Step-by-step guide: How to define hyperlinks to relative topics

HelpNDoc allows you to define hyperlinks that are relative to the position of the topics that readers are viewing when they click the hyperlinks. For example, hyperlinks defined to take readers to the “next topic” would display the topics that immediately follow the ones readers are currently viewing. This permits you to maintain the relative position of hyperlinks when you change the order of topics without needing to update the specific hyperlinks.

Define a navigation hyperlink

Using the “Hyperlink” button in the “Insert” ribbon tab, you can access the hyperlink dialog.
Click Navigation in the menu along the left-hand side of the window. This displays six relative locations to which readers will be taken when they click on the hyperlink:

  • Default topic as defined in Project options on your Home ribbon tab
  • First topic in your table of contents
  • Last topic in your table of contents
  • Parent topic relative to the topic currently being viewed
  • Previous topic that had been visited immediately prior to clicking the hyperlink
  • Next topic in your table of contents

When Sibling topic only is checked, links will go to the previous or subsequent topics of the same hierarchal level as the ones currently being viewed.


Click OK in the lower right-hand corner of the window to save the new hyperlink and close the window.

Follow the steps outlined above to maintain the hyperlink.
To remove the hyperlink, click Clear link in the lower left-hand corner of the window.


HelpNDoc makes it easy for you to create hyperlinks to specific topics, web pages, create e-mail messages, and files. The steps for defining these types of hyperlinks are outlined in other step-by-step guides:

See also