PowerBuilder has two kinds of online Help: HTML Help and Windows Help.
HTML Help contains several PowerBuilder books: this Users Guide, Application Techniques, the DataWindow Programmers Guide, Connecting to Your Database, and Deploying Applications and Components to .NET.
Windows Help contains a list of new features in this release, context-sensitive Help, all the reference information in Objects and Controls, the Connection Reference, the DataWindow Reference, and the PowerScript Reference, and Help for tools such as the Migration Assistant and the Profiling and DWSyntax tools.
Some Windows Help topics provide links to related topics in the HTML Help.
Vista support for Windows Help
If you or your users use the Windows Vista operating system,
see “Using Windows Help files on Vista”.
Table 1-8 lists the ways you can access Help.
Approach |
What it does |
|---|---|
Use the Help menu on the menu bar |
Displays the Help contents, the What’s New in PowerBuilder Help, or Help for the current painter. |
In a wizard, click the Help button [?] in the upper right corner of the window |
The pointer displays with a question mark so you can get context-sensitive Help. Point and click in a field you need Help on. |
In the Properties view in a painter, select Help from the pop-up menu on any tab page |
Displays a Help topic from which you can get Help on the properties, events, and functions for the object or control whose properties are displaying in the Properties view. |
Add a Help button to the PowerBar and use it |
Displays the Help contents. |
Press F1 |
Displays the Help contents. |
Press Shift+F1 in the Script view or Function painter |
Displays context-sensitive Help about the function, event, or keyword under the cursor. |
Select Help from the pop-up menu in the Browser |
Displays Help for the Browser or for the selected object, control, or function. |
Click the Help button in a dialog box |
Displays information about that dialog box. |
Click the link to HTML Help icon in a Windows Help topic |
Opens the HTML Help at the linked topic. |
PowerBuilder books are also provided on the Sybooks CD and the Sybase Product Manuals Web site. For more information, see “Other sources of information”.
Windows Vista does not distribute the WinHlp32.exe file required to open Windows Help files such as the pbhlp115.hlp file used in PowerBuilder. To use .hlp files, you need to download a special Vista version of WinHlp32.exe from the Microsoft Web site.
Compiled HTML Help (.chm) files are supported, but you need to edit the Windows registry to enable a Help macro that supports links from the pbhlp115.hlp file to the pbman115.chm file. If you do not edit the registry, the “For more information” links at the bottom of many topics in the Windows Help display an error.
You also need to edit the registry if you need to run Windows Help files at a remote location on an intranet.
Registry reflection on 64-bit Windows
64-bit versions of Windows use registry reflection to maintain
a 32-bit registry view and a 64-bit registry view. On 64-bit Windows,
configuration information related to 32-bit applications is stored
in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WOW6432node registry
hive.
To enable Windows Help macros and remote access
on Vista:
Create the following registry key.
On 32-bit Windows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WinHelp
On 64-bit Windows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432node\Microsoft\ WinHelp
Add a new DWORD value with the name AllowProgrammaticMacros and the value 1.
Add a new DWORD value with the name AllowIntranetAccess and the value 1.
You can also add this support by saving the following lines in Notepad to a file with the extension .reg and importing it into the registry.
On 32-bit Windows:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WinHelp] "AllowProgrammaticMacros"=dword:00000001 "AllowIntranetAccess"=dword:00000001
On 64-bit Windows:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432node\Microsoft\WinHelp] "AllowProgrammaticMacros"=dword:00000001 "AllowIntranetAccess"=dword:00000001
Microsoft prohibits the distribution of WinHlp32.exe with deployed applications. If your application uses .hlp files, you should provide your users with instructions on how to download WinHlp32.exe. Links for downloading WinHlp32.exe are available by searching for it on the Microsoft download site.
