Placing Graphics in Topic Files

After you create and prepare the pictures for your Help file, you can place them in a topic file in two ways.

nYou can paste the pictures directly in the topic, if your word processor supports Windows version 2.1 or later graphics.

Pictures placed using this method are referred to as inline bitmaps.

nYou can save each bitmap file in your graphics application and, in the Help topic file, specify the file by name where you want it to appear.

Pictures placed using this method are referred to as bitmaps by reference, because the topic contains only a reference, or pointer, to the bitmap file, not the actual picture itself.

Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Use the information in the following sections to help you decide which method to use.

For detailed information about topic layout, including the effects of margins and paragraph leading, see Chapter 3, “Designing Your Help System.”