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Creating Customized Help with HTML Workshop

Learn how to develop personalized help topics for applications using HTML. Explore the process of creating a custom Help system with HTML Help Workshop, linking files to your Access application, and using Rich Text Format. Get insights into the components and features of creating customized help files.

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Creating Customized Help with HTML Workshop

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  1. Chapter 11 Developing Custom Help

  2. Chapter Objectives • Use HTML to create customized Help topics for an application • Use the HTML Help Workshop to create the Help Index and Contents tabs • Link a Help file to an Access application • Learn the process of creating a customized Help system

  3. Developing Custom Help • Customized Help • Contained in one or more Help files that are delivered along with the Access application • HTML Workshop or WinHelp • Help file compiler used to create Help files • Hypertext Markup Language • Language used to construct World Wide Web (WWW) pages • Newer language

  4. Developing Custom Help • Rich Text Format (RTF) • Common file format that can be specified in most word processors • Used by WinHelp to develop components of Help

  5. Features, Components, and Process of Creating Customized Help • Help window contains several tabs and subwindows • Topic window • Displays Help for a particular task • Index tab • Alphabetically lists keywords that assist a user in finding a particular topic

  6. Features, Components, and Process of Creating Customized Help • Help window contains several tabs and subwindows (continued): • Contents tab • Organizes topics according to an outline • Answer Wizard tab • Allows the user to type in a question

  7. Features, Components, and Process of Creating Customized Help Figure 11-1 Components of Customized Help

  8. Features, Components, and Process of Creating Customized Help • Help developer must create: • Topic files • Based on Html • End with htm extension • Displayed in the Topic window

  9. Features, Components, and Process of Creating Customized Help • Help developer must create (continued): • Index file • Uses an hhk file extension • Based on HTML, but can be generated automatically through HTML Help Workshop • Contents are placed in the Index tab

  10. Features, Components, and Process of Creating Customized Help • Help developer must create (continued): • Contents file • Uses an hhc file extension • Corresponds to the Contents tab • Based on HTML • Can be created automatically in the HTML Help Workshop

  11. Features, Components, and Process of Creating Customized Help • Help developer must create (continued): • Project file • Uses an hhp file extension • Identifies the topic, index, and content files that will be compiled together to form the Help file • Specifies other options, such as size and type of Help windows • Compiling a project generates a compiled Help file that ends with a chm extension

  12. Features, Components, and Process of Creating Customized Help • Help developer must create (continued): • Files for the Answer Wizard tab • Developed through the use of the Answer Wizard Builder • Answer Wizard Builder • Separate program

  13. Features, Components, and Process of Creating Customized Help • Context-sensitive Help • Displays different Help topics depending upon the location of the user’s cursor • To develop quality customized Help: • Must determine the Help requirements • Must design the Help topics • Common format

  14. Features, Components, and Process of Creating Customized Help • To develop quality customized Help (cont.): • Should design the Index and Contents tab so that a consistent standard is used • Must create the topics, index, contents, and project files • Must compile the Help files through the use of the Help file compiler • Must link the files to the application

  15. Creating Help Topics • Help topics frequently list the steps necessary to accomplish a desired database action • Steps may include: • Boldface phrases that catch the attention of the user • Links to other relevant Help topics, links to pop-up windows that define terms, and pictures that graphically illustrate a concept

  16. Creating Help Topics • Developers use HTML to create topic files • Text files that do not contain special formatting • HTML uses tags that surround letters, words, or phrases to specify the desired format • The Web browser or the Help viewer then reads these tags and formats the text accordingly

  17. Creating Help Topics Table 11-1 Commonly used HTML tags

  18. Creating Help Topics Figure 11-2 HTML tags used in a Help file

  19. Creating Help Topics Figure 11-3 Displayed Help file corresponding to Figure 11-2

  20. Creating Help Topics • <HTML></HTML> tags • Indicate the beginning and the end of an HTML document • <HEAD></HEAD> tags • Surround text that provides overhead information to the browser • <TITLE></TITLE> tags • Appear inside the <HEAD> tags

  21. Creating Help Topics • <TITLE> tags • Placed in the title bar of a document if it is displayed in a browser • <BODY></BODY> tags • Surround the text that will be displayed in the Topic window

  22. Creating Help Topics • Help developers can use different tools to create HTML files: • Microsoft FrontPage • Microsoft Word • Limited HTML editor that comes with HTML Help Workshop • Notepad

  23. Help Templates • General types of Help topics: • Term definitions • Multi-step instructions • Single-step instructions • Actions that can be performed with a form

  24. Help Templates • Topic template • An HTML file that contains the headings, tags, fonts, and colors used for topics of a particular type • May also contain text that describes where certain types of instructions are placed in the topic file • Cascading style sheets • Used to control the fonts, colors, and backgrounds of the topic files

  25. Help Templates Figure 11-4 Overview topic template

  26. Help Templates Figure 11-5 Single-step procedure topic template

  27. Help Templates Figure 11-6 Multi-step procedure topic template

  28. Help Templates • Sentences should be written in a standard style • Use verb phrases consistently to indicate a user action • Boldface the object that is the subject of the action • Use terminology consistently

  29. Including Images in Topic Files • HTML Help Image Editor • Enables you to capture an image from the screen and then edit that image Figure 11-10 Capture options in the HTML Help Image Editor

  30. Linking to Other Topic Files and Creating Pop-up Windows • JavaScript • Programming language that can be embedded in an HTML file • Required by a hyperlink that displays information in a pop-up window • Uses objects and methods • HTML Help ActiveX control

  31. Starting a Project File Figure 11-13 Project tab toolbar buttons

  32. Starting a Project File Table 11-2 Project tab toolbar buttons

  33. Creating the Contents File • Help contents file is an HTML file that includes a list of words or phrases that are linked to the topic files Figure 11-15 Contents tab toolbar buttons

  34. Creating the Contents File • HTML Help Workshop allows the developer to tag items in the contents file with a particular information type • Information type • Associated with a particular group of users • Declared in the Table of Contents property window

  35. Creating an Index File • Creating an index file through the Index tab is similar to creating a contents file except: • Headings are not used • Index toolbar contains a button to sort the file Figure 11-18 Initial Index tab

  36. Preparing the Project File for Access • Alias and map sections • Associate a topic HTML file with a numerical ID Figure 11-20 Cross-referencing Help properties, sections, and files

  37. Integrating Help with an Access Application • API procedure • Function or sub procedure that is created outside the scope of an Access application • Helpfile argument • Must contain the complete path to the compiled Help file • Context argument • Numerical expression that specifies a numerical ID that is listed in the map section of the project file

  38. Integrating Help with an Access Application • vbMsgBoxHelpButton • Intrinsic constant for the Help button • HtmlHelp • API function that invokes Help • HHCtrol.ocx • Name of the library outside Access that contains the function

  39. Integrating Help with an Access Application • hwndCaller argument • The Hwnd property of the form or control that will be associated with the Help viewer • Hwnd property • Uniquely identifies an open window across all Windows application

  40. Integrating Help with an Access Application • pszFile argument • Specifies the complete path to the Help file • uCommand argument • Influences the operation of the HtmlHelp function • dwData argument • Numerical ID of the context-sensitive Help when the value of uCommand is the hexadecimal number represented by &HF

  41. Chapter Summary • Customized Help • Vital tool that tells users how to perform both basic and advanced functions • Creation supported by HTML Help Workshop • Consists of various sections and files • Topic window and files • Index tab • Contents tab • Project files

  42. Chapter Summary • HelpFile and HelpContextID properties • Used to connect compiled Help file to the Access application • Help can be connected to an Access application via MsgBox arguments and HtmlHelp API function • Topic templates • Promote consistency across the system

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