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Adding a Help Document Link to the Context Help

 

» Developing a VI-Based API » Adding a Help Document Link to the Context Help

 

This example will walk through the process of adding a 'Detailed Help' link to the context help to load a help document when clicked. To prepare for this example, please copy the 'help' folder from the .zip archive below to your LabVIEW directory (if prompted, choose to merge with the existing help folder).

 

  1. Open Add.vi from the .zip file (contained in the 'Simple Math' folder).

  2. Bring up the VI Properties box (Ctrl-I or File > VI Properties).

  3. Switch to the Documentation page.

  4. Enter a value of :\ATX\Simple Math\ATX Simple Math Help.html for the Help Path. Click OK.

  5. Bring up the Context Help window in LabVIEW (Ctrl-H or Help > Show Context Help).

  6. Hover over the icon for the Add.vi. Notice there is a blue 'Detailed Help' link in the Context Help window.

  7. Click the Detailed Help blue link in the Context Help window. A web browser will open up with the example help document.

Note: You can also launch the help document from the Help menu if you select the 'ATX Simple Math Help' entry. The help document is an html file and the LabVIEW Help menu only auto-populates entries for CHM, HLP, and VI file types in the LabVIEW\Help directory; in order to create an entry for the html file used in this example, a launching VI was necessary. This approach can be taken to launch other help document file types, such as PDF documents, from the LabVIEW Help menu.

 

Comments
Knight of NI
Knight of NI
on

Happened to run across this example while searching for something else, and wanted to comment.

What is the point of the VI in the folder with the help file? It serves no purpose as far as actually accessing the help file.


RDR
NI Employee (retired)
on

The purpose of the example is to demonstrate how to add a context help  link to an API VI in order for the 'Detailed Help' link to load a help  document. The Help file and VI placed in LabVIEW\Help\ also demonstrate  how to add an html help file to the LabVIEW Help menu, through use of a  launching VI; I meant to add a note to the example to point this out,  it's there now!

Thanks for pointing this out!

Igor_Titov
Member
Member
on

Or you could do it automatically without bothering to get into relative and symbolic paths with a HELPer tool for VI documentation (http://vigods.com/toolkits/HELPer/helper.html)

=========================
Igor Titov, ex-CLA
ex-Labicom.net, ex-CERN, etc.
rolfk
Knight of NI Knight of NI
Knight of NI
on

Igor, it may be a nice tool, but what you do on this board slowly approaches spamming. Also if the website was created with the same tool, it makes me wonder. At least in my Firefox browser the link you show in your multiple posts today all show a rather unreadable (help like) page where the frames (or whatever it is) are rather and unnecessarily small and don't show all the information, eventhough 70% of my browser window is blank.

Rolf Kalbermatter
My Blog
Igor_Titov
Member
Member
on

rolfk, 1) website wasn't created with the same tool, 2) we are approaching HTML5 era, so you should update your browser, or use more standard compatible ones (currently it's Chrome) - then it should be Ok, 3) there is a list of examples on vigods.com, where you can have a look at different options, for example at 4) http://vigods.com/toolkits/HELPer/example/aes/helper_advanced/AES.Encrypt.vi.html

Anyway, this particular document is exactly about what I'm talking about, and by the way I'm trying to save time of many people, including yours. So, my comment is relevant here.

=========================
Igor Titov, ex-CLA
ex-Labicom.net, ex-CERN, etc.
rolfk
Knight of NI Knight of NI
Knight of NI
on

Well, adding a link to your page to every thread that has something to do with help file documentation is feeling a bit spammy, sorry!

And expecting everyone to have a fully HTML5 conforming browser may be a little heavyweight. It's not like I'm using Firefox 3.x or something, but I refuse to upgrade every month.

Rolf Kalbermatter
My Blog
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