HTML list output format

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HTML list output format

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By default Help & Manual outputs numbered and bulleted lists with <span> tags formatted as inline-block in HTML-based output formats (HTML Help, WebHelp, Windows Exe and ePub eBooks, Visual Studio Help). This generally produces better results across all browsers than the standard <ul> and <ol> lists generated when you turn the Export lists as texts option off in HTML Export Options (see below).

Even HTML Help/CHM, which uses Internet Explorer for HTML rendering, will frequently produce unsatisfactory list formatting if you do not use this option. This applies particularly to more complex lists and the indents used in lists.

Click to expand/collapseDifferences between text format and list format lists

Bullets are not specified explicitly in list format (UL)

Since the kind of bullets you can use with <ul> tags is very limited, H&M doesn't even bother to specify them, and it does not use graphics as bullets. It just writes an unnumbered list and lets the browser display it. In the default "export lists as text" mode the bullets are defined specifically and the HTML page will look as close as possible to the list in the editor. There are some limitations in Webhelp, as there is no corresponding Unicode symbol for all the possible bullets, but most bullets should work fine.

List formatting is largely under browser control

Help & Manual sets the list indents and basic bullet or number position in list format lists (UL and OL) but it does not try to compensate for differences in the ways that individual browsers manage lists. If you see differences in different browsers this is due to the browsers rendering of the HTML list code, not anything that Help & Manual is doing.

Click to expand/collapseHow to choose the HTML list output format

If you want you can configure your project to output lists as standard HTML <OL> and <UL> tags with <LI> list elements. This will produce less attractive formatting and layout in many cases and the appearance will vary greatly from browser to browser. However, it may be necessary for some applications.

Go to Configuration > Publishing Options > WebHelp > HTML Export Options and deselect the option Export lists as text.

Note that the HTML Export Options settings are available in several different sections in Configuration > Publishing Options. These are shared settings used by all HTML-based output formats and it doesn't matter where you access them.

See also:

HTML Export Options