WinHelp+ v2.20 Help
Welcome to WinHelp+ v2.20, a Windows 3.1 utility that allows the user edit and compile both Quick & Dirty Help and the Microsoft Help Compiler files with ease. The Microsoft Help Compiler and Quick & Dirty Help are DOS programs and this creates alot of extra work when ironing out that last little bug in the help file, but with WinHelp+ v2.20, you can do this simply inside one program.

WinHelp+ v2.20 IS compatible with QDHelp v2.0!

 Registering your copy of WinHelp+ v2.20 entitles your to user support and updates when they become available.

 Pick an Index... Any Index!

 SHAREWARE... What Does it mean to YOU AND ME?

 Editing Resources...

 Compiling Resources...

 Configure WinHelp+ v2.20...

 Testing your new .HLP files...

 Running QDH Edit ...


Quick & Dirty Help
Quick & Dirty Help Writers Assistant

 QDHelp makes it simple to generate a help file. Using any ASCII editor, you can have a help with topics, standard links, popup links, bitmap links, browse sequences and keyword searches in no time! QDHelp has many features that make your task of writing help files easier than ever before.

You can obtain QDHelp from:

Phil Allen

1185 Lowell Dr. Apt. #5

Oconomowoc, WI 53066


Microsoft Help Compiler

 The Help Compiler generates the binary help resource file from the topic files listed in the help project file. When the compiler process is complete, your application can access the Help file.

You can obtain the Help Compiler from:

Microsoft Corporation

One Microsoft Way

Redmond, WA 98052-6399


How To Register...


SHAREWARE... What does it mean to YOU AND ME?

 Shareware is the way that users like you and I can obtain quality programs. Try one out for a while without cost, if you continue to use it, pay for it usually, at a fraction of the cost of a commercially priced package. If you do not continue to use the program, you simply erase it from your system, and pay nothing. The Shareware process is tightly woven around the honor system. Even though Shareware programmers don't ask for a huge contribution, it does not imply that they don't spend endless hours to deliver a quality product. Consider the hours that it takes to design, code, and debug Windows programs, and you will see that they are asking peanuts for a quality product like the one that you are looking at right now!

 Please support SHAREWARE! It benefits everyone!!! Thank You...

 To register, please call or send $25.00 to...

 Stedy Software & Systems

 781 Beech Street, #1

 Manchester, NH 03104-3671

 (603) 626-6034


Editing Help File Resources...

 This is a list of resources you can edit and the program(s) used to edit them:

 Rich Text Format	RTF	*User choice

 Include	INC	*User choice

 QDHelp	QDH	QDH Edit (Internal; WinHelp+ v2.20)

 Text	TXT	*User choice

 Help Project	HPJ	*User choice

 Bitmap	BMP	Windows 3.1 PaintBrush

 Note: *User choice is defined in the CONFIGURE menu.


Configure WinHelp+ v2.20...

Program Locations:

Specify the PATH and FILENAME of your HELP COMPILER, QDHELP COMPILER, RICH TEXT FORMAT EDITOR and TEXT EDITOR. The RICH TEXT FORMAT EDITOR will be used for files with the extension of RTF and INC. The TEXT EDITOR will be used for files with the extension of TXT and HPJ.

Run DOS as Icon:

On 386 or above.... WinHelp+ v2.20 will attempt to run all DOS sessions as an icon.

Also see: Editing Resources...


Compile Help Resources
 Compile Help Resources......

WinHelp+ v2.20 will compile both QDH and HPJ/RTF resources.

HC.EXE and QDHELP.EXE are DOS programs. WinHelp+ v2.20 will run these programs full screen on a 286, windowed or iconized on a 386 or higher. If you run HC.EXE as an icon, WinHelp+ v2.20 will report all DOS messages to you after compiler action completes.

Note: You have an option of printing this information.

Note: Compiler PATH, FILENAME(s), and DOS run modes are defined in the CONFIGURE menu.


 Test your NEW .HLP file...

 WinHelp+ v2.20 allows you to test your new HELP file by giving you a choice of calling conventions...

 General Overview...

 Commands/Option Buttons...


 Test (A General Overview)

 This topic explains how to use the Test Help File section of WinHelp+ v2.20

 To look at the Index of a Help file:

 1.    Enter the path and filename of the Visual Basic Help file into the Help File box.  For example, enter C:.HLP, or whatever path exists to your Visual Basic directory.

 2.    In the Commands group, click the Index option button.

 3.    Click OK or press Enter to call Winhelp with a command to display the Index.

 To look up a keyword in the Help file:

 1.    In the Commands group, click the Keyword option button.  The status bar instructs you to enter a keyword in the Data box.

 2.    In the Data box, enter the word color.

 3.    Click OK or press Enter to call WinHelp with a command to use the Search facility to look up the keyword in the K keyword table and display the first topic listed.  You can check this by clicking the Search button in WinHelp, and searching for color.  The first topic listed should be the one already displayed.

 To test a context number:

 1.    In the Commands group, click the Context option button.  The status bar instructs you to enter a valid number in the Data box.

 2.    In the Data box, enter 2018 (the context number for an existing Visual Basic help topic).  If the number is not valid, WinHelp displays a "Topic not found" message.

 3.    Click OK or press Enter to call WinHelp with a command to display the specified topic.

 To test a multikey keyword:

 1.    In the Commands group, click the Multikey option button.  The status bar instructs you to enter a keyword in the Data box.

 2.    In the Multikey Keyword Table box just to the right of the Multikey option button, enter the letter E.  (Visual Basic Help has a special E keyword table for the names of functions, statements, properties, and methods.)

 3.    In the Data box, enter forecolor, or any Visual Basic function name.  Only one topic will be found for any one keyword.

 4.    Click OK or press Enter to call WinHelp with a command to look up the keyword in the E keyword table and display the specified topic.

 To test Set Index:

 1.    In the Commands group, click the Set Index option button.  The status bar instructs you to enter a valid context number in the Data box.

 2.    In the Data box, enter 2018 (the context number for an existing Visual Basic help topic).

 3.    Click OK or press Enter to set the Code Window topic as the current index.

 4.    Click the Browse (>>) button several times to get a different topic, then click the Index button.  The same topic as in the context number procedure, above, should be displayed.

 To test Help Quit:

 1.    Have WinHelp and a help file open.  For example, after you have looked at the index of a help file (see the Set Index procedure above).

 2.    In the Commands group, click the Help Quit option button.

 3.    Click OK or press Enter.  WinHelp disappears if WinHelp+ v2.20 was the only application that called it.

 Or, do this:

 1.    Open Notepad and press F1 to get WinHelp and help on Notepad.

 2.    Minimize Notepad and WinHelp.

 3.    Re-activate WinHelp+ v2.20 and in the Commands group, click the Index option button. Click OK or press Enter to activate WinHelp and load the Visual Basic Help file again.

 4.    In the Commands group, click the Help Quit option button, and click OK or press Enter to tell WinHelp that WinHelp+ v2.20 does not need the Visual Basic Help file.  WinHelp should not change.

 5.    Reactivate Notepad and choose the Exit command from the File menu.  When Notepad exits, WinHelp should also exit, because no other running application needs it.


 Test (Commands/Option Buttons)

 Index Calls the Index topic of the Help File.  Data is ignored.

 Keyword Tells WinHelp to look up the Data term in the K keyword table of the specified Help File, and displays the first topic found by search.

 Context Tells WinHelp to display the topic specified by the number in the Data box.

 Set Index Sets the context number specified in the Data box as the current index for the specified help file.  When the user clicks the Index button, the topic for the specified context appears instead of the authored Index.  This index remains current until a different help file is loaded into WinHelp.

 For example, if your help file has two indexes, one for a VGA display, and one for EGA display, assuming the content of the help file is organized along those two separate lines, your application can tell the help file which index was appropriate for the environment. The user always gets help appropriate for the display environment when the Index button is clicked.

 Help Quit Notifies WinHelp that the the Help file is no longer used by WinHelp+ v2.20.  If WinHelp has been called by an other application, Help Quit keeps track of which help files might be used again, as an optimization measure in reloading the file.

 Help On Help Displays WinHelp's own help file on how to use WinHelp, including bookmarks, annotations, and Search.

 Multikey ends the Data term and tells WinHelp to look it up in the specified keyword table, then displays the corresponding topic.  A given Help file can have up to five separate keyword tables, including the K keyword table.


QDH Edit Help
 QDH Edit Help...

 MENU COMMANDS

 File Menu

 Edit Menu

 Text Menu

 ToolBox Menu

 Macros Menu


QDH Edit File Menu
 QDH Edit File Menu Help...

  New File	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 To start a new file, select File New.  All text in the notepad is removed.  If you have not Saved the previous file, you are prompted to save before opening a New file.

  Open File	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 To open a file on disk, select File Open.  This will bring up a standard Windows 3.1 File Open dialog to select a file.  Default file mask is ( *.qdh ).

  Save File	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 This will quickly save the file you are editing. If it is a new file, it will bring up a standard Windows 3.1 Dialog box to specify both the directory where you want to save the file and for the filename.  The file save operation may be cancelled.

  Save File As	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon: NONE

 This will bring up a standard Windows 3.1 Dialog box to specify both the directory where you want to save the file and for the filename.  The file save as operation may be cancelled.

  Printer	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 A standard Windows 3.1 dialog box appears and you can select to either print the entire file, ONLY the selected portion of the file, or SETUP your printer.

  Exit	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 Selecting this will close down QDH Edit.  If the current file has not been saved a prompt is issued.


QDH Edit Edit Menu
 QDH Edit Edit Menu Help...

  Undo	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 Undo will immediately UnDo the previous typing action taken. This must be the next action you choose.  If you perform any other editing, the UnDo buffer will be lost.  If you Delete something by mistake, click on the Edit Menu, then Undo, and the deleted text will be restored.

  Cut	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 Cut will delete the selected text from the textbox and copy it to the Clipboard.

  Copy 	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 Copy will make a copy of the selected text and place it on the Clipboard.  No change is made to the textbox text.

  Paste	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 Paste will place the text from the Clipboard into the textbox at the current location of the cursor.

  Delete	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 Delete will remove the selected text from the textbox but it DOES NOT place the deleted text on the Clipboard.  This action can be reversed with the UnDo button.


QDH Edit Text Menu
 QDH Edit Text Menu Help...

  Find	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 To find a text pattern, select Find.  A standard Windows 3.1 dialog box will open to enter the text pattern you want to find.  If the text pattern is found, the cursor is placed at the start of the pattern.  Searches can start from the position where the cursor is currently located or if you select global, from the beginninng.

  Find Next	ShortCut Keys: F3	ToolBox Icon: NONE

 Find Next will located the NEXT occurance of the text pattern entered with the preceeding Find operation.  No Dialog box is provided.  Note the SHORTCUT.  The Find Next searches only downward through the document.

  Replace	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon: NONE

 Replace will locate the text patteern, and replace it with the specified text. You can selectively use: global replace, verification, case sensitive, etc...

  Type Specs	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 This will bring up a standard Windows 3.1 Dialog box to select the font desired.  The font set is used both for printing and for screen display.  Font size is not restricted.  Note, the default setting in the font dialog box is "System - Bold".  Selecting "BOLD" will provide a slightly better screen display.  The fontweight is NOT sent to the printer - thus you can pick "BOLD" for the screen display and the printed text will still be regular.


QDH Edit ToolBox Menu
 QDH Edit ToolBox Menu Help...

  ToolBox	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon: NONE

 Select a position for the ToolBox; TOP, BOTTOM, LEFT, RIGHT, or FLOATING.


QDH Edit MacrosMenu
 QDH Edit MacrosMenu Help...

 Edit Macros	ShortCut Keys: NONE	ToolBox Icon:

 The macro capability within QDH Edit, provides the capability of storing keystrokes, up to 1975 characters, and later inserting them into a document by use of a PopUp Menu.  The Macro PopUp Menu can be activated by pressing Ctrl+M. They can also be selected by clicking the right mouse button over the grey area around the textbox.  The PopUp Menu displays a list of the Macros Titles.

Editing Macros

To set up the macros, under the Macros Menu, select Edit Macros.  This will bring up a second screen.  The top portion of the screen lists the titles of 12 of the 24 macros available.  To edit the other 12, click on the Next Page button. The multiline text box at the bottom of the form displays the actual macro text attached to any specific label.  Macro titles are limited to 24 characters.  Macro text is limited to 1975 characters.

To edit a macro, click the mouse on either the labeled button (A through X) or click the text entry box immediately to the right of the label.  Type the macro title in the box next to the label.  This is the title that will be displayed in the pop up menu.  Then click in the textbox at the bottom of the form and type the desired text into the textbox. Whenever you click on one of the textboxes next to the lettered buttons (A throughY), the cursor is shifted to the textbox.  You can start typing the title text for the macro immediately.  When the textbox looses focus the first 24 characters of the text box is inserted as the macro title.  The only purpose of the title is to provide a basis for selecting the desired macro from the pop up menu. You may also paste whatever is on the Clipboard into the Textbox.  If you elect to Paste from the Clipboard whatever is currently on the Clipboard will be added to whatever was attached to that macro before.

While working in the text box the Macro PopUp menu can be activated by pressing Ctrl+M. They can also be selected by clicking the right mouse button over the grey area around the textbox.  To select a particular macro, press the letter of the macro you want or move the highlite up and down the menu with the up and down arrow keys until the one you want is highlited.  Then press the Enter key.  You can also click the item you want with the left mouse button.  Selecting a Macro will insert the macro text at the cursor location in the text box.

 Select Macros	ShortCut Keys: Ctrl+M	ToolBox Icon:

 Clicking this menu selection will PopUp the Macro Menu.  To cancel the menu, click with the mouse, anywhere outside the menu. The Macros PopUp Menu can also be activated by holding down the Ctrl Key and pressing M. To select a macro, press the letter of the macro (A through X), use the up and down arrow keys to select the menu item desired by pressing the enter key, or click the item you want with the mouse.