🚀 go-pugleaf

In <w1ym8xa.garyd@netcom.com> garyd@netcom.com (Gary Dietz) writes:

>> Why not just use WINHELP?

>Well, quite frankly, the windows help viewer sucks.

I more or less agree, but I disagree with some of your specifics.

>Some simple examples:

>- You can't do a full-text search
HLP files are compressed, so a full-text search would be *very* slow.
And fancy searching tools (which, come to think of it, are the main
thing that make me nostalgic for Unix) are a hacker tool, not an
end-user tool.  A good index/keyword list is of far more use to the
typical user, though I have to admit that creating one is not easy!
>- The placement of bitmaps is very rudimentary
I'm no sure what you mean.  In any case, you might want to check out
the new bitmap tools for the 3.1 help compiler.
>- There is really no way to 'index' things -- it is really just a 
>  keyword search (you can't do a two level index)
I don't understand this point at all.  I certainly agree that the
index features are as clumsy as hell, but I can see several ways to do
two-level indexes -- assuming you and I are talking about the same
thing.

>- I can't dictate what fonts the viewer will use unless I assume the
>  default fonts that ship with windows
This is a problem with *all* Windows apps.  If you know how force a
program to use a font that isn't actually installed on the user's
system, I wish you'd share it with us!


>Also, the help file format is COMPLETEY undocumented by Microsoft.
So any alternative help engines would not be backward compatible.
Windows is a kludgy enough environment already, thank you very much!

Still you've touched on one of my pet peeves with MS.  They guard file
formats like the Ark of the Covenent, supposedly because third-party
programmers would introduce incompatibilities.  Alas, they are their
own worst enemies here.  They currently have have *eight* different
word-processor formats (that I know of), not counting "quick-save" and
other silly variations!  

>So, I'd like a 3rd party help compiler and viewer that will respond to
>the standard WINHELP calls in the windows apps we have in development.

If you *must* have your own help engine, then you should design your
own set of calls.  Otherwise you're likely to break all the programs
that rely on the MS engine!

>gary

>-- 
>I'm garyd@netcom.com

>     "If I hugged you any closer, I'd be behind you."  -G. Marx
>     "Whatsa matta you?"                               -C. Marx
>     "                                "                -H. Marx

That's a misquote.  I definitely heard Harpo say HONK HONK!



-- 

	ergo@netcom.com 			Isaac Rabinovitch
        {apple,amdahl,claris}!netcom!ergo	Santa Cruz, CA
	
	You will be assimilated.  Resistance is futile.