3. Creating a MSHelp2 Collection

Step by Step

  1. In the Helpware FAR H2 Project Editor dialog box:
    1. Click the Collection Edit Mode radio button.
    2. Click the New Collection Wizard button.
  2. A Confirm message box opens stating that the project files do not have correct XML headers.
    1. Under Fix up file headers? click the Yes button.
  3. A FAR message box opens stating 4 files updated.
    1. Click the OK button.
  4. The 1. Enter a Collection Filename dialog box opens.
    1. Your .HxC file name and its containing folder should show in the dropdown field.
    2. Click the Next button.
  5. The 2. Add Help Titles dialog box opens.
    1. Click the Add button.
  6. This opens your H2_Output folder.
    1. Click on the .HxS file to highlight it.
    2. Click the Open button.
  7. This returns you to the 2. Add Help Titles dialog box.
    1. The Help Project field will show your H2 Help project name.
    2. The Title ID field will show your Title ID.
    3. Click the Next button.
  8. The 3. Choose a Table of Contents Plug-in Style dialog box opens.
    1. Select the Flat Style radio button.
    2. Click the Next button.
  9. The 4. Enter Collection Namespace and Description dialog box opens.
    1. In the Namespace Name field, enter your collection’s namespace name.
  10. Important Note: your namespace name MUST NOT contain any spaces between words.
    1. An example of a namespace name would be: xyzcorp.classlibrary.en
    2. The namespace name should end with the characters of the collection’s language, i.e. en = English.
    3. Write down or record your namespace name for reference later in the process.
  11. In the Namespace Description field, enter a short description of the collection.
    1. DO NOT put any spaces between the Namespace Description’s words, i.e. xyzcorpClassLibrary.
    2. Click the Next button.
  12. The 5. Create All Files dialog box opens.
    1. Click the Next button to create all files shown in the viewer area.
  13. The Select File Type message box appears.
    1. Select the radio button for the file type that you prefer.
    2. For example, I use the UTF-8 format for my x.h.t.m.l. project files, thus I choose the UTF-8 Unicode radio button.
    3. Click the OK button.
  14. A Confirm message box appears, telling you that your .HxC file exists, and if you want to overwrite it.
    1. Click the Yes to All button.
  15. The 6. Create Registration Script File dialog box opens.
    1. Make sure the Create H2Reg Script file checkbox is checked (default).
    2. If not, then please check it.
    3. Leave the Script File Name field as default (H2Reg_cmd.ini).
    4. Make sure that the Parent Namespace field contains the ms.vsipcc.v80 namespace.
  16. Important Note:
    1. This is a critical part of the H2 Collection creation process.
    2. Your H2 Collection must become a child of the Microsoft Visual Studio ms.vsipcc.v80 parent namespace for it to show in the Visual Studio IDE Help Contents listings.
    3. You will see the importance of this action later, when we are ready to build the Setup and Merge modules of your Collection in the Visual Studio 2005 I.D.E.
  17. The next action will create the H2Reg_cmd.ini file which will be stored in your H2_Output folder.
    1. Click the Next button.
  18. The H2Reg_cmd.ini – Notepad text file is displayed showing the Collection’s registration instructions for the Visual Studio build process, which we will do later.
    1. Save the file and close it.
  19. The 7. Register and Test dialog box opens.
    1. Click on the H2Reg Import button to review its contents.
    2. DO NOT change or alter anything in this dialog box.
    3. Click the Close button.
    4. DO NOT register or view your Collection at this time.
    5. Registration will be done automatically when you execute the setup.exe or .msi files later.
    6. Click the Next button.
  20. The Finished dialog box opens.
    1. Click the Finished button.
  21. This returns you to the Helpware FAR HTML H2 Project Editor dialog box.
    1. Click on the File button in the toolbar, and Save the collection.
    2. Click on the File button again in the toolbar and Exit the Helpware FAR HTML H2 Project Editor.
  22. We are now finished using Helpware FAR HTML to create our H2 Project and Collection.
    1. Close Helpware FAR HTML.
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