What can you do with FlexHelp?

FlexHelp allows you to link online help information to specific dialog boxes or windows in virtually any Windows application. You can link information to applications in two ways: buttons and panels.

Buttons

Buttons can be attached to any portion of the host dialog box or window—including areas that can't normally display buttons, such as the window title bar. You can make buttons blend in so that they look like a native part of the host application—or you can make them stand out by using distinctive colors for the text and background.

This illustration shows a FlexHelp button attached to the title bar of the Windows Calculator. Clicking the button displays a text pop-up—one of the many options for displaying information provided by FlexHelp.

When the user clicks the button, the online help information that you specify will be displayed. There are a number of ways to display this information. Your can use a plain text pop-up window or an HTML page or URL displayed in the FlexHelp HTML Viewer or in the user's browser. You can also link to a Windows Help (WinHelp) file or an HTML Help file. Or you can use any application accessible from the user's computer to display a document. For example, you could open a .doc file in MS Word, display an .avi file or run a specific portion of a computer-based training application.

Panels

Panels are used to integrate information directly into the application. A panel appears as an extension of a dialog box or window and displays information immediately—without the need for the user to take any action. Panels are a great way to be absolutely certain that the user sees vital information.

This illustration shows a FlexHelp panel attached to the right side of the Display Properties dialog within Windows Control Panel. FlexHelp panels allow you to integrate information directly into applications. Panels can also optionally act as buttons, linking the user to more detailed information.

This example shows a plain text panel. FlexHelp also offers HTML panels which can include text, graphics, links or any other content supported by Microsoft Internet Explorer.

FlexHelp offers two types of panels: text or HTML. Text panels display information in plain text format and can optionally act as clickable buttons that link the user to additional information. HTML panels directly display an HTML file or URL. In order to user HTML panels, the end user must have Microsoft Internet Explorer installed.

FlexHelp Home | Contents | Previous | Next

This page was produced automatically from a Word document using WordToWeb.