HTML context sensitive help

[Alexander Von_obert <avobert -at- TWH -dot- MSN -dot- SUB -dot- ORG>]

Hello Keith,


* Antwort auf eine Nachricht von Keith Jeremy Posner  an All am 04.11.96

KJ> From: Keith Jeremy Posner <posner -at- SODALIA -dot- IT>

KJ> Is it possible to create context-sensitive online documentation
KJ> using HTML?

If you find a browser you can feed HTML pages while it ist running...

Perhaps a little background of GUI program basics is in place:

- Everything that happens in the machine (key pressed/released, mouse
  pointer over another window, window about to be closed...) is
  communicated all over the system by messages.

- The operating system sorts the queues of programs that receive
  the messages. E.g. the program with the active window is further
  to the front of the queue than other applications.

- Every program consists of "dispatcher loops" that examine the flow
  of messages and execute appropriate actions (relatively small
  subprograms).

- If you wish to add help to a window, you need to evaluate the
  stream of messages in the dispatcher loop that belongs to that
  window.

- What you do with that "need help" message, is your business.
  If you do Winhelp, you essentially call "Winhelp (<helpfile>,
  <topic number>);"

Bottom line: If your programmers insert another call and are willing to supply
 the HTML infrastructure, you can easily use HTML instead of Winhelp. But do
 your users a favour and do NOT use Netscape 3 extensions :-)


Greetings from Germany,
Alexander

--
Alexander von Obert, Urbanstr. 2, 90480 Nuernberg, Germany
Free-lance Technical Writer (electronics, software)
Voice +49-911-403903, Fax +49-911-403904, BBS +49-911-403905 (FIDO 2:2490/1719)