JavaScript Application Cookbook

Potential Extensions

The help application presented here would probably work for most small- to medium-sized applications. As applications scale upwards, however, so can the need for more help features. Consider the following suggestions for beefing up your online help.

Table of Contents

Sometimes users are looking for documentation about something unrelated to the current screen content. One of the easiest ways to lets users browse is to offer a table of contents page that neatly lists links to all help documents. You can do this with a static HTML page, or you can use JavaScript to generate the list dynamically using an array:

function showContents() {
  var helpDocs = ['background', 'multiselect', 'urldirectory'];
  var helpLinks = '<UL>';
  for (var i = 0; i < helpDocs.length; i++) {
    helpLinks += '<LI><A HREF="' + helpDocs[i] + '.html">' +
      helpDocs[i] + '</A>';
    }
  helpLinks = '</UL>';
  document.writeln(helpLinks);
  }

Searchable Help Files

If you need a few help documents, why not make use of the search app in Chapter 1 ? That’s always a classy way to spruce up user interactivity.

Ask a Pro

Sometimes users just can’t find what they want. If you have the personnel, consider adding a forms-based email page so that users can answer a few questions and send them to qualified personnel.

Phone Directory

If you really want customer service, provide a list of phone numbers and email addresses so that users can actually contact a human. Like the forms-based email option, this is resource-intensive. ...