Implementing a help system

The following checklist describes a method for implementing help for an integrating application:

1. Complete your application development.

Typically, you’ll develop your help system after you’ve completed all development tasks within your development dictionary. With most of your application complete, there’s less chance of resource IDs changing. Resource IDs must remain unchanged after you’ve generated help files for context-sensitivity to work properly.

2. Write a help processing procedure.

Your application will use a help processing procedure to acquire the context ID of a window, and display the appropriate help topic. The main product (Microsoft Dynamics GP) and all Dexterity applications that integrate with it must each use their own help processing procedure. You can find more information about this subject in Writing a help processing procedure.

3. Register the procedure.

Your application must also specify which procedure will be used for the help processing procedure. You can find more information about this subject in Registering the help processing procedure.

4. Create help source files.

The information in a help file comes from several different source files. Most of these source files will be produced by the tool you choose for your help authoring. Other source files will come from CHAMP, a tool included with Dexterity. The section titled Creating help source files explains the various source files you will use.

5. Compile the source files to produce the .chm file.

You will use the HTML Help Workshop to create the compiled help file for use with your application.

6. Test the compiled help file.

Be sure to test the help file in a multidictionary environment using your extracted application and the same Dynamics.dic dictionary used by your customers.


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