies in tracking a user's choice from a CHM file. Is this even feasible?
Exploring Solutions
Initially, cookies seemed promising, but they proved ineffective within a CHM based on research and testing. Though successful in a local .htm file, seamlessly transferring values back to the CHM presented challenges.
An attempt with iframes involved setting up a local .htm in the CHM folder, yet failed to integrate properly.
Lastly, leveraging scripting to communicate with an external file revealed hurdles in passing parameters from .htm pages back to the calling CHM. Efforts to establish a parameter passage mechanism faced technical roadblocks.
A Call for Innovation
As I navigate the intricacies of storing and retrieving data within a CHM environment, I question the efficacy of current methodologies. Are there alternative approaches better suited to address our unique constraints?