This is the README for helpfilebuilder 1.1, a useful tool to build helpfiles
for NEXTSTEP programs. This command-line utility reads an application's
main nib file which contains the menus and creates an RTFD for each menu
item. These RTFD's will look just like the ones in Workspace or Edit.
Changes since 1.0:
1: better handling of errors.
2: helpfilebuilder now fills in the text portion in all of the standard
menus. The text is configurable by altering the
Language_helpfile.strings file.
3: language support.
4: helpfilebuilder now comes in a bundle (as opposed to a single file).
The filename for the main menu:progname.main.rtfd.
The files for leaf menu cells (commands) will contain the following:
1: command name
2: menu path picture
3: separator lines and the string "See also"
4: links to next, previous and parent menupages
The filenames for commands are: commandname.cmd.rtfd.
The files for branch menu cells (menus) will contain the following:
1: command name
2: menu path picture
3: picture of all the submenus with links to the corresponding
helpfiles
3: separator lines and the string "See also"
4: links to next, previous and parent menupages
The filenames for menus are: menuname.mn.rtfd.
The program also generates a TOC (Table Of Contents) file.
Installation: make sure to leave the supplied directory intact, since
helpfilebuilder will look for the stringfile in the same directory.
For additional languages, add the language_helpfile.strings file into
the same directory.
Recommended usage:
1: Create a help directory in your project using ProjectBuilder's
"Add Help Directory" command. The newly created directory
will alredy contain a Table Of Contents and an Index file.
2: run helpfilebuilder the following way:
>helpfilebuilder -o Helpdirectory English.lproj/Main.nib
3: Paste everything from the TOC file into the Table Of Contents file.
4: At this point type the descriptions of the menus into the helpfiles,
and create any extra links and help pages you may need.
5: Open the HelpBuilder panel in Interface Builder and make the
connections between the menus and the help pages.
Language support:
if the "-l Language" option is not used, helpfilebuilder will
default to English. English and German stringtable files are provided.
To make helpfiles in german invoke the program like this:
>helpfilebuilder -l German -o Helpdirectory English.lproj/Main.nib
In this case helpfilebuilder will use the German_helpfile.strings file.
VOLUNTEERS needed to provide equivalent files in Swedish, Italian,
French, Spanish, etc... also to verify, correct and expand the current
pool of stringtable files.
WARNING: if the output directory already exist, it will be COMPLETELY
BLOWN AWAY, and replaced by the new one. Do not try to use
helpfilebuilder on a directory that already contains files you
want to keep.
Supported Architectures: m68k,i386 and hppa
OS version: helpfilebuilder was built on NS 3.2 and it has been
verified to be working on NS 3.1.
Limitations: helpfilebuilder creates helpfiles for the menus only.
helpfilebuilder 1.0 was written by Robert Vasvari with some helpful
suggestions from Eric P. Scott and Lee Worden.
The work was sponsored by Filoli Information Systems of Palo Alto, CA.
Licensing:
helpfilebuilder is a copyrighted work, distributed free of charge
for personal, educational, and commercial use. It may not
be sold for profit, nor incorporated in products sold for
profit without the express permission of the author. However,
recognized NeXT User Groups may include it on diskettes, tapes,
CD-ROMs, or other media priced above time-and-materials costs
for fundraising purposes. This software may be placed on
Internet archive sites or other public software archives
provided that no "download" or other "enhanced services"
charges are assessed for access.
Only a nonexclusive license to use is granted; all other rights
are retained by the copyright holder.
Please do not redistribute modified versions of this package.
Known Bugs:
If the nib file contains a DBModule, helpfilebuilder will be
unable to process it (there could be other things, currently
unknown to me that also blow up helpfilebuilder).
Workaround: copy the main menu from your nib into a new nib
file and use that to generate the help pages.
Author's address:
Robert Vasvari
<vrobi@ernie.sfsu.edu> (NeXT Mail discouraged)
Feel free to drop me a line with any requests, suggestions
or bug reports. If you use this program, I WOULD LIKE TO
HEAR FROM YOU!
Enjoy!!...
These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Netfuture.ch.