---
title: Framework Overview
slug: guide/framework-overview
description: Understand the Unaric Guide framework architecture, key concepts, and how it delivers contextual help across Salesforce Classic and Lightning.
docTags: 
createdAt: 2025-10-01T23:56:19.797Z
---

This page provides an overview of Embedded Help's different components and how they work together as the backend of content creation and managing.

## How Embedded Help works

Help is created through the **Help Enable** mode, which allows **Help Authors** to point-and-click Salesforce interface elements and associate them with specific **Help Topics**. This creates **Helped Page Layout** and **Helped Element** records that define what help appears where, showing up as clickable help icons positioned close to the helped items. When clicked, these icons trigger callouts that display the linked **Help Topic** content, such as text, images, or videos, providing context-specific assistance directly within the user’s workflow.

### Example workflow

::::WorkflowBlock
:::WorkflowBlockItem
**Setup & component**

By using Help Enable mode, a help icon has been added to the **Account Name.** field, linking it to a Topic ID with a tip ("*Enter your company name here*"). A **Topic Viewer** is also placed on the page, set to show that Topic ID in a callout. Additionally, a Configuration Item with **Log a comment** action adds a feedback option in the callout.
:::

:::WorkflowBlockItem
**Scenario**

A user visits an **Account** record page.
:::

:::WorkflowBlockItem
**Interaction**

The user clicks the icon; a callout pops up with the tip. If a **Reading List** is linked, additional steps (e.g., "*Next Tip*") will appear appear.
:::
::::

## Help Enable mode

**Help Enable **mode is designed for simplicity, allowing Help Authors to use it without needing coding skills or deep knowledge of Salesforce elements. Further, since it can be opened directly on the page where information is missing, authors can create contextual help as they encounter pages that need it.

### Help Enable workflow

::::WorkflowBlock
:::WorkflowBlockItem
**Enter Help Enable mode** - Items that can become *help-enabled* are highlighted in yellow.
:::

:::WorkflowBlockItem
**Click to select** - Click any highlighted item to toggle help on or off for that element.
:::

:::WorkflowBlockItem
**Return to View mode** - Select the appropriate option from the same menu.
:::

:::WorkflowBlockItem
**Confirm changes** - You'll be prompted to verify your selections before saving or cancelling.
:::

:::WorkflowBlockItem
When you save your selections, the system automatically creates:

- A **Helped Page Layout** record for the screen being viewed
- A **Helped Element** record for each selected item
- A **draft Help Topic** associated with each Helped Element
:::

:::WorkflowBlockItem
After saving, the selected screen elements will have help icons next to them. When users click these icons, help callouts will display with the associated Help Topic content.
:::
::::

### Enter Help Enable mode

::::Tabs
:::Tab{title="Lightning Experience"}
- Add an **Autoform** component to the page layout where embedded help is desired.
- Select **Help Enable mode** from the Autoform's **Tools **(:FontAwesome[]{icon="fa-solid fa-bars"} icon) menu
:::

:::Tab{title="Classic"}
- Enable Help on the page (adds a Quick Access Menu to the right gutter)
- Select Help Enable mode from this menu.
:::
::::

## Helped Page Layouts & Help Element records

**Helped Page Layout** records represent known page contexts that have been enabled with Unaric Guide.

Taken together, a **Helped Page Layout** and its associated **Helped Elements** define the help that will be offered to users on a particular page; in other words, they represent the page's contextual help:

- A **Helped Page Layout** represents a particular type of screen—for example a Salesforce record page layout where Help is desired.
- **Helped Element **records represent the help-enabled items on a **Helped Page Layout**. Each **Helped Element **captures the details of a particular feature on the screen that is to be helped, pointing to exactly one **Help Topic**, which may or may not be re-used by more than one element.

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    A[Helped Page Layout] --> B[Helped Element]
    B --> C[Help Topic]

    %% Explanations
    A:::explain -->|Defines contextual Help for a page| B
    B:::explain -->|Each element links to one topic| C
    C:::explain -->|Topics may be reused| C

    classDef explain fill:none,color:gray,stroke-dasharray: 2 2

```

**Helped Page Layout** and **Helped Element** records can be created manually just like any other objects in Salesforce, but are usually produced automatically through *help enabling, *the process of adding contextual help using the **Help Enable** mode. These records also allow to vary the help offered to users based on the data they are viewing—a concept known as *data-driven help*.

## Callouts

Callouts display help materials embedded directly where the user is working via a compact area of screen. They provide help on demand by allowing users to show and hide the associated Help Topic by clicking an icon positioned close to the helped item.

In callouts, the help is displayed in one of a variety of formats defined by the callout template chosen by the Help Author to suit their specific needs. Standard Callout templates include:

- **Summary-only**: One-line statements, ideal for field definitions and naming conventions
- **Topic Text**: Adds rich text content
- **Topic Details**: Includes media like images or videos
- **Help Resources**: Lists related resources
- Custom templates are also available. Contact Unaric Guide support for setting them up.

:::hint{type="success"}
 You don't create callouts directly as standalone items. Rather, you create Embedded Help for a specific item on a Salesforce page in **Help Enable **mode**.**
:::