Copyright: Microsoft Confidential
Citation: This information is copyright-protected and is confidential within Microsoft Corporation.


Forms 2.0 Supports Custom Help

When you use Forms 2.0 to create an application, you can create a custom Help file for the application. This custom Help file is available with your application at run-time.


Why is Custom Help Important To Me?

Context-sensitive run-time help lets you create an application that conforms to the Windows 95 style. Your users get the benefit of an application with the look and feel of Windows 95.


Using the HelpFile property

The HelpFile property applies to the main form. Enter the name of your custom Help file as the value of this property.


Using the HelpContextID property

Each control on the form has a HelpContextID property. When you create the custom Help file, you can write a special topic for each control and assign a unique context ID (a name or number) to each topic in the file. Then, enter the appropriate context ID as the value of HelpContextID for each control on the form.


How users see the help topics

The custom help features are active at run time, although the properties are available at run time as well as design time. To get help on a particular control, your user only needs to select the control and press F1.


What's a Quick Tip?
What’s a Quick Tip?

A Quick Tip is a short (2-3 sentence) help topic about the control. A Quick Tip identifies the control and gives a brief description of what it does.


How do users display Quick Tips?

Users display Quick Tips by clicking the help tool in the title bar of your application’s form window, and then clicking on the object about which they want more information.


What's a Tool Tip?
What’s a Tool Tip?

A Tool Tip is a very short (2-3 word) description of an object. Tool Tips appear when the user hovers over an object in the interface.


Tip of The Day

Don’t run with scissors!