Programmer 7500

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Programmer 7500 / MAX_PROGRAMMERS.iso / CLIPPER / MISC / AHELP13.ZIP / AHELP5.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1993-04-03 | 20.9 KB | 492 lines

*** IMPORTANT!!! *** For a printed copy of this user guide, copy this file to your printer. If you have a previous version of AHELP, the three notes on this page may be of interest to you. Otherwise, proceed to the next page. Note 1: AHELP5 requires a different file structure for the help file than AHELP for Summer '87 (versions 1.x and 2.0) used. The utility program named AHELPUP.EXE converts the previous file structure to the new file structure. Use it if you want to UPgrade any help files from AHELP version 1.x or 2.0 to AHELP5 files. You do not need to use AHELPUP if you are upgrading from AHELP version 2.1. To use AHELPUP, log into the directory where the old help file exists, and enter AHELPUP [filename] where [filename] is the name of the old help file. If you omit the file name, AHELPUP will prompt for it. Note 2: AHELP5 names its index files differently from AHELP version 1.x or 2.0; the names of the two index files are derived from the name of the help file. This eliminates the inability of those previous versions of AHELP to maintain more than one help file in a given subdirectory. Note 3: The parameters passed by Clipper 5.0 to AHELP5 are not consistent with those passed by Summer '87 to AHELP. Consequently, help files created with AHELP are of little value to AHELP5. The ASCII file import capability in AHELP5 can partly overcome this Clipper inconsistency, if you use the utility program HELPWRIT.EXE to write your old help files out in ASCII format, then import them into AHELP5. To use HELPWRIT, enter HELPWRIT [filename] where [filename] is the name (no extension) of the help file. If you omit the file name, HELPWRIT will prompt for it. AHELP5.LIB - ADVANCED HELP SYSTEM FOR CLIPPER 5.0 APPLICATIONS Version 1.0 Copyright (C) 1990-1991, Capella Inc. Introduction ------------ Welcome to AHELP5! This help system, for use with your Clipper 5.0 applications, provides both context-sensitive and generalized help windows. Features included with version 1 of AHELP5 (be sure to see version 3, p.7): * You control whether help windows have no border, a single-line border, or a double-line border. * You control whether the cross-bars drawn inside the help windows have no line, a single line, or a double line. * AHELP5 automatically determines the appropriate intersections. * You control what colors AHELP5 will use for the help window border, title, content, and highlight bar in the help index window. * You control whether or not the end user has the ability to create or modify help windows. * You control whether or not the help windows have drop shadows. * AHELP5 automatically positions the help window immediately below the screen position of the input variable (e.g., a GET variable) if the window will fit there; otherwise, the window appears immediately above the input variable. * AHELP5 provides a help index; whenever any help window is on the screen, the user may press F1 to see the help index. The help index is another window with a scrolling alphabetic listing of help subjects. The user uses the cursor control keys to highlight the subject of interest, and presses Enter to see the corresponding help window. The user may also type the first letter of the subject to move the highlight bar immediately to the first occurrence of that letter. * AHELP5 is sensitive to the Clipper environment. If the cursor is off when help is invoked, it will be off when control returns to your application. Conversely, if the cursor is on when help is invoked, it will be on when control returns to your application. The same principle applies to colors, function keys, insert status, work area, and the status of SET CONSOLE, DELETED, ESCAPE, and SCOREBOARD. * AHELP5 does not use any "wait state" commands (READ, WAIT, ACCEPT, INPUT, MENU TO), to avoid conflicts with any pending GETs. It uses the INKEY() function for all keyboard input, with two exceptions: it calls DBEDIT() for the help index window and MEMOEDIT() for displaying/editing help text. What do you have to do in order to use AHELP5? Three things: 1. Insert a call to AHELP in your application with the setup parameters you want to use as described in the next section. 2. Insert the command SET KEY XX TO AHELP in your application. 3. Compile your application and link, specifying AHELP5.LIB as one of the LIB files (AHELP requires both CLIPPER.LIB and EXTEND.LIB). That's all. The rest is transparent to your application. Setup ----- The application must call AHELP with four parameters before starting the user interface, in order to initialize the help system. During initialization, AHELP declares three PUBLIC memory variables: HELPOPTN - an array of application options and file names HELPCODE - a character string for use by the application when no input variable is waiting -- AHELP uses the content of `HELPCODE' as its third parameter if the Clipper-passed third parameter is empty and HELPACTIVE - a logical variable set to true when AHELP is executing, and false otherwise. Also during initialization, AHELP5 checks for the existence of the help file (and creates it if it is missing), and for the existence of the two index files needed (and creates them if they are missing). Setup Syntax: AHELP( <expC1>, <expN>, <expC2>, <expA> ) where <expC1> is the name of the application's Help File (one to eight characters) <expN> is any value (ignored by AHELP5) <expC2> is a string of switch values: /Bn/Cn/Dn/En /Bn defines the help window Border: n=0 means no lines n=1 means single line n=2 means double line /Cn defines the window crossbar: n=0 means no lines n=1 means single line n=2 means double line /Dn defines drop shadows: n=0 means shadows are off n=1 means shadows are on /En defines Edit capability: n=0 means edit is off n=1 means edit is on These switches may appear in any order. No other switches are defined in version 1. If any switch is missing, default values are: B = 2 (double line border) C = 1 (single line crossbar) D = 0 (drop shadows off) E = 1 (edit on) <expA> is the name of a four-element character array containing screen color values: element 1 = the foreground/background colors of the help window content element 2 = the foreground/background colors of the help index highlight bar element 3 = the foreground/background colors of the help window title and bottom-row message element 4 = the foreground/background colors of the help window border This array is not needed after AHELP5 returns. Example 1: PRIVATE HCOLOR[4] HCOLOR[1] = "N/W" && content HCOLOR[2] = "W+/B" && highlight HCOLOR[3] = "B/W" && title HCOLOR[4] = "W+/W" && border AHELP("MYAPHELP",0,"/B2/C1/D1/E0",HCOLOR) | | | | | | filename | | | | color double | | | array border | | | name | | | single | | crossbar | | | | drop | shadows | on | | edit off Example 2: <declare color array and values as above> AHELP("MYAPHELP",0,"",HCOLOR) && use default switch options After making this setup call, activate the "hotkey" that will invoke AHELP with the SET KEY command. Examples: SET KEY 28 TO AHELP && F1 is the help key SET KEY 291 TO AHELP && Alt-H is the help key SET KEY -9 TO AHELP && F10 is the help key Execution --------- When the user presses the help key while your application is in any wait state, Clipper automatically calls AHELP with three parameters: the name of the procedure in control when the key was pressed, the line number that was executing, and the name of the wait state input variable. AHELP5 uses the first and third parameters only (not all applications are compiled with line numbers) to construct a "seek key". It opens the help file and performs a seek for that key. If the key is found, AHELP5 opens a help window and displays the help text; the window is opened as close as possible to the input variable screen position. If the key is not found, AHELP5 opens a smaller help window in the center of the screen and notifies the user that no help is available. Either window will show available options at the bottom of the window: Escape to cancel help, F1 to call up the help index, and F4 to edit or create the help display (if editing is enabled). Cancel: If the user presses Escape, AHELP5 closes the help window and returns to your application. Help Index: If the user presses F1, AHELP5 closes the help window, opens a help index window, and displays a scrolling list of help subjects. The user may press Escape again (AHELP5 will close the window and return), or move the highlight bar to the desired subject and press Enter to select that subject. AHELP5 will close the window and use the subject as the new seek key. Edit: If the user presses F4, AHELP5 turns on the cursor and allows the user to modify or add text until F2 is pressed (to save any changes). The user may press Escape to abort this process, which restores the original help text (if any) and cancels the edit process. If the user chooses to save changes, AHELP5 prompts for a new title for the help text, and for a new index subject; both are optional. The Insert key toggles between insert and overstrike mode for title and subject; the default is "insert" mode. Any title is converted to upper case and centered when the help window is recalled, prefixed with the words "Help on". If there is no title, AHELP5 provides the word "Help" centered at the top of the window. If the user specifies an index subject, AHELP5 adds it to the help index (see the next page). If the cursor was not blinking upon entry to AHELP5, creation of a new help message will prompt "Is help dependent on cursor position?" in a dialog box with two choices: "Independent" or "Dependent" - choosing the Dependent option will add the row/column numbers to the seek key. Note that ACHOICE automatically turns off the blinking cursor, but your application must SET CURSOR OFF before MENU TO (and then SET CURSOR ON after). This allows each choice in a menu to have an individual help display. Editing keys available during creation or modification of help text are those provided by MEMOEDIT: Ctrl-Y (delete line), Ctrl-T (delete word right), Ctrl- left arrow (cursor left one word), Ctrl-right arrow (cursor right one word), Ctrl-B (reform paragraph), Ctrl-W (save - same as F2). AHELP5 is not intended for recursion; if the public variable HELPACTIVE is true when AHELP5 is invoked, AHELP5 immediately returns. Otherwise, it sets variable HELPACTIVE to true and continues. When AHELP5 is done, it resets HELPACTIVE to false. Help Index ---------- The help index is basically an alphabetized table of contents for generalized help (although context-sensitive subjects may also be listed). The scrolling highlight bar is used to point to the subject desired; the cursor keys move the highlight bar, and typing a character moves the highlight bar to the first occurrence of that character, if any. Pressing the Enter key selects the highlighted entry, and the Escape key cancels the help index. If edit is enabled, the user may press F4 to edit the highlighted entry, Delete to delete the highlighted entry, or Insert to add a new entry. Edit: If the user presses F4, AHELP5 opens a small window containing the index entry, turns on the cursor, and prompts for any changes. Pressing Enter saves the entry; pressing Escape cancels the edit operation. Delete: If the user presses Delete, AHELP5 opens a dialog box to confirm that deletion is desired. The dialog box contains two choices: "Cancel" and "Delete". The cursor keys switch between these choices and Enter selects the choice that is highlighted; alternatively, typing the first letter of either choice selects that choice. Insert: If the user presses Insert, AHELP5 opens a small window containing a blank index entry, turns on the cursor, and prompts for the new index entry. Pressing Enter saves the new entry; pressing Escape cancels the add operation. Structure of Help File ---------------------- AHELP5 uses a .DBF (and associated .DBT) for help displays. The name of the help file is determined by the application and passed to AHELP as a parameter in the setup call. If AHELP5 is unable to find the help file in the current directory, it creates both the .DBF and .DBT files. The record layout is: Field Field Name Type Width Dec Usage 1 HELPKEY Character 26 Seek Key (see below) 2 HELPTITL Character 30 Title for help display 3 HELPTEXT Memo 10 Content of help display 4 HELPSUBJ Character 30 Subject for help index 5 HELPKWD1 Character 20 Reserved for version 2 6 HELPKWD2 Character 20 Reserved for version 2 7 HELPINDT Character 26 Reserved for version 2 8 HELPTROW Numeric 2 Reserved for version 2 9 HELPLCOL Numeric 2 Reserved for version 2 10 HELPNROW Numeric 2 Reserved for version 2 11 HELPNCOL Numeric 2 Reserved for version 2 ** Total ** 171 The Seek Key (field HELPKEY) consists of the name of the calling procedure, AHELP's first parameter (10 characters); plus the name of the input variable, AHELP's third parameter (also 10 characters); and conditionally the row and column (three characters each) of the cursor. AHELP5 creates and maintains two index files. Both derive their names from the name of the help file by substituting the letters "XS" and "XI" for the last two letters of the help file name. Index file `ffffffXS.nnx' is the seek key index. Index file `ffffffXI.nnx' is the help index index. The filename extension, .NDX or .NTX, is determined by whether you link your application with DBFNTX.LIB or its NDX equivalent. Since AHELP5 adds four to the number of file handles in use, you may need to increase FILES= in CONFIG.SYS and SET CLIPPER=Fnn in AUTOEXEC.BAT. This will be determined by how many files your application needs to have open at one time. Reserved Names -------------- All function and procedure names in AHELP5.LIB begin with the four letters "HELP" followed by at least four more characters, except for the "AHELP" procedure itself. Your application should avoid naming any functions or procedures in a similar fashion, to eliminate any potential conflict at link time. All variables used internally by AHELP5 are declared LOCAL or PRIVATE, with the exception of the three PUBLIC variables HELPACTIVE, HELPCODE, and HELPOPTN (all of which also begin with the four letters "HELP"). Version 3 --------- You may order Version 3 of AHELP5 (next page) for ten additional features: * Optional path in setup call allows AHELP5 to use a help file and its index files in a different drive or directory. * Network capability. AHELP5 opens the help file for shared use only unless an update is required. Then it locks the record long enough for the update, and immediately unlocks the record. * Drop shadows in any direction, with a vertical width of one or two columns. * Help index options: disabled, one level, or two levels; the two-level index allows creation of categories of help subjects, for a "super" index. * Import help displays from ASCII text files. During creation of a new help display, the user may press F7 to tell AHELP5 to import one or more lines of text from a user-specified file. * Copy or refer to an existing help display. During creation of a new help display, the user may press F1 to tell AHELP5 to open the help index window, "point" to the desired entry, and use that help display. * Key word capability. One or two key words may be specified for each help display, and a key word search routine allows lookup by matching against a key word prompt. * Change the default screen coordinates of either the edit window or the help window in the setup call. * "Drag" or move any window around the screen and save its new position. * Expand or reduce the size of any window and save its new shape. Registration ------------ There are no royalty fees for including AHELP5 in your applications. The registration fee for AHELP5 is $50.00 for a single-PC license. A site license is $400.00, and a corporate license (including full source code) is $1000.00. A Clipper S'87 version is also available; order both versions and get a 50% discount on the second license! The last page of this user guide is a ready- to-mail registration form. Send your check, money order, or MasterCard/Visa number for the appropriate license to: MicroFox P.O. Box 447 Richfield, OH 44286-0447 U.S.A. We will send you version 3 of AHELP5, and add your name(s) to our list of users for future upgrade notices and other offers. Specify diskette size(s). <End of AHELP5.DOC> AHELP5 REGISTRATION AND ORDER FORM Send to: MicroFox Co. P.O. # _________________ P.O. Box 447 Richfield, OH DATE _________________ 44286-0447 U.S.A. ________________________________________________________________________ Order both S'87 AND 5.0 and take 50% off second license at same level! Single-User License ..................................... $50 U.S. Quantity: Summer '87 ____ 5.0 ____ SUBTOTAL $_________ Site License (unlimited use per site) ............... $400.00 U.S. Quantity: Summer '87 ____ 5.0 ____ SUBTOTAL $_________ Corporate License (unlimited use within enterprise): $1000.00 U.S. (Includes full source code.) Quantity: Summer '87 ____ 5.0 ____ SUBTOTAL $_________ Each License includes a master disk. LICENSES TOTAL $_________ ________________________________________________________________________ Ohio residents add 5.5% sales tax SALES TAX $_________ Shipping and handling charges: U.S.A. ...... $2 each SHIPPING $_________ Canada ...... $3 each All others .. $5 each TOTAL $_________ ________________________________________________________________________ Payment: P.O. __ Check __ Money Order __ Visa __ M/C __ MasterCard/Visa # ________________________ Exp. Date _____________ Signature __________________________ (if credit card order) ________________________________________________________________________ Ship To: Name ___________________________________________________ Company ___________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Phone ___________________________________________________ Diskette media: 5.25" acceptable ____ 3.5" required ____