Help provides many ways to link topics, but most methods are implicit: they connect topics by category (browse sequences) or by subject matter (keywords). These methods don’t provide a concrete connection for the user: click something and a topic appears. For that reason, the most common method for linking topics is to use jumps. Jumps are one-way links between topics: when the user chooses a jump, Help displays the topic connected by the link (usually referred to as the destination topic). Because jumps are one-directional, a link from Topic A to Topic B does not guarantee a link in the opposite direction. Jumps can occur automatically when a topic is displayed, or they can occur when the user clicks a hot spot, which is a special topic region within a Help topic. A jump hot spot is a word or a graphic that the user chooses to move to another topic in the Help file. Hot spot text appears as green, underlined text in the Help window. Graphics used as hot spots do not change appearance.
Jumps are a flexible navigational tool. You can create many links between topics and display topics in a variety of windows. By effectively linking information in your Help file, you can make it easy for users to find specific information. You can link related topics using cross-references, inviting your users to explore related information. You can create logical paths through the information so users can browse without getting lost.