Designing windows for context-sensitive help

Context-sensitive Help is usually displayed in a secondary window separate from the main Help system. (The main Help system is displayed in the HTML Help viewer — Contents and Index tabs on the left and topic content in a pane on the right.)

The secondary window is only displayed when users request context-sensitive Help. Users typically close the window when they finish viewing the topic (unless a link or other navigation component takes them to other topics).

Context-sensitive Help windows use a single pane, are usually smaller in size than the HTML Help viewer, and can be placed anywhere in your application's window area.

To design a context-sensitive Help window:

  1. Click the Project tab.

  2. Right-click the Windows folder and select New Window.

  3. Remove the tri-pane design option. In Tri-pane Tabs and Windows, clear TOC & Index.

  4. In Window name, enter a name. The application identifies the window by this name so your context-sensitive topics can be displayed in it. The name must be unique from any other window names used in your project.

  5. In Caption, enter a title for the window. The caption is displayed in the window title bar.

  6. Set the window size. In Placement, enter measurements in Top, Height, Left and Width.

    You can also resize the window sample by dragging its borders in and out. Drag diagonally from any corner to resize the width and height proportionally.

  7. Set the window location. Drag and drop the window sample to a different place in the dialog.

  8. Click OK to save the new window.

  9. Click Generate Primary Target to compile your project so it includes the window in the .CHM file.

  10. Inform your developer about the new window name so the application can be updated to use it.

Tips:

  • Secondary windows do not support custom buttons (unless you design the window to use the tri-pane format). If you select options such as Back, Forward, or Hide/Show, these buttons will not be displayed in the window when you test your context-sensitive Help topics in the application.

  • If you select Advanced Properties, a dialog opens with three tabs for defining more window properties. (Not all of these options are available and some require coding in the application. Talk to your developer for further information.)

  • If you want the topics to be displayed in the tri-pane window that displays all other topics in your Help system, see Modifying the HTML Help viewer for further information.