Copyright: Copyright® 1994 Company Name Here


Contents
$5 Help v1.1.0

The Affordable Hypertext and Windows Help Authoring Tools for Word for Windows 6.0

Licence Agreement and Disclaimer -MUST READ

Is $5 Help for me?

Testing $5 Help

Whats incuded in this Shareware disribution package?

Installing or uninstalling $5 Help on your system

How to Use $5 Help for hypertext authoring in Word for Windows 6.0

How to Use $5 Help to make Windows 3.x Help files

Some simple ways to fine tune your Help file and More info on the RTF

Registering $5 Help and getting the full version of the Make RTF macro

Why ANOTHER Hypertext and Windows Help Authoring Toolkit!?

More about the authors and Synergystic Productions


What's Included In This Package
What's included in this Shareware distribution package?

This Shareware distribution package includes all fully functional tools with ONE MAJOR exception:

The "Make RTF" macro is limited to only 20 topics, that's 3 more than you need to make an RTF of this help file.

Our sad realization as shareware authors is that gratitude alone is an insufficient registration motivator, no matter how useful and inexpensive the software. As much as we hate the very idea of "crippling" ,we decided to limit the RTF macro in this way. When you register we will E-mail the complete version to you within 48 hours.

Meanwhile you can build your help file in Word, use the jumps, and refine the layout with Word's WYSIWYG environment. If you find it useful, registration is (like the name says) only $5.


Crippling
One of the great things about shareware is the you can get on-line anytime (middle of the night, etc.),get the tool you need  and be back to work immediately. Crippling limits that ability. If you are in dire straights for a WinHelp authoring tool NOW, give us a call by voice. We're friendly, reasonable people and we can probably work something out.


Why More Help Tools
Why ANOTHER Hypertext and Windows Help Authoring Toolkit!?

Like many programmers, we tried to build WinHelp files with nothing more than MS Word for Windows and found the syntax unintuitive, cumbersome, and tedious. Authoring hyper-text of any kind is difficult without active jumps during editing, and proofing the file as a whole required shelling to DOS and recompiling on every pass. We searched for tools on-line and found none that met our needs. We already knew the basic syntax and layout. Our help file needs were fairly simple and did not include sound, multi-media, version tracking, or even printed manual layout. We just couldn't justify spending $100's on a commercial help tool. The share ware tools we found seemed under over-priced, under-featured, or not much easier to learn than using Word by itself. Many tools, shareware and commercial that were written as Word add-on, used styles to encode certain types of information about the help file and/or required that the document be based on an included template file. We felt this deprived the user of two of Word's more powerful authoring tools. The stand-alone applicatoins just don't have a word processor that holds a candle to Word 6.0. We needed full access to Word's tool set, active jumps during editing and proofing, and automated compliance with help compiler syntax. It seemed that all these things could be provided with a simple set of WordBasic macros and that there was probably a market for a powerful, inexpensive, easy to learn help and hypertext tool set for MS Word 6.0.

The first result is $5 Help for Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0. It's a complete set of hypertext authoring tools for Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0. that take most of the drudgery and difficulty out of writing help files and hypertext that runs from inside Word for Windows 6.0.

$5 Help, was written to automate the coding of jumps and building a basic .RTF. $5 help is aimed at users with experience composing for the help compiler with just a word processor or user's who just wanted to create a hypertext word document. We never intended $5 to be a tool for beginner's, but when registrations began coming in , we found that a large portion of our user's were writing their first help file, and had chosen $5 Help because is was the easiest tool to use of all the one's they had evaluated. So, instead of answering more questions about the help authoring process that $5 Help assumes the user is familiar with, we wrote $20 Help to shield the user from the help compiler's stringent syntax regulations.

To decide which product is best for you read - Is $5 Help for me?


Installation And Uninstallation
Installing or uninstalling $5 Help on your system.

All of $5 Help is included in the file. $5HELP1.DOT.

1.	Simply copy this file to whereever you keep your MS Word templates.

2.	The simplest way to use $5 Help is to load this template as a global template.

3.	Select templates from the file menu.

4.	Click on the "ADD" button under "Global Templates and Add-ins" and select $5HELP1.DOT from the file selection dialog.

5.	$5HELP1will appear in the list box with a check box next to it. You can load and unload $5HELP1 by simply checking or clearing the check box. Uninstall $5HELP1 by clicking on the "Remove" button.

You can also base your documents on this template if you like or copy  all the macros and the toolbar to the template of your choice, even your NORMAL.DOT. The template and the toolbar are fully editable. The macros themselves are the only secured part of the package. They are in "execute only" format and not editable or readable by the user.


Authoring Hypertext
How to Use $5 Help for hypertext authoring in Word for Windows 6.0

These instructions assume that you are familiar with word processing in general and can operate the basic features of MS Word for Windows 6.0. If you do not know the meaning of an italisized word, you can find it with the search feature in the Word 6.0 Help file. Also note that these steps do NOT have to be done straight through once and only once. You MUST create (select and name) a given topic before you can create jumps to it. Otherwise you can work in any order you want.

1. Divide your draft information into pages (topics), separated by hard page breaks. Make sure that there are no hard page breaks inside topics, even if some topics are longer than a page. You can avoid confusing soft page breaks by setting the height of page on the paper size tab of the page setup dialog to longer than your longest topic.

2. Select each topic (BUT NOT the page breaks which separate them) and click on the Make Topic button on the $5 Help tool bar. A dialog will prompt you for a topic name and give instructions for naming topics. These are actually naming rules for Word 6.0 bookmarks, which is how topics are stored.

3. Once your topics are defined you can create jumps that jump to those topics. Just select the "hot text" for your jump and click one of the jump buttons. A dialog will appear listing all of your defined topics. Select a topic and click "OK". If you plan to make a help file, the three types of jumps will determine the style of jump. If not you can use the three types any way you want.


Make Topic Button
 The Make Topic button attaches a bookmark to the selected text and give it the name you supply as the context string for this topic.


Three Kinds Of Jumps
 Single Underline - Standard jumps fill the main help window with a new topic.

  Dotted Underline - Pop-ups do just that, and go away when the user next clicks anywhere.

  Double Underline - Secondary window jumps open a second window that you can define in your help project file

You must have the topic you want to jump to defined before creating a jump to it. Select the jump text and click the appropriate button. The text will appear green and underlined. Double click on the jump text and the focus of your document will move to the jump topic. Show Help Codes before editing jump text.

Note: Double Clicking on a word in Word6 selects the word and the space following it (if there is one). $5 Help will remove any beginning or trailing spaces from the  jump text.


Authoring Help Files
How to Use $5 Help to make Windows 3.x Help files.

If you plan to compile your hyertext as a Windows 3.x Help file, use the Show/Hide Help Codes button to turn on and off hidden text and field codes. Hidden information for the RTF is stored there. When you are editing text near an already created jump, it's important to see this information so you do not accidentally edit it or separate it for its jump with new text. Inline graphics - like the button pictures in this file - can be pasted in for WYSIWYG layout. Other Word 6.0 and help comiler supported graphics formats have not been tested with $5 Help.

 Follow the instructions for authoring hypertext with $5 Help. Pay special attention to the kind of jumps you use. Divide your information into pages (topics), separated by hard page breaks. Make sure that there are no hard page breaks inside topics, even if some topics are longer than a page. Select and name your "Contents" (top level) topic even if there will be no jump to it. You can avoid confusing soft page breaks  with hard ones by setting the height of page on the paper size tab of the page setup dialog to longer than your longest topic. Select and name your "Contents" (top level) topic even if there will be no jump to it.

2. Use the No Scroll button to create any non-scrolling areas you want at the top of topics. Select from the top of the topic (NOT including the page break abve) to the point where you want the non-scrolling area to end.

3. Save your document. The next step is to run the RTF macro and it's a long and complex one. So far it's run smoothly, but it hasn't been tested on YOUR system yet. Make sure the cursor is in your document and click on the RTF button. Watch it go! An RTF is created that's ready to compile. Use the sample HPJ (Help Project File) included with this package.

Note: You must use version 3.10.505 of the help compiler or later to be compatible with RTF's produced by MS Word for Windows 6.0. Look for filename HC505.EXE on the MS Download BBS

or at ftp.microsoft.com on the Internet.

See Also Some simple ways to fine tune your Help file and More info on the RTF


RTF Button
 The RTF button turns your $5 Help document into a help compiler compatable RTF.


No Scroll Button
 The "No Scroll" button simply changes the paragraph style to "Keep Together" without changing any other properties. The "Keep Together" style ends up in the RTF as codes that tell the help compiler where to END the no-scroll area. If hidden chacters are shown, the paragraphs included in the no-scroll area will have a square dot in the left margin of their first line.


See All Button
 Show Or Hide Help Codes

Toggles the Hidden Character and Field Codes. If the settings are not synchronized, both are turned on. Once they are synchronized, the settings are toggled on and off.


More On The RTF
Some simple ways to fine tune your Help file and More info on the RTF

The RTF macro creates all footnotes supported by the help compiler for every topic in your document:

The * footnote is for build tags and every topic is assigned a single build tag called BuildAll.

The $ footnote is for topic title and is assigned a title equal to the topics name (context string). This is what shows up in the topic list in the search windows of WinHelp. If you use ThisKindOfFormat to name you topics in the original document, you can page through the RTF and add spaces for easy, meaningful topic names.

The K footnote is for keywords and each topic receives the single Keyword "All". This way you users can chose All in the search window and get a complete list of topics in the help file, even if you don't know what a keyword is. If you want search to be more useful, simple scan your file and create a list of key words ,one per line, in a separate document widow. Put a semi-colon before every keyword in the list. Then scan your RTF again and paste in the keywords from your list, delimiting semi-colons and all.

The + footnote is for Browse sequences. This determines the order a user will see the topics if they use the < and > browse buttons in WinHelp. Each of you topics is assigned a browse sequence in the order the order (top to bottom) of its placement in your file. The first browse sequence is 000001. The "1" is incremented for each topic and five zeros are appended. If you want to move pop-up to the bottom, delete a zero. If you want to move main topics to the top, add a zero. The five zeros allow you to create six "levels" to your browse sequence just by deleting zeros.

The # footnote is for Context Strings. This is the name you gave your topic when you defined it. You can leave these as is, the users who read your help file never see them. If you are programming and need context sensitive help, then you know how to use them or can find out in the help compiler guide.


Registering
Registering $5 Help and getting the full version of the Make RTF macro

If you like and continue to use $5 Help you are required to register it.

You can do so in the following ways:

If you have CIS (CompuServe) access GO SWREG and register program # 2414

The $5 will be added to your CIS bill.

We will E-Mail you the complete version of the RTF macro as an attached file within 48 hours of recieving your registration notice from CIS.

If you DO NOT have CIS (CompuServe) access, send:

1. $5 - Any

2. A stamped (your choice of return postage) self addressed disk mailer

3. A NEW, BLANK, FORMATTED, disk.

This is the only way you can make it convienient enough for us to use physical mail and still charge only $5. If we offered a mailed version for an additional price, we would be putting ourselves "up for hire" to do clerical work. If thousands ordered it, we might even have to hire clerical help, then we'd be managing employees. We use E-Mail becuase we want to write great software that meets users needs not become managers or run a mailing service.

The authors are:

Taylor Brown & Lisa Brice

Synergystic Productions Unlimited

taylorbr@blkbox.com

CIS 72322,765

1503 Nance St.

Houston, TX 77002-1127

1-713-228-4959

We do custom programming and software design in Visual, Access, and Word Basic on a contract basis. Call if you need help with a project. More about the authors and Synergystic Productions


License And Disclaimer
License Agreement and Disclaimer

Lets keep this really simple!

If you keep and use $5 Help you agree to register it for $5. You have permission from Synergystic Productons Unlimited to copy this software for your friends, upload it to BBSs, and generally pass it around FOR FREE AND INTACT! Don't change it, not even the .zip filename! Don't charge for it, not even a "copying fee".

Like all software companies we make NO GUARANTEES!

Like all of our software, we've done our best ot see that that it does what we say it does.

If you simply must sue a software copmpany, keep in mind that this one's pockets would be much deeper if you get a few hundred thousand of your friends to register first.

If you are a beginner at authoring Windows .HLP files, we highly reccommend that you check out $20 Help ($20HLP.ZIP) . It is written to insulate the user from the Help Compiler.


Sample HPJ
Sample .HPJ

Here's a sample Help project file to use with the RTF this document creates. Just copy it into a plain text file and save it with a .HPJ extension. You will need to edit at least the path and name for your RTF.

; Project file

[OPTIONS]

BUILD = BuildAll

COMPRESS = HIGH

CONTENTS = Contents

COPYRIGHT = Copyright© 1993 Synergystic Productions

REPORT = ON

TITLE = Help for $5 Help

WARNING = 3

[FILES]

c:\w\project\5$help\5$hlp.rtf

[BUILDTAGS]

BuildAll

[Config]

BrowseButtons()

[ALIAS]

[BAGGAGE]

[BITMAPS]

[MAP]

[WINDOWS]

MAIN = "$5 Help",,1,,(0,255,255)

MyWindow = "$5 Help" ,(25,230,975,770),0,,,1


fIs $5 Help for Me
Is $5 Help for me?

Synergystic Productions authors TWO of the most economical WinHelp authoring tools on the market. This tool, $5 Help, is aimed primarily at experienced WinHelp authors who are developing WinHelp files using MS Word for Windows 6.0 and want to inexpensivly automate the most repetitive parts of the process.

Our other tool, $20 Help, is designed to insulate the user from the help compiler. It automates everything that most programmers need to document thier software. If you answer any of the following questions "yes", we strongly recommend that you evaluate $20 Help before deciding on a help tool.

I have never written a Windows Help File before.

I do not own the manual to the Help Compiler.

This Help file needed to be done yesterday.


Focused Assistance

Synergystic Productions Unlimited

Focused Assistance

NON-ADDICTIVE help with today's onslaught of technological change

Synergystic Productions Unlimited offers an entirely new kind of computer service called Focused Assistance - NON-ADDICTIVE help with today's onslaught of technological change. Focused Assistance is an education centered approach. Unlike most consulting firms, our goal is to educate our clients to make their own decisions regarding the use of computers in their business. We won't keep you hooked on our service by withholding information. We find out what you want to accomplish, how much you already know, and how much time you have. We believe that the purpose of computers is to allow you to do more work, quicker and cheaper and we mold our methods to reach that aim. We'll take into consideration your time, budget, and motivation and provide you with the information you need to decide the most efficient route. When you need information, technical assistance, custom software, or just a heavy dose of reality, Focused Assistance gives you the leverage you need.

No matter what your experience level with computers, Focused Assistance will keep you working while you're learning and let you set the priorities according to your schedule and budget.  We have a variety of rates available for different types of work. Clients can tailor their rate according to the amount of decision making and participation they want to provide.

If you're thinking about buying your first computer, currently experiencing technical difficulties, nedd custom software, or would like another perspective on a programming project, contact Synergystic Productions for Focused Assistance. We offer each new client a free 1/2 hour of phone support.


Synergystic Productions
This unique service has grown from the cooperation of two unique people. In November '92 Lisa Brice left her position as office manager of Miller Talley & Associates - Architects / Master Planners. Taylor Brown liquidated "Hand Taylored Productions" and they formed Synergystic Productions Unlimited. What started as full service desktop publishing/advertising studio quickly be came a whirlwind me'nage 'a trois romance between Taylor, Lisa, and technology.

In the year & 1/2 that followed we watched the industry turn up-side down repeatedly as one breakthrough after another changed the rules. Most of our clients didn't even know what kind of services they need. They just knew they needed HELP. It seemed an entirely new kind of computer service was called for. Synergystic Productions has become that service. We spend the majority of our waking hours learning about and working with computers because it's the most entertaining and profitable thing we've found to do with our time. Staying on the cutting edge is our favorite hobby. Sharing that knowledge with clients in a user friendly manner is our profession.

We work from our home and have no employees or business frontage. On unusually large or complex projects we hire qualified sub-contractors. All our software products are either custom or shareware and thus uses no packaging. All this gives us exceptionally low overhead and gives our clients maximum value.


Background
Additional Background

When MS Access was released in January of 1993, Synergystic Productions was mainly engaged in desktop publishing, consulting, troubleshooting and employee training. We purchased the prerelease version of Access so that we would be qualified to teach it when the software was in wide release. After learning the software, we were very excited about the development capabilities that it offered and began by writing software to help us manage our own business. We soon found that our stringent requirements for 'good software' demanded that we learn Windows API calls, then Visual Basic and most recently C++.

Our projects have ranged from a $30,000 Enterprise Information System to a contact manager and bid list builder for general contractors. Other projects have included accounting and employee management software for a seasonal business, a programmer's tool for Access (distributed nationally), a tool for interactively creating Windows Help files using Word 6.0 (English and Norwegian versions available), property tracking and report generation for a real estate office. We have worked with businesses that have from one to several hundred employees. Our applications have been designed and tested on single desktop systems and Local Area Networks. We have released several of the tools that we have created to facilitate application design as shareware.


Shareware

Shareware products available on-line

Access Developers Speed Tools (ADST) 3.0 - Add-on library for MS Access 2.0 which puts a row of buttons on the caption bar to perform many common environment commands with a single click. Allow for easy full screen design of forms. Updated for Access 2.0, ADST3 features a copy box (like having an extra clipboard!) and pop-up help.

$5 Help - MS Word 6.0 template with tools and macros that allows users to compose for the Windows Help Compiler in a hypertext environment and then converts the document into an RTF format, ready for the Help Compiler. Intended as a tool for experienced help writers who need a tool to make their job easier, but don't want to be held by the hand. Beginner's are encouraged to check out $20 Help.

$20 Help - MS Word 6.0 template with all the tools of $5 Help and a tab dialog box for setting project options that build the project file and allow for easy assigning of keywords, browse sequences, titles, build tags, and defining windows. Perfect tool for the first time Help author. Active jumps in the document allows for easy construction of Windows .HLP files.


Taylor Brown
Taylor Brown has been using and programming computers since 1978. He began pursuing his professional interest by taking a variety of computer classes through University of Houston and Houston Community College. He soon discovered that the educational system was unable to keep up with the rapidly increasing pace of technology and that information provided to students was often several years out of date. Since that time, Taylor's education has been thousands of hours reading periodicals, participating in on-line discussions, taking seminars, and helping people and businesses get the most out of their computers. His skills include tutoring, desktop system design/troubleshooting, programming, installation of networks/peripherals and InterNet research.


Lisa Brice
Lisa Brice's background consists of more than 10 years of using computers in administrative and managerial positions. Although she holds a BS in Journalism with minors in Management and Marketing, the bulk of Lisa's work experience has been as General Manager of a Hotel, and as office manager for an Architectural/Master Planning firm. Her many years of hands-on experience in the difficulties of integrating computers into the workplace give her special insight to the needs of both employers and employees. Lisa's skills include tutoring, office systems design and installation of peripherals. She manages Synergystic Productions Unlimited and is an accomplished programmer for the Microsoft Office Suite and Visual Basic.


Contact Information
Contact: Taylor Brown or Lisa Brice

Synergystic Productions Unlimited

InterNet - taylorbr@blkbox.com

CompuServe 72322,765

Voice (713)228-4959

Data/Fax (713)228-5848 - Call Voice First!

1503 Nance St.

Houston, TX 77002-1127


Rates

Base Rate - $20/hr. (2 hr. on-site minimum)includes only information providing services - training, tutoring, phone support, etc.

Consulting Rate - $50/hr. includes any hands-on installation, configuration or troubleshooting and any assumption of decision making responsibility.

Custom programming and research are quoted on a per job basis. Quotes are based on a  $25 per man hour rate.


Why FA is Different
Why Focused Assistance is different -

Information that works - Focused Assistance isn't time you take out from working to learn. It's time you save getting work done. We teach what the client needs to know to get their job done and include the underlying principles of all procedures covered so that clients are not lost when a new condition arises. Installations and other one time only processes can be performed for the client at standard consulting rates. We also write custom software when required to automate complex repetitive processes and dramatically shorten the clients learning curve.

Sometimes, learning isn't the answer. There are times when what you need a widget you can use to get work done, or a new widget installed, not instruction on designing and installing widgets. For automating manual or repetitive tasks, Synergystic Productions can provide you with custom software, written to your specifications.


test

Testing $5Help

1.	Open $5HELP1.DOT select all of its text and copy it to the clipboard.

2.	Close $5HELP1.DOT without saving any changes

3.	Open a new document, based on the $5HELP1 template

4.	Paste the contents of the clipboard into the new document.

5.	Save thenew document with your choice of names.

6.	Click the "Make RTF" button on the $5Help toolbar.

7.	Create an HPJ for your project

8.	Run the Help Compiler