Copyright: Copyright ® 1993-5 Lamaura Development Limited
Citation: Help generated by SOS Help! Info-Author


Table of Contents (Level 1)
Table of Contents

Click on the required item for more information

Getting Started

Quick Start

Beyond the Basics

File Menu

Edit Menu

Topic Menu

Style Menu

Links Menu

Options Menu

Window Menu

Help Menu

Application Programming Interface

Appendix A - Licence Agreement

Appendix B - Setup and Installation

Appendix C - Technical Support

Appendix D - Utilities

Appendix E - Converting SOS Help! for CA-Clipper

Appendix F - Operational Limits

Appendix G - 3rd Party Products used by SOS Help! Info-Author


Table of Contents (Level 2)
Table of Contents

Click on the required item for more information

Getting Started

What is It?

Unusual Uses for WinHelp

How to Read this Manual

Quick Start

Configuring SOS Help! Info-Author

Creating a New Project

Creating a New Topic

Entering the Help Text

Creating Hypertext Links

Generating the .HLP File

Button Pad

Status Line

Common Dialogs

Where to Now?

Beyond the Basics

Styles and Style Sheets

Browse Orders

Build Tags

Help Tracker

Managing Windows

Non-Scrolling Regions

WinHelp Macros

File Menu

New Project

Open Project

Save Project

Save Project As

Close Project

Rename Project

Delete Project

Generate

Attach Style Sheet

Save Style Sheet As

Help Tracker

Project Build Tags

Import

Export

Maintenance

Exit

Edit Menu

Undo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Select All

Find

Replace

Spell Checker

Insert ASCII

Insert RTF

Insert Picture

Edit Picture Details

Edit RTF

Join Paragraphs

Non-Scrolling Region

Topic Menu

New

Load

Write

Write As

Delete

Close

Rename

Browse Order

Keywords

Identifier

WinHelp Macros

Build Tags

Style Menu

Character

Attributes

Define Style

Select Style

Links Menu

New

Details

Delete

Jump to Link

Non-Scrolling Region Problems

Clipboard

Options Menu

System Preferences

Project Preferences

Show Hidden

Setup

Window Menu

Cascade

Tile

Arrange Icons

Close

Close All

Define

Help Menu

Contents

Search for Help on

How to Use Help

View Project .HLP

About SOS Help! Info-Author

Application Programming Interface

Using SOS Help! Info-Author in Place of WinHelp

Visual Basic and SOS Help! Info-Author

C, C++ and SOS Help! Info-Author

Borland Pascal and SOS Help! Info-Author

Modifying SOS Help! Info-Author Files Externally

Appendix A - Licence Agreement

Terms and Conditions

Warranty

Termination

Governing Law

Copyright

Appendix B - Setup and Installation

System Requirements

Installation

Using DUNPACK.EXE

Removing SOS Help! Info-Author

Appendix C - Technical Support

Read the Manual

Voice Support

The Lamaura BBS

CompuServe

Internet

Appendix D - Utilities

Patch

SnapShot

Stripper

Appendix E - Converting SOS Help! for CA-Clipper

Appendix F - Operational Limits

Unsupported WinHelp Features

Appendix G - 3rd Party Products used by SOS Help! Info-Author


Table of Contents (Level 3)
Table of Contents

Click on the required item for more information

Getting Started

What is It?

Unusual Uses for WinHelp

How to Read this Manual

Typographical Conventions

Definitions

Menu Options

Help Topics

Dirty Topics

Clipboard

Home Directory

Open Window

Workspace

Unavailable Objects

List Boxes

Spin Buttons

Shortcut Keystrokes

Insert Special Characters

Installation

Menu Options

Application Programming Interface

Troubleshooting

Quick Start

Configuring SOS Help! Info-Author

Creating a New Project

Configuring the Project

Creating a New Topic

Entering the Help Text

Attaching a Style

Creating a Non-Scrolling Region

Embedding Pictures

Creating Hypertext Links

Creating a Jump

Creating a Popup

Generating the .HLP File

Set First Topic

Running the Help Compiler

Error Log

Button Pad

New Topic

Load Topic

Save Topic

Save Project

Style Define

Style Select

Font

Color

Bold

Italic

Underline

Strikethrough

New Link

Jump

Generate

Non-Scrolling Region

Copy

Cut

Paste

Delete

Status Line

Common Dialogs

File Browser

Font

Color

Setting Colors

Where to Now?

Beyond the Basics

Styles and Style Sheets

What is a Style?

When to Use a Style

Attaching a Style Sheet to a Project

Creating a New Style Sheet

Copying or Moving a Style between Style Sheets

Browse Orders

Build Tags

Help Tracker

What is It?

Why Use It?

Managing Windows

Secondary Windows

Windows Definition Dialog

Non-Scrolling Regions

Creating and Updating a Non-Scrolling Region

WinHelp Macros

Macro Editor

File Menu

New Project

Open Project

Save Project

Save Project As

Close Project

Rename Project

Delete Project

Generate

Settings Button

Aliases

Baggage Files

Build Condition

Compiler Options

First Topic

Font Mappings

Icon

Macros

MAP Section

Windows

Error Log Button

View .HLP Button

Delete Files Button

Generate Button

SOS4WGEN.PIF

Attach Style Sheet

Save Style Sheet As

Help Tracker

Load Topic Button

Filters Button

Check List Button

Project Build Tags

Import

Text

Formatted Text (*.SHT)

Rich Text Format (*.RTF)

Text With Layout (*.ASC)

Plain Text (*.TXT)

Norton Guide

__S4W__T__O__C__S4W__

Fonts

Replicating Norton Guide Tables

Automated Keywords

Converting Colors

Converting ^Cxx Characters

WinHelp Project

[MAP] Section

Styles and Style Sheets

Non-Scrolling Region

RTF Commands Supported by SOS Help! Info-Author

Embedded Pictures and Naming Conventions

Color of Pictures

SOS Help! Project

Export

Text

SOS Help! Project

Maintenance

System

Project

Exit

Edit Menu

Undo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Select All

Find

Replace

Spell Checker

Insert ASCII

Insert RTF

Insert Picture

Edit Picture Details

Edit RTF

Join Paragraphs

Non-Scrolling Region

Topic Menu

New

Load

Write

Write As

Delete

Close

Rename

Browse Order

Keywords

Identifier

WinHelp Macros

Build Tags

Style Menu

Character

Attributes

Color

Bold

Italic

Underline

Strikethrough

Define Style

Style

Attributes Group

Character

Paragraph

Tabs

Borders

Management Group

New

Rename

Copy

Cut

Delete

Paste

Apply vs. OK Buttons

Select Style

Strip Additional Fonts

Links Menu

New

Details

Delete

Jump to Link

Non-Scrolling Region Problems

Clipboard

Options Menu

System Preferences

WinHelp

Help Compiler

Language

Help ID File

Measurement Group

Reset to Default Button

Project Preferences

Show Hidden

Setup

Window Menu

Cascade

Tile

Arrange Icons

Close

Close All

Define

Help Menu

Contents

Search for Help on

How to Use Help

View Project .HLP

About SOS Help! Info-Author

Application Programming Interface

Using SOS Help! Info-Author in Place of WinHelp

Running SOS Help! Info-Author

Visual Basic and SOS Help! Info-Author

Setting Up Your Project to Use SOS Help! Info-Author

Invoking SOS Help! Info-Author

Form Based Calls to SOS Help! Info-Author

Object Based Calls to SOS Help! Info-Author

Changes Required for Shipping Version

C, C++ and SOS Help! Info-Author

Borland Pascal and SOS Help! Info-Author

Modifying SOS Help! Info-Author Files Externally

File Formats

SOSHELP.DAT

DEFAULT.STY

SOSHELPD.HDF

SOSHELPK.KEY

SOSHLPID.DAT

Appendix A - Licence Agreement

Terms and Conditions

Warranty

Termination

Governing Law

USA, Canada and Mexico

Rest of the World

Copyright

USA, Canada and Mexico

Rest of the World

Appendix B - Setup and Installation

System Requirements

Installation

Starting SOS Help! Info-Author

Using DUNPACK.EXE

Removing SOS Help! Info-Author

Appendix C - Technical Support

Read the Manual

Voice Support

US Office

International Office

The Lamaura BBS

Bug Fixes and Updates

CompuServe

Internet

Mailing List

World Wide Web

Appendix D - Utilities

Patch

SnapShot

Stripper

Appendix E - Converting SOS Help! for CA-Clipper

Appendix F - Operational Limits

Unsupported WinHelp Features

Appendix G - 3rd Party Products used by SOS Help! Info-Author


Getting Started

Welcome to SOS Help! Info-Author, the most comprehensive help authoring tool for Windows.

SOS Help! Info-Author was written to allow anyone to write help files to be displayed by WINHELP.EXE, the Windows help display system (hereafter WinHelp).

What is It?
Unusual Uses for WinHelp
How to Read this Manual


Getting Started (Popup)
Welcome to SOS Help! Info-Author, the most comprehensive help authoring tool for Windows.

SOS Help! Info-Author was written to allow anyone to write help files to be displayed by WINHELP.EXE, the Windows help display system (hereafter WinHelp).

What is It?
Unusual Uses for WinHelp
How to Read this Manual


What is It? (Getting Started)

SOS Help! Info-Author is a truly WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) help design system for Windows 3.1 and above. SOS Help! Info-Author was designed to display help topics in the same way as WinHelp so that you do not have to generate the .HLP to see how your topics look. It requires no other software to operate - not even a word processor.

SOS Help! Info-Author saves each help topic as a record in a database and as a proprietary format text file. At the appropriate time, you can generate a Windows Help .HLP file. To do this SOS Help! Info-Author creates the necessary Rich Text Format (RTF) and project files to control the Windows Help Compiler, before running the help compiler to create the .HLP file to be displayed by WinHelp.

You can import existing Windows help project files (but not the .HLP file itself) into SOS Help! Info-Author. You can also export the database in various text formats so that you can use a word processor to spell check your help topics.

SOS Help! Info-Author has a built-in Help Tracker to allow you to monitor the status of each help topic, whether it has been approved, who last modified it, etc.


What is It? (Getting Started) (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author is a truly WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) help design system for Windows 3.1 and above. SOS Help! Info-Author was designed to display help topics in the same way as WinHelp so that you do not have to generate the .HLP to see how your topics look. It requires no other software to operate - not even a word processor.

SOS Help! Info-Author saves each help topic as a record in a database and as a proprietary format text file. At the appropriate time, you can generate a Windows Help .HLP file. To do this SOS Help! Info-Author creates the necessary Rich Text Format (RTF) and project files to control the Windows Help Compiler, before running the help compiler to create the .HLP file to be displayed by WinHelp.

You can import existing Windows help project files (but not the .HLP file itself) into SOS Help! Info-Author. You can also export the database in various text formats so that you can use a word processor to spell check your help topics.

SOS Help! Info-Author has a built-in Help Tracker to allow you to monitor the status of each help topic, whether it has been approved, who last modified it, etc.


Unusual Uses for WinHelp

Few people realize that any type of information database can be viewed using WinHelp, and not just application help files. The uses for WinHelp are endless, governed almost entirely by your imagination. Here are a few examples to whet your appetite.

A company can distribute a database of all its employees along with their telephone and extension numbers as well as information about the department in which they work. Not only is this useful for employees (how many of you have a printed internal telephone directory in a desk drawer at this moment?), it can be supplied to clients as a valuable business tool; think how much more efficient it would be for your company, and less frustrating for your clients if they could dial their sales account executive directly, and so avoid being held in a queue. By including a dynamic linked library (.DLL) with this database, WinHelp can be instructed to dial a number automatically for those users with a modem attached to their computers. It is much cheaper, quicker and easier to update this directory and send out a diskette or make the new .HLP available via modem than it is to reprint a booklet every 6 months.

What about an on-line parts manual and/or price lists?  Clients and employees can scan the table of contents, find the item required, click on it and have WinHelp display the page describing that item, including illustrations.

Or how about a simple (but highly effective) presentation tool?  We use WinHelp in this way when we demonstrate SOS Help! Info-Author; naturally SOS Help! Info-Author is used to prepare the presentations.

SOS Help! Info-Author is the perfect authoring tool to create these help databases, particularly as it can be called from within an application instead of WinHelp.


Unusual Uses for WinHelp (Popup)
Few people realize that any type of information database can be viewed using WinHelp, and not just application help files. The uses for WinHelp are endless, governed almost entirely by your imagination. Here are a few examples to whet your appetite.

A company can distribute a database of all its employees along with their telephone and extension numbers as well as information about the department in which they work. Not only is this useful for employees (how many of you have a printed internal telephone directory in a desk drawer at this moment?), it can be supplied to clients as a valuable business tool; think how much more efficient it would be for your company, and less frustrating for your clients if they could dial their sales account executive directly, and so avoid being held in a queue. By including a dynamic linked library (.DLL) with this database, WinHelp can be instructed to dial a number automatically for those users with a modem attached to their computers. It is much cheaper, quicker and easier to update this directory and send out a diskette or make the new .HLP available via modem than it is to reprint a booklet every 6 months.

What about an on-line parts manual and/or price lists?  Clients and employees can scan the table of contents, find the item required, click on it and have WinHelp display the page describing that item, including illustrations.

Or how about a simple (but highly effective) presentation tool?  We use WinHelp in this way when we demonstrate SOS Help! Info-Author; naturally SOS Help! Info-Author is used to prepare the presentations.

SOS Help! Info-Author is the perfect authoring tool to create these help databases, particularly as it can be called from within an application instead of WinHelp.


How to Read this Manual

IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE IN THIS MANUAL, PLEASE READ THIS CHAPTER.

Because most people tend to turn to the manual as a last resort, this chapter tells you where to look for the specific information you need.

Detailed explanations of how menus, dialog boxes, buttons etc work are not included since most users will be familiar with the Windows/SAA (CUA) user interface. Should additional information be required, please consult the Windows User's Guide.

Typographical Conventions
Definitions
Shortcut Keystrokes
Installation
Menu Options
Application Programming Interface
Troubleshooting


How to Read this Manual (Popup)
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE IN THIS MANUAL, PLEASE READ THIS CHAPTER.

Because most people tend to turn to the manual as a last resort, this chapter tells you where to look for the specific information you need.

Detailed explanations of how menus, dialog boxes, buttons etc work are not included since most users will be familiar with the Windows/SAA (CUA) user interface. Should additional information be required, please consult the Windows User's Guide.

Typographical Conventions
Definitions
Shortcut Keystrokes
Installation
Menu Options
Application Programming Interface
Troubleshooting


Typographical Conventions

To facilitate finding and interpreting the information contained in this manual several conventions are used.

Text which appears in bold type must be entered by the user exactly as shown. For example, if you are asked to enter cd\sos4win, you would type these bold characters exactly as they are printed.

Unless otherwise stated, you can enter information in both upper or lower case (or a combination of the two).

Text appearing in italics are place markers for information which you must provide. For example, if you are asked to type helpidentifieryou would type in the name of an actual help identifier which you have used in your application. If you are asked to supply a path as part of a filename, the place marker is placed in curly braces, e.g. {SOS Help! Info-Author directory}\DEFAULT.STY.

Italics are also used to denote a special term which is being used for the first time.

Information placed within square brackets is optional and can be safely omitted.

Keyboard key combinations are denoted by a plus sign (+) placed between key names. For example, "press <Alt+X>" means that you must press and hold down the <Alt> key and press the <X> key. All key names are in capitals.

Instructions to "choose" an item means that you should move the mouse cursor to the appropriate position and click the left mouse button, or use the appropriate keystrokes. For example, "choose Topic:New" means that you should select the New option from the Topic menu.

Instructions to "click" on an object (normally a button, a check box etc.) means that you should move the mouse over the object and press the left mouse button once, or use the keyboard so that focus is given to the object and press <SPACE>. For example, "click on the OK button" means move the mouse so that it is positioned on the OK button and click the left button.


Typographical Conventions (Popup)
To facilitate finding and interpreting the information contained in this manual several conventions are used.

Text which appears in bold type must be entered by the user exactly as shown. For example, if you are asked to enter cd\sos4win, you would type these bold characters exactly as they are printed.

Unless otherwise stated, you can enter information in both upper or lower case (or a combination of the two).

Text appearing in italics are place markers for information which you must provide. For example, if you are asked to type helpidentifieryou would type in the name of an actual help identifier which you have used in your application. If you are asked to supply a path as part of a filename, the place marker is placed in curly braces, e.g. {SOS Help! Info-Author directory}\DEFAULT.STY.

Italics are also used to denote a special term which is being used for the first time.

Information placed within square brackets is optional and can be safely omitted.

Keyboard key combinations are denoted by a plus sign (+) placed between key names. For example, "press <Alt+X>" means that you must press and hold down the <Alt> key and press the <X> key. All key names are in capitals.

Instructions to "choose" an item means that you should move the mouse cursor to the appropriate position and click the left mouse button, or use the appropriate keystrokes. For example, "choose Topic:New" means that you should select the New option from the Topic menu.

Instructions to "click" on an object (normally a button, a check box etc.) means that you should move the mouse over the object and press the left mouse button once, or use the keyboard so that focus is given to the object and press <SPACE>. For example, "click on the OK button" means move the mouse so that it is positioned on the OK button and click the left button.


Definitions

Menu Options
Help Topics
Dirty Topics
Clipboard
Home Directory
Open Window
Workspace
Unavailable Objects
List Boxes
Spin Buttons


Definitions (Popup)
Menu Options
Help Topics
Dirty Topics
Clipboard
Home Directory
Open Window
Workspace
Unavailable Objects
List Boxes


Menu Options (Definition)

References to menu options are written as menu:option. For example "Topic:Load" refers to the Open option on the Topic menu. Any additional suboptions that a menu option might have are denoted as menu:option:suboption, e.g. File:Import:Text.


Menu Options (Definition) (Popup)
References to menu options are written as menu:option. For example "Topic:Load" refers to the Open option on the Topic menu. Any additional suboptions that a menu option might have are denoted as menu:option:suboption, e.g. File:Import:Text.


Help Topics

Throughout this manual, references are made to help topics. A topic is the help text either saved to disk or in an edit window. The current topic refers to the topic in the edit window which has focus.


Help Topics (Popup)
Throughout this manual, references are made to help topics. A topic is the help text either saved to disk or in an edit window. The current topic refers to the topic in the edit window which has focus.


Dirty Topics

Throughout this manual, a topic may be described as being "dirty". This means that changes have been made to the topic which have not been written (saved) to disk.

Saving (or "writing") the topic to disk makes the topic "clean".


Dirty Topics (Popup)
Throughout this manual, a topic may be described as being "dirty". This means that changes have been made to the topic which have not been written (saved) to disk.

Saving (or "writing") the topic to disk makes the topic "clean".


Clipboard (Definition)

The term "Clipboard" is used to refer to the Windows Clipboard.

For more information about the Clipboard and how to use it see your Windows documentation.


Clipboard (Definition) (Popup)
The term "Clipboard" is used to refer to the Windows Clipboard.

For more information about the Clipboard and how to use it see your Windows documentation.


Home Directory

The term "home directory" means the directory where SOS Help! Info-Author was installed, e.g. C:\SOS4WIN.


Home Directory (Popup)
The term "home directory" means the directory where SOS Help! Info-Author was installed, e.g. C:\SOS4WIN.


Open Window

An "Open" window is one which is not iconized. It can be a topic or an information log, e.g. the error log created by the help compiler.


Open Window (Popup)
An "Open" window is one which is not iconized. It can be a topic or an information log, e.g. the error log created by the help compiler.


Workspace

You will see various references to the SOS Help! Info-Author "workspace" throughout this manual. This term describes the main SOS Help! Info-Author application window.


Workspace (Popup)
You will see various references to the SOS Help! Info-Author "workspace" throughout this manual. This term describes the main SOS Help! Info-Author application window.


Unavailable Objects

Some objects (typically buttons, menu options and edit controls) may be described as "unavailable". This means that the object appears grayed out on the screen, and selecting it has no effect.


Unavailable Objects (Popup)
Some objects (typically buttons, menu options and edit controls) may be described as "unavailable". This means that the object appears grayed out on the screen, and selecting it has no effect.


List Boxes

A "list box" control is a box containing one or more choices.  Use the mouse or the cursor keys to highlight the option you want.

Some dialogs have what are called "drop-down" list box controls. These have one item displayed and a down arrow button attached to the right hand side of the box surrounding the item. You should click on this button (or press the <F4> key) to expand this list box downwards.

Some list boxes allow you to select more than one item at a time (for example when deleting keywords via Topic:Keywords). To select several items (which must be contiguous), click on the first item and, without releasing the mouse button, drag the mouse through the list until you reach the last item required. Alternatively you can hold down the <Shift> key and use the cursor keys to navigate through the list.


List Boxes (Popup)
A "list box" control is a box containing one or more choices.  Use the mouse or the cursor keys to highlight the option you want.

Some dialogs have what are called "drop-down" list box controls. These have one item displayed and a down arrow button attached to the right hand side of the box surrounding the item. You should click on this button (or press the <F4> key) to expand this list box downwards.

Some list boxes allow you to select more than one item at a time (for example when deleting keywords via Topic:Keywords). To select several items (which must be contiguous), click on the first item and, without releasing the mouse button, drag the mouse through the list until you reach the last item required. Alternatively you can hold down the <Shift> key and use the cursor keys to navigate through the list.


Spin Buttons

These controls are attached to the right side of some numeric edit controls, e.g. setting the size of a tab via Style:Define:Tabs. They appear as an up arrow immediately on top of a down arrow; the combined height of these arrows is the same as the box surrounding the edit control.

In operation, clicking on the up arrow increases the numeric value in the edit control, while clicking on the down arrow decreases it. The amount of the change is determined by the measurement unit of the edit control.


Spin Buttons (Popup)
These controls are attached to the right side of some numeric edit controls, e.g. setting the size of a tab via Style:Define:Tabs. They appear as an up arrow immediately on top of a down arrow; the combined height of these arrows is the same as the box surrounding the edit control.

In operation, clicking on the up arrow increases the numeric value in the edit control, while clicking on the down arrow decreases it. The amount of the change is determined by the measurement unit of the edit control.


Shortcut Keystrokes

The following is a lot of all the shortcut keys used by SOS Help! Info-Author.  The menu equivalents are given in parentheses.

<F1>	= Displays context sensitive help

<ESC>	= Normally cancels a dialog, but can also be used to redisplay the current topic (some video cards do not always update the screen correctly)

<Alt+BackSpace>	= Undo or Redo last operation (Edit:Undo)

<Shift+Delete>	= Cut the selected text to the Clipboard (Edit:Cut)

<Ctrl+X>	= Cut the selected text to the Clipboard (Edit:Cut)

<Ctrl+Insert>	= Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (Edit:Copy)

<Ctrl+C>	= Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (Edit:Copy)

<Shift+Insert>	= Paste the contents of the Clipboard at the current position (Edit:Paste)

<Ctrl+V>	= Paste the contents of the Clipboard at the current position (Edit:Pated)

<DEL>	= Delete the selected text (Edit:Delete)

<Ctrl+NumPad5>	= Select the whole of the topic (Edit:Select All)

<Alt+F4>	= Exit SOS Help! Info-Author (File:Exit)

<Ctrl+F4>	= Close the current window (Window:Close and Topic:Close)

<Shift+F4>	= Tile all the open windows (Window:Tile)

<Shift+F5>	= Cascade all the open windows (Window:Cascade)

<F12>	= Call the Save Project As dialog (File:Save Project As)

<Shift+F12>	= Save all changes to the current project (File:Save Project)

<Ctrl+F12>	= Call the Open Project dialog (File:Open Project)

<Ctrl+W>	= Save all changes to the current topic (Topic:Write)

<Ctrl+G>	= Call the Generate dialog (File:Generate)

<Ctrl+B>	= Toggle to Bold attribute of the selected text (Style:Attribute:Bold)

<Ctrl+I>	= Toggle to Italic attribute of the selected text (Style:Attribute:Italic)

<Ctrl+U>	= Toggle to Underline attribute of the selected text (Style:Attribute:Underline)

<Ctrl+D>	= Call the Define Style dialog (Style:Define)

<Ctrl+S>	= Call the Select Style dialog (Style:Select)

<Ctrl+S>	= Call the Select Style dialog (Style:Select)

<F11>	= Call the Create Link dialog (Link:New)

<Shift+F11>	= Call the Link Details dialog (Link:Details)

<Ctrl+F11>	= Load the topic which is the target of the link under the cursor (Link:Jump to Link)

<F7>	= Load the spell checker (Edit:Spell Checker)

Insert Special Characters


Shortcut Keystrokes (Popup)
The following is a lot of all the shortcut keys used by SOS Help! Info-Author.  The menu equivalents are given in parentheses.

<F1>	= Displays context sensitive help

<ESC>	= Normally cancels a dialog, but can also be used to redisplay the current topic (some video cards do not always update the screen correctly)

<Alt+BackSpace>	= Undo or Redo last operation (Edit:Undo)

<Shift+Delete>	= Cut the selected text to the Clipboard (Edit:Cut)

<Ctrl+X>	= Cut the selected text to the Clipboard (Edit:Cut)

<Ctrl+Insert>	= Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (Edit:Copy)

<Ctrl+C>	= Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (Edit:Copy)

<Shift+Insert>	= Paste the contents of the Clipboard at the current position (Edit:Paste)

<Ctrl+V>	= Paste the contents of the Clipboard at the current position (Edit:Pated)

<DEL>	= Delete the selected text (Edit:Delete)

<Ctrl+NumPad5>	= Select the whole of the topic (Edit:Select All)

<Alt+F4>	= Exit SOS Help! Info-Author (File:Exit)

<Ctrl+F4>	= Close the current window (Window:Close and Topic:Close)

<Shift+F4>	= Tile all the open windows (Window:Tile)

<Shift+F5>	= Cascade all the open windows (Window:Cascade)

<F12>	= Call the Save Project As dialog (File:Save Project As)

<Shift+F12>	= Save all changes to the current project (File:Save Project)

<Ctrl+F12>	= Call the Open Project dialog (File:Open Project)

<Ctrl+W>	= Save all changes to the current topic (Topic:Write)

<Ctrl+G>	= Call the Generate dialog (File:Generate)

<Ctrl+B>	= Toggle to Bold attribute of the selected text (Style:Attribute:Bold)

<Ctrl+I>	= Toggle to Italic attribute of the selected text (Style:Attribute:Italic)

<Ctrl+U>	= Toggle to Underline attribute of the selected text (Style:Attribute:Underline)

<Ctrl+D>	= Call the Define Style dialog (Style:Define)

<Ctrl+S>	= Call the Select Style dialog (Style:Select)

<Ctrl+S>	= Call the Select Style dialog (Style:Select)

<F11>	= Call the Create Link dialog (Link:New)

<Shift+F11>	= Call the Link Details dialog (Link:Details)

<Ctrl+F11>	= Load the topic which is the target of the link under the cursor (Link:Jump to Link)

<F7>	= Load the spell checker (Edit:Spell Checker)

Insert Special Characters


Insert Special Characters

The following keystrokes insert special characters into the topic text:

<Tab>	= a tab

<Shift+Enter>	= a linefeed

<Ctrl+Shift+Space>	= a non-breaking space character

These characters are not displayed if the Options:Show Hidden menu option does not have a check mark next to it.


Insert Special Characters (Popup)
The following keystrokes insert special characters into the topic text:

<Tab>	= a tab

<Shift+Enter>	= a linefeed

<Ctrl+Shift+Space>	= a non-breaking space character

These characters are not displayed if the Options:Show Hidden menu option does not have a check mark next to it.


Installation (Getting Started)

For instructions about installing SOS Help! Info-Author, please read Appendix B - Setup and Installation.


Installation (Getting Started) (Popup)
For instructions about installing SOS Help! Info-Author, please read Appendix B - Setup and Installation.


Menu Options (Getting Started)

Read the Menu Options chapter for a complete guide to all the options available in each menu.


Menu Options (Getting Started) (Popup)
Read the Menu Options chapter for a complete guide to all the options available in each menu.


Application Programming Interface (Getting Started)

If you are a programmer (or you develop specialized macros for spreadsheets, word processors etc.) you should read the Application Programming Interface chapter.

This chapter provides all the information you need to call SOS Help! Info-Author from your application instead of WinHelp when help is requested. Source code examples are provided for C/C++, Visual Basic and Borland Pascal. The concepts can be easily adapted for other development environments.

The advantage of calling SOS Help! Info-Author in this way is that you can write your on-line help while developing the application, or leave notes for the help author to expand on later.


Application Programming Interface (Getting Started) (Popup)
If you are a programmer (or you develop specialized macros for spreadsheets, word processors etc.) you should read the Application Programming Interface chapter.

This chapter provides all the information you need to call SOS Help! Info-Author from your application instead of WinHelp when help is requested. Source code examples are provided for C/C++, Visual Basic and Borland Pascal. The concepts can be easily adapted for other development environments.

The advantage of calling SOS Help! Info-Author in this way is that you can write your on-line help while developing the application, or leave notes for the help author to expand on later.


Troubleshooting

If you have any problems when running SOS Help! Info-Author please read Appendix C - Technical Support carefully before contacting Lamaura Development Limited.


Troubleshooting (Popup)
If you have any problems when running SOS Help! Info-Author please read Appendix C - Technical Support carefully before contacting Lamaura Development Limited.


Quick Start

This section deals with how to get SOS Help! Info-Author up and running as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Please take the time to read this chapter carefully. SOS Help! Info-Author needs to be configured correctly in order to maximize your productivity.

We recommend that you spend a little time experimenting with its features before starting work on a commercial project.

When you are comfortable with the basic features of SOS Help! Info-Author as outlined in this chapter, you should read the Beyond the Basics chapter to become fully conversant with the power of both SOS Help! Info-Author and WinHelp.

To start SOS Help! Info-Author, double click on the SOS Help! Info-Author icon.

Configuring SOS Help! Info-Author
Creating a New Project
Creating a New Topic
Entering the Help Text
Creating Hypertext Links
Generating the .HLP File
Button Pad
Status Line
Common Dialogs
Where to Now?


Quick Start (Popup)
This section deals with how to get SOS Help! Info-Author up and running as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Please take the time to read this chapter carefully. SOS Help! Info-Author needs to be configured correctly in order to maximize your productivity.

We recommend that you spend a little time experimenting with its features before starting work on a commercial project.

When you are comfortable with the basic features of SOS Help! Info-Author as outlined in this chapter, you should read the Beyond the Basics chapter to become fully conversant with the power of both SOS Help! Info-Author and WinHelp.

To start SOS Help! Info-Author, double click on the SOS Help! Info-Author icon.

Configuring SOS Help! Info-Author
Creating a New Project
Creating a New Topic
Entering the Help Text
Creating Hypertext Links
Generating the .HLP File
Button Pad
Status Line
Common Dialogs
Where to Now?


Configuring SOS Help! Info-Author

When SOS Help! Info-Author loads for the first time, you are presented with the Preferences Dialog Box.

This allows you to configure the default system settings for SOS Help! Info-Author. These defaults are used whenever a new help project is started (think of them like a template). These defaults can be changed at any time (both the systems settings and settings for individual projects via the Options menu) so it does not matter if you are unsure of your exact requirements at this stage.

Changes to the system settings made at a later date (using the Options:System Preferences menu option) do not update the settings of any existing projects. To change the settings of an existing project you must open the required project (via File:Open Project) and then choose Options:Project Preferences.

For more information about what each setting does see Options:System Preferences or Option:Project Preferences.


Configuring SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
When SOS Help! Info-Author loads for the first time, you are presented with the Preferences Dialog Box.

This allows you to configure the default system settings for SOS Help! Info-Author. These defaults are used whenever a new help project is started (think of them like a template). These defaults can be changed at any time (both the systems settings and settings for individual projects via the Options menu) so it does not matter if you are unsure of your exact requirements at this stage.

Changes to the system settings made at a later date (using the Options:System Preferences menu option) do not update the settings of any existing projects. To change the settings of an existing project you must open the required project (via File:Open Project) and then choose Options:Project Preferences.

For more information about what each setting does see Options:System Preferences or Option:Project Preferences.


Creating a New Project

Before starting to write the text for a new help system you must instruct SOS Help! Info-Author to create the necessary directory and files for the project. To do this choose File:New Project.

When the New Project dialog appears, enter a title for the project in the Project Name edit control (e.g. "Practice Project"). This is displayed in the File:Open Project list box and as the WinHelp title bar. It can be changed by choosing File:Rename Project.

Enter the name of the directory in the Project Directory edit control where you want SOS Help! Info-Author to store the topics for the project (e.g. "PRACTICE"). If you enter a directory name with no path, SOS Help! Info-Author creates the directory beneath the home directory, i.e. if SOS Help! Info-Author was installed on C:\SOS4WIN, SOS Help! Info-Author creates C:\SOS4WIN\PRACTICE for the project files.

Now enter the name of the .HLP file you want to create for your project in the .HLP Name and Path edit control. SOS Help! Info-Author automatically supplies the path just entered in Project Directory edit control as the path for the .HLP file. There is nothing to stop you from supplying a different directory from the project directory for the .HLP file.

Configuring the Project


Creating a New Project (Popup)
Before starting to write the text for a new help system you must instruct SOS Help! Info-Author to create the necessary directory and files for the project. To do this choose File:New Project.

When the New Project dialog appears, enter a title for the project in the Project Name edit control (e.g. "Practice Project"). This is displayed in the File:Open Project list box and as the WinHelp title bar. It can be changed by choosing File:Rename Project.

Enter the name of the directory in the Project Directory edit control where you want SOS Help! Info-Author to store the topics for the project (e.g. "PRACTICE"). If you enter a directory name with no path, SOS Help! Info-Author creates the directory beneath the home directory, i.e. if SOS Help! Info-Author was installed on C:\SOS4WIN, SOS Help! Info-Author creates C:\SOS4WIN\PRACTICE for the project files.

Now enter the name of the .HLP file you want to create for your project in the .HLP Name and Path edit control. SOS Help! Info-Author automatically supplies the path just entered in Project Directory edit control as the path for the .HLP file. There is nothing to stop you from supplying a different directory from the project directory for the .HLP file.

Configuring the Project


Configuring the Project

If you want to use different settings for a project from those that you specified as the system settings when you started SOS Help! Info-Author for the very first time (or have modified since using Options:System Preferences), click on the Preferences button. This calls up the Preferences dialog for the project settings; the values displayed are the system defaults. Any changes made to the settings for this project are saved when you click on the OK button.

To change these settings at a later date, choose Options:Project Preferences.


Configuring the Project (Popup)
If you want to use different settings for a project from those that you specified as the system settings when you started SOS Help! Info-Author for the very first time (or have modified since using Options:System Preferences), click on the Preferences button. This calls up the Preferences dialog for the project settings; the values displayed are the system defaults. Any changes made to the settings for this project are saved when you click on the OK button.

To change these settings at a later date, choose Options:Project Preferences.


Creating a New Topic

Having created a project, it is time to enter some help text. A project is made up of one or more topics. To create a new topic choose Topic:New which calls the New Topic dialog.

Enter a title for the new topic in the Title edit control. The title is used by SOS Help! Info-Author when you choose Topic:Load so that you can find the topic you want to work on. Topic titles also appear in the Search topic list box and History window in WinHelp. You can change the title later by choosing Topic:Rename.

Is this topic going to be called from your application, i.e. is it going to be displayed when the user clicks on the help button of a dialog?  Or is it going to be called from another topic as a link?  If the answer to either of these questions is "yes", you need to enter an identifier for the topic in the Topic Identifier edit control (e.g. NEW_PROJECT_DIALOG).

There can be no spaces in the identifier name.

If this topic is called as a context sensitive link from your application you must enter a unique number in the Topic ID Value edit control. If this edit control contains a value, SOS Help! Info-Author includes it along with the Topic Identifier in the help id file specified in the Project Preferences settings. If you create a topic without an identifier or an identifier value and then later decide that this topic needs to be a context sensitive link from your application, you can add the necessary values by choosing Topic:Identifier.

If you have not set a Help Identifier file when you created the project (or via Options:Project Preferences), the Topic ID Value edit control is unavailable.

If your project has a number of topics which need to be grouped together (e.g. all the options for a menu), it is a good idea to create all the topics in the group at the same time using Topic:New. This allows you to create any necessary links between the topics without breaking the flow of your work which could occur if you create a new topic every time you need to enter a link.


Creating a New Topic (Popup)
Having created a project, it is time to enter some help text. A project is made up of one or more topics. To create a new topic choose Topic:New which calls the New Topic dialog.

Enter a title for the new topic in the Title edit control. The title is used by SOS Help! Info-Author when you choose Topic:Load so that you can find the topic you want to work on. Topic titles also appear in the Search topic list box and History window in WinHelp. You can change the title later by choosing Topic:Rename.

Is this topic going to be called from your application, i.e. is it going to be displayed when the user clicks on the help button of a dialog?  Or is it going to be called from another topic as a link?  If the answer to either of these questions is "yes", you need to enter an identifier for the topic in the Topic Identifier edit control (e.g. NEW_PROJECT_DIALOG).

There can be no spaces in the identifier name.

If this topic is called as a context sensitive link from your application you must enter a unique number in the Topic ID Value edit control. If this edit control contains a value, SOS Help! Info-Author includes it along with the Topic Identifier in the help id file specified in the Project Preferences settings. If you create a topic without an identifier or an identifier value and then later decide that this topic needs to be a context sensitive link from your application, you can add the necessary values by choosing Topic:Identifier.

If you have not set a Help Identifier file when you created the project (or via Options:Project Preferences), the Topic ID Value edit control is unavailable.

If your project has a number of topics which need to be grouped together (e.g. all the options for a menu), it is a good idea to create all the topics in the group at the same time using Topic:New. This allows you to create any necessary links between the topics without breaking the flow of your work which could occur if you create a new topic every time you need to enter a link.


Entering the Help Text

The topic editor in SOS Help! Info-Author is completely WYSIWYG - it displays topics in the same way as WinHelp so that you do not have to generate the .HLP to see how your changes look.

Save changes frequently using <Ctrl+W> or Topic:Save to write the current topic to disk, or <Shift+F12> or File:Save Project to save the whole project.

Attaching a Style
Creating a Non-Scrolling Region
Embedding Pictures


Entering the Help Text (Popup)
The topic editor in SOS Help! Info-Author is completely WYSIWYG - it displays topics in the same way as WinHelp so that you do not have to generate the .HLP to see how your changes look.

Save changes frequently using <Ctrl+W> or Topic:Save to write the current topic to disk, or <Shift+F12> or File:Save Project to save the whole project.

Attaching a Style
Creating a Non-Scrolling Region
Embedding Pictures


Attaching a Style

The power of SOS Help! Info-Author is embodied in the concept of styles and style sheets. Styles contain instructions to change the appearance of the topic text.

SOS Help! Info-Author automatically creates a style sheet called DEFAULT.STY which contains several styles. We recommend that you spend some time experimenting with different styles using the Style Management functions available from the Style:Define option. This style sheet is automatically attached to the very first project created by SOS Help! Info-Author. We also recommend that you use File:Save Style Sheet As to create a new style sheet for the project (which can be used as a house style); this automatically attaches the new style sheet to the current project.

When you create a new topic, the default style (called, not surprisingly, <Default Style>) is attached to all paragraphs. You can attach a different style by choosing Style:Select Style and selecting one from the displayed list. The chosen style is applied to the paragraph containing the cursor or a block of selected paragraphs (selected paragraphs are contiguous and highlighted).

If you press the <ENTER> key to create a new paragraph, the current style is carried over to the new paragraph.

The name of the style for the current paragraph is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the SOS Help! Info-Author application window. The name of the style sheet for the current project is displayed in parentheses on the Window title bar after the project name.

For more information about styles and style sheets see the Styles and Style Sheets section in the Beyond the Basics chapter.


Attaching a Style (Popup)
The power of SOS Help! Info-Author is embodied in the concept of styles and style sheets. Styles contain instructions to change the appearance of the topic text.

SOS Help! Info-Author automatically creates a style sheet called DEFAULT.STY which contains several styles. We recommend that you spend some time experimenting with different styles using the Style Management functions available from the Style:Define option. This style sheet is automatically attached to the very first project created by SOS Help! Info-Author. We also recommend that you use File:Save Style Sheet As to create a new style sheet for the project (which can be used as a house style); this automatically attaches the new style sheet to the current project.

When you create a new topic, the default style (called, not surprisingly, <Default Style>) is attached to all paragraphs. You can attach a different style by choosing Style:Select Style and selecting one from the displayed list. The chosen style is applied to the paragraph containing the cursor or a block of selected paragraphs (selected paragraphs are contiguous and highlighted).

If you press the <ENTER> key to create a new paragraph, the current style is carried over to the new paragraph.

The name of the style for the current paragraph is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the SOS Help! Info-Author application window. The name of the style sheet for the current project is displayed in parentheses on the Window title bar after the project name.

For more information about styles and style sheets see the Styles and Style Sheets section in the Beyond the Basics chapter.


Creating a Non-Scrolling Region

Many help systems (including this one) are starting to make use of a non-scrolling region which contains the title of the topic, and often a bitmap and/or a popup link (which displays a list of related topics).

A non-scrolling region remains fixed at the top of the topic window in WinHelp, even if there are multiple pages of text for that topic which the user can scroll through using the scroll bars or the keyboard.

To create a non-scrolling region, select one or more paragraphs at the beginning of a topic and choose Edit:Non-Scrolling Region.

For more information about non-scrolling regions (particularly on their restrictions and behavior) see the Non-Scrolling Region section in the Beyond the Basics chapter.


Creating a Non-Scrolling Region (Popup)
Many help systems (including this one) are starting to make use of a non-scrolling region which contains the title of the topic, and often a bitmap and/or a popup link (which displays a list of related topics).

A non-scrolling region remains fixed at the top of the topic window in WinHelp, even if there are multiple pages of text for that topic which the user can scroll through using the scroll bars or the keyboard.

To create a non-scrolling region, select one or more paragraphs at the beginning of a topic and choose Edit:Non-Scrolling Region.

For more information about non-scrolling regions (particularly on their restrictions and behavior) see the Non-Scrolling Region section in the Beyond the Basics chapter.


Embedding Pictures

Nearly every help file contains graphic images of some sort, of which probably the most common is the bitmap used for bullet points.

The bullet character in most fonts is not supported by the help compiler.

To embed a graphic in a topic, position the text cursor as required and choose Edit:Insert Picture. From the Insert Picture dialog which appears, choose the type of the required picture from the List Files of Type drop-down list box, and click on one of the alignment radio buttons to tell SOS Help! Info-Author how to display the paragraph.

For more information about placing pictures in topics see the Insert Picture section of the Edit Menu chapter.


Embedding Pictures (Popup)
Nearly every help file contains graphic images of some sort, of which probably the most common is the bitmap used for bullet points.

The bullet character in most fonts is not supported by the help compiler.

To embed a graphic in a topic, position the text cursor as required and choose Edit:Insert Picture. From the Insert Picture dialog which appears, choose the type of the required picture from the List Files of Type drop-down list box, and click on one of the alignment radio buttons to tell SOS Help! Info-Author how to display the paragraph.

For more information about placing pictures in topics see the Insert Picture section of the Edit Menu chapter.


Creating Hypertext Links

The WinHelp engine is a hypertext display system which allows users to jump between topics quickly and easily. How quickly and easily is determined by the help author, i.e. you. SOS Help! Info-Author has powerful features for creating these jumps.

It is estimated that 90% of all hypertext links are jumps to another topic or a popup, so we will focus on these.

Hypertext links are normally displayed in a different color and underlined with a solid or dotted line; however the link may be unformatted in which case you get no immediate visual clue. The foolproof way to tell, in both SOS Help! Info-Author and WinHelp, if an unformatted link exists is to move the mouse cursor over the text; if it changes shape to a pointing hand, you are on a link.

For a detailed discussion of the various link types please refer to the New section of the Links Menu chapter.

Creating a Jump
Creating a Popup


Creating Hypertext Links (Popup)
The WinHelp engine is a hypertext display system which allows users to jump between topics quickly and easily. How quickly and easily is determined by the help author, i.e. you. SOS Help! Info-Author has powerful features for creating these jumps.

It is estimated that 90% of all hypertext links are jumps to another topic or a popup, so we will focus on these.

Hypertext links are normally displayed in a different color and underlined with a solid or dotted line; however the link may be unformatted in which case you get no immediate visual clue. The foolproof way to tell, in both SOS Help! Info-Author and WinHelp, if an unformatted link exists is to move the mouse cursor over the text; if it changes shape to a pointing hand, you are on a link.

For a detailed discussion of the various link types please refer to the New section of the Links Menu chapter.

Creating a Jump
Creating a Popup


Creating a Jump

To create a jump, select a piece of text in a topic. Now choose Links:New and select the topic you want to jump to from the list.

The Link Type radio buttons default to Jump, so click on the OK button to close the dialog. The selected text should now change color and have a solid underline.


Creating a Jump (Popup)
To create a jump, select a piece of text in a topic. Now choose Links:New and select the topic you want to jump to from the list.

The Link Type radio buttons default to Jump, so click on the OK button to close the dialog. The selected text should now change color and have a solid underline.


Creating a Popup

Creating a popup is the same procedure as creating a jump except that you must click on the Popup radio button in the Link Type group box. The selected text should also change color, and should have a dotted underline.


Creating a Popup (Popup)
Creating a popup is the same procedure as creating a jump except that you must click on the Popup radio button in the Link Type group box. The selected text should also change color, and should have a dotted underline.


Generating the .HLP File

This, of course, is the whole raison d'etre behind SOS Help! Info-Author.

To get SOS Help! Info-Author to create the .HLP file for the current project, choose File:Generate which displays the Generate dialog. This is probably the most important dialog in SOS Help! Info-Author because it allows you to control all the options of the help compiler. For now we can ignore all but one of these options (we'll tell you which one in a moment!).

For more detailed information about these options see the Generate section in the File Menu chapter and consult the documentation for the help compiler and/or view the relevant section in the Windows SDK help file.

You are strongly advised to read the documentation supplied with the help compiler paying particular attention to all the settings. This serves two purposes: a) you have a clear understanding of what the help compiler actually does and b) you will appreciate that the money you have spent on SOS Help! Info-Author is well justified!

Set First Topic
Running the Help Compiler
Error Log


Generating the .HLP File (Popup)
This, of course, is the whole raison d'etre behind SOS Help! Info-Author.

To get SOS Help! Info-Author to create the .HLP file for the current project, choose File:Generate which displays the Generate dialog. This is probably the most important dialog in SOS Help! Info-Author because it allows you to control all the options of the help compiler. For now we can ignore all but one of these options (we'll tell you which one in a moment!).

For more detailed information about these options see the Generate section in the File Menu chapter and consult the documentation for the help compiler and/or view the relevant section in the Windows SDK help file.

You are strongly advised to read the documentation supplied with the help compiler paying particular attention to all the settings. This serves two purposes: a) you have a clear understanding of what the help compiler actually does and b) you will appreciate that the money you have spent on SOS Help! Info-Author is well justified!

Set First Topic
Running the Help Compiler
Error Log


Set First Topic

This is the one option we can't ignore!

This option tells WinHelp which topic to use as the Contents page. This is the topic which is displayed when you click on the Contents button in WinHelp, or choose Help:Contents (or Help:Index) while in an application.

To use this option, click on the Settings button, and select First Topic from the popup menu which appears. Now choose the desired topic from the displayed list.

When beginning a help project, most of us would start by creating this page as our first topic. However this option makes it unnecessary to do this.

Only topics which have a Topic Identifier (set via Topic:New or Topic:Identifier) are displayed in the Help Topic list box.

The First Topic option is unavailable if no topics have a Topic Identifier.


Set First Topic (Popup)
This is the one option we can't ignore!

This option tells WinHelp which topic to use as the Contents page. This is the topic which is displayed when you click on the Contents button in WinHelp, or choose Help:Contents (or Help:Index) while in an application.

To use this option, click on the Settings button, and select First Topic from the popup menu which appears. Now choose the desired topic from the displayed list.

When beginning a help project, most of us would start by creating this page as our first topic. However this option makes it unnecessary to do this.

Only topics which have a Topic Identifier (set via Topic:New or Topic:Identifier) are displayed in the Help Topic list box.

The First Topic option is unavailable if no topics have a Topic Identifier.


Running the Help Compiler

SOS Help! Info-Author creates the various files needed by the help compiler and then executes the compiler to generate the .HLP file.

If the Generate dialog is not visible, choose File:Generate. Now click on the Generate button. A DOS box should appear which shows the help compiler at work.


Running the Help Compiler (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author creates the various files needed by the help compiler and then executes the compiler to generate the .HLP file.

If the Generate dialog is not visible, choose File:Generate. Now click on the Generate button. A DOS box should appear which shows the help compiler at work.


Error Log

If the help compiler generates any warning or error messages, they are piped (written) to an error log file. If there are any messages in the error log, they are automatically displayed in a browse window.

You can also view this log at any time by choosing File:Generate and clicking on the Error Log button. If no error log exists, this button is unavailable.


Error Log (Popup)
If the help compiler generates any warning or error messages, they are piped (written) to an error log file. If there are any messages in the error log, they are automatically displayed in a browse window.

You can also view this log at any time by choosing File:Generate and clicking on the Error Log button. If no error log exists, this button is unavailable.


Button Pad

The Button Pad is a short cut means of accessing the most common options in SOS Help! Info-Author.

It is activated by clicking the right mouse button while the mouse is anywhere in the SOS Help! Info-Author workspace. As the mouse is passed over each button, its function is displayed on the Status Bar.

For more information about the function of each button please see the relevant section in the various Menu chapters for the menu equivalent, i.e. for the Bold button, read the Attributes section of the Style Menu chapter.

New Topic
Load Topic
Save Topic
Save Project
Style Define
Style Select
Font
Color
Bold
Italic
Underline
Strikethrough
New Link
Jump
Generate
Non-Scrolling Region
Copy
Cut
Paste
Delete


Button Pad (Popup)
The Button Pad is a short cut means of accessing the most common options in SOS Help! Info-Author.

It is activated by clicking the right mouse button while the mouse is anywhere in the SOS Help! Info-Author workspace. As the mouse is passed over each button, its function is displayed on the Status Bar.

For more information about the function of each button please see the relevant section in the various Menu chapters for the menu equivalent, i.e. for the Bold button, read the Attributes section of the Style Menu chapter.

New Topic
Load Topic
Save Topic
Save Project
Style Define
Style Select
Font
Color
Bold
Italic
Underline
Strikethrough
New Link
Jump
Generate
Non-Scrolling Region
Copy
Cut
Paste
Delete


New Topic

Calls the New Topic dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Topic:New.


New Topic (Popup)
Calls the New Topic dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Topic:New.


Load Topic

Calls the Help Topics dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Topic:Load.


Load Topic (Popup)
Calls the Help Topics dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Topic:Load.


Save Topic

Saves the current topic to disk.

This is equivalent to choosing Topic:Write.


Save Topic (Popup)
Saves the current topic to disk.

This is equivalent to choosing Topic:Write.


Save Project (Button Pad)

Saves the project to disk

This is equivalent to choosing File:Save Project.


Save Project (Button Pad) (Popup)
Saves the project to disk

This is equivalent to choosing File:Save Project.


Style Define

Calls the Define Style dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Define.


Style Define (Popup)
Calls the Define Style dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Define.


Style Select

Calls the Select Style dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Select.


Style Select (Popup)
Calls the Select Style dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Select.


Font (Button Pad)

Calls the Style Character dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Character.


Font (Button Pad) (Popup)
Calls the Style Character dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Character.


Color (Button Pad)

Changes the color of text.

The new color applies to either the selected text if any, or to anycharacters entered afterwards using the keyboard.

Calls the Color Common Dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Attributes:Color.


Color (Button Pad) (Popup)
Changes the color of text.

The new color applies to either the selected text if any, or to anycharacters entered afterwards using the keyboard.

Calls the Color Common Dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Attributes:Color.


Bold (Button Pad)

Toggles the Bold effect on or off.

The changed attribute applies to either the selected text if any, or toany characters entered afterwards using the keyboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Attributes:Bold.


Bold (Button Pad) (Popup)
Toggles the Bold effect on or off.

The changed attribute applies to either the selected text if any, or toany characters entered afterwards using the keyboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Attributes:Bold.


Italic (Button Pad)

Toggles the Italic effect on or off.

The changed attribute applies to either the selected text if any, or toany characters entered afterwards using the keyboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Attributes:Italic.


Italic (Button Pad) (Popup)
Toggles the Italic effect on or off.

The changed attribute applies to either the selected text if any, or toany characters entered afterwards using the keyboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Attributes:Italic.


Underline (Button Pad)

Toggles the Underline effect on or off.

The changed attribute applies to either the selected text if any, or toany characters entered afterwards using the keyboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Attributes:Underline.


Underline (Button Pad) (Popup)
Toggles the Underline effect on or off.

The changed attribute applies to either the selected text if any, or toany characters entered afterwards using the keyboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Attributes:Underline.


Strikethrough (Button Pad)

Toggles the Strikethrough effect on or off.

The changed attribute applies to either the selected text if any, or toany characters entered afterwards using the keyboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Attributes:Strikethrough.


Strikethrough (Button Pad) (Popup)
Toggles the Strikethrough effect on or off.

The changed attribute applies to either the selected text if any, or toany characters entered afterwards using the keyboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Style:Attributes:Strikethrough.


New Link

Calls the Create Links dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Links:New.


New Link (Popup)
Calls the Create Links dialog.

This is equivalent to choosing Links:New.


Jump

Loads the topic that is linked to the current topic.

The cursor must be placed on the hotlink.@Bullet = 	This is equivalent to choosing Links:Jump to Link.


Jump (Popup)
Loads the topic that is linked to the current topic.

The cursor must be placed on the hotlink.@Bullet = 	This is equivalent to choosing Links:Jump to Link.


Generate (Button Pad)

Generates the project .HLP file.

This is equivalent to choosing File:Generate and clicking on the Generatebutton.


Generate (Button Pad) (Popup)
Generates the project .HLP file.

This is equivalent to choosing File:Generate and clicking on the Generatebutton.


Non-Scrolling Region (Button Pad)

Toggles the non-scrolling region function.

This is equivalent to choosing Edit:Non-Scrolling Region.


Non-Scrolling Region (Button Pad) (Popup)
Toggles the non-scrolling region function.

This is equivalent to choosing Edit:Non-Scrolling Region.


Copy (Button Pad)

Copies the selected item to the Clipboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Edit:Copy.@Bullet =


Copy (Button Pad) (Popup)
Copies the selected item to the Clipboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Edit:Copy.@Bullet =


Cut (Button Pad)

Cuts the selected item to the Clipboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Edit:Cut.


Cut (Button Pad) (Popup)
Cuts the selected item to the Clipboard.

This is equivalent to choosing Edit:Cut.


Paste (Button Pad)

Inserts an item from the Clipboard at the cursor position.

This option is equivalent to choosing Edit:Paste.@Bullet =


Paste (Button Pad) (Popup)
Inserts an item from the Clipboard at the cursor position.

This option is equivalent to choosing Edit:Paste.@Bullet =


Delete (Button Pad)

This deletes the selected text and/or pictures.

This is equivalent to choosing Edit:Delete.@Bullet =


Delete (Button Pad) (Popup)
This deletes the selected text and/or pictures.

This is equivalent to choosing Edit:Delete.@Bullet =


Status Line

The information displayed on the Status Line changes according to the current operation.

When moving the mouse over the Button Pad or when selecting options from the menu, it displays a short help message describing the function of each option.

When entering text into a topic, it displays the names of the current style and font, the point size of the current font, the line and column number of the cursor, and the keyboard setting for the Insert, Num Lock and Caps Lock keys.

The line number is relative to the position of the cursor in the non-scrolling region or the scrolling region, i.e. it is 1 when on the first line of both the non-scrolling and scrolling regions.


Status Line (Popup)
The information displayed on the Status Line changes according to the current operation.

When moving the mouse over the Button Pad or when selecting options from the menu, it displays a short help message describing the function of each option.

When entering text into a topic, it displays the names of the current style and font, the point size of the current font, the line and column number of the cursor, and the keyboard setting for the Insert, Num Lock and Caps Lock keys.

The line number is relative to the position of the cursor in the non-scrolling region or the scrolling region, i.e. it is 1 when on the first line of both the non-scrolling and scrolling regions.


Common Dialogs

SOS Help! Info-Author makes use of several of the Common Dialogs supplied with Windows 3.1 and above.

File Browser
Font
Color


Common Dialogs (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author makes use of several of the Common Dialogs supplied with Windows 3.1 and above.

File Browser
Font
Color


File Browser

The Open File and Save File Browser Common Dialogs are used by SOS Help! Info-Author to aid the entering of file names. These dialogs are called when the following menu options are chosen:

File:New Project and clicking on the Browse button.

File:Save Project As and clicking on the Browse button.

File:Generate and clicking on the Browse button.

File:Generate:Settings:Baggage and clicking on the Add button.

File:Generate:Settings:Icon and clicking on the Browse button.

All of the File:Import menu options.

Edit:Insert Picture and Edit:Edit Picture Details.

Options:System Preferences or Options:Project Preferences and clicking on one of the Browse buttons.

The File Name control lists any files in the directory specified in the Directory control, and provides an edit control for you to enter the name of the file. You may also select an existing file from the list.

The Directories list box allows you to select a different directory. The files listed in the File Name control will be updated accordingly.

The values contained in the List Files of Type drop-down list box determine the type of the files displayed in the File Name control. The available settings in this drop-down list box control vary according to where in SOS Help! Info-Author the dialog was called. This control also determines the default extension for the file when the OK button is pressed.

The Drives drop-down list box allows you to change to another drive. The files listed in the File Name control will be updated accordingly with those in the current directory on the new drive.


File Browser (Popup)

The Open File and Save File Browser Common Dialogs are used by SOS Help! Info-Author to aid the entering of file names. These dialogs are called when the following menu options are chosen:

File:New Project and clicking on the Browse button.

File:Save Project As and clicking on the Browse button.

File:Generate and clicking on the Browse button.

File:Generate:Settings:Baggage and clicking on the Add button.

File:Generate:Settings:Icon and clicking on the Browse button.

All of the File:Import menu options.

Edit:Insert Picture and Edit:Edit Picture Details.

Options:System Preferences or Options:Project Preferences and clicking on one of the Browse buttons.

The File Name control lists any files in the directory specified in the Directory control, and provides an edit control for you to enter the name of the file. You may also select an existing file from the list.

The Directories list box allows you to select a different directory. The files listed in the File Name control will be updated accordingly.

The values contained in the List Files of Type drop-down list box determine the type of the files displayed in the File Name control. The available settings in this drop-down list box control vary according to where in SOS Help! Info-Author the dialog was called. This control also determines the default extension for the file when the OK button is pressed.

The Drives drop-down list box allows you to change to another drive. The files listed in the File Name control will be updated accordingly with those in the current directory on the new drive.


Font (Common Dialogs)

The Font Common Dialog is used to choose a font, and is called when the following menu options are chosen:

Style:Character.

Style:Define and clicking on the Character button.

The Font list box control is used to select a font name from those available on the system. The font chosen determines the available settings in all the other list boxes in this dialog.

The Font Style list box control is used to set the attributes for the chosen font. Not all fonts support all the standard attributes of Normal, Bold, Italic and Bold Italic.

The Size list box sets the point size of the chosen font (all fonts are measured in points). You can either select a value from the list or type in the size required.

The Effects group is used to specify whether or not the underline and strikethrough attributes are set for the chosen font.

Clicking on the Color button displays the Color Common Dialog, and is used to set the display color for the chosen font. The Color Common Dialog is discussed later in this chapter.

Only solid colors can be chosen for fonts.

The Sample control shows how the font will be displayed, and is continually updated as each control is set.

The action of the Reset to Default button is determined by the menu option which called this dialog, and is therefore discussed in the relevant section in the Style Menu chapter.


Font (Common Dialogs) (Popup)

The Font Common Dialog is used to choose a font, and is called when the following menu options are chosen:

Style:Character.

Style:Define and clicking on the Character button.

The Font list box control is used to select a font name from those available on the system. The font chosen determines the available settings in all the other list boxes in this dialog.

The Font Style list box control is used to set the attributes for the chosen font. Not all fonts support all the standard attributes of Normal, Bold, Italic and Bold Italic.

The Size list box sets the point size of the chosen font (all fonts are measured in points). You can either select a value from the list or type in the size required.

The Effects group is used to specify whether or not the underline and strikethrough attributes are set for the chosen font.

Clicking on the Color button displays the Color Common Dialog, and is used to set the display color for the chosen font. The Color Common Dialog is discussed later in this chapter.

Only solid colors can be chosen for fonts.

The Sample control shows how the font will be displayed, and is continually updated as each control is set.

The action of the Reset to Default button is determined by the menu option which called this dialog, and is therefore discussed in the relevant section in the Style Menu chapter.


Color (Common Dialogs)

The Color Common Dialog is used by SOS Help! Info-Author to choose colors.

This dialog appears when the following menu options are chosen:

File:Generate:Settings:Windows and clicking on the Scrolling Region or Non-Scrolling Region buttons

Window:Define and clicking on the Scrolling Region or Non-Scrolling Region buttons

Style:Character and clicking on the Color button

Style:Define and clicking on the Character button followed by clicking on the Color button

Links:New and clicking on the Define button in the Window Type group followed by clicking on the Scrolling Region or Non-Scrolling Region buttons

Links:Details and clicking on the Define button in the Window Type group followed by clicking on the Scrolling Region or Non-Scrolling Region buttons

Setting Colors


Color (Common Dialogs) (Popup)
The Color Common Dialog is used by SOS Help! Info-Author to choose colors.

This dialog appears when the following menu options are chosen:

File:Generate:Settings:Windows and clicking on the Scrolling Region or Non-Scrolling Region buttons

Window:Define and clicking on the Scrolling Region or Non-Scrolling Region buttons

Style:Character and clicking on the Color button

Style:Define and clicking on the Character button followed by clicking on the Color button

Links:New and clicking on the Define button in the Window Type group followed by clicking on the Scrolling Region or Non-Scrolling Region buttons

Links:Details and clicking on the Define button in the Window Type group followed by clicking on the Scrolling Region or Non-Scrolling Region buttons

Setting Colors


Setting Colors

There are several ways that you can set the color you want. If the required color is displayed in the Basic Colors or Custom Colors group, you can click on it. Or you can manually enter values for the various color settings. Or you can click on the large color palette to update the values in the hue, saturation, Red, Green and Blue edit controls; drag the slider control on the right of the luminosity control bar to update the luminosity, Red, Green and Blue edit controls.

If you require a solid color, as opposed to a color pattern, double click on the right half of the Color|Solid color box.

To use your chosen color, click on the OK button. If you have created a color which is not in the Basic Colors box, and you want to keep it for future use, click on the Add to Custom Colors button.

Custom colors are specific to a particular project. A custom color must be redefined for each project as required.

If this dialog was called from the Windows Definition dialog, clicking on the Reset to Default button sets the window color to the default Windows scheme, which is defined via the Colors option from the Control Panel applet. The effect of this button when called from a Style menu option is discussed in the relevant section in the Style Menu chapter. For more information about the Control Panel applet consult your Windows documentation.


Setting Colors (Popup)
There are several ways that you can set the color you want. If the required color is displayed in the Basic Colors or Custom Colors group, you can click on it. Or you can manually enter values for the various color settings. Or you can click on the large color palette to update the values in the hue, saturation, Red, Green and Blue edit controls; drag the slider control on the right of the luminosity control bar to update the luminosity, Red, Green and Blue edit controls.

If you require a solid color, as opposed to a color pattern, double click on the right half of the Color|Solid color box.

To use your chosen color, click on the OK button. If you have created a color which is not in the Basic Colors box, and you want to keep it for future use, click on the Add to Custom Colors button.

Custom colors are specific to a particular project. A custom color must be redefined for each project as required.

If this dialog was called from the Windows Definition dialog, clicking on the Reset to Default button sets the window color to the default Windows scheme, which is defined via the Colors option from the Control Panel applet. The effect of this button when called from a Style menu option is discussed in the relevant section in the Style Menu chapter. For more information about the Control Panel applet consult your Windows documentation.


Where to Now?

You are now ready to begin discovering the more powerful features of SOS Help! Info-Author which are covered in the Beyond the Basics chapter.

We recommend that you spend some time reading the section on Styles and Style Sheets as they have a direct bearing on how you enter and format the topic text.


Where to Now? (Popup)
You are now ready to begin discovering the more powerful features of SOS Help! Info-Author which are covered in the Beyond the Basics chapter.

We recommend that you spend some time reading the section on Styles and Style Sheets as they have a direct bearing on how you enter and format the topic text.


Beyond the Basics

Styles and Style Sheets
Browse Orders
Build Tags
Help Tracker
Managing Windows
Non-Scrolling Regions
WinHelp Macros


Beyond the Basics (Popup)
Styles and Style Sheets
Browse Orders
Build Tags
Help Tracker
Managing Windows
Non-Scrolling Regions
WinHelp Macros


Styles and Style Sheets

SOS Help! Info-Author makes extensive use of styles and style sheets - they are one of its most powerful features.

What is a Style?
When to Use a Style
Attaching a Style Sheet to a Project
Creating a New Style Sheet
Copying or Moving a Style between Style Sheets


Styles and Style Sheets (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author makes extensive use of styles and style sheets - they are one of its most powerful features.

What is a Style?
When to Use a Style
Attaching a Style Sheet to a Project
Creating a New Style Sheet
Copying or Moving a Style between Style Sheets


What is a Style?

A style contains instructions about the typographic formatting of a paragraph. If you have used a desktop publishing package or a sophisticated word processor you are probably familiar with this concept. A style sheet is a collection (or database) of styles.

Styles make it extremely easy to change the appearance of your topics. Rather than formatting each individual paragraph, you can create a style and attach it to the required paragraphs. Now whenever you change this style, the appearance of all paragraphs tagged with it are updated automatically.


What is a Style? (Popup)
A style contains instructions about the typographic formatting of a paragraph. If you have used a desktop publishing package or a sophisticated word processor you are probably familiar with this concept. A style sheet is a collection (or database) of styles.

Styles make it extremely easy to change the appearance of your topics. Rather than formatting each individual paragraph, you can create a style and attach it to the required paragraphs. Now whenever you change this style, the appearance of all paragraphs tagged with it are updated automatically.


When to Use a Style

You must create a style whenever a paragraph needs special formatting or more than one paragraph needs to share the same properties.

A uniform design or house style can be achieved by using the same style sheet for all your projects.


When to Use a Style (Popup)
You must create a style whenever a paragraph needs special formatting or more than one paragraph needs to share the same properties.

A uniform design or house style can be achieved by using the same style sheet for all your projects.


Attaching a Style Sheet to a Project

When you create a new project using File:New Project, the most recently used style sheet is automatically attached to the project on the assumption that you have adopted a house style for all your help projects.

To use a different style sheet with the current project choose File:Attach Style Sheet.

SOS Help! Info-Author automatically creates a standard style sheet (DEFAULT.STY) which contains several styles which you can modify and experiment with to suit your needs. The standard style sheet is always attached to a new project except as described above.

If a style sheet becomes damaged for any reason, SOS Help! Info-Author substitutes the standard style sheet for the damaged one.


Attaching a Style Sheet to a Project (Popup)
When you create a new project using File:New Project, the most recently used style sheet is automatically attached to the project on the assumption that you have adopted a house style for all your help projects.

To use a different style sheet with the current project choose File:Attach Style Sheet.

SOS Help! Info-Author automatically creates a standard style sheet (DEFAULT.STY) which contains several styles which you can modify and experiment with to suit your needs. The standard style sheet is always attached to a new project except as described above.

If a style sheet becomes damaged for any reason, SOS Help! Info-Author substitutes the standard style sheet for the damaged one.


Creating a New Style Sheet

If you only use the default style sheet (DEFAULT.STY) for all your projects, you can skip this section. However if you are developing help systems for other people (clients, other departments etc.), each project will probably require different styles.

The easiest way to do this is to create several different style sheets. These can contain different styles or the same styles but with different characteristics. The latter approach can be very useful, as it allows you to reformat a project just by attaching a different style sheet (via File:Attach Style Sheet).

To create a new style sheet, you must save the current one to a new name by choosing File:Save Style Sheet As. SOS Help! Info-Author automatically attaches the new style sheet to the project.

SOS Help! Info-Author always loads the last used style sheet when it is started. It does not close the style sheet when the project is closed.


Creating a New Style Sheet (Popup)
If you only use the default style sheet (DEFAULT.STY) for all your projects, you can skip this section. However if you are developing help systems for other people (clients, other departments etc.), each project will probably require different styles.

The easiest way to do this is to create several different style sheets. These can contain different styles or the same styles but with different characteristics. The latter approach can be very useful, as it allows you to reformat a project just by attaching a different style sheet (via File:Attach Style Sheet).

To create a new style sheet, you must save the current one to a new name by choosing File:Save Style Sheet As. SOS Help! Info-Author automatically attaches the new style sheet to the project.

SOS Help! Info-Author always loads the last used style sheet when it is started. It does not close the style sheet when the project is closed.


Copying or Moving a Style between Style Sheets

To copy or move a style between style sheets is simple.

Open a project which uses the style sheet containing the style you want to copy/move. From the Define Style dialog (accessed via Style:Define), click on the Copy or Cut button. Select the required style to be copied or cut to the Clipboard.

Now exit the Define Style dialog. Choose File:Attach Style Sheet and select the style sheet which is to receive this style. Finally from the Style:Define dialog, click on the Paste button to add this style to the style sheet.


Copying or Moving a Style between Style Sheets (Popup)
To copy or move a style between style sheets is simple.

Open a project which uses the style sheet containing the style you want to copy/move. From the Define Style dialog (accessed via Style:Define), click on the Copy or Cut button. Select the required style to be copied or cut to the Clipboard.

Now exit the Define Style dialog. Choose File:Attach Style Sheet and select the style sheet which is to receive this style. Finally from the Style:Define dialog, click on the Paste button to add this style to the style sheet.


Browse Orders

An important feature of WinHelp is browse orders. These determine the order in which topics are displayed when the user clicks on the browse buttons that can appear on the button bar of WinHelp.

Browse orders work on the principle of "groups". The group determines the topics which are displayed by clicking the browse buttons.

Topics cannot be included in more than one browse order group.

Browse orders are typically used for help projects which are hierarchical in nature, such as an application which contains a menu structure. Each main menu option would be placed in one browse order group, and each range of submenus would be placed in other browse order groups. If the user calls a main menu topic, the browse buttons would display the other main menu topics; if in a submenu option, they would display the other submenu options. If each main menu topic contains a jump to its submenu topics, and the submenu topics contain a jump to the parent menu topic, the user can navigate the whole menu structure by using the browse buttons alone.

Remember to turn the browse buttons on by including the BrowseButtons() WinHelp macro in the project settings (via File:Generate:Setting:Macros).


Browse Orders (Popup)
An important feature of WinHelp is browse orders. These determine the order in which topics are displayed when the user clicks on the browse buttons that can appear on the button bar of WinHelp.

Browse orders work on the principle of "groups". The group determines the topics which are displayed by clicking the browse buttons.

Topics cannot be included in more than one browse order group.

Browse orders are typically used for help projects which are hierarchical in nature, such as an application which contains a menu structure. Each main menu option would be placed in one browse order group, and each range of submenus would be placed in other browse order groups. If the user calls a main menu topic, the browse buttons would display the other main menu topics; if in a submenu option, they would display the other submenu options. If each main menu topic contains a jump to its submenu topics, and the submenu topics contain a jump to the parent menu topic, the user can navigate the whole menu structure by using the browse buttons alone.

Remember to turn the browse buttons on by including the BrowseButtons() WinHelp macro in the project settings (via File:Generate:Setting:Macros).


Build Tags (Beyond the Basics)

Build Tags determine which topics are included in the final .HLP file. The easiest way to explain this concept is by way of an example.

Suppose you are an international company with offices in several countries and you are preparing a parts directory to be given to all your customers. You decide that you want to have different topics for country specific ordering information. These are the actions you would need to take (assuming that the project is open):

Add one or more build tags for the project by choosing File:Project Build Tags, for example "USA", "FRANCE", "SPAIN", "UK", "DEALERS", "DISTRIBUTORS" etc. (don't enter the quotation marks)

Load each of the country specific topics in turn (via Topic:Load) and choose Topic:Build Tags

Select the required tag in the Build Tags in Project list box and click on the Add Tag button

Before generating the .HLP file, choose File:Generate:Settings:Build Condition and enter the required boolean tag expression in the Build Condition edit control, e.g. "USA & DEALERS" (again no quotation marks)

Any topic which has no build tags set is ALWAYS included in the .HLP file.


Build Tags (Beyond the Basics) (Popup)
Build Tags determine which topics are included in the final .HLP file. The easiest way to explain this concept is by way of an example.

Suppose you are an international company with offices in several countries and you are preparing a parts directory to be given to all your customers. You decide that you want to have different topics for country specific ordering information. These are the actions you would need to take (assuming that the project is open):

Add one or more build tags for the project by choosing File:Project Build Tags, for example "USA", "FRANCE", "SPAIN", "UK", "DEALERS", "DISTRIBUTORS" etc. (don't enter the quotation marks)

Load each of the country specific topics in turn (via Topic:Load) and choose Topic:Build Tags

Select the required tag in the Build Tags in Project list box and click on the Add Tag button

Before generating the .HLP file, choose File:Generate:Settings:Build Condition and enter the required boolean tag expression in the Build Condition edit control, e.g. "USA & DEALERS" (again no quotation marks)

Any topic which has no build tags set is ALWAYS included in the .HLP file.


Help Tracker (Beyond the Basics)

What is It?
Why Use It?


Help Tracker (Beyond the Basics) (Popup)
What is It?
Why Use It?


What is It? (Help Tracker)

The Help Tracker is a tool to manage help projects.

It monitors the status of each topic, i.e. whether a topic is being worked on ("Work in Progress"), has been finished but not checked ("Complete") or has been signed off ("Approved") which prevents the topic from being edited.

You can set filters to restrict the topics displayed in the drop-down list box.

The Help Tracker has a check list which allows you to check that topics have been fully completed. This check list includes both topic data specifics such as links and bitmaps, and topic information such as keywords and browse orders.


What is It? (Help Tracker) (Popup)
The Help Tracker is a tool to manage help projects.

It monitors the status of each topic, i.e. whether a topic is being worked on ("Work in Progress"), has been finished but not checked ("Complete") or has been signed off ("Approved") which prevents the topic from being edited.

You can set filters to restrict the topics displayed in the drop-down list box.

The Help Tracker has a check list which allows you to check that topics have been fully completed. This check list includes both topic data specifics such as links and bitmaps, and topic information such as keywords and browse orders.


Why Use It?

Using the Help Tracker ensures that nothing is neglected or omitted before the project is considered to be complete.

This is particularly important when several people are involved in a project, whether or not they contribute to the preparation of the help text itself. Such people would include the help authors, programmers, the project manager and, most importantly, the client.


Why Use It? (Popup)
Using the Help Tracker ensures that nothing is neglected or omitted before the project is considered to be complete.

This is particularly important when several people are involved in a project, whether or not they contribute to the preparation of the help text itself. Such people would include the help authors, programmers, the project manager and, most importantly, the client.


Managing Windows

WinHelp allows .HLP files to have more than one window in which to display information. All .HLP files have at least one window type, called "Main", which is the WinHelp application window.

All window types are managed by choosing Window:Define or File:Generate:Settings:Window options. You can also click on the Define button in the Window Type group of the Create Link and Link Details dialogs which appear if you choose Links:New or Links:Details respectively. All these options call the Windows Definition dialog.

Secondary Windows
Windows Definition Dialog


Managing Windows (Popup)
WinHelp allows .HLP files to have more than one window in which to display information. All .HLP files have at least one window type, called "Main", which is the WinHelp application window.

All window types are managed by choosing Window:Define or File:Generate:Settings:Window options. You can also click on the Define button in the Window Type group of the Create Link and Link Details dialogs which appear if you choose Links:New or Links:Details respectively. All these options call the Windows Definition dialog.

Secondary Windows
Windows Definition Dialog


Secondary Windows

Secondary windows are a useful mechanism for displaying semi-permanent information for your .HLP project. You may have seen help systems which use a secondary window for a table of contents.

There are two ways to activate a secondary window. The first way is to set a link to the required window type using the Links:New or Links:Details dialogs. The default Window Type is <None>, but you can select another type from the drop-down list box, or define a new one by clicking on the Define button.

The second way is to use the PositionWindow() WinHelp macro which takes the window type name as one of its parameters. This macro can be called from a specific topic so that the secondary window only appears if this topic is read. Alternatively you can specify this as a global macro set via File:Generate:Settings:Macros so that it appears when the .HLP file is first loaded by WinHelp.

Secondary windows are not destroyed automatically when you exit from WinHelp, so you should create a macro link so that the user can close the secondary window. Note that if you destroy the secondary window, WinHelp is not destroyedor destroyed; focus is given to the topmost window which may not be WinHelp.

SOS Help! Info-Author displays all topics, whether they are bound for the Main window or a secondary window, in the same way. In other words, there is no way of knowing whether a topic is destined for a secondary window (particularly as a topic can be displayed in both types in the same project if required).

For more information about using secondary windows and WinHelp macros consult the Windows SDK documentation.


Secondary Windows (Popup)
Secondary windows are a useful mechanism for displaying semi-permanent information for your .HLP project. You may have seen help systems which use a secondary window for a table of contents.

There are two ways to activate a secondary window. The first way is to set a link to the required window type using the Links:New or Links:Details dialogs. The default Window Type is <None>, but you can select another type from the drop-down list box, or define a new one by clicking on the Define button.

The second way is to use the PositionWindow() WinHelp macro which takes the window type name as one of its parameters. This macro can be called from a specific topic so that the secondary window only appears if this topic is read. Alternatively you can specify this as a global macro set via File:Generate:Settings:Macros so that it appears when the .HLP file is first loaded by WinHelp.

Secondary windows are not destroyed automatically when you exit from WinHelp, so you should create a macro link so that the user can close the secondary window. Note that if you destroy the secondary window, WinHelp is not destroyedor destroyed; focus is given to the topmost window which may not be WinHelp.

SOS Help! Info-Author displays all topics, whether they are bound for the Main window or a secondary window, in the same way. In other words, there is no way of knowing whether a topic is destined for a secondary window (particularly as a topic can be displayed in both types in the same project if required).

For more information about using secondary windows and WinHelp macros consult the Windows SDK documentation.


Windows Definition Dialog

This dialog allows you to create, rename and delete all secondary windows except Main. To add a new window type, click on the Add button. Click on the Rename button to rename a secondary window, and enter the new name in the dialog which appears. To delete a secondary window, click on the Delete button.

The Main window type has some special properties which do not apply to secondary windows. It cannot be renamed or deleted (these buttons are unavailable), nor can its title be changed (this edit control is unavailable). The title for Main defaults to the name of the project, and can only be changed by choosing File:Rename Project.

Click on the Type drop-down list box to select an existing window type to update.

To update the title of a secondary window, change the value of the Title edit control.

All windows can be given a specific position and size to be displayed on the screen by entering the appropriate value in the X, Y, Height and Width edit controls. The X, Y and size values are based on a 1024 by 1024 grid map. This ensures that secondary windows look the same at any Screen resolution.

Click on the Maximized and On Top check boxes to maximize this window and to keep it visible at all times (i.e. on top of any other application which may be running).

To change the color of a window or the non-scrolling region for a window, click on the Scrolling Region or Non-Scrolling Region buttons respectively in the Color group. Both these buttons call the Color Common Dialog, which is discussed in the Quick Start chapter.


Windows Definition Dialog (Popup)
This dialog allows you to create, rename and delete all secondary windows except Main. To add a new window type, click on the Add button. Click on the Rename button to rename a secondary window, and enter the new name in the dialog which appears. To delete a secondary window, click on the Delete button.

The Main window type has some special properties which do not apply to secondary windows. It cannot be renamed or deleted (these buttons are unavailable), nor can its title be changed (this edit control is unavailable). The title for Main defaults to the name of the project, and can only be changed by choosing File:Rename Project.

Click on the Type drop-down list box to select an existing window type to update.

To update the title of a secondary window, change the value of the Title edit control.

All windows can be given a specific position and size to be displayed on the screen by entering the appropriate value in the X, Y, Height and Width edit controls. The X, Y and size values are based on a 1024 by 1024 grid map. This ensures that secondary windows look the same at any Screen resolution.

Click on the Maximized and On Top check boxes to maximize this window and to keep it visible at all times (i.e. on top of any other application which may be running).

To change the color of a window or the non-scrolling region for a window, click on the Scrolling Region or Non-Scrolling Region buttons respectively in the Color group. Both these buttons call the Color Common Dialog, which is discussed in the Quick Start chapter.


Non-Scrolling Regions

WinHelp can be instructed to "lock" paragraphs at the start of a topic so that they are fixed when the user scrolls through the help text. This is known as a non-scrolling region.

A non-scrolling region has two requirements which must be met:

The first paragraph of the non-scrolling region must be the first paragraph of the topic (you cannot have a non-scrolling region in the middle of a topic)

A non-scrolling region is made up of complete and contiguous paragraphs

There are no editing restrictions on non-scrolling regions. This means that text can be copied to and from the Clipboard in the normal way. However text cannot be selected across the boundary, i.e. text in a non-scrolling region cannot be selected at the same time as text in the scrolling region.

To swap between the scrolling and non-scrolling regions, click on the required region with the mouse or cursor onto it using the <UP> or <DOWN> keys as appropriate.

If the cursor is in the non-scrolling region, the <PGDN> or <PGUP> are "dead" keys, i.e. nothing happens. However if you click on the scroll bars the text in the scrolling region is updated. This is the correct behavior.

The color of a non-scrolling region can be changed by choosing Window:Define and clicking on the Non-Scrolling Region button in the Color group. This calls the Color Common Dialog which is discussed is the Quick Start chapter.

Creating and Updating a Non-Scrolling Region


Non-Scrolling Regions (Popup)
WinHelp can be instructed to "lock" paragraphs at the start of a topic so that they are fixed when the user scrolls through the help text. This is known as a non-scrolling region.

A non-scrolling region has two requirements which must be met:

The first paragraph of the non-scrolling region must be the first paragraph of the topic (you cannot have a non-scrolling region in the middle of a topic)

A non-scrolling region is made up of complete and contiguous paragraphs

There are no editing restrictions on non-scrolling regions. This means that text can be copied to and from the Clipboard in the normal way. However text cannot be selected across the boundary, i.e. text in a non-scrolling region cannot be selected at the same time as text in the scrolling region.

To swap between the scrolling and non-scrolling regions, click on the required region with the mouse or cursor onto it using the <UP> or <DOWN> keys as appropriate.

If the cursor is in the non-scrolling region, the <PGDN> or <PGUP> are "dead" keys, i.e. nothing happens. However if you click on the scroll bars the text in the scrolling region is updated. This is the correct behavior.

The color of a non-scrolling region can be changed by choosing Window:Define and clicking on the Non-Scrolling Region button in the Color group. This calls the Color Common Dialog which is discussed is the Quick Start chapter.

Creating and Updating a Non-Scrolling Region


Creating and Updating a Non-Scrolling Region

To create a non-scrolling region, position the text cursor in the first paragraph of the topic (or select a block of paragraphs of which the first one is the first paragraph for the topic) and choose Edit:Non-Scrolling Region.

Additional paragraphs can be added to the non-scrolling region at any time provided that they are the first paragraph in the scrolling region (remember that non-scrolling regions must be contiguous).

Paragraphs can be removed from the non-scrolling region by selecting them (or placing the text cursor in the paragraph if only a single paragraph is to be removed) and choosing Edit:Non-Scrolling Region. The paragraph(s) being deleted must be the last one(s) in the non-scrolling region.

When selecting several paragraphs, you cannot cross the non-scrolling region boundary, i.e. if you are selecting paragraphs in the non-scrolling region you cannot select paragraphs in the scrolling region at the same time.


Creating and Updating a Non-Scrolling Region (Popup)
To create a non-scrolling region, position the text cursor in the first paragraph of the topic (or select a block of paragraphs of which the first one is the first paragraph for the topic) and choose Edit:Non-Scrolling Region.

Additional paragraphs can be added to the non-scrolling region at any time provided that they are the first paragraph in the scrolling region (remember that non-scrolling regions must be contiguous).

Paragraphs can be removed from the non-scrolling region by selecting them (or placing the text cursor in the paragraph if only a single paragraph is to be removed) and choosing Edit:Non-Scrolling Region. The paragraph(s) being deleted must be the last one(s) in the non-scrolling region.

When selecting several paragraphs, you cannot cross the non-scrolling region boundary, i.e. if you are selecting paragraphs in the non-scrolling region you cannot select paragraphs in the scrolling region at the same time.


WinHelp Macros (Beyond the Basics)

This is a description of how SOS Help! Info-Author allows you to embed macros into your topics and .HLP file rather than a discussion about when to use WinHelp macros.

There are three ways of calling a macro. The effect for the users differs in each case:

Project specific macros are executed immediately after WinHelp loads the .HLP file. They are often used to create buttons which should be displayed all the time. They are set via File:Generate:Settings:Macros.

If you want to use the WinHelp browse buttons, you must add the BrowseButtons() macro to the project.

Topic specific macros are executed when the topic is displayed. They can be used to turn buttons on and off (an "off" button is still visible but is unavailable). They are set via Topic:WinHelp Macros.

Link specific macros are executed when the link is activated by the user clicking on it. They can be used to call a topic in another .HLP file or to run another application. To set up a link macro, choose Links:New (or Links:Details if you are changing an existing link), and click on the Macro radio button or the Macro String button as appropriate.

Macros which take a text parameter enclosed in quotation marks need to be surrounded by a single opening quote (ASCII code 96) and a single closing quote (ASCII code 39).

In the example below, the JumpID() parameters are surrounded by opening and closing single quotes.

CreateButton("btn_glossary", "&Glossary", "JumpID(`SOS4WIN.HLP', `WHID_GLOSSARY')").

SOS Help! Info-Author always calls the same dialog to manage WinHelp macros.

The Macros list box control displays the current set of macros, and determines the order in which they are executed. This is a multi-selection control, i.e. you can select several items by dragging the mouse over them.

Click on the Insert button to add a new macro into this list.  This loads the Macro Editor which is discussed in detail below.  When you return from this dialog, click on the Before radio button in the Place Item group to insert the macro before the highlighted one, otherwise it will be inserted afterwards.

To edit an existing macro, select the required one in the Macros list box control and click on the Edit button to load the Macro Editor again.

SOS Help! Info-Author does no syntax checking for WinHelp macros. Any errors will be displayed in the error log when you try and generate the .HLP file.

Click on the Delete button to remove the selected macro from the Macros list box.

The Cut and Paste buttons allow you to move the selected macro strings between topics or projects. The radio buttons in the Place Item group determine where any pasted macros are inserted into the Macros list box control.

Click on the Top, Bottom, Up and Down buttons to change the order of the selected macro within the Macros list box. Respectively, they move the selected string(s) to the top or bottom of the list, or up or down one line at a time.

For more information about WinHelp macros consult the Windows SDK documentation.

Macro Editor


WinHelp Macros (Beyond the Basics) (Popup)
This is a description of how SOS Help! Info-Author allows you to embed macros into your topics and .HLP file rather than a discussion about when to use WinHelp macros.

There are three ways of calling a macro. The effect for the users differs in each case:

Project specific macros are executed immediately after WinHelp loads the .HLP file. They are often used to create buttons which should be displayed all the time. They are set via File:Generate:Settings:Macros.

If you want to use the WinHelp browse buttons, you must add the BrowseButtons() macro to the project.

Topic specific macros are executed when the topic is displayed. They can be used to turn buttons on and off (an "off" button is still visible but is unavailable). They are set via Topic:WinHelp Macros.

Link specific macros are executed when the link is activated by the user clicking on it. They can be used to call a topic in another .HLP file or to run another application. To set up a link macro, choose Links:New (or Links:Details if you are changing an existing link), and click on the Macro radio button or the Macro String button as appropriate.

Macros which take a text parameter enclosed in quotation marks need to be surrounded by a single opening quote (ASCII code 96) and a single closing quote (ASCII code 39).

In the example below, the JumpID() parameters are surrounded by opening and closing single quotes.

CreateButton("btn_glossary", "&Glossary", "JumpID(`SOS4WIN.HLP', `WHID_GLOSSARY')").

SOS Help! Info-Author always calls the same dialog to manage WinHelp macros.

The Macros list box control displays the current set of macros, and determines the order in which they are executed. This is a multi-selection control, i.e. you can select several items by dragging the mouse over them.

Click on the Insert button to add a new macro into this list.  This loads the Macro Editor which is discussed in detail below.  When you return from this dialog, click on the Before radio button in the Place Item group to insert the macro before the highlighted one, otherwise it will be inserted afterwards.

To edit an existing macro, select the required one in the Macros list box control and click on the Edit button to load the Macro Editor again.

SOS Help! Info-Author does no syntax checking for WinHelp macros. Any errors will be displayed in the error log when you try and generate the .HLP file.

Click on the Delete button to remove the selected macro from the Macros list box.

The Cut and Paste buttons allow you to move the selected macro strings between topics or projects. The radio buttons in the Place Item group determine where any pasted macros are inserted into the Macros list box control.

Click on the Top, Bottom, Up and Down buttons to change the order of the selected macro within the Macros list box. Respectively, they move the selected string(s) to the top or bottom of the list, or up or down one line at a time.

For more information about WinHelp macros consult the Windows SDK documentation.

Macro Editor


Macro Editor

The Macro Editor allows you to build up a complex WinHelp macro string with ease.  It provides templates of all the documented WinHelp macros, with guides to tell you what any parameters and their types should be.

To enter a macro string, select the required one from the Macros list box control and click on the Insert button to place the macro in the Macro String edit control.  If the chosen macro requires parameters, mark the parameter template and press the <DEL> key and enter the parameter required.  If the parameter is another macro, select one from the list and click on the Insert button again; it will be inserted in the Macro String edit control at the cursor position.

You are responsible for ensuring that the correct type of quotation marks are used, particularly with embedded strings and macros (see the JumpID macro example above).

When the macro string is complete, click on the OK button to return to the WinHelp Macros dialog.


Macro Editor (Popup)

The Macro Editor allows you to build up a complex WinHelp macro string with ease.  It provides templates of all the documented WinHelp macros, with guides to tell you what any parameters and their types should be.

To enter a macro string, select the required one from the Macros list box control and click on the Insert button to place the macro in the Macro String edit control.  If the chosen macro requires parameters, mark the parameter template and press the <DEL> key and enter the parameter required.  If the parameter is another macro, select one from the list and click on the Insert button again; it will be inserted in the Macro String edit control at the cursor position.

You are responsible for ensuring that the correct type of quotation marks are used, particularly with embedded strings and macros (see the JumpID macro example above).

When the macro string is complete, click on the OK button to return to the WinHelp Macros dialog.


File Menu

The File Menu options manage the flow of data in and out of SOS Help! Info-Author and controls the settings of the help compiler.

Several File menu options have the effect of "clearing the workspace". This means that all open and iconized windows are closed and removed from memory. You will be prompted to save any dirty topics.

New Project
Open Project
Save Project
Save Project As
Close Project
Rename Project
Delete Project
Generate
Attach Style Sheet
Save Style Sheet As
Help Tracker
Project Build Tags
Import
Export
Maintenance
Exit


File Menu (Popup)
The File Menu options manage the flow of data in and out of SOS Help! Info-Author and controls the settings of the help compiler.

Several File menu options have the effect of "clearing the workspace". This means that all open and iconized windows are closed and removed from memory. You will be prompted to save any dirty topics.

New Project
Open Project
Save Project
Save Project As
Close Project
Rename Project
Delete Project
Generate
Attach Style Sheet
Save Style Sheet As
Help Tracker
Project Build Tags
Import
Export
Maintenance
Exit


New Project

Choose this option to begin work on a new project. This option clears the workspace and closes any open project.

Enter the title for the project in the Project Name edit control. When you create the project .HLP file (via File:Generate:Generate), this becomes the title bar of the WinHelp window.

The Project Directory edit control holds the name of the directory where SOS Help! Info-Author stores the files for the project. This directory is created if it does not exist. If you enter a directory name without a full path, it is created below the SOS Help! Info-Author home directory. You can enter the name of an existing directory providing that it is not already being used for another SOS Help! Info-Author project.

SOS Help! Info-Author automatically inserts the Project Directory in the .HLP Name and Path edit control when focus is removed from the Project Directory edit control. You just have to supply the name of the .HLP to be created by SOS Help! Info-Author.

When you have entered the project name, click on the Browse button to load the File Browser Common Dialog. Now use this dialog to select the directory where you want the .HLP to be created. You can choose an existing .HLP file or you can enter a new file name. In either case, when you click on the OK button the directory is inserted in the Project Directory edit control and the full path name of the .HLP file is inserted in the .HLP Name and Path edit control.

SOS Help! Info-Author assumes that the directory where the project is to be kept is also likely to be the name of the .HLP file, and enters this in the .HLP Name edit control if no .HLP name is entered and the OK button is clicked.

The settings for all new projects are determined by the System Settings (set when SOS Help! Info-Author was loaded for the very first time or changed via Options:System Preferences). If you want to change any of these setting for this project, click on the Preferences button. You can change these settings later by choosing Options:Project Preferences.

The most recently used style sheet is automatically attached to the new project.


New Project (Popup)
Choose this option to begin work on a new project. This option clears the workspace and closes any open project.

Enter the title for the project in the Project Name edit control. When you create the project .HLP file (via File:Generate:Generate), this becomes the title bar of the WinHelp window.

The Project Directory edit control holds the name of the directory where SOS Help! Info-Author stores the files for the project. This directory is created if it does not exist. If you enter a directory name without a full path, it is created below the SOS Help! Info-Author home directory. You can enter the name of an existing directory providing that it is not already being used for another SOS Help! Info-Author project.

SOS Help! Info-Author automatically inserts the Project Directory in the .HLP Name and Path edit control when focus is removed from the Project Directory edit control. You just have to supply the name of the .HLP to be created by SOS Help! Info-Author.

When you have entered the project name, click on the Browse button to load the File Browser Common Dialog. Now use this dialog to select the directory where you want the .HLP to be created. You can choose an existing .HLP file or you can enter a new file name. In either case, when you click on the OK button the directory is inserted in the Project Directory edit control and the full path name of the .HLP file is inserted in the .HLP Name and Path edit control.

SOS Help! Info-Author assumes that the directory where the project is to be kept is also likely to be the name of the .HLP file, and enters this in the .HLP Name edit control if no .HLP name is entered and the OK button is clicked.

The settings for all new projects are determined by the System Settings (set when SOS Help! Info-Author was loaded for the very first time or changed via Options:System Preferences). If you want to change any of these setting for this project, click on the Preferences button. You can change these settings later by choosing Options:Project Preferences.

The most recently used style sheet is automatically attached to the new project.


Open Project

Use this option to load a previously saved project, and its style sheet, into memory. This option clears the workspace and closes any open project.

Choose the project you want to work on from the list presented in the Project Name list box control.

To load those topics which were open when the selected project was last closed, click on the Reload Open Topics check box.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+F12>.


Open Project (Popup)
Use this option to load a previously saved project, and its style sheet, into memory. This option clears the workspace and closes any open project.

Choose the project you want to work on from the list presented in the Project Name list box control.

To load those topics which were open when the selected project was last closed, click on the Reload Open Topics check box.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+F12>.


Save Project (File Menu)

Use this option to save any dirty topics belonging to the current project.

The shortcut keystroke is <Shift+F12>.

This option is also available via the Save Project button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Save Project (File Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to save any dirty topics belonging to the current project.

The shortcut keystroke is <Shift+F12>.

This option is also available via the Save Project button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Save Project As

Use this option to copy the current project to a new project. The dialog displayed is the same in operation as the one for the File:New Project option. SOS Help! Info-Author will copy all the project files to the new project directory.

References to pictures within topics store the full path name to the bitmap. The full path information is not updated with the new project directory. If you delete the original project and its bitmaps, you are prompted to choose a new bitmap when you open a topic or when you attempt to generate the .HLP file for this new project.

The shortcut keystroke is <F12>.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Save Project As (Popup)
Use this option to copy the current project to a new project. The dialog displayed is the same in operation as the one for the File:New Project option. SOS Help! Info-Author will copy all the project files to the new project directory.

References to pictures within topics store the full path name to the bitmap. The full path information is not updated with the new project directory. If you delete the original project and its bitmaps, you are prompted to choose a new bitmap when you open a topic or when you attempt to generate the .HLP file for this new project.

The shortcut keystroke is <F12>.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Close Project

This option closes the current project and clears the workspace. You are prompted to save any dirty topics. If any Topic Identifiers have been changed, the Context ID file for the project (if set via Options:Project Preferences) is automatically regenerated.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Close Project (Popup)
This option closes the current project and clears the workspace. You are prompted to save any dirty topics. If any Topic Identifiers have been changed, the Context ID file for the project (if set via Options:Project Preferences) is automatically regenerated.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Rename Project

Use this option to change the name of a project. The new project title becomes the title of the WinHelp window when the .HLP file is generated.

Select the project to be renamed in the Old Title list box; note that an open project does not appear in Old Title. Enter the new project name in the New Title edit control.

The new name must be unique.

You cannot rename an open project (it is removed from the Project Name list box control). To do so, you must close the project by choosing File:Close Project.

This option is unavailable if there are no closed projects.


Rename Project (Popup)
Use this option to change the name of a project. The new project title becomes the title of the WinHelp window when the .HLP file is generated.

Select the project to be renamed in the Old Title list box; note that an open project does not appear in Old Title. Enter the new project name in the New Title edit control.

The new name must be unique.

You cannot rename an open project (it is removed from the Project Name list box control). To do so, you must close the project by choosing File:Close Project.

This option is unavailable if there are no closed projects.


Delete Project

Use this option to remove a project from the system database.

Choose the project to be deleted from the list presented in the Project Name list box control. The name of the current project is removed from this list; if this is the project you want to delete, you must choose File:Close Project before using this option.

All files associated with the chosen project are deleted from your hard disk, including the .HLP file for the project.

The style sheet for the project is not deleted in case it is used by another project.

If all the files in the project directory belong to SOS Help! Info-Author, the directory will be deleted as well.

This step is irreversible. Use this option with extreme caution.


Delete Project (Popup)
Use this option to remove a project from the system database.

Choose the project to be deleted from the list presented in the Project Name list box control. The name of the current project is removed from this list; if this is the project you want to delete, you must choose File:Close Project before using this option.

All files associated with the chosen project are deleted from your hard disk, including the .HLP file for the project.

The style sheet for the project is not deleted in case it is used by another project.

If all the files in the project directory belong to SOS Help! Info-Author, the directory will be deleted as well.

This step is irreversible. Use this option with extreme caution.


Generate (File Menu)

Use this option to manage the creation of the .HLP file.

To generate the help file, SOS Help! Info-Author creates all the files needed by the help compiler. These include the RTF files for the topics, a .H file if any topics have Identifier Values and the .HPJ project file containing the settings for WinHelp.

You are strongly advised to read the documentation for the help compiler supplied with your Windows development system, paying particular attention to the various settings so that you are familiar with how the help compiler can be controlled.

The .HLP File edit control defaults to the file name entered when you created the project via File:New Project. Use this edit control to change the name and or path of the .HLP file. Click on the Browse button to load the File Browser Common Dialog.

Enter a string to be displayed in the About box of WinHelp (via Help:About Help) in the Copyright edit control. The default copyright is "Help generated by SOS Help!". This string must between 35 and 75 characters in length.

Enter a string to be appended to any text copied from the .HLP file to the Clipboard in the Citation edit control. The default copyright is "Help generated by SOS Help!". This string must between 35 and 75 characters in length.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.

Settings Button
Error Log Button
View .HLP Button
Delete Files Button
Generate Button


Generate (File Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to manage the creation of the .HLP file.

To generate the help file, SOS Help! Info-Author creates all the files needed by the help compiler. These include the RTF files for the topics, a .H file if any topics have Identifier Values and the .HPJ project file containing the settings for WinHelp.

You are strongly advised to read the documentation for the help compiler supplied with your Windows development system, paying particular attention to the various settings so that you are familiar with how the help compiler can be controlled.

The .HLP File edit control defaults to the file name entered when you created the project via File:New Project. Use this edit control to change the name and or path of the .HLP file. Click on the Browse button to load the File Browser Common Dialog.

Enter a string to be displayed in the About box of WinHelp (via Help:About Help) in the Copyright edit control. The default copyright is "Help generated by SOS Help!". This string must between 35 and 75 characters in length.

Enter a string to be appended to any text copied from the .HLP file to the Clipboard in the Citation edit control. The default copyright is "Help generated by SOS Help!". This string must between 35 and 75 characters in length.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.

Settings Button
Error Log Button
View .HLP Button
Delete Files Button
Generate Button


Settings Button

Clicking on this button displays a popup menu of the various options to control how the help compiler builds the .HLP file for the current project.

Aliases
Baggage Files
Build Condition
Compiler Options
First Topic
Font Mappings
Icon
Macros
MAP Section
Windows


Settings Button (Popup)
Clicking on this button displays a popup menu of the various options to control how the help compiler builds the .HLP file for the current project.

Aliases
Baggage Files
Build Condition
Compiler Options
First Topic
Font Mappings
Icon
Macros
MAP Section
Windows


Aliases

Use this option to replace one or more topics with an alternative known as the Alias Topic. This option is also used to manage existing aliases. The Alias topic is the one to be seen by the WinHelp user.

A good example of when to use aliases is an application which requires different levels of help for different users. You would create topics for each level, and use aliases to determine which set is compiled. If aliases are used in this way, the calling application does not need to be modified for each level of help.

Creating an alias is a two step process. First you must select a topic to be the alias by clicking on the Create button and selecting from the displayed list. Then select one or more topics to be replaced by this alias by clicking on the Add button, and selecting the required topic from the list; this operation should be repeated until all the required topics are visible in the Topics Replaced by Alias Topic list box control.

Only topics with a topic identifier can be an alias topic, or a topic to be replaced by the alias.

To delete an alias topic, select the required alias and click on the Delete button. To delete every alias, click on the Delete All button.

To remove a topic from the replacement list, select the required topic and click on the Remove button. To remove every topic for that alias without deleting the alias, click on the Remove All button.


Aliases (Popup)
Use this option to replace one or more topics with an alternative known as the Alias Topic. This option is also used to manage existing aliases. The Alias topic is the one to be seen by the WinHelp user.

A good example of when to use aliases is an application which requires different levels of help for different users. You would create topics for each level, and use aliases to determine which set is compiled. If aliases are used in this way, the calling application does not need to be modified for each level of help.

Creating an alias is a two step process. First you must select a topic to be the alias by clicking on the Create button and selecting from the displayed list. Then select one or more topics to be replaced by this alias by clicking on the Add button, and selecting the required topic from the list; this operation should be repeated until all the required topics are visible in the Topics Replaced by Alias Topic list box control.

Only topics with a topic identifier can be an alias topic, or a topic to be replaced by the alias.

To delete an alias topic, select the required alias and click on the Delete button. To delete every alias, click on the Delete All button.

To remove a topic from the replacement list, select the required topic and click on the Remove button. To remove every topic for that alias without deleting the alias, click on the Remove All button.


Baggage Files

Use this option to select files (typically bitmaps or multimedia elements) to be stored in the internal file system of the project .HLP file by the help compiler.

This option is of more interest if you are creating a help system to be distributed on CD-ROM as WinHelp accesses data files stored in the .HLP file more efficiently if it does not have to read the file allocation table from CD-ROM.

Click on the Add, Delete and Delete All buttons to manage this list.


Baggage Files (Popup)
Use this option to select files (typically bitmaps or multimedia elements) to be stored in the internal file system of the project .HLP file by the help compiler.

This option is of more interest if you are creating a help system to be distributed on CD-ROM as WinHelp accesses data files stored in the .HLP file more efficiently if it does not have to read the file allocation table from CD-ROM.

Click on the Add, Delete and Delete All buttons to manage this list.


Build Condition

Use this option to define the Build Condition to be used when the help project is compiled. This determines which topics are included in the .HLP file.

Topics with no Build Tags are always included, regardless of the Build Condition.

A Build Condition can be created manually in the Build Condition edit control, but it is easier to create one as follows:

Select a tag from the Build Tag list box control

Click on the Insert Tag button to place this tag in the Build Condition edit control (the tag is inserted at the cursor position in this control)

If the condition is made up of several tags, click on the Operator buttons to create the necessary expression and then begin this process again to add another tag to the expression

Click on the AND, OR, NOT and Brackets button to build up the evaluation condition. You should use the Brackets button (or enter parentheses by hand) to group tags together as required. Expressions enclosed in parentheses are always evaluated first by the help compiler and can be used to override operator precedence. For example

DEALERS | ((DISTRIBUTORS & USA) & ~ EUROPE)

would include all topics which had a tag of DEALERS worldwide, or had tags of DISTRIBUTORS and USA but not EUROPE.

Operator precedence is NOT, AND, then OR.

The WinHelp compiler allows a maximum of 30 Build Tags.

For more information see the section on Build Tags in the Beyond the Basics chapter.

This option is unavailable if no build tags for the project have been defined (via File:Project Build Tags).


Build Condition (Popup)
Use this option to define the Build Condition to be used when the help project is compiled. This determines which topics are included in the .HLP file.

Topics with no Build Tags are always included, regardless of the Build Condition.

A Build Condition can be created manually in the Build Condition edit control, but it is easier to create one as follows:

Select a tag from the Build Tag list box control

Click on the Insert Tag button to place this tag in the Build Condition edit control (the tag is inserted at the cursor position in this control)

If the condition is made up of several tags, click on the Operator buttons to create the necessary expression and then begin this process again to add another tag to the expression

Click on the AND, OR, NOT and Brackets button to build up the evaluation condition. You should use the Brackets button (or enter parentheses by hand) to group tags together as required. Expressions enclosed in parentheses are always evaluated first by the help compiler and can be used to override operator precedence. For example

DEALERS | ((DISTRIBUTORS & USA) & ~ EUROPE)

would include all topics which had a tag of DEALERS worldwide, or had tags of DISTRIBUTORS and USA but not EUROPE.

Operator precedence is NOT, AND, then OR.

The WinHelp compiler allows a maximum of 30 Build Tags.

For more information see the section on Build Tags in the Beyond the Basics chapter.

This option is unavailable if no build tags for the project have been defined (via File:Project Build Tags).


Compiler Options

Use this option to control how the help compiler generates the .HLP file.

Click on one of the Language radio buttons to specify the sorting order for projects authored in either English or a Scandinavian language. This determines the order of keywords in the WinHelp Search dialog. The default is English.

Click on one of the Compression radio buttons to specify the level of compression that is used by the help compiler to build the .HLP file. Medium compression is approximately 40%, and High compression is approximately 50% of the None setting. The default is None.

Changing the compression setting from None can dramatically slow down the time it takes for the help compiler to generate the .HLP file. We recommend that you only change this setting when generating the final, distribution .HLP file.

Click on one of the Warning Level radio buttons to specify the amount of warning information reported by the help compiler. Level 1 includes only the most severe errors, Level 2 includes less severe errors, and Level 3 reports all errors and warnings.

Click on the Alternative Keyword Letter drop-down list box control and select the required Keyword Table to be used for the .HLP file. This list always contains "None" as an option; this is the default Keyword table K. Alternative Keyword tables are created using Topic:Keywords.

A maximum of five tables are allowed. This includes the default table K.

Click on the Optimize for CD-ROM check box to optimize the creation of the project help file if it is to be loaded from CD-ROM by WinHelp.

Click on the Use Existing Key-phrase File check box to instruct the help compiler to use the existing keyword table. If this check box is not set, a new key word table is always created for each build. Using the existing file decreases the time taken to build the .HLP file.


Compiler Options (Popup)
Use this option to control how the help compiler generates the .HLP file.

Click on one of the Language radio buttons to specify the sorting order for projects authored in either English or a Scandinavian language. This determines the order of keywords in the WinHelp Search dialog. The default is English.

Click on one of the Compression radio buttons to specify the level of compression that is used by the help compiler to build the .HLP file. Medium compression is approximately 40%, and High compression is approximately 50% of the None setting. The default is None.

Changing the compression setting from None can dramatically slow down the time it takes for the help compiler to generate the .HLP file. We recommend that you only change this setting when generating the final, distribution .HLP file.

Click on one of the Warning Level radio buttons to specify the amount of warning information reported by the help compiler. Level 1 includes only the most severe errors, Level 2 includes less severe errors, and Level 3 reports all errors and warnings.

Click on the Alternative Keyword Letter drop-down list box control and select the required Keyword Table to be used for the .HLP file. This list always contains "None" as an option; this is the default Keyword table K. Alternative Keyword tables are created using Topic:Keywords.

A maximum of five tables are allowed. This includes the default table K.

Click on the Optimize for CD-ROM check box to optimize the creation of the project help file if it is to be loaded from CD-ROM by WinHelp.

Click on the Use Existing Key-phrase File check box to instruct the help compiler to use the existing keyword table. If this check box is not set, a new key word table is always created for each build. Using the existing file decreases the time taken to build the .HLP file.


First Topic

Use this option to select the topic to be displayed as the Contents page by WinHelp. The chosen topic is displayed when WinHelp is called with no parameters (other than the name of the .HLP file) or when the user clicks on the Contents button in WinHelp.

If a topic has already been chosen, it is highlighted in the Help Topic list box. Only topics which have a Topic Identifier set appear in the list box.

The default Contents page is the first topic in the .HLP file unless overridden by selecting a topic from this option.

This option is unavailable if no topics have been created, or if none of the topics has a Topic Identifier.


First Topic (Popup)
Use this option to select the topic to be displayed as the Contents page by WinHelp. The chosen topic is displayed when WinHelp is called with no parameters (other than the name of the .HLP file) or when the user clicks on the Contents button in WinHelp.

If a topic has already been chosen, it is highlighted in the Help Topic list box. Only topics which have a Topic Identifier set appear in the list box.

The default Contents page is the first topic in the .HLP file unless overridden by selecting a topic from this option.

This option is unavailable if no topics have been created, or if none of the topics has a Topic Identifier.


Font Mappings

Use this option to substitute the fonts used when writing a topic for a different font when the topics are displayed by WinHelp, and/or substitute a specific font size in the topic file for a different font size in the .HLP file.

Select the font to be displayed by WinHelp from the Force Use of Font list box control. The chosen font replaces all fonts in every topic. The default setting is No Forced Font - WinHelp displays the fonts defined in the various styles.

Carry out the following steps to substitute a font size in the topic file for a different font size in the .HLP file:

Select a map from the Map No. list control

Enter the point size range in the Low and High edit controls (all point sizes within this range are to be substituted)

Enter the substitution point size in the To edit control

A maximum of five substitution maps are allowed. The ranges for each map cannot overlap.

Click on the Delete button to delete the substitution values for the selected map. If you click on the Delete All button, all the maps are deleted.


Font Mappings (Popup)
Use this option to substitute the fonts used when writing a topic for a different font when the topics are displayed by WinHelp, and/or substitute a specific font size in the topic file for a different font size in the .HLP file.

Select the font to be displayed by WinHelp from the Force Use of Font list box control. The chosen font replaces all fonts in every topic. The default setting is No Forced Font - WinHelp displays the fonts defined in the various styles.

Carry out the following steps to substitute a font size in the topic file for a different font size in the .HLP file:

Select a map from the Map No. list control

Enter the point size range in the Low and High edit controls (all point sizes within this range are to be substituted)

Enter the substitution point size in the To edit control

A maximum of five substitution maps are allowed. The ranges for each map cannot overlap.

Click on the Delete button to delete the substitution values for the selected map. If you click on the Delete All button, all the maps are deleted.


Icon

Use this option to select an icon which identifies the .HLP file for the current project when WinHelp is minimized.

If an icon has already been assigned, it is displayed in the Current Icon control.

Click on the Browse button to call the File Browser Common Dialog.


Icon (Popup)
Use this option to select an icon which identifies the .HLP file for the current project when WinHelp is minimized.

If an icon has already been assigned, it is displayed in the Current Icon control.

Click on the Browse button to call the File Browser Common Dialog.


Macros

Use this option to set any WinHelp macros which are to be executed when WinHelp loads the project .HLP file.

SOS Help! Info-Author does no syntax checking for WinHelp macros.

For more information about WinHelp macros please see the WinHelp Macros section of the Beyond the Basics chapter.


Macros (Popup)
Use this option to set any WinHelp macros which are to be executed when WinHelp loads the project .HLP file.

SOS Help! Info-Author does no syntax checking for WinHelp macros.

For more information about WinHelp macros please see the WinHelp Macros section of the Beyond the Basics chapter.


MAP Section

Use this option to enter any data which you want placed in the [MAP] section of the help project file (.HPJ) used by the help compiler for the current project.

Valid entries are #include commands to load a file containing topic context identifiers and their values, or the actual topic context identifiers themselves and their associated values.

If you import an existing WinHelp project via File:Import:WinHelp Project, all entries in the [MAP] section of the .HPJ are stored here.

This is a free form edit control. No error checking is done by SOS Help! Info-Author. Any mistake will cause the help compiler to generate an error.


MAP Section (Popup)
Use this option to enter any data which you want placed in the [MAP] section of the help project file (.HPJ) used by the help compiler for the current project.

Valid entries are #include commands to load a file containing topic context identifiers and their values, or the actual topic context identifiers themselves and their associated values.

If you import an existing WinHelp project via File:Import:WinHelp Project, all entries in the [MAP] section of the .HPJ are stored here.

This is a free form edit control. No error checking is done by SOS Help! Info-Author. Any mistake will cause the help compiler to generate an error.


Windows

Use this option to create a new window type and to manage existing ones by calling the Windows Definition dialog (discussed in the Managing Windows section of the Beyond the Basics chapter).

This option is identical to Window:Define. It is also accessible by choosing Links:New or Links:Details and clicking on the Define button in the Window group.

If you click on one of the buttons in the Colors group, the Color Common Dialog is called. The Reset to Default button in this dialog sets the background color to the window background color of the current color scheme, which is defined via the Colors option from the Control Panel applet. For more information about the Control Panel applet consult your Windows documentation; for more information about the Color Common Dialog please see the Common Dialogs section of the Quick Start chapter.


Windows (Popup)
Use this option to create a new window type and to manage existing ones by calling the Windows Definition dialog (discussed in the Managing Windows section of the Beyond the Basics chapter).

This option is identical to Window:Define. It is also accessible by choosing Links:New or Links:Details and clicking on the Define button in the Window group.

If you click on one of the buttons in the Colors group, the Color Common Dialog is called. The Reset to Default button in this dialog sets the background color to the window background color of the current color scheme, which is defined via the Colors option from the Control Panel applet. For more information about the Control Panel applet consult your Windows documentation; for more information about the Color Common Dialog please see the Common Dialogs section of the Quick Start chapter.


Error Log Button

Clicking on this button loads the output file generated by the help compiler into a browse window, so that you can pinpoint errors. This window can be closed, moved and resized.

The error log is displayed automatically immediately after the generation process is complete. This button is used to load the error log at some later time, after the error log window has been closed.

This button is unavailable if the help compiler did not report any errors.


Error Log Button (Popup)
Clicking on this button loads the output file generated by the help compiler into a browse window, so that you can pinpoint errors. This window can be closed, moved and resized.

The error log is displayed automatically immediately after the generation process is complete. This button is used to load the error log at some later time, after the error log window has been closed.

This button is unavailable if the help compiler did not report any errors.


View .HLP Button

Click on this button to call WinHelp to display the last generated .HLP file for the current project.

This is equivalent to choosing Help:View Project .HLP.

This option is unavailable if no project is open, or if the .HLP file for the project does not exist.


View .HLP Button (Popup)
Click on this button to call WinHelp to display the last generated .HLP file for the current project.

This is equivalent to choosing Help:View Project .HLP.

This option is unavailable if no project is open, or if the .HLP file for the project does not exist.


Delete Files Button

Click on this button to delete all the help compiler files for the project. These are all the files in the \RTFFILES directory, the error log, the .HPJ file, the .HLP file and the project .H file required by the help compiler (unless the Language setting in the Options:Project Preferences dialog is set to C/C++ in which case it could still be needed by the application developers).

Typically you would use this button to delete unnecessary files prior to archiving the project, as they can be recreated at any time by regenerating the .HLP file for the project.

This button is unavailable if none of the generated files exist.


Delete Files Button (Popup)
Click on this button to delete all the help compiler files for the project. These are all the files in the \RTFFILES directory, the error log, the .HPJ file, the .HLP file and the project .H file required by the help compiler (unless the Language setting in the Options:Project Preferences dialog is set to C/C++ in which case it could still be needed by the application developers).

Typically you would use this button to delete unnecessary files prior to archiving the project, as they can be recreated at any time by regenerating the .HLP file for the project.

This button is unavailable if none of the generated files exist.


Generate Button

Click on this button to instruct SOS Help! Info-Author to create all the source files needed by the Windows help compiler, including a batch file so that the compiler can find the project. It then runs the help compiler to produce the .HLP file used by WinHelp.

All topics must be saved to disk before SOS Help! Info-Author can create the necessary source files. You are prompted to save any dirty topics.

This option is also available via the Generate button on the Button Pad.

This button is unavailable if either the .HLP File edit control in this dialog, or the Help Compiler edit control in the Preferences dialog are empty (the latter is accessed via Options:Project Preferences), or the SOS4WGEN.PIF file is missing.

SOS4WGEN.PIF


Generate Button (Popup)
Click on this button to instruct SOS Help! Info-Author to create all the source files needed by the Windows help compiler, including a batch file so that the compiler can find the project. It then runs the help compiler to produce the .HLP file used by WinHelp.

All topics must be saved to disk before SOS Help! Info-Author can create the necessary source files. You are prompted to save any dirty topics.

This option is also available via the Generate button on the Button Pad.

This button is unavailable if either the .HLP File edit control in this dialog, or the Help Compiler edit control in the Preferences dialog are empty (the latter is accessed via Options:Project Preferences), or the SOS4WGEN.PIF file is missing.

SOS4WGEN.PIF


SOS4WGEN.PIF

SOS Help! Info-Author is supplied with a .PIF file to run the help compiler.

The settings have been tested on a variety of PC configurations and are a reasonable compromise for most situations.

If the help compiler complains about a lack of memory, you may need to experiment with these settings.

For more information consult your Windows documentation.


SOS4WGEN.PIF (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author is supplied with a .PIF file to run the help compiler.

The settings have been tested on a variety of PC configurations and are a reasonable compromise for most situations.

If the help compiler complains about a lack of memory, you may need to experiment with these settings.

For more information consult your Windows documentation.


Attach Style Sheet

Use this option to change the style sheet attached to the current project.

If you load a topic which contains a style which does not exist in the new style sheet, you are prompted to replace the missing style with an existing one or to create the missing style. If you choose to create the missing style, you are prompted to select an existing style as the template for the new one.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.

For more information please see the Styles and Style Sheet section of the Beyond the Basics chapter.


Attach Style Sheet (Popup)
Use this option to change the style sheet attached to the current project.

If you load a topic which contains a style which does not exist in the new style sheet, you are prompted to replace the missing style with an existing one or to create the missing style. If you choose to create the missing style, you are prompted to select an existing style as the template for the new one.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.

For more information please see the Styles and Style Sheet section of the Beyond the Basics chapter.


Save Style Sheet As

Use this option to save the current style sheet to a different name.

You can overwrite an existing style sheet by selecting it from the New Name list box control.

This option should also be used if you want to create a new style sheet.

The new style sheet is attached to the current project. If this is not what you want, choose File:Attach Style Sheet to reattach the original style sheet.

For more information please see the Styles and Style Sheet section of the Beyond the Basics chapter.


Save Style Sheet As (Popup)
Use this option to save the current style sheet to a different name.

You can overwrite an existing style sheet by selecting it from the New Name list box control.

This option should also be used if you want to create a new style sheet.

The new style sheet is attached to the current project. If this is not what you want, choose File:Attach Style Sheet to reattach the original style sheet.

For more information please see the Styles and Style Sheet section of the Beyond the Basics chapter.


Help Tracker (File Menu)

Use this option to track the progress and record the exact state of every topic in the project. You can also use it to add progress notes to a topic.

All topics must be written to disk before this option can be used. If there are any dirty topics you are prompted to save them.

Select the topic to track from the Topic Title drop-down list box control.  The name of the person that last modified this topic is displayed in the Last Modified By static control, along with the date and time of the last modification in the Last Modified static control.

Click on the Notes edit control and enter any notes you want to attach to this topic. This is a totally free form, text-only editor. This control is unavailable if no topics are contained in the Topic Title drop-down list box (see the discussion about the Filter Button below).

The state of a topic is set by clicking on one of the radio buttons in the Status group. When a topic is created, its status is set to Work in Progress. The topic should be set to Complete when no further editing is required, and all the various items required for the topic have been added (e.g. any Segmented Hypergraphic files). At this point the topic should be checked by the project manager and/or client. If it all goes well, they will mark the topic as Approved. From now on, the topic can be viewed but not edited (the title of the topic has the legend "(Read Only)" added to it in the topic window).

To edit an approved topic you must downgrade its status to either Complete or Work in Progress.

This option is unavailable if no project is open or the project contains no topics.

Load Topic Button
Filters Button
Check List Button


Help Tracker (File Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to track the progress and record the exact state of every topic in the project. You can also use it to add progress notes to a topic.

All topics must be written to disk before this option can be used. If there are any dirty topics you are prompted to save them.

Select the topic to track from the Topic Title drop-down list box control.  The name of the person that last modified this topic is displayed in the Last Modified By static control, along with the date and time of the last modification in the Last Modified static control.

Click on the Notes edit control and enter any notes you want to attach to this topic. This is a totally free form, text-only editor. This control is unavailable if no topics are contained in the Topic Title drop-down list box (see the discussion about the Filter Button below).

The state of a topic is set by clicking on one of the radio buttons in the Status group. When a topic is created, its status is set to Work in Progress. The topic should be set to Complete when no further editing is required, and all the various items required for the topic have been added (e.g. any Segmented Hypergraphic files). At this point the topic should be checked by the project manager and/or client. If it all goes well, they will mark the topic as Approved. From now on, the topic can be viewed but not edited (the title of the topic has the legend "(Read Only)" added to it in the topic window).

To edit an approved topic you must downgrade its status to either Complete or Work in Progress.

This option is unavailable if no project is open or the project contains no topics.

Load Topic Button
Filters Button
Check List Button


Load Topic Button

Click on this button to load the topic displayed in the Topic Title drop-down list box control. All changes made to the Help Tracker are saved.

This control is unavailable if the Topic Title drop-down list box control contains no topics, e.g. if the Filter is set to Approved, and no approved topics exist in the project.


Load Topic Button (Popup)
Click on this button to load the topic displayed in the Topic Title drop-down list box control. All changes made to the Help Tracker are saved.

This control is unavailable if the Topic Title drop-down list box control contains no topics, e.g. if the Filter is set to Approved, and no approved topics exist in the project.


Filters Button

Click on this button to set a filter. This determines which topics are "visible" to the Help Tracker, i.e. those which are loaded into the Topic Title drop-down list box control. A project can contain hundreds of topics; finding a particular one can be difficult without some sort of filtering system.

You can set a filter based upon topic author via the Modified by list box control, the date of the last modification via the Last Modified group and the status of a topic via the Status group.

The conditions from each group are AND'ed to create the filter. If the condition for any group is left blank (or if all check boxes in the Status group are set), that condition always evaluates to true.

Periodically set the filter in the Status group to Work in Progress. This limits the topics visible to the Help Tracker to those which still require work.

Click on the Clear Filters button to erase all the filter conditions.


Filters Button (Popup)
Click on this button to set a filter. This determines which topics are "visible" to the Help Tracker, i.e. those which are loaded into the Topic Title drop-down list box control. A project can contain hundreds of topics; finding a particular one can be difficult without some sort of filtering system.

You can set a filter based upon topic author via the Modified by list box control, the date of the last modification via the Last Modified group and the status of a topic via the Status group.

The conditions from each group are AND'ed to create the filter. If the condition for any group is left blank (or if all check boxes in the Status group are set), that condition always evaluates to true.

Periodically set the filter in the Status group to Work in Progress. This limits the topics visible to the Help Tracker to those which still require work.

Click on the Clear Filters button to erase all the filter conditions.


Check List Button

Click on this button to set the completion level for this topic. This provides a convenient way to ensure that items are not forgotten before the .HLP file is distributed.

Do not set the status of any topic to Complete (and certainly never to Approved) until all the check boxes are set.

This button is unavailable if no topics are contained in the Topic Title drop-down list box.


Check List Button (Popup)
Click on this button to set the completion level for this topic. This provides a convenient way to ensure that items are not forgotten before the .HLP file is distributed.

Do not set the status of any topic to Complete (and certainly never to Approved) until all the check boxes are set.

This button is unavailable if no topics are contained in the Topic Title drop-down list box.


Project Build Tags

Use this option to define the build tags for the current project. These tags determine which topics are included in the generated .HLP file.

Build tags for the project must exist if they are to be attached to a topic (via Topic:Build Tags) or included in the build condition for the project (via File:Generate:Settings:Build Condition).

SOS Help! Info-Author does not check the validity of a build condition. You are responsible for ensuring that you do not enter an illegal expression or tag in the Build Condition edit control.

Click on the Add, Edit and Delete buttons to create a new tag, edit an existing tag or delete a tag respectively.

There are a few restriction on build tags: they cannot contain spaces, and WinHelp only allows a maximum of 30 tags in a project.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Project Build Tags (Popup)
Use this option to define the build tags for the current project. These tags determine which topics are included in the generated .HLP file.

Build tags for the project must exist if they are to be attached to a topic (via Topic:Build Tags) or included in the build condition for the project (via File:Generate:Settings:Build Condition).

SOS Help! Info-Author does not check the validity of a build condition. You are responsible for ensuring that you do not enter an illegal expression or tag in the Build Condition edit control.

Click on the Add, Edit and Delete buttons to create a new tag, edit an existing tag or delete a tag respectively.

There are a few restriction on build tags: they cannot contain spaces, and WinHelp only allows a maximum of 30 tags in a project.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Import

Use this option to import text created with another application into SOS Help! Info-Author.

Each of the suboptions calls the File Browser Common Dialog, with the List Files of Type drop-down list box control set to different values.

This option clears the workspace and closes any open project.

Text
Norton Guide
WinHelp Project
SOS Help! Project


Import (Popup)
Use this option to import text created with another application into SOS Help! Info-Author.

Each of the suboptions calls the File Browser Common Dialog, with the List Files of Type drop-down list box control set to different values.

This option clears the workspace and closes any open project.

Text
Norton Guide
WinHelp Project
SOS Help! Project


Import Text

Use this option to import an ASCII text file into a project. SOS Help! Info-Author can import plain text, text with layout information, Rich Text Format or SOS Help! Help Text formatted files; the differences between these formats are discussed below.

The file formats that can be imported by SOS Help! Info-Author fall into two distinct groups. The first of these contains the plain text and text with layout formats. These formats contain only the text contained within the topics. The second group comprises the Rich Text Format, the SOS Help! Info-Author Help Text format and the SOS Help! Info-Author Project text format. These formats contain not only the text but also formatting information such as fonts and control information used by WinHelp, such as keywords and browse order information.

If the Overwrite check box control is not checked, SOS Help! Info-Author discards any imported topic which has the same title as an existing topic already in the project; the titles of the discarded topics are reported in an error log window after the import has finished. If this control is checked, existing topics are overwritten without warning, provided that the topic has not been marked as being complete in the Help Tracker system (accessed via the File:Help Tracker option), in which case the topic title is reported in the error log.

If the Overwrite check box is checked and the context identifier of an imported topic is already in use by an existing topic in the database, the imported topic is rejected.  This stops any existing links pointing to the wrong topic; however if any imported topics with links to the rejected topic will now be linked to the exsting topic with this context identifier.

If the import is cancelled, or it fails for some reason, and the Overwrite control is set, SOS Help! Info-Author removes any topics which have been successfully imported and then rebuilds the project (as if you had chosen File:Maintenance:Project). This is necessary because the project will be in an unstable state, particularly if some of the overwritten topics contained links to other topics.

Any problems which occurred during the import are displayed in an error log window after the import has finished. This error log is useful in finding any mistakes within the text file.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.

Formatted Text (*.SHT)
Rich Text Format (*.RTF)
Text With Layout (*.ASC)
Plain Text (*.TXT)


Import Text (Popup)
Use this option to import an ASCII text file into a project. SOS Help! Info-Author can import plain text, text with layout information, Rich Text Format or SOS Help! Help Text formatted files; the differences between these formats are discussed below.

The file formats that can be imported by SOS Help! Info-Author fall into two distinct groups. The first of these contains the plain text and text with layout formats. These formats contain only the text contained within the topics. The second group comprises the Rich Text Format, the SOS Help! Info-Author Help Text format and the SOS Help! Info-Author Project text format. These formats contain not only the text but also formatting information such as fonts and control information used by WinHelp, such as keywords and browse order information.

If the Overwrite check box control is not checked, SOS Help! Info-Author discards any imported topic which has the same title as an existing topic already in the project; the titles of the discarded topics are reported in an error log window after the import has finished. If this control is checked, existing topics are overwritten without warning, provided that the topic has not been marked as being complete in the Help Tracker system (accessed via the File:Help Tracker option), in which case the topic title is reported in the error log.

If the Overwrite check box is checked and the context identifier of an imported topic is already in use by an existing topic in the database, the imported topic is rejected.  This stops any existing links pointing to the wrong topic; however if any imported topics with links to the rejected topic will now be linked to the exsting topic with this context identifier.

If the import is cancelled, or it fails for some reason, and the Overwrite control is set, SOS Help! Info-Author removes any topics which have been successfully imported and then rebuilds the project (as if you had chosen File:Maintenance:Project). This is necessary because the project will be in an unstable state, particularly if some of the overwritten topics contained links to other topics.

Any problems which occurred during the import are displayed in an error log window after the import has finished. This error log is useful in finding any mistakes within the text file.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.

Formatted Text (*.SHT)
Rich Text Format (*.RTF)
Text With Layout (*.ASC)
Plain Text (*.TXT)


Formatted Text (*.SHT)

This option imports a text file which has been saved as a SOS Help! Info-Author Help Text (.SHT) file. This format contains information about links, styles, topic identifiers, browse orders and keywords - in short, everything to recreate a project.

The file format specification for .SHT files is available in SHT-FMT.WRI, which was copied to the SOS Help! Info-Author directory during installation. This information has been provided so third party developers can write add-ons for SOS Help! Info-Author, and to allow data from other applications (e.g. a database) to be exported in .SHT format and imported into SOS Help! Info-Author to facilitate creating a WinHelp database.

You can also use this option to import an SOS Help! Info-Author Project .SHP file into an existing project. However be aware that all the .SHP specific information, such as styles and the style sheet, is ignored.

This option is useful if you are working on projects with clients or colleagues from another office and want to pass information around via email. Remember to check the Overwrite check box so that existing topics are updated correctly.

If you click on the Cancel button, all topics which have been added to the database (or have been updated if the Overwrite check box has been selected) are deleted from the database.


Formatted Text (*.SHT) (Popup)
This option imports a text file which has been saved as a SOS Help! Info-Author Help Text (.SHT) file. This format contains information about links, styles, topic identifiers, browse orders and keywords - in short, everything to recreate a project.

The file format specification for .SHT files is available in SHT-FMT.WRI, which was copied to the SOS Help! Info-Author directory during installation. This information has been provided so third party developers can write add-ons for SOS Help! Info-Author, and to allow data from other applications (e.g. a database) to be exported in .SHT format and imported into SOS Help! Info-Author to facilitate creating a WinHelp database.

You can also use this option to import an SOS Help! Info-Author Project .SHP file into an existing project. However be aware that all the .SHP specific information, such as styles and the style sheet, is ignored.

This option is useful if you are working on projects with clients or colleagues from another office and want to pass information around via email. Remember to check the Overwrite check box so that existing topics are updated correctly.

If you click on the Cancel button, all topics which have been added to the database (or have been updated if the Overwrite check box has been selected) are deleted from the database.


Rich Text Format (*.RTF)

This option imports a Rich Text Format file. This is the file format used by the help compiler. RTF files contain all the information used within a help project. If you are exporting a file from a word processor to be included in a help project, you should use this export format option wherever possible.

SOS Help! Info-Author only supports RTF commands used by the help compiler. All other commands are filtered out.

If you want to import a partially finished help project into SOS Help! Info-Author, you should create a .HPJ file for the project and use the File:Import:WinHelp Project option rather than this one.

If you click on the Cancel button, all topics which have been added to the database (or have been updated if the Overwrite check box has been selected) are deleted from the database.

For more information about the specification of this file format consult the documentation for WinHelp and your Windows development system.


Rich Text Format (*.RTF) (Popup)
This option imports a Rich Text Format file. This is the file format used by the help compiler. RTF files contain all the information used within a help project. If you are exporting a file from a word processor to be included in a help project, you should use this export format option wherever possible.

SOS Help! Info-Author only supports RTF commands used by the help compiler. All other commands are filtered out.

If you want to import a partially finished help project into SOS Help! Info-Author, you should create a .HPJ file for the project and use the File:Import:WinHelp Project option rather than this one.

If you click on the Cancel button, all topics which have been added to the database (or have been updated if the Overwrite check box has been selected) are deleted from the database.

For more information about the specification of this file format consult the documentation for WinHelp and your Windows development system.


Text With Layout (*.ASC)

This option imports a text file which has each topic separated by a page break. It treats a blank line as a break between paragraphs. The first line of text for each page is used as the title of the topic.


Text With Layout (*.ASC) (Popup)
This option imports a text file which has each topic separated by a page break. It treats a blank line as a break between paragraphs. The first line of text for each page is used as the title of the topic.


Plain Text (*.TXT)

This option imports a text file which has each topic separated by a page break. It treats each line as a new paragraph. The first line of text for each page is used as the title of the topic.

Use the Edit:Join Paragraphs option to join contiguous paragraphs together into one.


Plain Text (*.TXT) (Popup)
This option imports a text file which has each topic separated by a page break. It treats each line as a new paragraph. The first line of text for each page is used as the title of the topic.

Use the Edit:Join Paragraphs option to join contiguous paragraphs together into one.


Norton Guide

Use this option to convert a Norton Guide to an SOS Help! Info-Author project.  The File Browser Common Dialog is called so that you can select the Norton Guide file, and then the File:New Project dialog is called.

The List Files of Type drop-down list box control is set to "Norton Guide (*.NG)".

All Norton Guide projects have a style sheet called SOSNG.STY attached to them when they are created; you may change it later via File:Attach Style Sheet. SOS Help! Info-Author creates this style sheet if it does not exist.

Norton Guides use the space character to format a line, rather than tabs. This does not convert to the Windows environment successfully. To facilitate the conversion, SOS Help! Info-Author automatically assigns the Terminal font to the <Default Style> style when the SOSNG style sheet is created so that any tables etc. line up correctly. You will need to change to another font before generating the help file because WinHelp does not support the Terminal font.

We recommend that you tell SOS Help! Info-Author to display hidden characters while editing Norton Guide topics (via Options:Show Hidden). This allows you to spot paragraph breaks and other Norton Guide oddities more easily.

Some Norton Guides contain !see also jumps where the link does not exist. If you select this !see also when running a DOS Norton Guide viewer nothing happens. SOS Help! Info-Author creates the See Also entry, but does not implement the jump. This prevents any errors when the help file is generated.

A Norton Guide topic must not start with a blank line. SOS Help! Info-Author uses the first line of a Norton Guide topic as the topic title.

Large Norton Guide files can take a long time to import; on a 486dx33 PC, a 2mb Norton Guide can take over an hour.

This option is unavailable when a project is open.

__S4W__T__O__C__S4W__
Fonts
Replicating Norton Guide Tables
Automated Keywords
Converting Colors
Converting ^Cxx Characters


Norton Guide (Popup)
Use this option to convert a Norton Guide to an SOS Help! Info-Author project.  The File Browser Common Dialog is called so that you can select the Norton Guide file, and then the File:New Project dialog is called.

The List Files of Type drop-down list box control is set to "Norton Guide (*.NG)".

All Norton Guide projects have a style sheet called SOSNG.STY attached to them when they are created; you may change it later via File:Attach Style Sheet. SOS Help! Info-Author creates this style sheet if it does not exist.

Norton Guides use the space character to format a line, rather than tabs. This does not convert to the Windows environment successfully. To facilitate the conversion, SOS Help! Info-Author automatically assigns the Terminal font to the <Default Style> style when the SOSNG style sheet is created so that any tables etc. line up correctly. You will need to change to another font before generating the help file because WinHelp does not support the Terminal font.

We recommend that you tell SOS Help! Info-Author to display hidden characters while editing Norton Guide topics (via Options:Show Hidden). This allows you to spot paragraph breaks and other Norton Guide oddities more easily.

Some Norton Guides contain !see also jumps where the link does not exist. If you select this !see also when running a DOS Norton Guide viewer nothing happens. SOS Help! Info-Author creates the See Also entry, but does not implement the jump. This prevents any errors when the help file is generated.

A Norton Guide topic must not start with a blank line. SOS Help! Info-Author uses the first line of a Norton Guide topic as the topic title.

Large Norton Guide files can take a long time to import; on a 486dx33 PC, a 2mb Norton Guide can take over an hour.

This option is unavailable when a project is open.

__S4W__T__O__C__S4W__
Fonts
Replicating Norton Guide Tables
Automated Keywords
Converting Colors
Converting ^Cxx Characters


__S4W__T__O__C__S4W__

This topic is automatically created by SOS Help! Info-Author and is used to hold the table of contents for the Norton Guide being imported.

The Table of Contents topic has been expanded to include all the menu options in the Norton Guide. This simplifies the creation of "collapsing" topics similar to those in the SOS Help! Info-Author On-Line Guide.

SOS Help! Info-Author does not create these collapsing topic automatically as it has no way of telling whether they would be appropriate for any particular Norton Guide.

Some Norton Guides contain a pseudo-expanding list, i.e. you select a menu item and the menu expands. This effect is achieved by making recursive calls to several topics and/or !file commands. SOS Help! Info-Author parses these calls correctly, but the resulting Table of Contents topic will look very ugly, requiring you to do some serious tidying up!


__S4W__T__O__C__S4W__ (Popup)
This topic is automatically created by SOS Help! Info-Author and is used to hold the table of contents for the Norton Guide being imported.

The Table of Contents topic has been expanded to include all the menu options in the Norton Guide. This simplifies the creation of "collapsing" topics similar to those in the SOS Help! Info-Author On-Line Guide.

SOS Help! Info-Author does not create these collapsing topic automatically as it has no way of telling whether they would be appropriate for any particular Norton Guide.

Some Norton Guides contain a pseudo-expanding list, i.e. you select a menu item and the menu expands. This effect is achieved by making recursive calls to several topics and/or !file commands. SOS Help! Info-Author parses these calls correctly, but the resulting Table of Contents topic will look very ugly, requiring you to do some serious tidying up!


Fonts

The Terminal font contains the hi-bit ASCII codes used by Norton Guides to draw boxes for tables and lines. These characters do not exist in the ANSI character sets used by WinHelp. If you change to another font, you will need to substitute these characters for something more suitable using the Search and Replace feature of SOS Help! Info-Author. You need to know the ASCII codes for the hi-bit characters, and enter them in the Find edit box using the normal <Alt> + ASCII code keystroke combination.

The Terminal font is not supported by WinHelp. You should change all the styles to an ANSI font which is supported. SOS Help! Info-Author uses the Terminal font so that you can check that the Norton Guide was imported correctly and to help you spot which characters need to be manually changed (i.e. the box drawing characters). This is particularly important for users working in languages which require the hi-bit ASCII codes.


Fonts (Popup)
The Terminal font contains the hi-bit ASCII codes used by Norton Guides to draw boxes for tables and lines. These characters do not exist in the ANSI character sets used by WinHelp. If you change to another font, you will need to substitute these characters for something more suitable using the Search and Replace feature of SOS Help! Info-Author. You need to know the ASCII codes for the hi-bit characters, and enter them in the Find edit box using the normal <Alt> + ASCII code keystroke combination.

The Terminal font is not supported by WinHelp. You should change all the styles to an ANSI font which is supported. SOS Help! Info-Author uses the Terminal font so that you can check that the Norton Guide was imported correctly and to help you spot which characters need to be manually changed (i.e. the box drawing characters). This is particularly important for users working in languages which require the hi-bit ASCII codes.


Replicating Norton Guide Tables

Replicating Norton Guide tables with a font which does not have the ASCII box characters is quite straightforward. First delete the box outline characters. Make sure each line in the table (except the last) ends with a line break (press <Ctrl+ENTER>); the last line should be a normal paragraph break. Now create a new style and define a border for it. Finally apply this style to the table.


Replicating Norton Guide Tables (Popup)
Replicating Norton Guide tables with a font which does not have the ASCII box characters is quite straightforward. First delete the box outline characters. Make sure each line in the table (except the last) ends with a line break (press <Ctrl+ENTER>); the last line should be a normal paragraph break. Now create a new style and define a border for it. Finally apply this style to the table.


Automated Keywords

A keyword is automatically generated for all topics, and is the same as the topic title.


Automated Keywords (Popup)
A keyword is automatically generated for all topics, and is the same as the topic title.


Converting Colors

Text in Norton Guides can be enhanced by changing the foreground and background colors.

WinHelp does not allow the background color to be changed for a block of text (note that you can change the background color of WinHelp by changing the color of your desktop). SOS Help! Info-Author converts the foreground color change but discards the background one.  This means that ^R (reverse video) is also ignored.

SOS Help! Info-Author does not use color to signify the underline and bold attributes even though this is how they are differentiated in a Norton Guide. It makes more sense to use the proper attributes that are available in WinHelp.

If you cannot view a piece of text, change its color - the chances are that the Norton Guide foreground color clashes with your desktop background color.

You need to lookout for the Norton Guide oddities!  These are things that look strange, i.e. when you have a block of text which is underlined inside a block of text which is in bold, and the underlined block is not in bold.  This occurs because Norton Guides use color to signify underline and bold on a color monitor and the two cannot happen together in WinHelp.


Converting Colors (Popup)
Text in Norton Guides can be enhanced by changing the foreground and background colors.

WinHelp does not allow the background color to be changed for a block of text (note that you can change the background color of WinHelp by changing the color of your desktop). SOS Help! Info-Author converts the foreground color change but discards the background one.  This means that ^R (reverse video) is also ignored.

SOS Help! Info-Author does not use color to signify the underline and bold attributes even though this is how they are differentiated in a Norton Guide. It makes more sense to use the proper attributes that are available in WinHelp.

If you cannot view a piece of text, change its color - the chances are that the Norton Guide foreground color clashes with your desktop background color.

You need to lookout for the Norton Guide oddities!  These are things that look strange, i.e. when you have a block of text which is underlined inside a block of text which is in bold, and the underlined block is not in bold.  This occurs because Norton Guides use color to signify underline and bold on a color monitor and the two cannot happen together in WinHelp.


Converting ^Cxx Characters

Norton Guides can have embedded characters less than 32 ASCII denoted by ^Cxx where xx is the hex value or as the actual characters themselves.  WinHelp cannot display these characters so they are replaced with spaces by SOS Help! Info-Author.


Converting ^Cxx Characters (Popup)
Norton Guides can have embedded characters less than 32 ASCII denoted by ^Cxx where xx is the hex value or as the actual characters themselves.  WinHelp cannot display these characters so they are replaced with spaces by SOS Help! Info-Author.


WinHelp Project

Use this option to import an existing Windows help project into SOS Help! Info-Author. The File Browser Common Dialog is called so that you can select the .HPJ file,, after which the File:New Project dialog is called so that you can enter the project details.

The List Files of Type drop-down list box control is set to "Help Project Files (*.HPJ)".

This option is unavailable when a project is open.

[MAP] Section
Styles and Style Sheets
Non-Scrolling Region
RTF Commands Supported by SOS Help! Info-Author
Embedded Pictures and Naming Conventions
Color of Pictures


WinHelp Project (Popup)
Use this option to import an existing Windows help project into SOS Help! Info-Author. The File Browser Common Dialog is called so that you can select the .HPJ file,, after which the File:New Project dialog is called so that you can enter the project details.

The List Files of Type drop-down list box control is set to "Help Project Files (*.HPJ)".

This option is unavailable when a project is open.

[MAP] Section
Styles and Style Sheets
Non-Scrolling Region
RTF Commands Supported by SOS Help! Info-Author
Embedded Pictures and Naming Conventions
Color of Pictures


[MAP] Section

SOS Help! Info-Author does no checking of the [MAP] section in the WinHelp .HPJ file. It is imported "as is" into the SOS Help! Info-Author project.


[MAP] Section (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author does no checking of the [MAP] section in the WinHelp .HPJ file. It is imported "as is" into the SOS Help! Info-Author project.


Styles and Style Sheets (Import WinHelp Project)

SOS Help! Info-Author automatically creates a style sheet with the same name as the help project, i.e. if the project is called MYHELP.HPJ the style sheet is called MYHELP.

SOS Help! Info-Author also creates styles as needed for the project. However these styles always uses the font defined in the <Default Style>; this is because a paragraph may contain several fonts, yet SOS Help! Info-Author has no way of knowing which should be the default font for the style.

If you intend to make modifications to the existing project once it has been imported into SOS Help! Info-Author, we recommend that you redefine the font information for these styles and re-apply them to the relevant paragraphs. You must remember to set the Strip Additional Fonts check box otherwise you may not see the required changes.


Styles and Style Sheets (Import WinHelp Project) (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author automatically creates a style sheet with the same name as the help project, i.e. if the project is called MYHELP.HPJ the style sheet is called MYHELP.

SOS Help! Info-Author also creates styles as needed for the project. However these styles always uses the font defined in the <Default Style>; this is because a paragraph may contain several fonts, yet SOS Help! Info-Author has no way of knowing which should be the default font for the style.

If you intend to make modifications to the existing project once it has been imported into SOS Help! Info-Author, we recommend that you redefine the font information for these styles and re-apply them to the relevant paragraphs. You must remember to set the Strip Additional Fonts check box otherwise you may not see the required changes.


Non-Scrolling Region (WinHelp Project)

There is one major difference between SOS Help! Info-Author and WinHelp concerning non-scrolling regions. Please read the whole of this explanation, as there are two conditions which might apply to your WinHelp project and of which you should be aware.

This is not a bug!

The RTF instruction to tell WinHelp to create/manage a non-scrolling region is "\keepn". This command remains in effect until a "\pard" instruction is issued.

It is possible to to issue \keepn and not issue the \pard instruction for several topics! In this situation every topic between these two instructions will have non-scrolling regions which cover the whole topic. In this situation WinHelp does not display the line marking the end of the non-scrolling region for those topics which consist entirely of a non-scrolling region. SOS Help! Info-Author does.

Furthermore if the \pard instruction is the last command before the start of a new topic (indicated by a "\page" command), WinHelp does not display the end of region line whereas SOS Help! Info-Author does.


Non-Scrolling Region (WinHelp Project) (Popup)
There is one major difference between SOS Help! Info-Author and WinHelp concerning non-scrolling regions. Please read the whole of this explanation, as there are two conditions which might apply to your WinHelp project and of which you should be aware.

This is not a bug!

The RTF instruction to tell WinHelp to create/manage a non-scrolling region is "\keepn". This command remains in effect until a "\pard" instruction is issued.

It is possible to to issue \keepn and not issue the \pard instruction for several topics! In this situation every topic between these two instructions will have non-scrolling regions which cover the whole topic. In this situation WinHelp does not display the line marking the end of the non-scrolling region for those topics which consist entirely of a non-scrolling region. SOS Help! Info-Author does.

Furthermore if the \pard instruction is the last command before the start of a new topic (indicated by a "\page" command), WinHelp does not display the end of region line whereas SOS Help! Info-Author does.


RTF Commands Supported by SOS Help! Info-Author

SOS Help! Info-Author supports the following RTF commands which are not supported by WinHelp:

\bullet

\emdash

\endash

\lquote

\ldblquote

\rquote

\rdblquote


RTF Commands Supported by SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author supports the following RTF commands which are not supported by WinHelp:

\bullet

\emdash

\endash

\lquote

\ldblquote

\rquote

\rdblquote


Embedded Pictures and Naming Conventions

SOS Help! Info-Author converts all embedded pictures into bitmap files. These files start with PICTxxxx.yyy where xxxx is a numeric and yyy is BMP or WMF depending upon the picture type.

Each time you try and import a project the numbering system starts from 0. Existing picture files will be overwritten.


Embedded Pictures and Naming Conventions (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author converts all embedded pictures into bitmap files. These files start with PICTxxxx.yyy where xxxx is a numeric and yyy is BMP or WMF depending upon the picture type.

Each time you try and import a project the numbering system starts from 0. Existing picture files will be overwritten.


Color of Pictures

RTF files created in a word processor can assign a color to a monochrome bitmap which is not displayed in WinHelp when the .HLP file is generated.

During the import process, SOS Help! Info-Author retains this color information so bitmaps still appear in color in the topic editor.


Color of Pictures (Popup)
RTF files created in a word processor can assign a color to a monochrome bitmap which is not displayed in WinHelp when the .HLP file is generated.

During the import process, SOS Help! Info-Author retains this color information so bitmaps still appear in color in the topic editor.


SOS Help! Project

Use this option to import an exported or externally created SOS Help! Info-Author help project into SOS Help! Info-Author.  The File Browser Common Dialog is called so that you can select the .SHP file, after which the File:New Project dialog is called so that you can enter the project details.

The List Files of Type drop-down list box control is set to "SOS Help! Project Files (*.SHP)". It is possible to over-ride this setting and import a .SHT file, but this is not recommended, particularly if the current style shhet does not contain the style referenced in the .SHT; you will get constant warnings that the style does not exist, and requiring you to take action of one kind or another.

Be very careful when importing a .SHP file which contains a style sheet with the same name as one which already exists on your system; you might overwrite styles you wanted to keep.

This option is unavailable when a project is open.


SOS Help! Project (Popup)
Use this option to import an exported or externally created SOS Help! Info-Author help project into SOS Help! Info-Author.  The File Browser Common Dialog is called so that you can select the .SHP file, after which the File:New Project dialog is called so that you can enter the project details.

The List Files of Type drop-down list box control is set to "SOS Help! Project Files (*.SHP)". It is possible to over-ride this setting and import a .SHT file, but this is not recommended, particularly if the current style shhet does not contain the style referenced in the .SHT; you will get constant warnings that the style does not exist, and requiring you to take action of one kind or another.

Be very careful when importing a .SHP file which contains a style sheet with the same name as one which already exists on your system; you might overwrite styles you wanted to keep.

This option is unavailable when a project is open.


Export

Text
SOS Help! Project


Export (Popup)
Text
SOS Help! Project


Export Text

Use this option to export the help project to an ASCII file so it can be imported into another application. This option calls the File Browser Common Dialog; you select the required file format from the List Files of Type drop-down list box control.

The Formatted Text (*.SHT) setting exports the project in the special SOS Help! Info-Author Help Text format. If you have used one or more styles in any topics, you must use this format if you intend to import the file back into the project later. The facility is extremely useful if you are sending projects to colleagues in other offices.

The Text with Layout (*.ASC) setting formats the text file so that all paragraphs are separated by a blank line. If you have not used a style in any topic, this is probably the best export option for importing a project into a desktop publishing application, a word processor or database.

The Plain Text (*.TXT) setting formats the text file so that all paragraphs are on a single line. This ensures that if you import the file back into SOS Help! Info-Author using the Plain Text option, the paragraph information is retained.

This option is unavailable when no project is open.


Export Text (Popup)
Use this option to export the help project to an ASCII file so it can be imported into another application. This option calls the File Browser Common Dialog; you select the required file format from the List Files of Type drop-down list box control.

The Formatted Text (*.SHT) setting exports the project in the special SOS Help! Info-Author Help Text format. If you have used one or more styles in any topics, you must use this format if you intend to import the file back into the project later. The facility is extremely useful if you are sending projects to colleagues in other offices.

The Text with Layout (*.ASC) setting formats the text file so that all paragraphs are separated by a blank line. If you have not used a style in any topic, this is probably the best export option for importing a project into a desktop publishing application, a word processor or database.

The Plain Text (*.TXT) setting formats the text file so that all paragraphs are on a single line. This ensures that if you import the file back into SOS Help! Info-Author using the Plain Text option, the paragraph information is retained.

This option is unavailable when no project is open.


Export SOS Help! Project

Use this option to export the current help project to a special SOS Help! Info-Author Project ASCII file (.SHP).  This option calls the File Browser Common Dialog.

.SHP files contain much more information about a project than the .SHT format, including styles and style sheets, the colors of windows and topic areas (scrolling and non-scrolling) etc.

The ability to save a project as a .SHP file makes it easy to backup your projects, to use a version control system and to send projects to colleages using electronic mail.

Note:	Bitmaps and segmented hypergraphics are not included in the .SHP file. You must manually backup or transfer any such files.

This option is unavailable when no project is open.


Export SOS Help! Project (Popup)
Use this option to export the current help project to a special SOS Help! Info-Author Project ASCII file (.SHP).  This option calls the File Browser Common Dialog.

.SHP files contain much more information about a project than the .SHT format, including styles and style sheets, the colors of windows and topic areas (scrolling and non-scrolling) etc.

The ability to save a project as a .SHP file makes it easy to backup your projects, to use a version control system and to send projects to colleages using electronic mail.

Note:	Bitmaps and segmented hypergraphics are not included in the .SHP file. You must manually backup or transfer any such files.

This option is unavailable when no project is open.


Maintenance

The Maintenance options are used to rebuild the SOS Help! Info-Author system files or the files for a specific project.

This option is unavailable when a project is open.

System
Project


Maintenance (Popup)
The Maintenance options are used to rebuild the SOS Help! Info-Author system files or the files for a specific project.

This option is unavailable when a project is open.

System
Project


System

Use this option to repair the SOS Help! Info-Author system files.

You select this option if SOS Help! Info-Author ever gives you a warning message that the data files are corrupt.


System (Popup)
Use this option to repair the SOS Help! Info-Author system files.

You select this option if SOS Help! Info-Author ever gives you a warning message that the data files are corrupt.


Project

Use this option to repair specific SOS Help! Info-Author projects.

Several projects can be repaired at the same time by holding down the <Shift> key and clicking on the required projects. Click on the Select All button to repair all the projects at once.

If you think that the index files for a project may be corrupt (this shows up as multiple instances of the same topic title in the Topic:Load dialog), you can click on the Rebuild index files only check box to rebuild them without repairing all the topic files themselves.


Project (Popup)
Use this option to repair specific SOS Help! Info-Author projects.

Several projects can be repaired at the same time by holding down the <Shift> key and clicking on the required projects. Click on the Select All button to repair all the projects at once.

If you think that the index files for a project may be corrupt (this shows up as multiple instances of the same topic title in the Topic:Load dialog), you can click on the Rebuild index files only check box to rebuild them without repairing all the topic files themselves.


Exit

This option exits SOS Help! Info-Author.

You are prompted to save any dirty topics.

The shortcut keystroke is <Alt+F4>.


Exit (Popup)
This option exits SOS Help! Info-Author.

You are prompted to save any dirty topics.

The shortcut keystroke is <Alt+F4>.


Edit Menu

The Edit Menu options control the editing of topic text, manages the Clipboard and inserts "objects" (bitmaps, special characters etc) in the text.

These menu options are unavailable if no project is open.

Undo
Cut
Copy
Paste
Delete
Select All
Find
Replace
Spell Checker
Insert ASCII
Insert RTF
Insert Picture
Edit Picture Details
Edit RTF
Join Paragraphs
Non-Scrolling Region


Edit Menu (Popup)
The Edit Menu options control the editing of topic text, manages the Clipboard and inserts "objects" (bitmaps, special characters etc) in the text.

These menu options are unavailable if no project is open.

Undo
Cut
Copy
Paste
Delete
Select All
Find
Replace
Spell Checker
Insert ASCII
Insert RTF
Insert Picture
Edit Picture Details
Edit RTF
Join Paragraphs
Non-Scrolling Region


Undo

Use this option to undo the last editing operation. When the last operation is undone, this option can be used to redo it.

The Undo facility is limited to one level only. You cannot delete a word in two different paragraphs and then undo the delete in the first paragraph.

The shortcut keystroke is <Alt+BackSpace>.

This option is unavailable if there is no operation to be undone.


Undo (Popup)
Use this option to undo the last editing operation. When the last operation is undone, this option can be used to redo it.

The Undo facility is limited to one level only. You cannot delete a word in two different paragraphs and then undo the delete in the first paragraph.

The shortcut keystroke is <Alt+BackSpace>.

This option is unavailable if there is no operation to be undone.


Cut (Edit Menu)

Use this option to cut the selected text (which may include bitmaps) to the Clipboard. The text is deleted from the topic.

You can use this option to move text between topics (or to another application).

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+X>.

This option is also available via the Cut button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no text is selected.


Cut (Edit Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to cut the selected text (which may include bitmaps) to the Clipboard. The text is deleted from the topic.

You can use this option to move text between topics (or to another application).

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+X>.

This option is also available via the Cut button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no text is selected.


Copy (Edit Menu)

Use this option to copy the selected text (which may include bitmaps) to the Clipboard. The text is not deleted from the topic.

You can use this option to copy text between topics (or to another application).

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+C>.

This option is also available via the Copy button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no text is selected.


Copy (Edit Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to copy the selected text (which may include bitmaps) to the Clipboard. The text is not deleted from the topic.

You can use this option to copy text between topics (or to another application).

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+C>.

This option is also available via the Copy button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no text is selected.


Paste (Edit Menu)

Use this option to copy data from the Clipboard into the topic text at the current cursor position. The data stored on the Clipboard may have been placed there by SOS Help! Info-Author or by another application.

If you insert data from the Clipboard into the middle of a link phrase, the phrase is broken in two. The two phrases now point at the same topic. This is the correct behavior.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+V>.

This option is also available via the Paste button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no data exists in the Clipboard, or if the data is not of a type supported by SOS Help! Info-Author.


Paste (Edit Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to copy data from the Clipboard into the topic text at the current cursor position. The data stored on the Clipboard may have been placed there by SOS Help! Info-Author or by another application.

If you insert data from the Clipboard into the middle of a link phrase, the phrase is broken in two. The two phrases now point at the same topic. This is the correct behavior.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+V>.

This option is also available via the Paste button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no data exists in the Clipboard, or if the data is not of a type supported by SOS Help! Info-Author.


Delete (Edit Menu)

Use this option to delete the selected text (which may include bitmaps) from the topic. It is not copied to the Clipboard. This operation can be undone with the Undo option.

The shortcut keystroke is <Del>.

This option is also available via the Delete button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no text is selected.


Delete (Edit Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to delete the selected text (which may include bitmaps) from the topic. It is not copied to the Clipboard. This operation can be undone with the Undo option.

The shortcut keystroke is <Del>.

This option is also available via the Delete button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no text is selected.


Select All

Use this option to select everything at once (text and pictures). If the current topic has a non-scrolling region, everything in the region containing the cursor is selected.

Typical uses for this operation include changing all the text to another attribute (for example to italics) or to copy the whole topic to the Clipboard for inclusion in another application.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+NumPad 5> (press the control key and the 5 key on the numeric keypad together).


Select All (Popup)
Use this option to select everything at once (text and pictures). If the current topic has a non-scrolling region, everything in the region containing the cursor is selected.

Typical uses for this operation include changing all the text to another attribute (for example to italics) or to copy the whole topic to the Clipboard for inclusion in another application.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+NumPad 5> (press the control key and the 5 key on the numeric keypad together).


Find

Use this option to search for a word or phrase from the current cursor position to the end of the current topic.

Enter the text to search for in the Find What edit control, and click on the Find Next button to execute the search.

The search is performed in the current region only, e.g. this means that if the cursor is in a non-scrolling region, the search is only executed in the non-scrolling region.

Searches are case insensitive by default. To search for an exact match, click on the Match Case check box.

The Find dialog remains visible until you click on the Close button.

If a match is found, it may be hidden by the dialog box. To see the match, drag the dialog away from its current position. This is done by moving the mouse to the dialog title bar, pressing and holding down the left mouse button, and then moving the mouse. When you release the mouse button, the dialog is redrawn in its new position.


Find (Popup)
Use this option to search for a word or phrase from the current cursor position to the end of the current topic.

Enter the text to search for in the Find What edit control, and click on the Find Next button to execute the search.

The search is performed in the current region only, e.g. this means that if the cursor is in a non-scrolling region, the search is only executed in the non-scrolling region.

Searches are case insensitive by default. To search for an exact match, click on the Match Case check box.

The Find dialog remains visible until you click on the Close button.

If a match is found, it may be hidden by the dialog box. To see the match, drag the dialog away from its current position. This is done by moving the mouse to the dialog title bar, pressing and holding down the left mouse button, and then moving the mouse. When you release the mouse button, the dialog is redrawn in its new position.


Replace

Use this option to search for a word or phrase and replace it with another phrase. The search is started from the current cursor position and moves downwards to the end of the current topic.

Enter the text to search for in the Find What edit control, and the replacement text in the Replace With edit control.

If you click on the Find Next button, the Find What phrase is located, and if found, you can click on the Replace button to substitute the Replace With phrase. If you do not want to substitute the first match, click on Find Next again. Alternatively you can click on the Replace button to find the required phrase and make the substitution in one operation.

The Replace All button searches for all matches and substitutes the phrases in one operation.

The search is performed in the current region only, i.e. if the cursor is in a non-scrolling region, the search is only executed in the non-scrolling region.

Searches are case insensitive by default. To search for an exact match, click on the Match Case check box.

The Replace dialog remains visible until you click on the Close button.

If a match is found, it may be hidden by the dialog box. To see the match, drag the dialog away from its current position. This is done by moving the mouse to the dialog title bar, pressing and holding down the left mouse button, and then moving the mouse. When you release the mouse button, the dialog is redrawn in its new position.

This operation can be undone by choosing the Undo option.


Replace (Popup)
Use this option to search for a word or phrase and replace it with another phrase. The search is started from the current cursor position and moves downwards to the end of the current topic.

Enter the text to search for in the Find What edit control, and the replacement text in the Replace With edit control.

If you click on the Find Next button, the Find What phrase is located, and if found, you can click on the Replace button to substitute the Replace With phrase. If you do not want to substitute the first match, click on Find Next again. Alternatively you can click on the Replace button to find the required phrase and make the substitution in one operation.

The Replace All button searches for all matches and substitutes the phrases in one operation.

The search is performed in the current region only, i.e. if the cursor is in a non-scrolling region, the search is only executed in the non-scrolling region.

Searches are case insensitive by default. To search for an exact match, click on the Match Case check box.

The Replace dialog remains visible until you click on the Close button.

If a match is found, it may be hidden by the dialog box. To see the match, drag the dialog away from its current position. This is done by moving the mouse to the dialog title bar, pressing and holding down the left mouse button, and then moving the mouse. When you release the mouse button, the dialog is redrawn in its new position.

This operation can be undone by choosing the Undo option.


Spell Checker

Use this option to load and execute the spell checker on the current topic.

The spell checker operates on a region rather than the whole topic. What this means is that if the cursor is in a non-scrolling region, the non-scrolling region is checked but the scrolling region is not.  Likewise if the cursor is in the scrolling region, only the scrolling region is checked.  To check the whole topic which contains a non-scrolling region, you must run the spell checker twice, once in each region.

Click on the Add button to add the displayed word to the custom dictionary shown in the Add Words To list box. You can have up to four custom dictionaries in addition to PRIVATE.DIC which is always created by the spell checker.

Click on the Options button to create a new custom dictionary and to change the default search behavior of the spell checker.

Defining a new dictionary does not change the dictionary that new words are added to. You must always select the dictionary from the Add Words To list box on the main spell checker dialog.

This option is unavailable if there are no open topics.


Spell Checker (Popup)
Use this option to load and execute the spell checker on the current topic.

The spell checker operates on a region rather than the whole topic. What this means is that if the cursor is in a non-scrolling region, the non-scrolling region is checked but the scrolling region is not.  Likewise if the cursor is in the scrolling region, only the scrolling region is checked.  To check the whole topic which contains a non-scrolling region, you must run the spell checker twice, once in each region.

Click on the Add button to add the displayed word to the custom dictionary shown in the Add Words To list box. You can have up to four custom dictionaries in addition to PRIVATE.DIC which is always created by the spell checker.

Click on the Options button to create a new custom dictionary and to change the default search behavior of the spell checker.

Defining a new dictionary does not change the dictionary that new words are added to. You must always select the dictionary from the Add Words To list box on the main spell checker dialog.

This option is unavailable if there are no open topics.


Insert ASCII

Use this option to execute the Windows Character Map applet from which you can choose the character you want to insert into the topic by choosing the Edit:Paste option.

For more information about the Character Map applet consult your Windows documentation.


Insert ASCII (Popup)
Use this option to execute the Windows Character Map applet from which you can choose the character you want to insert into the topic by choosing the Edit:Paste option.

For more information about the Character Map applet consult your Windows documentation.


Insert RTF

Use this option to embed raw RTF commands into the topic text via the dialog which is displayed.

You can enter RTF commands by selecting them from the RTF Commands list box control and clicking on the Insert button. This places the string in the RTF Strings edit control where they can be edited as normal text; all the Clipboard commands (e.g. Cut, Copy and Paste) are fully operational. Click on the OK button to save the RTF Strings commands and destroy the edit box.

One instance when you might want to use this option is if you need to create a window in the topic which is updated by an external routine or application.

SOS Help! Info-Author displays these RTF commands as a hollow button with RTF as its legend, rather than the commands themselves.


Insert RTF (Popup)
Use this option to embed raw RTF commands into the topic text via the dialog which is displayed.

You can enter RTF commands by selecting them from the RTF Commands list box control and clicking on the Insert button. This places the string in the RTF Strings edit control where they can be edited as normal text; all the Clipboard commands (e.g. Cut, Copy and Paste) are fully operational. Click on the OK button to save the RTF Strings commands and destroy the edit box.

One instance when you might want to use this option is if you need to create a window in the topic which is updated by an external routine or application.

SOS Help! Info-Author displays these RTF commands as a hollow button with RTF as its legend, rather than the commands themselves.


Insert Picture

Use this option to insert a picture at the cursor position in the current Help topic. This calls a modified File Browser Common Dialog.

SOS Help! Info-Author supports three types of pictures: bitmaps (.BMP), segmented hypergraphics (.SHG) and Windows metafile format (.WMF).  Select the type required from the List Files of Type drop-down list box control.

SOS Help! Info-Author cannot display a .SHG file (the file specification is not available at this time). Consequently it tries to display a bitmap with the same name as the .SHG (i.e. CAR.BMP is displayed if CAR.SHG is imported). If no such .BMP can be found, you are prompted for the name of the bitmap to display in its place.

Pictures can be displayed in three ways by clicking on one of the following radio buttons:

Left Aligned pictures are "locked" to the left margin of the current paragraph; if inserted in the middle of a paragraph, text "flows" around the picture

Right Aligned pictures behave in the same way as left aligned ones and have the same properties, except that they are locked to the right margin of the current paragraph

Embedded pictures can be placed anywhere in a paragraph, and, as their name suggests, they are not locked to either margin; text is always aligned with the bottom of the picture, and does not flow around it, so the cursor takes on the appearance of the largest item in the line (which may or may not be the embedded picture)

If a paragraph contains left or right aligned pictures, and the style for the paragraph has an indent or a border, the pictures are aligned inside the indent or border rather than the WinHelp window.

WinHelp does not support 256 color picture files.

If you click on the Edit button, SOS Help! Info-Author attempts to load the appropriate editor for the picture type. This assumes that SOS Help! Info-Author can find the editor in the path. You may need to modify the file/editor associations which are governed by the settings in the [Extensions] section of WIN.INI in your Windows directory.

WinHelp does not support the bullet characters in any font. We recommend that you create your own bullet character as a bitmap (or modify BULLET.BMP supplied on the SOS Help! Info-Author diskette) and insert it into the text as required.


Insert Picture (Popup)
Use this option to insert a picture at the cursor position in the current Help topic. This calls a modified File Browser Common Dialog.

SOS Help! Info-Author supports three types of pictures: bitmaps (.BMP), segmented hypergraphics (.SHG) and Windows metafile format (.WMF).  Select the type required from the List Files of Type drop-down list box control.

SOS Help! Info-Author cannot display a .SHG file (the file specification is not available at this time). Consequently it tries to display a bitmap with the same name as the .SHG (i.e. CAR.BMP is displayed if CAR.SHG is imported). If no such .BMP can be found, you are prompted for the name of the bitmap to display in its place.

Pictures can be displayed in three ways by clicking on one of the following radio buttons:

Left Aligned pictures are "locked" to the left margin of the current paragraph; if inserted in the middle of a paragraph, text "flows" around the picture

Right Aligned pictures behave in the same way as left aligned ones and have the same properties, except that they are locked to the right margin of the current paragraph

Embedded pictures can be placed anywhere in a paragraph, and, as their name suggests, they are not locked to either margin; text is always aligned with the bottom of the picture, and does not flow around it, so the cursor takes on the appearance of the largest item in the line (which may or may not be the embedded picture)

If a paragraph contains left or right aligned pictures, and the style for the paragraph has an indent or a border, the pictures are aligned inside the indent or border rather than the WinHelp window.

WinHelp does not support 256 color picture files.

If you click on the Edit button, SOS Help! Info-Author attempts to load the appropriate editor for the picture type. This assumes that SOS Help! Info-Author can find the editor in the path. You may need to modify the file/editor associations which are governed by the settings in the [Extensions] section of WIN.INI in your Windows directory.

WinHelp does not support the bullet characters in any font. We recommend that you create your own bullet character as a bitmap (or modify BULLET.BMP supplied on the SOS Help! Info-Author diskette) and insert it into the text as required.


Edit Picture Details

Use this option to edit the details of a picture already in the text. This loads a similar dialog to the Insert Picture option, and it operates in the same way.

This option can be activated by double clicking on the picture.

This option is unavailable if the cursor is not placed at the beginning or end of the picture.


Edit Picture Details (Popup)
Use this option to edit the details of a picture already in the text. This loads a similar dialog to the Insert Picture option, and it operates in the same way.

This option can be activated by double clicking on the picture.

This option is unavailable if the cursor is not placed at the beginning or end of the picture.


Edit RTF

Use this option to edit an existing set of RTF commands. It loads a dialog box similar to the Insert RTF option, and it operates in the same way.

This option can be activated by double clicking on the RTF graphic.

This option is unavailable if the cursor is not placed at the beginning or end of this graphic.


Edit RTF (Popup)
Use this option to edit an existing set of RTF commands. It loads a dialog box similar to the Insert RTF option, and it operates in the same way.

This option can be activated by double clicking on the RTF graphic.

This option is unavailable if the cursor is not placed at the beginning or end of this graphic.


Join Paragraphs

Use this option to join several contiguous paragraphs into one large paragraph. The paragraphs to be joined must be selected. The whole paragraphs do not have to be selected; it is enough to select the last character of the first paragraph and the first character of the last paragraph to be joined.

This option is particularly useful after importing text files using the File:Import:Text or File:Import:Norton Guide options when each line is considered to be a paragraph.

To change the number of spaces substituted for each carriage return line feed pair from the default of one, you must edit the CRToSpaces setting in SOS4WIN.INI. This file is stored in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory.

This option is unavailable if fewer than two paragraphs are selected.


Join Paragraphs (Popup)
Use this option to join several contiguous paragraphs into one large paragraph. The paragraphs to be joined must be selected. The whole paragraphs do not have to be selected; it is enough to select the last character of the first paragraph and the first character of the last paragraph to be joined.

This option is particularly useful after importing text files using the File:Import:Text or File:Import:Norton Guide options when each line is considered to be a paragraph.

To change the number of spaces substituted for each carriage return line feed pair from the default of one, you must edit the CRToSpaces setting in SOS4WIN.INI. This file is stored in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory.

This option is unavailable if fewer than two paragraphs are selected.


Non-Scrolling Region (Edit Menu)

Use this option to add or remove the current or selected paragraphs from the non-scrolling region. The non-scrolling region remains visible at all times while the current topic is visible (i.e. it is not iconized).

If the current paragraph is part of the non-scrolling region, a check mark appears next to this menu option.

For more information see the Non-Scrolling Regions section in the Beyond the Basics chapter.

This option is also available via the Non-Scrolling Region button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if the cursor is not in the first paragraph of the scrolling region or the last paragraph of the non-scrolling region; if a non-scrolling region does not exist, this will be the first paragraph in the topic.


Non-Scrolling Region (Edit Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to add or remove the current or selected paragraphs from the non-scrolling region. The non-scrolling region remains visible at all times while the current topic is visible (i.e. it is not iconized).

If the current paragraph is part of the non-scrolling region, a check mark appears next to this menu option.

For more information see the Non-Scrolling Regions section in the Beyond the Basics chapter.

This option is also available via the Non-Scrolling Region button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if the cursor is not in the first paragraph of the scrolling region or the last paragraph of the non-scrolling region; if a non-scrolling region does not exist, this will be the first paragraph in the topic.


Topic Menu

The Topic Menu manages the topics, and the specific data that can be attached to a topic to control WinHelp.

These menu options are unavailable if no project is open.

New
Load
Write
Write As
Delete
Close
Rename
Browse Order
Keywords
Identifier
WinHelp Macros
Build Tags


Topic Menu (Popup)
The Topic Menu manages the topics, and the specific data that can be attached to a topic to control WinHelp.

These menu options are unavailable if no project is open.

New
Load
Write
Write As
Delete
Close
Rename
Browse Order
Keywords
Identifier
WinHelp Macros
Build Tags


New (Topic Menu)

Use this option to create a new topic.

Enter the title of the topic in the Title edit control. The title is used to select the topic from the Topic:Load menu option. It is also displayed by WinHelp in the Search dialog if a keyword is attached to the topic (via Topic:Keywords). Click on the Add to Keywords check box if you want the title to be a keyword for the topic.

Each topic must have a unique title.

If the topic is to be called from another topic in the current project, either as a jump or as a popup, or if the topic is to be the contents page displayed when WinHelp first loads the .HLP file, you need to enter an alphanumeric identifier in the Topic Identifier edit control. If the topic is to be called from an application, you need to enter a number in the Identifier Value edit control. Both these values can be changed later by choosing Topic:Indentifier.

If the project does not have a Help ID File set (via Option:Project Preferences), the Identifier Value edit control is unavailable.

The identifier and the identifier value must be unique for the current project.

This option is also available via the New Topic button on the Button Pad.


New (Topic Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to create a new topic.

Enter the title of the topic in the Title edit control. The title is used to select the topic from the Topic:Load menu option. It is also displayed by WinHelp in the Search dialog if a keyword is attached to the topic (via Topic:Keywords). Click on the Add to Keywords check box if you want the title to be a keyword for the topic.

Each topic must have a unique title.

If the topic is to be called from another topic in the current project, either as a jump or as a popup, or if the topic is to be the contents page displayed when WinHelp first loads the .HLP file, you need to enter an alphanumeric identifier in the Topic Identifier edit control. If the topic is to be called from an application, you need to enter a number in the Identifier Value edit control. Both these values can be changed later by choosing Topic:Indentifier.

If the project does not have a Help ID File set (via Option:Project Preferences), the Identifier Value edit control is unavailable.

The identifier and the identifier value must be unique for the current project.

This option is also available via the New Topic button on the Button Pad.


Load

Use this option to load an existing topic into an editing window. Select the required topic from the titles displayed in the Help Topic list box control.

If the chosen topic is to be replaced with an Alias topic (set via File:Generate:Settings:Aliases), you are given the choice of loading the actual topic or the Alias.

The topic cannot be edited if it has been marked as Approved in the Help Tracker. Such topics have "Read Only" appended to the title of the window.

This option is also available via the Load Topic button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or all the topics are already loaded.


Load (Popup)
Use this option to load an existing topic into an editing window. Select the required topic from the titles displayed in the Help Topic list box control.

If the chosen topic is to be replaced with an Alias topic (set via File:Generate:Settings:Aliases), you are given the choice of loading the actual topic or the Alias.

The topic cannot be edited if it has been marked as Approved in the Help Tracker. Such topics have "Read Only" appended to the title of the window.

This option is also available via the Load Topic button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or all the topics are already loaded.


Write

Use this option to save the current topic to disk.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+W>.

This option is also available via the Save button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, if there are no topics loaded or if the current topic is not dirty.


Write (Popup)
Use this option to save the current topic to disk.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+W>.

This option is also available via the Save button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, if there are no topics loaded or if the current topic is not dirty.


Write As

Use this option to copy the current topic to a new record. This calls the same dialog box as Topic:New. Click on the Add to Keywords check box if you want the title to be a keyword for the topic.

Typically this option would be used if you have two topics that are similar or repetitive in nature.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or if there are no topics loaded.


Write As (Popup)
Use this option to copy the current topic to a new record. This calls the same dialog box as Topic:New. Click on the Add to Keywords check box if you want the title to be a keyword for the topic.

Typically this option would be used if you have two topics that are similar or repetitive in nature.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or if there are no topics loaded.


Delete (Topic Menu)

Use this option to remove a topic from the project.

All loaded topics are removed from the list displayed in the Help Topic list box control. To delete an open topic, you must either choose Topic:Close or Window:Close.

If the selected topic has links to it from other topics in the project, a dialog is displayed listing these topics. You are given two choices:

Load all the link topics so that they can be removed or edited

Delete the links and remove the topic (this can take a little time as the reference to this topic has to be removed from all the link topics)

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or all the topics are already loaded.


Delete (Topic Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to remove a topic from the project.

All loaded topics are removed from the list displayed in the Help Topic list box control. To delete an open topic, you must either choose Topic:Close or Window:Close.

If the selected topic has links to it from other topics in the project, a dialog is displayed listing these topics. You are given two choices:

Load all the link topics so that they can be removed or edited

Delete the links and remove the topic (this can take a little time as the reference to this topic has to be removed from all the link topics)

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or all the topics are already loaded.


Close (Topic Menu)

This option closes the current topic. The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+F4>. This is the same as Window:Close.

If the topic is dirty, you are prompted to save it.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+F4>.

This option is unavailable if there are no topics loaded.


Close (Topic Menu) (Popup)
This option closes the current topic. The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+F4>. This is the same as Window:Close.

If the topic is dirty, you are prompted to save it.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+F4>.

This option is unavailable if there are no topics loaded.


Rename (Topic Menu)

Use this option to rename the title of a topic. Select the topic to be renamed from the Old Title list box control, and enter the new title in the New Title edit control.

The new title must be unique.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics.


Rename (Topic Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to rename the title of a topic. Select the topic to be renamed from the Old Title list box control, and enter the new title in the New Title edit control.

The new title must be unique.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics.


Browse Order

Use this option to define the browse orders for the project.

Remember to add the BrowseButtons() WinHelp macro to the project macros (via File:Generate:Settings:Macros), otherwise the browse buttons will not be displayed by WinHelp, and the user will be unable to navigate between topics in the browse order group.

You must create a group before any topics can be added into a browse order.  Click on the Create button in the Groups group, and enter a unique name for the browse order group. To add additional topics to an existing browse order group, select the required group from this drop-down list box control.

Click on the Edit button to rename the selected browse order group.

Click on the Groups Delete button to remove the selected browse order group from the project.

If a browse order group contains no topics, its name is not saved when you click on the OK button.

The Topics list box control displays the topics included in the current browse order group, and determines the order in which they are displayed by WinHelp. This is a multi-selection control, i.e. you can select several items by dragging the mouse over them.

Click on the Insert button to add a topic into this list, and select the required topic from the list box control which is then displayed. Click on the Before radio button in the Place Item group to insert the topic before the highlighted one, otherwise it will be positioned afterwards.

A topic can only appear in one browse order group; this is a restriction of WinHelp. Topics which are already assigned to a browse order do not appear in the list box control.

Click on the Topics Delete button to remove the selected topic(s) from the current browse order group.

The Cut and Paste buttons allow you to move the selected topic(s) between browse order groups using the Clipboard. The radio buttons in the Place Item group determine where any pasted topics are inserted into the Topics list box control.

Click on the Top, Bottom, Up and Down buttons to change the order of the selected topics within the current browse order group. Respectively, they move the selected topic(s) to the top or bottom of the list, or up or down one line at a time.

For more information about browse orders see the Browse Orders section of the Beyond the Basics chapter.

This option is unavailable if the current project contains no topics.


Browse Order (Popup)
Use this option to define the browse orders for the project.

Remember to add the BrowseButtons() WinHelp macro to the project macros (via File:Generate:Settings:Macros), otherwise the browse buttons will not be displayed by WinHelp, and the user will be unable to navigate between topics in the browse order group.

You must create a group before any topics can be added into a browse order.  Click on the Create button in the Groups group, and enter a unique name for the browse order group. To add additional topics to an existing browse order group, select the required group from this drop-down list box control.

Click on the Edit button to rename the selected browse order group.

Click on the Groups Delete button to remove the selected browse order group from the project.

If a browse order group contains no topics, its name is not saved when you click on the OK button.

The Topics list box control displays the topics included in the current browse order group, and determines the order in which they are displayed by WinHelp. This is a multi-selection control, i.e. you can select several items by dragging the mouse over them.

Click on the Insert button to add a topic into this list, and select the required topic from the list box control which is then displayed. Click on the Before radio button in the Place Item group to insert the topic before the highlighted one, otherwise it will be positioned afterwards.

A topic can only appear in one browse order group; this is a restriction of WinHelp. Topics which are already assigned to a browse order do not appear in the list box control.

Click on the Topics Delete button to remove the selected topic(s) from the current browse order group.

The Cut and Paste buttons allow you to move the selected topic(s) between browse order groups using the Clipboard. The radio buttons in the Place Item group determine where any pasted topics are inserted into the Topics list box control.

Click on the Top, Bottom, Up and Down buttons to change the order of the selected topics within the current browse order group. Respectively, they move the selected topic(s) to the top or bottom of the list, or up or down one line at a time.

For more information about browse orders see the Browse Orders section of the Beyond the Basics chapter.

This option is unavailable if the current project contains no topics.


Keywords

Use this option to define the keywords used to locate the current topic when the Search button is pressed in WinHelp. If more than one topic contains the same keywords, WinHelp displays the titles of those topics in the Go To list box control of its Search dialog.

Several keywords can be attached to the same topic so that it can be located using different search keys.

It can take several seconds to update the Keyword information.

Click on the Create button to define a new keyword table. A keyword table is a single, upper case letter. A maximum of five tables can be created.  Choose File:Generate:Settings:Compiler Options to set the Alternate Keyword Letter if more than one keyword table is defined. To rename a keyword table, click on the Rename button. To delete a keyword table, click on the Remove button.

To create a new keyword, you must first select the keyword table from the list box control in the Keyword Tables group. Then click on the Add button. To edit an existing keyword, select the required keyword table as before, and the keyword in the Keyword list box control, and click on the Edit button. The Cut, Copy, and Paste buttons allow you to copy or move keywords between keyword tables. The Delete button removes the selected keywords from the current keyword table.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or if there are no topics loaded.


Keywords (Popup)
Use this option to define the keywords used to locate the current topic when the Search button is pressed in WinHelp. If more than one topic contains the same keywords, WinHelp displays the titles of those topics in the Go To list box control of its Search dialog.

Several keywords can be attached to the same topic so that it can be located using different search keys.

It can take several seconds to update the Keyword information.

Click on the Create button to define a new keyword table. A keyword table is a single, upper case letter. A maximum of five tables can be created.  Choose File:Generate:Settings:Compiler Options to set the Alternate Keyword Letter if more than one keyword table is defined. To rename a keyword table, click on the Rename button. To delete a keyword table, click on the Remove button.

To create a new keyword, you must first select the keyword table from the list box control in the Keyword Tables group. Then click on the Add button. To edit an existing keyword, select the required keyword table as before, and the keyword in the Keyword list box control, and click on the Edit button. The Cut, Copy, and Paste buttons allow you to copy or move keywords between keyword tables. The Delete button removes the selected keywords from the current keyword table.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or if there are no topics loaded.


Identifier

Use this option to edit the identifier and the identifier value for the current topic. These values were entered when the topic was created.

Enter the new identifier in the Topic Identifier edit control and the new identifier value in the Identifier Value edit control.

If the project does not have a Help ID File set (via Option:Project Preferences), the Identifier Value edit control is unavailable.

The identifier and the identifier value must be unique for the current project.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or if there are no topics loaded.


Identifier (Popup)
Use this option to edit the identifier and the identifier value for the current topic. These values were entered when the topic was created.

Enter the new identifier in the Topic Identifier edit control and the new identifier value in the Identifier Value edit control.

If the project does not have a Help ID File set (via Option:Project Preferences), the Identifier Value edit control is unavailable.

The identifier and the identifier value must be unique for the current project.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or if there are no topics loaded.


WinHelp Macros (Topic Menu)

Use this option to define WinHelp macros for the current topic. These macros are executed each time the topic is displayed by WinHelp.

SOS Help! Info-Author does no syntax checking for WinHelp macros.

For more information about WinHelp macros please see the WinHelp Macros section of the Beyond the Basics chapter.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or if there are no topics loaded.


WinHelp Macros (Topic Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to define WinHelp macros for the current topic. These macros are executed each time the topic is displayed by WinHelp.

SOS Help! Info-Author does no syntax checking for WinHelp macros.

For more information about WinHelp macros please see the WinHelp Macros section of the Beyond the Basics chapter.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, or if there are no topics loaded.


Build Tags (Topic Menu)

Use this option to attach a build tag to the current topic. Topics with one or more tags attached will only be included in the generated .HLP file if the tag is specified in the build condition set via File:Generate:Settings:Build Condition.

Choose a tag from the Build Tags in the Project list box control and click on the Add button to attach it to the current topic; the tag will be transferred from the project list to the topic list. To detach a tag from the topic, click on the required tag in the Topic Build Tag list box control, and then click on the Remove button. To detach all the tags, click on the Remove All button. The tags are transferred back to the project list when the are detached.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, if there are no topics loaded, or if no project build tags have been defined (via File:Project Build Tags).


Build Tags (Topic Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to attach a build tag to the current topic. Topics with one or more tags attached will only be included in the generated .HLP file if the tag is specified in the build condition set via File:Generate:Settings:Build Condition.

Choose a tag from the Build Tags in the Project list box control and click on the Add button to attach it to the current topic; the tag will be transferred from the project list to the topic list. To detach a tag from the topic, click on the required tag in the Topic Build Tag list box control, and then click on the Remove button. To detach all the tags, click on the Remove All button. The tags are transferred back to the project list when the are detached.

This option is unavailable if the current project has no topics, if there are no topics loaded, or if no project build tags have been defined (via File:Project Build Tags).


Style Menu

The Style Menu options are used to control how the text in a topic appears. They allow you to change the font, color and attributes of the text. More importantly they allow for the creating and management of the styles defined in the attached style sheet. These control both the appearance of the text and also its layout.

Please ensure that you read the Styles and Style Sheets section in the Beyond the Basics chapter so that you are familiar with the concepts used by SOS Help! Info-Author.

These menu options are unavailable if no project is open.

Character
Attributes
Define Style
Select Style


Style Menu (Popup)
The Style Menu options are used to control how the text in a topic appears. They allow you to change the font, color and attributes of the text. More importantly they allow for the creating and management of the styles defined in the attached style sheet. These control both the appearance of the text and also its layout.

Please ensure that you read the Styles and Style Sheets section in the Beyond the Basics chapter so that you are familiar with the concepts used by SOS Help! Info-Author.

These menu options are unavailable if no project is open.

Character
Attributes
Define Style
Select Style


Character (Style Menu)

Use this option to change the font of any selected text, or for the next character typed at the current cursor position. In this latter case, the chosen font continues to be used until the font is changed again using this option, or until the cursor is moved to a character with a different font, using the mouse or the cursor keys.

The effect is not persistent. SOS Help! Info-Author uses the attributes of the character immediately to the left of the current cursor position when deciding how to display the next character typed.

This option calls the Font Common Dialog. The Reset to Default button sets the font to that defined for the style of the current paragraph.

This option is also available via the Font button on the Button Pad.


Character (Style Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to change the font of any selected text, or for the next character typed at the current cursor position. In this latter case, the chosen font continues to be used until the font is changed again using this option, or until the cursor is moved to a character with a different font, using the mouse or the cursor keys.

The effect is not persistent. SOS Help! Info-Author uses the attributes of the character immediately to the left of the current cursor position when deciding how to display the next character typed.

This option calls the Font Common Dialog. The Reset to Default button sets the font to that defined for the style of the current paragraph.

This option is also available via the Font button on the Button Pad.


Attributes

The options on the Attributes submenu are used to change the characteristics of any selected text, or as a toggle to turn attributes on or off for any text which is entered after the attribute has been set.

The effects of these Attributes are not persistent. SOS Help! Info-Author uses the attributes of the character immediately to the left of the current cursor position when deciding how to display the next character typed.

Color
Bold
Italic
Underline
Strikethrough


Attributes (Popup)
The options on the Attributes submenu are used to change the characteristics of any selected text, or as a toggle to turn attributes on or off for any text which is entered after the attribute has been set.

The effects of these Attributes are not persistent. SOS Help! Info-Author uses the attributes of the character immediately to the left of the current cursor position when deciding how to display the next character typed.

Color
Bold
Italic
Underline
Strikethrough


Color (Style:Attributes)

Choosing the Color option displays the Color Common Dialog. If you click on the Reset to Default button, the color is set to that defined for the style of the current paragraph.

Only solid colors can be chosen for fonts.

This option is also available via the Color button on the Button Pad.


Color (Style:Attributes) (Popup)
Choosing the Color option displays the Color Common Dialog. If you click on the Reset to Default button, the color is set to that defined for the style of the current paragraph.

Only solid colors can be chosen for fonts.

This option is also available via the Color button on the Button Pad.


Bold (Style:Attributes)

Use this option to toggle the bold attribute on or off.

If the current character has the bold attribute set, this option has a check mark next to it.

This option is also available via the Bold button on the Button Pad.


Bold (Style:Attributes) (Popup)
Use this option to toggle the bold attribute on or off.

If the current character has the bold attribute set, this option has a check mark next to it.

This option is also available via the Bold button on the Button Pad.


Italic

Use this option to toggle the italic attribute on or off.

If the current character has the italic attribute set, this option has a check mark next to it.

This option is also available via the Italic button on the Button Pad.


Italic (Popup)
Use this option to toggle the italic attribute on or off.

If the current character has the italic attribute set, this option has a check mark next to it.

This option is also available via the Italic button on the Button Pad.


Underline (Style:Attributes)

Use this option to toggle the underline attribute on or off.

If the current character has the underline attribute set, this option has a check mark next to it.

This option is also available via the Underline button on the Button Pad.


Underline (Style:Attributes) (Popup)
Use this option to toggle the underline attribute on or off.

If the current character has the underline attribute set, this option has a check mark next to it.

This option is also available via the Underline button on the Button Pad.


Strikethrough (Style:Attributes)

Use this option to toggle the strikethrough attribute on or off.

If the current character has the strikethrough attribute set, this option has a check mark next to it.

This option is also available via the Strikethrough button on the Button Pad.


Strikethrough (Style:Attributes) (Popup)
Use this option to toggle the strikethrough attribute on or off.

If the current character has the strikethrough attribute set, this option has a check mark next to it.

This option is also available via the Strikethrough button on the Button Pad.


Define Style

Use this option to create new styles and to edit existing ones.

Valid style names contain only alphanumeric characters, the underscore character and spaces.

Changing a style affects all topics which contain text tagged with that style. If the current style sheet is attached to more than one project you should exercise extreme caution when changing existing styles as every project using this style sheet will be affected.

This option is also available via the Style Define button on the Button Pad.

Style
Attributes Group
Management Group
Apply vs. OK Buttons


Define Style (Popup)
Use this option to create new styles and to edit existing ones.

Valid style names contain only alphanumeric characters, the underscore character and spaces.

Changing a style affects all topics which contain text tagged with that style. If the current style sheet is attached to more than one project you should exercise extreme caution when changing existing styles as every project using this style sheet will be affected.

This option is also available via the Style Define button on the Button Pad.

Style
Attributes Group
Management Group
Apply vs. OK Buttons


Style

This drop-down list box control contains all the styles in the current style sheet. Any changes made to the attributes by clicking on any of the buttons in the Attributes group, update the style displayed in this control.

The style <Default Style> differs from other styles in that it cannot be deleted or renamed.


Style (Popup)
This drop-down list box control contains all the styles in the current style sheet. Any changes made to the attributes by clicking on any of the buttons in the Attributes group, update the style displayed in this control.

The style <Default Style> differs from other styles in that it cannot be deleted or renamed.


Attributes Group

The buttons in this group allow you to edit the settings of the style displayed in the Style drop-down list box control. They all call dialogs which contain a Reset to Default button. If you are editing the default style (<Default Style>), this button sets all the values in the dialog to the WinHelp defaults; these defaults are discussed in each section below. For all other styles, the values are reset to those defined for the <Default Style> style.

Character
Paragraph
Tabs
Borders


Attributes Group (Popup)
The buttons in this group allow you to edit the settings of the style displayed in the Style drop-down list box control. They all call dialogs which contain a Reset to Default button. If you are editing the default style (<Default Style>), this button sets all the values in the dialog to the WinHelp defaults; these defaults are discussed in each section below. For all other styles, the values are reset to those defined for the <Default Style> style.

Character
Paragraph
Tabs
Borders


Character (Style:Attributes Group)

Click on this button to set the font characteristics for the style. The chosen font becomes the default font for all paragraphs tagged with this style.

This option calls the Font Common Dialog. For more information about this dialog consult the Common Dialog section of the Quick Start chapter.

The values set by clicking on the Reset to Default button when defining the <Default Style> style are:

Font name - System

Font size - 12pt

All the font attributes are turned off

Font color - set to the window text color of the current color scheme (set via the Colors option from the Control Panel applet)

For more information about the Control Panel applet consult your Windows documentation.


Character (Style:Attributes Group) (Popup)
Click on this button to set the font characteristics for the style. The chosen font becomes the default font for all paragraphs tagged with this style.

This option calls the Font Common Dialog. For more information about this dialog consult the Common Dialog section of the Quick Start chapter.

The values set by clicking on the Reset to Default button when defining the <Default Style> style are:

Font name - System

Font size - 12pt

All the font attributes are turned off

Font color - set to the window text color of the current color scheme (set via the Colors option from the Control Panel applet)

For more information about the Control Panel applet consult your Windows documentation.


Paragraph

Click on this button to set the paragraph formatting for the selected style.

The values in the Alignment drop-down list box control determines the justification of the paragraph. Paragraphs can be left or right justified, or centered.

The Line Spacing edit control determines the spacing between the lines in the paragraph. If this value is set to 0, WinHelp uses the height of the largest character, or picture, in each line to determine the line spacing.

If a paragraph tagged with this style contains a character or picture whose height is greater than the value of the Line Spacing edit control, the spacing for that line is set to the height of the character or picture.

The Wrapping check box control determines whether the paragraph is reformatted when the display window in either SOS Help! Info-Author or WinHelp is resized. Normally you would want the paragraph to be reformatted. An example of when it would not be a good idea to have the Wrapping check box control set is when you need to display a table of data, such as a parts list.

The Indents group of controls determine the indentation of the text within the paragraph. The Left and Right control determine the left and right margin within the window; they only accept positive values. The First Line control can accept both positive and negative values and is used to alter the indentation of the first line in the paragraph; a negative value makes the first line overhang the left margin. It is possible to set a negative value in the First Line control which is greater than the value of the Left control in absolute terms, e.g. -15pt for the First Line value and 10pt for the Left value. In this situation the first few characters of the first line of the paragraph will not be displayed. This is the correct behavior.

The setting of the Right control has no effect if the paragraph does not wrap.

The Paragraph Spacing group of controls determine the amount of vertical space to leave before and after the paragraph.

The values set by clicking on the Reset to Default button when defining the <Default Style> style are:

Alignment - Left

Line Spacing - 0

Wrapping - on

Indents - all set to 0

Paragraph Spacings - both set to 0


Paragraph (Popup)
Click on this button to set the paragraph formatting for the selected style.

The values in the Alignment drop-down list box control determines the justification of the paragraph. Paragraphs can be left or right justified, or centered.

The Line Spacing edit control determines the spacing between the lines in the paragraph. If this value is set to 0, WinHelp uses the height of the largest character, or picture, in each line to determine the line spacing.

If a paragraph tagged with this style contains a character or picture whose height is greater than the value of the Line Spacing edit control, the spacing for that line is set to the height of the character or picture.

The Wrapping check box control determines whether the paragraph is reformatted when the display window in either SOS Help! Info-Author or WinHelp is resized. Normally you would want the paragraph to be reformatted. An example of when it would not be a good idea to have the Wrapping check box control set is when you need to display a table of data, such as a parts list.

The Indents group of controls determine the indentation of the text within the paragraph. The Left and Right control determine the left and right margin within the window; they only accept positive values. The First Line control can accept both positive and negative values and is used to alter the indentation of the first line in the paragraph; a negative value makes the first line overhang the left margin. It is possible to set a negative value in the First Line control which is greater than the value of the Left control in absolute terms, e.g. -15pt for the First Line value and 10pt for the Left value. In this situation the first few characters of the first line of the paragraph will not be displayed. This is the correct behavior.

The setting of the Right control has no effect if the paragraph does not wrap.

The Paragraph Spacing group of controls determine the amount of vertical space to leave before and after the paragraph.

The values set by clicking on the Reset to Default button when defining the <Default Style> style are:

Alignment - Left

Line Spacing - 0

Wrapping - on

Indents - all set to 0

Paragraph Spacings - both set to 0


Tabs

Click on this button to set the tab stops for the selected style.

WinHelp supports three types of tab stops: left, right and centered.

To set a tab stop, enter a numeric value in the edit box of the Tab Stop Position list box control. Select the correct type of tab stop by clicking on the appropriate radio button in the Alignment group. Save this tab stop by clicking on the Set Button.

You can change the alignment of an existing tab stop by clicking on the appropriate radio button in the Alignment group and then clicking on the Set button.

Click on the Clear button to delete the tab stop selected in the Tab Stop Position list box control. Click on the Clear All button to delete every tab stop. These buttons are unavailable if no tab stops have been set.

Tab stops are defined on a paragraph wide basis.

The default spacing for tab stops is set at half inch intervals. If tab stops are specifically set, the default spacing applies for any tab stop after the last one in the Tab Stop Position list box control. Default tab stops are left justified.

Clicking on the Reset to Default button when defining the <Default Style>style removes all tab stops.


Tabs (Popup)
Click on this button to set the tab stops for the selected style.

WinHelp supports three types of tab stops: left, right and centered.

To set a tab stop, enter a numeric value in the edit box of the Tab Stop Position list box control. Select the correct type of tab stop by clicking on the appropriate radio button in the Alignment group. Save this tab stop by clicking on the Set Button.

You can change the alignment of an existing tab stop by clicking on the appropriate radio button in the Alignment group and then clicking on the Set button.

Click on the Clear button to delete the tab stop selected in the Tab Stop Position list box control. Click on the Clear All button to delete every tab stop. These buttons are unavailable if no tab stops have been set.

Tab stops are defined on a paragraph wide basis.

The default spacing for tab stops is set at half inch intervals. If tab stops are specifically set, the default spacing applies for any tab stop after the last one in the Tab Stop Position list box control. Default tab stops are left justified.

Clicking on the Reset to Default button when defining the <Default Style>style removes all tab stops.


Borders

Click on this button to set the border types for the selected style.

WinHelp supports two types of border: a box border type which surrounds one or more sides of the paragraph, or a bar border type which is placed immediately to the left of the paragraph.

To define a box border type, select the line type to use for each side of the paragraph from the Top, Left, Bottom and Right drop-down list box controls. The available line types are:

"None" - displays no line

"Single" - displays a standard-width line

"Thick" - displays a thick line

"Double" - displays a double standard-width line

If you set the Bar Border check box control, the border changes to a bar type, and the associated drop-down list box control becomes available; the four controls for the box border type are now unavailable. The values of the Bar Border drop-down list box control are the same as those for the box border type.

If the paragraph that contains borders also has indents or paragraph spacing the borders for that paragraph are displayed within these indents and spacings.

The current version of WinHelp can only display one border line type per paragraph. SOS Help! Info-Author does not have this restriction in anticipation of later versions of WinHelp correcting this problem. We recommend that you choose the same line type for the border, otherwise the WinHelp display may not be as expected.

Clicking on the Reset to Default button when defining the <Default Style>style sets all borders to "None".


Borders (Popup)
Click on this button to set the border types for the selected style.

WinHelp supports two types of border: a box border type which surrounds one or more sides of the paragraph, or a bar border type which is placed immediately to the left of the paragraph.

To define a box border type, select the line type to use for each side of the paragraph from the Top, Left, Bottom and Right drop-down list box controls. The available line types are:

"None" - displays no line

"Single" - displays a standard-width line

"Thick" - displays a thick line

"Double" - displays a double standard-width line

If you set the Bar Border check box control, the border changes to a bar type, and the associated drop-down list box control becomes available; the four controls for the box border type are now unavailable. The values of the Bar Border drop-down list box control are the same as those for the box border type.

If the paragraph that contains borders also has indents or paragraph spacing the borders for that paragraph are displayed within these indents and spacings.

The current version of WinHelp can only display one border line type per paragraph. SOS Help! Info-Author does not have this restriction in anticipation of later versions of WinHelp correcting this problem. We recommend that you choose the same line type for the border, otherwise the WinHelp display may not be as expected.

Clicking on the Reset to Default button when defining the <Default Style>style sets all borders to "None".


Management Group

Click on the buttons in this group to create, delete and rename styles, and to copy, cut and paste them to and from the Clipboard so that styles can be copied between style sheets.

Some of the dialogs which are called when you click on these buttons contain list box controls displaying a list of styles. The style displayed in the Style drop-down list box is used to highlight the initial value in these list boxes when appropriate.

New
Rename
Copy
Cut
Delete
Paste


Management Group (Popup)
Click on the buttons in this group to create, delete and rename styles, and to copy, cut and paste them to and from the Clipboard so that styles can be copied between style sheets.

Some of the dialogs which are called when you click on these buttons contain list box controls displaying a list of styles. The style displayed in the Style drop-down list box is used to highlight the initial value in these list boxes when appropriate.

New
Rename
Copy
Cut
Delete
Paste


New (Style:Management Group)

Click on this button to create a new style.

Enter the name for the new style in the New Name edit control. This name must be unique for the current style sheet.

The Copy From drop-down list box control contains a list of all existing styles in the current style sheet. You can select one to use as a template for the style.


New (Style:Management Group) (Popup)
Click on this button to create a new style.

Enter the name for the new style in the New Name edit control. This name must be unique for the current style sheet.

The Copy From drop-down list box control contains a list of all existing styles in the current style sheet. You can select one to use as a template for the style.


Rename (Style:Managament Group)

Click on this button to rename an existing style.

The Style to Rename drop-down list box control contains a list of all the styles in the current style sheet, except for <Default Style> which cannot be renamed. Select a style from this list and enter a unique replacement name in the New Name edit control.


Rename (Style:Managament Group) (Popup)
Click on this button to rename an existing style.

The Style to Rename drop-down list box control contains a list of all the styles in the current style sheet, except for <Default Style> which cannot be renamed. Select a style from this list and enter a unique replacement name in the New Name edit control.


Copy (Style:Management Group)

Click on this button to copy a style to the Clipboard.

Select the style to copy from the list displayed in the Style to Copy list box control.


Copy (Style:Management Group) (Popup)
Click on this button to copy a style to the Clipboard.

Select the style to copy from the list displayed in the Style to Copy list box control.


Cut (Style:Management Group)

Click on this button to copy a style to the Clipboard, and remove the style from the style sheet.

Select the style to delete from the list displayed in the Style to Cut/Delete list box control. You can select a style from the Convert To drop-down list box control; the chosen style is attached to all paragraphs which currently use the removed style.


Cut (Style:Management Group) (Popup)
Click on this button to copy a style to the Clipboard, and remove the style from the style sheet.

Select the style to delete from the list displayed in the Style to Cut/Delete list box control. You can select a style from the Convert To drop-down list box control; the chosen style is attached to all paragraphs which currently use the removed style.


Delete (Style:Management Group)

Click on this button to remove a style from the current style sheet. The operation and dialog called by this button are identical to those for the Cut button, with the exception that the style is not copied to the Clipboard.


Delete (Style:Management Group) (Popup)
Click on this button to remove a style from the current style sheet. The operation and dialog called by this button are identical to those for the Cut button, with the exception that the style is not copied to the Clipboard.


Paste (Style:Management Group)

Click on this button to insert a style from the Clipboard into the current style sheet. The style must have been copied or cut to the Clipboard using the Copy or Cut buttons.

The name of the style in the Clipboard is displayed in the Style in Clipboard static control. The same name is automatically entered in the New Name edit control on the assumption that it does not exist in the current style sheet already; remember that the new name must be unique.


Paste (Style:Management Group) (Popup)
Click on this button to insert a style from the Clipboard into the current style sheet. The style must have been copied or cut to the Clipboard using the Copy or Cut buttons.

The name of the style in the Clipboard is displayed in the Style in Clipboard static control. The same name is automatically entered in the New Name edit control on the assumption that it does not exist in the current style sheet already; remember that the new name must be unique.


Apply vs. OK Buttons

If you click on the OK button, all the changes made since the dialog was called are saved, no matter how many styles you have changed. If you click on the Apply button, these changes are also saved, but the style displayed in the Style drop-down list box control is attached to the current paragraph (or selected paragraphs) in the current topic; this allows you to create a new style as it is needed and attach it immediately.

The Apply button is unavailable if no topics are loaded or the current window contains an error log.


Apply vs. OK Buttons (Popup)
If you click on the OK button, all the changes made since the dialog was called are saved, no matter how many styles you have changed. If you click on the Apply button, these changes are also saved, but the style displayed in the Style drop-down list box control is attached to the current paragraph (or selected paragraphs) in the current topic; this allows you to create a new style as it is needed and attach it immediately.

The Apply button is unavailable if no topics are loaded or the current window contains an error log.


Select Style

Use this option to apply a style to a paragraph. If several paragraphs are selected, they are all tagged with this style. Choose the required style from the list box.

This option is also available via the Style Select button on the Button Pad.

Strip Additional Fonts


Select Style (Popup)
Use this option to apply a style to a paragraph. If several paragraphs are selected, they are all tagged with this style. Choose the required style from the list box.

This option is also available via the Style Select button on the Button Pad.

Strip Additional Fonts


Strip Additional Fonts

Click on this check box to remove any existing fonts in the paragraph(s) which do not conform to the chosen style.

SOS Help! Info-Author allows you to override the style setting for fonts. For example you might want to highlight a word in italics using a different font. When you change the style of this paragraph, the word in italics retains its original font information, unless you have clicked on this check box.

If you select a new style and the fonts do not change as expected, you have forgotten to click on the Strip Additional Fonts check box.


Strip Additional Fonts (Popup)
Click on this check box to remove any existing fonts in the paragraph(s) which do not conform to the chosen style.

SOS Help! Info-Author allows you to override the style setting for fonts. For example you might want to highlight a word in italics using a different font. When you change the style of this paragraph, the word in italics retains its original font information, unless you have clicked on this check box.

If you select a new style and the fonts do not change as expected, you have forgotten to click on the Strip Additional Fonts check box.


Links Menu

The Links Menu options manage and control how topics are linked together to form a true hypertext help system.

These menu options are unavailable if no project is open.

New
Details
Delete
Jump to Link
Non-Scrolling Region Problems
Clipboard


Links Menu (Popup)
The Links Menu options manage and control how topics are linked together to form a true hypertext help system.

These menu options are unavailable if no project is open.

New
Details
Delete
Jump to Link
Non-Scrolling Region Problems
Clipboard


New (Links Menu)

Use this option to create a link to another topic or a link that executes a WinHelp macro when selected.

If the selected text crosses a paragraph break, the link is deemed to stop at the end of the first paragraph.

To create a link to a different topic in the same project simply click on the Topic drop-down list box and select the topic to link to. The Topic Identifier and the Identifier Value (if it has been set) appear in the respective static controls, which cannot be edited. Only topics which have a Topic Identifier appear in this list.

Now select the type of link by clicking on the appropriate radio button. The default link is a jump. WinHelp displays jumps and popups as follows:

Jumps replace the current topic with the linked one (unless the jump is displayed in a secondary window), or jump to a specific place in the current (or a different) topic. This latter type of jump is known as a Mid-Topic Jump (see below).

Popups place the linked topic in a new window which is destroyed when the user clicks a mouse button or presses a key

Macros are a special case - they may change the WinHelp display (if they execute a jump to a topic in another .HLP file) or they may just disable a WinHelp button. When you click on this radio button for the first time, the WinHelp Macros dialog is called (see the WinHelp Macros section of the Beyond the Basics chapter).

You can change the default display characteristic of a link by clicking on one of the Attributes radio buttons. The Normal radio button sets the color of the link as defined in the user's WIN.INI file; jumps have a solid underline and popups have a dotted one. Clicking on Underline Only does not change the color of the link text, but adds the underlining as if for a Normal link. This option is useful for having links in different colors to the standard WinHelp colors. Unformatted makes no visual change to the selected text; to indicate to you (and the WinHelp user) that a link exists, the mouse changes to a hand when it passes over it. Typically you would use the Unformatted link for linking a bitmap, such as a button saying "Expand", to a topic.

The RTF commands to display a jump or a popup are the same as those to turn on the underline and strikethrough attributes. Consequently any text formatted with these attributes loses the attributes when it becomes a link. If the link is deleted, these attributes are restored.

Popups are normally just a few lines of information. However it is possible to point at an existing help topic which is several screens long. Popups can look very odd when they contain this amount of text. We recommend that the maximum size of a popup topic is no more than about 20 lines.

SOS Help! Info-Author automatically defines two windows types, "<None>" and "Main". The default window type is "<None>". Any secondary windows you have defined also appear in this list. The difference between <None> and Main is subtle but important. If you create a jump selecting Main as the window type, and your user maximizes WinHelp and then clicks on this jump, WinHelp will be restored to its original, non-maximized size. To prevent this, select <None> as the window type. Any jump defined as <None> will be displayed in the current window.

If you want to display the linked topic in a secondary window, either select an existing window type from the drop-down list box, or click on the Define button in the Window Type group to call the Window management dialog to create a new window type. This is discussed in Managing Windows section of the Beyond the Basics chapter. If you define a secondary window, we recommend that you define the coordinates of your Main window rather than taking the chance that your user will anticipate the size of window your help file requires.

Only Jump links can be displayed in a secondary window. If you selected Popup or Macro as the jump type, the Window Type group is disabled.

If you want the link to be to a topic in another project which was created using SOS Help! Info-Author, select the project from the Project drop-down list box. Then select the required topic from the updated list of available topics for this project in the Topic drop-down list box. If you have selected Macro as the jump type, the Topic and Project drop-down list box controls are unavailable.

To create a link to a topic in another help file which was not created by SOS Help! Info-Author, select <Inter-file link> in the Project drop-down list box. This calls the Inter-file Link dialog. Enter the name of the .HLP file and the context identifier of the topic you want to jump to in the relevant edit controls and click on the OK button.

To create a Mid-Topic Jump, you must first enter an RTF statement at the point in the topic that you want to jump to. To do this choose Edit:Insert RTF and select "#{\footnote # }".  Then insert the context identifier you want to use (i.e. MTJ) immediately before the final closing brace. Now select the piece of text or bitmap you want to use as the jump and choose Links:New. Select <Inter-file link> as the Project, which calls the Inter-file Link dialog. Leave the .HLP file name edit control empty and enter the context identifier for the jump (i.e. MTJ).

The Create Topic button calls the Topic:New dialog. This allows you to create a link to a topic which you have not yet defined. If the Auto Link Search check box is checked in the Options:Setup dialog, the marked text in the topic is automatically entered as the title of the new topic.

Links cannot overlap.

This option is also available via the New Link button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no text has been selected.


New (Links Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to create a link to another topic or a link that executes a WinHelp macro when selected.

If the selected text crosses a paragraph break, the link is deemed to stop at the end of the first paragraph.

To create a link to a different topic in the same project simply click on the Topic drop-down list box and select the topic to link to. The Topic Identifier and the Identifier Value (if it has been set) appear in the respective static controls, which cannot be edited. Only topics which have a Topic Identifier appear in this list.

Now select the type of link by clicking on the appropriate radio button. The default link is a jump. WinHelp displays jumps and popups as follows:

Jumps replace the current topic with the linked one (unless the jump is displayed in a secondary window), or jump to a specific place in the current (or a different) topic. This latter type of jump is known as a Mid-Topic Jump (see below).

Popups place the linked topic in a new window which is destroyed when the user clicks a mouse button or presses a key

Macros are a special case - they may change the WinHelp display (if they execute a jump to a topic in another .HLP file) or they may just disable a WinHelp button. When you click on this radio button for the first time, the WinHelp Macros dialog is called (see the WinHelp Macros section of the Beyond the Basics chapter).

You can change the default display characteristic of a link by clicking on one of the Attributes radio buttons. The Normal radio button sets the color of the link as defined in the user's WIN.INI file; jumps have a solid underline and popups have a dotted one. Clicking on Underline Only does not change the color of the link text, but adds the underlining as if for a Normal link. This option is useful for having links in different colors to the standard WinHelp colors. Unformatted makes no visual change to the selected text; to indicate to you (and the WinHelp user) that a link exists, the mouse changes to a hand when it passes over it. Typically you would use the Unformatted link for linking a bitmap, such as a button saying "Expand", to a topic.

The RTF commands to display a jump or a popup are the same as those to turn on the underline and strikethrough attributes. Consequently any text formatted with these attributes loses the attributes when it becomes a link. If the link is deleted, these attributes are restored.

Popups are normally just a few lines of information. However it is possible to point at an existing help topic which is several screens long. Popups can look very odd when they contain this amount of text. We recommend that the maximum size of a popup topic is no more than about 20 lines.

SOS Help! Info-Author automatically defines two windows types, "<None>" and "Main". The default window type is "<None>". Any secondary windows you have defined also appear in this list. The difference between <None> and Main is subtle but important. If you create a jump selecting Main as the window type, and your user maximizes WinHelp and then clicks on this jump, WinHelp will be restored to its original, non-maximized size. To prevent this, select <None> as the window type. Any jump defined as <None> will be displayed in the current window.

If you want to display the linked topic in a secondary window, either select an existing window type from the drop-down list box, or click on the Define button in the Window Type group to call the Window management dialog to create a new window type. This is discussed in Managing Windows section of the Beyond the Basics chapter. If you define a secondary window, we recommend that you define the coordinates of your Main window rather than taking the chance that your user will anticipate the size of window your help file requires.

Only Jump links can be displayed in a secondary window. If you selected Popup or Macro as the jump type, the Window Type group is disabled.

If you want the link to be to a topic in another project which was created using SOS Help! Info-Author, select the project from the Project drop-down list box. Then select the required topic from the updated list of available topics for this project in the Topic drop-down list box. If you have selected Macro as the jump type, the Topic and Project drop-down list box controls are unavailable.

To create a link to a topic in another help file which was not created by SOS Help! Info-Author, select <Inter-file link> in the Project drop-down list box. This calls the Inter-file Link dialog. Enter the name of the .HLP file and the context identifier of the topic you want to jump to in the relevant edit controls and click on the OK button.

To create a Mid-Topic Jump, you must first enter an RTF statement at the point in the topic that you want to jump to. To do this choose Edit:Insert RTF and select "#{\footnote # }".  Then insert the context identifier you want to use (i.e. MTJ) immediately before the final closing brace. Now select the piece of text or bitmap you want to use as the jump and choose Links:New. Select <Inter-file link> as the Project, which calls the Inter-file Link dialog. Leave the .HLP file name edit control empty and enter the context identifier for the jump (i.e. MTJ).

The Create Topic button calls the Topic:New dialog. This allows you to create a link to a topic which you have not yet defined. If the Auto Link Search check box is checked in the Options:Setup dialog, the marked text in the topic is automatically entered as the title of the new topic.

Links cannot overlap.

This option is also available via the New Link button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if no text has been selected.


Details

Use this option to update an existing link that the cursor is on. If you have selected some text which contains more than one link, the first link found is the one updated.

This option calls a similar dialog to Links:New - the only difference is the addition of the Show Link button. If you click on this button, the linked topic is loaded. This button is unavailable if the linked topic is not in the current project or if the Link Type radio button is set to Macro.

To edit the WinHelp Macros of an existing Macro link, click on the Macro String button.

This option can be activated by double clicking anywhere in the link in the text.

This option is unavailable if the cursor is not on a link, or there is no link in the selected text.


Details (Popup)
Use this option to update an existing link that the cursor is on. If you have selected some text which contains more than one link, the first link found is the one updated.

This option calls a similar dialog to Links:New - the only difference is the addition of the Show Link button. If you click on this button, the linked topic is loaded. This button is unavailable if the linked topic is not in the current project or if the Link Type radio button is set to Macro.

To edit the WinHelp Macros of an existing Macro link, click on the Macro String button.

This option can be activated by double clicking anywhere in the link in the text.

This option is unavailable if the cursor is not on a link, or there is no link in the selected text.


Delete (Links Menu)

Use this option to delete the link that the cursor is on. Note that the text itself is not deleted.

If you have selected text containing more than one link, all the links are deleted.

The option is unavailable if the cursor is not positioned on a link, or the selected text contains one or more links.


Delete (Links Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to delete the link that the cursor is on. Note that the text itself is not deleted.

If you have selected text containing more than one link, all the links are deleted.

The option is unavailable if the cursor is not positioned on a link, or the selected text contains one or more links.


Jump to Link

Use this option to load the topic pointed to by the link that the cursor is on. If you have selected some text which contains more than one link, the first link found is the one loaded.

This option is also available via the Jump button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if the link is a jump to another help project or is a macro, or if the cursor is not positioned on a link, or the selected text contains one or more links.


Jump to Link (Popup)
Use this option to load the topic pointed to by the link that the cursor is on. If you have selected some text which contains more than one link, the first link found is the one loaded.

This option is also available via the Jump button on the Button Pad.

This option is unavailable if the link is a jump to another help project or is a macro, or if the cursor is not positioned on a link, or the selected text contains one or more links.


Non-Scrolling Region Problems

Many help systems are making use of colored non-scrolling regions with a "See Also" type phrase acting as a popup link to another windows containing a list of related topics.

Some users will have modified their WIN.INI file to change the colors for jumps and popups. This can mean that the link does not show up against the color of the non-scrolling region.

To counteract this, select the link text and choose Style:Attributes:Color to make the text color more readable. If you are creating a new link select Links:New, otherwise select Links:Details. In either case, click on the Unformatted or Underlined Only radio buttons in the Attributes group. Finally click on the OK button to save the link. The link is now shown in the text color rather than the color specified in WIN.INI or the default green.


Non-Scrolling Region Problems (Popup)
Many help systems are making use of colored non-scrolling regions with a "See Also" type phrase acting as a popup link to another windows containing a list of related topics.

Some users will have modified their WIN.INI file to change the colors for jumps and popups. This can mean that the link does not show up against the color of the non-scrolling region.

To counteract this, select the link text and choose Style:Attributes:Color to make the text color more readable. If you are creating a new link select Links:New, otherwise select Links:Details. In either case, click on the Unformatted or Underlined Only radio buttons in the Attributes group. Finally click on the OK button to save the link. The link is now shown in the text color rather than the color specified in WIN.INI or the default green.


Clipboard (Links Menu)

If you insert text into the middle of a links phrase from the Clipboard, the phrase is broken in two. The two phrases now point at the same topic.

This is the correct behavior.

If you insert text containing a link to a non-existent topic (if you are copying text from a topic in another project), or the link is to this, the current topic, the link is removed and a warning is displayed.


Clipboard (Links Menu) (Popup)
If you insert text into the middle of a links phrase from the Clipboard, the phrase is broken in two. The two phrases now point at the same topic.

This is the correct behavior.

If you insert text containing a link to a non-existent topic (if you are copying text from a topic in another project), or the link is to this, the current topic, the link is removed and a warning is displayed.


Options Menu

The Options Menu options control the default settings for SOS Help! Info-Author and individual projects.

Throughout this chapter you will see references to Browse buttons. If you click on these buttons, the File Browser Common Dialog is loaded and the appropriate file type is automatically selected in the File Type edit control. For more information see the Common Dialogs section of the Quick Start chapter.

System Preferences
Project Preferences
Show Hidden
Setup


Options Menu (Popup)
The Options Menu options control the default settings for SOS Help! Info-Author and individual projects.

Throughout this chapter you will see references to Browse buttons. If you click on these buttons, the File Browser Common Dialog is loaded and the appropriate file type is automatically selected in the File Type edit control. For more information see the Common Dialogs section of the Quick Start chapter.

System Preferences
Project Preferences
Show Hidden
Setup


System Preferences

This option controls the system settings for SOS Help! Info-Author. The system settings are similar to a template, and are used as defaults whenever a new project is created (via File:New Project).

WinHelp
Help Compiler
Language
Help ID File
Measurement Group
Reset to Default Button


System Preferences (Popup)
This option controls the system settings for SOS Help! Info-Author. The system settings are similar to a template, and are used as defaults whenever a new project is created (via File:New Project).

WinHelp
Help Compiler
Language
Help ID File
Measurement Group
Reset to Default Button


WinHelp

This tells SOS Help! Info-Author which version of the Windows help engine will be used to display the help project. It determines the format of the .RTF files generated by SOS Help! Info-Author.

This version of SOS Help! Info-Author only supports the Windows 3.1 and Windows NT v3.1 and v3.5 help engines.


WinHelp (Popup)
This tells SOS Help! Info-Author which version of the Windows help engine will be used to display the help project. It determines the format of the .RTF files generated by SOS Help! Info-Author.

This version of SOS Help! Info-Author only supports the Windows 3.1 and Windows NT v3.1 and v3.5 help engines.


Help Compiler

This holds the full path name of the default help compiler (a different compiler can be used for each project as required). If you are not sure of the path and/or name of the help compiler you want to use, click on the Browse button to choose the file using the File Browser Common Dialog.

The Help Compiler must be an executable file with an extension of .EXE - batch files cannot be used. If the file name does not have this extension, it is changed accordingly.


Help Compiler (Popup)
This holds the full path name of the default help compiler (a different compiler can be used for each project as required). If you are not sure of the path and/or name of the help compiler you want to use, click on the Browse button to choose the file using the File Browser Common Dialog.

The Help Compiler must be an executable file with an extension of .EXE - batch files cannot be used. If the file name does not have this extension, it is changed accordingly.


Language

This setting defines the default language type for the context sensitive Help Identifiers generated by SOS Help! Info-Author. These identifiers are saved to the file specified in the Help ID File edit control.


Language (Popup)
This setting defines the default language type for the context sensitive Help Identifiers generated by SOS Help! Info-Author. These identifiers are saved to the file specified in the Help ID File edit control.


Help ID File

This holds the full path name of the Help ID file (if such a file is required). Click on the Browse button to locate an existing file.

This file is read in whenever the parent project is loaded, and is written out to disk when the project is closed. Any new or changed context sensitive topic identifiers and/or their identifier values are added to or updated in this file when it is saved to disk.

Do not add any extra information to this file as it will be destroyed when the file is saved to disk.

The Help ID file contains the help identifier constants used by an application to make context sensitive help calls into the .HLP file. The format of this file is determined by the Language setting. The file extension of this file is also determined by the Language setting if none is supplied.

If the Help ID File edit control is left empty, an application cannot make context sensitive calls to the .HLP file, and the Indentifier Value edit control in the New Topic and Topic Identifier dialogs will be unavailable (for more information see the relevant section in the Topic Menu chapter).

Keep a backup of this file. If it is damaged, all the help identifier information is lost.

If it takes a long time to load this file, you can clear this edit control while you are writing the topics and reset it when you are ready to generate the .HLP file for testing the context sensitive links.


Help ID File (Popup)
This holds the full path name of the Help ID file (if such a file is required). Click on the Browse button to locate an existing file.

This file is read in whenever the parent project is loaded, and is written out to disk when the project is closed. Any new or changed context sensitive topic identifiers and/or their identifier values are added to or updated in this file when it is saved to disk.

Do not add any extra information to this file as it will be destroyed when the file is saved to disk.

The Help ID file contains the help identifier constants used by an application to make context sensitive help calls into the .HLP file. The format of this file is determined by the Language setting. The file extension of this file is also determined by the Language setting if none is supplied.

If the Help ID File edit control is left empty, an application cannot make context sensitive calls to the .HLP file, and the Indentifier Value edit control in the New Topic and Topic Identifier dialogs will be unavailable (for more information see the relevant section in the Topic Menu chapter).

Keep a backup of this file. If it is damaged, all the help identifier information is lost.

If it takes a long time to load this file, you can clear this edit control while you are writing the topics and reset it when you are ready to generate the .HLP file for testing the context sensitive links.


Measurement Group

These radio buttons define the default unit of measurement to be used by the system or project.

Measurement units are points (pt), inches (in), or centimeters (cm). We recommend that you use points, as font sizes are specified in this way. This setting can be overridden at any time by specifying the unit type when the required number of units is entered (for example setting a paragraph's left indent to 0.5 inches rather than 36 points).


Measurement Group (Popup)
These radio buttons define the default unit of measurement to be used by the system or project.

Measurement units are points (pt), inches (in), or centimeters (cm). We recommend that you use points, as font sizes are specified in this way. This setting can be overridden at any time by specifying the unit type when the required number of units is entered (for example setting a paragraph's left indent to 0.5 inches rather than 36 points).


Reset to Default Button

If you click on this button, the system settings are reset to those which the developers of SOS Help! Info-Author in their wisdom decided to hard code into the application. These are:

WinHelp:	3.1

Help Compiler:	Blank (i.e. empty)

Language:	C/C++

Help ID File:	HELPID (the extension is determined by the Language setting)

Measurement:	Points

Changes made to the system settings only affect new projects created after the settings have been saved - they are not applied to existing projects retrospectively.


Reset to Default Button (Popup)
If you click on this button, the system settings are reset to those which the developers of SOS Help! Info-Author in their wisdom decided to hard code into the application. These are:

WinHelp:	3.1

Help Compiler:	Blank (i.e. empty)

Language:	C/C++

Help ID File:	HELPID (the extension is determined by the Language setting)

Measurement:	Points

Changes made to the system settings only affect new projects created after the settings have been saved - they are not applied to existing projects retrospectively.


Project Preferences

The meaning and use of the controls within the Preferences dialog for a project are the same as those for System Preferences with the exception of the Reset to Default button. If you click on this button, the values of the dialog controls are set to the System Preferences values.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Project Preferences (Popup)
The meaning and use of the controls within the Preferences dialog for a project are the same as those for System Preferences with the exception of the Reset to Default button. If you click on this button, the values of the dialog controls are set to the System Preferences values.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Show Hidden

Choosing this option toggles on or off the display of all non-printing characters (tabs, line feeds, carriage returns etc.).

A check mark next to the menu option indicates that these characters are displayed.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Show Hidden (Popup)
Choosing this option toggles on or off the display of all non-printing characters (tabs, line feeds, carriage returns etc.).

A check mark next to the menu option indicates that these characters are displayed.

This option is unavailable if no project is open.


Setup

This option controls the initial default values used by SOS Help! Info-Author when it is first loaded.

The WinHelp Engine edit control holds the full path name of the default Windows Help display system. This allows users running SOS Help! Info-Author under Windows NT to select a different version of WinHelp. If you are not sure of the path and/or name of the help engine you want to use, click on the Browse button to choose the file using the File Browser Common Dialog. SOS Help! Info-Author does not check to see if this file and/or path is valid.

DO not enter SOS4WIN.EXE in this control. If you do, you can never view the generated help file for the project as SOS Help! Info-Author will try and load another copy of itself to display it.

The Project Directory edit control holds the path name of the directory used as the parent for all SOS Help! Info-Author projects. Some users like to organize their hard disks in such a way that all their projects are stored below the SOS Help! Info-Author directory, i.e. below C:\SOS4WIN\PROJECTS.

If the Warning Bell check box is enabled, the PC speaker will emit a sound after certain operations as a warning.

The Number of spaces to use for joining paragraphs edit control determines the number of spaces which should be substituted for a carriage return/line feed pair when joining paragraphs together. This is primarily used to improve the appearance of Norton Guides when they have been imported into SOS Help! Info-Author.

The Initial Settings group of check boxes determines the settings of check boxes of the same name which appear on various dialogs in SOS Help! Info-Author.  For example the Strip Additional Fonts check box appears on the Style:Select dialog. We recommend that you only check these options once you are familiar with the operation of the dialogs to which they apply.

The Spell Checker group determines the default spelling dictionary that SOS Help! Info-Author is to use. If you do not want to use the spell checker, select None from the Dictionary drop-down list box. Select the required custom dictionary from the Custom Dictionary drop-down list box; if you have not created any (via the Spell Checker dialog itself), PRIVATE.DIC is the only one available.

The Hand Cursor When Over Links radio buttons determine the behavior of the mouse cursor when it passes over a link. Normally the mouse will change to a pointing hand whenever it passes over a link of any kind (All Links setting) as it does in WinHelp. However this can make positioning the text cursor difficult, so you may prefer to set this to Plain Links Only. In this state, the mouse changes shape when passing over jumps which are not distinguishable from the surrounding text. The final alternative is to never have the mouse change shape.


Setup (Popup)
This option controls the initial default values used by SOS Help! Info-Author when it is first loaded.

The WinHelp Engine edit control holds the full path name of the default Windows Help display system. This allows users running SOS Help! Info-Author under Windows NT to select a different version of WinHelp. If you are not sure of the path and/or name of the help engine you want to use, click on the Browse button to choose the file using the File Browser Common Dialog. SOS Help! Info-Author does not check to see if this file and/or path is valid.

DO not enter SOS4WIN.EXE in this control. If you do, you can never view the generated help file for the project as SOS Help! Info-Author will try and load another copy of itself to display it.

The Project Directory edit control holds the path name of the directory used as the parent for all SOS Help! Info-Author projects. Some users like to organize their hard disks in such a way that all their projects are stored below the SOS Help! Info-Author directory, i.e. below C:\SOS4WIN\PROJECTS.

If the Warning Bell check box is enabled, the PC speaker will emit a sound after certain operations as a warning.

The Number of spaces to use for joining paragraphs edit control determines the number of spaces which should be substituted for a carriage return/line feed pair when joining paragraphs together. This is primarily used to improve the appearance of Norton Guides when they have been imported into SOS Help! Info-Author.

The Initial Settings group of check boxes determines the settings of check boxes of the same name which appear on various dialogs in SOS Help! Info-Author.  For example the Strip Additional Fonts check box appears on the Style:Select dialog. We recommend that you only check these options once you are familiar with the operation of the dialogs to which they apply.

The Spell Checker group determines the default spelling dictionary that SOS Help! Info-Author is to use. If you do not want to use the spell checker, select None from the Dictionary drop-down list box. Select the required custom dictionary from the Custom Dictionary drop-down list box; if you have not created any (via the Spell Checker dialog itself), PRIVATE.DIC is the only one available.

The Hand Cursor When Over Links radio buttons determine the behavior of the mouse cursor when it passes over a link. Normally the mouse will change to a pointing hand whenever it passes over a link of any kind (All Links setting) as it does in WinHelp. However this can make positioning the text cursor difficult, so you may prefer to set this to Plain Links Only. In this state, the mouse changes shape when passing over jumps which are not distinguishable from the surrounding text. The final alternative is to never have the mouse change shape.


Window Menu

The Window Menu options control how topic and information log windows are displayed, and the general "shape" of the SOS Help! Info-Author workspace.

To change the focus of the active window, select the one required from the list at the bottom of this menu.

These menu options are unavailable if no project is open.

Cascade
Tile
Arrange Icons
Close
Close All
Define


Window Menu (Popup)
The Window Menu options control how topic and information log windows are displayed, and the general "shape" of the SOS Help! Info-Author workspace.

To change the focus of the active window, select the one required from the list at the bottom of this menu.

These menu options are unavailable if no project is open.

Cascade
Tile
Arrange Icons
Close
Close All
Define


Cascade

Use this option to reorganize the open windows into a cascading display of overlapping windows.

The shortcut keystroke is <Shift+F5>.

For more information consult your Windows documentation.


Cascade (Popup)
Use this option to reorganize the open windows into a cascading display of overlapping windows.

The shortcut keystroke is <Shift+F5>.

For more information consult your Windows documentation.


Tile

Use this option to reorganize the open windows so that all of them are displayed as non-overlapping windows of equal size. The greater the number of windows, the greater the number of tiles, and the smaller the size of the windows.

The shortcut keystroke is <Shift+F4>.

For more information consult your Windows documentation.


Tile (Popup)
Use this option to reorganize the open windows so that all of them are displayed as non-overlapping windows of equal size. The greater the number of windows, the greater the number of tiles, and the smaller the size of the windows.

The shortcut keystroke is <Shift+F4>.

For more information consult your Windows documentation.


Arrange Icons

Use this option to rearrange all iconized windows along the bottom of the SOS Help! Info-Author program window.

For more information consult your Windows documentation.


Arrange Icons (Popup)
Use this option to rearrange all iconized windows along the bottom of the SOS Help! Info-Author program window.

For more information consult your Windows documentation.


Close (Window Menu)

Use this option to close the current window.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+F4>.

If the window is a dirty topic, you are prompted to save it.


Close (Window Menu) (Popup)
Use this option to close the current window.

The shortcut keystroke is <Ctrl+F4>.

If the window is a dirty topic, you are prompted to save it.


Close All

Use this option to close all open windows, including those which are iconized.

If any of these windows are dirty topics, you are prompted to save them.


Close All (Popup)
Use this option to close all open windows, including those which are iconized.

If any of these windows are dirty topics, you are prompted to save them.


Define

Use this option to create a new window type and to manage existing ones by calling the Windows Definition dialog (discussed in the Managing Windows section of the Beyond the Basics chapter).

This option is identical to File:Generate:Settings:Windows. It is also accessible by choosing Links:New or Links:Details and clicking on the Define button in the Window group.

If you click on one of the buttons in the Colors group, the Color Common Dialog is called.


Define (Popup)
Use this option to create a new window type and to manage existing ones by calling the Windows Definition dialog (discussed in the Managing Windows section of the Beyond the Basics chapter).

This option is identical to File:Generate:Settings:Windows. It is also accessible by choosing Links:New or Links:Details and clicking on the Define button in the Window group.

If you click on one of the buttons in the Colors group, the Color Common Dialog is called.


Help Menu

The Help Menu options allow you access information about SOS Help! Info-Author, WinHelp and the current project.

Contents
Search for Help on
How to Use Help
View Project .HLP
About SOS Help! Info-Author


Help Menu (Popup)
The Help Menu options allow you access information about SOS Help! Info-Author, WinHelp and the current project.

Contents
Search for Help on
How to Use Help
View Project .HLP
About SOS Help! Info-Author


Contents

Use this option to call WinHelp to display the Contents topic of the help file for SOS Help! Info-Author.


Contents (Popup)
Use this option to call WinHelp to display the Contents topic of the help file for SOS Help! Info-Author.


Search for Help on

Use this option to search for a particular help item in the SOS Help! Info-Author .HLP file.

This option calls the Search dialog in WinHelp. Select the keyword of the help item you want from the appropriate list box.

For more information consult your Windows documentation.


Search for Help on (Popup)
Use this option to search for a particular help item in the SOS Help! Info-Author .HLP file.

This option calls the Search dialog in WinHelp. Select the keyword of the help item you want from the appropriate list box.

For more information consult your Windows documentation.


How to Use Help

Use this option to load the help file for WinHelp itself. WinHelp will display the Contents topic.


How to Use Help (Popup)
Use this option to load the help file for WinHelp itself. WinHelp will display the Contents topic.


View Project .HLP

Use this option to call WinHelp to display the last generated .HLP file for the current project.

This option is unavailable if no project is open, or if the .HLP file for the project does not exist.


View Project .HLP (Popup)
Use this option to call WinHelp to display the last generated .HLP file for the current project.

This option is unavailable if no project is open, or if the .HLP file for the project does not exist.


About SOS Help! Info-Author

Use this option to display the About Box for SOS Help! Info-Author.

The most useful information in this dialog box is the SOS Help! Info-Author version number and the date and time that the SOS Help! Info-Author program .EXE file was created. You will need this information if you need to contact Lamaura Development Limited for technical support.


About SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
Use this option to display the About Box for SOS Help! Info-Author.

The most useful information in this dialog box is the SOS Help! Info-Author version number and the date and time that the SOS Help! Info-Author program .EXE file was created. You will need this information if you need to contact Lamaura Development Limited for technical support.


Application Programming Interface

WinHelp() is the Windows function which executes the WinHelp help engine.  It takes several parameters that determine which help file to open, and which topic to display.

Planning how to get the appropriate help topic in front of your users is a complex task because of the number of different ways in which WinHelp() can be called. Time spent reading the Windows Help Compiler manual (supplied with the Windows SDK and most Windows application development systems) will not be wasted.

In the following sections whenever you see the term {SOS Help! Info-Author directory} in a file name, you should substitute the name of the directory where SOS Help! Info-Author was installed.

Using SOS Help! Info-Author in Place of WinHelp
Visual Basic and SOS Help! Info-Author
C, C++ and SOS Help! Info-Author
Borland Pascal and SOS Help! Info-Author
Modifying SOS Help! Info-Author Files Externally


Application Programming Interface (Popup)
WinHelp() is the Windows function which executes the WinHelp help engine.  It takes several parameters that determine which help file to open, and which topic to display.

Planning how to get the appropriate help topic in front of your users is a complex task because of the number of different ways in which WinHelp() can be called. Time spent reading the Windows Help Compiler manual (supplied with the Windows SDK and most Windows application development systems) will not be wasted.

In the following sections whenever you see the term {SOS Help! Info-Author directory} in a file name, you should substitute the name of the directory where SOS Help! Info-Author was installed.

Using SOS Help! Info-Author in Place of WinHelp
Visual Basic and SOS Help! Info-Author
C, C++ and SOS Help! Info-Author
Borland Pascal and SOS Help! Info-Author
Modifying SOS Help! Info-Author Files Externally


Using SOS Help! Info-Author in Place of WinHelp

Normally when <F1> is pressed or the user clicks on a Help button in an application, a call is made to the WinHelp() Windows API function, which executes WinHelp with the appropriate parameters. You can embed a call to SOSHelp() in place of WinHelp() in your applications, so that SOS Help! Info-Author is executed instead of WinHelp. SOSHelp() takes exactly the same parameters as WinHelp().

SOSHelp() is provided in a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) called SOS4WAPI.DLL. This allows SOS Help! Info-Author to be called from any Windows product which supports DLLs. Such applications include well-known spreadsheets and word processing products.

To use SOSHelp() you must ensure that SOS4WAPI.DLL is loaded by your application. This is normally done using the LoadLibrary() Windows API function. For information about how to call functions in .DLLs, consult the documentation which came with your Windows development system.

When linking your application, you may see a warning that the WEP function is duplicated. This can be ignored.

When called in this way, SOS Help! Info-Author loads the project file for the application and displays the correct help topic as WinHelp() would do. If the project and/or topic does not exist, the appropriate dialog box is displayed as if you had chosen File:New Project and/or Topic:New.

We recommend that you create an intermediate help function to be called throughout your application. This should call either WinHelp() or SOSHelp() depending upon whether you are creating the shipping version of your product or an internal development release.

The advantage of creating an intermediate function is that it can be used for a variety of other tasks, such as keeping a log of where in your application help was requested for later analysis, or mapping certain help calls onto others.

If your application makes context sensitive help calls, you must remember to include the Help Context ID File (as specified in the Preferences dialog chosen from Option:Project Preferences).

You should always close SOS Help! Info-Author (via <Alt+F4>) before returning control to your application. If you fail to do this and you make another call to SOSHelp(), SOS Help! Info-Author reports that it is already running and brings the original instance of itself to the foreground. This bypasses the automatic loading of the context sensitive topic.

Running SOS Help! Info-Author


Using SOS Help! Info-Author in Place of WinHelp (Popup)
Normally when <F1> is pressed or the user clicks on a Help button in an application, a call is made to the WinHelp() Windows API function, which executes WinHelp with the appropriate parameters. You can embed a call to SOSHelp() in place of WinHelp() in your applications, so that SOS Help! Info-Author is executed instead of WinHelp. SOSHelp() takes exactly the same parameters as WinHelp().

SOSHelp() is provided in a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) called SOS4WAPI.DLL. This allows SOS Help! Info-Author to be called from any Windows product which supports DLLs. Such applications include well-known spreadsheets and word processing products.

To use SOSHelp() you must ensure that SOS4WAPI.DLL is loaded by your application. This is normally done using the LoadLibrary() Windows API function. For information about how to call functions in .DLLs, consult the documentation which came with your Windows development system.

When linking your application, you may see a warning that the WEP function is duplicated. This can be ignored.

When called in this way, SOS Help! Info-Author loads the project file for the application and displays the correct help topic as WinHelp() would do. If the project and/or topic does not exist, the appropriate dialog box is displayed as if you had chosen File:New Project and/or Topic:New.

We recommend that you create an intermediate help function to be called throughout your application. This should call either WinHelp() or SOSHelp() depending upon whether you are creating the shipping version of your product or an internal development release.

The advantage of creating an intermediate function is that it can be used for a variety of other tasks, such as keeping a log of where in your application help was requested for later analysis, or mapping certain help calls onto others.

If your application makes context sensitive help calls, you must remember to include the Help Context ID File (as specified in the Preferences dialog chosen from Option:Project Preferences).

You should always close SOS Help! Info-Author (via <Alt+F4>) before returning control to your application. If you fail to do this and you make another call to SOSHelp(), SOS Help! Info-Author reports that it is already running and brings the original instance of itself to the foreground. This bypasses the automatic loading of the context sensitive topic.

Running SOS Help! Info-Author


Running SOS Help! Info-Author

SOSHelp() calls the Windows API function to execute SOS Help! Info-Author. In order for Windows to do this, it needs to know the location of the SOS Help! Info-Author directory.

There are three ways that this can be done. Either a) add the SOS Help! Info-Author directory to the PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (and reboot your PC so that it takes effect), b) move all the .DLL files from the SOS Help! Info-Author directory to your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, or c) make use of the intermediate function to do the following:

Save the current directory

Change to the SOS Help! Info-Author directory

Call SOSHelp() with the appropriate parameters

Restore the original directory

Many developers dislike adding an increasing number of directories to their PATHs or placing too many files in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, so the intermediate function approach has much to recommend it.

NEVER COPY THE SOS HELP! INFO-AUTHOR FILES TO YOUR APPLICATION DIRECTORY. This will cause the internal database to become corrupt.


Running SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
SOSHelp() calls the Windows API function to execute SOS Help! Info-Author. In order for Windows to do this, it needs to know the location of the SOS Help! Info-Author directory.

There are three ways that this can be done. Either a) add the SOS Help! Info-Author directory to the PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (and reboot your PC so that it takes effect), b) move all the .DLL files from the SOS Help! Info-Author directory to your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, or c) make use of the intermediate function to do the following:

Save the current directory

Change to the SOS Help! Info-Author directory

Call SOSHelp() with the appropriate parameters

Restore the original directory

Many developers dislike adding an increasing number of directories to their PATHs or placing too many files in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory, so the intermediate function approach has much to recommend it.

NEVER COPY THE SOS HELP! INFO-AUTHOR FILES TO YOUR APPLICATION DIRECTORY. This will cause the internal database to become corrupt.


Visual Basic and SOS Help! Info-Author

We are grateful to Tony Christian of Richfords Training for his assistance in refining the Visual Basic interface to SOS Help! Info-Author.

The help file name must be left empty in the Project Options form (choose Options:Project in the Visual Basic IDE) while developing your help system with SOS Help! Info-Author. If you fail to do this, WinHelp is called after you have quit from SOS Help! Info-Author.

Setting Up Your Project to Use SOS Help! Info-Author
Invoking SOS Help! Info-Author
Form Based Calls to SOS Help! Info-Author
Object Based Calls to SOS Help! Info-Author
Changes Required for Shipping Version


Visual Basic and SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
We are grateful to Tony Christian of Richfords Training for his assistance in refining the Visual Basic interface to SOS Help! Info-Author.

The help file name must be left empty in the Project Options form (choose Options:Project in the Visual Basic IDE) while developing your help system with SOS Help! Info-Author. If you fail to do this, WinHelp is called after you have quit from SOS Help! Info-Author.

Setting Up Your Project to Use SOS Help! Info-Author
Invoking SOS Help! Info-Author
Form Based Calls to SOS Help! Info-Author
Object Based Calls to SOS Help! Info-Author
Changes Required for Shipping Version


Setting Up Your Project to Use SOS Help! Info-Author

You must include SOS4WIN.BAS and the Visual Basic global constants in the make file for your project. The global constants are stored in CONSTANT.TXT in your Visual Basic directory and should be copied into a code module such as MODULE1.BAS so that the predefined WinHelp command constants are included.

SOS4WIN.BAS contains the SOSHelp() function declaration, two global constants and an intermediate function call to filter out unwanted keystrokes.

The global constants hold the name of the help file for the project and determine whether SOS Help! Info-Author should be called instead of WinHelp.

SOS4WIN.BAS should be copied from the SOS Help! Info-Author directory to your project directory. You must do this for every project which calls SOS Help! Info-Author as this file needs editing to have the name of the project help file added as a global constant.


Setting Up Your Project to Use SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
You must include SOS4WIN.BAS and the Visual Basic global constants in the make file for your project. The global constants are stored in CONSTANT.TXT in your Visual Basic directory and should be copied into a code module such as MODULE1.BAS so that the predefined WinHelp command constants are included.

SOS4WIN.BAS contains the SOSHelp() function declaration, two global constants and an intermediate function call to filter out unwanted keystrokes.

The global constants hold the name of the help file for the project and determine whether SOS Help! Info-Author should be called instead of WinHelp.

SOS4WIN.BAS should be copied from the SOS Help! Info-Author directory to your project directory. You must do this for every project which calls SOS Help! Info-Author as this file needs editing to have the name of the project help file added as a global constant.


Invoking SOS Help! Info-Author

SOS Help! Info-Author can be invoked in one of two ways. The first is by instructing your application to call SOS Help! Info-Author whenever the <F1> key is pressed anywhere inside a form. If this approach is adopted the same help topic is displayed for every object in the form. The alternative is to instruct each object requiring help to call SOS Help! Info-Author.


Invoking SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author can be invoked in one of two ways. The first is by instructing your application to call SOS Help! Info-Author whenever the <F1> key is pressed anywhere inside a form. If this approach is adopted the same help topic is displayed for every object in the form. The alternative is to instruct each object requiring help to call SOS Help! Info-Author.


Form Based Calls to SOS Help! Info-Author

To invoke SOS Help! Info-Author when <F1> is pressed within a form you must do the following:

Set the KeyPreview property for the form to True

Insert "Call S4WVB(KeyCode)" in the Form_KeyDown subroutine, e.g.

Sub Form_KeyDown (KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
  Call S4WVB(KeyCode)
End Sub


Form Based Calls to SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
To invoke SOS Help! Info-Author when <F1> is pressed within a form you must do the following:

Set the KeyPreview property for the form to True

Insert "Call S4WVB(KeyCode)" in the Form_KeyDown subroutine, e.g.

Sub Form_KeyDown (KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
  Call S4WVB(KeyCode)
End Sub


Object Based Calls to SOS Help! Info-Author

To invoke SOS Help! Info-Author when <F1> is pressed on an object which has focus do the following

Make sure that the KeyPreview property for the form is set to False

Insert "Call S4WVB(KeyCode)" in the object's KeyDown subroutine, e.g.

Sub Command1_KeyDown (KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
  Call S4WVB(KeyCode)
End Sub

or

Sub Text1_KeyDown (KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
  Call S4WVB(nKeyCode)
End Sub


Object Based Calls to SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
To invoke SOS Help! Info-Author when <F1> is pressed on an object which has focus do the following

Make sure that the KeyPreview property for the form is set to False

Insert "Call S4WVB(KeyCode)" in the object's KeyDown subroutine, e.g.

Sub Command1_KeyDown (KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
  Call S4WVB(KeyCode)
End Sub

or

Sub Text1_KeyDown (KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
  Call S4WVB(nKeyCode)
End Sub


Changes Required for Shipping Version

When you are ready to produce the shipping version of your application you must modify SOS4WIN.BAS.

Comment out the SOSHelp() function declaration and set sbDebug to False to prevent the keystroke filter code from being executed.

Finally add the name of the .HLP file generated by SOS Help! Info-Author in the Project Options form (choose Options:Project).


Changes Required for Shipping Version (Popup)
When you are ready to produce the shipping version of your application you must modify SOS4WIN.BAS.

Comment out the SOSHelp() function declaration and set sbDebug to False to prevent the keystroke filter code from being executed.

Finally add the name of the .HLP file generated by SOS Help! Info-Author in the Project Options form (choose Options:Project).


C, C++ and SOS Help! Info-Author

There are several steps you must follow to access SOS Help! Info-Author from your C or C++ applications.

Add #include "{SOS Help! Info-Author directory}\sos4win.h" in all modules where a call to WinHelp() or SOSHelp() is required and in the modules which make calls to InitSOS4Win() and KillSOS4Win() (see below)

Add {SOS Help! Info-Author directory}\sos4win.c to the make file (or project dialog) for your application

Include a call to the InitSOS4Win() function when you initialize the application (this loads and initializes SOS4WAPI.DLL)

Replace all calls to WinHelp() with a call to S4WC() (the parameters are exactly the same as those for WinHelp())

Include a call to the KillSOS4Win() function when you exit the application (this frees SOS4WAPI.DLL)

When you are ready to ship your application, comment out the #define SOS4WIN statement from {SOS Help! Info-Author directory}\sos4win.h and recompile this module.


C, C++ and SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
There are several steps you must follow to access SOS Help! Info-Author from your C or C++ applications.

Add #include "{SOS Help! Info-Author directory}\sos4win.h" in all modules where a call to WinHelp() or SOSHelp() is required and in the modules which make calls to InitSOS4Win() and KillSOS4Win() (see below)

Add {SOS Help! Info-Author directory}\sos4win.c to the make file (or project dialog) for your application

Include a call to the InitSOS4Win() function when you initialize the application (this loads and initializes SOS4WAPI.DLL)

Replace all calls to WinHelp() with a call to S4WC() (the parameters are exactly the same as those for WinHelp())

Include a call to the KillSOS4Win() function when you exit the application (this frees SOS4WAPI.DLL)

When you are ready to ship your application, comment out the #define SOS4WIN statement from {SOS Help! Info-Author directory}\sos4win.h and recompile this module.


Borland Pascal and SOS Help! Info-Author

There are several steps you must follow to access SOS Help! Info-Author from your Borland Pascal application.

Copy {SOS Help! Info-Author directory}\SOS4WIN.PAS to your project directory

Add a conditional define called SOS4WIN (choose Options:Compiler from the Borland Pascal IDE)

Include a call to the InitSOS4Win() procedure when you initialize the application (this loads and initializes SOS4WAPI.DLL)

Add SOS4Win to the Uses section of all the modules where a call to WinHelp() or SOSHelp() is required

Replace all calls to WinHelp() with a call to S4WPas() (the parameters are exactly the same as those for WinHelp())

Include a call to the KillSOS4Win() procedure when you exit the application (this frees SOS4WAPI.DLL)

When you are ready to ship your application, remove the SOS4WIN conditional define from the Compiler Options dialog before building your application. It is not necessary to remove the SOS4Win statement in the Uses section.


Borland Pascal and SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
There are several steps you must follow to access SOS Help! Info-Author from your Borland Pascal application.

Copy {SOS Help! Info-Author directory}\SOS4WIN.PAS to your project directory

Add a conditional define called SOS4WIN (choose Options:Compiler from the Borland Pascal IDE)

Include a call to the InitSOS4Win() procedure when you initialize the application (this loads and initializes SOS4WAPI.DLL)

Add SOS4Win to the Uses section of all the modules where a call to WinHelp() or SOSHelp() is required

Replace all calls to WinHelp() with a call to S4WPas() (the parameters are exactly the same as those for WinHelp())

Include a call to the KillSOS4Win() procedure when you exit the application (this frees SOS4WAPI.DLL)

When you are ready to ship your application, remove the SOS4WIN conditional define from the Compiler Options dialog before building your application. It is not necessary to remove the SOS4Win statement in the Uses section.


Modifying SOS Help! Info-Author Files Externally

The information in this section is provided on an "as is" basis. Lamaura Development Limited does not guarantee that this information is accurate nor that it will not change over time. You use this information entirely at your own risk.

Lamaura Development cannot provide technical support for any problem which is caused as result of your use of this information.

File Formats


Modifying SOS Help! Info-Author Files Externally (Popup)
The information in this section is provided on an "as is" basis. Lamaura Development Limited does not guarantee that this information is accurate nor that it will not change over time. You use this information entirely at your own risk.

Lamaura Development cannot provide technical support for any problem which is caused as result of your use of this information.

File Formats


File Formats

SOS Help! Info-Author uses the Microsoft FoxPro .DBF file formats for all files except those with a .HTF extension, which are a proprietary format text file.

SOS Help! Info-Author may abort when trying to load a topic whose associated .HTF file has been modified with an external editor. If this happens try repairing the project (File:Maintenance:Project). This may not solve the problem.

In the file format description tables which follow, the standard XBase notation for field types are used, i.e. "C" is shorthand for character, "M" for memo, "N" for numeric, "D" for date, "L" for logical (which is the same as boolean) and "D" for date.

NEVER CHANGE THE CONTENTS OF ANY MEMO FIELD IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING FILES. Memo fields contain special binary information which, if changed, will destroy your help project faster than you can possibly imagine.

SOSHELP.DAT
DEFAULT.STY
SOSHELPD.HDF
SOSHELPK.KEY
SOSHLPID.DAT


File Formats (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author uses the Microsoft FoxPro .DBF file formats for all files except those with a .HTF extension, which are a proprietary format text file.

SOS Help! Info-Author may abort when trying to load a topic whose associated .HTF file has been modified with an external editor. If this happens try repairing the project (File:Maintenance:Project). This may not solve the problem.

In the file format description tables which follow, the standard XBase notation for field types are used, i.e. "C" is shorthand for character, "M" for memo, "N" for numeric, "D" for date, "L" for logical (which is the same as boolean) and "D" for date.

NEVER CHANGE THE CONTENTS OF ANY MEMO FIELD IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING FILES. Memo fields contain special binary information which, if changed, will destroy your help project faster than you can possibly imagine.

SOSHELP.DAT
DEFAULT.STY
SOSHELPD.HDF
SOSHELPK.KEY
SOSHLPID.DAT


SOSHELP.DAT

This holds information about all your help projects. Without this file, SOS Help! Info-Author cannot find any of your projects.

It is stored in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory.

Field Name	Type	Length	Explanation

PROJECT	C	50	Name of Project

DIRECTORY	C	132	Directory for Topic files (trailing "\" required)

HELPFILE	C	8	Name of generated .HLP file


SOSHELP.DAT (Popup)
This holds information about all your help projects. Without this file, SOS Help! Info-Author cannot find any of your projects.

It is stored in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory.

Field Name	Type	Length	Explanation

PROJECT	C	50	Name of Project

DIRECTORY	C	132	Directory for Topic files (trailing "\" required)

HELPFILE	C	8	Name of generated .HLP file


DEFAULT.STY

This is the default style sheet. All style sheets are kept in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory and have the same file format.

It is stored in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory.

Field Name	Type	Length	Explanation

TAGNAME	C	20	Name of the style

FONTNAME	C	32	Name of the font for the style

FONTSIZE	N	3	Size of the font in points

FONTBOLD	L	1	Bold setting

FONTITALIC	L	1	Italic setting

FONTUNDER	L	1	Underline setting

FONTSTRIKE	L	1	Strike-through setting

FONTSCAPS	L	1	Small capitals setting

FONTRED	N	3	Red RGB color of font

FONTGREEN	N	3	Green RGB color of font

FONTBLUE	N	3	Blue RGB color of font

PARAWRAP	L	1	Paragraph word wrap setting

PARAALIGN	C	1	Paragraph alignment setting

PARABORDER	C	5	Paragraph border setting

PARALEFT	N	6	Paragraph left margin

PARARIGHT	N	6	Paragraph right margin

PARAFIRST	N	6	Paragraph first line indent

PARABEFORE	N	6	Paragraph space before

PARAAFTER	N	6	Paragraph space after

PARALEAD	N	6	Paragraph space between lines

TABSTOPS	M	10	Do not change


DEFAULT.STY (Popup)
This is the default style sheet. All style sheets are kept in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory and have the same file format.

It is stored in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory.

Field Name	Type	Length	Explanation

TAGNAME	C	20	Name of the style

FONTNAME	C	32	Name of the font for the style

FONTSIZE	N	3	Size of the font in points

FONTBOLD	L	1	Bold setting

FONTITALIC	L	1	Italic setting

FONTUNDER	L	1	Underline setting

FONTSTRIKE	L	1	Strike-through setting

FONTSCAPS	L	1	Small capitals setting

FONTRED	N	3	Red RGB color of font

FONTGREEN	N	3	Green RGB color of font

FONTBLUE	N	3	Blue RGB color of font

PARAWRAP	L	1	Paragraph word wrap setting

PARAALIGN	C	1	Paragraph alignment setting

PARABORDER	C	5	Paragraph border setting

PARALEFT	N	6	Paragraph left margin

PARARIGHT	N	6	Paragraph right margin

PARAFIRST	N	6	Paragraph first line indent

PARABEFORE	N	6	Paragraph space before

PARAAFTER	N	6	Paragraph space after

PARALEAD	N	6	Paragraph space between lines

TABSTOPS	M	10	Do not change


SOSHELPD.HDF

This holds information about the topics for a project.

It is stored in the project directory.

Field Name	Type	Length	Explanation

TITLE_TXT	C	128	Topic title

CONTEXT_ID	C	254	Context sensitive help identifier

SEQUENCE	M	10	Do not change

DATE	D	8	Date last modified

TIME	C	6	Time last modified

STATUS	C	2	Used by Help Tracker

AMENDED_BY	C	40	Name of last author

HOTLINKS	N	5	Number of jumps to this topic

BUILDTAGS	C	30	Build Tags for topic

NOTES	M	10	Do not change


SOSHELPD.HDF (Popup)
This holds information about the topics for a project.

It is stored in the project directory.

Field Name	Type	Length	Explanation

TITLE_TXT	C	128	Topic title

CONTEXT_ID	C	254	Context sensitive help identifier

SEQUENCE	M	10	Do not change

DATE	D	8	Date last modified

TIME	C	6	Time last modified

STATUS	C	2	Used by Help Tracker

AMENDED_BY	C	40	Name of last author

HOTLINKS	N	5	Number of jumps to this topic

BUILDTAGS	C	30	Build Tags for topic

NOTES	M	10	Do not change


SOSHELPK.KEY

This holds information about the keywords for a project.

It is stored in the project directory.

Field Name	Type	Length	Explanation

KEYWORD	C	254	Key Table letter and the keyword

TOPIC_NO	C	10	Record number of the topic in SOSHELPD.HDF


SOSHELPK.KEY (Popup)
This holds information about the keywords for a project.

It is stored in the project directory.

Field Name	Type	Length	Explanation

KEYWORD	C	254	Key Table letter and the keyword

TOPIC_NO	C	10	Record number of the topic in SOSHELPD.HDF


SOSHLPID.DAT

This holds information about the context sensitive help identifiers and their values.

It is stored in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory.

This file is recreated each time you load a project. It should be considered to be a temporary file.

Field Name	Type	Length	Explanation

CONTEXT_ID	C	254	Context Identifier

CONTEXT_NO	C	10	Identifier value

USED	L	1	Is this identifier assigned to a topic?


SOSHLPID.DAT (Popup)
This holds information about the context sensitive help identifiers and their values.

It is stored in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory.

This file is recreated each time you load a project. It should be considered to be a temporary file.

Field Name	Type	Length	Explanation

CONTEXT_ID	C	254	Context Identifier

CONTEXT_NO	C	10	Identifier value

USED	L	1	Is this identifier assigned to a topic?


Appendix A - Licence Agreement

The spelling of words in this Licence Agreement conforms to British English rather than American English which is used elsewhere in this User Manual.

Using this software indicates that you accept the terms and conditions of this Licence Agreement. If you do not accept them, you must return the diskette envelope with the seal unbroken and any printed manual to Lamaura Development Limited (hereafter called Lamaura), whereupon your purchase price will be refunded to you.

Terms and Conditions
Warranty
Termination
Governing Law
Copyright


Appendix A - Licence Agreement (Popup)
The spelling of words in this Licence Agreement conforms to British English rather than American English which is used elsewhere in this User Manual.

Using this software indicates that you accept the terms and conditions of this Licence Agreement. If you do not accept them, you must return the diskette envelope with the seal unbroken and any printed manual to Lamaura Development Limited (hereafter called Lamaura), whereupon your purchase price will be refunded to you.

Terms and Conditions
Warranty
Termination
Governing Law
Copyright


Terms and Conditions

THE LICENSEE (YOU) AGREES TO INSTALL AND RUN THIS PRODUCT ON ANY PERSONAL COMPUTER OR NETWORK WORKSTATION PROVIDED THAT IT MAY NOT BE USED BY MORE THAN ONE PERSON ON MORE THAN ONE PERSONAL COMPUTER OR NETWORK WORKSTATION SIMULTANEOUSLY. (Lamaura has special terms for site licenses.)

The licensee is authorized to make backup copies of the program for archival purposes ONLY. You may not transfer or assign this Licence Agreement to any other individual, corporation or third party. You may not copy any part of this User manual.

Any individual or corporation who is found to be using an unauthorized copy of this program, as well as the individual, corporation or third party who supplied that copy, will be liable to prosecution. For without proper remuneration, no software house can provide inexpensive software with full support.

The licensee agrees not to remove, alter or obscure Lamaura proprietary rights notices, or to alter, disassemble or decompile the software.


Terms and Conditions (Popup)
THE LICENSEE (YOU) AGREES TO INSTALL AND RUN THIS PRODUCT ON ANY PERSONAL COMPUTER OR NETWORK WORKSTATION PROVIDED THAT IT MAY NOT BE USED BY MORE THAN ONE PERSON ON MORE THAN ONE PERSONAL COMPUTER OR NETWORK WORKSTATION SIMULTANEOUSLY. (Lamaura has special terms for site licenses.)

The licensee is authorized to make backup copies of the program for archival purposes ONLY. You may not transfer or assign this Licence Agreement to any other individual, corporation or third party. You may not copy any part of this User manual.

Any individual or corporation who is found to be using an unauthorized copy of this program, as well as the individual, corporation or third party who supplied that copy, will be liable to prosecution. For without proper remuneration, no software house can provide inexpensive software with full support.

The licensee agrees not to remove, alter or obscure Lamaura proprietary rights notices, or to alter, disassemble or decompile the software.


Warranty

Lamaura makes no representations or warranties expressed or implied that the software will be uninterrupted or free from error. You use this software entirely at your own risk.

Lamaura accepts no liability for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages which may occur from the use or performance of this software.

In no event will Lamaura be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage of any kind.

Lamaura disclaims all implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. (Some US States and countries do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties. Therefore this clause may not apply to some licensees. In such cases the liability of Lamaura is limited to the purchase price of the software.)

Lamaura undertakes to replace any defective diskette for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of delivery to you as evidenced by your purchase receipt or invoice.


Warranty (Popup)
Lamaura makes no representations or warranties expressed or implied that the software will be uninterrupted or free from error. You use this software entirely at your own risk.

Lamaura accepts no liability for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages which may occur from the use or performance of this software.

In no event will Lamaura be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage of any kind.

Lamaura disclaims all implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. (Some US States and countries do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties. Therefore this clause may not apply to some licensees. In such cases the liability of Lamaura is limited to the purchase price of the software.)

Lamaura undertakes to replace any defective diskette for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of delivery to you as evidenced by your purchase receipt or invoice.


Termination

Lamaura reserves the right to terminate this Agreement for any breach in the terms and conditions of this Licence Agreement, whereupon the licensee agrees to return to Lamaura all copies of the software along with all archival copies. The licensee will not be entitled to any refund of amounts paid for the software.


Termination (Popup)
Lamaura reserves the right to terminate this Agreement for any breach in the terms and conditions of this Licence Agreement, whereupon the licensee agrees to return to Lamaura all copies of the software along with all archival copies. The licensee will not be entitled to any refund of amounts paid for the software.


Governing Law

USA, Canada and Mexico
Rest of the World


Governing Law (Popup)
USA, Canada and Mexico
Rest of the World


USA, Canada and Mexico (Governing Law)

This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and shall be governed by the laws of the State of Idaho and shall benefit Lamaura, its successors and assigns. The licensee agrees to jurisdiction in the state and federal courts located in the State of Idaho.


USA, Canada and Mexico (Governing Law) (Popup)
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and shall be governed by the laws of the State of Idaho and shall benefit Lamaura, its successors and assigns. The licensee agrees to jurisdiction in the state and federal courts located in the State of Idaho.


Rest of the World (Governing Law)

This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and shall be governed by the laws of England and shall benefit Lamaura, its successors and assigns.


Rest of the World (Governing Law) (Popup)
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and shall be governed by the laws of England and shall benefit Lamaura, its successors and assigns.


Copyright

USA, Canada and Mexico
Rest of the World


Copyright (Popup)
USA, Canada and Mexico
Rest of the World


USA, Canada and Mexico (Copyright)

This software and user manual remain the property of Lamaura Development Limited, and are protected by both the Copyright laws of the United States of America and by International Treaty provisions.


USA, Canada and Mexico (Copyright) (Popup)
This software and user manual remain the property of Lamaura Development Limited, and are protected by both the Copyright laws of the United States of America and by International Treaty provisions.


Rest of the World (Copyright)

This software and user manual remain the property of Lamaura Development Limited, and are protected by both the Copyright laws of England and by International Treaty provisions.


Rest of the World (Copyright) (Popup)
This software and user manual remain the property of Lamaura Development Limited, and are protected by both the Copyright laws of England and by International Treaty provisions.


Appendix B - Setup and Installation

System Requirements
Installation
Using DUNPACK.EXE
Removing SOS Help! Info-Author


Appendix B - Setup and Installation (Popup)
System Requirements
Installation
Using DUNPACK.EXE
Removing SOS Help! Info-Author


System Requirements

The minimum requirements for SOS Help! Info-Author are:

IBM or 100% compatible computer with an Intel 80836 or 100% compatible processor

4mb of RAM

Hard disk with 5mb free space

VGA or higher resolution graphics card and monitor

Mouse

Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later (this includes Windows for Workgroups)


System Requirements (Popup)
The minimum requirements for SOS Help! Info-Author are:

IBM or 100% compatible computer with an Intel 80836 or 100% compatible processor

4mb of RAM

Hard disk with 5mb free space

VGA or higher resolution graphics card and monitor

Mouse

Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later (this includes Windows for Workgroups)


Installation (Setup and)

Installing SOS Help! Info-Author is extremely simple. Just perform the following operations:

1.	Make a backup copy of the SOS Help! Info-Author diskette. (Consult your DOS or Windows manual if you do not know how to do this.)

2.	Insert the Setup Diskette in a floppy diskette drive.

3.	At the DOS prompt, type win and press <ENTER>.

4.	When the Windows Program Manager appears, press <Alt+F> to open the File menu.

5.	Choose the Run menu option.

6.	Type driveletter:\setup in the Command Line edit control, and press <ENTER> or click on the OK button.

Alternatively type win driveletter:\setup and press <ENTER>at the DOS prompt.

"driveletter" is the letter of the floppy diskette drive containing the Setup Diskette.

When you see the SOS Help! Info-Author Setup dialog, you can enter the name of the directory where you want SOS Help! Info-Author to be installed; SETUP defaults to c:\sos4win. To select a different drive or directory, click on the down arrow to the right of this edit control, and select the drive and/or directory from this drop-down list box control.

We recommend that SOS Help! Info-Author is installed in its own directory.

Now click on either the Full Install button or the Custom Install button (or click on the Exit Setup button if you do not want to continue with the installation).

The Full Install option copies all the SOS Help! Info-Author files into the specified directory. This is the recommended option.

The Custom Install button calls a dialog which allows you to select the components of SOS Help! Info-Author that you want to install, by clicking on the various check boxes. You must click on the SOS Help! Info-Author check box to install the SOS Help! Info-Author program files; this is the minimum installation possible. When you have made your selection, click on the Continue button.

Regardless of which Install button you select, you should follow any on-screen instructions until SETUP reports that it has finished.

Starting SOS Help! Info-Author


Installation (Setup and) (Popup)
Installing SOS Help! Info-Author is extremely simple. Just perform the following operations:

1.	Make a backup copy of the SOS Help! Info-Author diskette. (Consult your DOS or Windows manual if you do not know how to do this.)

2.	Insert the Setup Diskette in a floppy diskette drive.

3.	At the DOS prompt, type win and press <ENTER>.

4.	When the Windows Program Manager appears, press <Alt+F> to open the File menu.

5.	Choose the Run menu option.

6.	Type driveletter:\setup in the Command Line edit control, and press <ENTER> or click on the OK button.

Alternatively type win driveletter:\setup and press <ENTER>at the DOS prompt.

"driveletter" is the letter of the floppy diskette drive containing the Setup Diskette.

When you see the SOS Help! Info-Author Setup dialog, you can enter the name of the directory where you want SOS Help! Info-Author to be installed; SETUP defaults to c:\sos4win. To select a different drive or directory, click on the down arrow to the right of this edit control, and select the drive and/or directory from this drop-down list box control.

We recommend that SOS Help! Info-Author is installed in its own directory.

Now click on either the Full Install button or the Custom Install button (or click on the Exit Setup button if you do not want to continue with the installation).

The Full Install option copies all the SOS Help! Info-Author files into the specified directory. This is the recommended option.

The Custom Install button calls a dialog which allows you to select the components of SOS Help! Info-Author that you want to install, by clicking on the various check boxes. You must click on the SOS Help! Info-Author check box to install the SOS Help! Info-Author program files; this is the minimum installation possible. When you have made your selection, click on the Continue button.

Regardless of which Install button you select, you should follow any on-screen instructions until SETUP reports that it has finished.

Starting SOS Help! Info-Author


Starting SOS Help! Info-Author

To run SOS Help! Info-Author, double click on the SOS Help! Info-Author icon from within the Windows Program Manager. Before you do this, we recommend that you read the Quick Start chapter.


Starting SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
To run SOS Help! Info-Author, double click on the SOS Help! Info-Author icon from within the Windows Program Manager. Before you do this, we recommend that you read the Quick Start chapter.


Using DUNPACK.EXE

If any file becomes corrupt on your hard disk, you can unpack the original version from the distribution diskette using DUNPACK.EXE, which was copied to the UTILS directory below the SOS Help! Info-Author directory by SETUP, e.g to C:\SOS4WIN\UTILS.

DUNPACK.EXE is a DOS application, which can be run from the Windows DOS Box. For instructions on how to use it, type dunpack and press <ENTER> at the DOS prompt.


Using DUNPACK.EXE (Popup)
If any file becomes corrupt on your hard disk, you can unpack the original version from the distribution diskette using DUNPACK.EXE, which was copied to the UTILS directory below the SOS Help! Info-Author directory by SETUP, e.g to C:\SOS4WIN\UTILS.

DUNPACK.EXE is a DOS application, which can be run from the Windows DOS Box. For instructions on how to use it, type dunpack and press <ENTER> at the DOS prompt.


Removing SOS Help! Info-Author

Should you need to remove SOS Help! Info-Author from your PC follow these steps:

1.	Delete any SOS Help! Info-Author files from the Windows system directory \WINDOWS\SYSTEM. These files are listed in INSTALL.LOG which was created by the SOS Help! Info-Author setup program and was saved to the SOS Help! Info-Author directory;

2.	Delete all files in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory;

3.	Remove this directory;

4.	Remove any SOS Help! Info-Author icons and the SOS Help! Info-Author group from the Windows Desktop.

SOS Help! Info-Author does not update any of the Windows .INI files.

SOS Help! Info-Author uses some .DLLs which may be used by other Windows applications, e.g. CTL3D.DLL which is used by a several well-know applications. We recommend that you keep backups of the SOS Help! Info-Author .DLLs before deleting them in case they are needed by another application.


Removing SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
Should you need to remove SOS Help! Info-Author from your PC follow these steps:

1.	Delete any SOS Help! Info-Author files from the Windows system directory \WINDOWS\SYSTEM. These files are listed in INSTALL.LOG which was created by the SOS Help! Info-Author setup program and was saved to the SOS Help! Info-Author directory;

2.	Delete all files in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory;

3.	Remove this directory;

4.	Remove any SOS Help! Info-Author icons and the SOS Help! Info-Author group from the Windows Desktop.

SOS Help! Info-Author does not update any of the Windows .INI files.

SOS Help! Info-Author uses some .DLLs which may be used by other Windows applications, e.g. CTL3D.DLL which is used by a several well-know applications. We recommend that you keep backups of the SOS Help! Info-Author .DLLs before deleting them in case they are needed by another application.


Appendix C - Technical Support

Lamaura Development Limited offers several support services for registered users of SOS Help! Info-Author.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR SUPPORT SERVICES.

The term "US users" refers to users living in North America and the Pacific Rim. These users should contact our US office for support. All other users should contact our International office.

Read the Manual
Voice Support
The Lamaura BBS
CompuServe
Internet


Appendix C - Technical Support (Popup)
Lamaura Development Limited offers several support services for registered users of SOS Help! Info-Author.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR SUPPORT SERVICES.

The term "US users" refers to users living in North America and the Pacific Rim. These users should contact our US office for support. All other users should contact our International office.

Read the Manual
Voice Support
The Lamaura BBS
CompuServe
Internet


Read the Manual

Please read this manual and the on-line help files for SOS Help! Info-Author before contacting Lamaura Development Limited for support.

One of the best places to start is by searching through the How Do I...? help file which was installed in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory. This contains the most common questions and answers, ranging from the almost trivial to fairly complex. This help file also includes a Troubleshooting Guide.

In our experience over 70% of all questions or problems can be resolved by studying the documentation provided.


Read the Manual (Popup)
Please read this manual and the on-line help files for SOS Help! Info-Author before contacting Lamaura Development Limited for support.

One of the best places to start is by searching through the How Do I...? help file which was installed in the SOS Help! Info-Author directory. This contains the most common questions and answers, ranging from the almost trivial to fairly complex. This help file also includes a Troubleshooting Guide.

In our experience over 70% of all questions or problems can be resolved by studying the documentation provided.


Voice Support

Before calling Technical support, please ensure that you are close to your computer and that you have SOS Help! Info-Author up and running. You also need to have the following information to hand:

Product name, serial number and version number

Windows version number, WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files

The specific steps needed to recreate the problem

The exact wording of any messages which appear when the problem occurs

US Office
International Office


Voice Support (Popup)
Before calling Technical support, please ensure that you are close to your computer and that you have SOS Help! Info-Author up and running. You also need to have the following information to hand:

Product name, serial number and version number

Windows version number, WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files

The specific steps needed to recreate the problem

The exact wording of any messages which appear when the problem occurs

US Office
International Office


US Office

US users can telephone our US Technical Support from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST (Pacific Standard Time). Call (208) 765-9439. The international dialing code for the USA is +1.


US Office (Popup)
US users can telephone our US Technical Support from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST (Pacific Standard Time). Call (208) 765-9439. The international dialing code for the USA is +1.


International Office

International users can telephone our International Technical Support from 10:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Call (0) 707 643278. The international dialing code for the UK is +44.


International Office (Popup)
International users can telephone our International Technical Support from 10:00 a.m to 6:00 p.m. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Call (0) 707 643278. The international dialing code for the UK is +44.


The Lamaura BBS

The Lamaura Bulletin Board System (BBS) has sample files, bug fixes and technical information (including tips and tricks files) available for downloading by registered users of SOS Help! Info-Author.

Set your communications software to 300-14.4k baud with No parity, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit. The Lamaura BBS supports v32bis, ARQ and MNP error correction.

US users should call (+1) (208) 667-2862.

International users should call (+44) (0) 707 643499.

Using the Lamaura BBS is the most effective, and fastest, method of getting technical support as our developers regularly log on several times a day.

Bug Fixes and Updates


The Lamaura BBS (Popup)
The Lamaura Bulletin Board System (BBS) has sample files, bug fixes and technical information (including tips and tricks files) available for downloading by registered users of SOS Help! Info-Author.

Set your communications software to 300-14.4k baud with No parity, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit. The Lamaura BBS supports v32bis, ARQ and MNP error correction.

US users should call (+1) (208) 667-2862.

International users should call (+44) (0) 707 643499.

Using the Lamaura BBS is the most effective, and fastest, method of getting technical support as our developers regularly log on several times a day.

Bug Fixes and Updates


Bug Fixes and Updates

Lamaura Development Limited has a policy of supplying minor updates (i.e. bug fixes!) free of charge.  The fastest way to obtain these is to log into the Lamaura BBS and follow the directions in the Registered Users forum.

You must have your SOS Help! Info-Author serial number to hand when you log on, otherwise your rights will not be upgraded to those of a Registered User, and you will not be able to access this forum or the patch files.

All updates require PATCH.EXE which was copied to the UTILS directory below the SOS Help! Info-Author directory by SETUP, e.g C:\SOS4WIN\UTILS.


Bug Fixes and Updates (Popup)
Lamaura Development Limited has a policy of supplying minor updates (i.e. bug fixes!) free of charge.  The fastest way to obtain these is to log into the Lamaura BBS and follow the directions in the Registered Users forum.

You must have your SOS Help! Info-Author serial number to hand when you log on, otherwise your rights will not be upgraded to those of a Registered User, and you will not be able to access this forum or the patch files.

All updates require PATCH.EXE which was copied to the UTILS directory below the SOS Help! Info-Author directory by SETUP, e.g C:\SOS4WIN\UTILS.


CompuServe

If you are a subscriber to the CompuServe Information Service (CIS), you can contact us on our CIS Id of 100016,1254.

Messages sent to this id is passed on to the appropriate department via our internal mail system and a reply is normally posted back to you within 24 hours (if only of the "we're looking into it" variety!).


CompuServe (Popup)
If you are a subscriber to the CompuServe Information Service (CIS), you can contact us on our CIS Id of 100016,1254.

Messages sent to this id is passed on to the appropriate department via our internal mail system and a reply is normally posted back to you within 24 hours (if only of the "we're looking into it" variety!).


Internet

Lamaura Development Limited  has now joined the Internet!  Technical support issues should be address to support@lamaura.com.  We believe that we can give a much better service using the Internet as opposed to CompuServe, and so we are cutting down on our use of CIS.  If you send us a message via CIS and do not receive a reply within 48 hours, you should resend the message to us via the CIS Internet link.  Internet messages are normally guaranteed to be answered within 24 hours of receipt.

Mailing List
World Wide Web


Internet (Popup)
Lamaura Development Limited has now joined the Internet!  Technical support issues should be address to support@lamaura.com.  We believe that we can give a much better service using the Internet as opposed to CompuServe, and so we are cutting down on our use of CIS.  If you send us a message via CIS and do not receive a reply within 48 hours, you should resend the message to us via the CIS Internet link.  Internet messages are normally guaranteed to be answered within 24 hours of receipt.

Mailing List
World Wide Web


Mailing List

We have set up an Internet mailing list for SOS Help! Info-Author.  To join the mailing list send a message to listserv@lamaura.com with the text subscribe soshelp-l <yourfullname> as the first line in your message, i.e.

subscribe soshelp-l Joe Doe

This mailing list is linked into the Technical Support forum on our BBS so if you subscribe to the list and download the messages from the BBS forum you may see duplicates.


Mailing List (Popup)
We have set up an Internet mailing list for SOS Help! Info-Author. To join the mailing list send a message to listserv@lamaura.com with the text subscribe soshelp-l <yourfullname> as the first line in your message, i.e.

subscribe soshelp-l Joe Doe

This mailing list is linked into the Technical Support forum on our BBS so if you subscribe to the list and download the messages from the BBS forum you may see duplicates.


Appendix D - Utilities

SOS Help! Info-Author is supplied with two useful utilities called SnapShot and Stripper which were copied, along with Patch and DUnpack, to the UTILS directory below the SOS Help! Info-Author directory by SETUP, e.g to C:\SOS4WIN\UTILS.

Patch
SnapShot
Stripper


Appendix D - Utilities (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author is supplied with two useful utilities called SnapShot and Stripper which were copied, along with Patch and DUnpack, to the UTILS directory below the SOS Help! Info-Author directory by SETUP, e.g to C:\SOS4WIN\UTILS.

Patch
SnapShot
Stripper


Patch

Patch is the utility needed to update the SOS Help! Info-Author files.

Instructions on how to use Patch are supplied with each update to SOS Help! Info-Author.

For more information see the section on Bug Fixes and Updates in Appendix C - Technical Support.


Patch (Popup)
Patch is the utility needed to update the SOS Help! Info-Author files.

Instructions on how to use Patch are supplied with each update to SOS Help! Info-Author.

For more information see the section on Bug Fixes and Updates in Appendix C - Technical Support.


SnapShot

SnapShot is a superb utility for capturing Windows screens, dialog boxes, icons etc. for inclusion in an SOS Help! Info-Author topic (or another Windows application). Lamaura Development Limited used SnapShot to produce the help file and documentation for SOS Help! Info-Author, and we recommend it highly.

SnapShot is supplied as a self-extracting archive file called SNPSHOT.EXE. To extract the SnapShot files, create a subdirectory and copy SNPSHOT to it (or use the SOS Help! Info-Author  directory if you prefer). Then run snpshot from the DOS command line to extract the files, including the SnapShot documentation.

The following information is provided by Beacon Hill Software. Lamaura Development Limited accepts no responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies contained herein.

SnapShot is a screen capture utility that uses a camera metaphor. Once you have loaded the film you can take pictures of the screen. Loading the film is done off of the Film menu. Taking pictures is accomplished by using the right button like a shutter.

Every picture you take is visible in the client area of SnapShot. Sizing SnapShot also sizes the picture. The picture in it's original size is also available in the Clipboard for use by other programs such as Paintbrush.

To take a picture just position the cursor over the window and click the right mouse button. Portions of the screen can be also captured by holding down the right button and selecting a rectangular region.

SnapShot is Shareware. SnapShot can be used on a trial basis provided the user does not violate the protection afforded the licensed software by the copyright laws, and the user agrees to the terms of the license agreement. If the user continues to use SnapShot past a 15 day evaluation period the user is obligated to purchase a license.

A license for the user of SnapShot can be obtained by sending a $15.00 registration fee to:

Beacon Hill Software
Box 8494
Boston, MA 02114
USA

Registering entitles you to a copy of SnapShot 2, the retail version of SnapShot.


SnapShot (Popup)
SnapShot is a superb utility for capturing Windows screens, dialog boxes, icons etc. for inclusion in an SOS Help! Info-Author topic (or another Windows application). Lamaura Development Limited used SnapShot to produce the help file and documentation for SOS Help! Info-Author, and we recommend it highly.

SnapShot is supplied as a self-extracting archive file called SNPSHOT.EXE. To extract the SnapShot files, create a subdirectory and copy SNPSHOT to it (or use the SOS Help! Info-Author  directory if you prefer). Then run snpshot from the DOS command line to extract the files, including the SnapShot documentation.

The following information is provided by Beacon Hill Software. Lamaura Development Limited accepts no responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies contained herein.

SnapShot is a screen capture utility that uses a camera metaphor. Once you have loaded the film you can take pictures of the screen. Loading the film is done off of the Film menu. Taking pictures is accomplished by using the right button like a shutter.

Every picture you take is visible in the client area of SnapShot. Sizing SnapShot also sizes the picture. The picture in it's original size is also available in the Clipboard for use by other programs such as Paintbrush.

To take a picture just position the cursor over the window and click the right mouse button. Portions of the screen can be also captured by holding down the right button and selecting a rectangular region.

SnapShot is Shareware. SnapShot can be used on a trial basis provided the user does not violate the protection afforded the licensed software by the copyright laws, and the user agrees to the terms of the license agreement. If the user continues to use SnapShot past a 15 day evaluation period the user is obligated to purchase a license.

A license for the user of SnapShot can be obtained by sending a $15.00 registration fee to:

Beacon Hill Software
Box 8494
Boston, MA 02114
USA

Registering entitles you to a copy of SnapShot 2, the retail version of SnapShot.


Stripper

Stripper is a simple, yet powerful public domain DOS program to strip most, if not all, of the codes from files which have been saved in a proprietory word processing format.

Run stripper from the command line for instructions on how to use it.


Stripper (Popup)
Stripper is a simple, yet powerful public domain DOS program to strip most, if not all, of the codes from files which have been saved in a proprietory word processing format.

Run stripper from the command line for instructions on how to use it.


Appendix E - Converting SOS Help! for CA-Clipper

To convert a SOS Help! for CA-Clipper help database to SOS Help! Info-Author, you must create a text file where each SOS Help! for CA-Clipper topic is separated by a page break. Then choose File:Import:Text and select .TXT as the File type to import this file into an existing project.

You will need to reformat each paragraph to remove the soft carriage returns CA-Clipper embeds in a memo field.

A simple CA-Clipper program to achieve this is listed below. Note that there is no error checking.

The topic title is the same as the SOS Help! for CA-Clipper Header, and needs to be the first line of the topic page.

#define CRLF  CHR(13)+CHR(10)

LOCAL h := fcreate('SOS4CLIP.TXT')

USE <SOS Help! for Clipper .DBF name> ALIAS SOS4Clip
DO WHILE NOT .T.
//
// if you have a style for the title (e.g. "Title") and
// you want the title to appear in a non-scrolling
// region, uncomment the next line
//  FWRITE(h, '@Title = <LOCKED>')
  FWRITE(h, SOS4Clip->TITLE_TXT)
  FWRITE(h, CRLF+CRLF)              // 2 line feeds
  FWRITE(h, SOS4Clip->HLP_TXT)
  FWRITE(h, CRLF)                   // line feed

  SKIP
  IF .NOT. EOF()
    FWRITE(h, CHR(12))              // page/topic break
  ELSE
    EXIT
  ENDIF
ENDDO

FCLOSE(h)
CLOSE DATABASE


Appendix E - Converting SOS Help! for CA-Clipper (Popup)
To convert a SOS Help! for CA-Clipper help database to SOS Help! Info-Author, you must create a text file where each SOS Help! for CA-Clipper topic is separated by a page break. Then choose File:Import:Text and select .TXT as the File type to import this file into an existing project.

You will need to reformat each paragraph to remove the soft carriage returns CA-Clipper embeds in a memo field.

A simple CA-Clipper program to achieve this is listed below. Note that there is no error checking.

The topic title is the same as the SOS Help! for CA-Clipper Header, and needs to be the first line of the topic page.

#define CRLF  CHR(13)+CHR(10)

LOCAL h := fcreate('SOS4CLIP.TXT')

USE <SOS Help! for Clipper .DBF name> ALIAS SOS4Clip
DO WHILE NOT .T.
//
// if you have a style for the title (e.g. "Title") and
// you want the title to appear in a non-scrolling
// region, uncomment the next line
//  FWRITE(h, '@Title = <LOCKED>')
  FWRITE(h, SOS4Clip->TITLE_TXT)
  FWRITE(h, CRLF+CRLF)              // 2 line feeds
  FWRITE(h, SOS4Clip->HLP_TXT)
  FWRITE(h, CRLF)                   // line feed

  SKIP
  IF .NOT. EOF()
    FWRITE(h, CHR(12))              // page/topic break
  ELSE
    EXIT
  ENDIF
ENDDO

FCLOSE(h)
CLOSE DATABASE


Appendix F - Operational Limits

The majority of limits imposed by SOS Help! Info-Author are governed by the limitations of WinHelp and the capabilities of the specific help compiler used. You are more likely to find the limits of the compiler before you find the limits of SOS Help! Info-Author.

Only one instance of SOS Help! Info-Author can be run; an error message is displayed if a second instance is started, and the first instance is then given focus.

The table below details the maximum limitations of SOS Help! Info-Author:

Characters per project name	50

Open topics	Limited by available memory

Characters per paragraph	32000

Paragraphs per topic	Limited by available memory

Characters per topic name	128

Characters per context identifier name	254

Characters per build tag	30

Styles per style sheet	Unlimited

Characters per style name	20

Characters per style sheet name	8 (DOS file name limit)

Unsupported WinHelp Features


Appendix F - Operational Limits (Popup)
The majority of limits imposed by SOS Help! Info-Author are governed by the limitations of WinHelp and the capabilities of the specific help compiler used. You are more likely to find the limits of the compiler before you find the limits of SOS Help! Info-Author.

Only one instance of SOS Help! Info-Author can be run; an error message is displayed if a second instance is started, and the first instance is then given focus.

The table below details the maximum limitations of SOS Help! Info-Author:

Characters per project name	50

Open topics	Limited by available memory

Characters per paragraph	32000

Paragraphs per topic	Limited by available memory

Characters per topic name	128

Characters per context identifier name	254

Characters per build tag	30

Styles per style sheet	Unlimited

Characters per style name	20

Characters per style sheet name	8 (DOS file name limit)

Unsupported WinHelp Features


Unsupported WinHelp Features

The current version of SOS Help! Info-Author does not support the following WinHelp features directly:

Tables

Embedded Windows (i.e. those painted and updated by external DLLs)

The more obtuse WinHelp functions such as embedded pictures (i.e. those which use the \pict RTF statement to save the picture as a block of binary data)

Any RTF statement which is not supported by SOS Help! Info-Author can be embedded in a topic by choosing Edit:Insert RTF and entering the required statement by hand.


Unsupported WinHelp Features (Popup)
The current version of SOS Help! Info-Author does not support the following WinHelp features directly:

Tables

Embedded Windows (i.e. those painted and updated by external DLLs)

The more obtuse WinHelp functions such as embedded pictures (i.e. those which use the \pict RTF statement to save the picture as a block of binary data)

Any RTF statement which is not supported by SOS Help! Info-Author can be embedded in a topic by choosing Edit:Insert RTF and entering the required statement by hand.


Appendix G - 3rd Party Products used by SOS Help! Info-Author

SOS Help! Info-Author uses the following 3rd Party products:

CodeBase v4.5	Database	Sequiter Software Inc.

Spell Master v1.2	Spell checker	Aciran Software

VLIST.DLL	Virtual list boxes	Microsoft Corp.

PICBUT.DLL	Button Dialog	Erithacus Software Ltd.

A shareware version of Spell Master and PICBUT.DLL are available on the Lamaura BBS.


Appendix G - 3rd Party Products used by SOS Help! Info-Author (Popup)
SOS Help! Info-Author uses the following 3rd Party products:

CodeBase v4.5	Database	Sequiter Software Inc.

Spell Master v1.2	Spell checker	Aciran Software

VLIST.DLL	Virtual list boxes	Microsoft Corp.

PICBUT.DLL	Button Dialog	Erithacus Software Ltd.

A shareware version of Spell Master and PICBUT.DLL are available on the Lamaura BBS.


World Wide Web

We have set up a WWW home page for Lamaura which gives details of all Lamaura products, how to get patches and has links to other WWW sites which may be of interest to Lamaura users.  You can also register your copy of SOS Help! Info-Author by answering a simple questionnaire.

The URL of the Lamaura pages is http://www.lamaura.com/~lamaura (note that the "~" character is a tilde).

The Lamaura WWW pages are subject to constant change, so it is worth checking them periodically.