WHY HAVE THIS FILE?
=========================
   The Microsoft Windows Help Complier can be a difficult program to 
understand, at least I know I found it so. That's why I created 
HELPINFO.ZIP. The information presented here encompasses much of 
what I've learned over the last six months while writing the Help 
file for our Visual Basic program. While some of the information 
is specific to VB, the vast majority is applicable to all Help 
file developers.

   There are three reasons why creating Help files is so difficult:

1) The process of creating a Help file is completely different 
from any other programming language you may know, and it is not 
intuitive. In other words, you cannot easily take previous 
programming experiences and apply them here.

2) The Microsoft documentation is incomplete and there are few 
examples for many of the features. This lack of information is so 
pervasive, that I have found several significant Help Complier 
features which are not supported by most Help Authoring Tools. 
Specifically: mid-topic jumps, keyword mid-topic jumps, and 
tables (which tend not be supported by Help Authoring Tools that 
supply their own editors).

3) Hypertext is new to most of us, and writing hypertext documents 
is not easy to do well. How many times have you tried to find a 
piece of information in a Help file and been frustrated. After 
writing your own, you'll have a better appreciation of why.

   The Help file content (3 above) is beyond the scope of the 
information presented here. It is, however, designed to supplement 
existing documentation and contains many examples relating to the 
"mechanics" of creating Help files. 


WHAT'S IN THE FILE? 
=========================
1) ARTICLE.TXT. This document was the predecessor to an article I 
wrote for the Visual Basic Programmers Journal (415/917-7650). 
While the two articles contain much of the same information, 
there are significant differences. The published article 
emphasizes the basics of how a Help file is organized, 
particularly as it pertains to control codes. (If you've never 
written a Help file, this would be a good place to start.)

   The article included here contains much more technical 
information, especially in the areas of Help macros and 
integrating the Help file into your program. Both articles 
contain information not found in the Visual Basic documentation.
There is also some information that I have not seen documented
anywhere else.

2) HELPINFO.HLP. This Help file illustrates many of the features 
talked about in the article. I have also included ALL the files 
necessary to create HELPINFO.HLP, so you will be able to see 
exactly how its done. Most of the features are really very easy 
to implement, once you know they exist and see an example. All 
the files relating to creating the help file are in the file 
HELPFILE.ZIP.

   To create (or modify this help file) you will need to have a copy 
of the Help Compiler and change the file makehelp.bat to reflect 
its directory.

   Microsoft Winword Version 6 RTF files require using Help 
Compiler Version 3.10.505 or later. This version can be downloaded 
from CompuServe: WinSDK forum, WinHELP lib, file HCP505.ZIP.


3) HELPINFO.EXE. This is a Visual Basic program that shows you 
how to integrate your Help file into your program. All the API 
calls and contents are in GLOBAL.BAS. Just about all the features 
commonly used in most programs are here. Much of the information 
here is very similar to that required by other programming 
languages. All the files relating to creating the VB program are
in the file VB_PROG.ZIP.

   To run the VB program HELPINFO.EXE you will need a copy of 
VBRUN300.DLL. 


HOW DO I INSTALL AND USE THESE FILES?
=========================================
   Simply unZIP them. We recommend using C:\HELPINFO as the 
directory. If you use another directory or drive, you will need 
to change references in the BAT and HPJ files accordingly. 


ARE THESE FILES COPYRIGHTED?
==================================
   This information is copyrighted by Crunch Software Corporation. 
However, you are free to incorporate any feature, bitmap, and 
computer code contained in these files into your own program or 
Help file on a royalty-free basis, so long you do not hold me or 
Crunch Software responsible for any errors. While you may 
redistribute HELPINFO.ZIP as a unit, you may not separate the 
files for redistribution. Nor can you charge for redistribution, 
except for a nominal fee for media and shipping.

   I hope that the information I presented here makes your Help file 
creation process less frustrating and allows you to write better 
documents. If you notice any errors or have any comments, they 
would be most appreciated. If you have any questions, I'll do the 
best I can to try and help, time-constraints notwithstanding.
Enjoy!

		-Ted Kahn
		 tedkahn@netcom.com
		 CIS 70353,2603
		 (510) 562-9900
		 (510) 562-9919 (Fax)