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EZhelp Reference version 1.4 A Shareware reference tool (C) Copyright Brain Child Systems, 1990-1991 All rights reserved Table of contents - EZhelp Reference I. Introduction to EZhelp . . . . . . . . . . . 1 A. What's EZhelp? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B. EZhelp features . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 C. Four easy steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 D. Defining reference use . . . . . . . . . 3 II. Writing text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A. Forming an outline . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1. Example outlines . . . . . . . . . . . 4 B. Creating topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1. Topic Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . 5 2. Menu Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3. Example reference . . . . . . . . . . 6 C. Entering reference text . . . . . . . . . 8 1. Reference file layout . . . . . . . . 8 2. Imbedded commands . . . . . . . . . . 8 3. Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 III. Compiling text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 A. Command line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 B. Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 C. Compiler error messages . . . . . . . . . 11 IV. Using EZhelp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 A. Memory needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 B. Starting from other applications . . . . 12 C. Command line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 1. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3. Runtime error messages . . . . . . . . 13 4. Directory searching . . . . . . . . . 14 D. Using EZsetup.exe . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 E. Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 F. Registering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 G. Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 H. Quick summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Appendix A: Installing EZhelp Reference Page 1 I. Introduction to EZhelp A. What's EZhelp? EZhelp Reference is a set of tools to create and display a menu- driven text reference. Virtually any information kept in a text file (such as letters, users's guide files, office procedures) can be turned into an EZhelp Reference file in a matter of minutes. EZhelp Reference is easy enough for a novice to use productively, but it also has features that programmers can appreciate, for use with their own programs. This user's documentation is also organized into an EZhelp text file, and you can see how the program works by typing "EZ" at the DOS prompt to begin. EZhelp consists of three programs: EZcomp.EXE - A text compiler program that creates an index on help reference files you have created. This index file describes where topics begin and end within the text. EZhelp.EXE - The program that uses the help file and the index created with the compiler to drive the windows and text display. EZsetup.EXE - A utility program that creates a default options file for use by EZhelp at runtime. You will need a text editor or word processor to create your text files with. There are a few issues to be aware of when using a word processor. For more information, check the section on Entering Text on page 9. You will be more successful with this package if you follow the hints on organizing your topics. More information can be found in the Forming Outline section on page 3. _________________________________________________________ EZhelp Reference (C) Copyright 1990-1991, Brain Child Systems. All rights reserved. Page 2 B. EZhelp features * Pop-up menus - EZhelp menus automatically position on the screen, and anchor to previous menus. All backgroung screen areas are saved and restored when the menu or window is removed. * Sizeable text window - You can specify the size of the help text window, ranging from 4 lines to 23 lines, or allow the window to be sized automatically to adjust to the size (in lines) of the help text. * Choice of colors - You can use EZsetup to choose the colors for EZhelp to use at runtime. * Choice of line style - You can specify the border line style for EZhelp to use at runtime. * Start at any menu level - You can start EZhelp at any menu level or menu group using a command line option. * Jump directly to any help topic - You can jump directly to the help text of any topic in any menu - skipping the menu display. * First letter auto selection - You can specify if menu choices will be made automatically when the first letter of a unique menu topic is pressed, or if the Return key will be required to select the topic. * Page numbers can be displayed at the bottom of the help window, if there is more than on page of text. * Help text window anchor - Help text can be anchored at the top or bottom of the screen. * Error messages - Error messages can optionally be displayed. Status codes are returned to the calling program. * Configurable display strings - The text that appears at the top of the help text window for the Escape, Page up and Page down keys can be changed. * Optional sorting of topics - You can easily organize your menu topics in a predetermined order, or have them sorted and displayed alphabetically. * Reference report - A reference report is available as a command-line option with EZcomp, the text compiler. This report lists all menus, topics, and links between menus. Line numbers are also shown in the report, to aid you in locating topics in your help text file. The compiler also reports any errors encountered in the text file, such as a missing comma or bracket, and give the line number where the error occurrs. * Free program updates - All registered users will be notified of updates, and can obtain one free update, less shipping and media costs. Page 3 C. Three easy steps There are four steps to creating your own menu-driven help reference text. First, working from a broad outline, organized like a table of contents or hierarchical chart, write out Topic Descriptions associated with each item of help text, and insert them into the reference file using a text editor or word processor. Second, compile the reference file using EZcomp, which creates an index file to be used with the text. After the index has been created on the reference file, you can test the menus and display of each topic using EZhelp, then establish the colors to use with EZhelp with the EZsetup utility. If you already have specific text written (on disk), you should be able to easily insert Topic Descriptions based on an existing table of contents. This will serve as a complete reference of the entire application or manual. The following section should be read beforehand, to pinpoint the type of functions that EZhelp should perform. D. Defining reference use Before beginning to write out the Topic Descriptions for use in the reference file, you should give some thought to the type of help the reference will be needed for. A few specific questions you can ask are: 1) Is the reference to be organized around existing user's documentation, or should it conform more closely to the application itself? 2) Is the reference to be used for field-level help, where menus do not display, and the help text displays directly? 3) Do you prefer a single-level menu or multiple-level menus leading to the topic? These questions will have an impact on the relation between the menu topics you create and the behavior of the menus when the program is running. You can create menus to accomodate all of the above needs, all within the same reference file. II. Writing text A. Forming an outline Writing an outline is the essential first step to creating the reference. It helps to begin with the most general subjects, and narrow the subjects into sub-topics and further sub-topics. The outline itself should have no more than sixteen levels of sub-topics. The outline will show the relationships of menus in your reference. You should define your menus in terms of the type of reference you want to create, whether it is to contain a complete topic index with multiple menu layers, or just field-level help. Page 4 Following is a simple example of an outline for a reference file example, with three levels of topics: Outline example 1: As organized in an EZhelp Methods of transportation Reference file I. Land Land, Water, and Air will be assigned menu number 1. a. Car b. Bicycle Car, Bicycle, and feet will c. Feet be assigned menu number 2. II. Water a. Speedboat Speedboat, Yacht, and Jet ski b. Yacht will be assigned menu c. Jet Ski number 3. III. Air a. Airplanes Airplanes and Hot air ballon will be assigned menu 1. Prop plane number 4. 2. Glider 3. Jet Prop plane, Glider, and Jet will be assigned menu b. Hot air baloon number 5. This outline example would be useful to create a reference modeled after users documentation, or where the topic is too complex to cover with one choice. Following is another example with the same topics, reorganized into single-level menus. Outline example 2: As organized in an EZhelp Methods of transportation Reference file a. Land The assignment of menu numbers b. Water would be the same in this c. Air example. The difference here is that all menus are single a. Car level, and the associated b. Bicycle reference would display after c. Feet the topic is chosen. a. Speedboat This outline would be most b. Yacht useful when a general c. Jet Ski reference of a page or less should be given on a topic. a. Airplanes b. Hot air baloon This type of outline can also be used to accomodate a. Prop plane field-level help topics b. Glider where the menu is not c. Jet displayed. Page 5 The next section, Creating Topics, shows how to create Topic Descriptions from a general outline, and how you can create menu groups of Topic Descriptions to use as complete references, single-level menus, and field-level displays. B. Creating Topics Topic Descriptions The Topic Descriptions to be displayed in the pop-up menus can be created from the outline. The topic itself is a line of text that is inserted in your document, just above the point where the help text begins for that topic. The topic consists of a topic name and three additional parameters: {{ Topic Name, Menu No., Menu Order, Next Menu }} * {{ - double brackets placed in the text will begin a topic definition. A topic definition is ended with another set of brackets }}. * Topic Name - you may use up to fifteen characters for the topic, beginning with the first non-blank character after the brackets. * Menu No. - this will identify the group of topics which are to be shown on the same menu. The outermost menu, or most general, should begin with 1 as a rule. * Menu Order - this will specify the order of the topic among the other topics in the menu, from top to bottom. If you wish the menu topics to be sorted alphabetically, use 0 for the order number in each topic in the menu. However, if 0 is used, it will not be possible to jump directly to a topic from the command line using the -J paramter. * Next Menu - if this topic leads to another topic sub-menu, use the sub-menu number. If this topic leads to the help text (the help text follows the topic in the document), use 0. Following this paragraph is a sample set of topic definitions for a reference describing methods of transportation. Note that the reference text for topics would be inserted after the topics where the Next Menu parameter is equal to zero, but for clarity, the text is omitted here. Menu Groups Menu groups allow you to duplicate topic names, or offer the same topic in different ways. The examples in the section on Forming an outline will be used here to create the Topic Descriptions for a reference on Methods of Transportation. Page 6 Example reference file: Transpor.txt Subject: Methods of transportation EZhelp Topic Descriptions for reference Transpor.txt {{ Land, 1, 1, 2 }} {{ Water, 1, 2, 3 }} menu 1, 3 topics {{ Air, 1, 3, 4 }} ____________________ {{ Car, 2, 1, 0 }} {{ Bicycle, 2, 2, 0 }} menu 2, 3 topics {{ Feet, 2, 3, 0 }} ____________________ {{ Speedboat, 3, 1, 0 }} {{ Yacht, 3, 2, 0 }} menu 3, 3 topics {{ Jet ski, 3, 3, 0 }} ____________________ {{ Airplanes, 4, 1, 5 }} menu 4, 2 topics {{ Hot air baloon, 4, 2, 0 }} ____________________ {{ Prop plane, 5, 1, 0 }} {{ Glider, 5, 2, 0 }} menu 5, 3 topics {{ Jet plane, 5, 3, 0 }} ____________________ In menu number 1, topic "Land" defines the following menu, number 2. Also in menu 1, topic "Water" defines next menu 3, and topic "Air" defines next menu 4. Topic "Airlines" defines a third menu level, 5. This group of Topic Descriptions above fits the hierarchical type of outline, which most closely matches user's documentation. But suppose that this structure is not sufficient at all times. At certain places in your application, you want the topic "Land" to lead directly to a reference text window, instead of a sub-menu with Land topics. All you would need to do is add another menu, perhaps identical to menu 1 defined above, but give it another menu number: {{ Land, 10, 1, 0 }} {{ Water, 10, 2, 0 }} menu 10, 3 topics {{ Air, 10, 3, 0 }} ____________________ You could place these definitions anyplace in the reference file, and follow the topic "Land" with the associated help text. The example above would allow "Water" and "Land" to lead directly to help text rather than another menu, because the Next Menu parameter is zero. Page 7 Later, when you want to access the topic "Land" in menu 1 or menu 10, you can start EZhelp and specify the startup menu number. If topic "Land" in menu 10 corresponds to a field level help item, that is, you don't want a menu to show, but to go directly to the display of the reference text, you can call EZhelp specifying the startup menu number and the topic to jump directly into. * Starting at the default menu, number 1 EZhelp Transpor.txt This will start EZhelp with Transpor.txt, which contains the above Topic Descriptions, and begin at the default menu number, 1. In this example, the menus and reference text of menu 10 will not be accessible. * Starting at a specific menu number EZhelp Transpor.txt -M10 This will start EZhelp at menu 10, showing all three topics of the menu. All other menus would not be accessible. * Jumping directly to a topic EZhelp Transpor.txt -M10 -J1 -S4 This will start EZhelp at menu 10, but instead of showing the other topic of menu 10, the reference text below topic "Land" would display directly, in a text window of 4 lines. NOTE: If you choose to enter zero for each Menu Order parameter in the Topic Description line, you cannot use the -J option to jump directly to a topic. _________________________________________________________ If you like, you can start the above examples using the DOS batch files EX1.BAT, EX2.BAT, and EX3.BAT supplied with the diskette. The full set of EZhelp command-line options are described in more detail on page 13. As the above examples show, you can create isolated menus within the reference text for different purposes. The next section, Entering text, shows the general layout of the reference file, including Topic Descriptions. Page 8 C. Entering text Reference file layout ---------------------------------- This is the basic layout of an EZhelp Reference file: +---------------------+ |.beginning of file | | | |Comments (a) | (a) Optional comments may be placed | | at the beginning of the file, until |Topic definition (b) | the first Topic definition. | | |Accompanying text (c)| (b) A topic definition line should | | always be followed with Accompanying |Topic definition (b) | text unless another menu is to | | follow. |Accompanying text (c)| | | (c) The accompanying text will be |Topic definition (b) | assumed to continue until the next | | topic definition is found, or the |Accompanying text (c)| end of the file is reached. | | |.end of file | +---------------------+ It helps to use the first part of the reference file for comments, before the first topic definition. Take a moment to examine Transpor.txt with your text editor. At the top, you'll see a table where information on the topics and menus is kept. This is useful as an overview of the reference text once you have begun to write. Imbedded commands You can imbed commands in your reference to control the display. The commands must begin on the 1st column of a line. Command Action -------- ---------------------------------------------- ++ Forces the page to break at that point. Additional comments You can create additional comment sections in your reference file by defining a Topic Description with a menu number that is never used. For example, you could designate 199 to be a menu number that indicates a comment section: {{ dummy menu, 199, 0, 0 }} All comments after this Topic Description and before another Topic Description would not be displayed (assuming that you never start EZhelp with menu 199 as the startup menu). Page 9 Guidelines for Topic Descriptions and reference text files An EZhelp Reference file MUST conform to these guidelines: 1) Carriage return/line feed (CR/LF): A carriage return/line feed pair must terminate every line in the file. What this means for text written with many commercial word processors (Microsoft Word, Wordperfect, others) is that it may be neccessary to press the return key at the end of each line, rather than letting the line wrap around. One way to tell if your word processor generates the CR/LF at the end of each line is to use the DOS "TYPE" command to view the text file on the screen. If the text is not indented as you would see it in the word processor, then you will need to press return at the end of each line. Avoid using the tab key in the text. Instead, indent using the space bar. All text formatting commands used by your word processor (bold, underline, etc.) should be avoided also, if your word processor cannot save a file unformatted. The finished reference that you want to use as an EZhelp file must be saved unformatted. 2) Completeness of Topic Descriptions Each Topic Description must have a complete set of elements. This includes an opening set of brackets, a Topic Name and comma, Menu Number and comma, Menu Order and comma, Next Menu, and a closing set of brackets. An incomplete Topic description will be reported by the compiler. 3) Line length: A line must be 76 characters or less. If the line is longer than 76 characters, unexpected results may occur. One common result is when the entire page shifts up by one line. Take care to follow this guideline. 4) Recompiling: The reference file must be recompiled after each time it is modified. If it is not recompiled, the help text displays will overlap, and the topic definition line may be visible on the screen. 5) File size The reference file may be as large as the unused memory on your system, up to 640k. This should not be a limitation, but if you need to know how much memory you have available, run the DOS Chkdsk command. 6) Number of menus and topics You may create up to 255 menus, with a maximum of 100 topics in each menu. The maximum number of menu levels is 16. Page 10 III. Compiling text An index file is created for each reference file before it used with EZhelp. The index file keeps information on the topics and menus, and uses it to find the topic's text in the reference file. The index file name is automatically created using the first part of the reference file name and adding ".hnx" as the extension. The index file will be placed in the same subdirectory as the text file. "myfile.txt", when compiled, creates an index "myfile.hnx". +--------+ +---------------+ +---------+ | | | | | | | Text |-----> | EZcomp.exe |-----> | Text | | file |-----> | (compiler) |-----> | index | | | | | | | +--------+ +---------------+ +---------+ A. Command line EZcomp MYFILE.TXT [-pu] [-ps] From the DOS prompt, enter the following command to compile a help text file: EZcomp MYFILE.TXT The compiler runs for a moment, creates the index "myfile.hnx" using the text file "myfile.txt", and returns to the DOS prompt. To compile the text and print an unsorted report of the topics, enter this command: EZcomp MYFILE.TXT -pu To print a sorted report of the topics, substitute "-ps" on the command line, or include both "-pu" and "-ps" for both reports. B. Reporting Topic report Shown below is a portion of the topic report generated by EZcomp.exe. The reference file used was EZhelp.txt. The report can be printed sorted or unsorted using the command line options. If you give each topic a number in the Menu Order parameter of the Topic Description line, the report will be identical whether sorted or unsorted. Page 11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EZcomp v1.4 Reference Index report, unsorted: transpor.txt Page 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Menu Menu Next Line Line number order Topic menu number count Offset Size ------ ------ --------------- ---- ------ ------ ------ ------ 1 1 Land 2 35 4 1117 63 1 2 Water 3 39 4 1214 63 1 3 Air 4 43 4 1311 63 2 1 Car 47 4 1408 53 2 2 Bicycle 51 4 1495 57 2 3 Feet 55 4 1586 45 . . . Items in the report Menu number, Menu order, Next menu, Topic - These are the same as the parameters entered in the Topic Description. Note that if zero is entered as the Next Menu parameter, blanks will show on the report. Line number - This is the line in the reference file where the topic is found. Line count - This is the total number of lines of the reference text of the topic, including the Topic Description line. Offset - This is the offset in bytes, from the beginning of the file, where the Topic Description begins. Size - This is the total number of bytes of the reference text of the topic, including the Topic Description line. Compiler error messages EZcomp reports any errors it finds in the reference text, along with the line number where it was found. The possible errors are: incomplete description on line nnn - The topic description was not followed by a comma. new line encountered on line - A topic description was not terminated with a set of brackets. number expected on line - Too many or too few items were found in the topic description, or one of the items was not a number as expected. IV. Using EZhelp Memory needed EZhelp menus and help text windows allocate and release memory as they are used. The amount of memory required will depend on the size and levels of the menus. The .EXE version of the program will use up to 64k. If there is no free memory to allocate, the program will exit. If the error message flag (see Command line below) is set on, an error message will display. Page 12 Starting EZhelp from within other applications You can start EZhelp from within your applications and arrange the menus and help to complement your program's operation. If you are a C user, you can use the sample program, spawnhlp.c, to link into your programs and start EZhelp. If you are using dBASE, you can use the Run command. If your language of choice has a facility to load another DOS program while your program is running, then you can use EZhelp. All screens are restored to their original state before EZhelp exits, and EZhelp will return error codes to your program to indicate if it terminated abnormally. This design keeps your program in control. Command line EZhelp MYFILE.TXT [-Mnnn -Jnnn -Bn -Snn -Tmenu_title -An -Dn -En -Ln ] where... MYFILE.TXT The name of a text reference file to be used. Up to 40 characters may be used for the full path and file name. The index MYFILE.HNX is assumed to reside in the same subdirectory. MYFILE.TXT The name of a text reference file to be used. Up to 40 characters may be used for the full path and file name. The index MYFILE.HNX is assumed to reside in the same subdirectory. -Mnnn The number of the menu to start at. The program will begin by displaying the Topic descriptions for that menu, as defined in MYFILE.TXT. All subsequent menus from the point of the startup menu will be accessible. If none is specified, the default is 1. The maximum menu value possible is 255. -Jnnn The number of the topic in the start menu specified to display directly. If the -Jnn option is used, the menu will not be shown, and the help text for topic -Jnnn in menu -Mnnn will display. The maximum topic value possible is 255. -Bn A number to define the menu and help text window borders. There are four different choices, as shown below. The default is 1. ┌───┐ ╒═══╕ ╔═══╗ ╓───╖ │ 1 │ │ 2 │ ║ 3 ║ ║ 4 ║ └───┘ ╘═══╛ ╚═══╝ ╙───╜ single line single on double line double on sides, double sides, on top single on top Page 13 -Tmenu_title This will allow EZhelp to use the specified string as the default for the startup menu. If two words are needed for the string, use the underbar character to separate them. The underbar will be replaced with a space at runtime. -Snn A number to define the size (in lines) of the help text window display. The minimum window size is 4, and the maximum is 23. The default is 23 lines. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Override options - the next four options will override the default data file. To set the option ON, use 1. To set it OFF, use 0. --------------------------------------------------------------------- -An Automatic window sizing. -Dn If this option is selected, the page number of the reference will display at the lower left of the screen. -En This option will display error messages, should an error occur. -Ln Anchor the reference at one of nine screen areas: ┌───┬───┬───┐ │ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ ├───┼───┼───┤ The default is 5, │ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │ the center. ├───┼───┼───┤ │ 7 │ 8 │ 9 │ └───┴───┴───┘ -On Overlap windows? Default = OFF Examples: 1) EZhelp MYFILE.TXT Start MYFILE.TXT at menu 1, use all defaults. 2) EZhelp MYFILE.TXT -M4 -J7 -S15 Jump directly to the display of topic 7 in menu 4. Set the text display window to 15 lines. 3) EZhelp MYFILE.TXT -E1 -A1 -L1 Start MYFILE.TXT with error messages and automatic window sizing ON. Display text at the top of the screen. Note: The order of the options specified is not critical. EZhelp runtime error messages There are four error conditions that can be encountered when EZhelp is running. The following list describes each: * EZhelp... help file not found. (return code 53) The help reference file was not located in the path specified in the filename parameter. If no path is specified, the file is assumed to reside in the same directory as EZhelp.exe. Page 14 * EZhelp... index file not found. (return code 54) The index file was not located in the same directory as the help reference file. * EZhelp... insufficient memory. (return code 50) EZhelp could not allocate the memory required for the index, menu or help window. * EZhelp... topic not found. (return code 51) EZhelp could not find the chosen topic in the reference file. If EZhelp was started with the -J parameter, perhaps the number was incorrect. If this error occurs without the -J parameter, the Next Menu specified in the Topic Description chosen may be incorrect, or the Next Menu may not exist in the reference file. Directory Searching EZhelp looks for 3 files at runtime - the text file specified in the command line, the index to go with the text file, and a startup data file. The index file must be found in the same directory as the text file. The data file (EZhelp.dat) is located by first searching the directory where the help and index files are located. If it is not found, the directory containing EZhelp.exe is searched. If it is not found there either, EZhelp will use the basic set of options: Title color: black on white window color: white on black hilite color: black on white letter color: bright white border color: bright white First letter selection: ON Automatic window sizing: ON Page number display: ON Error message display: OFF Display strings: PgUp, PgDn, Esc=Exit Help text anchor: Bottom D. Using EZsetup.exe A utility program, EZsetup.exe, is included with this program to allows you to establish run-time options for use with EZhelp. To start at the DOS prompt, type EZSETUP. The function key commands for use with the 2 screens of the program will display at the top of the screen. Press F1 to view the help text written specifically for EZsetup. The help available on the first screen is a menu level help several topics. The help on screen two is field level, dependent on the entry field where the cursor is located. Page 15 E. Distribution Unregistered and registered users may distribute copies of this Shareware package for the trial use of others, and we encourage you to do so. A reasonable "disk fee" or postage fee may be charged for the distribution of this package, but that fee is not to exceed US $6.00 under any circumstances without the written consent of Brain Child Systems. EZhelp.exe: Registered users may bundle EZhelp.exe with their own applications and distribute unlimited copies. If a registered user distributes EZhelp.exe, the file name may not be changed. EZsetup.exe: Registered users may also distribute EZsetup for use with their systems without further obligation. This utility can be called from other applications to give the user control over the EZhelp options. F. Registering EZhelp is a shareware product, and may be used for a reasonable trial period free of charge. What defines a reasonable trial period? You may evaluate the package for 30 days, which should be enough time to decide if you would like to continue using it. The basic registration fee is $25. This fee includes a diskette with all EZhelp executable files, a user's guide on the diskette, and one free update. To print out a copy of the registration form, use this DOS command: TYPE ORDER.DOC > PRN Disclaimer This program is sold without any express or implied warranties whatsoever. Because of the diversity of conditions and hardware under which this program may be used, no warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is offered. The user is advised to test the program thoroughly before relying on it. The user must assume the entire risk of using the program. Any liability of seller or author will be limited exclusively to product replacement or refund of the purchase price. G. Enhancements Here is a list of enhancements that are being considered for the next version of EZhelp. If you would like to see a particular feature not listed here, send a postcard with an explanation. Additional imbedded commands Hypertext links to other topics Help text printing Additional text in menu window Page 16 H. Quick summary Topic definitions {{ Topic Name, Menu No., Menu Order, Next Menu }} 1 - 15 chars all of the 0 for sort on 0 for display ended with a topics in topic name; text to follow; comma a menu have Other - use Other - display the same # order chosen the next menu Compiling text EZcomp MYFILE.TXT [-pu] [-ps] Note: Use your own help text file in place of MYFILE.TXT. Use the -pu and -ps options to print a report on the text file topics, unsorted or sorted. Running EZhelp EZhelp MYFILE.TXT [-Mnnn -Jnnn -Bn -Snn -Tmenu_title -An -Dn -En -Ln -On] -Mnnn menu number -Jnnn jump to topic in menu -Bn border style (1 - 4) -Snn window size -An first keystroke auto selection } 1 = ON, 0 = OFF -Dn display page numbers } " " -En turn on error messages } " " -Ln anchor text at screen quadrant } 1 - 9 -On overlap windows } 1 = ON, 0 = OFF Appendix A Installing EZhelp Reference To install EZhelp Reference onto another drive, enter the following commands at the DOS prompt. First, set the DOS prompt to the drive where the EZhelp files reside. A: (get the source drive prompt) Then, start the installation batch, giving the source drive and the drive where the files are to be installed. INSTALL X Y (where X is the letter of the source drive and Y is the letter of the destination drive. For example, if you want to install EZhelp on your C drive, enter INSTALL A C This installation batch will create two subdirectories on the destination drive, \EZHELP and \EZHELP\TCLIB. \EZHELP subdirectory contents EZhelp.exe command line executable module EZcomp.exe reference compiler EZsetup.exe EZhelp configuration utility EZhelp.txt EZhelp user's reference EZhelp.hnx EZhelp user's reference index EZhelp.dat EZhelp startup data Transpor.txt Example reference Transpor.hnx Example index Anchor.txt Example reference Anchor.hnx Example index Users.doc User's documentation Order.doc Order form Install.bat Installation batch file EZ.bat Batch to start user's reference Ex1.bat Batch to start example 1 Ex2.bat Batch to start example 2 \EZHELP\SRC subdirectory contents Spawnhlp.c sample C program to load ezhelp.exe _________________________________________________________ EZhelp Reference (C) Copyright 1990-1991, Brain Child Systems. All rights reserved.