Progress
Help Development
Guide


Compiling a Help Project

The help compiler converts the help source files using the instructions in the help project file into a binary help file that can be read by the Windows help application, winhlp32.exe, supplied with Windows. Help Workshop (\Program Files\Progress\bin\hcw.exe) runs the Windows help compiler (\Program Files\Progress\bin\hcrtf.exe). While it is possible to run the help compiler directly, it is more convenient to use Help Workshop to run the help compiler.

Table 4–4 summarizes the various help source files.

Table 4–4: Help Source Files 
File
Extension
Purpose
Topic files
.rtf
Topic files are RTF files containing all of the text that will be displayed in the compiled help file. The help topic files also contain special control codes and text formatting that define topics and create hypertext links.
Graphics files
.bmp, .shg, .wmf, .mrb
Graphics files are included in help topic files by referencing their filenames with help statements.
Contents file
.cnt
The contents file is a text file containing information used by the help engine to determine the behavior of the Help Topics dialog box and to populate the Contents tab of the Help Topics dialog box.
Project file
.hpj
The project file is a text file that organizes the source files and contains all of the information the compiler needs to create the binary help file. The help project file lists all the files (RTF, CNT, and graphics files) and includes any special information required to configure the help viewer.

When you finish specifying all the help topic files, graphic files, build tags, macros, and other options you want to include in the help project file, you are ready to build the final help file. The help compiler processes all the help source files listed in the help project file and generates the compiled help file.

By default, the help compiler places the finished help file in the same directory as the project file, and assigns it a name based on the name of the project file, but with an *.hlp extension. The simplest way to compile a help file is to use Help Workshop in graphical mode, accepting all the compilation defaults.

Figure 4–4 illustrates the process of compiling a help project.

Figure 4–4: Compiling a Help Project

Follow these steps to compile a help project with Help Workshop:

  1. Execute hcw.exe from the Program Files\Progress\bin directory.
  2. From the main menu, choose File Open. The Open dialog box appears.
  3. In the Open dialog box, select Help Project Files (.hpj) in Files of Type, and browse for your project file. Choose the Open button.
  4. Help Workshop opens the project file and displays it as shown in Figure 4–3.

  5. Choose the Compile button in the tool bar. Help Workshop runs the compiler. By default, Help Workshop minimizes while compiling.
  6. When compilation is complete, Help Workshop places the compiled file in the same directory as the project file (or other directory if specified in the project file).
  7. Help Workshop displays a Compilation window and populates it with compiler messages and any notes, warnings, or errors that are generated by the compiler. If you want to save this compilation information in a log file, choose File Save when the Compilation window is displayed. You can also instruct the compiler to save its messages to a file by using the ERRORLOG option in the [OPTIONS] section of the project file.

To prevent Help Workshop from minimizing while compiling, or to change other compilation preferences, choose File Compile from the main menu instead of the Compile button in Step 4 above.


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