Create A Basic WinHelp 3.1 Project FileCreate A Basic WinHelp 3.1 Project File[FILES]
The [FILES] section is required, and must contain the
*.rtf file name(s) and path if different from the project file path, or if different from
the [OPTIONS] ROOT entry. There can be other entries made in this section, text files,
Microsoft Word native documents, and other text lists. These are specialized cases, as is
the use of the "#include" directive. To find out more about these entries, see
the Help Compiler Guide.
[WINDOWS]
A help file's primary screen is call a "window," and is named "main."
Additional screens ( up to five) are called secondary windows, and may have any name other
than "main," (up to eight characters in length). Both window types have
scrolling and non-scrolling attributes. Both may be positioned for the screen resolution
in which they are created. (The use of a third party tool is required to position windows
for multiple screen resolutions.) The scrolling area is the background of the help file
window less the non-scrolling area as set in the *.rtf file. The non-scrolling area is
always directly under the main window's menu bar, and secondary windows' title bar. Its
size is also set in the *.rtf file. The background colors of the both the scrolling and
non-scrolling area can be set; although, setting the background of the scrolling area is
rarely done. A common background color for the non-scrolling area is Windows light gray
(R192, G192, B192) Secondary windows can be displayed automatically maximized and / or
always be foremost visible window.
Example entry:
glossary = "My Help File", (511,0,512, 1023),1,(193,193,193),(192,192,192),1
1. glossary is the name of the secondary window.
2. "My Help File" is the window title (optional) that will appear in WinHelp's
title bar, and supersedes the [OPTIONS] TITLE entry. If no title is desired the entry
should look like this: glossary = "", (511,0,512,
1023),1,(193,193,193),(192,192,192),1.
3. (511,0,512,1023) or (HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL, WIDTH, HEIGHT). This is the windows size and
location for the resolution in which the window was created. Neither the HORIZONTAL +
HEIGHT or the VERTICAL + WIDTH may exceed 1023. In the example above the window would
extend from the top of the screen to the bottom, and from the right edge, half way across
the screen.
4. ,1,. This entry is rarely used, but in the above example, the entry would cause the
window "glossary" to be maximized, superseding the (HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL, WIDTH,
HEIGHT) entry. When this entry is omitted the example would look like this: glossary =
"My Help File", (511,0,512, 1023),,(193,193,193),(192,192,192),1.
5. (193,193,193) This entry would change the background color of the user's scrolling area
as set in WIN.INI, and is therefore rarely done. When this entry is omitted the example
would look like this glossary = "My Help File", (511,0,512,
1023),,,(192,192,192),1.
6. (192,192,192) This entry would change the background color of the non-scrolling area.
These numbers represent RGB color codes.
7. ,1. This entry would keep the "glossary" secondary window always "on
top."
Note: The WinHelp 4.0 compiler (HCW.EXE/HCRTF.EXE) uses the same basic scheme, but
different code references. However, it can read a WINDOWS 3.1 project file, and in the
process of compiling, it will convert and rewrite the entries to the new reference. Also
WinHelp 4 supports eleven secondary windows.
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