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Q195613: HOWTO: Create a Simple Context-Sensitive HTML Help File

Article: Q195613
Product(s): Microsoft FoxPro
Version(s): WINDOWS:6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbHTMLHelp kbvfp600
Last Modified: 09-OCT-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 6.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

Visual Foxpro 6.0 includes HTML HELP Workshop that you can use to design help
systems for your applications. This article describes how to create a simple
context-sensitive help system.

MORE INFORMATION
================

HTML Help Workshop is a Help authoring tool with an easy-to-use graphical
interface for creating help project files, topic files, contents files, index
files, and everything else you need to put together an online help system or Web
site.

NOTE: You can install HTML Help Workshop by running HTMLHelp.exe from the
HtmlHelp directory on Disc 1 of the Microsoft Visual FoxPro version 6.0 or
Microsoft Visual Studio version 6.0 CDs.

1. Add relevant numbers to the HELPCONTEXTID property of each of the controls in
  your Visual FoxPro project that you would like to associate with a help
  topic. For example, if you want to associate help with three controls in a
  form, set the HELPCONTEXTID property for each of them to 1, 2, and 3
  respectively.

2. Create the topic files for your help system. These are common HTML files. You
  can create them in any HTML editor or HTML Help Workshop. Each of the
  HELPCONTEXTID numbers for the controls represents a topic. Create a file for
  each of the topics that you want to include in your help system.

3. Create a map file. You can use a Text Editor, such as NotePad, to create this
  file. A map file is a C Header file that maps the HelpContextId sent by the
  calling application to constants used in the Help Compiler. A map file is a
  text file and might contain information similar to the following:

        #Define TOPIC1 1
        #Define TOPIC2 2

4. Open the HTML Help Workshop and create a new help project. A wizard guides
  you through how to add the HTML files to the project.

5. Using HTML Help Workshop, open the project created in step 4. Click HtmlHelp
  API information. Click the Map tab, and click Header File. Select the header
  file created in step 3.

6. In the HtmlHelp API information dialog box, click the Alias tab. Click Add,
  and type the constant or the number passed to the HtmlHelp API (for example,
  TOPIC1) in the box under "Whenever This Constant or number is passed to the
  HTMLHelp API."

7. In the "Use it to Refer to This HTML File" box, select a topic file (created
  in step 2) that you want the constant to refer to.

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 to associate all of the HTML topic files to the
  appropriate constants.

9. Click Save all project files and compile. This creates a help file with the
  same name as the Help project and a .chm extension.

10. To set help to the Help file that you created in step 9, use the following
  command:

  Set Help to MyHelpFile.chm

  Where MyHelpFile.chm is the name of the help file created in HTML Help
  Workshop.

REFERENCES
==========

For information on using HTML Help files with Visual FoxPro 3.0 and 5.0, please
see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q185498 SAMPLE: Vfphtml.exe Demonstrates HTML Help in VFP 3.0 and 5.0

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbHTMLHelp kbvfp600 
Technology        : kbVFPsearch kbAudDeveloper kbVFP600
Version           : WINDOWS:6.0
Issue type        : kbhowto

=============================================================================

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