Help files for users

I'd like to provide a help facility for users of the desktop programs I'm developing. The last item on the Menu Bar should be Help, and the first item on that menu should lead to instructions on how the program works.
I find it curious that in the tutorials and textbooks I have researched, I haven't found any mention of a Help File System. Is there no standard Java way of presenting user help information?
One obvious solution is to place the information in a set of HTML files. But the missing link is invoking the browser from within a Java desktop application. I've discovered how to do that in Windows using rundll32, but that's implementation dependent. Is there a standard way of asking the default browser to display a given URL?

As cotton says, one can use JavaHelp to provide help information.
Perhaps an easier but dirtier way is to display some information such as an HTML-based help file in a JEditorPane.
Depends on how professional you want your help to look like.

Similar Messages

No local help files for Photoshop CS6 extended

Hi
I wish to use local help files for Photoshop CS6 but only online support is available. Local files are not listed under the Adobe Help preferences. The option to search only local rather than online help is greyed out. I found and downloaded a PDF with of the help files but don't know where to install it or if this is possible. I have CS 5 Creative Suite and this works fine giving the option of local or online help when accessed.
Is there a way to install and use local help files in photoshop CS6?
Thank you.

Hi and thanks for directing me to that article, it should have done the trick. I am using mac mountain lion 10.8.5.
The help system has always operated oddly - I have Photoshop cs6 but also the cs5 master suite installed. CS5 works fine but Photoshop cs6 only gives the option for online help and then directs me to the CC site. There is no simple listing for just Photoshop help in the help menu - presumably as it is not seeing it installed
I tried various configurations in the article, having to set up the folders they suggested. In my case, in a variety of alternative places as I have a boot up volume with the documents folder moved onto a RAID array so the Shared folder is not in the documents folder but in Users on the boot drive. So - confusing - but tried all the likely candidates and folder configurations/locations while following the instructions as closely as possible. Even tried an documents folder alias to redirect the program to the alternative path way.
At least now I have the PDFs and can look through them outside the adobe interface. The problem with the community site being questions regarding photoshop alone, yield answers for all sort of other issues and programs.
Thanks for your help though, which should have worked, appreciated.

In HTTP log: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/ uid

All:
Sun Java(tm) System Messaging Server 6.2-7.05 (built Sep 5 2006)
libimta.so 6.2-7.05 (built 12:18:44, Sep 5 2006)
We recently have started to see the following errors in our http logs:
[01/Mar/2007:13:03:43 -0500] httpd[5174]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/<uid>: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
It's occurring a couple of different times during the day to certain users. Then it won't happen for days to anyone, but then start up again. I saw a similar thread to this re: IMAP and I'm curious if http could be having the same problem. We increased the number of process of http (from 2 to 4 a few months ago) but kept the same maxsessions (6000), so maybe I need to change the maxsession to something lower? We only started to see the I/O error two weeks ago We're not seeing the error in imap logs. Also there's no errors in the default log related to the users that receive this in http.
I'm planning on running a reconstruct -m in the mean time to see if that helps. There have been no changes to the server or application for quite some time. Any thoughts?

Yes, http can have the same issue. Yes, lowering the maxsessions from 6000 is the answer, IF it's the same problem. Likely, but not guranteed.
If you actually look at the store.idx for that particular user, what do you see? Is it near 2 gig? If so, then the user needs to either delete some messages or move some to another folder, as 2 gig is the limit for the store.idx file.....
jay

Received empty inbound container file for user

Hi,
I'm using WebAS 6.40 SP9 and a MI client JSP SP9.
All step of the Configuration Guide have done (jobs, roles, propertie-file, etc.).
Now, I get errors while synchronizing (log shown below)
and my client gets no device id. Till now I havn't
synchronized succesfully.
Synchronization Log:
Synchronization started.
Connection set up (without proxy) to: http://osc-08:50000/meSync/servlet/meSync?~sysid=OS8&
Successfully connected with server.
Processing of inbound data began.
<b> Received empty inbound container file for user (SHARED)
Received empty inbound container file for user MISYNC00 </b>
Trace File:
[20050125 15:21:28:711] D [MI/Smartsync ] User has not been installed on MW, it is not ready for sync :MISYNC00
The testing link:
http://osc-08:50000/meSync/servlet/meSync?sysid=OS8&login=MI_CLIENT&password=MIPASS&client=010&language=en&acknoledge=X&~test=TRUE
brings this answer:
&WAF_SYNC&STATUS=&Execution Time= & HeaderType = MEREPLICATION &MORE_PACKAGES_WAITING = &
I hope that you can help me. What is my problem?
Do you need more stuff?
Best regards,
Marcel

Hi Marcel,
one question: Did you receive a device ID (you can see that on the settings page).
If not, run transaction <b>MEREP_PD</b> on the WebAS. (Yes, just run this transaction and you do not need to do anything else). It is necessary to run this step because it will initialise the number range for the Mobile ID for the mobile client to use. For further explanation, check OSS Note 592284.
Hope this helps, alex

Could not open Help File 'Aperture User Manual.PDF'

I downloaded the trial version, while waiting for my boxed version of Aperture to arrive. Once it came in, I entered the serial number and continued using the original application. However, when I try to access the user manual via Help, I get an Alert saying, "Could not open Help File 'Aperture User Manual.PDF'". I manually copied the PDF file from the CD to the documents folder, and then from there to the Applications folder - nothing makes a difference. I even reinstalled - same results. I have tried some of the other items in Help -- if it is for a manual, I get the same Alert.
Any help would be appreciated.
Russ

The files are all there. When I checked their properties, I noticed that the PDF files didn't point to adobe acrobat reader!
Before uninstalling Aperture and then reinstalling it, I tried to reinstall the latest version of Acrobat Reader. Suddenly, I could access the Aperture documents!
I am using a new iMac -- apparently, when I transfered all of my files from my old G5 iMac, Acrobat hadn't properly transfered. Reinstalling Adoe solved the problem!
Thanks for the help!
Russ

Where can I find PDF Help files for CS5?

I have CS5 Design Standard ( without extended Photoshop) and I need to get the PDF help files for the component applications. I have tried entering CS5 Help Files and variations of that theme in the search box here at Adobe forums and get many things about CS6 and no Help files for CS5. The search tool here should be googleized or something. 2many adds for new things 2 buy not enough help for what you already bought.

Hi,
Here's another link for Ps CS5 PDF help:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photoshop/cs/using/photoshop_cs5_help.pdf
And for Creative Suite with links to the CS5 point products:
http://helpx.adobe.com/content/help/en/creative-suite/archive.html
regards,
steve

How can build help file for right to left and non english language

hi erverybody, i have a big problem ,please help me
i creat a c# appliction with vs.net2005 and i want to write
help file for it .i need a software to creat help file for non
english language(such as persian or arabic) and right to left
support . i tried many helpware chm builder tools but each of them
made a problem .i dont know what to do .what is the best solution
for creating help files for right to left and non english languages
how can i build my help file with f1 helping ability .thank u
so much
Text

Hi Mr_Sia and welcome to the RH community.
You could try looking at the HAT Matrix. This is a comparison
of all the help tools around. Click
here to go to it.
RoboHelp itself, whilst it does support over 35 different languages
does not support Persian or Arabic.

Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest: System I/O err

more imap
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:52 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:52 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/&V4NXPnux-: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:52 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/&XfJT0ZAB-: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:52 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/&g0l6Pw-: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:52 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/test: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:52 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:54 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:54 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/&V4NXPnux-: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:54 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/&XfJT0ZAB-: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:54 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/&g0l6Pw-: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:54 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/test: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:36:58 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:37:00 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:37:00 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/&V4NXPnux-: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:37:00 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/&XfJT0ZAB-: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:37:00 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/&g0l6Pw-: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.
[27/Nov/2007:13:37:00 +0800] e69-1-c imapd[5984]: Store Critical: Unable to read index file for user/mailtest/test: System I/O error. Administrator, check server log for details.

whr25 wrote:
root@e69-1-c # ./imsimta version
Sun Java(tm) System Messaging Server 6.3-0.15 (built Feb 9 2007)
libimta.so 6.3-0.15 (built 19:27:56, Feb 9 2007)
SunOS e69-1-c 5.10 Generic_118833-24 sun4u sparc SUNW,Sun-FireThis is an old release of 6.3, you should be planning to upgrade to proactivly prevent known bugs.
prstat
2255 mailsrv 407M 310M sleep 59 0 0:00:44 0.0% imapd/3Not 3GB. Of course if you had just restarted messaging server as you noted below then that isn't unexpected.
I'm restart Messaging Server,I't is not problem
This issue is about two days after the RuningWhen the problem does occur what is the prstat output? The size of the imapd processes will increase over-time depending on the number of people accessing the store via IMAP, and the size of the mailboxes (store.idx files) they are accessing.
Regards,
Shane.

Looking for an off line version of the help file for lion server that I can print

I would like to find an offline version of the help file for lion server
Im a newbie trying to set up a home server for our macs and Iphones

Go to this URL using Safari on your mac:
https://help.apple.com/advancedserveradmin/mac/10.7/print.html?lang=en#printBook
Then press cmd+p and from the print menue choose PDF and then Save as PDF and there you have it.

Download Help Files for Photoshop Elements 11

How can I dowload the help file to my computer for photoshop elements 11

Hi corsairbill,
You can download the pdf help files for photoshop elements 11 from this page:
http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements.html
Right click on the pdf and choose Save Link As (may be different wording in your browser)

Where Can I Download Offline Help Files for Creative Cloud?

The heading says it all. I am not always connected to the internet and, in any event, I find the on-line help annoying and tedious. I can only find PDF help files for CS4, where can I get them for CS6?

That is not off-line help, it is simply a PDF file full of links to on-line resources. It is next to useless. I want to be able to look at teh help document and get answers to questions, not links to answers.

Download local help files for PSE10

I stumbled upon a section of Photoshop Elements 10 that had the downloadable help files for use offline. They were gray and not clickable, but I lost how to find them again and Adobe help online is useless.
How do I download the help files so they can be accessed when there is no internet connection?

I searched that entire document and it does not give those instructions!
I'm so frustrated!
To be clear about what I need...
I want to download the help files associated with the program, so that when I hit F1 or the help button, the program should provide help search and NOT attempt to connect to the internet.
I found this section by accident already, so I know it is here.
I just cannot reproduce what I clicked to make it appear.
It was gray and not clickable but it said something like PENDING DOWNLOAD.
I assumed it was gray because I had not yet registered the program.

Help files for Audition v1.5

I am looking for a download of help files for Audition v1.5 so I do not need to be online to get help. I was hoping to find it as a pdf or a chm file.

If you have a legal copy of 1.5, you don't need to be online to access the help files. They may well open up in your browser, but you'll find that they are being supplied from a local file, and not an online one at all. That's why they have a path of C:/Program Files/Adobe/Audition 1.5/help/en_US/html/help.html - it's from within your machine.

Static help files for webGUI transactions

Hi,
In an ESS environment we want to use static help files, which should be maintained via the R/3 SE80.
In the case of existing interent services the solution is obvious, it's simply adding a language specific MIME file.
But there are transactions, for which an internet service doesn't exist, as they are executed and rendered on the fly via the webgui.
Is there any simple way to maintain static help files via the R/3 for transactions without an explicit internet service ?
Regards,
Christoph Baehr
IBM Germany

The static help file is not an attached object, but a language dependent MIME object to an internet service. Generally it is added to an existing internet service using SE80.
In case of EWTs like PZ02, PZ04, PZ05 etc. there is no internet service as these are easy web transaction rendered on the fly using the standard webgui only.
I am looking for a way to maintain static help files for these transactions in R/3, which are located after publishing to the ITS at .../mimes/<EWT name>/99/en/info/docu_<EWT name>.html
Regards,
Christoph.

Creating "help" systems for users (not other LV programmers) - where to start?

How should one approach giving users a built-in "Help" system? Users, that is, of a distributed application written in LabVIEW.
These users ideally would have no way of knowing the application was written in LabVIEW. To them, this application is just another program. The way the LabVIEW Help system works would be fine, but all the content would be inappropriate.
From the docs I see we can write "Descriptions" that show up in context-sensitive help when the user puts the mouse over a control, and a "Tip" that shows up when the context-sensitive help isn't even enabled. Are these typically the only help features built into a distributed application?
In the LabVIEW Help there is an article called "Development Process Tips" discussing creating web pages that document the VIs that you create, and another article called "Linking VIs to HTML Files or Compiled Help Files. Another discusses Creating Compiled Help Files, but refers to third-party software for doing this. Is this a typical approach for doing a nice job of providing help?
Or is there some other way to create a Help system that works like the existing LabVIEW help but has content we create?

Hello,
Let me take your questions in order:
Q. How should one approach giving users a built-in "Help" system?
A. Here's one approach I have used:
a). Give all front panel controls and indicators a description so that the context help will show information for those front panel objects, and also for relevant front panel objects a tip - this will pop-up when the user hovers over the object, and can be annoying if it's used excessively, but nice if used where appropriate.
b). Create html files, one for each "Page" of your user interface, and place a Help button on your user interface which will launch the corresponding document for that "Page." I'm not sure what your UI is like, but basically if there are multiple front panels the user will see, a page describing each object on that panel, and the panel's purpose is nice. If you're using a tab control in any of those panels, then a page for each tab is nice as well.
A variation of b). is to use a so-called compiled help file - a .chm file. These are only relevant for Windows machines, so if you plan to deploy across multiple OSs, then this is out. The reason documentation suggests you need a third party tool is because those .chm files basically collect a set of html files together into a nice document, with the usual search, index, browse etc. capabilites and we don't have a product which does this. The LabVIEW Help on Windows is a nice example of a .chm file. You can do something SIMILAR with just HTML and javascript, creating at least a contents page which has organized links to the rest of the pages (which themselves can contain links back to the contents page), and even include the ability to search keywords etc. You'll find various free examples of such html and javascript on the web.
Once you have your html or compile help file, you can use the LabVIEW Help VIs to launch them. For chm files you can open the file and direct to a particular page of the chm file, and for html files all you really need to do is launch the relevant html file in the browser of your choice.
Q. In reference to descriptions and tips for controls/indicators: "Are these typically the only help features built into a distributed application?"
A. No, the html or chm idea is a nice touch, and can add a professional feel to the application.
Q. In reference to html or chm files: "Is this a typical approach for doing a nice job of providing help?"
A. Yes, it is used internally as a standard - chm for windows and html for linux and MAC.
Q. "Or is there some other way to create a Help system that works like the existing LabVIEW help but has content we create?"
A. One ideas is that you could implement your help entirely in LabVIEW if you'd like. Basically you would be launching your own VI or VIs which would show whatever documentation you wanted/created. You could use a tree structure or something to provide some convenient navigation by topic, and even a search - you would be coding this, and although I haven't done it, it seems like it would be pretty easy to do.
I hope this helps, and happy LabVIEW programming!
Best Regards,
JLS
Message Edited by JLS on 08-30-2006 01:57 PM
Best,
JLS
Sixclear

Help files for users

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