HelpScribble

If you can scribble, you can author help files

HelpScribble is a program to create Windows Help files, without the need of a word processor.

To find out what is new in this version, check out the version history.

It has everything a great help authoring tool needs:

Good installation and uninstallation program: No need to be afraid to try out HelpScribble: it will not trash your system. (Of course, if it does, I am not responsible)
Easy to use interface:

List of topics can be permanently visible: You will not lose track, not even with big projects. Setting bookmarks at all major topics makes navigation very easy for you.
No need to mess with heaps of dialog boxes: Creating, deleting, writing topics, etc., it is all done in the main window. Only the specialized editors have their own windows.
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Built-in editors for:

Browse sequences: Easily compose lists of topics and create browse sequences with them. (Browse sequences allow the user of your help file to browse through the topics with the < and > buttons.
Secondary windows: Determine how your help window looks and set its position with the Position Wizard.
WinHelp macros: Use the Macro Editor if you need to use WinHelp Macros: this way you won't forget what the right parameters are any more.
Win95-style contents files: Easily create .cnt files. Everything can be done with the mouse. (Except typing in the texts for the headers, of course.) You will find it a lot easier than Microsoft's hcw.exe!
Segmented HyperGraphics (SHG) or hotspot bitmaps: No need to mess with SHED any more! Draw the hotspots with the mouse and select the topics from the drop-down list.

Can create Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 help files
Export your help projects:

Create a printed manual right from your help project:
HelpScribble will write an RTF file from your help text, without any links, footnotes, etc. Then load this file into your DTP program, brush it up a little and print it.
Save the project to HPJ and RTF files so people who do not have HelpScribble can edit them too.

Online help, created with HelpScribble: The help file was created with HelpScribble itself, by its programmer, so you can be sure that it has been fully tested.
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For Delphi and C++Builder programmers, HelpScribble has some more, interesting features:

It parses your source code to make documenting your VCL component very easy!
- HelpScribble scans your .pas and then displays a dialog box containing everything declared in your unit.You select what you want to include in the help file and what not. Hit OK and HelpScribble will generate an outline help file for you. Fill in the spaces, compile and you are done!
- HelpScribble will also extract the comments from your source code and use those as the default descriptions in your help topics, if you wish.
- The created help file will fit in nicely in the Delphi and C++Builder help system. If you ask me, help files created with HelpScribble are better that Borland's!
HelpScribble's HelpContext property editor integrates in Delphi 1, 2 and 3, and in C++Builder.

Double-click on any HelpContext property in the Object Inspector and manage your help topics directly from within Delphi. You can select topics for the controls on your form by their titles. Stop working with those dumb numbers.
It can display a tree of all the components on your form with their help topics. Very handy! This gives you an instant impression of which parts of your application you still have to document. You can also create topics right from within the tree view, so you do not forget any control.
Some other help authoring tools mess with your .dfm files to create the necessary topics, but with HelpScribble, you have the full control over every topic and every control on your form.

HelpScribble can do syntax highlighting on the sample code in your help file. Just select the SourceCode TextMacro and the selected Object Pascal code in your help file will look much better instantly.

To install it, simply unzip HelpScr.zip and run Setup.exe
If due to some unimaginable reason, you would not like HelpScribble, you can uninstall it from the Control Panel or by running Setup.exe again.

HelpScribble itself requires Windows 95/98/NT4, but the created help files will work with Windows 3.1 and Windows 95/98/NT4.

Help compiler

You will also need a help compiler to build the .hlp file from your text. This is because Microsoft (who invented the .hlp file format) likes keeping the .hlp file format secret. Some unofficial sources exist, but using the Microsoft's help compiler is the best way to ensure full compatibility.
In other words: it is not my fault.

HelpScribble can work together with HC.EXE, HC31.EXE and HCP.EXE for creating Windows 3.1 help files (which work with Win95 too) and HCRTF.EXE for creating Windows 95 help files. Note that HC and HC31 are old DOS programs and suffer from the 640K barrier. This means that they will report and "out of memory" error message pretty soon when your project starts to grow. HCP and HCRTF do not have this limitation.
Chances are high that you already have one of those. They ship with most popular development tools for Windows, like the one from Microsoft and Inprise (Borland). If so, HelpScribble will automatically find and use them.

If you do not have a functioning help compiler yet, you can download HC.zip (320 kB) here. This file includes both HCP and HCRTF. Unzip the file into your HelpScribble folder (or wherever you want). Pick Project|Options in HelpScribble and click the Find Help Compilers button.

If you want to take full advantage of the new HTML Help format, you will need to download the Microsoft HTML Help Workshop to compile the files exported by HelpScribble into a single .chm file.

This page was last updated on September 23rd
Copyright (C) 1996-1999, by Jan Goyvaerts.