Help Window Not Appearing in Test

[sstewart-lbmx]

We are integrating help for an application with five modules. In one module, the application's form_load initialises with a message box; in the others, it does not. Where it does not have the message box, the help window does not appear, even though HTML Help Workshop traps the correct help call.

1) Does anyone have any idea why it might be having this problem?

2) Can anyone tell me what exactly the HTML Help Workshop traps to generate its help messages, e.g.
HH_HELP_CONTEXT: mk:@MSITStore:C:\Program Files\LBMX\LBMXsolutioncentre\Help\MainHelp.chm: 361 (Rebate_Programs.htm) ?

3) Does anyone have any idea how we can fix it?

[johnmccallum]

HTML HelpWorkshop traps the message sent from the application to the help engine. RoboHelp's BugHunter does the same thing. So, in your case, the application is looking for topic map number 361 in your MainHelp.chm file. It looks like it is able to connect that to the file Rebate_Programs.htm, so I think your mapIDs in your .hh and .ali files are OK.

Check to see that your MainHelp.chm does have a file called "Rebate_Programs.htm." Because you have a help file called "MainHelp," I suspect you might have modular help and this file might be located in another file. Is that the case?

John

[sstewart-lbmx]

The help is not modular, as far as I know; MainHelp is just what the developer has chosen to call the file once it gets to him. When I compile it, it's called Solution-Centre-[version]-Help.chm.

The kicker is, the help window appears perfectly well on an identical screen in the module where the message box appears, but not in the module where there is no message box (there is some duplication of functions between modules for workflow purposes).

For instance, if I go into our module called Document Management, where a notification message box appears on startup, and go to the feature called Manage Invoices, and hit F1, the help appears just fine. If I go into the Rebate Management module, where there is no equivalent notification on startup, and go to Manage Invoices (the identical feature in a different module) hit F1, the same help call is logged (not the sample one I put there -- the map ID is 117 and the topic name is different) as in the other module, but no help window appears.

[sstewart-lbmx · Accepted solution]

The developer just told me that the problem was caused by a shellexecute parameter being set to 0 instead of 9 in the window display code.