Basic Working Procedures > Using Graphics > Graphics with hotspots, macros and scripts

Hotspots are active, clickable areas in graphics. Hotspot data is stored separately from the graphics, which makes it possible to add hotspots to all graphics types, not just special hotspot graphics. All the link types supported in the editor are also supported in hotspots (topic links, Internet links, file links and script/macro links).

Since the link types are identical to those used in normal topics their settings are only described briefly here. See Links, Anchors, Macros, Scripts and HTML for more information on hyperlinks.

Key Information

Hotspots in graphics are only supported in electronic output formats (HTML Help, Webhelp, Windows Exe eBooks, Visual Studio Help / Help 2.0 and PDF with hyperlinks activated). Hotspots are not in the obsolete Winhelp format. Many ePub readers do not support hotspots.

1.	Insert the graphic in your topic (hotspots can only be added to graphics inserted in topics).

2.	Open the hotspot editor:

•	Double-click on the graphic and then click on the Hotspots... button

•	Right-click on the graphic and select Picture > Edit Hotspots in the context menu.

3.	Click on one of the Insert Hotspot tools (this will insert a new hotspot in the top left corner of the graphic):

	Topic link hotspot
	Internet link hotspot
	File link hotspot
	Script link hotspot

4.	Move and resize the hotspot with the mouse and select the hotspot style (Rectangle or Ellipse). You can also enter the precise size and position of your hotspot as pixel values.

5.	Select and enter the hotspot details. These are exactly the same as for ordinary links in topics.

Editing hotspots:

To edit a hotspot just double-click on the graphic and open the Hotspots editor again.

You don't have to do anything special to create a link to a popup topic. A topic defined as a popup will automatically display as a popup when you link to it, so you just need to create a normal topic link and choose a popup topic as the target.

See Creating popup topics for full instructions on how to create and use popup topics. All the instructions here apply for links in hotspots, which are essentially exactly the same as normal links.

The Align buttons arrange all the selected hotspots in a row, aligning them to first hotspot that you select:

1.	Use Shift+Click to select all the hotspots you want to align. The hotspots will be lined up with the first hotspot you select.

2.	Select one of the two Align tools to align the hotspots vertically or horizontally:

	aligns the hotspots in a vertical row, using the first hotspot selected as the reference.
	aligns the hotspots in a horizontal row, using the first hotspot selected as the reference.

In Help & Manual 3 and earlier hotspots were stored in Impict IPP graphics files and in files in the standard Microsoft SHG format. If you convert HM3 projects containing these graphics to the current Help & Manual format the hotspots will be converted correctly.

However if you insert old IPP or SHG graphics containing hotspots in a current Help & Manual project the hotspots will not be available. If you want to use hotspots in these graphics you must re-enter them using the hotspot editor following the instructions above.

Winhelp:	Hotspots are no longer supported in the obsolete Winhelp format
HTML Help:	Supported (JavaScript and four standard Winhelp macros)
Visual Studio Help:	Same as HTML Help but all external file links are explicitly forbidden in Visual Studio Help / MS Help 2.0.
Webhelp:	Supported (JavaScript but no Winhelp macros, JavaScript support also depends to a great extent on the user's browser, so use with caution)
Windows Exe eBooks:	Hotspot topic links are supported, no support for script or macro links
ePub eBooks	Hotspots are included in the ePub specification but most ePub readers (both hardware and software) do not support them
Adobe PDF:	Hotspot topic links are supported, no support for script or macro links
Word RTF:	No support for graphics hotspots.