 Welcome to PC HelpDesk

Welcome to eHelp’s PC HelpDesk, the powerful new knowledge base authoring tool from the makers of RoboHELP, WinHelp 2000, Web Office, and Power SQL.  PC HelpDesk packages your product knowledge base into a customized HelpDesk you design, create, and maintain. Customers simply click on the HelpDesk link from your system’s Help file, and they have instant access to valuable information about your products. A well designed HelpDesk can lower your technical support costs and increase customer satisfaction by providing an easy way for your customers to get answers to their most common questions.

Whether you are a technical support engineer new to Help systems or an experienced Help systems author new to knowledge bases, you will find PC HelpDesk is

•	Easy to use. PC HelpDesk has a Help system "look and feel," so your users can easily locate topics using the Contents page, the Keywords Index, or a Full Text Search. The HelpDesk even displays within the familiar Help file window.

•	Easy to access. PC HelpDesk works with Power SQL™ (an Internet ODBC driver) to provide a transparent Internet connection to your HelpDesk. If your customers have Internet access, they can access your HelpDesk knowledge base through the Internet – without starting an Internet browser, without requiring them to select a web site, without them even realizing they are on the Internet! For users without Internet access, you can provide a local copy of the HelpDesk. Or you can setup your own ODBC data source to access your HelpDesk knowledge base on an intranet or a local area/wide area network.

•	Easy to create and maintain. PC HelpDesk combines the power of a database with an ActiveX control. That means it not only supports multiple topic authors and allows you to create and maintain the HelpDesk project independent of the Help file, but also that topic updates occur in real-time. Once saved, new topic information is immediately part of your HelpDesk. If you’re using an Internet connection, your users have instant access to the latest information. And because PC HelpDesk uses the Help system metaphor, adding, changing, deleting, and re-arranging topics is quick and almost effortless.

•	Easy to link. PC HelpDesk’s link wizard helps you create the link between your HelpDesk and your system’s Help file.

While PC HelpDesk is primarily intended to help you design and maintain knowledge bases containing Frequently Asked Questions, technical support issues, and known bugs, it could easily be used to create other types of knowledge bases – everything from actual customer HelpDesk support to product marketing information to online cookbooks! We’re sure you’ll use PC HelpDesk’s power to create all kinds of inventive knowledge bases.

In this Help system, you will find explanations of the many features in PC HelpDesk, as well as tips to guide you through the program’s basic functionality.

Related Topics

About PC HelpDesk’s Design

Planning a HelpDesk

Adding PC HelpDesk to your Help system


 About PC HelpDesk's Design

PC HelpDesk contains two tools; the PC HelpDesk Author creates and maintains PC HelpDesk databases, and the PC HelpDesk control displays the PC HelpDesk on a users system. In a sense, the Power SQL Internet Driver is a third tool, enabling the PC HelpDesk to be displayed from across the Internet.

PC HelpDesk Author

The PC HelpDesk Author allows you to create and maintain a PC HelpDesk. From here you can create new HelpDesks, and modify the information in the HelpDesk. The PC HelpDesk Author appears very similar to the PC HelpDesk control, so what the end-user sees will be very similar to what the HelpDesk author creates.

PC HelpDesk Control

The PC HelpDesk control is an ActiveX control inserted into RoboHELP help projects. The PC HelpDesk control displays the HelpDesk, and allows the user to search through the index, perform full text searches, and much more. The PC HelpDesk has been designed to have as much as possible in common with Windows Help systems.

Power SQL Internet Driver

The Power SQL Internet Driver is not required to use PC HelpDesk, however it provides a very useful feature – the ability to provide remote access to your HelpDesk through the Internet. When using Power SQL, updates to the HelpDesk are instantly available on the users systems. Power SQL can be used through an intranet, or the Internet.


 Planning a HelpDesk

Creating a usable HelpDesk, like creating a usable Help file, takes planning. Before you begin, you’ll want to think about what you want to accomplish and how to design your HelpDesk to best meet your needs and your user’s needs.

Follow these guidelines to plan and design your HelpDesk project:

•	Decide where your HelpDesk database resides – on an intranet/Internet site or on the user’s local drive?

•	Decide how you will make updates available to your users – up-to-the-minute updates through the Internet or "subscription" updates shipped with a new release of your system’s Help file?

•	If you are using your own database, check the database structure and connect to a data source.

•	Create the new HelpDesk project.

•	Establish HelpDesk products and areas.

•	Add HelpDesk topics and topic properties.

•	Add keywords and See Also links.

•	Save the HelpDesk project database.

•	Add the HelpDesk to a Help file.

•	Test the HelpDesk Topic.

•	Ship your HelpDesk.


 Distributing a PC HelpDesk

These are the files to distribute with a PC HelpDesk. You may want to provide this list to the person who is responsible for the installation.

•	All should be installed to your users windows\system folder unless otherwise specified below.

•	All of these files can be found in your windows\system folder unless otherwise specified below.

Files	Comments
THE PC HELPDESK CONTROL HELPDESK.OCX HELPDESK.CNT HELPDESK.HLP	You may use the default HELPDESK.HLP or replace with your own version
ACTIVE WINHELP ACTXWH.DLL
YOUR HELPDESK FILE  <YOURFILE>.PHD	If distributing a HelpDesk file. It is recommended that you install this to the same folder as the Help file which calls it. Alternatively, you can set up a separate folder for this file.
POWER SQL  POWERSQL.DLL POWERSQL.CNT POWERSQL.HLP	Distribute these 3 Power SQL files if you are using Power SQL to access the HelpDesk
MFC DLLs MFC40.DLL MSVCRT40.DLL MFC42.DLL MSVCIRT.DLL MSVCRT.DLL MSVCRT10.DLL OLEAUT32.DLL OLEPRO32.DLL
ODBC	ODBC must be installed.


 Changing the HelpDesk Control Help File

When shipping a PC HelpDesk enabled help file to your users, you may want to customize the HelpDesk control help file. The source for the HelpDesk control help file is provided (by default, this is installed under c:\winhelp\helpdesk\help on your hard drive), and may be altered to use your company name, and any additional information for your particular application.


 Creating a New HelpDesk Project

To create a new PC HelpDesk project:

1	Open RoboHELP.

2	Click the Tools tab and double-click PC HelpDesk.

3	The Select PC HelpDesk dialog appears. Select Create a new HelpDesk and click OK.

4	Enter the name you want to use for the project file (*.phd) in the Filename box.

5	Select the location for saving the new files.

•	If you want the project to be stored in a different drive or folder than the one displayed, click Browse and select the folder to use.

6	Click Save. PC HelpDesk opens the new project and displays the HelpDesk template. You are now ready to enter your products, areas, and topics.

Note

PC HelpDesk automatically formats the HelpDesk database as a Microsoft Access database. If you want to use another type of database, you will need to duplicate the table and column structure used in the Microsoft Access database, and create an ODBC data source for the database.

See Also

Planning a HelpDesk project


 Connecting to a Data Source

PC HelpDesk creates a new HelpDesk in the Microsoft Access database format by default. However, depending on where you have planned for your HelpDesk to reside and how you expect your users to access your HelpDesk, you may need to specify more detailed information. If you plan to make your HelpDesk available to users through a local or wide area network, intranet, or Internet, you’ll need to use Power SQL.

Ordinarily you will not need to create an ODBC data source. PC HelpDesk works without data sources for Microsoft Access (where you only need to specify the file name) and Power SQL (where you specify the Server, and the ODBC data source on the server). You will need an ODBC data source if you wish to connect to a different type of database (such as SQL Server).

What do you want to do?

Connect to a Power SQL data source

Connect to an ODBC data source


 Connecting to a Power SQL Data Source

Power SQL (the ODBC Internet driver) is used to provide transparent Internet access to your HelpDesk. The steps to setting it up are fairly simple. Ordinarily, you will create the HelpDesk database as a file, and work with it directly (on your local machine). You can also update the file through Power SQL, by going to the File menu, and selecting Open Power SQL. Once your HelpDesk is completed, you will want to let your customers start accessing it.

Setting up a Power SQL Server

First, set up Power SQL on your server. The server needs to be accessible from the Internet (or it may be used through an intranet as well), and it must have a reliable network address.

1. 	Install the Power SQL server to your server. The server must be a Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000 system .

2. 	Create an ODBC data source for your HelpDesk database. Do this by starting the Control Panel (in Settings), and running the ODBC Administrator.

3. 	Click on the System DSN button, or select the System DSN tab to create a system data source.

4. 	Click on Add, and select the database type. For a normal HelpDesk MDB file, use the Microsoft Access driver, otherwise select the type of database you used.

5. 	Fill in all information, and give the data source a name. For a standard Microsoft Access HelpDesk file, simply select your HelpDesk PHD file.

6. 	Click on OK to store the data source.

Connecting to the Power SQL Server

Once the HelpDesk database is created, and Power SQL is configured on your server, you can set up the HelpDesk control:

1. 	In RoboHELP, go to the Extensions menu, and insert a PC HelpDesk control. This will bring up the HelpDesk Control dialog.

2. 	Set any other properties, then click on the Properties button to set the PC HelpDesk Control properties.

3. 	Select Power SQL Internet Data Source as the type, then click on the browse button to bring up the Power SQL dialog.

4. 	If your server is in the list of Power SQL servers, select it, otherwise click on the ellipsis (…) button beside the list of servers, and click on Add to bring up the Power SQL Server properties dialog.

5. 	Enter a name for the server ("HelpDesk Server"), and the network address of your server ("www.blue-sky.com", "123.45.67.890", or "LocalServer"), and click on OK to save the new server, then exit the Power SQL Server dialog.

6. 	Click on the ellipsis (…) button beside the Server Data Source Name, and select your data source.

7. 	Enter a user name and password if you specified one, and click on OK.

If there are any errors, contact Tech Support for more assistance, otherwise you are done setting up the primary data source.

Setting up the PC HelpDesk Control Options

If you have a user name and password, and you do not wish the users to be prompted to enter the password, you can provide it in the User Name property page. If it is likely that some of your customers may not be able to get to the Power SQL server (no Internet access), you can provide an alternative in the form of an Alternative Data Source. Go to the Alternative Data Source tab, and select an ODBC data source. You will need to create this data source as part of your install, on the customer’s computer.


 Connecting to an ODBC Data Source

Ordinarily you will not need to create an ODBC data source. PC HelpDesk works without data sources for Microsoft Access (where you only need to specify the file name) and Power SQL (where you specify the Server, and the ODBC data source on the server). You will need an ODBC data source if you wish to connect to a different type of database (such as SQL Server).

To connect to an ODBC data source

1	From the File menu, select Open an ODBC data source.

2	Select the ODBC data source and click OK to open the data source.

Note

If an ODBC data source is specified in your HelpDesk topic in your Help system:

•	When you open the HelpDesk project database, PC HelpDesk tries to open the ODBC data source first. If that data source no longer exists, PC HelpDesk uses the information stored in the data source to find the HelpDesk database.

•	When your users open the HelpDesk from the Help file, the data source must still be valid. If it is not, the database must be accessible using the information contained in the data source. For example, if part of the information in the data source is a server name, that server must be accessible from any computer your users will use to install your system, Help file, and HelpDesk. Often Power SQL is used to solve this problem.

What is an ODBC Data Source?

An ODBC data source is a method of providing sufficient information about a database, including what type of database, where it is, and other necessary information, to connect to the database. By using the ODBC Administrator (usually in the Control Panel, under Settings in the Start menu), you can select a database type, then specify where the database is. This creates an ODBC data source.


 Opening an Existing HelpDesk Project

To open an existing HelpDesk project, select the File menu, and select Open. Use the file dialog to locate your PC HelpDesk (*.phd) file. You will not have to open a HelpDesk project very often, by default the last used project is opened when PC HelpDesk is started.

See Also

Opening a Power SQL Data Source

Opening an ODBC Data Source


 Saving a HelpDesk Project

In general, you do not need to save a PC HelpDesk project, the HelpDesk is saved as you make changes. The only exception occurs when you are editing a topic. Changes made to the current topic are not saved until you open a different topic.

•	To force the current topic to be saved, press the [image] Save Current Topic toolbar button.

•	To discard changes to the current topic, press the [image] Revert to Saved Topic toolbar button.


 Exiting a HelpDesk Project

•	To exit, from the File menu, click Exit. All changes are always automatically saved.


 Setting PC HelpDesk Options

PC HelpDesk project options allow you to set your preferences:

•	Choose when and if to display a confirmation message before the HelpDesk database is altered.

•	Setting the Author name used to indicate who created or last updated the HelpDesk database.

To set PC HelpDesk project options

1	From the View menu, select Options.

2	Make your changes in the dialog.

3	Click OK to save the new settings.

See Also

Setting the HelpDesk version


 Viewing the PC HelpDesk Properties

The PC HelpDesk Properties dialog displays the properties of the current HelpDesk. The properties include all of the information necessary to add the PC HelpDesk into a RoboHELP help file, such as the HelpDesk type, connection string, file, ODBC Data Source or Power SQL Data Source. You may print this information, or save it to a text (TXT) or rich text (RTF) format.

To view the current HelpDesk properties

1	From the File menu, select Properties.

2	Save or Print the properties if desired, and press Close to exit.


 Setting HelpDesk Database Version

PC HelpDesk allows you to specify the version of the information in your HelpDesk database. By using the database version feature, you can make sure your customers have the most up-to-date information. The version number displays on the information toolbar button in the PC HelpDesk control. As you add or change information in your HelpDesk, update the version number.

To set or change the version of your HelpDesk database

1	From the File menu, select Properties.

2	Enter the appropriate version number and click OK.

See Also

Setting PC HelpDesk Options

Viewing the PC HelpDesk Properties


 Correcting Spelling

PC HelpDesk spellchecking includes a custom dictionary for your specialized terms, and a wide range of useful options. As you spellcheck your topics, you can add new words to the custom dictionary, and set the options to avoid stopping on correctly spelled words. The spellchecker checks topics, products, areas, and index keywords.

To spellcheck the current topic

1	From the Edit menu, select Spelling, then select Current Topic.

2	Correct or add to the custom dictionary any misspelled words.

To spellcheck all topics

1	From the Edit menu, select Spelling, then select All Topics.

2	Correct or add to the custom dictionary any misspelled words.

To spellcheck Products, Areas, and Index Keywords

1	From the Edit menu, select Spelling, then select Names and Keywords.

2	Check the items to be spellchecked in the Spellcheck Names and Keywords dialog.

3	Press Spellcheck to spellcheck the selected items.

4	Correct or add to the custom dictionary any misspelled words.

See Also

Setting Spellchecker Options


 Setting Spellchecker Options

The PC HelpDesk spellchecker has several options to set the level of spellchecking performed. The options allow you to set types of words to ignore, such as all upper case (ASAP), or words with numbers (Win95). You can also choose whether spellchecking should be case sensitive, and what types of suggestions are made when a misspelled word is found.

To set the spellchecker options

1	From the Edit menu, select Spelling Options.

2	Make your changes to the options in the dialog.

3	Click OK to save the new settings.


 Adding a HelpDesk to your Help System Overview

Your PC HelpDesk is designed to be added into a standard Windows Help file, as a topic in the Help file. In this way, the end-user can access the HelpDesk from a familiar environment. The PC HelpDesk control has itself been designed to be very similar to a Windows Help system, with a table of contents, index, and full text search, along with a standard See Also reference and browse buttons. However, the HelpDesk is also Internet enabled, allowing you to instantly update all help systems with updated information.

See Also

Adding a HelpDesk to a Help file

Testing the HelpDesk

Modifying a HelpDesk in a Help file


 Adding a HelpDesk to a Help File

When adding a PC HelpDesk into a Help file, you need to decide whether to simply include the HelpDesk file, and allow users to access the HelpDesk locally, or to use Power SQL to provide Internet (or intranet) access to your HelpDesk. If some users may not have Internet access, you can provide an alternative HelpDesk in the installation.

To Add a HelpDesk to a Help file

1	Open the Help project in RoboHELP.

2	From the RoboHELP Insert menu, choose Special Help Topics – PC Help Desk topic.

3	Place your cursor in the newly created PC HelpDesk topic.

4	Right-click and select Properties.

5	In Topic ID to display if PC HelpDesk is not installed, enter or navigate to an alternate Topic ID if PC HelpDesk isn’t installed, or the ODBC or Power SQL Data Source doesn’t exist on the user’s system.

6	Choose the type of HelpDesk link:

•	If you are distributing the HelpDesk (*.phd) files (create using eHelp’s PC HelpDesk) with your Help file, select PC HelpDesk File..

•	If the Help Desk is in an ODBC data format (created using dBASE, Excel, FoxPro, Microsoft Access, or a text file), select ODBC Data Source.

•	If the Help Desk is in Power SQL format (created using eHelp’s Power SQL), select Power SQL Internet Data Source.

7	In PC HelpDesk file name, enter or navigate to the HelpDesk file.

8	Click the Advanced tab.

9	You can add a password to the Help Desk. Set the properties in the User Name and Password text boxes.

10	 If desired, set the Alternative Data Source to the name of an ODBC data source that will be installed on the end-users system. This data source will only be used if unable to connect to the main HelpDesk, such as if using Power SQL, and the Internet connection is unavailable.

11	Be sure to add the needed files to your installation. Remember that PC HelpDesk requires an ODBC driver for the database, or the Power SQL Internet Driver (self-installing), the RoboHELP DLL’s, and the PC HelpDesk Control files. See Distributing a PC Help Desk for more information.


 Testing a HelpDesk Topic in a Help File

After you have added the PC HelpDesk to the Help file, make the Help file, and navigate to the new topic. The PC HelpDesk will be embedded right into the Help system, with the title, browse buttons and menus of a typical Help topic.

To test the HelpDesk topic

1	Navigate to the HelpDesk topic, and be sure the correct HelpDesk is displayed.

2	Install on a clean system, and check that the HelpDesk works properly.

3	If using an Alternative Data Source, make the HelpDesk unavailable – either by moving the HelpDesk file, or removing the Internet connection. Navigate to the topic, and check that the Alternative Data Source works properly.

Tip:

You can also test the HelpDesk topic right from RoboHELP by using the ActiveTest button. Go to the PC HelpDesk topic inside the Help file and click ActiveTest from the RoboHELP toolbar or Tool Palette.


 Securing a HelpDesk

While most uses of a PC HelpDesk will not require any security, you may wish to require a user name and password to view or edit the HelpDesk. As a database, you can use the database security features to protect your HelpDesk against unauthorized changes or viewing.

To add security to a HelpDesk

•	Use the Access database to add a user name and password.

To use the PC HelpDesk Author with security

•	When opening the HelpDesk, check the Require Login checkbox to be prompted to enter the user name and password.

To use the PC HelpDesk Control with security

1	Open the Help project in RoboHELP 5.0 or later

2	Go to the Extensions menu, and click on PC HelpDesk to create or edit a HelpDesk topic.

3	Click on Properties in the PC HelpDesk link wizard to set up the HelpDesk.

4	Click on the Properties button to set the HelpDesk control properties.

5	If the end-user should be prompted to enter the user name and password, check the Display Logon checkbox.

If the end-user should not be prompted for the password, provide a correct user name and password in the User Name tab.


 Updating an Existing HelpDesk

By using Power SQL, the HelpDesk may be continually updated with the latest information. Any changes made to the HelpDesk on the Power SQL server will be immediately visible to the end-users. Because PC HelpDesk is a database oriented system, updates may be made directly to the HelpDesk without needing to take the system down. No compiling or other intermediary steps are required.

If you are not using Power SQL, updates to the HelpDesk are a matter of sending out updated HelpDesk files. No alterations to the Help file are needed, and the HelpDesk has no need to be compiled or constructed in any way.


 Modifying a HelpDesk Topic in a Help File

If you need to modify the properties or options of a HelpDesk topic in a Help file, do not try to edit the macro command directly, use Properties.

To modify a PC HelpDesk Topic

1	Open the Help project in RoboHELP.

2	Place the cursor in the PC HelpDesk to modify

3	Right-click and select Properties.

4	Change properties and options on the General and Advanced tabs.

5	Click OK.


 Managing Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

In the table of contents, all HelpDesk topics are organized by product and area. Typically, one of the first things added to a HelpDesk is a list of the products and areas to be covered by the HelpDesk. Products and areas can be added at any time, and topics may be moved between different areas and products. Each HelpDesk topic has a product (such as RoboHELP) and an area (such as Feature List) indicating what the topic describes.

For example, the table of contents may contain:

Product: 	RoboHELP

Area: 	Feature List

Topic:	PC HelpDesk Support

What do you want to do?

Work with Products

Adding products

Renaming products

Deleting products

Work with Areas

Adding areas

Renaming areas

Moving areas

Deleting areas

Work with Topics

Displaying Topics

Adding topics

Saving topics

Renaming topics

Moving topics

Deleting topics

Printing topics

Exporting topics

See Also

Keywords and See Also References Overview


 Adding Products

Products are the first level in the HelpDesk hierarchy. All areas and topics fall under a product. Products appear in the left-pane in alphabetical order by product name.

To add a product

1	Right-click in the left pane and select New Product.

2	Enter the product name and press Enter.

OR Press the [image] New Product toolbar button.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Renaming products

Deleting products


 Renaming Products

Renaming a product will alter all references to the product, except those in the topic text itself. Renaming the product will not cause any broken links, or changes to the HelpDesk structure.

To rename a product

1	Right-click on the product you want to rename.

2	Select Rename Product.

3	Type the new product name and press Enter.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Adding products

Deleting products


 Deleting Products

Products are the highest level in the HelpDesk hierarchy. Deleting a product deletes all areas, topics, and topic keywords under that product. Delete products with caution – you cannot undo this operation. If you make a mistake or change your mind, you will have to read the product and all of its associated areas, topics, and topic keywords. You can delete a product by selecting the product, and pressing the delete key, so it is important to always have the confirmation message turned on for this operation (see Options).

To delete a product

1	Right-click on the product you want to delete.

2	Select Delete Product.

Note

If you have disabled the PC HelpDesk option to confirm before deleting, you will not receive a confirmation message warning you of the impact.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Adding products

Renaming products

Setting PC HelpDesk project options


 Adding Areas

Areas are the second level of the HelpDesk hierarchy and allow you to define groups of topics for each product. HelpDesk topics always appear under their related product area.

To add an area

1	In the left-pane, right-click on the product name you want to place the area under and select New Area.

2	Type the name of the new area and press Enter. The area displays in the left pane under the selected product.

OR Press the [image] New Area toolbar button.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Renaming areas

Moving areas

Deleting areas


 Renaming Areas

Renaming an area will alter all references to the area, except those in the topic text itself. Renaming the area will not cause any broken links, or changes to the HelpDesk structure.

To rename an area

1	In the left-pane, right-click on the area you want to rename and select Rename Area.

2	Type the new area name and press Enter.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Adding areas

Moving areas

Deleting areas


 Moving Areas from One Product to Another

You can move an area from one product to another. Moving an area also moves all topics under the selected area. No See Also, or keyword links will be broken or changed by moving the area.

To move an area

1	In the left-pane, right-click on the area you want to move.

2	Select Move Area. The Move the Area dialog box appears. An open book icon indicates the current product the area falls under.

3	Select the new product the area should move to and click OK.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Adding areas

Renaming areas

Deleting areas


 Deleting Areas

Areas are the second level in the HelpDesk hierarchy. Deleting an area deletes all topics and topic keywords under that area. Delete products with caution – you cannot undo this operation. If you make a mistake or change your mind, you will have to read the area and all its associated topics and topic keywords. You can delete an area by selecting the area, and pressing the delete key, so it is important to always have the confirmation message turned on for this operation (see Options).

To delete an area

1	Right-click on the area you want to delete.

2	Select Delete Area.

Note

If you have disabled the PC HelpDesk option to confirm before deleting, you will not receive a confirmation message warning you of the impact.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Adding areas

Renaming areas

Moving areas

Setting PC HelpDesk project options


 Adding Topics

Topics contain all of the information in the HelpDesk. The topics are linked together by See Also links, Keywords , and the Table of Contents. All topics are automatically added into the table of contents, under their product and area, alphabetically.

To add a topic

1	In the [image] Contents tab, right-click on the area you want to place the topic under and select New Topic. A new blank topic appears in the Current Topic pane, and a new topic page appears in the Project pane, under the selected area.

2	Enter the new topic name and press Tab to continue entering topic information (summary, details, and resolution).

3	The new topic will be saved automatically when you open another topic.

OR Press the [image] Save Current Topic button to store the topic.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Saving topics

Renaming topics

Moving topics

Deleting topics

Printing topics

Exporting topics


 Renaming Topics

Renaming a topic will alter all references to the topic. Renaming the topic will not cause any broken links, or changes to the HelpDesk structure.

To rename a topic

1	In the [image] Contents tab, right-click on the topic you want to rename and select Rename Topic.

2	Type the new topic name and press Enter. The new topic name is displayed.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Adding topics

Saving topics

Moving topics

Deleting topics


 Deleting Topics

Deleting a topic deletes topic information (summary, details, resolution, topic properties, topic keywords, and See Also links). Use caution, as you cannot undo this operation.

To delete a topic

1	Right-click on the topic you want to delete.

2	Select Delete Topic.

Note

You cannot undo this operation. If you have disabled the PC HelpDesk option to confirm before deleting, you will not receive a confirmation message warning you of the impact.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Adding topics

Saving topics

Renaming topics

Moving topics

Printing topics

Exporting topics

Setting PC HelpDesk project options


 Moving Topics from One Area to Another

You can move a topic from one product and area to a completely different product and area. No See Also, or keyword links will be broken or changed by moving the topic.

To move a topic

1	Right-click on the topic you want to move.

2	Select Move Topic. The Move the Topic dialog box appears. The open book icons indicate which product and area the topic is under now.

3	Select the area the topic should move to and click OK. The topic appears under the selected product and area.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Adding topics

Saving topics

Renaming topics

Deleting topics

Printing topics

Exporting topics


 Displaying Topics

Topics are displayed and edited in the right, Current Topic pane. Below the Current Topic pane is the Properties pane, containing properties, keywords, and See Also links for the current topic.

To display a topic

1	Select the topic you wish to display

2	Press the Display Topic button, or right-click on the topic and select Display Topic.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Printing topics

Exporting topics


 Setting Topic Properties

Topics are displayed and edited in the right, Current Topic pane. Below the Current Topic pane is the Properties pane, containing properties, keywords, and See Also links for the current topic.

The topic properties contain:

•	The product this topic describes

•	The area this topic describes

•	The versions the topic applies to (e.g. which versions of the product have the described feature)

•	Notes about the topic (not shown to the end-user)

•	Information about who created and last altered this topic (not shown to the end-user)

•	Topic Keywords

•	See Also links to related topics

To modify topic properties

1	Select the topic you wish to display

2	Press the Display Topic button, or right-click on the topic and select Display Topic.

3	Modify the topic properties.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview


 Saving Topics

Because topic information is the "heart" of your HelpDesk, PC HelpDesk doesn’t automatically save changes made to an existing topic. This prevents "accidental" changes from making their way into your topics. You must explicitly save the topic before changes are made to the HelpDesk. If a new topic is opened in the Current Topic view, changes made to the current topic will be saved automatically, after a confirmation message.

To save a topic

1	Click [image] Save Topic

OR From the File menu, select Save Current Topic.

Note

PC HelpDesk will automatically save when exiting, or if a different topic is opened. If you have disabled the PC HelpDesk option to confirm before saving, you will not receive a confirmation message warning you of the impact.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Reverting to a Saved Topic


 Updating Topics

One of the benefits of PC HelpDesk is that as you update topics, these changes can be available to your end-users, instantly. There is no need to compile, or otherwise prepare a HelpDesk before it is used.

To update topic information

1	In the Project pane Contents tab (tree view, left pane), select the topic’s product, then area.

2	Double-click on the topic to update. The selected topic appears in the Current Topic pane (right pane).

3	Enter the new or updated information.

4	Click [image] Save Topic

OR From the File menu, select Save Current Topic.

Note

PC HelpDesk will automatically save when exiting, or if a different topic is opened. If you have disabled the PC HelpDesk option to confirm before saving, you will not receive a confirmation message warning you of the impact.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Saving Topics

Reverting to a Saved Topic


 Printing Topics

Topics may be printed both from the PC HelpDesk Author and the PC HelpDesk control in a Help file. The printed topic will appear nearly identical, except that any topic printed from the PC HelpDesk Author will include information about who created and last saved the topic.

To print a topic

1	In the Project pane Contents tab (tree view, left pane), select the topic’s product, then area.

2	Double-click on the topic to print. The selected topic appears in the Current Topic pane (right pane).

3	Click [image] Print Topic

OR From the File menu, select Print Current Topic.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Exporting topics


 Previewing Topics

A preview of a topic shows how the topic will look when printed or saved; from the preview window you may print or save the topic. Topics may be previewed both from the PC HelpDesk Author and the PC HelpDesk control in a Help file. The previewed topic will appear nearly identical, except that any topic previewed from the PC HelpDesk Author will include information about who created and last saved the topic.

To preview a topic

1	In the Project pane Contents tab (tree view, left pane), select the topic’s product, then area.

2	Double-click on the topic to preview. The selected topic appears in the Current Topic pane (right pane).

3	Click [image] Preview Topic

OR From the File menu, select Preview Current Topic.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview


 Exporting Topics

PC HelpDesk topics may be exported to a file in either Rich Text (RTF) or plain text (TXT) format. Topics may be exported both from the PC HelpDesk Author and the PC HelpDesk control in a Help file. The exported topic files will appear nearly identical, except that any topic exported from the PC HelpDesk Author will include information about who created and last saved the topic.

To export a topic

1	In the Project pane Contents tab (tree view, left pane), select the topic’s product, then area.

2	Double-click on the topic to print. The selected topic appears in the Current Topic pane (right pane).

3	Click From the File menu, select Export Current Topic.

4	Give a name for the new file, and select either Rich Text or plain text formatting.

5	Click OK to save the topic.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Printing topics

Exporting topics


 Reverting to Saved Topic

Because topic information is the "heart" of your HelpDesk, PC HelpDesk doesn’t automatically save changes made to an existing topic. This prevents "accidental" changes from making their way into your topics. By using Revert to Saved Topic, any changes made since the last time the topic was saved will be removed. If the topic has just been created, it will be removed from the HelpDesk.

To revert to the saved topic

•	Click [image] Revert to Saved Topic

OR From the File menu, select Revert to Saved Topic.

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview

Saving Topics


 Keywords and See Also References Overview

Keywords and See Also references are important parts of a well-designed HelpDesk, because they allow your users to quickly find information according to their ways of thinking. They allow you to direct your users to specific topics.

Keywords

Keywords are words or phrases your users would make use of to find information inside your HelpDesk. They can act as synonyms, providing a link to a topic even when the end-user is using a different term than you use in the HelpDesk topic. Keywords can be associated with one topic or multiple topics. PC HelpDesk keywords are organized into an index, just like in Help systems. The Keywords Index and Topic Keywords tab displays your index as you create it.

See Also references

See Also references point users to related topics in your HelpDesk. They are often referred to as cross-references and create a link between the two topics.

What do you want to do?

Create a new keyword

Associate existing keywords with a topic or topics

Duplicate a keyword

Rename a keyword

Delete a keyword

Create/Add a See Also reference

Delete a See Also reference

See Also

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview


 Adding Keywords

Keywords are the words or phrases your users use as a "shortcut" to locate a HelpDesk topic. When creating keywords, it is important to think like your user. What words or phrases will users associate with each HelpDesk topic?

In PC HelpDesk, when you create a new keyword, it is automatically added to the project. Whether or not it is associated with one topic or multiple topics depends upon the method you use to create it.

PC HelpDesk provides three ways to create a new keyword:

•	Enter keywords into the Keyword Index.  You can enter new keywords directly into the project index. These keywords automatically display in the project keyword index but are not associated with a topic. You must manually create the keyword-topic association after creating the keyword.

•	Enter the keywords into the Topic Keyword tab. You can enter new keywords while you are creating or updating a HelpDesk topic. These keywords display in both the project keyword index and the topic keyword index.

•	Duplicate an exiting keyword in the Keyword Index. You can use the duplicate option to create a new keyword. The new keyword will be automatically associated with every topic the original keyword is associated to. This is a quick way to create new keywords and associate them with multiple topics.

What do you want to do?

Add a new keyword

Duplicate an existing keyword


 Adding New Keywords

To add a new keyword directly into the Project Keyword Index

1	From the [image] Project Keyword tab, click New Keyword. The New Keywords dialog appears.

2	Enter the new keyword and click OK. The dialog disappears, and the new keyword displays in the index. This new keyword is associated only with the project until you associate it with a specific topic or topics.

To add a new keyword to both the Topic and the Project Keyword Index

1	Select and display the desired topic.

2	From the [image] Topic Keywords tab, click Add. The Add Keyword to Topic dialog appears.

3	Enter the name of the new keyword and click OK.

Note

You can continue entering new keywords if you click Add Keyword instead of OK. When you have finished entering new keywords, click OK or Close.

See Also

Keywords and See Also References Overview

Associating keywords with a topic or topics


 Adding Keywords to the Current Topic

To add (associate) a keyword to the current topic from the Topic Keywords tab

1	In the left-pane, select and display the topic.

2	From the [image] Topic Keywords tab, click Add. The Add Keyword to Topic dialog appears.

3	Select a keyword from the list box and click OK.

To add (associate) a keyword to the current topic from the Project Keyword Index

1	In the left-pane, select and display the topic.

2	From the [image] Project Keyword, right-click on the keyword, and select the Add to Current Topic option.

To automatically add (associate) keywords to the current topic

1	In the left-pane, select and display the topic.

2	In the properties pane, select the [image] keyword tab, and click on the Suggest Keywords button.

3	Select the keywords to add, and click OK.

See Also

Keywords and See Also References Overview

Creating new keywords

Duplicating keywords

Suggesting keywords


 Duplicating Keywords

You can associate a new keyword with multiple topics by using the Duplicate option found in the Project Keyword Index. In effect, you "copy" all the topics a specific keyword is associated with to the new keyword.

To associate an existing keyword with multiple topics

1	From the [image] Project Keyword tab, right-click on the existing keyword you wish to copy.

2	Select the Duplicate option. The Duplicate Keyword dialog appears.

3	Enter a name for the new keyword and click OK. All topics the original keyword is associated with "copy" to the new keyword topic list. The newly created keyword appears on the project keywords list and on the Topic Keywords tab of each appropriate topic.

See Also

Keywords and See Also References Overview

Creating new keywords

Adding keywords to the current topic

Suggesting keywords


 Suggesting Keywords

The Suggest Keywords option will suggest keywords you might want to add to a topic. You may add some or all of the keywords to the topic. The Suggest Keywords option finds keywords to suggest by comparing the text in the topic to the existing keywords. When using the Suggest Keywords option, it is a good idea to add keywords to the project first, then go through all existing topics, and add the suggested keywords.

To automatically add (associate) keywords to the current topic

1	In the left-pane, select and display the topic.

2	In the properties pane, select the [image] keyword tab, and click on the Suggest Keywords button.

3	Select the keywords to add, and click OK.

See Also

Keywords and See Also References Overview

Creating new keywords

Adding keywords to the current topic

Duplicating keywords


 Renaming Keywords

Keywords can be renamed at any time, without breaking the association between the keyword and any topics using that keyword. Typically, a keyword will be renamed to correct spelling errors, or to make the keyword longer and more descriptive. If you are changing the keyword to a synonym (for example, renaming ‘Money’ to ‘Currency’), you may want to consider copying the keyword instead to provide your users with a good synonym.

To rename a keyword

1	In the Project pane (left), select the [image] Project Keyword tab.

2	Right-click on the keyword you wish to rename.

3	Select the Rename option. The Rename Keyword dialog appears.

4	Enter the new name, and click OK.

See Also

Keywords and See Also References Overview

Creating new keywords

Adding keywords to the current topic

Duplicating keywords


 Deleting Keywords

To delete a keyword from the Project Keywords Index:

1	Open the [image] Project Keywords tab.

2	From the Keywords list, select the keyword to delete and click Delete Keyword.

Note:

When you delete a keyword from the Project Keywords Index, all topics that were associated with that keyword lose their association to that word. You cannot use undo if you change your mind or if you made a mistake. You can, however, add the keyword again and associate it with your HelpDesk topics again.

To remove a keyword from a topic:

1	Display the topic that contains the keyword that you want to remove.

2	From the [image] Topic Keywords tab, click Delete.

Note:

When you remove a keyword from a topic, you cannot use undo if you change your mind or if you made a mistake. You can, however, add the keyword back to the topic again. Removing a keyword from a topic, or even from all topics does not delete the keyword itself.

See Also

Keywords and See Also References Overview

Creating new keywords

Adding keywords to the current topic


 Adding See Also References

See Also references create a link between two related topics. By adding a topic to another topic’s See Also list, a link is created between the two topics. In each topic, the end-user can see a list of the related topics by clicking the See Also button. A good See Also reference helps the user to find topics related to the current topic. This is useful when the user wants more information, or to allow the user to find the correct topic when a search brings them to a topic in a similar area.

To add a See Also reference to a topic

1	In the left-pane, select and display the topic.

2	From the [image] See Also tab, click the Add button. The Add See Also Links dialog appears.

3	Select a topic from the list and click OK or Add Link. You can select several topics at a time.

Note:

All See Also links are bi-directional. If you have a link from Topic 1 to Topic 2, there is also a link from Topic 2 to Topic 1.

See Also

Keywords and See Also References Overview

Deleting See Also references


 Deleting See Also References

To delete  a See Also reference to a topic

1	In the left-pane, select and display the topic.

2	From the [image] See Also tab, select the topic to remove, and click the Delete button.

Note:

All See Also links are bi-directional. If you delete the link from Topic 1 to Topic 2, you also delete the link from Topic 2 to Topic 1.

See Also

Keywords and See Also References Overview

Adding See Also references


data source

A data source contains more detailed information about a database connection – such as the data base type (or format), the database location (path/server), the actual name of the database file, and other information necessary to connect to the database.  PC HelpDesk allows you to connect to the most frequently used types of data sources: Power SQL™ and ODBC.


ODBC data source

An ODBC data source is a method of providing sufficient information about a database, including what type of database, where it is, and other necessary information, to connect to the database. By using the ODBC Administrator (usually in the Control Panel, under Settings in the Start menu), you can select a database type, then specify where the database is. This creates an ODBC data source. Ordinarily you will not need to create an ODBC data source. PC HelpDesk works without data sources for Microsoft Access (where you only need to specify the file name) and Power SQL (where you specify the Server, and the ODBC data source on the server). You will need an ODBC data source if you wish to connect to a different type of database (such as SQL Server).


 PC HelpDesk Database Structure

PC HelpDesk allows you to create a database that becomes a *.PHD file (PC HelpDesk database). This *.PHD is a Microsoft Access database. However, you don’t have to use the PC HelpDesk database – you can use an existing database, as long as it models the following structure:

Areas	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	AreaID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
	Area	Text	128	Yes	No
	NameID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
	VersionStart	Text	10	No	Yes
	VersionEnd	Text	10	No	Yes
Category	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	CategoryID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
	Category	Text	128	Yes	No
Keywords	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	KeywordID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
	Keyword	Text	64	No	No
Knowledge	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	KBID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
	CategoryID	Number	Long Integer	No
	NameID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
	VersionStart	Text	10	No	Yes
	VersionEnd	Text	10	No	Yes
	AreaID	Number	Long Integer	No
	Title	Text	254	Yes	No
	Summary	Memo		No	Yes
	Symptoms	Memo		No	Yes
	Resolution	Memo		No	Yes
	Notes	Memo		No	Yes
	CreatedBy	Number	Long Integer	No
	CreatedOn	Date/Time	Date & Time	No
	UpdatedBy	Number	Long Integer	No
	UpdatedOn	Date/Time	Date & Time	No
KWUse	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	KeywordID	Number		Yes
	KBID	Number		Yes
Names	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	NameID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
	Name	Text	128	Yes	No
Products	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	ProductID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
	CategoryID	Number	Long Integer	No
	NameID	Number	Long Integer	No
	Version	Text	10	No	Yes
	Edition	Text	128	No	Yes
	Sequence	Number	Long Integer	No
Resolved	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	Resolution	Text	128	Yes	No
	IsResolved	Yes/No		Yes
SeeAlso	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	KBID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
	SeeAlsoKBID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
Severity	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	Severity	Text	128	Yes	No
Users	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	UserID	Number	Long Integer	Yes
	User	Text	128	Yes	No
	NameID	Number	Long Integer	No
Version	Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Required	Allow Zero Length
	VersionId	Number	Long Integer	No
	VersionString	Text	120	No	No
	Key	Number	Long Integer	No
See Also

Connecting to an ODBC Data Source


PC HelpDesk

The PC HelpDesk Author allows you to create and maintain a PC HelpDesk. From here you can create new HelpDesks, and modify the information in the HelpDesk. The PC HelpDesk Author is very similar to the PC HelpDesk control, so what the end-user sees will be very similar to what you create. The PC HelpDesk Author workspace is composed of three panes, on the left the Project pane allows you to work with and see the HelpDesk being created. On the right, the top half of the pane contains the current topic, while the lower half contains properties, and other information about the current topic. You may use either the File, Edit, and View menus at the top of the workspace, or the right-click menus available in every pane to add to and modify the HelpDesk.

Project Pane

The Project pane contains four tabs used to work with the HelpDesk Database as a whole. The four tabs display the

Table of Contents	Displays the Topics, grouped by the Area they address, and the Product.
Keyword Index	Allows you to search for keywords, and find the topics containing information related to the keyword.
Full Text Search	Allows you to search for topics containing any word, or set of words
Keywords	Displays all of the Keywords defined for this project, and the topics related to each keyword.

Current Topic Pane

The current topic pane is used to edit and view topics. Through the right click menus, you can add keywords and See Also links to the current topic from items in the left pane.

Properties Pane

The Properties pane contains properties of the current topic, including notes, keywords for the topic, and See Also links.

Properties	Notes, some history of when the topic has been updated, the version number, and information about what topic you are currently on.
Topic Keywords	The Keywords for this topic, used to make the topic easier to find, particularly when the keyword is not in the topic. Keywords should be terms your user might use when looking for this topic.
See Also	Lists topics related to the current topic.
See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk

About PC HelpDesk’s Design

Planning a HelpDesk

Adding PC HelpDesk to your Help system


PC HelpDesk Control

The PC HelpDesk control is very similar to the PC HelpDesk Authoring tool, so much of what you create is WYSIWYG. The Project pane, with the Table of Contents, Keyword Index search, and Full Text Search look exactly the same, and the main Topic view is only missing a few items that are not needed or not appropriate for the end-user (such as the notes, and the name of the person who created or last updated each topic). A PC HelpDesk control is typically inserted into a RoboHELP help project, and will be displayed as one of the topics in the help file.

See Also

Adding PC HelpDesk to your Help system


About Keywords

Keywords are used by the end-user to find topics containing the information they are looking for, so you should be sure that any synonyms, or alternative terms the user may think of are included in your keyword list. For example, while you may use the term 'Money', and have plenty of topics with the 'Money' keyword, the user may search for 'Currency', and wonder where all of the information is. A well designed index will supplement, and even replace the Full-Text Search in aiding the user to find the information they want. While the full text search is very useful, it can be hard for users that do not know your terminology to find the information they want.

See Also

Keywords Overview


What is a HelpDesk

A HelpDesk is very similar to a Windows Help system, composed of topics, and containing a Table of Contents, Index, and Search functionality. The PC HelpDesk system has been designed to allow you to create an easily updateable reference for Frequently Asked Questions, technical issues, and known bugs. Because the HelpDesk is stored in a database, it can be frequently updated, and by using Power SQL, it can be accessed across the Internet. This allows you to create, for example, a Frequently Asked Questions topic in your Help file, which accesses a HelpDesk that your technical support can update daily. You can provide your users with up to the minute information, without needing to set up a complex web site, or require the user to log in to a bulletin board or other methods. The PC HelpDesk has been designed to be easy to create, update, and use, by providing similar functionality to the more familiar, and time-tested help system. While the most HelpDesk databases will be in the Microsoft Access format, PC HelpDesk was designed to allow other types of databases to be used, if desired.

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk

Planning a HelpDesk

About PC HelpDesk’s Design


Setting up Power SQL

Power SQL (the ODBC Internet driver) is used to provide transparent Internet access to your HelpDesk. The steps to setting it up are fairly simple. Ordinarily, you will create the HelpDesk database as a file, and work with it directly (on your local machine). You can also update it through Power SQL, by going to the File menu, and selecting Open Power SQL. Once your HelpDesk is completed, you will want to let your customers start accessing it.

Setting up a Power SQL Server

First, set up Power SQL on your server. The server needs to be accessible from the Internet (or it may be used through an intranet as well), and it must have a reliable network address.

1. 	Install the Power SQL server to your server. The server must be a Windows 2000, Windows NT 3.51 or Windows NT 4.0.

2. 	Create an ODBC data source for your HelpDesk database. Do this by starting the Control Panel (in Settings), and running the ODBC Administrator.

3. 	Either Click on the System DSN button, or select the System DSN tab to create a system data source.

4. 	Click on Add, and select the database type. For a normal HelpDesk MDB file, use the Microsoft Access driver, otherwise select the type of database you used.

5. 	Fill in all information, and give the data source a name. For a standard Microsoft Access HelpDesk file, simply select your HelpDesk PHD file.

6. 	Click on OK to store the data source.

Connecting to the Power SQL Server

Once the HelpDesk database is created, and Power SQL is configured on your server, you can set up the HelpDesk control:

1. 	In RoboHELP, go to the Extensions menu, and insert a PC HelpDesk control. This will bring up the HelpDesk Control dialog.

2. 	Set any other properties, then click on the Properties… button to set the PC HelpDesk Control properties.

3. 	Select Power SQL Internet Data Source as the type, then click on the browse button (…) to bring up the Power SQL dialog.

4. 	If your server is in the list of Power SQL servers, select it, otherwise click on the ellipsis (…) button beside the list of servers, and click on Add to bring up the Power SQL Server properties dialog.

5. 	Enter a name for the server ("HelpDesk Server"), and the network address of your server ("www.blue-sky.com", "123.45.67.890", or "LocalServer"), and click on OK to save the new server, then exit the Power SQL Server dialog.

6. 	Click on the ellipsis (…) button beside the Server Data Source Name, and select your data source.

7. 	Enter a user name and password if you specified one, and click on OK.

If there are any errors, contact Tech Support for more assistance, otherwise you are done setting up the primary data source.

Setting up the PC HelpDesk Control Options

If you have a user name and password, and you do not wish the users to be prompted to enter the password, you can provide it in the User Name property page. If it is likely that some of your customers may not be able to get to the Power SQL server (no Internet access), you can provide an alternative in the form of an Alternative Data Source. Go to the Alternative Data Source tab, and select an ODBC data source. You will need to create this data source as part of your install, on the customer’s computer.

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk

Planning a HelpDesk

About PC HelpDesk’s Design


Contents Tab

In the table of contents, all HelpDesk topics are organized by product and area. Typically, one of the first things added to a HelpDesk is a list of the products and areas to be covered by the HelpDesk. Products and areas can be added at any time, and topics may be moved between different areas and products. Each HelpDesk topic has a product (such as RoboHELP) and an area (such as Feature List) indicating what the topic describes.

For example, if the table of contents may have:

Product: 	RoboHELP

Area: 	Feature List

Topic:	PC HelpDesk Support

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk

Planning a HelpDesk

About PC HelpDesk’s Design

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview


Keyword Index Tab

The Keyword Index tab is used in both PC HelpDesk, and the PC HelpDesk Control to find topics by keywords. You can use this tab both to find topics you are interested in, and to check on how useful the keywords currently set up are to the end-user. If any particular topic is hard to find from this tab, it may indicate that additional keywords should be added to the topic.

Products

Select the product you are interested in, or 'All Products' if you do not want to limit the search.

Keyword

Enter a keyword, or the first few characters of a keyword.

Find Keywords

Click on the Find Keywords button to find all keywords starting with the characters you have entered.

Keywords

A list of keywords found by Find Keywords.

Find Topics

When the correct keyword has been found and is selected in the Keywords list, click on Find Topics to find all topics referred to by that keyword.

Topics

A list of topics referred to by the keyword.

Display Topic

Select a topic, and click on Display Topic to display that topic.

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk

Keywords Overview

About Keywords


Full Text Search Tab

In the Full Text Search tab you can search for any topic based on any text contained in the topic. This tab is in both the PC HelpDesk, and the PC HelpDesk ActiveX Control. It allows you to search for a topic based on any set of words and phrases in the topic. If you enter several words, topics will be found that contain all of those words. And and Or may be used to restrict or open the search, and quoted phrases can also be searched for (for example: 'dog AND "German Shepherd"').

Products

Select the product you are interested in, or 'All Products' if you do not want to limit the search.

Search For

Enter a search string. You may use AND and OR, and quotes (") around phrases to search for your topics.

Full Text Search

Click on the Full Text Search button to search for topics matching your search string.

Topics

A list of the topics found will be displayed here. Select any that you wish to display, and click on Display Topic.

Display Topic

Click on the Display Topic button to display the currently selected topic in the Topics list.

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk


Keywords Tab

The project Keywords tab displays the complete Index list, all keywords in the project. As you select different keywords, a list of topics referred to by that keyword is found. From this tab you can Add and Delete keywords from the project. You can also right-click on any keyword, and select 'Add to the current topic' to add the keyword to the current topic. From the right-click menu, keywords may also be renamed and copied (together with all links to topics).

Keywords

A list of all keywords in the project. When you select a keyword, a list of all topics referred to by that keyword is displayed.

New Keyword

Click on the New Keyword button to add a new keyword to the project. It will not refer to any topics when created.

Delete Keyword

Click on the Delete or Delete Keyword button to delete a keyword from the project. The keyword will be removed from all topics using it.

Topics

A list of all topics referred to by the selected keyword.

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk

Keywords Overview

About Keywords


Properties Tab

The Properties tab displays some properties of the current topic, including a little history of when it was created and last updated. You can enter Notes on this tab, which will never be seen by the end-user using the PC HelpDesk control. The name of the individual who created and last updated the topic is also not shown to the end-user.

From

The earliest version of the product that this topic applies to. Leave this blank if the topic applies to all versions of the product.

To

The last version of the product that the information in the topic applies to. Leave this blank if the information applies to all current versions of the product.

Notes

Any notes you wish to attach to this topic, information that the end-user will not see. These are typically notes about additional information that still needs to be added to the topic, a To-do list.

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk


Topic Keywords Tab

In the Topic Keywords tab, all keywords related to this topic are listed. These will be the keywords the user can use to find this topic. You should include any synonyms the user may think of, to make the topic easier to find.

Add

Click on the Add button to add a new or existing keyword to this topic.

Suggest Keyword

Click on the Suggest Keyword button to get a list of existing keywords that are found in the current topic.

Delete

Click on the Delete button to delete the currently selected keyword from this topic. This will not delete the keyword.

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk

Keywords Overview

About Keywords


See Also Tab

In the See Also tab, all topics linked to the current topic are displayed. These topics will be available to the end user, in the PC HelpDesk control, through the See Also button. Typically, topics on related subjects should have See Also links between them, along with topics that can easily be confused for one another. All See Also links are bi-directional, if a link is made between Topic A and Topic B, there is also a link from Topic B to Topic A. Add new See Also links by either right-clicking on any topic in the Project pane, and selecting Add to See Also from the menu, or by using the Add button. You can test out your See Also links by selecting a link, and clicking on Jump to Topic. Delete unnecessary links by selecting the link, and clicking on Delete.

Add

Click on Add to bring up a list of all topics (organized by product and area), which may be added to the current topic.

Jump To Topic

Click on Jump to Topic to display the currently selected See Also topic.

Delete

Click on Delete to delete the link to the currently selected topic (the topic itself is not deleted).

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk

See Also References Overview


File Menu Commands

New	Creates a new, blank HelpDesk in MDB format
Open	Opens a HelpDesk in MDB format
Open ODBC Data Source	Opens a HelpDesk referred to by an ODBC data source - only way to open a non Access or Power SQL database
Open Power SQL Data Source	Opens a HelpDesk stored on a Power SQL Server.
Refresh Database	Refreshes the current database, just like you exited and re-entered HelpDesk.
Set Database Version	Sets the version of the database. This information is not used by HelpDesk, it is purely for the user's information (so they can check which version of the database one of their customers is using for troubleshooting purposes.
Properties	Displays all information about this database, type, file name, ODBC data source, connection string, version, and current author. This information is especially useful to send to the individual who is adding the PC HelpDesk control to a help file, as properties for the control.
Save Current Topic	Saves any modifications made to the current topic to the database
Export Current Topic	Saves the current topic as a TXT or RTF file.
Revert to Saved Topic	Reverts to the last saved version of this topic. If the topic is new and has not been saved, it will be deleted.
Delete Current Topic	Deletes the currently visible topic (in the Topic pane).
Print Current Topic	Prints the currently visible topic.
Preview Current Topic	Displays a preview of how the topic will look when printed or saved.
Exit.


Edit Menu Commands

Undo	Undoes the last text typed into the topic
Cut	Cuts the selected text in the topic into the clipboard
Copy	Copies the selected topic text into the clipboard
Paste	Pastes any selected text into the topic.
New - Product	Adds a new product
New - Area	Adds a new area
New - Topic	Adds a new topic (to the currently selected product and area)
New - Keyword	Adds a new keyword
Delete [Object]	Deletes the currently selected Product, Area, Topic, Keyword, or text.
Rename	Renames the currently selected Product, Area, Topic, or Keyword
Move	Moves the currently selected Area or Topic to a new Product or Area.
Add to Current Topic	Adds the currently selected Keyword or Topic to the currently visible topic as a Keyword, or a See Also link
Spelling - Current Topic	Spell Checks the current topic
Spelling - All Topics	Spell checks all topics, starting with the current location in the Table of Contents.
Spelling - Names and Keywords	Spell checks product and area names, and keywords
Spelling Options	Sets the spell checking options.


View Menu Commands

Toolbar	Shows or hides the toolbar
Status Bar	Shows or hides the status bar
Project Pane	Set the focus to the project pane (the left pane), containing the Table of Contents, the Keyword Index, the Full Text Search, and the Keyword list.
Topic Pane	Set the focus to the topic pane (the top, right pane), displaying the current topic.
Properties Pane	Set the focus to the properties pane (the bottom pane), displaying properties of the current topic, including any Keywords or See Also links.
Display Topic	Display the currently selected topic in the Project Pane in the Topic pane.
First	Move to the top of the current list (in the Project pane), and display that topic
Previous	Move to the previous item, and display the topic
Next	Move to the next item, and display the topic
Last	Move to the last item, and display the topic
Options	Set PC HelpDesk Options.


Preview Topic

The Preview Topic dialog gives you a preview of how the current topic will look when it is printed, saved, or previewed by the user in the PC HelpDesk ActiveX Control. From here you can save or print the current topic.

Save As…

Click on Save As to save the current topic as a rich text (RTF) or plain text (TXT) file.

Print…

Click on Print to print the current topic.

See Also

Previewing Topics


ODBC Data Sources

In this dialog, you can select an ODBC data source referring to the HelpDesk database you wish to open. Select the correct ODBC data source, and click on the OK button to open the data source. When opening the HelpDesk database, the ODBC data source is tried first, if the data source no longer exists, then the information stored in the data source will be used to find the HelpDesk database. When used in the PC HelpDesk Control, either the data source must be valid, or the database must be accessible by using the same information as was contained in the data source. For example, if there is a server name, it must be accessible from any computer the PC HelpDesk control will be installed to. Often Power SQL is used to solve this problem.

What is an ODBC Data Source?

An ODBC data source is a method of providing sufficient information about a database, including what type of database, where it is, and other necessary information, to connect to the database. By using the ODBC Administrator (usually in the Control Panel, under Settings in the Start menu), you can select a database type, then specify where the database is. This creates an ODBC data source. Ordinarily you will not need to create an ODBC data source. PC HelpDesk works without data sources for Microsoft Access (where you only need to specify the file name) and Power SQL (where you specify the Server, and the ODBC data source on the server). You will need an ODBC data source if you wish to connect to a different type of database (such as SQL Server).


HelpDesk Logon

Enter the user name and password required to log on to the current HelpDesk.

User Name

The user, or account name on the HelpDesk database.

Password

The password for the HelpDesk database.

OK

Click on OK to log on using the user name and password supplied

Cancel

Click on Cancel to cancel out of this connection.

If you are unsure of what the user name and password is, ask the administrator of the HelpDesk database. For security reasons, PC HelpDesk does not store the user name and password, however, if your HelpDesk no longer requires a password, clear the 'Require user logon' checkbox to avoid being prompted next time.

If the HelpDesk database does not require a user name or password, the HelpDesk may be unavailable for another reason, such as, if the network is down. Click on Cancel to exit the logon dialog, and you will be given a choice of other options.

See Also

Securing a HelpDesk


New Keywords

Use the New Keywords dialog to add new keywords to your HelpDesk project. Type the new keyword, and press either Add Keyword or OK to add the keyword. Once you have defined your keywords, you can use the Suggest Keywords button on the Topic Keywords tab (in the Properties pane) to add the keyword to topics containing that keyword.

New Keyword

Enter the new keyword here, and press Add Keyword or OK to add the keyword.

Add Keyword

Click on Add Keyword to add the word (or words) you just typed to the list of keywords for this project.

OK

Click on Add Keyword to add the word (or words) you just typed to the list of keywords for this project, and exit the dialog.

Cancel (Close)

Exits the dialog without adding any more keywords. This will not remove any keywords that have already been added.

See Also

Keywords Overview

About Keywords


Add Keyword to Topic

Use the Add Keyword dialog to add a new or existing keyword to the current topic. You may either type the keyword in, or select an existing keyword from the list, and click on the Add Keyword (or the OK) button.

Enter or select the new keyword

Either select a keyword from the list, or type a new keyword. Click on the Add Keyword or OK button to add the keyword to the current topic.

OK

Click on the OK button to add the keyword to the current topic, and exit the dialog

Cancel (Close)

Exits the dialog without adding any more keywords. This will not remove any keywords that have already been added to the topic.

Add Keyword

Adds the keyword to the current topic.

See Also

Keywords Overview

About Keywords


Move Area or Topic

The Move dialog allows you to move a topic or area to a new location in the table of contents. When you move an area to a new product, not only is the area moved, but all topics in the area move to the new product as well. Select the area or product to move to, and click on OK. Moving a topic does not break any links, the topic will still have the same keywords, and See Also links.

See Also

Moving an area

Moving a topic


Select PC HelpDesk Database

Select the type of HelpDesk you wish to open, and click on OK.

Create a New HelpDesk

Creates a new , empty HelpDesk (in the Microsoft Access format)

Open an existing HelpDesk

Opens an existing HelpDesk file (in the Microsoft Access format)

Open an ODBC data source

Opens an ODBC HelpDesk data source

Open a Power SQL Data Source

Opens a Power SQL Internet data source . Use this option if the HelpDesk you want to update is stored on a Power SQL Server, across the Internet (or even your intranet).

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk

PC HelpDesk Overview


PC HelpDesk Options

Set the PC HelpDesk options here. Change the confirmation settings, and set the author name used to label all updates to the HelpDesk database.

Confirm Before

Change these options to indicate when you do and do not want to be prompted before the HelpDesk database is altered.

Saving a topic

Check this box to be prompted before saving a topic. By default, this is off.

Deleting a topic

Check this box to be prompted before deleting a topic or keyword.

Deleting a book

Check this to be prompted before deleting a product, or area. When a product is deleted, all areas and topics belonging to that product are deleted. When an area is deleted, all topics belonging to that area are also deleted. Because all of these actions may affect several topics, it is usually a good idea to leave this option on. There is no way to undo a delete.

Author Name

Change these options to alter the Author name. The Author name is stored every time a topic is created or updated, and displayed in the Properties pane.

Use login as author name

Set this check box to indicate that the name entered in the Login (if a login is used) should be used as the Author name. If no login is used, the Author name entered below will be used.

Author name

Enter your Author name. This will be the name stored to indicate who created, and last updated any topics you modify.

See Also

Setting PC HelpDesk options


Rename Keyword

Keywords can be renamed at any time, without breaking the association between the keyword and any topics using that keyword. Typically, a keyword will be renamed to correct spelling errors, or to make the keyword longer and more descriptive. If you are changing the keyword to a synonym (for example, renaming ‘Money’ to ‘Currency’), you may want to consider copying the keyword instead to provide your users with a good synonym. Enter the new name for the keyword, and press OK to save the new name.

See Also

Keywords Overview

About Keywords


Copy Keyword

The Copy Keyword dialog will create a copy of a keyword, complete with all links to topics using that keyword. This is very useful to add common synonyms for your keywords. Enter the new name for the keyword, and press OK to save the new name.

See Also

Keywords Overview

About Keywords


Spellcheck Names and Keywords

The Spellcheck Names and Keywords dialog allows you to spellcheck the names of your Products and Areas, and the Keywords in your project. Select the objects to spellcheck, and click on the Spellcheck button to begin.

Spellcheck Product Names

Spellchecks all Product names

Spellcheck Area Names

Spellchecks all Area names

Spellcheck Keywords

Spellchecks all Keywords

Spellcheck

Begins spellchecking the selected items.

Cancel

Exits without spellchecking anything.

See Also

Correcting spelling


Suggested Keywords

The Suggested Keywords dialog compares the Keywords that have already been created to the current topic, to find keywords that may be useful for this topic. You can add some or all of the keywords to your current topic. A well designed keyword index will make your HelpDesk more useful, and more likely to answer your users questions.

Suggested Keywords

The list contains all keywords in your HelpDesk that are also in the current topic. Select the keywords that relate to the current topic, and click on OK.

OK

When you click on OK, all selected keywords will be added to the current topic.

Cancel

When you click on Cancel, you will exit the dialog without adding any keywords.

Suggestion:

One of the best ways to create a good index is to start by adding in the keywords, then use Suggest Keywords to link your keywords to the related topics. Then you may copy the keywords to create synonyms for any terms that the user may be looking for (such as 'Currency' as a synonym for 'Money).

See Also

Keywords Overview

About Keywords


PC HelpDesk Properties

The PC HelpDesk Properties dialog displays information about the current HelpDesk database. This information is particularly useful when using the PC HelpDesk control on another computer. The properties displayed include all of the information needed for the control properties. When placing the PC HelpDesk control into a help file, you will need to enter the location of the HelpDesk database you want to display. The Properties dialog displays all of that information, and can be saved to a file, or printed, and given to the author of your help system.

Save

Saves the properties in either a rich text (RTF) or plain text (TXT) format.

Print

Prints the properties.

See Also

Setting the HelpDesk version


Table of Contents

In the table of contents, all HelpDesk topics are organized by product and area. Typically, one of the first things added to a HelpDesk is a list of the products and areas to be covered by the HelpDesk. Products and areas can be added at any time, and topics may be moved between different areas and products. Each HelpDesk topic has a product (such as RoboHELP) and an area (such as Feature List) indicating what the topic describes.

For example, if the table of contents may have:

Product: 	RoboHELP

Area: 	Feature List

Topic:	PC HelpDesk Support

See Also

Welcome to PC HelpDesk

Planning a HelpDesk

About PC HelpDesk’s Design

Products, Areas, and Topics Overview


Add See Also Links

A See Also link links two topics together, allowing the user to easily find related topics. You can add a See Also link to the currently displayed topic (the one you are viewing in the right hand pane) by selecting any topic in the tree, and either clicking on the Add Link button, or by double-clicking on the topic.  All See Also links are bi-directional. If Topic1 has a link to Topic2, there will also be a link from Topic2 to Topic1. When viewed in the PC HelpDesk control, a button at the bottom of each topic will display the See Also topics for the current topic, and allow your users to easily jump to the related topic.

Topics Tree

All of the topics are listed in the Contents tree. The current topic has a blue page, and any topics already linked to the current topic have a blue link arrow. Double-click on any topic to add a See Also link to that topic. You may also select a topic, and click on the Add Link or OK button to add a See Also link to that topic.

OK

Click on OK to add a See Also link to the selected topic, and exit the dialog.

Cancel

Click on Close or Cancel to exit the dialog without adding any more links.

Add Link

Click on Add Link to add a See Also link to the selected topic.

See Also

See Also References Overview


Set the Database Version

The HelpDesk database version allows you to specify the version of the information in your HelpDesk database. As you add new topics, and products, update the version of your HelpDesk database. This is useful when sending the database out to your customers, to check that they have the most recent version of the database. The version can be seen in the HelpDesk Properties (in the File menu, select Properties), and in the PC HelpDesk ActiveX control, from the About HelpDesk button. To alter the version, type the new version number, and press OK.


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At eHelp Corporation, we work hard to provide you with intuitive technical products. Additionally, we try to provide superior online and print documentation to enable you to work independently. If you have a technical question that you can’t answer with the provided tools, please contact our Technical Support department. All of our Technical Support representatives are eager to answer your questions and help you create the best Help systems possible.

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eHelp Corporation Knowledge Base


Documentation feedback

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Please include the following information with your feedback:

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WinHelp 2000

We are unable to detect Internet Explorer or an Internet connection on your system, so we are unable to display eHelp Corporation’s Web site.

This Help file uses WinHelp 2000, which extends the WinHelp viewer to provide full HTML and Web functionality without leaving WinHelp. WinHelp 2000 gives you all the benefits of HTML without the risk of switching to a new Help architecture.

WinHelp 2000 uses the same display engine as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and HTML Help, so all of the rich content of the World Wide Web can be displayed and integrated into any standard Windows Help system.

If you use a browser other than Internet Explorer, use this alternative link:

 eHelp Corporation’s Web site


PC HelpDesk

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Our Knowledge Base was created using PC HelpDesk – an eHelp Corporation tool included in RoboHELP Office. PC HelpDesk packages your product knowledge base into a customized HelpDesk you design, create, and maintain. Customers simply click on the HelpDesk link from your system’s Help file, and they have instant access to valuable information about your products. A well designed HelpDesk can lower your technical support costs and increase customer satisfaction by providing an easy way for your customers to get answers to their most common questions.


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Closes this dialog and saves any changes you have made.


Displays summary information for the currently selected HelpDesk topic. The Summary area could display a Frequently Asked Question or commonly used phrase to describe the technical issue, problem, or bug.


Displays additional details about the current topic. The Details area could display the steps necessary to create the problem or bug.


Displays the resolution to the issue, problem, or bug. The Resolution area could display the answer to the Frequently Asked Question, the steps to resolve the problem, or a work-around solution for the bug.


Help Desk topics are displayed here when you double click on a topic in any of the left tabs (use the Contents, Keyword Index, or Full Text Search to find topics you are interested in).


Help Desk topics are displayed here when you double click on a topic in any of the left tabs (use the Contents, Keyword Index, or Full Text Search to find topics you are interested in).


Help Desk topics are displayed here when you double click on a topic in any of the left tabs (use the Contents, Keyword Index, or Full Text Search to find topics you are interested in).


Help Desk topics are displayed here when you double click on a topic in any of the left tabs (use the Contents, Keyword Index, or Full Text Search to find topics you are interested in).


Help Desk topics are displayed here when you double click on a topic in any of the left tabs (use the Contents, Keyword Index, or Full Text Search to find topics you are interested in).


Displays summary information for the currently selected HelpDesk topic. The Summary area could display a Frequently Asked Question or commonly used phrase to describe the technical issue, problem, or bug.


Displays additional details about the current topic. The Details area could display the steps necessary to create the problem or bug.


Displays the resolution to the issue, problem, or bug. The Resolution area could display the answer to the Frequently Asked Question, the steps to resolve the problem, or a work-around solution for the bug.


Displays the currently selected topic. To display a HelpDesk topic, double-click on the topic name from the Contents, Keyword Index, or Full Text Search tabs or select the topic from the tab and click Display Topic.


Type a valid user name to open the PC HelpDesk database. (what validates user name? where does PC HelpDesk get user name?)


Type a valid password for the specified user name to open the PC HelpDesk database. (what validates password? where does PC HelpDesk get password?)


Click OK to logon and open the PC HelpDesk database.


Click Cancel to exit this dialog box without logging on or opening the HelpDesk database.


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Enter your input in this field.


Click this button to make your choice.


Click this button to make your choice.


Click this button to make your choice.


Choose an item from the list.


Closes this dialog and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog without saving any changes you have made.


Displays the selected topic.


Lists HelpDesk topics by products and areas. To display a topic, select it and then click Display Topic.


Select a product.


Provides a space for you to type the keyword you want to find. To find all related keywords, click Find Keywords. To find all topics with the specified keyword, click Find Topics.


Provides a space for you to type the keyword you want to find. To find all related keywords, click Find Keywords.


Finds HelpDesk project keywords based on the selected product and the text typed in the Enter a keyword to find: box. Matching keywords display in the box below.


Finds all HelpDesk topics containing the selected keyword and displays them in the box below.


Displays the results of the keyword search. To find HelpDesk topics with a particular keyword, select the keyword and click Find Topics.


Lists the HelpDesk topics containing the selected keyword. To display a topic, select the topic title and click Display Topic.


Displays the selected topic.


Select a product.


Provides a space for you to type the words or phrases you want to find in the HelpDesk topics. You can type a few characters and use the Topics list below to see if any HelpDesk topics contain matching text.

Search tips:

* To search for more than one word, type a space between words. (For example: Typing error shutdown locates all topics containing both words.)

* To search for one word or another word, type OR between words. (For example: Typing error OR shutdown locates all topics containing either word.)

* To search for exact phrases, type quotes (" ") around the phrase. (For example: Typing "error shutdown" locates only topics containing this exact phrase.)


Provides a space for you to type the words or phrases you want to find in the HelpDesk topics. You can type a few characters and use the Topics list below to see if any HelpDesk topics contain matching text.

Search tips:

* To search for more than one word, type a space between words. (For example: Typing error shutdown locates all topics containing both words.)

* To search for one word or another word, type OR between words. (For example: Typing error OR shutdown locates all topics containing either word.)

* To search for exact phrases, type quotes (" ") around the phrase. (For example: Typing "error shutdown" locates only topics containing this exact phrase.)


Searches for HelpDesk topics containing the specified words or phrases; displays the titles of matching topics in the list below.


Lists the titles of the HelpDesk topics containing the specified words or phrases. Select the topic you want, then click Display Topic.


Lists the titles of the HelpDesk topics containing the specified words or phrases. Select the topic you want, then click Display Topic.


Displays the selected topic.


Select any project keyword to list all HelpDesk topics associated with this keyword in the Topics list box. To delete the selected keyword, click Delete Keyword. (This action deletes the keyword from every HelpDesk topic in the Topics list box. You cannot use the undo feature to reverse a deleted keyword, but you can re-add the keyword to the HelpDesk project and topics.) To add the selected keyword to the currently displayed topic, right-click and select Add to Current Topic..


Select any project keyword to list all HelpDesk topics associated with this keyword in the Topics list box. To delete the selected keyword, click Delete Keyword. (This action deletes the keyword from every HelpDesk topic in the Topics list box. You cannot use the undo feature to reverse a deleted keyword, but you can re-add the keyword to the HelpDesk project and topics.) To add the selected keyword to the currently displayed topic, right-click and select Add to Current Topic.


Adds a new keyword to the HelpDesk project, but does not associate the keyword with a specific HelpDesk topic. To associate a keyword with a topic, display the topic, select the keyword, and select Add to Current Topic from the right-click mouse menu.


Deletes the selected keyword from the HelpDesk project and all HelpDesk topics. (You cannot use the undo feature to restore a deleted keyword, but you can re-add the keyword to the HelpDesk project and topics.)


Lists the HelpDesk topics associated with the selected keyword. To display the topic, double-click it.


Lists the HelpDesk topics associated with the selected keyword. To display a topic, double-click it.


This list contains all of the keywords used in this Help Desk. Select any keyword to see the topics associated with that keyword.


Lists topics with a See Also reference to the currently displayed HelpDesk topic. See Also references link both the currently displayed topic and topics listed here. To display a See Also topic, select the topic title and click Jump to Topic.


Lists topics with a See Also reference to the currently displayed HelpDesk topic. See Also references link both the currently displayed topic and topics listed here. To display a See Also topic, select the topic title and click Jump to Topic.


Adds a new See Also reference link to the currently displayed topic.


Jumps to the selected See Also topic listed in the See Also links for this topic list box.


Deletes the link between the currently displayed topic and the topic selected in the See Also links for this topic list box. (You cannot use undo to reverse the delete action, but you can re-establish the See Also link.)


Select this box to confirm all modifications to a HelpDesk topic before saving the topic.


Select this box to display a message before deleting a topic or keyword from the HelpDesk project.


Select this box to display a message before deleting a product or area from the HelpDesk. (Deleting a product automatically deletes all areas and topics associated with that product. Deleting an area automatically deletes all topics associated with that area.) If you choose to confirm before deleting topics or keywords, this option is automatically selected.


Closes this dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Type the name you want PC HelpDesk to use when indicating who created and last updated HelpDesk database topics. (Author names do not display in the PC HelpDesk Control; they only display inside the HelpDesk project.)


Select this option to use the HelpDesk database login name as the Author name on HelpDesk topics. (Author names do not display in the PC HelpDesk control; they only display inside the HelpDesk project to indicate who created and last updated topics.)


Select this option to use the name specified in the Default Author name box to indicate who created and last updated HelpDesk topics. (Author names do not display in the PC HelpDesk Control; they only display inside the HelpDesk project.)


If your PC HelpDesk database is in the Microsoft Access format (default), selecting this option requires all users to log in using a valid user name and password before opening the HelpDesk project. (what validates user name and password?)


Choose an item from the list.


Click this button to make your choice.


Enter your input in this field.


Click this button to make your choice.


Click this button to make your choice.


Check your desired options.


Check your desired options.


Check your desired options.


Check your desired options.


Choose an item from the list.


Check your desired options.


Click this button to make your choice.


Check your desired options.


Indicates which Product this HelpDesk topic relates to.


The Properties tab displays the Product, Area, Version, and any notes stored with this topic, along with information about when this topic was last updated.


If a version number is appropriate, enter the earliest version this topic relates to here.


Indicates the earliest product version this HelpDesk topic applies to. If no product version is specified, the field in the PC HelpDesk Control is blank. If this version number is the only number specified, the PC HelpDesk Control displays XXX.


If a version number is appropriate, enter the last version this topic relates to here.


Indicates the last or latest product version this HelpDesk topic applies to. If no product version is specified, the field in the PC HelpDesk Control is blank. If this version number is the only number specified, the PC HelpDesk Control displays XXX.


Indicates which Product Area this topic relates to.


The Properties tab displays the Product, Area, Version, and any notes stored with this topic, along with information about when this topic was last updated.


Allows you to type information or comments about this topic to display inside PC HelpDesk. (Notes do not appear in the PC HelpDesk Control.)


Allows you to type information or comments about this topic to display inside PC HelpDesk. (Notes do not appear in the PC HelpDesk Control.)


The Properties tab displays the Product, Area, Version, and any notes stored with this topic, along with information about when this topic was last updated.


The Properties tab displays the Product, Area, Version, and any notes stored with this topic, along with information about when this topic was last updated.


Lists the keywords associated with this topic.


Lists the keywords associated with this topic.


Adds a new keywords to the HelpDesk project and associates the keyword with this topic.


Suggests keywords for this topic from existing HelpDesk project keywords. (PC HelpDesk suggests keywords based on the text in the Summary, Details, and Resolution areas of the topic.)


Deletes the selected keyword from this topic only. (Does not delete the keyword from the HelpDesk project nor from any other HelpDesk topics.)


Click this button to make your choice.


Enter your input in this field.


Click this button to make your choice.


Choose an item from the list.


Click this button to make your choice.


Enter your input in this field.


Click this button to make your choice.


Click this button to make your choice.


Click this button to make your choice.


Click this button to make your choice.


Type a new keyword to add to the HelpDesk project and click Add Keyword. (The new keyword is not automatically associated with any HelpDesk topic. To associate a keyword with a topic, display the topic, select the keyword, and select Add to Current Topic from the right-click mouse menu.)


Adds the new keyword to the HelpDesk project. (The new keyword is not automatically associated with any HelpDesk topic. To associate a keyword with a topic, display the topic, select the keyword, and select Add to Current Topic from the right-click mouse menu.)


Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Closes this dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Lists all keywords found in this HelpDesk project not already associated with this topic. To add a suggested keyword to the current topic, select the keyword and click OK.


Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Closes this dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Select a keyword from the list below or type a new keyword. To add the keyword to the currently displayed topic, click Add Keyword.


Lists all existing HelpDesk project keywords. To add an existing project keyword to the currently displayed topic, select the keyword and click Add Keyword.


Adds the keyword to the current topic without closing this dialog box.


Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Closes this dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Select the new product location to move the selected area and all its associated topics to. (The open book represents the current product location.


Select the new product location to move the selected area and all its associated topics to. (The open book represents the current product location.)


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Type the new name for this keyword.


Closes this dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Closes this dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Select the type of ODBC data source from the list and click OK to open the HelpDesk.


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Requires users opening the PC HelpDesk database to log in using a valid user name and password before opening the HelpDesk project. (what validates user name and password?)


Select "Create a new Help Desk" to create a blank PC HelpDesk database in the Microsoft Access file format. (This dialog box only appears if....


Select "Open an existing HelpDesk" to open a PC HelpDesk database in the Microsoft Access file format. (This dialog box only appears if....


Select "Open an ODBC Data Source" to open an ODBC data source containing an existing PC HelpDesk database. (This dialog box only appears if....


Select "Open a Power SQL Data Source" to open an existing HelpDesk database which resides on an Intranet or the Internet. (This dialog box only appears if....


Applies the selected option and closes this dialog box.


Closes this dialog box and exits PC HelpDesk.


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Select "Create a new Help Desk" to create a new, blank Help Desk database (in the Microsoft Access file format).


Select "Open an existing Help Desk" to open an existing Help Desk file (in the Microsoft Access file format).


Select "Open an ODBC Data Source" to open an ODBC data source containing a Help Desk database in any format.


Select "Open a Power SQL Data Source" to open a Help Desk database across the Internet.


Checks spelling of all product name during the Spellcheck.


Checks spelling of all area names during the Spellcheck.


Checks spelling of all keywords during the Spellcheck.


Begins checking the spelling of the items selected for spellcheck.


Closes this dialog box without checking spelling.


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Displays the product, area, or keyword being spellchecked.


Shows the product, area, or keyword currently being spellchecked. You will be prompted to correct or ignore any misspelled words.


Check your desired options.


Closes this dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Labels the version of your PC HelpDesk database. Version labeling can be helpful in determining which version of your HelpDesk an end-user is looking at. (HelpDesk version available in the HelpDesk Control from the information toolbar button.)


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Closes this dialog box.


Saves the currently displayed topic as an RTF or TXT file. where? (path) (Helpful during HelpDesk database project topic review.)


Prints the currently displayed topic. (Helpful during HelpDesk database project topic review.)


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box


Preview of the currently displayed PC HelpDesk project topic if saved to a file or printed. (Helpful during HelpDesk database project topic review.)


Select your preferred option.


Select your preferred option.


Select your preferred option.


Enter your input in this field.


Click this button to make your choice.


Enter your input in this field.


Check your desired options.


Enter your input in this field.


Enter your input in this field.


Closes this dialog and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog without saving any changes you have made.


Click this button to make your choice.


Closes this dialog box.


Saves the PC HelpDesk properties to an RTF or TXT file. (Useful to send HelpDesk project property information to anyone using the PC HelpDesk ActiveX Control.)


Prints the PC HelpDesk properties. (Useful to show or send HelpDesk project property information to anyone using the PC HelpDesk ActiveX Control.)


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Displays properties for the open PC HelpDesk project.


Lists all HelpDesk topics, by product and area. The current topic icon appears in blue; topics already linked to the current topic are marked with a blue arrow. To add a topic as a See Also reference to the current topic, select the topic title and click Add Link.


Lists all HelpDesk topics, by product and area. The current topic icon appears in blue; topics already linked to the current topic are marked with a blue arrow. To add a topic as a See Also reference to the current topic, select the topic title and click Add Link.


Closes this dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Displays the help text describing more about this dialog box.


Adds a See Also reference link from the selected topic to the currently displayed topic. (The currently displayed topic icon appears in blue; topics already linked to the currently displayed topic are marked with a blue arrow.)


Enter your input in this field.


Enter your input in this field.


Closes this dialog and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog without saving any changes you have made.


Click this button to make your choice.


Closes this dialog and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog without saving any changes you have made.


Click this button to make your choice.


Enter your input in this field.


Enter your input in this field.


Choose an item from the list.


Closes this dialog and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog without saving any changes you have made.


Click this button to make your choice.