Embedded Windows

If you want to extend the functionality of Windows Help, you can create embedded windows for your Help file. An embedded window is a rectangular region within a topic that uses a dynamic-link library (DLL) to display information. Embedded windows can display many different kinds of information but are especially useful for displaying information that will maintain a consistent size within a topic. Here are a few possibilities.

You can use embedded windows to:

nDisplay 256-color bitmaps.

nDisplay multimedia elements and their playback controls, such as audio files, animations, and full-motion video.

nAssemble and display the contents of a Help topic dynamically based on information stored in an ASCII text file or database.

nDisplay screen images, such as interface elements and dialog boxes, stored in the application’s resource files to save disk space in the compiled Help file.

nDisplay any other information that has special display requirements or that cannot be included using Help’s standard feature set.

Whether you use embedded windows and how you use them depends entirely on your willingness and ability to create a dynamic-link library to control the contents within the embedded window. Help does not provide any custom DLLs for you.