HelpPC 2.0 PC Programmers Utility Copyright (c) 1990, David Jurgens From Canada to Poland... by A.Molenda HelpPC 2.0 is a shareware release of HelpPC. The registration fee is $25 for addresses in the United States and $30 for Foreign addresses. For information about creating your own databases, registration, and the TSR version read HELPPC.DOC. A registration form is inclosed in REGISTER.FRM. Thanks for your support... Dave Jurgens Installation ============ This utility requires the following: DOS 2.0 or greater 64K of free RAM a hard disk system is recommended Installation involves two steps. First, simply dearchive the HelpPC.EXE file (may be HelpPC.ZIP or HelpPC.ARC). Second, issue the following command: SET HLP=d:dirname (no blanks, except between "SET HLP") Where 'd:' is the drive and 'dirname' is the directory where the help .TXT files exist (this should be fully qualified, with or without the trailing '\'). The HelpPC.COM file can exist anywhere that it can be accessed through the DOS command search path (PATH). The "SET HLP=" command should be placed in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to allow access to HelpPC each time your machine is restarted. As an example, if the files HelpPC.NDX and the .TXT files reside in a directory named C:\HELPINFO then use: SET HLP=C:\HELPINFO or SET HLP=C:\HELPINFO\ The name HelpPC was chosen to avoid conflict with the HELP command available with some OEM versions of DOS. I'd recommend that you rename HelpPC.COM to a name you find convenient and easy to remember like "H.COM", "HELP.COM" or "INFO.COM". Usage ===== HelpPC has three modes of operation. At first the most useful will be the menu driven interface that allows you to point and shoot at your topic. Entering HelpPC without a command line puts you in menu mode. The second mode is the command line mode which allows you to specify the text to search for on the command line. The third mode is available from either of the two other modes and prompts you for information. Prompted mode becomes the default after using the command line mode. To switch between prompted mode and menu mode, use the F1 key. Also included are two command files INDEXHLP.COM and BUILD.BAT. INDEXHLP.COM is the file index utility. Usage is very simple; you just include the files you plan to index on the command line. Issuing the INDEXHLP command gives instructions on usage. BUILD.BAT is a batch file provided to simplify using INDEXHLP. It indexes the default databases in the distribution and allows you to specify your own additional databases. BUILD without parameters indexes the default databases. If any file names are supplied, they are also indexed. If the HelpPC program is used in a batch file, the parameters to it must not be variable parameters (%0..%9). This is because when DOS parses the batch file parameters, it strips out commas. Commas are valid in topics and if removed by the parser will change the command line presented to HelpPC. This usually results in the "Topic not found in index" message. Keys used in navigating through HelpPC ====================================== Esc Exit current screen or HelpPC End Moves text or menu to the last line/item Home Moves text or menu to the first line/item PgUp Moves text or menu to page top or previous page PgDn Moves text or menu to page bottom or next page F1 Switches from menu to prompting mode and vice versa Alt-P Write current topic to printer Alt-W Write text to file HelpPC.DAT in the current directory Alt-X Exit HelpPC and without clearing current screen Disclaimer ========== The program contained herein, in its original form, is designed to work with PC's which are completely IBM DOS and IBM BIOS compatible and has been tested on a myriad of PC's and compatibles. The information contained within the help databases is correct to the best of my knowledge and ability. Since it was compiled from various sources, some in complete disagreement and some continually changing specifications, I cannot be responsible for omissions, inaccuracies or plain errors of any type. I make no claims to value of the enclosed programs or files, or their behavior and assume no liability for damages either from the direct use of this product or as a consequence of the use/misuse of this product. Hence, this program and all information contained within SHOULD BE USED AT ONES OWN RISK. This disclaimer is included to absolve me from legal issues brought about by today's litigious society.