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@page:contents@Contents @Sprite:Wyvern@ _______________________________________________________ Welcome to this help document for !Ray3d-Pro. Whilst reading this document you will come across buttons like those below. Clicking on these with the mouse will take you to more help on that subject. @goto:contents2: How to use the !Help+ Application @ @goto:!Ray3d-pro^contents: Instructions for using Ray3d-Pro @ This document describes the DEMO version of !Ray3d-Pro - v 2.10(d) @end@ @page:contents2@Title page @Sprite:Wyvern@ _______________________________________________________ Welcome to !Help+. While using this application you will come across 3d slab icons such as the ones below. Clicking on an icon takes you to more help on that subject. @goto:2: Using !Help+ @ @goto:4: About the Author @ @goto:toolbar: The Toolbar @ @goto:prog: Note for Programmers @ @goto:7: The Menu @ @goto:5: Copyright Notice @ @goto:search: Searching @ @goto:print: Printing @ @end@ @page:2@Using Help+ @colour:11@Using Help+ Clicking on the icon on the icon bar brings up a window for the associated Help+ file. It is in this window that the pages will be displayed. Initially it consists of the contents page for the current Help system. On each page there may be 3d buttons with text inside them. Clicking on one will take you to another page. Clicking on the icon 'back' at the foot of the window will take you back to the page you came from. By repeatedly doing this you can trace your way back to the contents page. Clicking on the icon 'Contents' at the foot of the window will always take you back to the contents page for the current help system. Sprites may also be displayed within the page, however clicking on these will have no effect. @end@ @page:3@Creating Help+ files @colour:11@Creating !Help+ files To create help on another application for use with !Help+, you need to do the following. * Create a text file, using the @goto:6:special commands@ to divide it into pages, show sprites, etc. * Set the filetype to 'HelpFile' (or &0f8), and save it within the "Help_On" directory (located in the !Help+ application directory). * The name you give your file is the name that will appear on the 'Help On" menu. * Any sprites which you will be using need to be merged with the existing "Sprites" file (within the Help_on Directory) using !Paint. * The minimum number of files that must be present are: !Help+ - !Boot !Run !Help !Sprites !Runimage Templates Code Help_On - Sprites !Help+ @end@ @page:4@About the Author @colour:11@About the Author !Help+ was fully designed and coded exclusively for Wyvern Software by: Robert Taylor 5 Mayfield Grove Skegness Lincolnshire PE25 3RY If you experience any problems, or have any suggestions as to improvements, feel free to contact the author at this address. @end@ @page:5@Copyright for !Help+ @colour:11@Copyright Notice for !Help+ !Help+ is a copyright program. You have permission to distribute it freely so long as the conditions below are met. Failing to comply with these conditions will render you liable to prosecution. * It may be copied freely as long as this is not done for a profit or any sort of commercial gain or advantage and the complete application is copied as a whole. * The copyright remains mine at all times. @goto:4:About the Author@ * Any modifications should be commented and a copy sent to me so that they can be incorporated in future versions. * This application is supplied "as is", and I cannot be held responsible for loss or damages that arise from the use, mis-use or lack of use of this program. @colour:11@Distributing !Help+ with your own applications !Help+ may be included with any program freely unless it is commercial (for which my permission in writing must be gained), as long as the following conditions are met. * This help file (the Help+ one) MUST be unaltered and included with any other help files which are distributed. * No modifications are made to this program's source code or templates. @end@ @page:6@Commands @colour:11@Special Commands @Goto:Page: Page:id @ @Goto:end: End @ @Goto:colour: Colour:## @ @Goto:sprite: Sprite:name @ @Goto:goto: Goto:id:button text @ Each special command is surrounded in @sprite:b_at@ symbols, to denote that it is a command and not text. For more information I suggest loading an existing Help+ file into a text editor such as !Edit. @end@ @page:page@Page:id @colour:11@ @sprite:at@ Page:id@sprite:at@ This marks the start of a page. A page name or identifier should be given in place of id. NB: Every file must have a page "contents", which is what will be displayed when the 'Contents' icon is clicked on. Each file may have a page 'Glossary', which will be what is displayed if the 'Glossary' icon is clicked on. @end@ @Page:end@End @colour:11@ @sprite:at@ End@sprite:at@ This marks the end of the page being defined. @end@ @page:colour@Colour:## @colour:11@ @sprite:at@ colour:##@sprite:at@ This command changes the colour of the text, until the next line, where it changes back to black. NB: The (wimp) colour number should be given in place of the ##. Numbers less than 10 should be given as 01,02... @end@ @page:Sprite@Sprite:name @colour:11@ @sprite:at@ Sprite:name@sprite:at@ This will place the sprite 'name' on the screen, with it's bottom left corner located at the start of the command. @end@ @page:goto@Goto:id:button text @colour:11@ @sprite:at@ Goto:id:button text@sprite:at@ This places a button on the screen, with the 'button text' dis- played inside. Clicking on this button will send the user to the page identified by id. If the id text is in the format "system^page", then the text preceeding the ^ symbol is the name of the help+ file that contains the page whoose name is given after the ^ symbol. eg: the id "!Help+^contents" would take the user to the 'contents' page in the help file '!Help+'. @end@ @page:7@The !Help+ Menu @colour:11@The !Help+ Menu To bring up the !Help+ menu, click using the MENU button on the icon bar over the !Help+ icon. There are five options: @goto:info: Info @ @goto:Help_on: Help On ⇨@ @goto:root: Open Root @ @goto:search: Search @ @goto:print: Print page @ @goto:quit: Quit @ @end@ @page:info@Info @colour:08@Info This option leads onto a sub-menu with Information on !Help+ such as the version number. @end@ @page:Help_on@Help On @colour:08@Help On Clicking on this icon on the toolbar will bring up a menu of all the current help systems available. This option on the main menu leads onto a sub-menu which lists all the applications for which help is available. Selecting one of these applications will bring up the relevant help system. @end@ @page:root@Root @colour:08@Open Root From time to time you may want to go back to the start page of the current help system. Selecting this option will open the contents page for the current help system. @end@ @page:search@Search @colour:08@Search Selecting this option from the menu, or clicking on the icon in the toolbar will open a window where you can enter what you wish to search for. Pressing return will start the search, and clicking on 'Next" will find the next match. @end@ @page:quit@Quit @colour:08@Quit This will quit the !Help+ application. @end@ @page:print@Printing @colour:11@Printing Sometimes it is desireable to have a hard copy of some information which can be found within a text file. Selecting the Print option from the menu will output a copy of the current page to your printer. NB: Sprites that appear in the Help+ files will not be printed. This is to maximise the speed of printing. @end@ @page:prog@Programmers @colour:11@Programmers It is easy to create !Help+ files for your own applications, which can then be used interactively by sending commands from your own program which to the Help+ application. See the @goto:5:copyright@ section for details about distributing !Help. @goto:3: Creating !Help+ files @ @goto:6: Special commands @ @goto:ih: Interactive help @ @end@ @page:ih@Interactive help @colour:11@Interactive help It is possible to send !Help+ a wimp message which will cause it to display a specific page. This can be used to support interactive help which displays much more detailed information than is possible with Acorn's interactive help application. To do this a wimp message must be sent as follows: @colour:08@ DEF PROCsend_help(command$) @colour:08@ b%!0=256 :b%!4=0 @colour:08@ b%!8=0 :b%!12=0 @colour:08@ b%!16=&9900 :$(b%+20)=command$ @colour:08@ SYS"Wimp_SendMessage",17,b%,0 @colour:08@ ENDPROC Where the parameter passed to PROCsend_help is of the form: @colour:08@ Help_system@sprite:b_at@ Page_name eg: !Help.Contents or !Help.Quit or !Ray3d.Tools etc. @end@ @page:toolbar@The Toolbar @colour:11@The Toolbar At the foot of the main window is a toolbar consosting of five icons. @goto:Cont: Contents @ @goto:Glos: Glossary @ @goto:Help_on: Help On @ @goto:Search: Search @ @goto:Back: Back @ @end@ @page:Cont@Contents @colour:08@Contents Clicking on this icon will take you to the contents page for the current Help system. @end@ @page:Glos@Glossary @colour:08@Glossary If this icon is unshaded it means that the author of the help system you are using has inclcuded a glossary. To go to that glossary, click on this icon. @end@ @page:Back@Back @colour:08@Back Clicking on the icon 'back' will take you back to the page you came from. By repeatedly doing this you can trace your way back to the contents page. @end@