// Purpose: interface of wxHelpController
// Author: wxWidgets team
// RCS-ID: $Id$
-// Licence: wxWindows license
+// Licence: wxWindows licence
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/**
@class wxHelpController
- @wxheader{help.h}
- This is a family of classes by which
- applications may invoke a help viewer to provide on-line help.
+ 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 @b Initialize
- to associate a filename with it. The help viewer will only get run, however,
- just before the first call to display something.
+ Typically, an application will create a help controller instance when it starts,
+ and immediately call wxHelpController::Initialize 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
+ names of the form wxXXXHelpController or wxHelpControllerXXX.
+ An appropriate class is aliased to the name wxHelpController for each platform, as
follows:
+ - On desktop Windows, wxCHMHelpController is used (MS HTML Help).
+ - On Windows CE, wxWinceHelpController is used.
+ - On all other platforms, wxHtmlHelpController is used if wxHTML is compiled
+ into wxWidgets; otherwise wxExtHelpController is used (for invoking an
+ external browser).
- On desktop Windows, wxCHMHelpController is used (MS HTML Help).
- On Windows CE, wxWinceHelpController is used.
- On all other platforms, wxHtmlHelpController is used if wxHTML is
- compiled into wxWidgets; otherwise wxExtHelpController is used (for invoking an
- external
- browser).
-
- The remaining help controller classes need to be named
- explicitly by an application that wishes to make use of them.
-
- There are currently the following help controller classes defined:
-
- wxWinHelpController, for controlling Windows Help.
- wxCHMHelpController, for controlling MS HTML Help. To use this, you need to
- set wxUSE_MS_HTML_HELP
- to 1 in setup.h and have htmlhelp.h header from Microsoft's HTML Help kit (you
- don't need
- VC++ specific htmlhelp.lib because wxWidgets loads necessary DLL at runtime and
- so it
- works with all compilers).
- wxBestHelpController, for controlling MS HTML Help or, if Microsoft's runtime
- is
- not available, wxHtmlHelpController. You need to provide
- @b both CHM and HTB versions of the help file. For 32bit Windows only.
- wxExtHelpController, for controlling external browsers under Unix.
- The default browser is Netscape Navigator. The 'help' sample shows its use.
- wxWinceHelpController, for controlling a simple @c .htm help controller for
- Windows CE applications.
- wxHtmlHelpController, a sophisticated help controller using wxHTML(), in
- a similar style to the Microsoft HTML Help viewer and using some of the same
- files.
- Although it has an API compatible with other help controllers, it has more
- advanced features, so it is
- recommended that you use the specific API for this class instead. Note that if
- you
- use .zip or .htb formats for your books, you
- must add this line to your application initialization: @c
- wxFileSystem::AddHandler(new wxArchiveFSHandler);
- or nothing will be shown in your help window.
+ The remaining help controller classes need to be named explicitly by an
+ application that wishes to make use of them.
+ The following help controller classes are defined:
+ - wxWinHelpController, for controlling Windows Help.
+ - wxCHMHelpController, for controlling MS HTML Help. To use this, you need to
+ set wxUSE_MS_HTML_HELP to 1 in setup.h and have the htmlhelp.h header from
+ Microsoft's HTML Help kit. (You don't need the VC++-specific htmlhelp.lib
+ because wxWidgets loads necessary DLL at runtime and so it works with all
+ compilers.)
+ - wxBestHelpController, for controlling MS HTML Help or, if Microsoft's runtime
+ is not available, wxHtmlHelpController. You need to provide @b both CHM and
+ HTB versions of the help file. For wxMSW only.
+ - wxExtHelpController, for controlling external browsers under Unix.
+ The default browser is Netscape Navigator. The 'help' sample shows its use.
+ - wxWinceHelpController, for controlling a simple @c .htm help controller for
+ Windows CE applications.
+ - wxHtmlHelpController, a sophisticated help controller using wxHTML, in a
+ similar style to the Microsoft HTML Help viewer and using some of the same
+ files. Although it has an API compatible with other help controllers, it has
+ more advanced features, so it is recommended that you use the specific API
+ for this class instead. Note that if you use .zip or .htb formats for your
+ books, you must add this line to your application initialization:
+ @code wxFileSystem::AddHandler(new wxArchiveFSHandler); @endcode
+ or nothing will be shown in your help window.
@library{wxbase}
@category{help}
- @see wxHtmlHelpController, wxHTML()
+ @see wxHtmlHelpController, @ref overview_html
*/
-class wxHelpController : public wxObject
+class wxHelpController : public wxHelpControllerBase
{
public:
/**
Constructs a help instance object, but does not invoke the help viewer.
- If you provide a window, it will be used by some help controller classes, such
- as
+
+ If you provide a window, it will be used by some help controller classes, such as
wxCHMHelpController, wxWinHelpController and wxHtmlHelpController, as the
- parent for the help window instead of the value of wxApp::GetTopWindow. You can
- also change the parent window later with
- SetParentWindow().
+ parent for the help window instead of the value of wxApp::GetTopWindow.
+
+ You can also change the parent window later with SetParentWindow().
*/
wxHelpController(wxWindow* parentWindow = NULL);
/**
If the help viewer is not running, runs it and displays the file at the given
block number.
- @e WinHelp: Refers to the context number.
- @e MS HTML Help: Refers to the context number.
- @e External HTML help: the same as for DisplaySection().
- @e wxHtmlHelpController: @e sectionNo is an identifier as specified in the @c
- .hhc file. See @ref overview_helpformat "Help files format".
- This function is for backward compatibility only, and applications should use
- @ref displaysection() wxHelpController instead.
+
+ - @e WinHelp: Refers to the context number.
+ - @e MS HTML Help: Refers to the context number.
+ - @e External HTML help: the same as for DisplaySection().
+ - @e wxHtmlHelpController: @e sectionNo is an identifier as specified in
+ the @c .hhc file. See @ref overview_html_helpformats.
+
+ @deprecated
+ This function is for backward compatibility only, and applications
+ should use DisplaySection() instead.
*/
virtual bool DisplayBlock(long blockNo);
/**
- If the help viewer is not running, runs it and displays the
- contents.
+ If the help viewer is not running, runs it and displays the contents.
*/
virtual bool DisplayContents();
*/
virtual bool DisplayContextPopup(int contextId);
- //@{
/**
If the help viewer is not running, runs it and displays the given section.
- @e WinHelp, MS HTML Help @a sectionNo is a context id.
- @e External HTML help: wxExtHelpController implements @a sectionNo as an id in
- a map file, which is of the form:
- @e wxHtmlHelpController: @a sectionNo is an identifier as specified in the @c
- .hhc file. See @ref overview_helpformat "Help files format".
- See also the help sample for notes on how to specify section numbers for
- various help file formats.
+ The interpretation of section differs between help viewers.
+ For most viewers, this call is equivalent to KeywordSearch.
+ For MS HTML Help, wxHTML help and external HTML help, if section has a
+ .htm or .html extension, that HTML file will be displayed; otherwise a
+ keyword search is done.
*/
virtual bool DisplaySection(const wxString& section);
+
+ /**
+ If the help viewer is not running, runs it and displays the given section.
+
+ - @e WinHelp, MS HTML Help @a sectionNo is a context id.
+ - @e External HTML help: wxExtHelpController implements @a sectionNo as
+ an id in a map file, which is of the form:
+ - @e wxHtmlHelpController: @a sectionNo is an identifier as specified in
+ the @c .hhc file. See @ref overview_html_helpformats.
+ See also the help sample for notes on how to specify section numbers for
+ various help file formats.
+ */
virtual bool DisplaySection(int sectionNo);
- //@}
/**
Displays the text in a popup window, if possible.
+
Returns @false if unsuccessful or not implemented.
*/
virtual bool DisplayTextPopup(const wxString& text,
const wxPoint& pos);
/**
- wxHtmlHelpController returns the frame, size and position.
- For all other help controllers, this function does nothing
- and just returns @NULL.
+ For wxHtmlHelpController, returns the latest frame size and position
+ settings and whether a new frame is drawn with each invocation.
+ For all other help controllers, this function does nothing and just returns @NULL.
- @param viewer
- This defaults to "netscape" for wxExtHelpController.
- @param flags
- This defaults to wxHELP_NETSCAPE for wxExtHelpController, indicating
- that the viewer is a variant of Netscape Navigator.
+ @param size
+ The most recent frame size.
+ @param pos
+ The most recent frame position.
+ @param newFrameEachTime
+ @true if a new frame is drawn with each invocation.
*/
virtual wxFrame* GetFrameParameters(const wxSize* size = NULL,
const wxPoint* pos = NULL,
bool* newFrameEachTime = NULL);
/**
- Returns the window to be used as the parent for the help window. This window is
- used
- by wxCHMHelpController, wxWinHelpController and wxHtmlHelpController.
+ Returns the window to be used as the parent for the help window.
+ This window is used by wxCHMHelpController, wxWinHelpController and
+ wxHtmlHelpController.
*/
virtual wxWindow* GetParentWindow() const;
//@{
/**
Initializes the help instance with a help filename, and optionally a server
- socket
- number if using wxHelp (now obsolete). Does not invoke the help viewer.
+ socket number if using wxHelp (now obsolete). 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.
- You may omit the file extension and a suitable one will be chosen. For
- wxHtmlHelpController, the extensions zip, htb and hhp will be appended while
- searching for
- a suitable file. For WinHelp, the hlp extension is appended.
+ before any attempts to communicate with the viewer.
+
+ You may omit the file extension and a suitable one will be chosen.
+ For wxHtmlHelpController, the extensions zip, htb and hhp will be appended
+ while searching for a suitable file. For WinHelp, the hlp extension is appended.
*/
virtual bool Initialize(const wxString& file);
virtual bool Initialize(const wxString& file, int server);
/**
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. The optional parameter allows the search the index
- (wxHELP_SEARCH_INDEX) but this currently only supported by the
- wxHtmlHelpController.
- @e WinHelp, MS HTML Help: If more than one match is found,
- the first topic is displayed.
- @e External HTML help, simple wxHTML help: If more than one match is found,
- a choice of topics is displayed.
- @e wxHtmlHelpController: see wxHtmlHelpController::KeywordSearch.
+ the given keyword. If one match is found, the file is displayed at this section.
+ The optional parameter allows the search the index (wxHELP_SEARCH_INDEX)
+ but this currently only supported by the wxHtmlHelpController.
+
+ - @e WinHelp, MS HTML Help:
+ If more than one match is found, the first topic is displayed.
+ - @e External HTML help, simple wxHTML help:
+ If more than one match is found, a choice of topics is displayed.
+ - @e wxHtmlHelpController: see wxHtmlHelpController::KeywordSearch.
*/
virtual bool KeywordSearch(const wxString& keyWord,
wxHelpSearchMode mode = wxHELP_SEARCH_ALL);
/**
If the help viewer is not running, runs it and loads the given file.
- If the filename is not supplied or is
- empty, the file specified in @b 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.
+ If the filename is not supplied or is empty, the file specified in
+ 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.
+
wxHtmlHelpController ignores this call.
*/
- virtual bool LoadFile(const wxString& file = "");
+ virtual bool LoadFile(const wxString& file = wxEmptyString);
/**
- Overridable member called when this application's viewer is quit by the user.
+ Overrideable member called when this application's viewer is quit by the user.
This does not work for all help controllers.
*/
virtual bool OnQuit();
/**
If the viewer is running, quits it by disconnecting.
- For Windows Help, the viewer will only close if no other application is using
- it.
+ For Windows Help, the viewer will only close if no other application is using it.
*/
virtual bool Quit();
/**
- For wxHtmlHelpController, the title is set (again with %s indicating the
- page title) and also the size and position of the frame if the frame is already
- open. @a newFrameEachTime is ignored.
+ For wxHtmlHelpController, the title is set (with %s indicating the
+ page title) and also the size and position of the frame if the frame is
+ already open. @a newFrameEachTime is ignored.
+
For all other help controllers this function has no effect.
*/
virtual void SetFrameParameters(const wxString& title,
virtual void SetParentWindow(wxWindow* parentWindow);
/**
- Sets detailed viewer information. So far this is only relevant to
- wxExtHelpController.
+ Sets detailed viewer information.
+ So far this is only relevant to wxExtHelpController.
Some examples of usage:
+
+ @code
+ m_help.SetViewer("kdehelp");
+ m_help.SetViewer("gnome-help-browser");
+ m_help.SetViewer("netscape", wxHELP_NETSCAPE);
+ @endcode
+
+ @param viewer
+ This defaults to "netscape" for wxExtHelpController.
+ @param flags
+ This defaults to wxHELP_NETSCAPE for wxExtHelpController, indicating
+ that the viewer is a variant of Netscape Navigator.
+
+ @todo modernize this function with ::wxLaunchDefaultBrowser
*/
virtual void SetViewer(const wxString& viewer, long flags);
};