Getting Help from within Probe

There are several ways to get help from inside the program:

• The Help Menu in the main window
• Context help in dialogs (F1)
• The Help Item on frame popup menus
• Buttons and tools provide Popup Tool Tips
• The Status Bar Help Text provides hints on menu-items
• The Function Bar tool helps in mapping function keys to commands.
• The Accelerator Guide lists available keyboard accelerators

Help Menu

In the main window, there's a 'Help' pull-down menu (fig 1). You'll find some links to this help file in that menu:

Fig 1: The Help pull-down menu:

Context Help in Dialogs (F1)

Most dialogs of Probe, have the option of going into 'Help Mode'. In this mode, you can get hints and help on how the different items and controls of a dialog functions. This is done as according to:

• Click the 'Question Mark' button in the dialog caption (see fig 2). The mouse cursor turns into a question mark.

• With this cursor, you click the dialog item/control for which you want help (see fig 3).

• A popup window containing help text for the clicked item is now shown next to it (see fig 4).

In the popup help window, the 'More Help' button (see fig 4) can be pressed before closing it. Doing so will open this help file, in the section dealing with active particular dialog.

NOTE: The F1 key can be pressed to invoke context help for the dialog control currently having the input focus of the dialog.

Fig 2: About to click the question mark

Fig 3: About to click an item using the question mark

Fig 4: After clicking, a help text window appears

Help Item on Frame Popup Menus

For each frame type, such as Folder Browser, Tree Browser, Location Bar, etc, there's a Help item available. It links to the help section dealing with the particular frame type.

Fig 5: Help for a frame type, the Location Bar in this case

Popup Tool Tips

Probe uses standard MS Windows popup tool tips. When moving the mouse-cursor on top of a button, and keeping it still for a fraction of a second, a small window with a tool tip appears.

Fig 6: Tool tip for the toolbar in the Folder Browser

Most frame-types in Probe will display some sort of hint on their usage when the mouse is kept still over it, even though they're not buttons as in fig 6.

Fig 7: The Location Bar gives a hint on it's usage

Status Bar Help Text

When a menu-item is selected in a popup menu, a short explanation on the effect of the item is displayed in the status bar of Probe. The status bar is located at the bottom of the application window.

In fig 8 below, the right mouse button has been pressed in the white area of the Tree Browser. As the 'Move with Slave' menu-item is hi-lighted, a help text appears in the status bar.

Fig 8: Help for 'Move With Slave' item on the status barr

The status bar functions the same way when menu-items are hi-lighted in one of the main window pull-down menus.

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