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QDHELP.QDH
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//
// This is the index to this help file
//
/topic INDEX
/title Quick and Dirty Help
/browse index,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,Quick and Dirty Help
/endpara
/para \fi300\sa300
Welcome to the Quick and Dirty way to build help files for Windows 3.0.
With Quick and Dirty Help (QDHELP) you use any ascii editor to generate
help files for Windows 3.0.
The ascii file you generate is input to the QDHELP program
which outputs a file in rich text format (RTF). This is the
format needed by the
/popuplink Microsoft,MICROSOFT
Help Compiler.
What this means is that you do not need to purchase Microsoft
WORD or some other word processor that generates RTF to be
able to make help files for your Windows 3.0 applications.
The remainder of this help file contains information on the
syntax used by the QDHELP program input file along with
some hints and tips on using QDHELP.
/endpara
/para \sa100
/text \b,Pick a Index any Index!
/endpara
/para \li200
/link COMMANDS,Quick and Dirty Help Commands
/endpara
/para \li200
/link RUNNING,Running Quick and Dirty Help
/endpara
/para \li200
/link HINTS,Hints and Tips
/endpara
/para \li200
/link ERRATA,Errata
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// the microsoft popup topic
//
/topic MICROSOFT
/title Microsoft
/keywords Microsoft;Gates;Word
/para
Microsoft is the software company that wants you to
to contribute big $$$ to Bill Gates retirement fund
by purchasing thier word processing program WORD.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// commands availble in quick and dirty help program
//
/topic COMMANDS
/title Quick and Dirty Help Commands
/keywords commands
/browse index,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,Quick and Dirty Help Commands
/endpara
/para \sa300
Below you will find a list of the commands found in the
QDHELP system.
Commands must be the first non
/popuplink WHITESPACE,white space
characters
found on a line.
/endpara
/para \sa100
/text \b,Command Index
/endpara
/para \li200
/link INCLUDE_COMMAND,/include file-name
/endpara
/para \li200
/link TOPIC_COMMAND,/topic /endtopic command
/endpara
/para \li200
/link TITLE_COMMAND,/title title string
/endpara
/para \li200
/link KEYWORD_COMMAND,/keywords keyword1[;keyword2...]
/endpara
/para \li200
/link BROWSE_COMMAND,/browse num1,num2
/endpara
/para \li200
/link PARA_COMMAND,/para .. /endpara
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// white space popup
//
/topic WHITESPACE
/title WhiteSpace
/keywords space;whitespace
/para
Whitespace are non printable characters found in a text
file such as tab,space. For the purposes of QDHELP the
ONLY recognized whitespace characters are space and tab.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// /include command
//
/topic INCLUDE_COMMAND
/title The /include command
/keywords /include;commands
/browse commands,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \fs40\b\i, The /include command
/endpara
/para \sa300
The /include command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b\f3,/include FILE-NAME
/endpara
/para \sa150
The include command is used to include files into a .qdh file.
The file to include is the only parameter on the line following
the include command. Any file name is ok. If the file can not
be found and does not have a extension then the filename.qdh
will be tried. If both fail an error is reported and the program
terminates.
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,Example:
/endpara
/para
\/include filename.qdh
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// /topic command
//
/topic TOPIC_COMMAND
/title The /topic command
/keywords /topic;commands
/browse commands,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \fs40\b\i, The /topic command
/endpara
/para \sa300
The /topic command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para
/text \b\f3,/topic TOPICNAME
/endpara
/para
topic commands...
/endpara
/para \sa300
/text \b\f3,/endtopic
/endpara
/para
The topic command is used in pairs with the /endtopic command to mark the
begin and end of a help topic. All other commands are placed inside
the /topic .. /endtopic pair. The following commands are valid inside
the /topic command.
/popuplink TITLE_COMMAND,/title
,
/popuplink KEYWORD_COMMAND,/keywords
,
/popuplink BROWSE_COMMAND,/browse
and
/popuplink PARA_COMMAND,/para .. /endpara
More information is available on each of these commands in this
help library.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// title command
//
/topic TITLE_COMMAND
/title The /title command
/keywords /title;commands
/browse commands,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,The /title command
/endpara
/para \sa150
The /title command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b\f3,/title title string
/endpara
/para \sa150
The title command is used to set the text string which
will be displayed as the title of the topic during a
successful keyword search.
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,Command Placement
/endpara
/para
This command must be placed after the /topic command
but before any /para command.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// keyword command
//
/topic KEYWORD_COMMAND
/title The /keyword command
/keywords /keyword;commands
/browse commands,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,The /keyword command
/endpara
/para \sa150
The /keyword command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b\f3,/keyword keyword1[;keyword2...]
/endpara
/para \sa150
The keyword command is used to set the keywords that
will find this topic in a help keyword search. An
example might look like keyword;KEYWORD;command for
a topic that dealt with the keyword command!
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,Command Placement
/endpara
/para
This command must be placed after the /topic command
but before any /para command.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// browse command
//
/topic BROWSE_COMMAND
/title The /browse command
/keywords /browse;commands
/browse commands,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,The /browse command
/endpara
/para \sa150
The /browse command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b\f3,/browse browsename,browsenum or AUTO
/endpara
/para \sa150
The browse command is used to set the browse sequence
numbers used by the Windows 3.0 help window to determine
what order to browse thru the help topics in.
/endpara
/para \sa150
The browsename is the name of the browse catagory that
the browsenum is part of. For example you may have one
category called commands and one called examples. In this
case the order of the browsenum values is only valid in
reference to the browsename that number is associated
with. The browsename is just any name you find suitable
for your purposes. When in help and you are viewing
a topic that is in a browsename category, if the user
hits the forward browse key he/she will be moved to the
topic which is in the same browsename category and has
the next highest number for browsenum. The reverse browse
key will move to the same browsename category with the
next lowest browsenum.
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,READ THIS...
If instead of a number you put the string AUTO in the browsenum
place QDHELP will automatically increment the browse count for
you. This is a GREAT feature that I use in all the help
files I write. You no longer have to number the sequences
on your own. Just put AUTO in browsenum and you will browse
thru the topics in the same order that you have them in the
file. If you use AUTO do NOT use any numbers for browsenum
in the same browsename. This will cause unpredictable results
since the number you choose may have already been used by the
AUTO command.
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,Command Placement
/endpara
/para
This command must be placed after the /topic command
but before any /para command.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// para command
//
/topic PARA_COMMAND
/title The /para command
/keywords /para;commands
/browse commands,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,The /para command
/endpara
/para \sa150
The /para command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para
/text \b\f3,/para
/link PARA_FORMAT_STRINGS,paragraph specific format strings
/endpara
/para
...text strings...
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b\f3,/endpara
/endpara
/para \sa150
The /para command is used to let the QDHELP system
know that this is the start of a new paragraph. Inside
of the /para command there are a number of commands that
can be used to set up hyperlinks and popuplinks to
other parts of the help system.
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,Command Placement
/endpara
/para \sa150
This command must be placed after the /topic,/title,/keyword,/browse
commands.
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,Commands used inside /para /endpara pair.
/endpara
/para \sa150
Internal to the /para command there are a number of commands that
can be used to create links to other parts of the help system
these commands are listed below.
/endpara
/para
/link TEXT_COMMAND,/text command
/endpara
/para
/link LINK_COMMAND,/link command
/endpara
/para
/link POPUP_COMMAND,/popup command
/endpara
/para
/link BITMAPLINK_COMMAND,/bitmaplink command
/endpara
/para
/link BITMAP_COMMAND,/bitmap command
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// para format strings
//
/topic PARA_FORMAT_STRINGS
/title Paragraph format strings
/keywords rtf;format
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,Paragraph format strings
/endpara
/para \sa150 \box \brdrsh
Here you will find a list of formatting commands
that can be placed after the /para command. If the
reader is familiar with the rich text format, they
may find the look of these commands very similar.
That is because these are RTF commands!
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,Paragraph Justification.
/endpara
/para
\\ql left justified paragraph
/endpara
/para
\\qr right justified paragraph
/endpara
/para
\\qj justified paragraph
/endpara
/para
\\qc centered paragraph
/endpara
/para
/link PARAGRAPH_JUSTIFY_EXAMPLES,Paragraph Justify Examples
/endpara
/para \sa150\sb150
/text \b,Paragraph Indentation
/endpara
/para
\\fi000 first line of paragraph indent.
/endpara
/para
\\li000 left indent.
/endpara
/para
\\ri000 right indent
/endpara
/para
/link PARAGRAPH_INDENT_EXAMPLES,Paragraph Indent Examples
/endpara
/para \sa150\sb150
/text \b,Paragraph Spacing
/endpara
/para
\\sb000 space before paragraph.
/endpara
/para
\\sa000 space after paragraph.
/endpara
/para
\\sl000 space between lines.
/endpara
/para
/link PARAGRAPH_SPACING_EXAMPLES,Paragraph Spacing Examples
/endpara
/para \sa150\sb150
/text \b,Paragraph Border Placement
/endpara
/para
\\brdrt border on top of paragraph.
/endpara
/para
\\brdrb border on bottom of paragraph.
/endpara
/para
\\brdrl border on left of paragraph.
/endpara
/para
\\brdrr border on right of paragraph
/endpara
/para
\\box border around entire paragraph
/endpara
/para
/link BORDER_PLACEMENT_EXAMPLES,Border Placement Examples
/endpara
/para \sa150\sb150
/text \b,Paragraph Border Style
/endpara
/para
\\brdrs single thick border
/endpara
/para
\\brdrth thick border
/endpara
/para
\\brdrsh shadow border
/endpara
/para
\\brdrdb double border
/endpara
/para
/link BORDER_STYLE_EXAMPLES,Border Style Examples
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// paragraph justify examples
//
/topic PARAGRAPH_JUSTIFY_EXAMPLES
/browse examples,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b,Paragraph Justification Examples.
/endpara
/para \ql\sa150 \brdrth \box
This paragraph is left justified. This is just some
text so that you can see that it is left justified!
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\ql
/endpara
/para \qr\sa150 \brdrth \box
This paragraph is right justified. This is just some
text so that you can see that it is right justified!
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\qr
/endpara
/para \qj\sa150 \brdrth \box
This paragraph is justified. This is just some
text so that you can see that it is justified!
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\qj
/endpara
/para \qc\sa150 \brdrth \box
This paragraph is centered. This is just some
text so that you can see that it is centered!
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\qc
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// paragraph indent examples
//
/topic PARAGRAPH_INDENT_EXAMPLES
/browse examples,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b,Paragraph Indentation Examples
/endpara
/para \fi300\sa150 \brdrth \box
This is a paragraph where the first line is indented.
It was generated using the command
/text \b,/para \\fi300
where 300 is the number of
/popuplink TWIPS,twips
to indent the first line.
/endpara
/para \li300\sa150 \brdrth \box
This is a paragraph that entire paragraph is indented
on the left.
It was generated using the command
/text \b,/para \\li300
where 300 is the number of
/popuplink TWIPS,twips
to indent the entire paragraph
/endpara
/para \ri300\sa150 \brdrth \box
This is a paragraph that entire paragraph is indented
on the right.
It was generated using the command
/text \b,/para \\ri300
where 300 is the number of
/popuplink TWIPS,twips
to indent the entire paragraph
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// paragraph spacing examples
//
/topic PARAGRAPH_SPACING_EXAMPLES
/browse examples,AUTO
/para \sb300
/text \b,Paragraph Spacing Examples
/endpara
/para \sb500 \brdrth \box
This is a paragraph with a lot of space before it.
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\sb500
where 500 is the number of
/popuplink TWIPS,twips
between the previous paragraph and this paragraph.
/endpara
/para \sa500 \brdrth \box
This is a paragraph with a lot of space after it.
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\sa500
where 500 is the number of
/popuplink TWIPS,twips
between the previous paragraph and this paragraph.
/endpara
/para \sl450 \brdrth \box
This is a paragraph with alot of space between the
lines. If you only have one line resize the help
window to a smaller size to cause more than one line
to be used.
This paragraph was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\sl450
where 450 is the number of
/popuplink TWIPS,twips
between the lines.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// border placement examples
//
/topic BORDER_PLACEMENT_EXAMPLES
/browse examples,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b,Paragraph Border Placement Examples
/endpara
/para \brdrt\sa150
This is a paragraph with the border placed only on top of
it.
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\brdrt
/endpara
/para \brdrb\sa150
This is a paragraph with the border placed only on
bottom of it.
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\brdrb
/endpara
/para \brdrl\sa150
This is a paragraph with the border placed only on
the left of it.
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\brdrl
/endpara
/para \brdrr\sa150
This is a paragraph with the border placed only on
right of it.
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\brdrr
/endpara
/para \box\sa150
This is a paragraph with the border placed
all the way around it.
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\box
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// border style examples
//
/topic BORDER_STYLE_EXAMPLES
/browse examples,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b,Paragraph Border Style Examples
/endpara
/para \box\brdrs\sa150
This is a paragraph with a border of single thickness
around it. It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\box\\brdrs.
/endpara
/para \box\brdrth\sa150
This is a paragraph with a thick border around it.
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\box\\brdrth.
/endpara
/para \box\brdrsh\sa150
This is a paragraph with a shadow border around it.
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\box\\brdrsh.
/endpara
/para \box\brdrdb\sa150
This is a paragraph with a double border around it.
It was generated with the command
/text \b,/para \\box\\brdrdb.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// text command
//
/topic TEXT_COMMAND
/title The /text command
/keywords /text;commands
/browse paracom,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,The /text command
/endpara
/para \sa150
The /text command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,/text
/link TEXT_FORMAT_STRINGS,text specific format strings
, the text
/endpara
/para \sa150
The format properties will be applied to the text found between
the comma (,) and the end of the line which contains the /text
command.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// text format strings
//
/topic TEXT_FORMAT_STRINGS
/title Text format strings
/keywords /text;format strings
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,Text format strings
/endpara
/para \sa150
Following are strings that you can add to the /text
command to cause the string printed by the text command
to take on special properties.
The output of these effects will depend on the font
in use. Since these are really RTF commands you can put
any RTF text formatting command into this position. There
are the most common.
/endpara
/para
/link TEXT_FORMAT_EXAMPLES,Examples
/endpara
/para
\\b = bold text
/endpara
/para
\\i = italic text
/endpara
/para
\\strike = strikethru text
/endpara
/para
\\f000 =
/popuplink FONTS,font number
where 000 is the font of choice.
/endpara
/para
\\fs000 = font size in half points where 000 is the size.
/endpara
/para
\\ul = underline text
/endpara
/para
\\up000 = superscript in half points where 000 is number of half points.
/endpara
/para
\\dn000 = subscript in half points where 000 is number of half points.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// text format examples
//
/topic TEXT_FORMAT_EXAMPLES
/para \sa150
The following are examples of different text formating
commands that you can use. It is important to note that
the help compiler uses certain sequences of commands to
signal links,popups etc. Results of using these commands
on text will be unpredictable if you use a sequence that
help has defined for its own use. This should be a very
rare case. Consult your help compiler manual to understand
the sequences used by the help engine.
/endpara
/para
/text \b,This is bold text
/endpara
/para
/text \i,This is italic text
/endpara
/para
/text \strike,This is strikethrough text
/endpara
/para
/link FONTS,Press here if you want to see the fonts
/endpara
/para
/text \fs50,This is font size 50 text
/endpara
/para
/text \ul,This is underlined text
/endpara
/para
Regular text,
/text \up300,This is superscript 6 half points
/endpara
/para
Regular text,
/text \dn300,Thisis subscript 6 half points
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// fonts
//
/topic FONTS
/title Fonts
/keywords fonts
/para \sa150
The following list correlates font name to font number.
/endpara
/para
/text \f000,This is Tms Rmn, \tab \tab value = 000
/endpara
/para
/text \f002,This is Helv, \tab \tab value = 002
/endpara
/para
/text \f004,This is Courier, \tab \tab value 004
/endpara
/para
/text \f011,This is Helvetica, \tab \tab value 011
/endpara
/para
/text \f067,This is Modern, \tab \tab value 067
/endpara
/para
/text \f068,This is Roman, \tab \tab value 068
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// link command
//
/topic LINK_COMMAND
/title The /link command
/keywords /link;commands
/browse paracom,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,The /link command
/endpara
/para \sa150
The /link command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,/link TOPIC_NAME,link string
/endpara
/para
The TOPIC_NAME is the name of the topic that this link should
transfer the user to. The link string is the string that is
printed in the help window.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// popup command
//
/topic POPUP_COMMAND
/title The /popuplink command
/keywords /popuplink;commands
/browse paracom,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,The /popuplink command
/endpara
/para \sa150
The /popuplink command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,/popuplink TOPIC_NAME,link string
/endpara
/para
The TOPIC_NAME is the name of the topic that this link should
transfer the user to. The link string is the string that is
printed in the help window.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// bitmaplink command
//
/topic BITMAPLINK_COMMAND
/title The /bitmaplink command
/keywords /bitmaplink;commands
/browse paracom,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,The /bitmaplink command
/endpara
/para \sa150
The /bitmaplink command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,/bitmaplink TOPIC_NAME,filename
/endpara
/para
The TOPIC_NAME is the name of the topic that this link should
transfer the user to.
The filename is the name of the bitmap
file where the image data will be gotten from. This filename
should NOT include any path information. The path information
about where the bitmap lives in put into the .hpj file use by
the
/popuplink MICROSOFT,Microsoft
help complier.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// bitmap command
//
/topic BITMAP_COMMAND
/title The /bitmap command
/keywords /bitmap;commands
/browse paracom,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,The /bitmap command
/endpara
/para \sa150
The /bitmap command has the following syntax
/endpara
/para \sa150
/text \b,/bitmap position,filename
/endpara
/para
The position in the above command is a single character with
the following meaning l=left,r=right,c=character which means
treat the bitmap just like a character and put it wherever it
goes in the sentence.
The filename is the name of the bitmap
file where the image data will be gotten from. This filename
should NOT include any path information. The path information
about where the bitmap lives in put into the .hpj file use by
the
/popuplink MICROSOFT,Microsoft
help complier.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// what is a twip?
//
/topic TWIPS
/title twips
/keywords twips
/para
A twip is a unit used to measure output to a graphics device.
A twip has a value of 1/1440 of an inch. In other words there
are 1440 twips per inch.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// how to run the ascii help builder program
//
/topic RUNNING
/title Running Quick and Dirty Help
/keywords run;running
/browse index,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,Running Quick and Dirty Help
/endpara
/para
The following items contain information on running
quick and dirty help from the DOS command line.
/endpara
/para \sa300
The qdhelp program is invoked on the DOS command line.
The following syntax is used
/endpara
/para \fs20\box\sa300
qdhelp inputfile [outputfile]
/endpara
/para
The outputfile is optional. If no output file name is
given the output will be written to the default file
out.rtf.
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// hints and tips
//
/topic HINTS
/title hints and tips
/keywords hints;tips
/browse index,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,Hints and Tips
/bitmaplink INDEX,done.bmp
/endpara
/para \box\sa150
The best way to get a feel for using the QDHELP system
is to look over the file QUICK.QDH. This is the file
that contains the input to QDHELP which was used to
generate the help file that you are currently reading.
/endpara
/para \box\sa150
When developing your help system. First develop a standard
look to each of your topics. This would include what the
title will look like, the spacing of the paragraphs, the
method you will use for subtitles, etc. By putting in a
little work up front you will be able to work most of your
topics from this template. Given an ascii editor with cut
and paste (the Windows 3.0 notebook will do) you should be
able to crank out your help file in a short amount of time.
/endpara
/para \box\sa150
To generate a blank line between 2 groups of text
use the \\sa300 command in the paragraph format
string for the first paragraph.
/endpara
/para \box
To generate a list of links each on a separate line place
each /link command in a separate /para /endpara pair.
/endpara
/endtopic
/topic ERRATA
/title Errata
/keywords bugs;errata
/browse index,AUTO
/para \sa300
/text \b\i\fs40,Errata
/bitmaplink INDEX,done.bmp
/endpara
/para \box\sa300
Below is a list of known problems and work arounds if
any are known
/endpara
/para \box
I dont know of any way to force a line feed in the middle
of standard text. Im sure there is a way I just havent figured
it out yet. If you know of a way drop me a note.
/endpara
/para \box
Tab character is not allowed beyond the first non white space
character in the string. In other words you can use tab to
indent at the start of the line but not in the middle of a
line. (I know it's silly, I'm working on it!). If you want
to put a tab into your text use \\tab this will put a tab
into the text.
/endpara
/para \box
Bitmap files can not have a comma (,) in there file
name. This is a known bug and will be fixed in later
releases
/endpara
/endtopic
//
// test topic
//
/topic TEST
/title test
/keywords test
/browse index,AUTO
/para
Some text
/bitmap l,done.bmp
/bitmap r ,done.bmp
More Text
/bitmap c,bullet.bmp
/endpara
/endtopic