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On-line Help

On-line help automatically converts to the appropriate graphical control:

  • Windows text control.
  • A selection list.

Any change made to the corresponding character definition is reflected in the graphical control. All VIP clients present graphical on-line help based on a common character definition on the host.

For performance, the on-line help is cached on the client. Each time on-line help is invoked the host compares the last change date and time and the current language code to the graphical control cached on the client. If these do not match, an updated graphical control is generated and cached on the client.

Scrollbars
Vertical and horizontal scroll bars are automatically added as needed.

Resize Window To resize the on-line help window use normal Windows procedure grabbing the left, right, top, bottom or corner to drag the window to the necessary size.

Text Editor To edit the help text press F1. Changes made on the client are updated to the help definition saved on the host. To preserve the column and row format required for a character help definition a fixed font will be used when editing help text within the graphical text control.

With this editor you can place text onto the clipboard for placement in other applications. You can also place text from other applications onto the clipboard, and then place them in the text editor window.

Fonts The font name, font style, and point size is controlled from the WorkStation Manager. Fixed-width fonts are recommended to achieve proper text alignment. Help modules containing business graphic characters must use a font that supports those characters. Recommended fonts for on-line help are DejaVu Mono, Courier New, and IBMPCDOS. For more information, please see refer to the WorkStation Manager manual (Screen, Menu and Help Fonts tab).

Location of Objects Often with a graphical presentation, the desired location of objects is not identical to the character-based location. The graphical help location can be saved on the client. For more information, please see refer to the WorkStation Manager manual (Object Locations tab).

From the VIP for Dictionary-IV Reference, version 8.9.1. Open this page in the PDF