[Original] How to Use htmlhelp workshop to create a Windows Help File
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Technology | Tag: htmlhelp workshop Help File Creation Method
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For those who often develop applications, they all want to create a help system to help users understand their software functions and application methods. How to Create a Help System for your own software? In this article, I will talk about my application methods and hope that my practical application experience will help my friends.
The help files of Windows 98 and later versions have greatly changed from Windows 95. It uses a Help File Based on HTML file features and Internet Explorer to display help content, supports HTML, ActiveX, Java, scripts (Java and VB scripts), and HTML image formats (. JPEG, GIF, and PNG). Its icon is also changed, and its suffix is CHM. Windows 98 is called compiled.
HTML Help file. For convenience, the CHM File is called below. Typical Windows 98 standard help file (. the window of the CHM File) is similar to that of Windows 98 Resource Manager. The left side is the three functional items of directory, index, and search. Switch through the tab. The right side is the display part of the HTML file, changed the separation of the original help file directory window and topic window. Because the HTML file is multimedia expressive, the content of the CHM File is no longer limited to text and static images, where GIF animation can be inserted, you can also use the browser plug-in to play audio files, animated films, or multimedia content in other formats in the document. The added URL address can be associated with the Internet, so that the CHM file is not limited to packaged content. It is the next-generation online help system of Microsoft. At the same time, the core of the CHM file is to make full use of the performance of the HTML file, packaging the scattered HTML file as a whole, which is also a trend of using HTML files outside the web page. If you use this method to create learning tutorials, e-books and magazines, or provide users with product catalogs and promotional materials, it is more concise and convenient than popular PDF files.
The CHM file can be divided into two parts: the runner and the document content. The runner is part of the operating system, and the document content changes with its attached applications. This is not much different from the previous winhelp structure. However, the runner has made great improvements. The runner is very small and does not directly run HTML files. Instead, it operates an ActiveX component and controls the web browser that supports ActiveX components, for example, Microsoft Explorer 3.0 or later. One of its advantages is that it can run across platforms. As long as there are runners and browsers on different platforms, CHM files no longer need to be re-compiled.
The tool used to create CHM files is Microsoft's htmlhelp workshop toolkit. Currently, the latest HTML Help Workshop version is 4.74. This is a Chinese version. It is very convenient to install htmlhelp workshop, as long as you follow the prompts. It is also very convenient to use, without programming and writing language requirements, as long as you will make HTML files.
It is convenient and easy to create CHM files. A lot of work is mainly to write HTML files. Each of its themes is an HTML file. These themes should be edited in advance and confirmed with Internet Explorer. The topic file can be edited in any HTML editor or in htmlhelp workshop. If you are not familiar with HTML file editing, you can also use Word. Because word 97is used as an upper limit, you can save the worddocument (.doc file) as an HTML file, and you can also convert Word documents into HTML files in batches. In this way, you can edit the Word documents as expected and convert them to HTML files.
When running htmlhelp workshop, its work window is very simple. There are five commands on the menu bar: "file", "View", "test", "tool", and "help ". The following toolbar has five buttons: "new", "open", "compile HTML file", "verify compilation file", and "online help ". The procedure is as follows:
1. Create help textCreating a help text is the first step in creating a help system. The help text describes the functions and usage of the application software developed by you. Here, I will take the developed "Communication Engineering (overview) Budget System" as an example to talk about the process of helping you create the system. Use Word2000 to create the text "Communication Engineering (overview) budget system help.
Communication Project (overview) Budget System Main Interface
Communication Engineering (overview) budget system help text
Ii. Create a paging webpage FileAccording to the help system framework structure, each piece of help text that needs to be displayed by page is converted into a webpage file using Word2000. It is a paging webpage file required for the help of the Communication Engineering (overview) budget system.
Paging webpage files
3. Create a project file
Start the htmlhelp workshop system and open the main interface.
Create a solution
Click the htmlhelp workshop menu or the "new" command in the toolbar. The "select new content" dialog box is displayed. There are five options: solution, text, HTML file, directory, and index ". Select "Scheme", and then the "Scheme" Wizard will show you the file format that can be converted by this wizard. Generally, we want to create a scheme (. HHP) file without conversion. Go to "Next" and specify the directory to be placed and the input file name. Click "Next" to go to the "existing file" dialog box, if you want to include existing files into the "solution", select from the list below. These files (including edited topic files) can be added. Go to "Next" and click "OK" to enter htmlhelp.
Workshop work window. There are three tabs at the top of the window: "solution", "directory", and "Index ". There are 7 buttons on the left side of the "solution" window. Their function names are from top to bottom: "Change Project Options", "Add/delete topic Files", "Add/modify window definitions", "hhtml help API information", "verify HTML source files", "Save project, directory "and index file "," Save all files and compile ".
Click the "Change Project Options" button, and the "options" dialog box appears. The cursor flashes in the "title" text box on the "General" tab. Add the title here, after compilation, the title will appear in the title bar of the CHM File window. For other content, use the default value of the system. Click the Add/delete topic file button, and then select the Add button to add the HTML file as the cover page. The files on the cover page must be available. Otherwise, the system reports an error after the compiled help file is run. Now, the simple "solution" editing is complete.
4. Create a directory file
Click the "directory" tab. A dialog box is displayed, prompting you that the "solution" is not associated with the directory file (. HHC), you can create a new directory file, or specify an existing directory file. Select "Create a new directory file". Next, select the name and storage path of a new directory file. The directory editing window appears. There are 11 buttons on the left side of the Directory window. The first five buttons are: "directory tool", "insert title", "insert page", "edit and select", and "Delete and select". Four Arrows in the middle are used to adjust the location of the specified title or page, the last two items are displayed in the project editing window. Insert the title or page directory as needed. When you press "insert title" or "insert page", the "directory entry" dialog box is displayed. In the "Entry Title" text box, enter the title of the entry, select the corresponding topic (html file) as needed, and click "add" under "Entry Title, in the displayed dialog box, enter the file name or URL address in the "file or URL address" text box, and click the "advanced" tab. In the "image Index" column, specify an icon for the entry, for example, you can use a book icon to include other entries, while a page entry can use a question mark icon. If the selected entry does not contain or is not included by another entry before you click the insert page button, you will be asked if you want to create a start entry ", if yes is selected, the Start entry (level-1 entry) is added. If no is selected, a subentry is added. You can either add a topic file or URL to the title, or place the desired topic file as a description of the title. Titles can be divided into multiple levels, which should be considered in a unified manner according to the prepared content. If you are not satisfied, you can use the arrow on the left to adjust the entry, select the entry, and right-click the entry to adjust the entry. You can also insert the title, topic, or directory file. Editing a directory file is the most important task to create a CHM file. The directory file should contain all the directories (themes) of a CHM file, and each directory contains the entry title (name) the topic file must be different from the topic file. After all the directories are added, the directory is complete.
Create directory
Generated Help File
After the directory is compiled, a chm file has taken shape, and the index content is currently available. After saving the project files and directory files, you can compile them. Compiling is to compress all the HTML files used and package them together to form a file with the suffix ". chm. In the main toolbar, you can find the compile button and test run button, or press the "Save all files and compile" button in the lower-left corner of the Project window to compile. After compilation, you can see the appearance of the work. The contents of the Directory are displayed on the left of the CHM File window after compilation. You can expand the title and display the following directories. Click the directory to open the corresponding topic file and display the corresponding content. If any problem is found, you can modify and adjust it.
5. Create an index file
In the htmlhelp workshop work window, click the "Index" tab. A dialog box is displayed, and the operation is the same as creating a directory file. In the index editing window, there are also 11 buttons on the left, 8 of which are already familiar, and 3 are: "index tool", "insert keyword", and "Sort keyword ". The so-called keywords are words, words, or phrases that may be used by users and associated with one or more help topic files, index files (. HHK) is also an HTML file that contains several keywords. When you open the CHM File, click the index tag and enter a keyword, the CHM file displays a list of topics related to this keyword, making it easy to find related topics. Click "insert keyword". In the "index item" dialog box that appears, enter a keyword in the "keyword" text box on the "General" tab, click Add to specify the topic file associated with the keyword. To jump to another keyword, click the "advanced" tab in the "index items" dialog box, select "destination is another keyword", click the "General" tab, and click "add, in the file or URL field, enter the keyword to jump to and click OK ".
Create an index
6. Create a search
The "Search" tab of the CHM file allows users to search for words, words, or phrases in all topic files, display their titles, and display them in a conspicuous manner in the topic. Open a solution file, click "change solution options" on the "solution" tab, and select "compile full-text search information" on the "Compilation" tab of the "options" dialog box.
The above describes the basic steps for compiling HTML Help files, which is easy to use. However, its functions are far from these. For example, you can design your favorite form in the window definition, and almost all the elements of the window can be changed. Insert shortcuts, related topics, keyword links, Lenovo links, HTML Help ActiveX controls, java scripts, and pop-up windows into HTML files. For details, see the Help File of htmlhelp workshop, or the corresponding web page of Microsoft. I believe you will love it after you try it.
