HOW2HELP.TXT  J.R. Ferguson Pascal Library - How to Help

Jan 29,1997


How to use the help feature
===========================

For all units in the Pascal Library there is a matching  help  file.  These
files  were  created with the program MAKEHELP.EXE, which is derived from a
demo program that comes with the Turbo Professional Pascal library, version
5.0, by TurboPower Software. The help files can be viewed with HLPVIEW.EXE,
which I wrote  from  scratch  using  library  units  from  the  same  Turbo
Professional  library.  As  this  library is copyright protected, I can not
include the sources needed to recompile these programs, but I included  the
executables so you can use them.

To create a help file for a Pascal library source, I wrote HLPTX.PAS, which
extracts  the  comment  descriptions from a Pascal unit source and converts
them to the input file  format  expected  by  MAKEHELP.EXE.  To  create  an
updated help file for a Unit source, issue the following commands:

  HLPTX    unitname.PAS             (this creates file unitname.HTX)
  MAKEHELP unitname.HTX             (this creates file unitname.HLP)
  DEL      unitname.HTX             (file unitname.HTX is no longer needed)

You  can  also  use  HLPMAKE.BAT,  to  issue all three commands at once, by
issuing the command

  HLPMAKE unitname.PAS

Use HLPLIB.BAT to generate all help files with a single command.

You may have to change the directory paths used in these batch files:  read
HOW2INST.TXT for more information on this subject.

HLPVIEW.EXE  can  be  used  in either of two ways, specifying a single help
file, like in

  HLPVIEW CHRLIB.HLP

or specfying a filename pattern for the help files you  want  to  look  at,
like in

  HLPVIEW *.HLP

With  the  first  command,  an overview of all help topics in the specified
help file is displayed.  With  the  second  command,  an  overview  of  all
matching  help  files is displayed, from which you can choose one. Once the
help system displays its screen, use your left mouse button  or  the  arrow
keys  to  select  an item, then press the left mouse button again, or press
the Enter key, to display that item. With the right  mouse  button  or  the
Escape  key  you leave the display panel shown and go up one level or leave
the help system altogether. Help texts that don't fit on  a  single  screen
page  show  a scroll bar which can be activated with the left mouse button.
You may also use the Page Down and Page Up keys to scroll  the  text.  It's
all  very intuitively. Mind however, that the help files are not compatible
with the MS-DOS or the MS-Window's help systems. You  need  HLPVIEW.EXE  to
display them.

Two  batch files and a Windows PIF file are included to easily get you into
the Pascal Library help system:  HLPPAS.BAT,  HLPPASX.BAT  and  HLPPAS.PIF.
HLPPAS.BAT  can  be  used  from the DOS prompt. HLPPASX.BAT is meant to use
from the Borland Pascal Integrated Development  Environment  (IDE):  choose
'File|Dos  shell',  then  issue the command HLPPASX. It executes HLPPAS.BAT
and issues the EXIT command after you leave the help  system,  to  get  you
back   into   the   IDE.  HLPPAS.PIF  starts  HLPPAS.BAT  in  a  MS-Windows
environment. You can add an icon for it in you Borland Pascal group in  the
Windows Program Manager.

You  may  have to change HLPMAKE.BAT, HLPLIB.BAT, HLPPAS.BAT and HLPPAS.PIF
to reflect the directory paths you are using. Read  HOW2INST.TXT  for  more
information on this subject.
