Microsoft Office 2000/Visual Basic Programmer's Guide

Displaying HTML Help

HTML Help supports many of the same features as Microsoft WinHelp 4.0 and uses a similar development model with a Help project file to combine topic, contents, index, image, and other source files into one compiled HTML Help file. You can also use many of the same HTML Help features available in a compiled HTML Help file by using either the HTML Help ActiveX control or the HTML Help Java applet to display your Help system from a Web browser.

You can use HTML Help to display Help topics for users in a variety of ways:

• By using the free-standing HTML Help Viewer
  
  
• By using customized windows called within an Office solution
  
  
• From a Web site, by using the HTML Help ActiveX control (for Internet Explorer) or the HTML Help Java applet (for browsers that support Java)

Note   HTML Help also allows you to author context-sensitive pop-up Help for user-interface elements. However, Office 2000 applications don't support context-sensitive Help that has been authored by using HTML Help. To create context-sensitive Help for Office solutions, you must use WinHelp 4.0 (.hlp) files. For more information about authoring and implementing context-sensitive Help for Office solutions, see "Displaying Help in Forms and Documents" later in this chapter.