Displaying help text

[Eddy Van Esch]

Hi all,
I'm writing a small utility program in which I want to implement
a simple 'help' function.
I don't want to use the standard windows help-system for 2 reasons:
a) I don't know how to use it (yet)...
b) I don't want to use a seperate .hlp-file. I would like the
helptext to be stored in the source code itself.
I was thinking of simply using an editbox (textbox) or a richedit
box with scrollbars to show the helptext, so the user can read
the whole text by scrolling up or down.
Question is how to store the helptext in the source code to get
it in the editbox afterwards.
I was thinking of using the good old (?) 'data'-statements to
store the helptext in.
To type the helptext however, I want to use a texteditor 'cause
typing lots of text directly in data-statements is not a pleasant
task. I guess I could write a simple utility to convert the lines
of text, entered in a text editor, to data-statements and
copy-paste these in my source code.
Unless.... one of you has a much better (read: 'simpler') idea...
kind regards
Eddy


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[Scott Turchin]

I sometimes do this, and will write it in text, write a quick program to add something like this:

Dim St(1 to 1000)
do until eof(1)
  Line Input #1, St(x)
  St(x) = "St(" & Format$(x) & ")=" & St(x) & """
Loop

Basically you get the point, the end result would go from this:

This is a test

To this:

St(1) = "This is a test"

But, the other thing that I've really taken a liking to is creating an HTML based file, dropping it in a subdirectory under my program, with images and then using ShellExecute to just LAUNCH that puppy...

Since the internet is "hot" people "Like" to use their browsers, why not?
My last two programs have done this and I've actually gotten some feedback back whereas I did not before.....allows you to put screen captures in etc...


Scott


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Scott

[Charles Dietz]

Eddy,

Scott has some good ideas. Here's a little different way of doing it:

#COMPILE EXE
#DIM ALL
#INCLUDE "win32api.inc"

CALLBACK FUNCTION ok
   DIALOG END CBHNDL
END FUNCTION

FUNCTION PBMAIN
   LOCAL hDlg AS LONG, style AS LONG, txt AS STRING
   DIALOG NEW 0,"Help",,,150,150,%WS_SYSMENU TO hDlg
   style = %ES_MULTILINE + %ES_WANTRETURN + %WS_VSCROLL + %ES_READONLY
   txt = "[Overview]" + $CRLF _
       + "This is a test of how a simple help system might be easily integrated " _
       + "into a small utility type powerBasic program.  Just a simple TEXTBOX control "_
       + "displaying a single string is all that would be required." + $CRLF + $CRLF _
       + "[Writing Help]" + $CRLF _
       + "You can use this same listbox in another dialog to write the help text, " _
       + "capture it with a CONTROL GET TEXT, and then save it to a sequential file, " _
       + "perhaps named filename.hlp, which can then be read in as a string to your utility.  " _
       + "Don't forget to remove the %ES_READONLY style to write your help text."
   CONTROL ADD TEXTBOX, hDlg, 100, txt, 10, 10, 125, 80,style,%WS_EX_CLIENTEDGE
   CONTROL ADD BUTTON, hDlg, %IDOK, "&Ok", 50, 100, 50, 25 CALL ok
   DIALOG SHOW MODAL hDlg
END FUNCTION

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[Michael Mattias]

For doc on some of my software, I take a text file and save it as a binary resource (type RCDATA) and #RESOURCE the file into the EXE.

Then when the user hits "help" I load the resource, save it to disk and SHELL notepad.

The user can make notes or whatver in HIS copy of the file while leaving the "factory" copy available at any time to be re-extracted.

For my freeware VSAM space calculator, the users love that "install" means "save the file attached to the e-mail" and they can never lose the helpfile.
(VSAM is a file management system used on IBM mainframes. Until fairly recently when you could specify the number of records, figuring space requirements in tracks and/or cylinders was kind of a black art, usally done by trial and error).

Works for me...

MCM

[Eddy Van Esch]

Thanks for all the advice guys!
Eddy



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