Modifying Existing Help Files with HELPMAKE (QuickC Example)

ID Number: Q40599

1.00 1.04 1.05 1.06 | 1.04 1.05 1.06

MS-DOS | OS/2

Summary:

You can add to or change the information in the online help files that

are accessible from QuickHelp, PWB, and QuickC. To accomplish this, do

the following:

1. Decompress the existing help file using HELPMAKE.EXE.

2. Edit the resulting source listing of the help file.

3. Recompress this modified file using HELPMAKE.EXE.

More Information:

The example below illustrates this process.

There is a known coding error in the Font function examples in the

QuickC 2.00 online help. This error occurs in the following code line:

strcat (fondir, "\*.fon") ;

This statement should be corrected to read as follows:

strcat (fondir, "\\*.fon") ;

To correct this online example in the GRAPHICS.HLP file, do the

following:

1. Decompress GRAPHICS.HLP, as follows:

HELPMAKE /D /Ographics.src /V Graphics.hlp > decode.log

/D Tells HELPMAKE to decode GRAPHICS.HLP

/O Tells HELPMAKE to name the output file GRAPHICS.SRC

/V Tells HELPMAKE to be verbose in decoding information

"> decode.log" redirects decoding information to DECODE.LOG.

This DOS redirection is not necessary, but is helpful.

2. Edit GRAPHICS.SRC

Using an editor of your choice, search GRAPHICS.SRC for the

code line that contains "\*.fon". When you locate the strcat()

instruction mentioned above, you will notice that the line already

correctly reads as follows:

strcat (fondir, "\\*.fon") ;

This is the correct coding for the C language. However,

HELPMAKE.EXE views the backslash, "\", as a flag for instructions.

Therefore, the first "\" is interpreted and is subsequently not

viewable in the online help.

If you intend a "\" to be viewed from within the online help, you

must type two backslashes. That is why the strcat() instruction is

displayed in the online help with only one "\".

To display two successive backslashes from within online help, you

must type four backslashes in the source file, which HELPMAKE will

interpret and compress into a helpfile.

In this example, you would modify the following statement

strcat (fondir, "\\*.fon") ;

to read as follows:

strcat (fondir, "\\\\*.fon") ;

3. Recompress GRAPHICS.SRC into a help file, as follows:

(This process may take up to 10 minutes with this file.)

HELPMAKE /E15 /A: /W128 /Ographics.hlp graphics.src /V > encode.log

/E15 Tells HELPMAKE to fully compress GRAPHICS.SRC

/A: Tells HELPMAKE to view a ':' as an operator

/W128 Tells HELPMAKE to truncate lines longer than 128 characters

/O Tells HELPMAKE to name the output file GRAPHICS.HLP

/V Tells HELPMAKE to output verbose encoding information

"> encode.log" redirects encoding information to ENCODE.LOG

This is helpful, but it is not necessary.

4. Copy the new GRAPHICS.HLP to the directory with your other

help files.

For further information, refer to the printed or online documentation

supplied with your version of HELPMAKE.