Kbase 16662: Developing HELP with 32-bit tools and 16-bit Progress
| Autor |
Progress Software Corporation - Progress |
| Acesso |
Público |
| Publicação |
5/10/1998 |
|
Developing HELP with 32-bit tools and 16-bit Progress
This Knowledgebase entry addresses problems you will face if you
develop a HELP system using a 32-bit authoring tool, such as
RoboHelp 4.0, and then deploy with a 16-bit Progress (version
8.1 or lower) application.
When you compile your help files using Robohelp 4.0 on Win95 or
NT 4.0, you are using a 32-bit help compiler. This creates
32-bit Help files.
In Progress versions 8.1 and lower, the Progress
System-Help statement explicitly calls the 16-bit Windows
Help executable, WINHELP.EXE. In doing so, you are asking
the 16-bit WINHELP.EXE to be used to view 32-bit Help files
created with 32-bit RoboHelp. This is not possible and so you
will receive error messages from WINHELP such as:
"This file is not a valid windows help file."
"A newer version of Help is needed to read this."
32-bit Windows platforms ship with both 16-bit WINHELP.EXE
and the 32-bit WINHLP32.EXE. When you try to view your help
system by starting it from Windows Explorer, the OS defaults to
WINHLP32, which is capable of displaying 16-bit help files as
well as 32-bit help files. Therefore, the files are viewed
successfully when called from Explorer.
Starting with 8.2, Progress will be a full 32-bit product.
System-Help will then call WINHLP32.EXE. Until then, your best
option is to compile your Help files using a 16-bit help
compiler, such as the Progress-supplied PROHC.BAT which
uses the 16-bit HC31.EXE or a 16-bit authoring tool such as
RoboHelp 3.0.
Another option is to use the 4gl OS-COMMAND statement to escape to the
operating system and explicitly run the 32-bit Winhlp32.exe.
For example:
OS-COMMAND NO-WAIT C:\Windows\Winhlp32.exe c:\myapp\myhelp.hlp.
This will start the 32-bit Windows Help Viewer and read in the help
file myhelp.hlp. In this example, NO-WAIT is used so the user is not
presented with a DOS box after viewing the help file. The drawback
to this option is that the Help Viewer hides behind the application
window until it is selected. See the Progress Language Reference for
more information about OS-COMMAND.
Another option is to relocate or rename Winhelp.exe. When System-Help
is called, it will not be able to find Winhelp.exe and will use
Winhlp32.exe instead. This will allow your 32-bit help files to be
viewed successfully. However, please note that this option has NOT
been tested by Progress and is not supported. There is no guarantee
that other applications on your system will not be affected by hiding
Winhelp.exe.
Progress Software Technical Support Note # 16662