Copyright: ® Edward Guy, CDP 1994


yesTRUEyesE&xityesyes © Edward Guy, CDP 1994yesyesyesyesSAMPLE.SD_001Sample File Produced by HELLLP!sample


Table of Contents

Starting Display

A real multi media help extravaganza!

Help Window Positioning

About Shareware

Full screen

Top left corner

Belt Line

Middle stripe

Button Bar Control

Acknowledgments

Buttons always there

Buttons Optionally There

Order Form

What is HELLLP!

More about buttons

Where can I get HELLLP!

Ed Guy, P.Eng, CDP

Credit Card Orders

Wild Window

SideBar Table of Contents

Special Help

About Shareware

Order Form

The HELLLP! Toolbar

Multiple Windows

Fancy Popup


Help file produced by  HELLLP!, a product of Guy Software, on 07/06/94 for Edward Guy.

The above table of contents will be automatically completed and will also provide an excellent cross-reference for context strings and topic titles.  You may leave it as your main table of contents for your help file, or you may create your own and cause it to be displayed instead by using the I button on the toolbar.  This page will not be displayed as a topic.

HINT:  If you do not wish some of your topics to appear in the table of contents as displayed to your users (you may want them ONLY as PopUps), move the lines with their titles and contexts to below this point.  If you do this remember to move the whole line, not part.

Colour Hotspot


SideBar Table of Contents
Table of Contents

Title Screen

The hypertext document structure of help files

A real multi-media help extravaganza!

Multiple Windows

Help Window Positioning

About Shareware

Button Bar Control

What is HELLLP!

The HELLLP! Toolbar

Where can I get HELLLP!

Credit Card Orders

Order Form


Starting Display

The Windows™ Help Authoring Tool version 2.3

Takes care of all the drudgery and makes authoring Windows Help Files an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

© Edward Guy, CDP 1993  All Rights Reserved

This is a sample help file built using the facilities provided by HELLLP!, the premier Shareware help file authoring aid for Word for Windows.

Please click on the topics in the Table of Contents window to try it.


A real multi media help extravaganza!
A real multi-media help extravaganza!

	Click on the bell.  The Windows help system is able to play sound (*.WAV) files, provided they are in the WINDOWS subdirectory and provided that the machine is able to play them.  A machine without a sound card can play *.WAV files through the built in speaker with the aid of the Microsoft Speaker Driver, available as the file SPEAK.EXE from the Microsoft Software Library (GO MSL on Compuserve).

The Windows help system is able to start external processes, provided that the machine is able to find them.  In this way, various multi-media applications may be controlled from a help file.

As an example this graphic will start the Calculator application when you click it.  So will this text.

This graphic, when clicked, will start up the Sound Recorder acting on the file \WINDOWS\TADA.WAV (if the current machine does not have that file, the sound recorder will give its normal error message).  This could have been any process which could be started from the Windows Program Manager File Run menu by a command line (and that is just about anything you might want to run in Windows).


Help Window Positioning

This shows how you may change the size and position of help windows.

You could also use:

 Full screen

 Top left corner

 Belt Line

 Middle stripe

HELLLP! gives you total flexibility in sizing, background colour and positioning.  You may position any help topic anywhere on the screen, in any size.

You may also define and manipulate secondary windows.  For a secondary window example, click here then click here and then click here.  Up to five secondary windows may be defined as to size, position and colour.


Full screen

Try the others

Top left corner

Belt Line

Middle stripe

Home again, James!


Top left corner

Try the others

Full screen

Belt Line

Middle stripe

Home again, James!


Belt Line

Try the others

Full screen

Top left corner

Middle stripe

Home again, James!


Middle stripe

Try the others

Full screen

Top left corner

Belt Line

Home again, James!


Button Bar Control
You'll have to use the scroll bars to use all of this one.

This is one example of the button bar which you see at the top of a Help screen.

HELLLP! gives you the means to either display or suppress the browse, print, exit and copy buttons.  It also provides a capability to insert working buttons in your topic text.  This gives you a way to add a button bar to a secondary window, by including buttons in the non-scrolling area at the head of a topic displayed in that window. It also provides a way to add a button to the button bar of the main window for a given topic only, like the extra Help button above. Please click it now to see an example of a special action button.

The text on the tops of most buttons may be customized, particularly valuable for producing help files in languages other than English:

	Aide
	Copy
This button in the text also works - try it.

This is valuable if your help files have many examples which your users may wish to copy and paste to their own projects.  For example, you might want to show them how to implement Woody Leonhard's alarm clock in Word For Windows. (Legal note: page 783 of the book it came with says that buyers of the book may use the code in their own products royalty free I bought the book and I registered a copy of WOPR - I recommend them both).

Sub AlarmClock

REM Your very own alarm clock. Just remember you can only run one at a time.

REM © 1992 Pinecliffe International and Vincent Chen, All Rights Reserved

REM For details, see The Hacker's Guide to Word for Windows, Addison-Wesley, 1992

Macro$ = InputBox$("Which macro would you like to run?", "Hackery Dickery Dock")

Delay$ = InputBox$("Wait for how many minutes?", "Da Mouse Ran Up Da Clock")

T = wNow +(Val(Delay$) / 60)  / 24

Hour$ = WOPR.LTrim$(Str$(sHour(T)))

Minute$ = WOPR.LTrim$(Str$(sMinute(T)))

If Val(Minute$) < 10 Then Minute$ = "0" + Minute$

OnTime Hour$ + ":" + Minute$, Macro$

End Sub


About Shareware
About Shareware:

Shareware is copyrighted software that is distributed by authors through bulletin boards, on-line services and disk vendors.

Shareware allows you to try the software for a reasonable limited period.  If you decide not to continue using it, you throw it away and forget about it. You only pay for it if you continue to use it. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You benefit because you get to use the software to determine whether it meets your needs, before you pay for it.

The shareware system and the continued availability of quality shareware products depend on your willingness to register and pay for the shareware you use. It's the registration fees you pay which allow authors to support and continue to develop our products. Please show your support for shareware by registering those programs you actually use.

This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP).  ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products.  Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.

	Print


 Acknowledgments

HELLLP! was inspired by a series of articles by Ray Duncan in PC Magazine in the spring of 1993, and by Woody Leonhard and Vincent Chen's excellent book the Hackers Guide to Word For Windows.


Buttons always there
 HELLLP! will not delete this button from the button bar.


Buttons Optionally There
 HELLLP! gives you the option of having this button on the button bar.


Order Form
INVOICE  (Please send credit card orders via PsL)

Name:  _________________________________________	Supply of  the HELLLP! System as below

Special "Electronic Registration" package

Address:  _______________________________________	for one computer only	$20.00

Mailed Package-for one computer; 	$30.00

_______________________________________________	Mailed Network Package first six users	         $100.00

Additional users on network 	@ $10.00 each _________

_______________________________________________

Payment Enclosed:.              ______________

_______________________________________________	For electronic registration,

please give Email  or Fax address  ________________

Name for identification on

copyright screen (if different) ________________________________________________________

Fold here first

AFFIX
POSTAGE

GUY SOFTWARE

1752 Duchess Avenue

West Vancouver

British Columbia

CANADA       V7V 1P9

Fold Here second and then tape edges


Credit Card Orders
			Public software Library	Credit Card Orders Only
You can order with MC, Visa, Amex or Discover from Public (software) Library by calling 800-2424-PsL or 713-524-6394 or by FAX to 713-524-6398 or Internet to 71355.470@compuserve.com or by CIS Email to 71355,470.  You can also mail credit card orders to PsL at P.O.Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705.  In all cases please include the name exactly as on the card and the expiration date, in addition to the card number and your name and address.  For electronic registration, please remember to include your Email or Fax address for the registration code to be sent to.

The above numbers are for orders only.

Please quote item/product code # 11177

Any questions about the status of the shipment of the order, refunds, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses etc. must be directed to:

	1752 Duchess Avenue West Vancouver BC   Canada    V7V 1P9 (604)926-1370       CIS 71750,1036

To ensure that you get the latest version, PsL will notify us the day of your order and we will ship directly to you.


What is HELLLP!
 Inexpensive, Shareware, Windows Help File Authoring Tool is Competition for Commercial Products costing in the $100s.

HELLLP!  is a Word For Windows™ template with some very sophisticated macros attached to it which makes authoring Windows™ Help files exceptionally easy.  The user may type the text of the help file or import any other document into Word For Windows and convert it to a Windows Help file.

All of the hard work and drudgery is taken care of by the system.  The user can forget all about "context strings", the bane of the Help file author's life.  HELLLP! assigns them and keeps track of them automatically.  Of course, if the user wants to assign specific values for context strings, the system will allow this.

Titles for Help topics may be picked by "selecting" phrases in the existing text, or by typing new ones.  The titles can be included as contrasting colour text at the top of the topic screens, or not - again at user preference.  Keywords are automatically extracted from the titles for use in the "Search" feature of Windows Help, but once again the user may edit them, or add or delete.  Browse sequences may be automatically generated.

An automatic Table of Contents screen is generated from the topic titles with hypertext jumps to the topics already in place.  This table may be used as the opening topic when WinHelp calls the Help file, or another topic may be designated for that.  All of this is done with "Point and Shoot" techniques.

Additional hypertext jumps and popups are added by highlighting the text to jump "from" and then pointing to the topic to jump "to".

Provides the means to have Help files play sound from WAV files and to launch other applications to provide a multimedia capability in WinHelp easily.  This too is done in a user-friendly manner by "point and shoot" techniques

HELLLP! is available as "Shareware", subject to the usual Shareware try-before-you-buy conditions.  Single copy registration costs $30 US, with a special "Electronic Registration" rate of $20 US when the buyer provides an electronic mail address or fax number to send the registration number to.  Details are on the Order Form.  Network rates are available.


More about buttons

This button is also a Hot Spot graphic.  It could have played a tune, changed the window size, or invoked any other process.  Using graphics like this can allow a help file to act as a complete control centre.


Where can I get HELLLP!

HELLLP! is available by mail, using the order form supplied.

You may also order HELLLP! from Public (software) Library.

A try-before-you-buy copy may be obtained from Shareware vendors, Bulletin Boards, or the library of the Compuserve Windows Software Developers Kit Forum (GO WINSDK).  HELLLP! is also available from any of the Internet FTP sites having access to the SimTel collection.  To find it, do a partial filename search for HELLLP since some sites use self-extracting files, some use ZIP files and some include the version number as part of the name (e.g. HELLLP23.ZIP).

If you received this sample on a disk, there is probably an evaluation copy of the HELLLP! system on it.  To try it out, copy the files HELLLP!.DOT and HELLLP!.HLP to the directory where you keep your WinWord templates, select File then New then choose the template HELLLP! and follow the prompts.  Once you have set up a project subdirectory, change to it and execute the self extracting program EXAMPLE.EXE from the disk to create a example to experiment with.


Wild Window
This just shows what you can do!

Like everything else here, it is an exaggerated example to demonstrate capabilities.


Special Help

This topic is a special help topic associated with the Help button you just clicked.  It demonstrates how HELLLP! is able to add a special button for a given topic, which may be displayed in either a main or secondary window, and connected to a topic of your choice.  Notice that this topic is displayed in a secondary window which also has working buttons.


 The HELLLP! Toolbar

Most frequently used functions of the HELLLP! system are accessed from the HELLLP! toolbar.

The T button defines topics, the J,P and C buttons define jumps.

The speaker and screen buttons define WinHelp macros, sound and other special effects.

The I and B buttons define display sequences.

The spectacles button tests the help file under construction and the ? button calls HELLLP!.HLP.


Multiple Windows

HELLLP! can assist in the generation of multiple windows, in different sizes and different colours.

Try clicking on these buttons:

	Warm		Cool
You can get quite fancy:
	Shazam!

You can even change the colour of the hotspot text.


Fancy Popup
	Back
 Just like magic!  A change to the main window, a new secondary window and a popup, all from one action of the button.  To return to where you were, just use the Back button.


Colour Hotspot
That was a hotspot too!  Different cultures assign different meanings to colours (as well as spelling them differently!).


FALSEyesyesyesyesHELLLP! Generatedhypertxt


Table of Contents

Hypertext Document Structure

automated table of contents

Author's table of contents

lower level topics

intermediate topics

automatic hypertext jumps

hotspots in topics

authors hypertext jumps

Ed Guy

Business Card


Help file produced by  HELLLP!, a product of Guy Software, on 01/02/94 for Edward Guy.

The above table of contents will be automatically completed and will also provide an excellent cross-reference for context strings and topic titles.  You may leave it as your main table of contents for your help file, or you may create your own and cause it to be displayed instead by using the I button on the toolbar.  This page will not be displayed as a topic.

HINT:  If you do not wish some of your topics to appear in the table of contents as displayed to your users (you may want them ONLY as PopUps), move the lines with their titles and contexts to below this point.  If you do this remember to move the whole line, not part.


Hypertext Document Structure

A windows help file usually contains several levels of hypertext "menus", in which there are jumps from a top-level menu to one or more other levels of menu. HELLLP!  makes customization of this structure very easy.  The cool colour "blue" items on the structure below are automatically created by HELLLP!, the hot colour "red" items are inserted or imported by the author.

This drawing is a hypertext picture.  Just click on an item for an explanation of its place in the scheme of things.


automated table of contents
This table of contents is created by HELLLP!, and it has automatically created hypertext jumps (shown in blue) to every other topic set up by HELLLP!.  Unless the Help file author specifies otherwise, this is the table of contents which is first displayed when the help file is invoked.  For a simple help file, the author may be satisfied with this.  However most authors will want to create their own structures.  The automated table of contents is able to assist in this, since it has every topic listed along with its context string, all in one place.

When an author clicks on the [J] or [P] buttons, he/she is taken to this table of contents to select the target of the jump or PopUp, since titles are easier to remember than context strings.

The red jumps are those inserted by the author, the maroon and yellow topics are those inserted or imported by the author.


Author's table of contents
This is the Author's Table of Contents or other opening screen.  Since no automatic hypertext jumps go to the automated table of contents and it does not appear in the keyword list or browse sequence, there is no way in which it can appear to the ultimate user if the author uses the [I] button to set this as the initially displayed topic.


lower level topics
These are the lower level topics, but even they may have hypertext jumps or PopUps leading from them.


intermediate topics
These are intermediate levels of "Menu" set up by the author. There may be many of these (in the thousands if needed).


automatic hypertext jumps
These are hypertext jumps which are automatically set up by HELLLP!


hotspots in topics
These are HotSpots, either text or graphics, included in the text.  The jump occurs when the user clicks the mouse pointer on one of them.


authors hypertext jumps
These are hypertext jumps which are set up by the author, using the Point & Shoot techniques provided by HELLLP!.


Ed Guy, P.Eng, CDP
	Edward Guy P. Eng., CDP Information Technology Consultant 1752 Duchess Avenue, West Vancouver, BC, Canada  V7V 1P9 (604)926-1370 Compuserve:71750,1036