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The World's Largest Collection of Windows Software
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The World's Largest Collection of Windows Software - Disc 2.iso
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textproc
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helpinfo
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readme.txt
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1994-01-05
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5KB
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113 lines
WHY HAVE THIS FILE?
=========================
The Microsoft Windows Help Complier can be a difficult program to
understand, at least I know I found it so. That's why I created
HELPINFO.ZIP. The information presented here encompasses much of
what I've learned over the last six months while writing the Help
file for our Visual Basic program. While some of the information
is specific to VB, the vast majority is applicable to all Help
file developers.
There are three reasons why creating Help files is so difficult:
1) The process of creating a Help file is completely different
from any other programming language you may know, and it is not
intuitive. In other words, you cannot easily take previous
programming experiences and apply them here.
2) The Microsoft documentation is incomplete and there are few
examples for many of the features. This lack of information is so
pervasive, that I have found several significant Help Complier
features which are not supported by most Help Authoring Tools.
Specifically: mid-topic jumps, keyword mid-topic jumps, and
tables (which tend not be supported by Help Authoring Tools that
supply their own editors).
3) Hypertext is new to most of us, and writing hypertext documents
is not easy to do well. How many times have you tried to find a
piece of information in a Help file and been frustrated. After
writing your own, you'll have a better appreciation of why.
The Help file content (3 above) is beyond the scope of the
information presented here. It is, however, designed to supplement
existing documentation and contains many examples relating to the
"mechanics" of creating Help files.
WHAT'S IN THE FILE?
=========================
1) ARTICLE.TXT. This document was the predecessor to an article I
wrote for the Visual Basic Programmers Journal (415/917-7650).
While the two articles contain much of the same information,
there are significant differences. The published article
emphasizes the basics of how a Help file is organized,
particularly as it pertains to control codes. (If you've never
written a Help file, this would be a good place to start.)
The article included here contains much more technical
information, especially in the areas of Help macros and
integrating the Help file into your program. Both articles
contain information not found in the Visual Basic documentation.
There is also some information that I have not seen documented
anywhere else.
2) HELPINFO.HLP. This Help file illustrates many of the features
talked about in the article. I have also included ALL the files
necessary to create HELPINFO.HLP, so you will be able to see
exactly how its done. Most of the features are really very easy
to implement, once you know they exist and see an example. All
the files relating to creating the help file are in the file
HELPFILE.ZIP.
To create (or modify this help file) you will need to have a copy
of the Help Compiler and change the file makehelp.bat to reflect
its directory.
Microsoft Winword Version 6 RTF files require using Help
Compiler Version 3.10.505 or later. This version can be downloaded
from CompuServe: WinSDK forum, WinHELP lib, file HCP505.ZIP.
3) HELPINFO.EXE. This is a Visual Basic program that shows you
how to integrate your Help file into your program. All the API
calls and contents are in GLOBAL.BAS. Just about all the features
commonly used in most programs are here. Much of the information
here is very similar to that required by other programming
languages. All the files relating to creating the VB program are
in the file VB_PROG.ZIP.
To run the VB program HELPINFO.EXE you will need a copy of
VBRUN300.DLL.
HOW DO I INSTALL AND USE THESE FILES?
=========================================
Simply unZIP them. We recommend using C:\HELPINFO as the
directory. If you use another directory or drive, you will need
to change references in the BAT and HPJ files accordingly.
ARE THESE FILES COPYRIGHTED?
==================================
This information is copyrighted by Crunch Software Corporation.
However, you are free to incorporate any feature, bitmap, and
computer code contained in these files into your own program or
Help file on a royalty-free basis, so long you do not hold me or
Crunch Software responsible for any errors. While you may
redistribute HELPINFO.ZIP as a unit, you may not separate the
files for redistribution. Nor can you charge for redistribution,
except for a nominal fee for media and shipping.
I hope that the information I presented here makes your Help file
creation process less frustrating and allows you to write better
documents. If you notice any errors or have any comments, they
would be most appreciated. If you have any questions, I'll do the
best I can to try and help, time-constraints notwithstanding.
Enjoy!
-Ted Kahn
tedkahn@netcom.com
CIS 70353,2603
(510) 562-9900
(510) 562-9919 (Fax)