MS Developer Network CD User's Guide

This document is an online copy of the user's guide included in the Microsoft Developer Network CD package. The document provides introductory information on using the Microsoft Developer Network CD. For complete information on using the CD and entering search queries, please refer to the online Help system.

Note:

Before you start using the CD, choose Release Notes from the Help menu to review information on this pre-release software, including recommendations, software limitations, and known problems.

Learning the Basics

The following sections provide an overview of product features. For more information on each task, please refer to the Help system.

Starting the Microsoft Developer Network CD

You can start the CD software from Microsoft WindowsÔ or from MS-DOSÒ:

From Windows Program Manager, double-click the icon in the MS Developer Network program group.
–Or–
From MS-DOS, type:

C:\VIEWER\VIEWER.EXE HOME.MVB

where C:\VIEWER is the Developer Network CD installation directory. You cannot run the software from the MS-DOS prompt in Windows.

Quitting the Microsoft Developer Network CD

To end your session with the Developer Network CD:

Close the Viewer window by double-clicking its Control-menu box.
–Or–
From the Viewer window File menu, choose Exit.

Getting Help

The Help system provides complete documentation for the Developer Network CD. This user's guide is intended only as an introduction. For detailed information on using the CD, you must use Help.

To access Help

From the Viewer window Help menu, choose Help Index.
–Or–
In the Index or Search window, click the Help button.

The Help window opens to display Help contents (for the Viewer window) or usage information (for the Index or Search window).

In the contents listing, click the underlined topic you want to review.

In a topic, click a word with a dotted underline to see a definition of that term. Click again to dismiss the box.

Help topics frequently contain jumps to other topics for additional or related information. Click the underlined text to view the relevant topic.

Use the button bar or menu commands in the Help window to navigate, print, annotate, or bookmark the information.

To quit Help

Double-click the Control-menu box in the Help window.
–Or–
From the File menu, choose Exit.

The Viewer, Index, and Search windows

You will use three windows—the Index window, the Search window, and the Viewer window—during your sessions. The button bar at the top of each window lets you open, or switch to, the other windows easily.

Use the Index window to browse CD contents and select topics to view.

Use the Viewer window to view and annotate topics, copy text and code, and print information.

Use the Search window to search the CD for specific information.

Using the index

The Index window displays the contents of the CD, organized by source, by subject, or by keyword. To use the index:

1.In the Viewer or Search window, click the Index button.

2.In the Index window, click the arrow next to the Index list box to see your listing choices: Source, Subject, or Keywords.

3.Select the listing you want to view. The Source index lists CD contents by books, articles, sample code, and similar source material. The Subject index lists selected Windows topics (for example, dialog boxes, control IDs, and edit controls). The Keyword index presents a listing of functions, messages, and structures.

Opening books and topics

After viewing the source, subject, or keyword listing, you can open books and topics directly from the Index window to see their contents.

To open a book, double-click its icon or title.

When you double-click, the book will open and display a listing of additional books and/or topics. You may have to open several levels in the book’s structure to find the topic you want.

To close a book, double-click its icon or title.

To view a topic, double-click its icon or title.

The topic will be displayed in the Viewer window, with the text adjusted to fit the window. You can resize or maximize the Viewer window if necessary.

Note:

If the Viewer window is too narrow, it may not display some tables or illustrations properly. If you encounter formatting problems such as table columns that do not line up or truncated pictures, resize the Viewer window.

Looking for keywords

When you’re reading a topic in the Viewer window, you can click the keywords that are colored and underlined in the text to see descriptions of functions, structures, and messages relevant to that topic.

You can also use the Keyword index to find information on specific functions, messages, and structures:

1.In the Index list, select Keywords. The Index window will list all functions, structures, and messages in alphabetical order.

2.Double-click the keyword you’re interested in.
–Or–
In the Word box, type the keyword you want to search for. When you start typing, the index scrolls and highlights the keyword that most closely matches the text you type. Press ENTER when the keyword is highlighted in the listing.

Navigating

The buttons at the top of the Viewer window let you move between topics easily.

See the Shortcuts section for shortcut keys you can use to perform these tasks.

Copying a topic

You can copy text and source code (but not illustrations) from topics to other Windows-based applications using the Clipboard.

1.Display the topic in the Viewer window.

2.From the Edit menu, choose Copy.

3.In the Copy dialog box, click the Copy button to copy the entire topic.
–Or–
Select the text you want to copy, and then click the Copy button.

4.Paste the contents of the Clipboard into another application.

Printing a topic

If you have a printer installed and connected to your computer, you can print documents, articles, and abstracts from the CD.

1.Display the topic in the Viewer window.

2.From the File menu, choose Print Topic.

The topic will be printed on the default printer. To change printer options, choose Print Setup from the File menu. The options vary, depending on your printer. To switch to another printer, use the Windows Control Panel.

If the Print Topic and Print Setup options are dimmed, check your printer connections in Windows Control Panel.

Using sample programs

The Developer Network CD contains sample programs that illustrate programming techniques and Windows SDK tools such as Heap Walker.

1.Open the Sample Code book to see a list of sample programs or the Product Tools and Utilities book to see a list of Windows SDK tools.

2.Double-click the name or icon for the sample program or tool.

The Viewer window displays an abstract describing the sample program and explaining the requirements for its use. Make sure to review this information before you run the program.

To run the program, browse source files, or copy source files:

3.Click the Browse button at the end of the abstract to see the source file listing.

4.In the Sample Application dialog box:

Select a source file name and click Open, or double-click the file name to browse the source file.
–Or–

Double-click the .EXE file to run the program.
–Or–

Select one or more file names and click Copy, then complete the Copy dialog box to copy source files.

5.Click Close.

Notes :

By default, the Developer Network CD displays all text files in Notepad, all image files in the Image Editor, and all waveform data (.WAV) files in Sound Recorder. You can change these tool assignments by editing the [Source Viewer] section of your WIN.INI file.

To print source files, use the printing facilities of Notepad, Image Editor, or your selected browsing tool.

Adding notes to a topic

You can annotate a topic to add your own notes. A paper clip icon appears to the left of an annotated topic title in the Viewer window. (The icon is not displayed in the Index or Search window.)

1.Display the topic you want to annotate in the Viewer window.

2.From the Edit menu, choose Annotate.

3.In the Annotate dialog box, type the text you want to add. You can use the Copy and Paste buttons to copy text between annotations.

4.Click Save.

5.To view the annotation, display the annotated topic, and click the paper clip icon.

Searching for Information

You can search the contents of the CD for topics of interest or to find answers to specific questions.

1.Click the Search button from the Index window or Viewer window.

2.In the Query box, type a query. See the Quick Query Reference section for examples.

3.Click the Find button. The Search window displays the top search results (maximum of 100 topics). Topics that are most relevant to your query receive the highest rankings in the list.

4.Double-click a topic to view it. Search hits are highlighted in topic text so you can find the relevant sections easily.

To search selected books

You can limit your search to selected books from the CD. After Step 2 above:

Click the Range button.

In the Range dialog box, click to select one or more books from the Books list, and click Close.

Continue with Step 3 above.

Your search range will remain in effect until you choose a new range.

To repeat a previous search

Instead of typing a query in Step 2 above:

Click the down arrow next to the Query box to view the last 20 queries you used in previous searches. Select a query from this list.

Shortcuts

You can use the ALT+underlined letter combination to select menus, commands, and dialog box options. In addition, you can use the shortcuts listed below.

To open or select windows

To open or close books in the Index window

To navigate between topics

To scroll within a window

Quick Query Reference

The CD software supports two types of queries: simple queries for basic search expressions and Boolean Plus queries for complex expressions.

Punctuation marks such as the period (.) and colon (:) and pervasive words such as and, the, if, and of are ignored during a search. Queries are case insensitive. By default, all queries are evaluated from left to right, with the AND operator taking precedence over OR.

Simple queries

Boolean Plus queries

All Boolean Plus queries begin with a backslash (\). By default, queries are evaluated from left to right, with the AND operator taking precedence over OR.. You can use parentheses to indicate evaluation sequence.

Boolean Plus proximity operators

Boolean Plus operators for searching title strings

Boolean Plus modifiers

Sample queries

For more information on the query language, please refer to online Help.