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Customising the Help Keys Last updated: 08/10/2008 22:38:19 GMT |
 
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Customising the Help Keys Last updated: 08/10/2008 22:38:19 GMT |
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By default, when you press the F1 key or select user manual on the help menu, online help is opened in standard Windows help format, known as compiled HTML help. Similarly, the what's new information and quick start tutorials open in standard format.
Not everybody prefers this format, however, and WintextCom Personal Information Manager(tm) is provided with several alternatives. These can be accessed by selecting the alternative hell documents option on the help menu, which lists them. However, if you prefer online help in a different format, you may wish to make it the default format for all the online help facilities.
To set an alternative help format as default, use the "h" directive in WintextCom Personal Information Manager(tm)'s configuration settings or on the command line. The letter "h" is followed immediately by a status byte, followed by the file extension for the required help format, including the period. If you do not include the period, the text following the status byte is opened as a document, web page, or program in its own rights, without association with the standard help. No spaces should be included in the string.
At the time of publication, only one status byte is supported, but it must be specified. This is the plus sign ("+"), which merely specifies the extension to be used as default. So the default value for this directive is:
"h+.chm".
Note that customising the extension has no effect if the custom help file facility was enabled during installation, since that overrides access to standard help.
It is envisaged that the use of a colon (":") as the status byte will cause the text and web formats of the help files to be opened in the internal reader, when it is available, and that a minus sign ("-") will disable access to help in all other formats.
Supported formats are:
You can specify a program, document, or website after the status byte instead of a file extension with a prefixed period. This enables you to specify an alternative help file or any other document to display or program to run. One application of this is to replace the standard help by web-based help, either the S.W.H.-Wintextware online manual or any other website, which could be one maintained by support personnel to provide individual user documentation. Providing web-based documentation has the advantage that it does not need to be installed on the user's computer, but it immediately available as updated by the author.
By default, pressing Shift+F1 opens the quick start tutorials in the default help format or a new specification as above. You can change the action of this key.:
In the help directive, follow the file extension specification by a comma, then a status character, then the name of the file you want to open. The filename can include a path, it does not necessarily have to be one of the shipped help files, but it must be a file specification that the Windows shell can display or run, command lines are not supported.
If the specified file exists, it overrides the custom help file facility, if enabled. You could use it, for example, to display the standard help file with the user having access to custom instructions via F1, a setup that might assist a support person when writing ndividualised notes in the custom help file. The specification for Shift+F1 may also be the primary name of a shipped help file, in which as the default or user-specified help extension is applied to it and the file opened. The latter scenario is overridden by the custom help file, however.
The status character must currently be a plus sign. It is envisaged that using a colon will cause the file to be opened in the internal reader, while using a minus sign will enable you to set up a universal help or application enhancement by defining a series of global shortcut key assignments and an associated startup command line.
Note that using this feature causes the quick start tutorials help menu option not to be displayed, since it may not be appropriate to th changes you have made.
Page url: http://wtcmanual.wintextware.com/index.html?m_customising_the_help_keys.htm