TTerm Connect offers the option of displaying a set of custom help files that you, as administrator, can tailor to your end users’ specific needs. Your help content replaces the stock TTerm Connect help files in the Desktop Client and simply requires that one or more tailored help files be placed in a specific location on your TTerm Connect webserver.
This feature is available in TTerm Connect 2.0 and above.
File Locations
Within the TTerm Connect web client installation you will find the /html/custom/ directory. This directory contains all the required resources (.css files, font files, image files) required by TTerm Connect's help system. There will also be a directory located at /html/custom/help/ containing one or more language subdirectories for each set of language specific help files. Except for a template file intended to assist with creating new help files these language directories will be EMPTY.
To utilize custom help files in the Desktop Client these directories must be populated with custom help files.
When a user logs into the Desktop Client the client will search for the starting help page, welcome.html, in the custom /html/custom/help/[language] directory. If this file is found, the client will use custom help files for the user’s session. If this file is not found, the Desktop Client reverts to the stock help files.
DO NOT modify files located at /html/help/*.
These are TTerm Connect's default help files and will be overwritten in the event of a system update. Ensure any custom help files are located in /html/custom/help instead.
TTerm Connect Help File Format
TTerm Connect help files are simple .html. The content can be edited or recreated and should pose no difficultly for an administrator with even limited experience editing or creating web content.
Retain the helpContent class attribute.
In the stock help files the body content contains a tag with a class attribute of helpContent. This MUST remain in any help file you edit or create. If the Desktop Client does not detect this tag it will revert to the stock help files.
Creating Custom Help Files
If you wish to create an entirely new set of help files the /html/custom/help/[language] directories will contain a single template html file that can be used for that purpose.
Alternately, if you wish to make modifications to the existing help content a zip file containing the current desktop client help suitable for editing is included in your installation. This file can be downloaded through the Dashboard help system. Open the help pages and search for 'zip'. Open the 'Customizing Desktop Client Content Help' page (the first search result) and locate Help Source Files link.
The 'Resource Not Found' page cannot be customized.
You do not have control over formatting or content of the generated search results pages or the 'resource not found' error page.
Creating Search For Help
Help content is searchable from within the Desktop Client. The search engine utilizes a data file named search.json located in the language directory of each help file set.
When creating custom help this file must either be removed from the custom directory or recreated. Removing the file disables search in the Desktop Client and search elements in the user interface are hidden. The search.json file format is JSON and can easily be modified or recreated. Note the following extract:
[{
"title": "Scroll History",
"description": "The scroll history facility enables information that has scrolled off the top of the terminal screen to be viewed. By default scroll history is disabled, meaning end users will not be able to scroll back and view previous terminal content.",
"src": "history.html",
"tags": [
"display",
"history",
"scroll history",
"buffer",
"screen",
"terminal display"
]
}]
Each page in the help file set contains a title, a short description of the pages contents, a src property which references the filename and an array of tags.
With the exception of the src property, all content is searched for matches in response to a user search. In general, the title property should match the page H1 tag content and the description the first paragraph of page content.
If you use the stock search.json file in the custom directory user search queries may reference non-existent content, and potentially, non-existent files. Be aware that some of the help text on the stock help pages refers to the search feature and, if you modify the base help pages you may wish to edit these references if search is disabled.