Help for HELLLP!yesyesyesTRUEyesMTS001helllp!


Table of Contents

Main Title Screen

Getting Started With HELLLP!

Using HELLLP! to make a HELP file

Tables of Contents

The symbols +#K$

The HELLLP! Button (Tool) Bar

The Up Arrow button

The Down Arrow button

The Curved Arrow button

The Spectacles button

Creating a Topic

The T button

Creating a Hypertext Jump

The J button

Creating a Pop Up Box ("Definition")

The P button

Context Labels (Context Strings)

The C button

Setting the first screen to display

The I button

Browse Sequence

The B button

To compile your Help file

To try out your newly compiled help file

Using HELLLP! and Winhelp to produce corporate manuals

Add Help screens to your programs, templates and macros

About Shareware

Using a copy of someone else's registered copy

Registration and Payment

HELLLP! order form

Registration and Payment via the Compuserve Shareware Registration Database

Colours you can use

"Busying" a context string

Compression of Help File

HELLLP! for the Expert User

HELLLP! from a network server

Error Messages


The items below are intended as PopUp boxes.

DISCLAIMER

Acknowledgments

Hypertext

Pop Up Box for Opening Title

Question Mark Button

Pop Up Box


 Help file produced by  HELLLP!, a product of Guy Software, on 06/11/93


Main Title Screen
HELLLP!

The Windows™ Help Authoring Tool

Takes care of all the drudgery and makes authoring Windows Help Files an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

© Edward Guy, CDP  1993  All Rights Reserved

Allows you to use color (or colour) to make sure that text you wish to emphasize gets read by the users.

Different sizes and fonts may be used to give additional visual interest.

To get help on the following topics, just click the mouse pointer on the GREEN text.

Getting started with HELLLP!

Using HELLLP! to make a HELP file

Main Table of Contents for HELLLP!

Using HELLLP! to produce on-line corporate manuals

Add Help screens to your programs, templates and macros

Registration and Payment for HELLLP!

If this is a copy registered to someone else

About the SHAREWARE marketing concept.

Disclaimer

Acknowledgments


Getting Started With HELLLP!

HELLLP! is designed to be as easy to use as possible, while still allowing the expert user to use it to "jump start" the creation of complicated help file projects.  For a simple project you will probably only need to accept its suggestions in the choices it offers you in order to achieve success.

HELLLP! is all contained in the template HELLLP!.DOT which you copied to the directory in which you keep your templates, and it has its own HELP file which you are reading now, and which may be invoked from the Help menu item, the Help button on the initial setup screen and the Question Mark button on the toolbar.

If you are storing your templates on a shared network drive, please review the topic "HELLLP! from a Network Server".

In order to do its job, though HELLLP! does need to find out a few things about your system and your preferences.

During initial setup, HELLLP! asks for a directory name in which to save the files it creates during its operation.

To actually produce a HELP (HLP) file, HELLLP! needs access to one of the Microsoft™ help compilers.  These have names like HC.EXE or HCP.EXE, or HC30.EXE or HC31.EXE or something similar.

One of these compilers is included in most toolkits sold for producing Windows programs.  They are also available from the Microsoft software library on Compuserve.  The HC300B version of the compiler (which writes HELP files for Windows 3.0) was available as the file S13290.ZIP and the HCP version (uses extended memory for speed, and writes for Windows 3.1) was file S13436.ZIP in August 1993.

During the setup dialog, you are asked for the name and location of the compiler you wish to use.  Please provide the full pathname e.g.  C:\HELLLP!\HC.EXE if that is what you are using.  If you do not have a copy of the compiler, HELLLP! will still work, but only to the point of producing the input files that the compiler needs.  You may take these to a computer that has the compiler on it.

If you later wish to change any of your initial settings, for example to use a different version of the Microsoft Help Compiler, you may do so with the "Change HELLLP! Setup" option on the Format menu.

If you are using an unregistered (that is not paid for) version of HELLLP! you will get a registration reminder popping up when you open a file produced by HELLLP!.  You are entitled to 30 days free trial before either paying for it or ceasing to use it.  For details of how to do this see Registration and Payment for HELLLP!.


HELLLP! from a network server

You may use HELLLP! from a network server provided you take the same steps as you would with any other template located on the server and provided you pay for the correct number of users after your 30 day free trial period.

You will not be able to make any changes to the template while someone else is using a document attached to it.

This means that you should only do the following when no-one else can access the template:

Change registration information

Change the Help compiler name or location

Change the project directory path

since these all require the template to be re-saved and this cannot be done when two users have it open in shared mode.  Of course they may  be performed only from a user ID which has write access to the template.

The full pathname of the compiler must be one that every user can access, as must the project directory path.  The users do not need to access the same directory, just one with the same name.  e.g. if the project directory pathname is C:\HELPPROJ then every user machine would need to have a \HELPPROJ subdirectory on its C: drive.


Using HELLLP! to make a HELP file

Windows Help presents "TOPICS" (or Screens) to the user based on searches, the browse buttons ( << and >> ) and jumps.  To create these screens, various codes have to be inserted into the file containing the text.  HELLLP! creates and inserts these codes for you.  If you are an expert, you may use HELLLP! to do a "first cut" and then fine tune the result yourself before compiling.  For most people, HELLLP! will do it all for you with no hassle.

The process is controlled by the lettered butttons on the toolbar.

To ensure that everything is set up properly, it is necessary to create a file by doing a FILE NEW and choosing HELLLP! as the template.  Once that file is created and saved, you may open it like any other file.  If you are working with an existing document file, you will be prompted to insert it at the appropriate place.  If you just attach your document to HELLLP!.DOT using FILE TEMPLATE, it will not work properly.

To turn a section of text in your file into a "topic" which will become a screen, just place the cursor (the "insertion point" as the MSWord documentation calls it) in the first line you want included and press the T button.  You will be asked for a title for the topic, and will also indicate via a check-box whether you wish the title to appear emphasised at the top of the topic screen.  If there are words in that first line which you would like to use as the topic title, select (highlight) them before you press the T button and HELLLP! will present them as a proposed title, which you may then edit (e.g. to capitalize letters).

HELLLP! will also take the words of more than one letter in the title and present them as proposed "keywords" to be used in WinHelp searches.  You may edit these or add or delete words.

HELLLP! also takes care of "Context Strings", the means by which the Help Compiler identifies topics.  HELLLP! will create a unique context string for each topic and keep track of it.  You do not need to remember it because when you set up your Hypertext jumps, you will be selecting from a list of topic titles.

You will always be given the opportunity to override the automatic choices which HELLLP! suggests.

Go through your text in this way until you have marked all of your topics.  At this stage, you may compile your help file and it will work.  It will have a single table of contents with all of your titles listed and you may jump to them as with any other help file.  You may test your newly compiled HELP file by clicking on the "Spectacles" button on the toolbar.

However, to make the file really useful you will probably want to go through it again and add Hypertext jumps and PopUp boxes using the J and P buttons.

You will also be given the option to set up "Browse Sequences".  This just means that the << and >> buttons will be able to page your help file from topic to topic.


Tables of Contents

HELLLP! generates a table of contents in the sequence in which topics are identified.  It uses the names used during topic definition and inserts the Hypertext Jumps to them automatically.  This table is used by HELLLP! to keep track of all of the context labels (known in the Microsoft manuals as context strings).  You are taken to this table during the generation of hypertext jumps to pick the place you want to jump to, or the text you want in a PopUp box.

It is recommended that you minimize any editing changes you make to this table of contents.  You may move items around, change the indentation, the size, the font color but do not change the text as to underlining or hidden/not hidden because these will prevent the compiler from working.  You must also move entire lines or groups of lines, not parts.

The standard table of contents will appear in your help file unless you override it with the I button.  You may include your own table of contents, just like a regular page and have it displayed when Windows Help is invoked.


Context Labels (Context Strings)

Context Labels (Context Strings) are the means by which topics are identified.  HELLLP! generates them automatically, guaranteeing that they are unique.  However a user has the opportunity to override the automatically defined label.

HELLLP! uses a three letter/three numeral scheme taking the initials of the first three words in the title (padding with underscores if there are less than three words) and adding a three digit number to identify topics with the same three initials.  The number starts at 001.  For example this screen (topic) would have a context of CLC001.

The automatically generated table of contents is TOC000.

Although not needed by the HELP compiler, HELLLP! inserts the contexts as hidden text in dark red ahead of the topic title (if any) or text for the convenience of those users who need to know their values.

The automatic table of contents generated by HELLLP! provides a ready cross reference list of topic names and their context strings.

Another list of the context strings is maintained in an INI file, for use by those who need to ensure that particular values of context string are not used with the current file (some applications are produced from multiple files).  This INI file provides the means to "busy" the context strings to avoid their re-use.


The symbols +#K$

The symbols +#K$ appearing at the start of each topic are codes used by the help compiler and should not be edited unless you really know what you're doing.


The HELLP! Button (Tool) Bar
The HELLLP! Button (Tool) Bar

You may click on one of these buttons for help about its function.

The HELLLP! button bar is a customized version of the regular Word For Windows button bar with some buttons added in place of those you are not so likely to use in making a help file.  The actions commanded by the ones omitted may still be performed by the pull down menus.

Where the user has options associated with the buttons on the button bar (tool bar) they are presented after the button has been clicked.

The Up Arrow button and The Down Arrow button move you quickly to the table of contents, or to the last place in which you added a topic, jump or PopUp.

The Curved Arrow button ("Give it a whirl") prepares the files for the compiler, then calls the compiler to produce a help file that you can test.

The Spectacles button lets you "take a look" at your newly compiled help file.

I    Used to determine which topic will be displayed first when the file is opened by Windows help.

T  Will create a "Topic".

J  Will create a hypertext jump from the highlighted text to a topic of the user's choice.

C  Used only in conjunction with the P and J buttons.  Used to identify the objective of a hypertext jump or PopUp box.

P  Will create a PopUp box containing the text of the desired topic.

B  Will create automatic browse sequences.

?  Brings up the Help screens for HELLLP! (the ones you are looking at).  An alternative to using the menus.


The T button

T  Will create a "Topic", which involves generating a topic title from the text currently highlighted (or entered from the keyboard if nothing is highlighted).  The title will appear as a result of a Windows help search whenever any of the words of more than one letter in it are entered as keywords.  The title will also be used in HELLLP!'s automated table of contents.  The user is given the option to edit the automatically generated keywords, adding new ones or deleting any not desired.

The user has the option to have the title typed or selected included at the head of the topic in the help screen, in addition to the table of contents and search screens.  When the box selecting this option is checked, the title will appear in the style selected as Topic Title in the style box.


The J button

J  Will create a hypertext jump from the highlighted text to a topic of the user's choice.  After highlighting some text and pressing the J button, the user is taken to the HELLLP! automatic table of contents to identify the other end of the JUMP.  The user places the cursor in the table of contents entry for the desired end of the jump and presses the C button.  All work is done automatically by HELLLP!


The P button

P  Will create a PopUp box containing the test of the desired topic, instead of a hypertext jump to it.  After highlighting some text and pressing the P button, the user is taken to the HELLLP! automatic table of contents to identify the topic to put in the PopUp box.  The user places the cursor in the table of contents entry for the desired end of the jump and presses the C button.  All work is done automatically by HELLLP!

Text to go in a PopUp box may also be accessed via a hypertext jump, because it is a topic like any other.  It is a good idea to put text which is intended only as PopUp text at the end of the file since it may also be accessed by the browse buttons (this may be prevented if desired).

If you have a topic which you wish to appear only as a pop up box, you may want to move its main table of contents entry below the page break under the table of contents section since that will move it to a page which will never display as a topic.  However you will still be able to use it for context references when working in your file.


The C button

C  Normally used only in conjunction with the P and J buttons to identify the objective of a hypertext jump or PopUp box.  When you have placed the cursor (the "insertion point") in the double underlined title of the topic you wish to jump to or pop up, you click the C button to allow HELLLP! to process the context string.  Instead of putting the cursor in the title, you may put it in the dark red dotted underlined text ahead of a topic title indicating the context string.  If you wish to include a jump to the automatic table of contents you must use this method, since it does not appear in its own list.  For your convenience, the P and J buttons position the screen to the automated table of contents, and the C button restores it to where you were.

What the button actually does:  If the insertion point is in hidden text, it backs out of it.  Then it looks for the next hidden text (which might be the piece it backed out of) and copies it to the location the cursor was at when one of the T, J or P buttons was pressed.  It therefore has copied the context string for the topic to a new location  after the highlighted text which became underlined  or double underlined as appropriate when P or J was pressed with it highlighted.


The I button

I    Used to determine which topic will be displayed first when the file is opened by Windows help.  Place the insertion point (the cursor) in the title of the topic you wish to display first, where it occurs in the HELLLP! automatic table of contents, then press the I button and that topic will appear first when help is selected.  In that case the HELLLP! automatic table of contents will be displayed only if you insert a hypertext jump to it.  This way you can hide it from the users, replacing it with your own in your final HLP file, but retain it for your own use in keeping the file you produced it from updated.  If you change your mind you may repeat the process to select another starting page.  To restore the HELLLP! automated table of contents as the initially displayed topic, place the cursor in its topic title and press the I button.

You may also display your own title screen by creating it as a topic, setting it with the I button to display first, and supplying just one hypertext jump from it to the table of contents, your own or the HELLLP! automated one.

The I button was used in this way to make the Windows Help application start with the title screen you saw when you started it this time.

If you do not make a selection with the I button, the HELLLP! automated table of contents will be the first screen to display when Windows Help calls the file.


The B button

B   Used to generate browse sequences automatically.  Use of this button will delete all previously defined browse sequences and will generate them for all topics except the automated table of contents.  These browse sequences will enable the << and >> buttons on the Help Screens so that the user will be able to read through the document in the same sequence as it is in the file.  For any topic which you do not wish to be accessed by browsing (for example any topic you wish to appear only as a popup box), delete the +footnote reference at the top of the topic.


The Up Arrow button

The Up Arrow button will take you to the last place in which HELLLP! added an automated table of contents entry.


The Down Arrow button

The Down Arrow button will take you the last place in which HELLLP! did work in your text, adding a topic heading, a PopUp or a hypertext jump.


Browse Sequence
The Browse Sequence

The "Browse Sequence" is the order in which topics will appear when the user presses the << and >> buttons at the top of a windows help screen.

If a browse sequence is not defined for a topic, the << and >> buttons are disabled when that topic is displayed.

With the use of the B button, HELLLP! will insert browse sequence numbers so that the >> button presents the screens in the same sequence as the topics in the file.  The automatic HELLLP! table of contents is not included in the browse sequence so that a user who wishes to use a different format table of contents, selected with the I button can prevent its display to the users, but still preserve it in the file as a means of keeping track of HELP context strings.

The sophisticated user, who wishes to use a different browse sequence, may edit the footnotes to change the browse sequence.


To compile your HELP file

 You may compile your help file by clicking the curved arrow, "lets give it a whirl" or by selecting "Compile the Help File" from the Tools menu.  This will save the file as Rich Text Format, but it will not save the .DOC file in case you do not like the result and want to return to your previous saved copy.  Before proceeding, it will offer to convert any "Smart Quotes" and to update the browse sequence so that the  <<  and  >> keys page you through the text in the same sequence as the file.  If you have installed one of the Microsoft Help compilers and have used HELLLP! setup to tell HELLLP! where it is, then HELLLP! will prepare a Windows Help (.HLP) file which may be used on any machine running Windows.  If you do not have the compiler installed, simply take the files with the same names as your project to someone who does, and they will be able to compile it for you.

Compiler error messages will appear.  The various versions of the HELP compiler require different commands, and will sometimes reject the command for a different version.  Because HELLLP! cannot predict the behaviour of the particular version you are running (the name does not identify the compiler, it could have been renamed), it issues several versions of the command.  For example, some versions expect the command INDEX to tell them which screen to start with, some expect the command CONTENTS for the same thing.  HELLLP! issues both, because  one will be right.  However the other will trigger an error message.  The error messages do not indicate a problem with your file, which you may test by clicking the "spectacles" button or by selecting "Test Project Help File" on the Help menu.


To try out your newly compiled help file

You may try out your newly compiled help file by clicking on the "Spectacles" button to "take a look" at it.  As an alternative you may select the item "Test Project Help File" from the Help menu.


Using HELLLP! and Winhelp to produce corporate manuals

The Windows HELP application is an excellent tool for providing access to corporate manuals, provided you have word processor text for them.  The Hypertext and PopUp definition boxes, and the easy incorporation of colour make them more valuable in this form than on paper, and if you keep the HLP files on a server you can be sure that everyone is using the same version and that it is up to date.

The users do not need to have a copy of Word For Windows™, since to display help files all you need is the WinHelp application which is included free with every copy of Microsoft Windows™

All you have to do to make this possible it to import the file into HELLLP! and go through it marking up topics and jumps, then compile.  HELLLP! keeps track of things like context strings.  It doesn't even matter if you don't know what they are, just uncheck the box that asks if you want to continue confirming them and forget about them.

There are very few restrictions.  You should stay away from using dark green in your text (although you can use any other colours, even Dark Cyan gives enough contrast), because it will confuse your users who will not know where to click for hypertext jumps.  You should also stick to fonts that you know all of your users have.  Graphics are tricky and best avoided, but if you are knowledgeable enough to include bitmaps (including those produced by Microsofts SHED.EXE hot spot graphics editor), they will work.

Once you have produced the HLP file, just set up an item in Windows with the command line  WINHELP   FILE  where FILE is the name of the HLP file that the compiler produces, including the path to find it if necessary.  Your users will now only have to double-click on the icon to access your manual.  You don't need to train them to use another hypertext tool, because they all know how to use Windows Help.


Add Help screens to your programs, templates and macros

Add Help screens to your programs, templates and macros.  That's how this help screen was produced for you.  The screens were produced with HELLLP!, and then a macro called HelllpHELP (listed below) was added to the Help menu, and to the [?] on the toolbar.

WinHelp needs to know where to find the .HLP file, so it is easiest to keep it with the template it refers to and use the following macro:

Sub MAIN

dotpath$ = GetProfileString$("DOT-PATH")

If dotpath$ = "" Then dotpath$ = GetProfileString$("INI-path")

Shell "winhelp " + dotpath$ + "\HELLLP!"

End Sub

(If this is too small to read on your monitor, use Print Topic from the File menu of this help screen.)

You can get more sophisticated, but this works quite well in most instances.

The SHELL command can also be used in Visual Basic for a simple way to display a help file like this:

Sub ShowHelp_Click ()

n = Shell("WinHelp d:\winword\helllp!.hlp")

End Sub

Here an object called ShowHelp is created (typically a command button) and the Shell statement is used to call WinHelp when it is clicked.  In this example, the Help file called is that for HELLLP! being called from d:\WinWord.


Busying a context string
"Busying" a context string

"Busying" a context string may be accomplished for those who wish to use HELLLP! to assist them in building multi-file projects.  A context string must be unique in the files being built, so HELLLP! must know about the strings it cannot use.  It must also be able to save externally the strings it has used.

HELLLP! accomplishes this by making reference to a file in the project subdirectory called FILE.INI, where "FILE" is the name of the project.  This file is in the same format as a regular Windows INI file, and under the heading [Contexts] it keeps the context strings used as keywords, and the associated topic titles as their values.  HELLLP! both reads and writes this file when setting context strings and will not duplicate one that it finds there.

To use the INI file to prevent the use of its strings with another project file (e.g. PROJECT2.DOC), just copy it to the appropriate file name (e.g. PROJECT2.INI).


Compression of Help File

The Windows Help Compiler is able to compress the help file it produces, which both saves disk space and speeds loading when HELP is invoked.  However, compilation is slower when compression is turned on.  HELLLP! provides an option permitting compression to be turned on and off.  It is invoked by selecting HELLLP! Compression Options from the Format menu.  For a new file being created by HELLLP! compression is initially turned off.


HELLLP! for the Expert User

HELLLP! is designed to be easy to use, and to produce help files rapidly.  However, even if you are an expert user of the Help compiler, HELLLP! can still help you.  It produces a DOC file with all of the codes in that you need to compile a help file, and you can edit it to customize it further.  Since the expert user may wish to produce a help file from several source files, HELLLP! provides the means to "Busy" context strings to ensure that they are unique across several files.


About Shareware
About Shareware:

Shareware is copyrighted software that is distributed by authors through bulletin boards, on-line services and disk vendors.

Shareware allows you to try the software for a reasonable limited period.  If you decide not to continue using it, you throw it away and forget about it. You only pay for it if you continue to use it. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You benefit because you get to use the software to determine whether it meets your needs, before you pay for it.

The shareware system and the continued availability of quality shareware products depend on your willingness to register and pay for the shareware you use. It's the registration fees you pay which allow authors to support and continue to develop our products. Please show your support for shareware by registering those programs you actually use.

This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP).  ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products.  Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.


Using a copy of someone else's registered copy

Using a copy that has been made from someone else's registered copy is contrary to copyright law.  Only the copyright owner, Ed Guy, can give permission for copies to be made.  He has given permission for copies to be made freely for 30 day evaluation purposes, provided that they are so marked internally.  To make an illegal copy into a legal evaluation copy, select the item "UNREGISTER" on the TOOLS menu, and the registered user's name will be changed to "Unregistered User".  The copy may then be used for 30 days of evaluation, and copies may be made for distribution to others for the same purpose.  Copies of HELLLP!.DOT may only be distributed together with HELLLP!.HLP.

After an evaluation period of 30 days, you are required to either pay for the continued use of the product, or to cease its use.

"Registration" involves payment, and the receipt of a registration number.  The registration number is an encryption of the user's name which will be displayed in the copyright box when HELLLP! starts.


Registration and Payment

Registration supplies the right to the continued use of the product after the 30 day free trial, and the elimination of the reminder screens.  It does not rescind the legal disclaimer of liability under which this product is used.

Additionally, Windows  HLP files produced by an unregistered version of HELLLP! have a topic at the very end noting that they were produced by an unregistered version.  That topic is seen by the users only if they use the browse buttons to go to the very last topic, or if they go to the search topic UNREGISTERED.  It does not appear in the table of contents.

An order form may be obtained by printing the topic ORDER FORM

For use on a single computer, registration costs $30 US, paid to:

Edward Guy,

1752 Duchess Avenue

West Vancouver

British Columbia

Canada,     V7V 1P9

(Compuserve  71750,1036)

If the user provides an electronic means for the passage of the registration number (Electronic mail accessible via Compuserve or a Secure Fax number), then the cost is $20 US per copy in recognition of the lower costs involved.  Please ensure that any electronic route is secure, since anyone with your registration number can make it appear that you have illegally given them a copy registered to you.  This special electronic registration may be performed entirely within Compuserve using their Shareware Registration Database.

If the route chosen permits the transmission of a binary file, an  MsWord  DOC file will be transmitted which, when opened in Word automatically performs the registration.  In other cases it will be necessary to type in the registered user's name and registration number.

For network use, the price is $100 US if no more than six people may access the product at once, and $10 US per additional permitted user for numbers in excess of that.  If the user's network has the ability to limit the number of people accessing a file, that number may be used instead of the number of nodes on the network.


HELLLP!  Order  Form

(You may print this form by selecting Print Topic from the File menu of this Help panel.)

Mail with your payment to:

Edward Guy

1752 Duchess Avenue

West Vancouver

British Columbia

CANADA      V7V 1P9

Name:	____________________________________________________

Address:	____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Name for identification on

copyright screen (if different) __________________________________

Please supply registration for the HELLLP! System as below

Special "Electronic Registration" package

for one computer only	$20.00 US

Mailed Package-for one computer; 	$30.00 US

Mailed Network Package first six users	$100.00 US

Additional users on network 	@ $10.00 US each	_________

Payment Enclosed	________________

For electronic registration,

please give Email address 	________________________  or Fax _____________


Registration and Payment via the Compuserve Shareware Registration Database

Compuserve provides a convenient route for the registration of Shareware, and the special "Electronic Registration" of HELLLP! may be performed by that route.  Note that the electronic registration price of HELLLP! is only dependent on your providing an electronic route for us to send you your registration code number.  That price is available whether or not you use Compuserve to contact us.

To access Compuserve's registration database, GO SWREG in Compuserve.  HELLLP! is Registration ID 1346 in the Compuserve database and its price is $20.00(US).  Only the "Electronic Registration" is available by this route.  Once Compuserve informs us of your registration, we will transmit to your Compuserve ID a WordForWindows document called REGISTER.DOC, and when you open that in Word your registration will occur automatically.  That same document will permit you to register the next few upgrades as you download them (none are planned, but inevitably there will be maintenance releases for bug fixes and minor enhancements).

The following instructions are provided by Compuserve on the use of the  Shareware Registration Database.

Register Shareware+

INSTRUCTIONS TO REGISTER SHAREWARE

The Shareware Registration database contains descriptions of hundreds of shareware programs designed for a variety of platforms and purposes. To register a program, you must first find its description in the Shareware Registration database.

To begin, select "Register Shareware" from the previous menu.  A list of search criteria will be displayed to you. You may search for your program's description by its TITLE, FILE NAME, AUTHOR'S COMPUSERVE ID, and AUTHOR'S NAME.  You may also search for your description by its KEYWORDS (categories).  For example, to find the description of a Macintosh utility, you might use the keyword: utility. (For information about registering by your program's REGISTRATION ID, see below.)

After you enter your search criteria, you are usually displayed a list of programs that meet the criteria in the database. Select the program that you wish to register from the list.

Sometimes after you enter search criteria, you are displayed a menu of choices. This occurs when your search yields a large number of "matches" in the database. The menu offers you the ability to NARROW your results further, to DISPLAY the list of "matches," or to BEGIN AGAIN.  After you select your program from the list, you are displayed the program's description, with a prompt: "Would You Like to Register? (Y/N)."

Read the description carefully to verify that you wish to register the program. The description details the program, its capabilities, and the benefits of registration. Be sure to note the program's registration fee. When you register any program, the registration fee is charged to your CompuServe account.

Enter "Y" at the prompt to register; enter "N" at the prompt to ensure that you do not register the program, and to return to the previous menu.  When you enter "Y" to register, you will be prompted to enter your full name, company name (optional), your complete address, your phone number (optional) and the total number of copies of the program that you wish to register. When you finish entering this information, you can VIEW, CHANGE, SEND or CANCEL it.

Select VIEW to confirm that the information you entered is correct. Select CHANGE to edit any of the information you entered. Select SEND to complete your registration, receive a detail of your total charges, and to send the information to the author. Select CANCEL to cancel registration of the program. When authors submit their descriptions to the Shareware Registration database, their descriptions receive a REGISTRATION ID. If you know the REGISTRATION ID (for HELLLP! the registration ID is 1346) of the program description in the database, you may enter it under option #1 on the search criteria menu. You will then navigate directly to the program's description. This is the easiest and fastest method of registering a program.

If you have any questions or concerns about shareware registration, send a message to the Shareware Administrator by selecting the "Provide Feedback" option at the main SWR menu.


Colours you can use

Colours you can use.  You probably won't want to use some of them, and if you aren't looking at them on a colour screen you are having to imagine them.

Black

Blue

Cyan

Green

Magenta

Red

Yellow

Dark Blue

Dark Magenta

Dark Red

Dark Yellow

Dark Grey

Light Grey

Dark Green looks too much like Hypertext or PopUps.


Error Messages

Error Messages may sometimes appear.  They probably mean that you accidentally deleted a hidden code of some kind.  HELLLP! uses these MsWord "Bookmarks" to hold values and as place markers.  There should be several of them and a page break before the Automatic Table of Contents.  There are also two within the text, one called "IwasHere" in the main text - used to keep track of where to come back to after doing something elsewhere, and one called "nextTOC", marking the location for the next entry in the Automatic Table of Contents.

HELLLP! tries very hard to restore any bookmarks that it finds missing, but it will not always succeed.

If you get a "Bookmark not found" when setting up a topic, you have probably deleted the "nextTOC" bookmark in the table of contents.  To restore it, position the insertion point (The cursor) in the last entry of the Automatic Table of Contents and click the UPARROW button on the toolbar.

If your new Help File has lost the title from its title bar, you may re-create it with the HELLLP! Project Title selection on the Format menu.

The other bookmarks will be re-created when you perform an appropriate action.  The "IwasHere" will be recreated when you create a new topic, jump or popup.  Those which hold settings from checkboxes will revert to default values, and will be re-created when the values are changed again.

There may be other errors not listed here, no program is free of bugs including MS Word for Windows (As documented in the Hacker's Guide to Word for Windows - strongly recommended reading.)


DISCLAIMER

DISCLAIMER: The supplier and author bear no liability to the licensee or any other person or entity for any damage or loss, including special, incidental or consequential damages caused by this product directly or indirectly.  The software is supplied "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. Warranties of merchantability or of fitness for any purpose are specifically disclaimed.


Acknowledgements
Acknowledgments

HELLLP! was inspired by a series of articles by Ray Duncan in PC Magazine in the spring of 1993, and by Woody Leonhard and Vincent Chen's excellent book the Hackers Guide to Word For Windows.


Pop Up Box
This is a Pop Up Box.  The Microsoft literature calls it a "definition box" because it's useful for definitions of terms, where it may be popped up without taking the user away from the context he or she was looking at.  It's useful for lots of other things, though.  Your imagination is the only limitation.


Pop Up Box for Opening Title
That's right, you just clicked on some green text.  Where it has a dotted underline, a box like this pops up, where it has a solid underline you are taken to the topic.  Don't worry, you won't get lost, because pressing the Back button will retrace your steps.  If you are using Windows 3.0 the Back button is a pair of footprints.

To make this box pop down again, click again.


Question Mark Button

The Question Mark Button brings up the Windows Help File for HELLLP!.  That is the file you are looking at now.


Hypertext
Hypertext is the term used for a method of moving around an on-line document to follow cross references, etc.  In Windows Help, whenever a user clicks on an underlined green section of text, the application jumps to the page of the cross reference, but it keeps track of where it was.  Users are able to retrace their steps using the Back button.  Much better than keeping a thumb in the page, because you quickly run out of thumbs!  If the green text has a dotted underline, then the reference "pops up" in a box like this.  Think how useful this will be if you have lots of terms that mean things to your experienced staff, but not to newcomers.