-\section{\class{wxHelpInstance}}\label{wxhelpinstance}
+\section{\class{wxHelpController}}\label{wxhelpcontroller}
+
+This is a family of classes by which
+applications may invoke a help viewer to provide on-line help.
+
+A help controller allows an application to display help, at the contents
+or at a particular topic, and shut the help program down on termination.
+This avoids proliferation of many instances of the help viewer whenever the
+user requests a different topic via the application's menus or buttons.
+
+Typically, an application will create a help controller instance
+when it starts, and immediately call {\bf Initialize}\rtfsp
+to associate a filename with it. The help viewer will only get run, however,
+just before the first call to display something.
+
+Most help controller classes actually derive from wxHelpControllerBase and have
+names of the form wxXXXHelpController or wxHelpControllerXXX. An
+appropriate class is aliased to the name wxHelpController for each platform, as follows:
+
+\begin{itemize}\itemsep=0pt
+\item On Windows, wxWinHelpController is used.
+\item On all other platforms, wxHelpControllerHtml is used if wxHTML is
+compiled into wxWindows; otherwise wxExtHelpController is used (for invoking an external
+browser).
+\end{itemize}
+
+The remaining help controller classess need to be named
+explicitly by an application that wishes to make use of them.
+
+There are currently the following help controller classes defined:
+
+\begin{itemize}\itemsep=0pt
+\item wxWinHelpController, for controlling Windows Help.
+\item wxExtHelpController, for controlling external browsers under Unix.
+The default browser is Netscape Navigator. The 'help' sample shows its use.
+\item wxHelpControllerHtml, using \helpref{wxHTML}{wxhtml} to display help. The API for this class
+is reasonably close to the wxWindows help controller API; see {\tt wx/helpwxht.h} for
+details of use.
+\item \helpref{wxHtmlHelpController}{wxhtmlhelpcontroller}, a more sophisticated help controller using \helpref{wxHTML}{wxhtml}, in
+a similar style to the Windows HTML Help viewer and using some of the same files.
+The API is not the same as the standard API, which is why it is documented separately.
+\item wxXLPHelpController, for controlling wxHelp (from wxWindows 1). Obsolete.
+\end{itemize}
+
+\wxheading{Derived from}
+
+wxHelpControllerBase\\
+\helpref{wxObject}{wxobject}
+
+\wxheading{Include files}
+
+<wx/help.h> (wxWindows chooses the appropriate help controller class)\\
+<wx/helpbase.h> (wxHelpControllerBase class)\\
+<wx/helpwin.h> (Windows Help controller)\\
+<wx/generic/helpext.h> (external HTML browser controller)
+<wx/generic/helpwxht.h> (wxHTML based help controller)
+<wx/generic/helpxlp.h> (wxHelp controller)
-NOTE: this documentation is out of date (see comments below).
+\wxheading{See also}
-The {\bf wxHelpInstance} class implements the interface by which
-applications may invoke wxHelp to provide on-line help. Each instance
-of the class maintains one connection to an instance of wxHelp which
-belongs to the application, and which is shut down when the Quit
-member of {\bf wxHelpInstance} is called (for example in the {\bf
-OnClose} member of an application's main frame). Under MS Windows,
-there is currently only one instance of wxHelp which is used by all
-applications.
+\helpref{wxHtmlHelpController}{wxhtmlhelpcontroller}, \helpref{wxHTML}{wxhtml}
-Since there is a DDE link between the two programs, each subsequent
-request to display a file or section uses the existing instance of
-wxHelp, rather than starting a new instance each time. wxHelp thus
-appears to the user to be an extension of the current application.
-wxHelp may also be invoked independently of a client application.
+\latexignore{\rtfignore{\wxheading{Members}}}
-Normally an application will create an instance of {\bf
-wxHelpInstance} when it starts, and immediately call {\bf Initialize}\rtfsp
-to associate a filename with it. wxHelp will only get run, however,
-just before the first call to display something. See the test program
-supplied with the wxHelp source.
+\membersection{wxHelpController::wxHelpController}
-Include the file {\tt wx\_help.h} to use this API, even if you have
-included {\tt wx.h}.
+\func{}{wxHelpController}{\void}
-If you give TRUE to the constructor, you can use the native help system
-where appropriate (currently under Windows only). Omit the file extension
-to allow wxWindows to choose the appropriate file for the platform.
+Constructs a help instance object, but does not invoke the help viewer.
-TODO: no longer derive this from a client class, but maybe have several implementations,
-e.g. wxHelpInstanceBase, wxHelpInstanceDDE, wxHelpInstanceWinHelp, wxHelpInstanceHTML, etc.
+\membersection{wxHelpController::\destruct{wxHelpController}}
-\wxheading{Derivation}
+\func{}{\destruct{wxHelpController}}{\void}
-TODO
+Destroys the help instance, closing down the viewer if it is running.
-\wxheading{See also}
+\membersection{wxHelpController::Initialize}\label{wxhelpcontrollerinitialize}
-TODO
+\func{virtual void}{Initialize}{\param{const wxString\& }{file}}
-\latexignore{\rtfignore{\wxheading{Members}}}
+\func{virtual void}{Initialize}{\param{const wxString\& }{file}, \param{int}{ server}}
+
+Initializes the help instance with a help filename, and optionally a server (socket)
+number if using wxHelp. Does not invoke the help viewer.
+This must be called directly after the help instance object is created and before
+any attempts to communicate with the viewer.
-\membersection{wxHelpInstance::wxHelpInstance}
+You may omit the file extension and a suitable one will be chosen.
-\func{}{wxHelpInstance}{\param{bool}{ native}}
+\membersection{wxHelpController::DisplayBlock}\label{wxhelpcontrollerdisplayblock}
-Constructs a help instance object, but does not invoke wxHelp.
-If {\it native} is TRUE, tries to use the native help system where
-possible (Windows Help under MS Windows, wxHelp on other platforms).
+\func{virtual bool}{DisplayBlock}{\param{long}{ blockNo}}
-\membersection{wxHelpInstance::\destruct{wxHelpInstance}}
+If the help viewer is not running, runs it and displays the file at the given block number.
-\func{}{\destruct{wxHelpInstance}}{\void}
+{\it wxHelp:} this is the wxHelp block number.
-Destroys the help instance, closing down wxHelp for this application
-if it is running.
+{\it WinHelp:} Refers to the context number.
-\membersection{wxHelpInstance::Initialize}
+{\it External HTML help:} the same as for \helpref{wxHelpController::DisplaySection}{wxhelpcontrollerdisplaysection}.
-\func{void}{Initialize}{\param{const wxString\& }{file}, \param{int}{ server = -1}}
+\membersection{wxHelpController::DisplayContents}\label{wxhelpcontrollerdisplaycontents}
-Initializes the help instance with a help filename, and optionally a server (socket)
-number (one is chosen at random if this parameter is omitted). Does not invoke wxHelp.
-This must be called directly after the help instance object is created and before
-any attempts to communicate with wxHelp.
+\func{virtual bool}{DisplayContents}{\void}
+
+If the help viewer is not running, runs it and displays the
+contents.
-You may omit the file extension, and in fact this is recommended if you
-wish to support .xlp files under X and .hlp under Windows.
+\membersection{wxHelpController::DisplaySection}\label{wxhelpcontrollerdisplaysection}
-\membersection{wxHelpInstance::DisplayBlock}
+\func{virtual bool}{DisplaySection}{\param{int}{ sectionNo}}
-\func{bool}{DisplayBlock}{\param{long}{ blockNo}}
+If the help viewer is not running, runs it and displays the given section.
-If wxHelp is not running, runs wxHelp and displays the file at the given block number.
-If using Windows Help, displays the file at the given context number.
+{\it wxHelp:} Sections are numbered starting from 1. Section numbers may be viewed by running wxHelp in edit mode.
-\membersection{wxHelpInstance::DisplayContents}
+{\it WinHelp:} {\it sectionNo} is a context id.
-\func{bool}{DisplayContents}{\void}
+{\it External HTML help/wxHTML based help:} wxExtHelpController and wxHelpControllerHtml implement {\it sectionNo} as an id in a map file, which is of the form:
-If wxHelp is not running, runs wxHelp (or Windows Help) and displays the
-contents (the first section of the file).
+\begin{verbatim}
+0 wx.html ; Index
+1 wx34.html#classref ; Class reference
+2 wx204.html ; Function reference
+\end{verbatim}
-\membersection{wxHelpInstance::DisplaySection}
+\membersection{wxHelpController::KeywordSearch}\label{wxhelpcontrollerkeywordsearch}
-\func{bool}{DisplaySection}{\param{int}{ sectionNo}}
+\func{virtual bool}{KeywordSearch}{\param{const wxString\& }{keyWord}}
-If wxHelp is not running, runs wxHelp and displays the given section.
-Sections are numbered starting from 1, and section numbers may be viewed by running
-wxHelp in edit mode.
+If the help viewer is not running, runs it, and searches for sections matching the given keyword. If one
+match is found, the file is displayed at this section.
-\membersection{wxHelpInstance::KeywordSearch}
+{\it wxHelp:} If more than one
+match is found, the Search dialog is displayed with the matches.
-\func{bool}{KeywordSearch}{\param{const wxString\& }{keyWord}}
+{\it WinHelp:} If more than one match is found,
+the first topic is displayed.
-If wxHelp (or Windows Help) is not running, runs wxHelp (or Windows
-Help), and searches for sections matching the given keyword. If one
-match is found, the file is displayed at this section. If more than one
-match is found, the Search dialog is displayed with the matches (wxHelp)
-or the first topic is displayed (Windows Help).
+{\it External HTML help:} If more than one match is found,
+a choice of topics is displayed.
-\membersection{wxHelpInstance::LoadFile}
+\membersection{wxHelpController::LoadFile}\label{wxhelpcontrollerloadfile}
-\func{bool}{LoadFile}{\param{const wxString\& }{file = NULL}}
+\func{virtual bool}{LoadFile}{\param{const wxString\& }{file = ""}}
-If wxHelp (or Windows Help) is not running, runs wxHelp (or Windows
-Help), and loads the given file. If the filename is not supplied or is
-NULL, the file specified in {\bf Initialize} is used. If wxHelp is
+If the help viewer is not running, runs it and loads the given file.
+If the filename is not supplied or is
+NULL, the file specified in {\bf Initialize} is used. If the viewer is
already displaying the specified file, it will not be reloaded. This
member function may be used before each display call in case the user
has opened another file.
-\membersection{wxHelpInstance::OnQuit}
+\membersection{wxHelpController::SetViewer}\label{wxhelpcontrollersetviewer}
+
+\func{virtual void}{SetViewer}{\param{const wxString\& }{viewer}, \param{long}{ flags}}
+
+Sets detailed viewer information. So far this is only relevant to wxExtHelpController.
+
+\membersection{wxHelpController::SetFrameParameters}\label{wxhelpcontrollersetframeparameters}
+\func{virtual void}{SetFrameParameters}
+{\param{const wxString \& }{title},
+ \param{const wxSize \& }{size}, \param{const wxPoint \& }{pos = wxDefaultPosition},
+ \param{bool }{newFrameEachTime = FALSE}}
+
+For the wxHelpControllerHtml, this allows the application to set the
+default frame title, size and position for the frame. If the title
+contains \%s, this will be replaced with the page title. If the
+parammeter newFrameEachTime is set, the controller will open a new
+help frame each time it is called. For all other help controllers this
+function has no effect.
+
+\membersection{wxHelpController::GetFrameParameters}\label{wxhelpcontrollergetframeparameters}
+\func{virtual wxFrame *}{GetFrameParameters}
+{\param{const wxSize * }{size = NULL}, \param{const wxPoint * }{pos = NULL},
+ \param{bool *}{newFrameEachTime = NULL}}
+This reads the current settings for the help frame in the case of the
+wxHelpControllerHtml, setting the frame size, position and
+the newFrameEachTime parameters to the last values used. It also
+returns the pointer to the last opened help frame. This can be used
+for example, to automatically close the help frame on program
+shutdown. For all other help controllers, this function does nothing
+and just returns NULL.
+
+\wxheading{Parameters}
+
+\docparam{viewer}{This defaults to "netscape" for wxExtHelpController.}
+
+\docparam{flags}{This defaults to wxHELP\_NETSCAPE for wxExtHelpController, indicating
+that the viewer is a variant of Netscape Navigator.}
+
+\membersection{wxHelpController::OnQuit}\label{wxhelpcontrolleronquit}
+
+\func{virtual bool}{OnQuit}{\void}
-\func{bool}{OnQuit}{\void}
+Overridable member called when this application's viewer is quit by the user.
-Overridable member called when this application's wxHelp is quit
-(no effect if Windows Help is being used instead).
+This does not work for all help controllers.
-\membersection{wxHelpInstance::Quit}
+\membersection{wxHelpController::Quit}\label{wxhelpcontrollerquit}
-\func{bool}{Quit}{\void}
+\func{virtual bool}{Quit}{\void}
-If wxHelp is running, quits wxHelp by disconnecting (no effect for Windows
-Help).
+If the viewer is running, quits it by disconnecting.
+For Windows Help, the viewer will only close if no other application is using it.
projects / wxWidgets.git / blobdiff