What Should You Know to Begin?

Because Windows Help integrates text and graphics, you might use many skills during the creation of a Help file—document analysis, writing, editing, graphic design and production, and for programming and compiling Windows. This guide assumes you have this expertise or that you work with others who do.

The actual skills necessary to create the RTF files from which the Help file is generated, however, are much simpler. To start using Windows Help and this authoring guide, you should have:

nExperience with MS-DOSÒ.

Although most of your development work takes place within the Windows graphical environment, you should know the basics of the MS-DOS operating system. Managing a Help project requires some understanding of MS-DOS commands and directory structures.

nExperience using Windows and an understanding of the Windows user interface.

Before starting development on your Help system, you should install Windows version 3.0 or 3.1 on your computer and learn how to use it. Be sure to learn the name, purpose, and operation of each part of a Windows-based application (such as windows, dialog boxes, menus, controls, and scroll bars). Because the Windows Help application incorporates these features, it is very important that you understand them so you can implement them properly in your application and Help system.

nExperience using Word for Windows or another word processor.

Microsoft Word for Windows is the preferred word processor for creating Windows Help files. Many of the features in Windows Help were designed with Word for Windows in mind. You can develop Help files using other editors, but they may present challenges that you typically avoid when using Word for Windows.

nAn understanding of the user-interface style guidelines for Windows.

One goal of Microsoft Windows is to provide a common user interface for all applications, including the Help application. This ultimately helps the user by reducing the effort required to learn the user interface, and it helps you by clarifying the choices you have to make when designing your application and Help system. Even though the content of the Help system varies from application to application, the user expects Help to be the same. Therefore, it is important that you build in a certain amount of consistency with other Help systems to make it easier for users to learn your Help system.