Keywords are words or short sentences used to tag or index one or multiple topics. HelpNDoc offers the possibility to define a keyword hierarchy where each keyword can be associated with one or multiple topics. Keywords are alphabetically and hierarchically ordered: a keyword can contain one or more children keywords.

See the How to access the keywords panel step-by-step guide.

Display the keywords toolbar

To simplify keywords management, instead of navigating to the global ribbon tab to manage keywords, an optional toolbar can be shown at the top of the keywords panel. To toggle it, click the "Show / Hide keywords toolbar" in the title bar of the keywords panel.

Create keywords

To create a first-level keyword:

  • Create the top part of the "Add keyword" button in the "Keywords" group of the "Home" ribbon tab
  • The keyword is added in the list ready to be named: enter a name and validate using the Enter keyboard shortcut

To create a child keyword, first select the parent keyword then:

  • Click the bottom part of the "Add keyword" button in the "Keywords" group of the "Home" ribbon tab
  • Click "Add child keyword"
  • The keyword is added in the list ready to be named: enter a name and validate using the Enter keyboard shortcut

See the How to create a keyword step-by-step guide.

Rename keywords

To rename a keyword:

  • Select the keyword in the keywords panel
  • Click the "Rename" button in the "Keywords" group of the "Home" ribbon tab
  • Enter a name and validate using the Enter keyboard shortcut

See the How to rename a keyword step-by-step guide.

Delete keywords

To delete obsolete keywords:

  • Select the keyword in the keywords panel
  • Click the "Delete" button in the "Keywords" group of the "Home" ribbon tab

See the How to delete a keyword step-by-step guide.

Associate with topics and remove association

Keywords with checked boxes are associated with the currently selected topic. Keywords with unchecked boxes are not associated with it. They might be associated with other topics or not used anymore: you can use the project analyzer to check for unused keywords.

To associate / remove association between a keyword with a topic:

  • Select the topic in the table of contents
  • Click the check-box in front of the desired keyword to check or un-check it
  • Alternatively, you can use the "Associate with topic" check button in the "Keywords" group of the "Home" ribbon tab

To manage the topics associated with a specific keyword, you can use the Manage keyword association window.

See the How to associate keywords with topics step-by-step guide.