Category : Files from Magazines
Archive   : VOL7N1.ZIP
Filename : HELP.DOC

HELP
Command

Michael J. Mefford 1988/No. 1 (PC Lab Notes)


Purpose: Pops up help or reference screens of the user's choice and
design either in the middle of an application or at the DOS prompt. Screens
suitable for use with HELP.COM are saved in the required file format by
CAPTURE.COM (Utilities, 1988/No. 1)

Format: HELP filespec [...filespec][/Nn][/Hn][/P] | [/U]

Remarks: Filespec is the filename, preceded if necessary by a drive
name and path, of a user-customized help/reference file that has been saved
using CAPTURE. Multiple help screens may be loaded for successive display by
entering more than one filespec on the command line, separating each with a
space, tab, comma, or semicolon. By default, HELP will accept four screen
pages, each of which is 4,000 bytes in length. The optional /Nn parameter
may be entered to change this default n (4) to values from 1 through 14
pages. The PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys are used to display the various
help screens. HELP remembers the last help screen accessed and will return
to it immediately the next time the program is called up.

HELP is a memory-resident program and is normally loaded by being
listed as a line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Its default pop-up key
("hotkey") is Alt-H. Other Alt-key combinations may be substituted for the
default hotkey by entering the optional /Hn parameter. Any alphanumeric key,
the minus, or the equals keys may be used for n, and the substitution may be
made either when the program is loaded or by entering HELP /Hn at a
subsequent DOS prompt. Pressing Esc or pressing the hotkey a second time
returns you to your application or to DOS.

The optional /P parameter causes the program to pop-up immediately,
and the /U parameter unloads it from memory if no other resident program has
been loaded after HELP.

Note:To change the number of screen pages reserved for pop-up it is necessary
to uninstall HELP or to reboot. Up to the limit of the reserved pages,
however, you can change the help screen(s) to be accessed simply by entering
the command, together with a new filespec, at the DOS prompt.